Veteran professional wrestler Pat Tanaka did not appear as scheduled for Absolute Intense Wrestling’s The Syxxth Sense this weekend following what AIW described as a series of travel problems and communication issues.
In a statement posted Sunday morning on Facebook, Absolute Intense Wrestling said the promotion had reached an agreement with Tanaka and provided him with the necessary funds to make the trip after his original travel arrangements reportedly fell through Wednesday night.
Tanaka was scheduled to participate in a seminar Friday evening but did not arrive. According to AIW, the promotion had not heard from him since Thursday evening despite making repeated attempts to contact him.
AIW said Tanaka eventually returned a call at approximately 3:30 p.m. Saturday and told the promotion that he had been involved in a car accident and had ended up in a ditch. According to the promotion’s account, Tanaka acknowledged that he should have contacted them sooner and said he was attempting to find another way to reach the event.
Tanaka reportedly told AIW that he was booking a flight using airline miles and asked the promotion to move his match later on the card to accommodate his expected arrival.
By Sunday morning, however, AIW said Tanaka still had not arrived and that the promotion had received no additional communication from him.
The promotion addressed the unusual situation with humor in its statement, writing, “We wanted the Pat Tanaka experience and it seems we got it.”
AIW also joked about its willingness to take chances on unpredictable wrestling veterans, adding that a similar situation will likely happen again somewhere down the road.
Despite the missed appearance, the promotion did not appear to hold any personal hostility toward Tanaka, describing him as “a very nice guy on the telephone when he does answer” and wishing him the best.
As of AIW’s Sunday morning statement, Tanaka had not arrived for The Syxxth Sense, and the status of the flight he reportedly intended to take remained unclear.