Chris Hero recently began a storyline in Ring of Honor where Mitsuharu Misawa gave him his elbow pad as a gift during a tour of Japan. He then began using the object as a weapon in order to win matches.

Hero is currently touring Japan, where news of the Japanese wrestling legend's death during a match on Saturday night is the top sports story.

Regarding his sudden passing, Hero wrote the following statement on his Twitter account: "Shocked beyond belief. Never been thru anything like this. Doesn't feel real."

Other personalities from the world of wrestling added their thoughts on his death:

* Gangrel: "had some great matches with misawa, so sad what a lost to our sport."

* Matt Morgan: "Horrible news today guys. Just heard Japanese legendary wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa passed away. Misawa was always a class act towards me."

* Jeremy Borash:: "Shocked to hear of the passing of Mitsuharu Misawa. Was lucky enough to meet him at last year's Tokyo Dome show. What a sad tragedy."

* Matt Hardy: "Just read that Mitsuharu Misawa passed away while performing in Japan on Saturday night. A very sad thing to hear."