Antonio Inoki

At 81 years old, Antonio Inoki has this physical status:

Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born Kanji Inoki on February 20, 1943) is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, and politician.

Antonio Inoki, a nod to fellow professional wrestler Antonino Rocca, is his best known. Inoki began his wrestling career in the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) under Rikidozan's tutelage.

Inoki rose quickly to become one of Japan's most popular wrestlers.

Inoki transformed his wrestling career into one of Japan's most popular athletes, with his 1976 victory over world champion boxer Muhammad Ali.

The war against Ali served as a precursor to modern day mixed martial arts.

In 1995, Ric Flair, Inoki headlined two shows in North Korea that attracted 150,000 and 190,000 spectators, the highest attendances in professional wrestling history, with Ric Flair and Inoki.

Inoki was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010. Inoki began his working career in 1972 when he founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

He remained the owner of NJPW until 2005, when he sold his majority stake in the promotion to the Yuke's video game company.

In 2007, he established the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF).

In 2017, Inoki founded ISM and the following year, IGF was established.

In 1989, while still an active wrestler, Inoki joined politics as he was elected to the Japanese House of Councillors.

Inoki successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the Gulf War broke out.

His first term in the House of Councillors began in 1995, but he was reelected in 2013.

In 2019, Inoki resigned from politics.

Early life

Inoki was born in a wealthy family in Yokohama in 1943. He was the sixth son and the second-youngest of the seven boys and four girls. Sajiro Inoki, a businessman and politician, died when Kanji was five years old. When Inoki was in 6th grade, an older brother taught karate. He was 180 centimeters tall and joined the basketball team by the time he was in 7th grade at Terao Junior High School. He later left and joined a track and field team as a shot putter. He eventually earned the championship at the Yokohama Junior High School track and field tournament.

The family lived in the postwar years, and the 14-year-old Inoki immigrated to Brazil with his grandfather, mother, and brothers. On the way to Brazil, his grandfather died. Inoki captured regional championships in Brazil in shot put, discus throw, and javelin throw, as well as the All Brazilian championships in the shot put and discus.

Personal life

Inoki was married to actress Mitsuko Baisho from 1971 to 1987, and the couple had a daughter, Hiroko. Inoki took Haroon Abid, nephew of Pakistani competitor Zubair Jhara Pahalwan, under his guardianship in 2014. Inoki Shinjuku, Tokyo, operated a wrestling themed restaurant named Inoki Sakaba Shinjuku. Tazuko Tada, Inoki's fourth wife, died on August 27, 2019. In 2021, it was announced that spinal abnormalities had limited Inoki to a wheelchair.

Inoki converted to Shia Islam in 1990 during a pilgrimage to Karbala, Iraq's Shiite holy city. He was in Iraq negotiating for the release of several Japanese hostages. Inoki was bestowed the Islamic moniker Muhammad Hussain Inoki, but later described himself as both a Muslim convert and a Buddhist. Inoki said he was "usually a Buddhist" in 2014.

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Professional wrestling career

At the age of 17, Inoki met Rikidzan in Brazil and returned to Japan as his disciple for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA). He trained in the JWA under the legendary Karl Gotch, expanding his education under amateur wrestler Isao Yoshiwara and kosen judoka Kiyotsubo. Giant Baba, one of his dojo buddies, was one of his dojo heroes. Inoki worked in Baba's shadow until he left for a trip to the United States in 1964, after Rikidozan's assassination.

Inoki found a new home in Tokyo Pro Wrestling, after a long bout of wrestling in the United States. Inoki became the country's biggest celebrity while there. The company did not exist in 1967 due to internal chaos behind the scenes.

Inoki was born in late 1967 and dominated the tag team rankings as the "B-I Cannon," winning the NWA International Tag Team Championship belts four times.

Inoki, who was fired from JWA in late 1971 for planning a takeover of the company, established New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 1972. He was beaten in his first match as a New Japan wrestler against Karl Gotch. Lou Thesz was his first opponent in 1975, with Inoki presenting a dramatic Greco-Roman backdrop in the first seconds of the match.

In 1976, Inoki defeated Pakistani Akram Pahalwan in a special rules match. The match 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 contest with a double wrist lock, injuring Pahalwan's arm after the latter refused to submit. This finish was not scripted and was fought for real, not scripted, according to referee Mr. Takahashi, after the match's initial flow became undone.

Inoki was participating in a 1976 match against former strongman and professional wrestler Antonio Barichievich, better known as The Great Antonio. Barichievich began no-selling Inoki's attacks and then stifling Inoki; Inoki retaliated by shootinging on Barichievich, knocking him down with palm strikes and kicks, and then stomping his head repeatedly as he lay on the ground until the match was called off.

