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Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz^[2] (Born Lajos Tiza^[3] April 24, 1916 - April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler and 6-time^[4] world champion, most notably holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 days total), longer than anyone else in history. Among his many accomplishments, he is credited with inventing a number of professional wrestling techniques such as the belly to back waistlock suplex (later known as the German suplex due to its association with Karl Gotch), the Lou Thesz press, STF and the original powerbomb.

He is generally considered to be among the greatest professional wrestlers of the 20th century.

Wrestling career[link]

Born in Banat, Michigan, Thesz's family moved to St. Louis when he was a young boy.^[2] His working-class immigrant parents hailed from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Beginning in Thesz's early youth, his father personally gave him a tough and thorough education in Greco-Roman wrestling, which provided the fundamentals for his later success. While in high school he was a successful freestyle wrestling competitor on his school team; as he recalled many years later, he and a friend once "worked" a dramatic match against each other at a tournament, and were amused when nobody could see how much they were faking. As a teenager, he also trained in amateur wrestling with legendary wrestler Ad Santel. Thesz made his professional wrestling debut in 1932, at the age of 16. He soon met Ed "Strangler" Lewis, the biggest wrestling star of the 1920s, who taught a young Lou the art of "hooking" (the ability to stretch your opponent with painful holds). The two formed a lasting friendship. By 1937, Thesz had become one of the biggest stars in the St. Louis territory, and on December 29 he defeated Everett Marshall for the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title, the first of many World Heavyweight Championships. Thesz became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history, at the age of 21.^[1] Thesz dropped the title to Steve "Crusher" Casey in Boston six weeks later. He won the title again in 1939, once again defeating Marshall, and again in 1948, defeating Bill Longson.

In 1948, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was formed, the purpose being to create one World Champion for all the various wrestling territories throughout North America. Orville Brown, the reigning Midwest World Heavyweight Title holder, was named the first champion. Thesz, at the time, was head of a promotional combine that included fellow wrestling champions Longson, Bobby Managoff, Canadian promoter Frank Tunney and Eddie Quinn, who promoted in the St. Louis territory where NWA promoter Sam Muchnick was running opposition. Quinn and Muchnick ended their promotional war, and Thesz' promotion was absorbed into the NWA. Part of the deal was a title unification match between Brown and Thesz, who held the National Wrestling Association's World Title. Unfortunately, just weeks before the scheduled bout, Brown was involved in an automobile accident that ended his career. He was forced to vacate the championship and the NWA awarded the title to the #1 contender, Thesz. Thesz was chosen for his skill as a "hooker" to prevent double crosses by would-be shooters who would deviate from the planned finish for personal glory.

Between 1949 and 1956, Thesz set out to unify all the existing World Titles into the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In 1952 he defeated Baron Michele Leone in Los Angeles for the California World Heavyweight title and became the first undisputed World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion since the days of Frank Gotch and Georg Hackenschmidt. Thesz finally dropped the Title to Whipper Billy Watson in 1956, and took several months off to recuperate from an ankle injury. He regained the title from Watson seven months later.

1957 was an important year for Thesz; on June 14, the first taint to Thesz' claim of undisputed Champion occurred in a match with gymnast-turned-wrestling star, Edouard Carpentier. The match was tied at two falls apiece when Thesz claimed a back injury and forfeit the last fall. Carpentier was declared the winner, but the NWA chose not to recognize the title change, deciding a championship could not change hands due to injury. Despite the NWA's decision, there were some promotions who continued to recognize Carpentier's claim to the World Heavyweight title. That same year, Thesz became the first wrestler to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Japan, wrestling Rikidōzan in a series of 60 minute draws. Their bouts popularized pro wrestling in Japan, gaining the sport mainstream acceptance. Realizing he could make more money in the land of the rising sun, Thesz petitioned to the NWA promoters to regularly defend the belt in Japan. His request was turned down, and Thesz asked to drop the title to his own hand picked champion, Dick Hutton, rather than Thesz's real-life rival and the more popular choice, Buddy Rogers. Thesz would embark on a tour of Europe and Japan, billing himself as the NWA International Champion; this title is still recognized as a part of All Japan Pro Wrestling's Triple Crown Championship.

In 1963, Thesz came out of semi-retirement to win his sixth World Heavyweight Championship from Buddy Rogers at the age of 46. Legend has it that Rogers was having second thoughts about dropping the title, and Thesz responded by saying, "we could do this the easy way or the hard way". He would hold the title until 1966 when, at the age of 49, he was dethroned by Gene Kiniski.

