Antonio Inoki, one of the biggest stars in the history of professional wrestling, has passed away. He was 79 years old.
Inoki had been battling systemic amyloidosis. According to Japanese press, Inoki had reportedly fell ill a few days ago and had been recovering at home. He was feeling better as of Friday, September 30th, however he took a turn and fell ill again the morning of Saturday, October 1st and passed away at home in Japan.
A 12-time world champion, Inoki changed the world of wrestling over the course of five decades in the business. In addition to being a 12-time world champion and the first-ever IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Inoki was also the founder and longtime owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Inoki was a pop culture icon, especially in his homeland of Japan. One of his most iconic moments came in 1976 when he worked a wrestler vs. boxer match with Muhammad Ali, drawing cameras from all over the world. The match was one of the earliest for the world of mixed martial arts and ended in a draw.
Ali was far from the only legendary world champion that Inoki worked with over the years. Later in his career, Inoki worked with Ric Flair in Pyongyang, North Korea (1995) as part of the Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace (Collision In Korea) that was promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling. The two-day event drew over 150,000 fans each day.
Inoki parlayed his fame from the wrestling world into politics. He was elected to the Japanese House of Councilors in 1989. He served until 1995 and was later re-elected in 2013, serving until 2019.
Inoki was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
Tributes to Antonio Inoki Pour In From Around the Wrestling World
It didn’t take long for tributes to begin coming in from around the wrestling world. Inoki’s death was mentioned during WWE SmackDown, as seen from the clip below.
“One of the most important figures in the history of our business, and a man who embodied the term ‘fighting spirit.’ The legacy of WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki will live on forever,” wrote Paul Levesque (Triple H) on his Twitter account.
AEW’s Tony Khan also commented on Inoki’s death via Twitter, writing, “RIP Antonio Inoki, a pioneer in the pro wrestling industry. Inoki’s influence and his achievements will live on forever in the wrestling world; he’s an inspiration to all of the dreamers. Thank you sir.”
A statement from New Japan Pro Wrestling read, “New Japan Pro-Wrestling is deeply saddened at the passing of our founder, Antonio Inoki. His achievements, both in professional wrestling and the global community are without parallel and will never be forgotten. Our thoughts are with Inoki’s family, friends and fans.”
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