38 Wrestlers Who Died In 2025
23. Hisashi Shinma (21 April)
Tokyo Sports reported on 21 April that the incomparable Hisashi Shinma had passed away following a short battle with pneumonia at the age of 90. He had been hospitalised three weeks earlier after contracting COVID-19, but was discharged on 19 April, just days before he sadly died.
Born in Tokyo on 22 March, 1935, Shinma, who WWE penned as a "master booker", will be best known to Western fans as the company's on-screen President throughout the seventies and early eighties, preceding the Jack Tunney administration. It was in his native Japan, though, that Hisashi Shinma delivered on a bevvy of industry-shaping decisions.
He was brought on board to NJPW upon Antonio Inoki's founding of 'The King of Sports' in 1972, becoming his right-hand man and helping pull off the legendary Wrestler vs. Boxer showdown between Inoki and Muhammad Ali, while shortly after, he helped develop the iconic Tiger Mask character, first played by Satoru Sayama.
Shinma was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy wing in 2019, and had only officially stepped back from his commitment to the business in October 2024, having served as the Representative Director for Sayama's Strong Style Pro Wrestling.