Thesz wrestled on a part-time basis over the next 13 years, winning his last major Title in 1978, in Mexico, becoming the inaugural Universal Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Champion at the age of 62, before dropping the championship to El Canek a year later. Thesz officially retired in 1979, after a match with Luke Graham. He remained retired for the most part, before wrestling his last match on December 26, 1990 in Hamamatsu, Japan at the age of 74, against his protégé, Masahiro Chono.^[1] This made him the only male wrestler to wrestle in seven different decades.^[1]

Post-wrestling career[link]

After retiring, Thesz became a promoter, manager, color commentator, trainer and occasionally, a referee for important matches. Some famous matches he refereed include:

• Antonio Inoki vs. Tatsumi Fujinami at Tokyo Gym, 09/19/85
• Big Van Vader vs. Shinya Hashimoto in the IWGP Championship Tournament Finals at Tokyo Dome, 4/24/89,
• Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes for the NWA Heavyweight Championship, 9/17/81 ^[5]

Thesz became the president of the Cauliflower Alley Club in 1992, an organization for retired pro wrestlers; a position he held until 2000. He became a trainer for the Union of Wrestling Force International, and lent the promotion one of his old NWA Title belts, which they recognized as their own World Title. As an announcer, Thesz was the color commentator for International World Class Championship Wrestling's weekly television show. In 1999, his name was given to the Lou Thesz/George Tragos Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame for professional wrestling stars with a successful amateur background at the International Wrestling Institute & Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, where he was an inaugural inductee. Thesz was honored by a ceremony at WWF's Badd Blood 1997^[1] as being both the youngest and oldest World Heavyweight Champion at ages 21 and 50, respectively (technically, Verne Gagne holds the record for oldest champ, when he held the AWA Championship in 1980 at age 54).

Thesz wrote an autobiography, Hooker. He underwent a triple bypass surgery for an aortic valve replacement on April 9, 2002, but died due to complications on April 28, 2002 in Orlando, Florida.^[6]

Personal life[link]

Thesz was married three times. His first marriage to Evelyn Katherine Ernst in March 22, 1937.^[7] Thesz was convalescing from a severe knee injury suffered in 1939 and from 1941 to 1944 and worked as a dog breeder and trainer for Dogs for Defense and later as a supervisor for the Todd Houston Shipyard.^[7] He divorced his first wife in 1944 and at the shipyard, Thesz met his second wife, Fredda Huddleston Winter with whom he fathered three children, Jeff Thesz, Robert Thesz and Patrick Thesz.^[7] Thesz was drafted into the army in 1944 despite a legitimate injury to his knee and multiple medical deferments. He was placed into medic training and eventually teaching hand to hand combat defense for medics and was discharged in 1946.^[7] Thesz's 2nd marriage came to an end in 1975.^[7] He married Charlie Catherine Thesz and remained with her for the rest of his life.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Bridging belly to back suplex
  • STF – innovated

• Signature moves
  • Backbreaker submission
  • Belly to back waist-lock suplex – innovated
  • Double wrist-lock
  • Headlock
  • Lou Thesz Press^[8] – innovated
  • Powerbomb – innovated

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• American Wrestling Association

• AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Boston version) (1 time)
• AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Ohio version) (1 time)

• Cauliflower Alley Club

• Iron Mike Mazurki Award (1998)

• International Wrestling Enterprise

• TWWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• International Wrestling Institute and Museum

• George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall of Fame (1999)

• Japan Wrestling Association

• NWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Montreal Athletic Commission

• World Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version) (4 times)

• National Wrestling Alliance

• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)¹
• NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

• NWA All-Star Wrestling

• NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) – with The Outlaw

• NWA Mid-America

• NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) – with Jackie Fargo

• National Wrestling Association

• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)²

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Stanley Weston Award (1982)

• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

• Pioneer Era (Class of 2002)

• Southwest Sports, Inc.

