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Tomoaki Honma (2018)

99 Pts.



477 days. That’s how long Tomoaki Honma and the rest of the world waited to see him wrestle again. It was on March 3rd, 2017 in Okinawa that Honma suffered a debilitating injury during a match that left him temporarily paralyzed. It was a long road to recovery for the master of the Kokeshi headbutt, who trained for months to be able to safely get back in the ring.

477 days after that fateful day in Okinawa, Tomoaki Honma made his return in a 10 man tag match in his home prefecture of Yamagata. Honma received an overwhelming ovation from the hometown crowd as soon as he came out, the electricity carrying over throughout the entire match. After his team got the win (which included Honma delivering his signature Kokeshi to the delight of everyone), a ceremony was held afterwards to celebrate Honma’s return. Honma cried buckets while thanking all the fans who believed in him and thanking his wife for supporting him through his struggle. To call it a highly emotional affair would be the understatement of the century.

And then the honeymoon period ended. As Honma matriculated back into the fold, it soon became apparent that we were dealing with a very different Tomoaki Honma. The injury had clearly taken its toll on his strength, dexterity, and agility. He still looked to be in great shape, but because of his new physical limitations, he also came across as frail and unsteady. It was disheartening to see a man who once put on classic battles with Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata reduced to such a state, but I’d be lying if I said it was unexpected.

Since his return, Honma spent the remainder of the year solely in tag matches. He had planned to team with Great Bash Heel partner Togi Makabe in World Tag League (even naming Masahiro Chono as his inspiration due to Chono overcoming his own neck injuries in the past), but when the teams were announced, Makabe was actually teaming with Toa Henare; Honma had been left off the tournament. It was another harsh reminder that despite Honma’s willingness to compete at a serious level, physically he was not ready.