A successful operation for Nishimura.
Osamu Nishimura is a 33-year veteran in pro wrestling and has competed for NJPW, AJPW, NOAH, Big Japan, CMLL, WCW and ECW among other companies and promotions. In addition to him having taken wrestling bookings in 2024, he is a member of the Bunkyo Ward Committee in Tokyo.
Nishimura is battling stage four esophageal cancer. On 10/28, he underwent a craniotomy so the cancer that spread to his brain could be removed. A craniotomy is a surgical operation to remove part of the bone from the skull to expose the brain.
The operation took seven hours to complete. Nishimura sent a post-surgery photo to the ENCOUNT outlet.
There was initial concern for his health after he missed a talk show event with Atsushi Onita on October 20th. Onita informed the audience in attendance that Nishimura was taken to a hospital the night before.
Nishimura shared that he’s beginning rehabilitation on 10/29. The two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion added that everything that was troubling him head-wise is seemingly gone. If all goes well, he’ll be discharged this weekend.
The aforementioned esophageal cancer diagnosis happened in April. Over the summer, it was discovered that the cancer spread to his brain. Nishimura last wrestled on August 24th for the FMW-E promotion in an Explosion Deathmatch. He shared the ring with Onita, Raijin Yaguchi and 83-year-old Dory Funk Jr.
The match was to commemorate the anniversary of Terry Funk’s passing and to celebrate Onita’s 50th year in wrestling.
