Antonio Inoki

Early life, family and education

Kanji Inoki was born into an affluent family in Yokohama on 20 February 1943. Of the 11 siblings (seven boys and four girls), he was second-youngest and the sixth son. Their father Sajiro Inoki was a businessman and politician who died when Kanji was five years old.

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 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) tall. He joined the basketball team but switched to track and field as a shot putter. He eventually won the championship at the Yokohama Junior High School track and field competition.

The family suffered financial difficulties in the post-World War II years. At age 14, Inoki emigrated to Brazil with his grandfather, mother, and brothers. His grandfather died during the journey to Brazil. Upon their arrival, the family began to work 12 hour shifts on a coffee plantation in São Paulo. Later on, Inoki won regional championships in Brazil in shot put, discus, and javelin and won the All Brazilian championships in shot put and discus.

Inoki's brother Juichi Sagara was a karate master and is credited as one of the people responsible for bringing Shotokan to Brazil. Inoki's brother Pablo Inoki, a tenor and political activist, once led the Inoki-founded Sports and Peace Party.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1960–1971)

Inoki met Rikidōzan at the age of 17 in Brazil 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. 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.

After a long excursion of wrestling in the United States, Inoki found a new home in Tokyo Pro Wrestling in 1966. While there, Inoki became their biggest star. His first major feud in Japan was against Johnny Valentine, NWA United States Champion in Toronto. Inoki defeated Valentine on 19 December 1966 in Osaka to claim a version of the title. The company folded in January 1967, due to turmoil behind the scenes, and Inoki abandoned the title.

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 Championship belts four times.

On 16 May 1969, during the 11th World Big League, Inoki stopped Giant Baba's fourth consecutive victory and won his first tournament.

In July 1969, when NET (currently TV Asahi) started broadcasting Japanese professional wrestling, Inoki was the ace of NET's wrestling broadcasts, as Baba's matches were monopolized by Nippon TV under the agreement between the JWA and Nippon TV. On 2 December 1969, he challenged Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and on 26 March 1971, won the NWA United National Championship from John Tolos, establishing the title in Japan.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1972–2005)

Fired from JWA in late 1971 for planning a takeover of the promotion, Inoki founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 1972. His first match as a New Japan wrestler was against Karl Gotch. In 1975 he faced Lou Thesz, with Inoki taking a vicious Greco-Roman backdrop within the first seconds of the match.

In 1976, Inoki fought with Pakistani Akram Pahalwan in a special rules match. The match apparently turned into a shoot, with an uncooperative Akram biting Inoki in the arm and Inoki retaliating with an eye poke. At the end, Inoki won the bout with a double wrist lock, injuring Pahalwan's arm after the latter refused to submit. According to referee Mr. Takahashi, this finish was not scripted and was fought for real after the match's original flow became undone.

On 8 December 1977, Inoki was involved in a match against former strongman turned professional wrestler Antonio Barichievich better known as The Great Antonio. Barichievich inexplicably began no-selling Inoki's attacks and then stiffing Inoki; Inoki responded by shooting on Barichievich, retaliating with a series palm strikes, grounding him with a single leg takedown and following with up repeated kicks, and then stomping his head repeatedly as he lay on the mat before the match was stopped.

In June 1979, Inoki wrestled Akram's countryman Zubair Jhara Pahalwan, this time in a regular match, and lost the fight in the fifth round. In 2014, 22 years after Zubair Jhara's death, he announced he would take Jhara's nephew Haroon Abid under his guardianship.

On 30 November 1979, Inoki defeated WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund in Tokushima, Japan, to win the championship. Backlund then won a rematch on 6 December. However, WWF president Hisashi Shinma declared the re-match a no contest due to interference from Tiger Jeet Singh, and Inoki remained champion. Inoki refused the title on the same day, and it was declared vacant. Backlund later defeated Bobby Duncum in a Texas Death match to regain the title on 12 December. Inoki's reign is not recognized by WWE in its WWF/WWE title history and Backlund's first reign is viewed as uninterrupted from 1978 to 1983.

