Ryan Sakoda Dead At 46: Did WWE Contribute To His Death?
It was recently reported that the former WWE Superstar Ryan Sakoda passed away on September 2.
As of writing, the Wrestling Society X star's cause of death is yet to be confirmed, according to reports. The source also added that he has recently been working at Disney's Grand California Hotel.
Ryan Sakoda was born in Japan and migrated to California. He was an All-League Linebacker for Glen A. Wilson High School and began training for pro wrestling under Billy Anderson and Jesse Hernandez.
He was only 46 years old.
Remembering, Former WWE Superstar
PWInsider further reported that he was initially named Keiji Sakoda in 2000 and became a regular for Rick Bassman's UPW in California. The former Wrestler used to team up and wrestled with John Cena, Samoa Joe, Frankie Kazarian, Mike Knox, and Donovan Morgan.
In 2003, Sakoda started to pick up more bookings as an enhancement talent for WWE in the Southwest, and by the fall of that year.
After WWE and WSX, according to Cagematch via Comic Book, his last match took place in 2007, where he went against Frankie Kazarian.
In 2015, Sakoda filed a lawsuit alongside fellow former WWE wrestlers against the show. These athletes include Billy Jack, Big Russ, Luther Reigns, and the wife of the late Nelson "Viscera" Frazier, also known as Big Daddy V, alleging they were severely injured while working for the company.
They accused the WWE of knowing the risks of head injuries but not warning its players. The suit filed by Sakoda stated that WWE was operated by "intimidation and abuse."
Sources also mentioned how the Wrestling company disregarded the athlete's health and safety. Sakoda fought with other co-wrestlers who were "forced to wrestle injured or you lost your job," and their injuries were not discussed or treated.
During that time he fought in 2003, Sakoda suffered a concussion after being knocked out, and he claimed that WWE medical staff never let him sleep or else he might die.
In the suit, Sakoda alleged that he suffered from "numerous symptoms including but not limited to headaches, severe migraines, memory loss and severe depression."
According to their lawyer, the source also stated that Snuka and Fujiwara were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and died. Other plaintiffs suffered from having dementia and other illnesses, too.
Sakoda's case was moved to the State of Connecticut and later dismissed. Several similar cases revolved around CTE-related allegations against WWE that were all combined into one, which got denied as well.