In June 1979, Inoki defeated Akram's countryman Jhara Pahalwan, this time in a regular match, but lost the fight in the fifth round. Haroon Abid, Jhara's nephew, will be taken under guardianship in 2014, 22 years since Zubair Jhara's death.

Inoki won the tournament on November 30, 1979, beating WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund in Tokushima, Japan. Backlund then won a rematch on December 6. However, WWF President Hisashi Shinma declared the re-match a no contest due to Tiger Jeet Singh's interference, and Inoki remained Champion. Inoki refused the title on the same day, and it was declared vacant. Backlund won the title on December 12 after defeating Bobby Duncum in a Texas Death match. Inoki's reign is unrivaled by WWE in its WWF/WWE championship history, and Backlund's tenure as a whole period from 1978 to 1983 is unsurpassed.

In 1995, the Japanese and North Korean governments united in Pyongyang, North Korea, for a two-day wrestling festival for peace. The Rungnado May Day Stadium attracted 165,000 and 190,000 fans respectively. Inoki and Ric Flair's only match between them was played, with Inoki coming out on top. Inoki and the Korean media paid their respects to Inoki's grave and birthplace in Rikiddzan days before the festival.

Inoki's retirement from professional wrestling came as a result of the production of the "Final Countdown" series between 1994 and 1998. This was a special edition in which Inoki revived some of his mixed martial arts matches under professional wrestling laws, as well as rematches of some of his most popular wrestling matches. Inoki made a rare World Championship Wrestling appearance defeating WCW World Television Champion Steven Regal in a non-title match at Clash of the Champions XXVIII. Inoki defeated Don Frye in the final official match of his professional wrestling career on April 4, 1998. After retiring, Inoki will appear in four exhibition matches. Inoki was defeated by Japanese actor and singer Hideaki Takizawa in March 11, 2000, but Inoki was defeated by Renzo Gracie to a time limit draw later this year. Inoki wrestled Giant Silva and Red & White Mask on December 31, 2001, and two years later, Inoki wrestled Inoki in his last match of his career against Tatsumi Fujinami as part of Fujinami's retirement celebration.

Yuke's, a Japanese television company, bought Inoki's controlling 55.1 percent stock in New Japan in 2005.

Inoki Genome Federation, a new Inoki Genome Federation, was established two years ago in 2007. Inoki will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010. Inoki was given a Hall of Fame certificate by WWE's Ed Wells and announced that he would attend the WrestleMania XXVI weekend festivities, during which Stan Hansen inducted him into the hall.

In 2017, Inoki formed ISM, a new company. On June 24 of this year, ISM held its first function. Inoki left the IGF on March 23, 2018.

In October 2019, Inoki attended Pro Wrestling Zero1 at the Yasukuni Shrine, which is also known for its connection to World War II.

Political career

Inoki took up politics in 1989, following in his father's footsteps, when he was elected into the House of Councillors as a representative of his Own Sport and Peace Party in the 1989 Japanese House of Councillors election.

Inoki, the original Muhammad Ali, traveled to Iraq in 1990 as part of "an unofficial one-man diplomatic mission" and successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the Gulf War began. It was then that he personally arranged a wrestling tournament in Iraq for the sole purpose of liberating the 41 captive Japanese nationals, which was eventually a partial success with 36 Japanese nationals eventually released. He subsequently resigned in the 1992 Japanese House of Councillors election. Following a string of scandals that emerged in 1994, he did not win re-election in the 1995 Japanese House of Councillors election, and he stayed politics for the next eighteen years.

Inoki revealed on June 5, 2013 that he would run for a 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.

He was banned from the Diet for 30 days in November 2013 after making an illicit trip to North Korea. On the 60th anniversary of the armistice's surrender in the Korean War, he had visited Kim Yong-nam, a senior North Korean figure. This was Inoki's 27th visit to North Korea, although he said in an interview that North Korean abductions of Japanese civilians had prompted the Japanese government to "close the door" on diplomacy with the North, but that the problem could not be addressed without ongoing communication, and that his association with North Korean-born Rikidzan was a vital link to the North's people.

Following another visit to North Korea, he is thought to have been considering running for governor of Tokyo in 2014.

Inoki was the splinter of the Japanese Restoration Party, or Part of Japanese Kokoro, in 2014. He was able to found the Assembly to Energize Japan in January 2015, which he left in 2016, to sit in the 'Independence Club.'

In the aftermath of North Korea's launch of ballistic missiles over Hokkaido, Inoki regained his position in September that Japan should make more effort to have co-operative talks with North Korea. Another of Inoki's turbulent travels to the region was a success.

In June 2019, Inoki announced that he would step down from politics.

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