In 1995, Inoki and the North Korean government came together to hold a two-day wrestling festival for peace in Pyongyang, North Korea. The event drew 165,000 and 190,000 fans respectively to Rungnado May Day Stadium. The main event saw the only match between Inoki and Ric Flair, 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.

Post NJPW years (2005–2022)

In 2007, Inoki founded a new promotion called Inoki Genome Federation (IGF).

On 1 February 2010, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced on its Japanese website that Inoki would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Inoki was presented with a Hall of Fame certificate by WWE's Ed Wells.

In 2017, Inoki created a new company, ISM. ISM held its first event on 24 June of that year. On 23 March 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.

In August 2022, Inoki established the Inoki Genki Factory to serve as his official management company. It was later reported that the Inoki Genki Factory was looking into the idea of hosting professional wrestling and mixed martial arts events.

Political career

House of Councillors

Following in his father's footsteps, Inoki entered politics in 1989, when he was elected into the House of Councillors as a representative of his own Sports and Peace Party in the 1989 Japanese House of Councillors election. Inoki's win secured him among the highest offices ever won by a professional wrestling personality in politics. The Sports and Peace Party later formed a parliamentary alliance with the Democratic Socialist Party. On 14 October 1989, Inoki was stabbed during a political event in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. Emulating Muhammad Ali, Inoki traveled to Iraq in 1990 in "an unofficial one-man diplomatic mission" to negotiate with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the outbreak of the Gulf War. He personally organized a wrestling event in Iraq to entice Saddam to free the 41 captive Japanese nationals, this ultimately proved to be a success with 36 Japanese nationals freed. Inoki subsequently retained his seat in the 1992 Japanese House of Councillors election. He failed to win re-election in the 1995 Japanese House of Councillors election following a number of scandals reported in 1994, and left politics for the next eighteen years.

On 5 June 2013, Inoki announced that he would again run for a House of Councillors seat in the National Diet under the Japan Restoration Party 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 Korean War, and had met with senior North Korean figure Kim Yong-nam during his visit. This was Inoki's 27th visit to North Korea; he explained that the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens 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 Rikidōzan as a crucial link to the people of the North.

He was reportedly considering running for governor of Tokyo in 2014 following another visit to North Korea.

Inoki joined the splinter of the Japan Restoration Party, Party for Future Generations, in 2014. In January 2015, he helped to establish a new party named the Assembly to Energize Japan, which he left in 2016, to sit in the Independents Club.

Other positions

On 23 June 1989, Inoki founded the Sports and Peace Party, his own political party. Inoki served as the party's leader until the 1998 House of Councillors election when he was succeeded by Iichi Nishime. In 2002, Inoki was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador of Palau; Inoki would again be appointed a Japanese Goodwill Ambassador to Palau in 2013.

From August 2014 until December 2014, Inoki served as the director of the National Sports Bureau of the Party for Future Generations and as a chairperson of the Policy Research Committee of the House of Councillors. On 1 March 2015, Inoki was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the 2016 Summer Olympics by the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia. From 2015 until 2016, Inoki served as the supreme advisor of the Assembly to Energize Japan, a political party he co-founded with Kota Matsuda.

Mixed martial arts involvement

Inoki was amongst the group of professional wrestlers who were tutored in the art of hooking and shooting by the professional wrestler Karl Gotch. This method of wrestling taught to Inoki by Gotch borrowed heavily from professional wrestling's original catch wrestling roots, and is one of the most important influences of modern shoot wrestling. Inoki named his method of fighting "strong style" and it is sometimes referred to as "Inokiism".

Inoki faced many opponents from all dominant disciplines of combat from various parts of the world, such as boxers, judoka, karateka, kung fu practitioners, sumo wrestlers, and fellow 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 and lost by knockout. The bout with Eddy ended with the karateka knocked out by a professional wrestling powerbomb followed by a Hulk Hogan-esque leg drop. Another such match pitted Inoki against 6'7" Kyokushin karate stylist Willie Williams, who had allegedly fought a bear for a 1976 Japanese film titled The Strongest Karate 2. This bout ended when a doctor stopped the fight after both competitors repeatedly fell out of the ring. Although many of the matches were predetermined and scripted, they are seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts (MMA). When asked about Inoki's fighting skills, business colleague Carlson Gracie stated Inoki was "one of the best fighters he'd seen."

