Kazusada Higuchi Reveals Doctors Told Him It Could Be ‘Life-Threatening’ If He Continued Wrestling

Higuchi opens up about his retirement.

DDT Pro-Wrestling held a press conference on March 23rd to announce that two-time KO-D Openweight Champion Kazusada Higuchi would be retiring from in-ring competition. DDT conducted their routine health checkups for wrestlers, and it was discovered that Higuchi had a subluxation of the first and second vertebrae.

DDT rolled out an extensive interview with Higuchi, and he told the site that he was mentally prepared to make the announcement.

“I was already prepared for that, or rather, I had come to terms with it. It had already settled in my mind, so I didn’t have that feeling.”

Higuchi wrestled after the medical checkup had happened. He was asked during the interview if he was expecting that news at the time, having it in mind that he had just wrestled.

“Well, during the checkups leading up to that point, there was a slight sense that it might be too much for me. However, since a detailed diagnosis hadn’t been made yet, and the card was set until January 12th, I told them myself that I wanted to compete until then. The final diagnosis came on the 16th.”

Higuchi’s doctors informed him that if he continued wrestling, it could be life-threatening. He said the decision to step away became clear after that. Higuchi added that DDT informed him that even with surgery, they would not be able to clear him.

“They did (tell me it could be life-threatening if I kept wrestling). There have actually been people who have died, and others who have become unable to move—I don’t want to go into specifics—but they made that very clear to me.” Higuchi was asked if his decision to retire became clear after that, and he replied, “Yes. The doctor told me, ‘This is the state you’re in,’ and as I discussed it with the company, it became clear that they couldn’t let me compete. They said it wouldn’t work even with surgery, or with conservative treatment—that it was impossible under the current circumstances. So at that point, I just said, ‘I’m retiring!’ I’d been going through checkups for a long time, so I’d already made up my mind, or at least I’d anticipated it to some extent. I’d decided that if I couldn’t wrestle the way I wanted to, I’d quit gracefully, so I was able to say it clearly.”

On April 5th, DDT is hosting a retirement match and ceremony for Higuchi. He will not be competing in the match, as his faction-mates in Harimao (Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida) will be in six-man tag action. He was asked how he felt about not competing in his own retirement match.

“I might not even feel it on the day itself. Of course, I wanted to have my own retirement match and end it myself, but since things turned out this way… then having Harimao, who understands my intentions, and the others who fought at the Kitazawa Town Hall do it would be the best way.”

He was then asked about the idea of doing a one-minute exhibition match, like how Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Daisuke Harada did in 2023 for his retirement match.

Higuchi is of the mindset that if he cannot wrestle how he normally would, he does not see the point of getting back in the ring.

“I really think what Harada did was amazing. In that condition, he was able to make a final farewell in the ring. But for me, if I can’t compete, that means I can’t put on my own match, so my thinking is that I shouldn’t step into the ring. There are various ways of thinking about pro-wrestling, but for me, if I can’t do Kazusada Higuchi’s style of pro-wrestling, then I shouldn’t step into the ring—that’s the right answer for me… So I think this was probably the best way to do it.”

Higuchi is 37 years of age and began his in-ring career in 2014 with DDT. In March 2025, Higuchi made his in-ring return for DDT after having been out since June 2024 due to a cervical hernia injury.