Longtime independent wrestling veteran Josh Littell, better known to fans as Sir Samurai, is lucky to be alive — and by his own account, it’s a miracle he survived at all.
The frightening incident occurred just two months ago following a match at the Pinole Public Library in California. Littell, who headlined the April 26 event, appeared fine immediately after the bout. But moments later, tragedy struck.
“We were the main event,” Littell told KCRA 3 NBC in Sacramento. “We wrestled the match, and it was fine, all things considered. Then I collapsed in the locker room. Evidently, my heart stopped, and I fell to the floor. Officially, I was dead. No nurse or doctor said anything different than, ‘You died on Saturday.’”
Fortunately, fate intervened in the form of fellow wrestler Alex Bell, who also happens to be a trained EMT. Bell jumped into action without hesitation.
“I started compressions, asked someone to get an AED,” Bell recalled. “The ambulance was already on the way. Honestly, my first thought was, ‘This isn’t going to work.’ I’ve done CPR before — it’s never worked.”
Littell was clinically dead for three to four minutes. He described the surreal experience of being pulled back from the brink.
“I didn’t see a light or anything,” Littell said. “But I had a sensation of being pulled back before I woke up. The percentage of people who survive something like this is .00001%. I shouldn’t have survived, but somehow I did — and my brain and body are still functioning. Nobody can explain how.”
Doctors still don’t know what caused the cardiac arrest, but as a precaution, Littell now has a defibrillator implanted in his chest.
A month after the scare, Sir Samurai made one final appearance in the ring — not to wrestle, but to formally announce his retirement, closing the chapter on a career that has spanned over two decades and earned him the respect of wrestlers and fans across the West Coast indie scene.
PWMania.com sends its best wishes to Josh Littell on his recovery and commends Alex Bell for his life-saving actions.
