Antonio Inoki, one of the most famous Japanese professional wrestlers of all time, passed away earlier today.
He was 79 years old. The cause of death was complications from synthetic transthyretin amyloidosis.
Inoki is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers. He was a 12-time wrestling champion, including being the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Inoki also held the WWF Heavyweight Championship, defeating Bob Backlund for the title on November 30, 1979, in Japan. Inoki would lose it back to Backlund in December 1979 at Madison Square Garden. This reign is not recognized by WWE.
Inoki made his professional wrestling debut in 1960. He was a student of another Japanese professional wrestling legend, Rikidozan. Inoki also trained with Giant Baba.
In 1972, Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling, wrestling Karl Gotch in his first match. Inoki had many storied matches in his long career, including a match against boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 1976. This match was seen as a predecessor of what would become Mixed Martial Arts. Inoki promised Ali a rigged fight before it turned into a shoot in the ring. Ali landed punches, and Inoki landed hard kicks to the legs. It would be ruled a draw.
Another famous match came against Ric Flair in 1995 in North Korea. The Japanese and North Korean governments came together to make this happen and promoted it as a two-day festival of peace. Between 150,000 to 190,000 fans came out to see the match between the two legends. Inoki would come out on top.
Inoki had his final match against Don Frye in 1998.
Inoki also found great success in politics. He was elected to the House of Councillors in 1989, a position his father also held. In 1990, he would negotiate with Saddam Hussein of Iraq to ensure the release of Japanese hostages taken during the Gulf War. He would hold the seat until 1994. Eighteen years later, Inoki would win a seat in the Japanese Diet in 2013 as an MP. Due to declining health, he would retire in 2019.
On behalf of the staff of Wrestleview, we send our sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Antonio Inoki.