Antonio Inoki passed away-October 1, 2022
Posted: 02 Oct 2022, 18:43
Confolences to his family and friends.
BoxRec
Antonio Inoki passed away-October 1, 2022
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Re: Antonio Inoki passed away-October 1, 2022
Posted: 02 Oct 2022, 18:43
Condolences-pardon me.
Re: Antonio Inoki passed away-October 1, 2022
Posted: 03 Oct 2022, 12:12
One of the most influential people in modern Combat Sports in many ways.
He's a guy that if he hadn't lived, and done what he done. The World of Pro Wrestling and MMA today might be radically different. MMA for instance might not exist at all if not for The Ali vs Inoki bout. Inoki I know was a driving force behind Pride FC in Japan which was one of the premier MMA organizations in the formative years of MMA as an organized sport as it's come to be in the 21st Century.
And obviously for those that don't know he's an absolute God of Pro Wrestling in Japan. Founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Which is probably still to this day the biggest Pro Wrestling promotion going in Japan. For years he had a huge rivalry with Giant Baba's All Japan promotion, but since the death of Baba ultimately Inoki's New Japan has stood the test of time better over there.
His influence cannot be overstated. If he hadn't lived and gotten involved in Pro Wrestling the World of both Pro Wrestling and MMA would be radically different, and therefore the World at large would be a good bit different. This guy had an enormous impact on these sports, that will be felt long, long, long after he's gone.
Farewell Mr. Inoki.
He's a guy that if he hadn't lived, and done what he done. The World of Pro Wrestling and MMA today might be radically different. MMA for instance might not exist at all if not for The Ali vs Inoki bout. Inoki I know was a driving force behind Pride FC in Japan which was one of the premier MMA organizations in the formative years of MMA as an organized sport as it's come to be in the 21st Century.
And obviously for those that don't know he's an absolute God of Pro Wrestling in Japan. Founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Which is probably still to this day the biggest Pro Wrestling promotion going in Japan. For years he had a huge rivalry with Giant Baba's All Japan promotion, but since the death of Baba ultimately Inoki's New Japan has stood the test of time better over there.
His influence cannot be overstated. If he hadn't lived and gotten involved in Pro Wrestling the World of both Pro Wrestling and MMA would be radically different, and therefore the World at large would be a good bit different. This guy had an enormous impact on these sports, that will be felt long, long, long after he's gone.
Farewell Mr. Inoki.Re: Antonio Inoki passed away-October 1, 2022
Posted: 02 Jan 2023, 23:36
As a pro wrestler, he was one of the best. A student of the legendary Karl Gotch he prided himself on realistic matches in that Strong Style which in reality is classic Catch wrestling. His crossover matches with Karl Mildenberger and Chuck Wepner, for example, looked like the real deal with the exception of the finishes.
How respected and admired was he? Let's put it this way he's one of the very few people who was ever allowed to have a clean victory over Andre the Giant in his prime and the only man to have beaten Andre with a submission hold. So yeah Inoki was greatly admired and respected around the world.
As far as his legacy as a promoter New Japan Pro Wrestling which he started in my view was a superior product to other promotions going on in Japan such as Giant Baba's All Japan. His legacy in MMA cannot be overstated not just because of his match with Muhammad Ali but with the fact that many of the early MMA fighters and promoters in Japan got their start with Antonio Inoki.
I think he's still holds a record for the highest attended professional wrestling match in history when he defeated Ric Flair in North Korea in the early 1990s which I think over 100,000 people were there to watch the match although one might put an asterisk next to that record considering the people of North Korea were essentially forced to go to the event.
One might also give him the credit for making Hulk Hogan an international star because had Inoki not allowed Hogan to "knock him out" in front of Japanese audiences it would have been a harder sell perhaps to have put the world title on Hogan the following year in 1984, because the mindset back then was that the world's champion ought to have some sort of scientific wrestling background or at least be a genuine badass. The win over Antonio Inoki basically made Hogan credible on the international scene.
How respected and admired was he? Let's put it this way he's one of the very few people who was ever allowed to have a clean victory over Andre the Giant in his prime and the only man to have beaten Andre with a submission hold. So yeah Inoki was greatly admired and respected around the world.
As far as his legacy as a promoter New Japan Pro Wrestling which he started in my view was a superior product to other promotions going on in Japan such as Giant Baba's All Japan. His legacy in MMA cannot be overstated not just because of his match with Muhammad Ali but with the fact that many of the early MMA fighters and promoters in Japan got their start with Antonio Inoki.
I think he's still holds a record for the highest attended professional wrestling match in history when he defeated Ric Flair in North Korea in the early 1990s which I think over 100,000 people were there to watch the match although one might put an asterisk next to that record considering the people of North Korea were essentially forced to go to the event.
One might also give him the credit for making Hulk Hogan an international star because had Inoki not allowed Hogan to "knock him out" in front of Japanese audiences it would have been a harder sell perhaps to have put the world title on Hogan the following year in 1984, because the mindset back then was that the world's champion ought to have some sort of scientific wrestling background or at least be a genuine badass. The win over Antonio Inoki basically made Hogan credible on the international scene.