His most famous bout was against heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali on 26 June 1976, in Tokyo. Inoki initially promised Ali a predetermined 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 for almost the entire 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.

Personal life

Inoki married American woman Diana (also known as Linda) Tuck in 1965. The couple had a daughter, but Inoki and Tuck separated after two years. Inoki's daughter died at age 8.

Inoki was married to actress Mitsuko Baisho from 1971 to 1987, and together they had a daughter, Hiroko. Inoki married for a third time in 1989, with his third wife giving birth to Inoki's first son. The couple divorced in 2012. Inoki's son attended Columbia University in New York City. In 2014, Inoki took Haroon Abid, nephew of his Pakistani rival Zubair Jhara Pahalwan, under his guardianship. Inoki's fourth wife, Tazuko Tada, died on 27 August 2019.

Inoki has two grandsons, Hirota and Naoto Inoki. Hirota was a swimmer for Santa Monica College, having previously set school records in swimming at El Segundo High School. In June 2023, Hirota was appointed to the board of directors of the Inoki Genki Factory. In January 2024, it was reported that Naoto was training in professional wrestling under Katsuyori Shibata, having previously trained under the staff of the L.A. Inoki Dojo. Naoto additionally trains in mixed martial arts (MMA) at Black House MMA. On 20 July 2024, Naoto made his professional wrestling debut, defeating Casanova at a Backyard Squabbles event.

Inoki had a real-life friendship turned rivalry with former tag team partner Shohei "Giant" Baba, with Inoki vowing to never enter one of Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) rings. In one of his last major public appearances prior to his death, Inoki appeared at an AJPW-promoted memorial show for Baba in February 2019; Inoki paid his respects to his former friend from ringside, unwilling to break his personal vow to never step inside an AJPW ring.

Inoki converted to Shia Islam in 1990 during a pilgrimage to Karbala, the Shiite holy city in Iraq. He had traveled to Iraq to negotiate the release of several Japanese hostages. While in Iraq, Inoki undertook the Islamic moniker Muhammad Hussain Inoki (Arabic: محمد حسين اينوكي, romanized: Muhamad Husayn Aynwky), later reportedly describing himself as both a Muslim convert and a Buddhist. In 2014, Inoki said he was "usually a Buddhist".

Inoki operated a wrestling-themed restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo, named Antonio's Inoki Sakaba Shinjuku. Inoki additionally founded the Anton Trading Company, a food distribution business. One of its major successes was helping to further popularize American-made Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce in Japan. Inoki’s company not only distributed and promoted the sauce for many years in the country, but Inoki himself also appeared as a celebrity spokesperson for Tabasco. His cartoon likeness was used in Tabasco's print advertisements, and he appeared in at least one Japanese television commercial for the sauce.

Death

On 1 October 2022 (30 September in Eastern Time), at age 79, Inoki died from systemic transthyretin amyloidosis. Inoki was given a Buddhist funeral, and bestowed the Buddhist posthumous name Tōgakuin Kikon Kandō Koji (闘覚院機魂寛道居士).

Legacy

American professional wrestling promotion WWE paid tribute to Inoki on the 30 September episode of SmackDown. On 1 October, at Royal Quest II in London, England, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) held a ten-bell salute for Inoki. Numerous other Japanese promotions would additionally hold ten-bell salutes for Inoki in the weeks and months following his death. NPB team Yokohama DeNA BayStars would play Inoki's theme song, "Inoki Bombaye" (itself a remix of "Ali Bombaye (Zaire Chant) I" from Muhammad Ali's 1977 biographical film), at their games as a tribute to Inoki following his death.