• Texas Heavyweight Championship (3 times)³

• Stampede Wrestling

• Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame^[9]

• St. Louis Wrestling Club

• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• St. Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame

• Class of 2007

• Universal Wrestling Association

• UWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• World Championship Wrestling

• WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1993)

• World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)

• WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

• Other titles

• World Heavyweight Championship (original version) (2 times)⁴
• World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles) (1 time)

Notes[link]

¹Records are unclear as to where Thesz first won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and which promotion he was wrestling in when he won it. ^[10]
2The World Heavyweight Championship of the National Wrestling Association is not the same championship nor does it have any connection to the world championship recognized and used by the National Wrestling Alliance.
³Thesz reigns with the title occurred prior to the NWA assuming control of it. In fact, he won the title before the NWA was created.
⁴Thesz also has two reigns with the title before the formation of the NWA and the title being renamed the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Dave Meltzer & John F. Molinaro (2002). Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of all Time. Winding Stair Press. ISBN 1-55366-305-5. 

External links[link]

• Lou Thesz forum
• Lou Thesz Profile - Online World of Wrestling
• Lou Thesz on IMDB.com
• Puroresu.com: Lou Thesz

Eugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian professional wrestler and the father of wrestlers Nick Kiniski and Kelly Kiniski. "Canada's Greatest Athlete" ^[3] as he billed himself for promotional purposes was born outside of Edmonton, Alberta.^[1][4] Kiniski was one of the first World Champions in professional wrestling to have a previous background in football, after Bronko Nagurski.

Early life[link]

One of six children of local politician Julia Kiniski and over six feet tall by the age of seventeen, Gene Kiniski wrestled and played football at St. Joseph's High School. In March 1947, he entered the annual Edmonton School's Boxing and Wrestling Tournament at Westglen gymnasium. Due to his size, he was the lone heavyweight competing.^[5]

Kiniski captured the attention of Annis Stukus, a scout for the Edmonton Eskimos, of the then Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1949, (which later merged with the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union to form the Canadian Football League). Along with Kiniski, wrestlers Al Oeming and Stu Hart were at the training camp as well. Two of his Eskimos teammates were future wrestlers Wilbur Snyder and Joe Blanchard.

He secured himself a spot on the defensive line and his play earned him a scholarship to the University of Arizona.^[5] He was enrolled there from September 18, 1950 to January 26, 1952 and played on the defensive line for Bob Winslow. Rod Fenton recruited Kiniski into professional wrestling in Arizona in 1952.^[5]

He returned to Edmonton to play football for the Eskimos too, and he suffered a torn kneecap in the team’s first game against Saskatchewan in August 1952. Kiniski retired from football in 1953 to resume wrestling full-time.^{[citation needed]}

Birth of a wrestling career[link]

After retiring from football, Kiniski trained with Dory Funk Sr. and Tony Morelli for a wrestling career, eventually making his pro debut on February 13, 1952 in Tucson, Arizona, where he defeated Curly Hughes.^[6] Kiniski’s first exposure on television was in Southern California in 1954 alongside other wrestlers such as Wilbur Snyder and Bobo Brazil. One year later, he teamed up with John Tolos to win his first major championship, the International TV Tag Team title, in Los Angeles, then challenged NWA World Champion Lou Thesz in November 1954.^[5] As an emerging talent, Kiniski got the opportunity to wrestle Lou Thesz at the Olympic Auditorium on November 3, 1954. Kiniski lost in two straight falls.^[5]

From there, Kiniski ventured to San Francisco and teamed with Lord James Blears to win the territory's version of the NWA World Tag Team title three times in 1955; after that, he went to Texas and, wrestling as Gene Kelly, captured the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship in 1956.

Toronto and Montreal Runs[link]

Kiniski began wrestling in his native Canada for the first time in November 1956, debuting for Toronto's Maple Leaf Wrestling. His first main-event match in the territory took place at Maple Leaf Gardens in January 1957, when he teamed with Buddy Rogers against Whipper Billy Watson and Pat O'Connor and saw the beginning of a lengthy feud with Watson that spanned across Canada; the Kiniski-Watson feud gained national exposure due to their matches sometimes being seen on CBC Television. He also challenged NWA World Heavyweight titleholders Watson, Thesz and Dick Hutton for the title on several occasions between 1955 and 1957.

In 1957, Kiniski competed in Montreal and Toronto. His feuds with Whipper Billy Watson, Yukon Eric, Edouard Carpentier, and Pat O’Connor pushed his career further.^[5]

Gene captured the British Empire title from O’Connor on May 2, 1957, and the Montreal version of the world title from Carpentier on June 12, 1957. Kiniski headlined a wrestling card at Delormier stadium in Montreal, where he dropped the Montreal world title to Killer Kowalski on July 17, 1957 in front of 21,000 fans.^[5] In 1959, Kiniski teamed with Don Leo Jonathan, "The Mormon Giant" to win the Canadian Open Tag Team Championship.

