There is arguably nobody who has had a bigger impact on professional wrestling, and combat sports in general, than the Japanese legend, Antonio Inoki. Wrestling all over the world as well as starting his own wrestling promotion, Inoki was one of the top stars in Japan. His early forays into mixed martial arts were a precursor to the MMA boom of the early 2000s.

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Inoki spent his life using combat sports as a platform for peace, a philosophy he translated into a political career later in his life. Since his passing on October 1, 2022, the wrestling world has been united in their grief, while reflecting on the immeasurable impact Inoki has had on professional wrestling. The strong style of wrestling that he pioneered is being showcased regularly on AEW shows, his influence will live on long after his passing. Without further ado, let's look at 10 things wrestling fans should know about Antonio Inoki.

10 Antonio Inoki Was Raised In Brazil

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Antonio Inoki was a natural athlete, excelling as a shot putter. Inoki's family, amidst the hardships of post-war Japan, moved to Brazil when Inoki was 14, but Antonio continued with his athletic career, winning All Brazilian Championships in both the shot put and discus events.

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It was in Brazil where Inoki was first introduced to Japanese wrestling and sumo legend, Rikidozan, who invited Inoki to train in pro wrestling in Japan.

9 Breaking Into The Business

rikidozan and antonio inoki

Rikidozan enlisted the aid of renowned shoot wrestler Karl Gotch to train Inoki, featuring him in matches on his Japanese Pro Wrestling Association shows. After Rikidozan's murder, Inoki continued to work and train with JWA until he was sent on an excursion, as is tradition for Japanese wrestlers. The training by Gotch would serve Inoki well in later years as often the top fighters of nations he visited would break from the arranged match, but Inoki was never beaten in an unplanned shoot.

8 His Tag Team & Split With Giant Baba

Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, and Karl Gotch

After his time wrestling abroad as part of his training, Inoki returned to JWA, forming a dominant team with one of his fellow trainees, Giant Baba. The two towering men would dominate the tag team scene, winning the NWA International Tag Team Titles on four occasions.

RELATED: Ranking All Non-Japanese IWGP Heavyweight ChampionsThis team was dissolved when Inoki was released once it was discovered he had been conspiring to buy the promotion. The professional jealousy between the two would continue throughout their careers, never leading to a one-on-one match.

7 Is The Founder Of New Japan Pro Wrestling

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In 1972, Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling, which 50 years later is the biggest wrestling promotion in Japan. The first show was headlined by Inoki and his mentor Karl Gotch, establishing what would become known as Japanese Strong Style as the style of the promotion. As Giant Baba had the NWA connections, Inoki would instead bring in shoot fighters from around the world to establish NJPW as a more sport-based wrestling promotion.

6 His Infamous Fight With Muhammad Ali

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Due to the NWA's connections with Baba, NJPW would often have Inoki showcase Strong Style by bringing in fighters from around the world from other disciplines. The most famous one of these cross-discipline contests was against boxing great, Muhammad Ali.

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The match itself was difficult to watch as neither of the men agreed to lose, so it turned into a shoot fight with some bizarre stipulations, with Inoki spending most of the match in a defensive position on the mat.

5 Antonio Inoki's Political Pursuits

inoki politics

After retiring from wrestling, Inoki formed the Sports And Peace party, and in 1989 was elected to the Japanese House Of Councilors. During this time he embarked on a "one-man unofficial diplomatic mission" to Iran to meet with Iraqi President Sadam Hussain to negotiate for the release of Japanese hostages before the outbreak of the Gulf War. Inoki put on a wrestling event in Iraq, resulting in the release of 36 Japanese nationals.

4 He Ventured To Host A North Korea Wrestling Event

flair inoki korea

Collision In Korea was an event promoted in North Korea by Antonio Inoki, in what was planned to be a way of uniting North Korea and Japan, but instead was turned into one of the biggest cases of sport-washing in history. The event featured WCW talent as well as New Japan talent and was headlined by Ric Flair Vs Antonio Inoki in what would be the only match these two icons of wrestling would have in front of a record-setting 190,000 people.

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Inoki was discouraged by the Japanese government to promote this event, and as a result, he was suspended from parliament for 30 days.

3 Island Death Match

masa saito inoki

One of the best rivalries of Inoki's career was with Masa Saito, the two engaged in a series of bloody battles. This all led to their play-off match, an island deathmatch, on the island of Ganryujima, famous in Japanese culture for the historic battle between two samurai. The two modern-day warriors would battle all over the uninhabited island for two hours before Inoki won by TKO in what is considered the very first cinematic match.

2 Inoki Was A True Global Star

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Despite never becoming a star in America, Inoki is still one of the most recognizable names in the world of professional wrestling, with Inoki often bringing international talents to NJPW on the promise he would wrestle in their home country, often ignoring political tensions between nations, endearing him to the people of places like Korea, China, Pakistan, and Iraq.

Inoki would wrestle for WCW as part of his retirement tour against Steven Regal as a tribute to his former rival. Regal was trained by Robinson's student, Marty Jones.

1 Unrecognized WWE Champion

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While the history books show Bob Backland's first reign as WWE Champion at an uninterrupted five-and-a-half-year reign, Backland actually lost the title to Inoki in Japan in 1979, then the rematch was ruled a no-contest due to interference from NJPW star Tiger Jeet Singh. Inoki refused to carry the title he retained in such a fashion, vacating it, with Backland defeating Bobby Duncum in a Texas Death Match to regain his title, with WWE acknowledging Antonio's title reign on the SmackDown following Inoki's passing.