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Antonio Inoki |
History of Puroresu : 1970s
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See also: Showa
Puroresu Message Board
The Post-Rikidozan Era
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- 03/06/72
- Antonio Inoki's New
Japan Pro-Wrestling has its first card at Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo. The
wrestlers include Tatsumi Fujinami,
Kotetsu Yamamoto, and
Osamu Kido. Inoki, the promotion's
top star and the president, loses to Karl
Gotch. Toyonobori also appears on the card.
- 04/03/72
- JWA breaks a contract with Nippon TV, letting
NET to broadcast a match involving Giant Baba.
The contract says NET is not to broadcast any of Baba's match while Nippon
TV is not to broadcase Inoki's match.
- 05/15/72
- Nippon TV cancels broadcasting JWA cards.
- 08/18/72
- Baba wrestles his last JWA match.
- 08/25/72
- Kintaro Ohki challenges Baba
for the NWA International Heavyweight
Title. However, Baba refuses and vacates the title on 09/02/72.
- 10/04/72
- Antonio Inoki wins the "Real World Heavyweight Title" from Karl Gotch.
Gotch, however, regains the belt on 10/10/72.
- 10/16/72
- The Momota Family(Rikidozan's) presents
Rikidozan's old NWA International Heavyweight belt to Giant Baba. Baba announces
that he creats a World Heavyweight title with the belt(later becomes PWF
Heavyweight Title).
- 10/21/72
- Baba starts his own promotion, All Japan Pro-Wrestling
with the support of Nippon TV and has the first card at Machida City Gym
in Tokyo.
- 10/31/72
- Tomomi Tsuruta, member of the
Japanese Olympic wrestling team for Munich, joins All Japan.
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- 02/03/73
- At the NWA Board meeting in St. Louis, MO,
All Japan is accepted as a member.
- 02/08/73
- Antonio Inoki(New Japan) and Seiji
Sakaguchi(JWA) have a joint press conference and announce the merge
of both promotions. However, Kintaro Ohki, the top star of JWA, refuses
the idea.
- 03/30/73
- Seiji Sakaguchi, along with his followers Kengo
Kimura and Masashi Ozawa (Killer
Khan), joins New Japan. NET cancels broadcasting JWA cards and starts
with New Japan.
- 04/20/73
- JWA folds after its history of 20 years.
- 04/27/73
- Nine former JWA wrestlers join All Japan.
- 05/73
- All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling has the first Kourakuen
Hall card.
- 05/26/73
- Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk
win the NWA International Tag Team
Title from Killer Karl Krupp & Karl Von Steiger in Amarillo, TX. Krupp
& Von Steiger have kept the title since JWA closed in the previous month.
- 07/09/73
- In the first world title match between two Japanese, Shozo
"Strong" Kobayashi defends IWA World
Heavyweight Title against Rusher
Kimura.
- 10/14/73
- Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi defeat the team of Lou
Thesz & Karl Gotch.
- 10/27/73
- Tomomi Tsuruta is named "Jumbo" by fans' votes.
- 11/05/73
- Tiger Jeet Singh
attacks Inoki in front of the Shinjuku Isetan Department Store.
- 12/06/73
- Mitsuo Yoshida (Riki Choshu), a former
member of All Japan Olympic Wrestling Team for the Munich games, joins New
Japan.
- 12/10/73
- Antonio Inoki wins NWF World Heavyweight
Title from Johnny Powers.
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- 01/23/74
- On the webmaster's 3rd birthday, the NWA
World Heavyweight Champion appears on an All Japan card for the first
time. In a double title match, NWA World champion Jack
Brisco draws with PWF Heavyweight champion Giant Baba.
- 03/74
- Mach Fumiake joins All Japan Women's.
- 03/19/74
- In the biggest match between two Japanese big names since the famous/infamous
Rikidozan vs. Masahiko Kimura,
Antonio Inoki defends his NWF world heavyweight title against Shozo Kobayashi,
the former top star of IWE who left IWE to challenge Inoki.
- 04/26/74
- The first match between Antonio Inoki and Sakaguchi ends as a 30min time
limit draw.
- 06/26/74
- Antonio Inoki defends NWF World Heavyweight Title against Tiger Jeet Singh,
when Inoki breaks Singh's arm.