Championship runs[link]

Kiniski joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1960 and defeated AWA World Champion Verne Gagne to win the title on July 11, 1961, also capturing the AWA World Tag Team title twice with Hard Boiled Haggerty.^[5] The title reign lasted less than a month. Kiniski won another title in West Texas a year later.

In 1962, Kiniski began what became the peak period of his career when he went to Vancouver to join NWA All Star Wrestling. Early on, he won the NWA British Empire Heavyweight title twice and the Pacific Coast Tag Team title three times, and he challenged again for the NWA World title, taking on Rogers in a main event at Empire Stadium in Vancouver on July 30, 1962 (Rogers beat Kiniski to retain his title), and Thesz in 1963. He made Vancouver his home base while also making appearances in other promotions throughout North America and in Japan, particularly a lengthy stint in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1964; while there, he challenged WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino several times. Kiniski wrestled Sammartino on November 16, 1964 at Madison Square Garden.^[5] Thinking that he had pinned Sammartino in the second fall, Kiniski took the belt and left the ring. Despite being counted out, Kiniski kept the title until a rematch on December 14 settled the matter of who was the real champion.^[5]

He also went to Dick the Bruiser's Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association in December 1965 and captured its World Heavyweight title, holding it for four months. A few weeks later, Kiniski earned the opportunity to contend for the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight title.

The pinnacle of Kiniski's career finally came on January 7, 1966, when he defeated Thesz to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in St. Louis, Missouri in front of 11,612 fans at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.^[5]

Heel champion[link]

Compared to Thesz, Kiniski was a heel and was very comfortable in his role as a “bad guy” world champion.^[5] As world champion, Kiniski wrestled many well-known luminaries. These included Bobo Brazil, Dick the Bruiser, Johnny Valentine, Bill Watts, Edouard Carpentier, Pat O’Connor, and the Funks, Terry and Dory, Jr., respectively.

He travelled worldwide to defend his title during his three-year reign as champion, including making frequent stops back in Vancouver to defend his title in NWA All Star, taking on challengers such as Lou Thesz, Don Leo Jonathan, Dutch Savage, Bill Dromo, Bearcat Wright, John Tolos, Chris Tolos, Abdullah the Butcher, Haystacks Calhoun, Bobby Shane, Dean Higuchi, Tex McKenzie and Paddy Barrett in the promotion.

After stops in Honolulu, Tokyo, and becoming the first World Champion to appear in Los Angeles in more than 11 years in November 1968, Kiniski was exhausted. At the 1968 NWA Convention, Kiniski announced that it was time to step down. He agreed to lose the championship to Dory Funk, Jr, and eventually went down to a spinning toehold on February 11, 1969 in Tampa.^[5] However, he later claimed in a WWE DVD release that the manner of his loss was accidental, as he submitted early to the toehold believing that the match was a two out of three falls encounter.

Into the 1970s[link]

The NWA World title loss was not the end of the line, however, as Kiniski continued winning championships in NWA All Star and elsewhere. He won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight title from Terry Funk in St. Louis on March 16, 1973, while back in Vancouver, he won the Pacific Coast Heavyweight title seven times from 1970 to 1979, and won the Canadian Tag Team title ten times between 1963 and 1976, and in Japan, he captured the NWA International Heavyweight title in 1970.^[5] He also got involved in the promotional side of the business when he joined forces with Sandor Kovacs and Portland promoter Don Owen to acquire the Vancouver territory in the late 1960s; that, combined with Kiniski's NWA World title reign at the time, helped make Vancouver a wrestling hotbed for several years, until Kovacs sold his share in the promotion to Al Tomko in 1977. Kiniski retained his ownership stake in NWA All Star until around 1983.

Kiniski also wrestled for several months in 1970 and 1971 as a masked wrestler, "The Crimson Knight", on local TV (KPLR-TV) matches in St. Louis, Missouri. The storyline continued through numerous attempts to unmask the Knight (his mask was sewn onto his tights, making an easy removal impossible) before he was finally unmasked and revealed to be Kiniski.

