From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonio Inoki (born Kanji Inoki (猪木寛至 Inoki Kanji) on February 20, 1943) is a Japanese
promoter, politician, and retired professional wrestler and . His
to wrestler . He also wrestled under the ring names Little Tokyo, Tokyo Tom, among others. He converted to
in 1990 and took the name Muhammad Hussain Inoki, something he publicly revealed in 2012.
Inoki began his professional wrestling career in 1960, working for the
and became a wrestling promoter in 1972 when he founded
(NJPW) that he remained the owner of until 2005 where he sold his controlling share in the promotion to the
video game company. He later founded the . He was inducted into the
in 2010. As a professional wrestler he became one of the most respected sport celebrities of Japan, bolstered by his
match against boxer
in 1976. With , he headlined
in 1995 that drew 150,000 and 190,000 spectators, the highest attendances in professional wrestling.
In 1989, while still an active wrestler, Inoki entered Japanese politics as he was elected to the Japanese
and as part of his first term with the House of Councillors successfully negotiated with
for the release of Japanese hostages before the outbreak of the . His first tenure in the House of Councillors ended in 1995, but he was reelected in 2013.
Inoki was born in an affluent family in
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
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
team. He later quit and joined a
club as a . He eventually won the championship at the Yokohama Junior High School track and field competition.
The family fell on hard times in the post-war years, and in 1957, the 14-year-old Inoki emigrated to
with his grandfather, mother and brothers. His grandfather died during the journey to Brazil. Inoki won regional championships in Brazil in the shot put,
throw, and , and finally the All Brazilian championships in the
This section of a
any . Please help by adding . Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately.
Find sources:  –  ·  ·  ·  ·
(July 2013) ()
at the age of 17. He went back to Japan for the
(JWA) as Rikidōzan's . One of his dojo classmates was . After Rikidozan's death, Inoki worked in Baba's shadow until he joined the original
After a long excursion of wrestling in the , Inoki found a new home in . While there, Inoki became their biggest star. Unfortunately, the company folded in 1967, due to turmoil behind the scenes.[]
Returning to JWA in late 1967, Inoki was made Baba's partner and the two dominated the tag team ranks as the "B-I Cannon", winning the NWA International tag team belts four times. Wrestling legend
tells a story about Inoki trying to "" him during a tag match in Osaka to build his reputation against the then-world champ. Bruno powered out of the hold, pounded Inoki mercilessly and threw him out of the ring. Inoki allegedly refused to re-enter the ring with Sammartino and tagged in Baba to finish the match.
Fired from JWA in late 1971 for planning a
of the promotion, Inoki founded
(NJPW) in 1972. His first match as a New Japan wrestler was against .
In June 1979, he fought with
and lost the fight in the fifth round. In 2014, twenty two years after Zubair Jhara's death, he announced to take Jhara's nephew Haroon Abid under his guardianship.
On November 30, 1979, Inoki defeated
in Tokushima, Japan to win the title. Backlund then won a rematch on December 6. However, WWF president
declared the re-match a no contest due to interference from , and Inoki remained Champion. Inoki refused the title on the same day, and it was declared vacant. Backlund later defeated
in a Texas Death match to regain the title on December 12. As Inoki refused the title, his reign is not included nor is it recognized by WWE in its official history, and Backlund is recognized as having one reign from 1978 to 1983.
In 1995 the Japanese and the North Korean governments came together to hold a
in . The event drew 150,000 and 190,000 fans respectively to . The main event saw the only match between Inoki and , with Inoki coming out on top. Days before this event, Inoki and the Korean press went to the grave and birthplace of Rikidōzan and paid tribute to him.
Inoki's retirement from professional wrestling matches came with the staging of the "Final Countdown" series between 1994 and 1998. This was a special series in which Inoki re-lived some of his mixed martial arts matches under professional wrestling rules, as well as rematches of some of his most well known wrestling matches. As part of the Final Countdown tour, Inoki mad defeating WCW World Television Champion
in a non-title match at . Inoki faced
in the final match of his professional wrestling career.
Culminating in 2006, Inoki's influence within New Japan declined. An example of this has been the purchase of his image by , who in 2005 purchased his controlling 51.5% stock in New Japan. As a result, New Japan is now able to control Inoki's appearances and the use of his image. Inoki began a new promotion in 2007 called
that competes with New Japan.
On February 1, 2010,
(WWE) announced on its Japanese website that Inoki would be inducted into the
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
weekend festivities, during which he was inducted by Stan Hansen.
