Akebono Taro, the Hawaiian-born sumo wrestling star and WWE fighter, has died. He was 54.
On Thursday, April 11, the family of the wrestler, who was the first foreign-born sumo star to reach the level of “yokozuna” (grand champion in Japanese) in the sport, announced in a statement to the Associated Press that he died earlier this month.
“It is with sadness that we announce Akebono Taro died of heart failure earlier this month while receiving care at a hospital in the Tokyo area,” the family told the AP in a statement.
The wrestler’s wife, Christine Rowan, told the outlet that he died “within the past week.”
