Antonio Inoki
| Antonio Inoki | |
|---|---|
Antonio Inoki in December 2012.
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| Birth name | Kanji Inoki |
| Born |
February 20, 1943 Yokohama, Japan |
| Residence | Tokyo, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Antonio Inoki Moeru Toukon Tokyo Tom Little Tokyo The Kamikaze Kazimoto Killer Inoki |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 224 lb (102 kg) |
| Billed from | Tokyo, Japan |
| Trained by |
Rikidōzan Karl Gotch |
| Debut | September 30, 1960 |
| Retired | April 4, 1998 |
| Antonio Inoki | |
|---|---|
Inoki in 2002.
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| Member of the House of Councillors | |
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In office 1989–1995 |
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Assumed office 2013 |
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| Personal details | |
| Political party |
Sports and Peace Party (1989–1995) Japan Restoration Party (2013–2014) Party for Future Generations (2014–2015) Assembly to Energize Japan (2015-) |
Antonio Inoki (born Kanji Inoki (猪木寛至 Inoki Kanji?) on February 20, 1943) is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter, politician, retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Inoki's ring name is a homage to wrestler Antonino Rocca. He also wrestled under the ring names Moeru Toukon and Tokyo Tom. Inoki converted to Islam in 1990 and took the name Muhammad Hussain Inoki, something he did not publicly reveal until 2012.
Inoki began his professional wrestling career in 1960, working for the Japanese Wrestling Association and became a wrestling promoter in 1972 when he founded New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) that he remained the owner of until 2005 where he sold his controlling share in the promotion to the Yuke's video game company. He later founded the Inoki Genome Federation. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010. As a professional wrestler he became one of the most respected wrestlers of Japan, bolstered by his mixed martial arts match against boxer Muhammad Ali in 1976. Inoki headlined two shows in North Korea that drew 150,000 and 190,000 spectators respectively, the highest attendance in professional wrestling.
In 1989, while still an active wrestler Inoki entered Japanese politics as he was elected to the Japanese House of Councillors and as part of his first term with the House of Councillors successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the outbreak of the Gulf War. His first tenure in the House of Councillors ended in 1995, but he was reelected in 2013.
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