Following in his father's footsteps, Inoki entered politics in 1989, when he was elected into the
as a representative of his own
In 1990, Inoki traveled to
in "an unofficial one-man diplomatic mission" and successfully negotiated with
for the release of Japanese hostages before the outbreak of the . It was then that he personally organized a wrestling event in Iraq () for the purpose of freeing the 41 captive Japanese nationals. He subsequently retained his seat in the . He failed to win re-election in the
following a number of scandals reported in 1994, and left politics for the next eighteen years.
Inoki delivering a speech in . Inoki's regular visits to the country have strained his relations with the
where he is a representative.
On June 5, 2013, Inoki announced that he would again run for a seat in the Japanese Diet under the
ticket. Inoki won the election to return to Japan's Upper House as an MP.
In November 2013, he was suspended from the Diet for 30 days because of an unauthorized trip to North Korea. He had visited on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the armistice in the , and had met with senior North Korean figure
during his visit. This was Inoki's 27th visit to North K he explained in an interview that the
had caused the Japanese government to "close the door" on diplomacy with the North, but that the issue would not be resolved without ongoing communication, and that he saw his relationship with North Korean-born
as a crucial link to the people of the North.
He was reportedly considering running for
following another visit to North Korea.
In January 2015, he helped to establish a new party named the .
Inoki was married to actress
from 1971 to 1987, and together they had a daughter, Hiroko.
Inoki converted to
in 1990 during a pilgrimage to , the Shiite holy city in . He was in Iraq negotiating for the release of several Japanese hostages. This was only revealed in 2012, along with the declaration that he had changed his name to Muhammad Hussain Inoki. Inoki has reportedly described himself as both a "Muslim" convert and a .
Inoki opened a wrestling themed restaurant in ,
named Antonio's Inoki Sakaba Shinjuku.
Inoki was amongst the group of professional wrestlers who were tutored in the art of
by the professional wrestler . Inoki named his method of fighting "strong style." This method of wrestling (which was taught to Inoki by Gotch) borrowed heavily from professional wrestling's original
roots, and is one of the most important influences of modern .
Inoki faced many opponents from all dominant disciplines of combat from various parts of the world, such as , , ,
practitioners,
wrestlers and professional wrestlers. These bouts included a match with then-prominent karate competitor Everett Eddy. Eddy had previously competed in a mixed skills bout against boxer Horst Geisler, losing by knockout. The bout with Eddy ended with the karateka "knocked out" by a professional wrestling
followed by a -esque . Another such match pitted Inoki against 6'7" Kyokushin karate stylist Willie "The Bear Killer" Williams. (So-called because he had allegedly fought a bear for a 1976 Japanese film entitled "The Strongest Karate 2".) This bout ended in a doctor stoppage after both competitors repeatedly fell out of the ring. Although many of the matches were rigged and scripted, they are seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts. When asked about Inoki's fighting skills, business colleague
stated Inoki was "one of the best fighters he'd seen."
His most famous bout was against heavyweight boxing champion
on . 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 , which many believe was Inoki's intention. Ali visited a professional wrestling match involving Inoki and witnessed Inoki's
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. A rule change that had a major effect on the outcome of this match was that Inoki could only throw a kick if one of his knees was on the ground. In the match, 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 leg kicks.
Following his retirement, Inoki has promoted a number of MMA events such as NJPW: Ultimate Crush (which showcased pro wrestling matches and MMA matches on the same card), as well as annual Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye shows which took place on New Year's Eve in
and 2003. Some of the major attractions of these events involve the best of NJPW against world-renowned fighters in mixed martial arts matches. Inoki vs.
was a professional wrestling match that took place at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2000 against mixed martial artist Renzo Gracie. Inoki was also the ambassador for the 's Tokyo entry before that promotion's demise.
This section of a
any . Please help by adding . Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately.
Find sources:  –  ·  ·  ·  ·
(July 2013) ()
Inoki appears both in the
, in a secondary role: in the Japanese series he is the only one who was able to win over , i.e. Tiger Mask, and the two became best friends subsequently.
Inoki appeared in the film
as himself. A
in his scenes involved Inoki seeking a rematch with Ali. , who also appears in these scenes as a manager of Inoki's scheduled opponent, Mean Bones Beaudine, was the referee of Inoki's match with Ali. Inoki's appearance in the film culminates with a match against the main character, Marvin Lazar (played by ), when Beaudine suddenly becomes unavailable to participate. Professional wrestler
served as Curtis's stunt double for the wrestling portions of this scene.
Inoki had the starring role in the film Acacia directed by .
In Oh!Great's manga , Inoki is regularly referred to by the author, and also the characters as an influence on their fighting style. The manga also makes several less than complimentary references to Inoki's large chin. Along with Inoki,
has been referred to in Air Gear's pages, often in naming things. (This is based on the translation by Tanoshimi Manga, and later by Balantine Books/. Other translations may omit these references)
The pro-wrestler character Kanji Igari in the manga (and anime) series
is based heavily on Inoki.
