WWE Hall of Famer Changed Japanese Wrestling
Antonio Inoki is dead at age 79. Inoki created New Japan Pro Wrestling, used his status as an international star to attain political office, and used both aspects of his life as a humanitarian.
Born Kanji Inoki on 20 February 1943, Inoki moved to Brazil when he was a teenager. Inoki met wrestling legend Rikidozan and traveled to Japan, training to become a star.
In 1972, Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling, a wrestling company that would change the world of professional wrestling.
Inoki combined pro wrestling with other martial arts and while there were questions about how legitimate some of his contests were, Inoki prided himself as a mixed martial artist long before the term became popular.
One of these events was a boxer vs wrestler match when Inoki fought boxing great Muhammad Ali in Japan. The 1976 fight was mired in controversy with Ali’s side claiming the fight was supposed to be worked while Inoki’s side claimed it would be a legitimate contest. A convoluted set of rules were arranged, resulting in a boring fight that ended in a draw.
Inoki’s wrestling career continued but he also turned to politics, becoming elected to the Japanese government. During his first run in office, he traveled to Iraq during the first Gulf crisis (1990) and arranged for the release of Japanese hostages.
Antonio Inoki Dead at 79
In 1995, Inoki used professional wrestling and politics to try and ease diplomatic relations between North Korea and Japan. This resulted in Collision in Korea, an event that featured stars from WCW and New Japan performing in North Korea. The behind-the-scenes drama of the event was recently covered in a Dark Side of the Ring episode.
The WWE honored Inoki with a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2010. 41years earlier, Inoki won the WWWF Championship from Bob Backlund but the title was held up and the title change never officially recognized.
Inoki’s health had been deteriorating and he died on 1 October 2022.
WrestleLamia sends its thoughts and prayers to Mr. Inoki’s friends, family, and many fans.
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