Tokyo:
Antonio Inoki, the Japanese wrestling star-turned-politician best known for his bout with Muhammad Ali and his ties to North Korea, has died at the age of 79 after years of battling a rare disease. Died on Saturday.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which was founded in 1972, posted on Twitter, "We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of founder Antonio Inoki. His achievements in both professional wrestling and the international community were unparalleled and will never be forgotten. You will not be caught.”
Inoki became one of the biggest names on his circuit in Japanese professional wrestling in the 1960s. His fame rose to worldwide fame in 1976 when he fought Ali with boxing legend Mohammed in what was dubbed the "Battle of the Century" in mixed martial arts.
The 1.9-meter-tall artist with a lantern chin entered politics, winning a seat in the Japanese Diet in 1989. He made headlines the following year when he went to Iraq during the Gulf War and intervened for Japanese hostages who were later released.
Tributes to Inoki flooded SNS. Another professional wrestler-turned-politician Atsushi Onita tweeted:
"The end of an era."
"Thank you, Mr. Inoki. Father of professional wrestling," he wrote.
Current Chief of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE.N) His Officer and former grappler Triple H described Inoki as "one of the most important figures in our company's history and a 'fighting spirit'. 'A man who embodied the words'. "Inoki developed strong ties to North Korea because his mentor and early wrestling superstar Rikidozan was from North Korea, but he returned home after the war divided the Korean peninsula. I couldn't. As a member of parliament, he made numerous visits to Pyongyang to meet officials who said Tokyo could play a role in mediating with its nuclear-armed neighbor.
In 1995, he organized the two-day wrestling festival "Collision in Korea" in front of over 100,000 spectators at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. ” and slammed it into the back of the head.
Fighting Ali has been described as the birth of mixed martial arts and is now a multi-billion dollar industry dominated by his championship at US-based Ultimate Fighting.
Ali was supposed to be paid $6 million for losing to Inoki in a solid match, but according to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, the boxer had concerns when he arrived at the event in Tokyo. In the end, the fight was real, but there was a stipulation that Inoki was only allowed to kick while he was fighting.