thewrestlingpress.com profile
In 1957, 14-year-old Kanji, his grandfather, mother and brothers immigrated to Brazil. (Tragically, his grandfather passed away during the trip from Japan to Brazil.) Having been a high school shotput champion in Japan, Inoki continued to compete in his new homeland. He won the All Brazilian Championship in shotput and discus throw as well as regional championships in javelin throw.
After meeting with the legendary Rikidozan, a 17- year-old Inoki returned to Japan to compete for the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA), where his fellow Dojo members included Giant Baba.
After wrestling in the United States, Inoki began wrestling for Tokyo Pro Wrestling in 1966, only to watch as the company folded a year later, due to backstage politics.
Inoki and Baba would reunite in the JWA and, as the B-1 Cannon, the pair would win the NWA International Tag Team Championships on four occasions.
In 1972, a year after being fired from JWA for planning a takeover of the company, he founded New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). His first match for the new promotion was on March 6th, a loss to Karl Gotch in front of 5,000 fans. Inoki would go on to win NJPW’s then- top title, the NWF Heavyweight Championship, four times.
In 1976, Inoki earned international exposure when he stepped into the ring for a 15-
round boxing vs wrestler match against boxing great Muhammad Ali. The much-panned
match, which ended in a draw, saw Inoki staying close to the mat and peppering the boxer with kicks to the leg.
Ali was not the only non-wrestler that Inoki would face in his career, as he battled boxer Chuck Wepner, Judo gold medalist William Rusko and World Karate Champion Willie Williams in a career that predated Mixed Martial Arts.
On November 30, 1979, Inoki defeated WWF Champion Bob Backlund in Tokushima, Japan. A week later, on December 6th, Backlund pinned Inoki but the match was declared a no-contest by
WWF President Hisashi Shinma due to the interference of Tiger Jeet Singh.
Inoki refused the title and Shinma declared the championship vacant. Backlund would defeat Bobby Duncum in a Texas Death match on December 12th to regain the title. Inoki’s title reign was not acknowledged by the WWF.
After retiring the NWF title in 1981, the IWGP, in 1983, initiated the “IWGP League”, a tournament held every spring. After losing to Hulk Hogan, in controversial fashion, in the finals of the 1983 tournament, Inoki won the League in 1984, 1986 and 1987.
Following his League victory in 1987, Inoki became the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Even as he continued to compete, Inoki gained a victory in another arena: the political arena. He was elected to Japan’s House of Councillors in 1989 and represented his country in meetings with Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein. When Inoki met with Hussein, to negotiate the release of prisoners from the Gulf War, he received a gift of a pair of golden swords.
In the early-to-mid-1990s Inoki began his “Final Countdown” series as he headed into retirement. During this series Inoki battled the Great Muta, Vader, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and the original Tiger Mask Satoru Sayama.
In 1995 he would head to
Pyongyang, North Korea for a two-day wrestling festival for peace. In the main event, Inoki defeated Ric Flair in front of 190,000 fans.
On April 4, 1998, the Final Countdown series came to an end as Inoki’s last match came against Don Frye. Less than five minutes after it began, Inoki’s final match was over, with a victory in front of 70,000 people at the Tokyo Dome.
Over the years after his retirement Inoki has continued to promote both with NJPW and with other promotions.
In 2010, Inoki was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
n Contact John at
jmilnerresume@gmail.com tWP WoRlDWiDe WReStlinG MAGAZine 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48