On 4 October, NJPW announced that they had made Inoki the promotion's Honorary Chairman for Life prior to his passing. On 10 October, during Declaration of Power, the first NJPW event held in Japan since Inoki's death, the promotion held a second ten-bell salute for Inoki.

On 28 December, Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye x Ganryujima, a memorial show honoring Inoki, was organized by the Inoki Genki Factory in collaboration with Samurai Warriors Ganryujima and NJPW. Three days later, on 31 December, mixed martial arts promotion Rizin held their Rizin 40 event as a memorial for Inoki. On 4 January 2023, NJPW held their Wrestle Kingdom 17 event in tribute to Inoki. On 9 June, NJPW, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Noah held All Together: Again to celebrate Inoki's legacy.

On 16 January 2023, Inoki was posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Government of Japan. On that same day, it was announced that Inoki had been awarded the Junior Fourth Rank in Japan's ikai court ranks system. On 9 June, the Japan Anniversary Association declared 1 October to be Antonio Inoki Fighting Spirit Day. On 9 September, a statue of Inoki was unveiled at Sōji-ji, a large Zen temple in Yokohama.

America's All Elite Wrestling held an event on 1 October 2023, the one-year anniversary of Inoki's death, titled WrestleDream that was organized in honor of Inoki. WrestleDream has since been established as an annual event held by AEW in tribute to Inoki.

On 14 December 2024, the Antonio Inoki Memorial Show was organized in Shanghai, China by NJPW and various Asia-Pacific Federation of Wrestling promotions.

In media

A character based on Inoki called "Kanji Igari" appears in the Japanese manga series Baki the Grappler by Keisuke Itagaki.

Inoki appears in the manga and anime series Tiger Mask, in a secondary role: he is the only one who was able to win over Naoto "Tiger Mask" Date, with the two subsequently becoming best friends.

Under the names "Kanta Inokuma" and "Armand Inokuma", Inoki appears in the manga Rasputin the Patriot by Takashi Nagasaki and Junji Itō, a manga heavily based on the book Trap of the State written by ex-diplomat and political writer Masaru Satō. This manga reveals Inoki's experience when he visited Russia to meet with vice president of the Soviet Union Gennady Yanayev in May 1991, three months before the Soviet coup attempt. According to the manga, Inoki correctly predicted that Yanayev would be the one to lead the coup d'état attempt in August.

Inoki appeared in the film The Bad News Bears Go to Japan as himself. A subplot in his scenes involved Inoki seeking a rematch with Ali. Gene LeBell, 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 Tony Curtis), when Beaudine suddenly becomes unavailable to participate. Professional wrestler Héctor Guerrero served as Curtis's stunt double for the wrestling portions of this scene.

Inoki had the starring role in the film Acacia directed by Jinsei Tsuji.

In Oh!Great's manga Air Gear, Inoki is regularly referred to by the author, and by the manga's characters as an influence on their fighting style. The manga also makes several references to Inoki's large chin.

Inoki made an appearance as the guest in 2005 Doraemon episode "The Pitch-Black Pop Stars", where he wrestled Gian after he splashed ink on his face.

Several episodes of the Japanese comedy show Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, most notably 2007's "Do Not Laugh at the Hospital" and 2009's "Do Not Laugh as a Hotel Man", have included parodies of Inoki. In the former, three "patients" are presented as being Inoki, with each imitating Inoki's in-ring persona; while in the latter, the guest known only as "Shin Onii" was asked to imitate Inoki as if he were a hotel bellhop.

Wrestlers trained

Wrestlers trained by Antonio Inoki or the Inoki Dojo:

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club

Lou Thesz Award (2004)

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Class of 2005

International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Class of 2021

Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance

NWA International Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Shohei Baba

All Asia Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Michiaki Yoshimura (3) and Kintarō Ōki (1)

11th World Big League

1st World Tag League with Kantaro Hoshino

2nd World Tag League with Seiji Sakaguchi

National Wrestling Federation

NWF Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship (original version) (2 times)

NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time) – with Seiji Sakaguchi

Real World Championship (1 time)