The wrestler sets himself on fire in a death match and suffers major burns

It all happened at XPW Wrestling’s death event in Pomona, California on April 22nd…when Masada He was trying to detonate a fireball at his opponent.

The video of the match—a no-holds-barred contest where the use of weapons is permitted—shows MASADA holding a blazing torch, pouring a substance into his mouth…and then attempting to blow the liquid and ensuing flames onto his counterpart.

the problem? The trick somehow went awry…and flames erupted everywhere, engulfing MASADA’s entire upper body.

In the match footage, you can see the flames engulfing the wrestler’s face, chest, and shoulders for several moments before being mercifully extinguished.

Somehow, MASADA ended up ending the contest…but he was rushed to the hospital right after, and was diagnosed with first- and second-degree burns all over his body.

He said 41 years TMZ Sports Friday he’s still in the burn unit at a nearby medical facility recovering… adding, “My face is healing fast, the rest is just going to take a while.”

As for what happened during the fire incident, MASADA told us, “I did it a lot when I wrestled in Japan, but it was rushed and I think being abroad had something to do with it.”

MASADA expects to be outside the squared circle for quite some time…but he said there are no plans to hang up his wrestling boots anytime soon after all.