Late career[link]

Kiniski remained involved in the sport for a few more years, teaming periodically with his sons, Kelly and Nick, refereeing the main event of the inaugural NWA Starrcade (Ric Flair vs. NWA World Champion Harley Race in a steel cage) in 1983, and later promoting events for Stampede Wrestling and the AWA in Vancouver while occasionally stepping into the ring. His final matches as an active wrestler took place in Winnipeg's West Four Wrestling Alliance on February 25, 1992, defeating "Bulldog" Bob Brown and Randy Rudd in singles matches and teaming with Chris Jericho and Lance Storm to battle Brown, The Natural and Gerry Morrow to a no-contest in a six-man match at a WFWA TV taping in Winnipeg.^[7] He acted as the cornerman for Dory Funk Jr. in a match between Funk and Nick Bockwinkel (with Verne Gagne) at WCW Slamboree in 1993. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, and into the Tragos/Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Newton, Iowa in 2004. In 2000, he was the interim president (commissioner) of All Japan Pro Wrestling's Pacific Wrestling Federation title governing body, but only while they searched for a permanent replacement for Lord James Blears and to present the vacant AJPW Triple Crown Championship to the winner of a tournament. The winner turned out to be Genichiro Tenryu; Kiniski left thereafter, and in 2001 the permanent PWF president was announced as Stan Hansen, who had competed in the tournament and lost to Tenryu in the semifinals.

Acting[link]

In addition to his sports pursuits, Kiniski went into acting on occasion, appearing in the 1978 Sylvester Stallone movie Paradise Alley, as well as Double Happiness (which also starred Sandra Oh) and the made-in-Vancouver cult film Terminal City Ricochet (with former Big Valley regular Peter Breck), playing a bit role as a policeman. On the TV side, he appeared as one of the wrestling legends interviewed on The Comedy Network series Wrestling with the Past, and he served as a commercial pitchman in several TV ads aired in the Vancouver area.^[8] He also made an appearance on an episode of the CBUT arts and entertainment magazine show Zero Avenue in 1993, discussing art with host/interviewer Christine Lippa in a Vancouver-area art gallery.

Death[link]

On April 4, 2010, Jim Ross reported on his blog that Kiniski had "taken a turn for the worse and is battling to stay alive. 'Big Thunder's' cancer has spread to his brain and some speculate that is just a matter of time (before he dies)".^[9] Kiniski died on April 14, 2010, aged 81, at his home in Blaine, Washington.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Backbreaker^[1]

• Nicknames
  • "Big Thunder"^[1]
  • "Canada's Greatest Athlete"^[1]
  • "Gentleman Gene Kininski"^[1]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• American Wrestling Association
  • AWA United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Hard Boiled Haggerty

• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Other honoree (1992)

• Japan Wrestling Association
  • JWA All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Caripus Hurricane
  • NWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Maple Leaf Wrestling
  • NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) (2 times)
  • NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Fritz Von Erich (1) and Don Leo Jonathan (1)
• Montreal Athletic Commission
  • MAC International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• NWA All-Star Wrestling
  • NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times)
  • NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (10 times) - with Mr. X (2), Don Leo Jonathan (1), Bob Brown (2), The Brute (1), Dutch Savage (1), Mr. Saito (1), Dale Lewis (1), and Siegfried Steinke (1)
  • NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (Vancouver Version) (7 times)
  • NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (Vancouver Version) (3 times) - with Killer Kowalski (1) and Hard Boiled Haggerty (2)

• NWA Chicago
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago Version) (1 time) - with Dick Afflis

• NWA Los Angeles
  • NWA Los Angeles International Television Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with John Tolos^[10]

• NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
  • NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii Version) (3 times)
  • NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Lord James Blears

• NWA San Francisco
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (3 times) - with Lord James Blears

• NWA Western States Sports
  • NWA International Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) (1 time)

• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Television Era inductee to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2008)

• Southwest Sports, Inc.
  • NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Len Crosby

• St. Louis Wrestling Club
  • NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• World Wrestling Association
  • WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• World Wide Wrestling Federation
  • WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Waldo Von Erich

• St. Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame
  • (Class of 2007)

• National Wrestling Alliance

• NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)^[11]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gene Kiniski article at SLAM! Wrestling
• Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame profile
• Gene Kiniski at the Internet Movie Database

This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (September 2011)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

Antonio Inoki (アントニオ猪木^?) (born Kanji Inoki (猪木寛至, Inoki Kanji^?) on February 20, 1943) is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides between New York City and Tokyo. He was also the founder and former owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling before selling his controlling share in the promotion to Yukes.^[3][4] He fashioned his name after the wrestler Antonino Rocca as an homage to him.

