Wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, who was also a member of the House of Councilors and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, has passed away.
Antonio Inoki : wwe | Muhammad Ali | Passed away
Inoki was born in an affluent family in Yokohama in 1943. He was the sixth son and the second-youngest of the seven boys and four girls. His father, Sajiro Inoki, a businessman and politician, died when Kanji was five years old.
Inoki entered the Higashidai Grade School. Inoki was taught karate by an older brother while in 6th grade. By the time he was in 7th grade at Terao Junior High School, he was 180 centimeters tall and joined the basketball team.
He later quit and joined a track and field club as a shot putter. He eventually won the championship at the Yokohama Junior High School track and field competition.
Antonio inoki wwe
Inoki met Rikidōzan at the age of 17 and went back to Japan for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) as his disciple.
He trained in the JWA dojo under the renowned Karl Gotch, complementing further his training under amateur wrestler Isao Yoshiwara and kosen judoka Kiyotaka Otsubo.
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Professional wrestling career
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| Ring name(s) | Antonio Inoki The Kamikaze Kanji Inoki Kazimoto Killer Inoki Kinji Onoki Little Tokyo Moeru Toukon Tokyo Tom |
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| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 224 lb (102 kg) |
| Billed from | Tokyo, Japan |
| Trained by | Rikidōzan Karl Gotch |
| Debut | September 30, 1960 |
| Retired | April 4, 1998 |
One of his dojo classmates was Giant Baba. After Rikidozan’s murder, Inoki worked in Baba’s shadow until he left for an excursion to the United States in 1964.
In 2005, Yuke’s, a Japanese video company, purchased Inoki’s controlling 51.5% stock in New Japan.
Two years later in 2007, Inoki founded a new promotion called Inoki Genome Federation. On February 1, 2010, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced on its Japanese website that Inoki would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010.
Inoki was presented with a Hall of Fame certificate by WWE’s Ed Wells and stated that he would be attending the WrestleMania XXVI weekend festivities, during which he was inducted into the hall by Stan Hansen.
In 2017, Inoki created a new company, ISM. ISM held its first event on June 24 of that year. On March 23, 2018, Inoki left IGF.
In October 2019, Inoki appeared at a Pro Wrestling Zero1 event at the Yasukuni Shrine, which is controversial for its relation to World War II.
Muhammad Ali
His most famous bout was against heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali on June 26, 1976, in Tokyo.
Inoki initially promised Ali a rigged match to get him to fight in Japan, but when the deal materialized, Ali’s camp feared that Inoki would turn the fight into a shoot, which many believe was Inoki’s intention.
Ali visited a professional wrestling match involving Inoki and witnessed Inoki’s grappling ability. The rules of the match were announced several months in advance.
Two days before the match, however, several new rules were added which severely limited the moves that each man could perform. One rule change, specifying that Inoki could only throw a kick if one of his knees was on the ground, had a major effect on the outcome of the fight.
Ali landed a total of six punches to Inoki, and Inoki kept to his back in a defensive position almost the full duration of the match of 15 rounds, hitting Ali with a low kick repeatedly.
The bout ended in a draw, 3–3. Ali left without a press conference and suffered damage to his legs as a result of Inoki’s repeated kicks.
Antonio inoki passed away
Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and former professional wrestler, has passed away at the age of 79.
“New Japan Pro-Wrestling founder and former professional wrestler Antonio Inoki (real name Kanji Inoki) died in Tokyo on October 1st. Inoki was battling with “systemic transthyretin amyloidosis,” which is said to affect one in tens of thousands of people. He is 79 years old,” said a statement from NJPW.
Inoki from Yokohoma City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was born on February 20, 1943. He moved to Brazil at the age of 13 with his family and worked in a coffee plantation.
He entered the world of Japanese professional wrestling at age of 17 under his real name in Tokyo at Taito Ward Gymnasium and changed his name to ‘Antonio Inoki’ in 1962.