- 10/10/74
- Antonio Inoki defends NWF World Heavyweight Title against Kintaro Ohki.
- 12/02/74
- Baba beats Jack Brisco to be the first Asian to win the NWA world heavyweight
title. Brisco regains the title on 12/09/74, however.
- 12/15/74
- Antonio Inoki wrestles Andre the Giant
to a draw in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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- 02/05/75
- Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
win the NWA Internatinoal Tag Team Title from the Funk Brothers in San Antonio,
TX.
- 03/19/74
- Mach Fumiake defeats Jumbo Miyamoto to become the youngest WWWA
world champion at the age of 16. Also in the same month, she becomes
the first female wrestler to record songs and sang on the ring.
- 03/27/75
- Antonio Inoki challenges Kintaro Ohki for the NWA International Heavyweight
title in Seoul, South Korea. Match ends with DCOR.
- 05/09/75
- In the a double title match, PWF Heavyweight champion Giant Baba draws
with WWWF Heavyweight champion Bruno
Sammartino.
- 09/20/75
- New Japan joins the National Wrestling Alliance.
- 11/08/75
- The Momota Family(Rikidozan's) orders Inoki not to refer himself as Rikidozan's
student.
- 11/29/75
- Fuji Television Network starts airing All Japan Women's cards twice a
month.
- 12/11/75
- The Momota Family promotes the 13th Anniversary Card of Rikidozan's Death
at Nippon Budokan, using the wrestlers of All Japan, IWE, and former JWA.
On the same day, New Japan has Antonio Inoki vs. Billy
Robinson, which ended as 60min time limit draw.
- 12/15/75
- Antonio Inoki wrestles at Madison
Square Garden for the first time.
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- 01/13/76
- Mach Fumiake retires.
- 02/06/76
- Antonio Inoki defeats Willem Ruska, a gold medalist in judo, by TKO.
- 02/24/76
- Beauty Pair (18-years old Jackie
Satoh & 16-years old Maki
Ueda) become the WWWA World Tag
Team Champions.
- 03/10/76
- One of All Japan's original wrestlers Masio Koma dies.
- 03/25/76
- Former JWA president Yoshinosato announces the resurrection of the All
Asia titles and gives the control to All Japan.
- 04/25/76
- Kintaro Ohtki, who hasn't defended the title since '73, defends the All
Asia Heavyweight title against Great Kojika in Seoul, South Korea.
- 03/26/76
- Great Kojika & Motoshi
Ookuma win the resurrected Asian
Tag Team titles, defeating the Korean representatives.
- 03/28/76
- All Japan vs. IWE at Kuramae Kokugikan.
- 05/23/76
- On an IWE card, Umanosuke
Ueda appears in Japanese ring for the first time in 2 years and 7 months
since JWA folded in '73.
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Antonio Inoki
vs.
Muhammad Ali
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06/26/76
- The famous/infamous Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali match. Under the rule,
Inoki was NOT allowed to use any suplex or submission. 15 rounds time limit
draw in the most boring match in the history, probably of the all sports.
However, with lots of low kicks onto the leg, Ali was hospitalized after
returning to the US.
- 11/76
- Beauty Pair release their first song. More than 400,000 copies of the
record are sold, and Beauty Pair becomes even bigger star than Mach Fumiake
ever was.
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- 03/77
- Because of Beauty Pair's popularity, 600 girls apply for All Japan Women's
rookie audition, and Rimi
Yokota (Jaguar Yokota) joins the promotion.
- 04/22/77
- New Japan's Mitsuo Yoshida is named "Riki Choshu."
- 07/29/77
- A former sumo wrestler from Tonga(known as Fukunoshima in sumo) joins
All Japan. Later, he starts wrestling as Prince Tonga(Haku in WWF and Meng
in WCW).
- 10/29/77
- In a double title match, PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba defeats Kintaro
Ohki(Ill Kim) for the All Asia Heavyweight Title.
- 10/31/77
- Takashi Ishikawa, a former sumo wrestler, leaves for the United States
to be a pro-wrestler.
