The weekend saw news of two tragic deaths on the periphery of the showbiz world. It was revealed on Saturday that fashion model Sumire died last week of a brain hemorrhage. A popular model with the young women's fashion magazine "Koakuma Ageha," she was just 21. Unable to reach her last Wednesday, a member of her management agency visited her Tokyo apartment and found her dead. Police are treating it as death from natural causes. Sumire had complained of headaches and poor health on her blog, which she last updated on June 3. Also on Saturday, pro wrestling legend Misawa Mitsuharu died in a freak ring accident. He was 46. He and his fellow Noah troupe members were on tour in Hiroshima Prefecture, and Misawa was taking part in a tag bout as the evening's main event. He was partnered with Shiozaki Go in a match against Bison Smith and Saito Akitoshi. About 25 minutes into the bout, shortly after 8:30pm, Saito lifted him from behind and threw him in a "back drop" (back suplex) maneuver. Misawa was immediately knocked unconscious and didn't respond to heart massage from fellow wrestlers or the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) device. Paramedics arrived after about 10 minutes and he was rushed to hospital, though he is believed to have died in the ring. Misawa debuted in 1981 and became popular as the second man to wear the famous Tiger Mask. He was one of the best and most popular pro wrestlers throughout the 1990s until a split with All Japan Pro Wrestling led him to go it alone in 2000. Many top names went with him and they formed Pro Wrestling Noah, which became one of the biggest and most highly regarded promotions in the sport. Misawa remained active until his death and was GHC Heavyweight Champion as recently as last year. Source: japanzone