Early life[link]

Inoki was born in an affluent family in Yokohama in 1943. He was the sixth son and the second youngest of the seven boys and four girls. His father, Sajiro Inoki, a businessman and politician, died when Kanji was five years old. Inoki entered the Higashidai Grade School. 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 180 centimeters tall and joined the basketball team. He later quit and joined a track and field club as a shot putter. He eventually won the championship at the Yokohama Junior High School track and field competition.

The family fell on hard times in the post-war years, and in 1957, the 14 year-old Inoki emigrated to Brazil with his grandfather, mother and brothers. His grandfather died during the journey to Brazil. Inoki won regional championships in Brazil in the shot put, discus throw, and javelin throw, and finally the All Brazilian championships in the shot put and discus.^[5]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Japan Wrestling Association (1960–1966)[link]

Inoki met Rikidōzan at the age of 17. He went back to Japan for the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) as Rikidōzan's disciple. One of his dojo classmates was Giant Baba. After Rikidozan's death, Inoki worked in Baba's shadow until he joined the original Tokyo Pro Wrestling in 1966.

Tokyo Pro Wrestling (1966–1967)[link]

After wrestling a long excursion in the United States, Inoki found a new home in Tokyo Pro Wrestling. While there, Inoki became their biggest star. Unfortunately, the company folded in 1967, due to turmoil behind the scenes.

Japan Wrestling Association (1967–1971)[link]

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 belts four times. Wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino tells a story about Inoki trying to "shoot" on him during a tag match in Osaka to build his reputation against the then-world champ. Bruno powered out of the hold, pounded Inoki mercilessly and threw him out of the ring. Inoki refused to re-enter the ring with Sammartino and tagged in Baba to finish the match.^{[citation needed]}

New Japan Pro Wrestling (1972–1994)[link]

Fired from JWA in late 1971 for planning a takeover of the promotion, Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1972. His first match as a New Japan wrestler was against Karl Gotch. In 1995 the Japanese and Korean governments came together to hold a two-day wrestling festival for peace in Pyongyang, North Korea. The event drew 150,000 and 190,000 fans respectively to 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.

On November 30, 1979, Inoki defeated WWF Champion Bob Backlund in Tokushima, Japan to win the title. Backlund then won a re-match on December 6. 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 December 12. As Inoki refused the title his reign is not included nor is it recognized by WWE in its official history and Backlund is recognized as having one reign from 1978–1983.

Final countdown and retirement (1994–present)[link]

Inoki's retirement from professional wrestling matches came with the staging of the "Final Countdown" series between 1994 and 1998. This was a special series in which Inoki re-lived some of his mixed martial arts matches under professional wrestling rules, as well as rematches of some of his most well known wrestling matches. Inoki faced Don Frye in the final match of his professional wrestling career.

Culminating in 2006, Inoki's influence within New Japan declined. An example of this has been the purchase of his image by YUKE's, who in 2005 purchased his controlling 51.5% stock in New Japan. As a result New Japan is now able to control Inoki's appearances and the use of his image. Inoki began a new promotion in 2007 called Inoki Genome Federation that competes with New Japan.

On February 1, 2010, World Wrestling Entertainment announced on its Japanese website that Inoki would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010. On February 9, WWE held a press conference in Tokyo, Japan to officially announce the induction, making him the first ever Japanese person to receive the induction.^[6] Inoki was presented with a Hall of Fame certificate by WWE's Ed Wells and stated that he would be attending the WrestleMania XXVI weekend festivities, which saw him officially inducted.

Mixed martial arts[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (September 2011)

Inoki was amongst the group of professional wrestlers who were tutored in the art of hooking and shooting by the professional wrestler Karl Gotch. Inoki named his method of fighting "strong style". This method of wrestling (which was taught to Inoki by Gotch) borrowed heavily from professional wrestling's original catch wrestling roots. It is one of the most important influences of modern shoot wrestling. Inoki is also one of the founders of Kansuiryu Karate.^[7]

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 wrestlers. . These bouts included a match a match with then-prominent karate competitor Everett Eddy.^[8] Eddy had previously competed in a mixed skills bout against boxer Horst Geisler, losing by knockout.^[9] The bout with Eddy ended with the karateka "knocked out" by a professional wrestling powerbomb followed by a Hulk Hogan-esque leg drop, strongly suggesting a pre-determined outcome.^[10] Another such match pitted Inoki against 6'7" Kyokushin karate stylist Willie "The Bear Killer" Williams. (So-called because he had allegedly fought a bear for a 1976 Japanese film entitled "The Strongest Karate 2".^[11]) This bout ended in a doctor stoppage after both competitors repeatedly fell out of the ring.^[12] Although many of the matches were worked, they are seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts.