- 11/01/77
- All Japan Women's has the first Nippon Budokan card. In main event for
WWWA World title, champion Maki Ueda wrestles her partner Jackie Satoh to
a 60 minute time limit. WWWA President Mildred Burke, who is assigned as
a special judge, gives the victory to Jackie.
- 11/29/77
- Susumu Hara, a former member of the World Rugby Team, joins IWE.
- 12/08/78
- In the last match of All Japan's "Open Tag Team Championship", The Funk
Brothers wrestle against Abdullah the Butcher
& The Sheik. This is the beginning
of the annual tag team round-robin tournament in All Japan. After this match,
the Funk Brothers become the heros among the Japanese fans, and the concept
that the foreigners are always heels started dying.
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- 01/23/78
- On the webmaster's 7th birthday, New Japan's Tatsumi Fujinami wins WWWF
Junior Heavyweight Title from Carlos Jose Estrada at Madison Square
Garden in New York City. He also becomes the first Japanese to receive the
standing ovation from American audience. The glory of Japan's junior heavyweight
division starts.
- 09/21/78
- Inoki and IWE president Isao Yoshiwara have a joint meeting and announce
the working relationship between New Japan and IWE.
- 11/25/78
- Antonio Inoki wrestles Roland Bock in West Germany. The match ends 4min
10rounds time limit draw, but Inoki loses by judge.
- 12/18/78
- Because of the achievement for having many matches against the fighters
of other sports, Antonio Inoki is awarded the World Martial Arts Heavyweight
Title by World Wide Wrestling Federation.
- 12/27/78
- Susumu Hara of IWE is named "Ashura Hara" by a famous author Akiyuki Nozaka.
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- 01/26/79
- Seiji Sakaguchi wins NWF North
American Heavyweight Title from Johnny Powers. However, he loses the
title to Tiger Jeet Singh on 09/21/79.
- 02/05/79
- New Japan and IWE chooses Susumu Nikaido, a congressman, as the Japan
Pro-Wrestling Commissioner.
- 02/27/79
- Jackie Satoh of Beauty Pair defeats her partner Maki Ueda in a loser-must-retire
match.
- 04/16/79
- Takashi Ishikawa joins All Japan.
- 06/14/79
- The Destroyer returns to
the United States after living in Japan for 6 years and half.
- 07/13/79
- Kim Duk(Tiger Toguchi/Tiger Chang Lee), a student of Kintaro Ohki(Ill
Kim) joins All Japan.
- 08/26/79
- "The Dream Card" at the Budokan organized by the Tokyo Sports Newspaper
with All Japan, New Japan, and IWE. Opening card had Riki Choshu(NJ) and
Animal Hamaguchi(IWE) team for the first time to beat All Japan's heel tag
team, Great Kojika & late Motoshi Ookuma, via DQ. Kotetsu Yamamoto(NJ) defeats
Atsushi Ohnita(AJ) to win a battle royal.
Sakaguchi defeats late Rocky Hata(AJ), and Rusher Kimura(IWE) defends his
IWA world heavyweight title against Shozo "Strong" Kobayashi(NJ). Fujinami,
Tsuruta, and Mil Mascaras form a "dream
team" to defeat Masa Saito(NJ), Tiger Toguchi(Kim Duk/Tiger Chung Lee, AJ),
and Akihisa Takachiho(Kabuki, AJ). On the main event, Giant Baba & Antonio
Inoki teamed for the first time in 8 years to defeat the team of Tiger Jeet
Singh(NJ) and Abdullah the Butcher(AJ).
- 10/31/79
- Baba defeats Harley Race
to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title for the second time. Race regains
the title on 11/07/79.
- 11/08/79
- Seiji Sakaguchi wins WWF North American
Heavyweight Title from Pat Patterson. Sakaguchi keeps the title until
he abandons it on 04/23/81.
- 11/30/79
- Antonio Inoki defeats Bob
Backlund to be the WWF heavyweight champion.
- 12/06/79
- Antonio Inoki defends WWF Heavyweight Title against Backlund when the
match is declared no-contest by WWF President Hisashi Shinma because of
the interference by Tiger Jeet Singh. Inoki is unsatisfied by the decision
and vacates the title. Backlund wins the title defeating Bobby Duncum on
12/12/79 in New York City.
1980s
Puroresu Awards : 1970s
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