Finishing moves
– innovated
Signature moves
Cobra Twist ()
"Moeru Tōkon ( for Burning Fighting Split)
"Honō no Fighter" (炎のファイター) – originally used in the 1977
"Pacific Zone" (WCW)
Masanobu Kurisu
Lou Thesz Award ()
() – with
() – with Michiaki Yoshimura (2) and
1st and 2nd
NWF Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
() – with Seiji Sakaguchi
NJPW Real World Championship (1 time)
NJPW Japan Cup Tag Team League (1986) with
MSG Tag League (1980) with
MSG Tag League (1982) with
MSG Tag League (1983) with Hulk Hogan
MSG Tag League (1984) with
Six Man Tag Team Cup League (1988) with
() – with
() – with Seiji Sakaguchi
() – with
PWI ranked him #5 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
PWI Lifetime Achievement Award
Wrestler of the Week (June 7–13, 1987)
30th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award (1990)
50th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
Best Tag Team Award (1975) with Seiji Sakaguchi
Best Tag Team Award (1981) with Tatsumi Fujinami
Distinguished Service Award ()
Lifetime Achievement Award (1989)
Match of the Year Award (1974) vs. Strong Kobayashi on March 19
Match of the Year Award (1975) vs.
on December 11
Match of the Year Award (1979) with
on August 26
Match of the Year Award (1984) vs. Riki Choshu on August 2
MVP Award (, , )
Special Grand Award ()
Technique Award (1985)
Inoki's WWF Heavyweight Championship reign is not officially recognized by WWE.
"Power Slam". This Month in History: February. SW Publishing. January 1999. p. 28. 55.
Miyamoto, Koji. . .
from the original on May 14, .
. . Retrieved on May 10, 2014.
Shoemaker, David (July 1, 2013). . .
. Dawn News 2014.
. Archived from
on October 27, 2009.. uk.
(November 15, 2005). Retrieved on May 10, 2014.
Rothstein, Simon (February 9, 2010). . The Sun. London.
Leiby, Richard. .
. Sports Navi. . June 5, .
Yoshida, Reiji (June 6, 2013) . Japan Times
Caldwell, James (July 22, 2013). . Pro Wrestling Torch 2013.
. .au (July 23, 2013). Retrieved on May 10, 2014.
. The Japan Daily Press (July 22, 2013). Retrieved on May 10, 2014.
. 朝日新聞. July 29, .
. 週刊現代. January 4, . 「私はこれまで27回も訪朝して、北朝鮮国民の暮らしぶりを見てきましたから、あの国のありのままの姿を知っています。ところが日本政府は、拉致問題が明らかになって以降、完全にドアを閉ざし、日朝関係は膠着状態に陥ってしまった。誰かがメッセージを送り続けなければ、拉致問題も解決しません。手前味噌かもしれませんが、私は北朝鮮出身のプロレスラー?力道山の弟子ということで、いくらかの知名度があると思います。11月に訪朝した時には、現地で力道山の特集番組が放送され、私の写真も紹介されました。放送翌日には、多くの人から握手を求められた。そんな自分の立場を活かしたいんです」
. スポーツニッポン. January 3, 2014. Archived from
on January 6, .
.. ZAKZAK (October 30, 2004). Retrieved on May 10, 2014.
Makino, Catherine. .
Seeto, Damian (December 22, 2012). .
. Pakistan Explorer . July 12, 2012.
Mosbergen, Dominique. .
. Karate-in-english-lewis-. July 18, 2009.
Ortiz, Sergio (November 1975) , Black Belt Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 11.
See the documentary film
for excerpts
Full bout available here:
March 29, 2006, at the .
Cohen, Eric. , , Retrieved on December 1, 2007.
Tallent, Aaron.
"Int'l film festival begins in N. Korea, playing Japan's 'Acacia'". . September 20, 2010.
. Other Arena 2009.
. Cagematch.net. Retrieved on May 10, 2014.
at the .. . Retrieved on August 23, 2014.
Rosenbaum, Dave. "Multi-Promotional Supercard! World Wrestling Peace Festival Unites The World!." . Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (November 1996): pg. 26–29.
(June 13, 1987). "Pro Wrestling This Week". . . . .
(in Japanese) 2014.
(in Japanese) 2014.
(in Japanese) 2014.
(in Japanese) 2014.
Centinela, Teddy (April 13, 2015). . SuperLuchas Magazine (in Spanish) 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to .
Antonio Inoki's profile at , ,
: Hidden categories:Access denied |
used Cloudflare to restrict access
Please enable cookies.
What happened?
The owner of this website () has banned your access based on your browser's signature (4a7c22-ua98).