Perhaps his most famous bout was against heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali on June 26, 1976 in Tokyo.^[13] Inoki initially promised Ali a worked 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. A rule change that had a major effect on the outcome of this match was that Inoki could only throw a kick if one of his knees was on the ground.^[13] In the match, Ali landed a total of six punches to Inoki, and Inoki kept to his back in a defensive position almost the full duration of the match of 15 rounds, hitting Ali with a low kick repeatedly.^[14] 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 leg kicks.^[15]

Following his retirement, Inoki has promoted a number of MMA events such as NJPW: Ultimate Crush (which showcased pro wrestling matches and MMA matches on the same card), as well as annual Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye shows which took place on New Year's Eve in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Some of the major attractions of these events involve the best of NJPW against world renowned fighters in mixed martial arts matches. Inoki vs. Renzo Gracie was a professional wrestling match that took place at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2000 against mixed martial artist Renzo Gracie. Inoki was also the ambassador for the International Fight League's Tokyo entry before that promotion's demise.

Personal life[link]

Inoki was married to actress Mitsuko Baisho from 1971 to 1987.^{[citation needed]}

Inoki appeared in the movie The Bad News Bears Go to Japan as himself. A subplot in his scenes involved Inoki seeking a rematch with Ali. His appearance in the movie culminates with a match against the main character, Marvin Lazar (played by Tony Curtis). Fellow wrestler Hector Guerrero was Curtis's stunt double for the wrestling itself.

Inoki had the starring role in the film Acacia directed by Jinsei Tsuji.^{[citation needed]}

In other media[link]

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

In Oh!Great's manga Air Gear, Inoki is regularly referred to by the author, and also the characters as an influence on their fighting style. The manga also makes several less than complimentary references to Inoki's large chin. Along with Inoki, Stone Cold Steve Austin of the World Wrestling Federation has been referred to in Air Gear's pages, often in naming things. (This is based on the translation by Tanoshimi Manga, and later by Balantine Books/Del Rey Books. Other translations may omit these references)

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Bridging fallaway slam
  • Enzuigiri^[1] - Innovated
  • Manji-Gatame^[1][16] - Octopus Hold
  • Sleeper hold

• Signature moves
  • Bare knuckled punches
  • Cross armbreaker^[16]
  • Diving knee drop
  • Indian deathlock
  • Seated armbar
  • Slap
  • Stepover standing armbar^[16]

• Entrance themes
  • "Honō No Fighter" (炎のファイター) – originally used in the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Lou Thesz Award (2004)

• Japan Wrestling Association
  • NWA International Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Shohei Baba
  • JWA All Asia Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Michiaki Yoshimura (2) and Kintaro Ohki (1)
  • 11th World Big League
  • 1st and 2nd World Tag League (with Kantaro Hoshino and Seiji Sakaguchi)

• National Wrestling Federation
  • NWF Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time) - with Seiji Sakaguchi
  • WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NJPW IWGP League (1984, 1986)
  • NJPW Japan Cup Tag Team League (1986) with Yoshiaki Fujiwara
  • NJPW MSG League (1978–1981)
  • NJPW MSG Tag League (1980) with Bob Backlund
  • NJPW MSG Tag League (1982) with Hulk Hogan
  • NJPW MSG Tag League (1983) with Hulk Hogan
  • NJPW MSG Tag League (1984) with Tatsumi Fujinami
  • NJPW World League (1974, 1975)
  • Greatest Wrestlers (Class of 2007)^[17]

• NWA Big Time Wrestling
  • NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (1 time) - with Duke Keomuka

• NWA Hollywood Wrestling
  • NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time) - with Seiji Sakaguchi
  • NWA United National Championship (1 time)

• NWA Mid-America
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) - with Hiro Matsuda

• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
  • Class of 2009^[2]

• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)

• World Wide Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
  • WWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹
  • WWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)

• Universal Wrestling Association
  • UWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Promoter of the Year (2001)
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

1 ^ Inoki's WWF Heavyweight Championship reign is not officially recognized by WWE.

References[link]