Kanji Inoki

Kanji Inoki

Born: February 20, 1943
Died: October 1, 2022
in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Muhammad Hussain Inoki (Arabic: مُحَمَّد حُسَيْن إينوكي‎, romanized: Muḥammad Ḥusayn ʻIinuki; born Kanji Inoki (Japanese: 猪木寛至, Hepburn: Inoki Kanji)), was a Japanese retired professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name Antonio Inoki (アントニオ猪木, Antonio Inoki), a homage to fellow professional wrestler Antonino Rocca. Inoki is a twelve-time professional wrestling world champion, notably being the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the first Asian WWE Champion – a reign not officially recognized by WWE.

Inoki began his professional wrestling career in the 1960s for The Japanese Wrestling Association under the tutelage of Rikidōzan. Inoki quickly became one of the most popular stars in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. He parlayed his wrestling career into becoming one of Japan's most recognizable athletes, a reputation bolstered by his 1976 fight against world champion boxer Muhammad Ali – a fight that served as a predecessor to modern day mixed martial arts. In 1995, with Ric Flair, Inoki headlined two shows in North Korea that drew 150,000 and 190,000 spectators, the highest attendances in professional wrestling history. Inoki wrestled his final match on April 4, 1998 against Don Frye and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.

Inoki began his promoting career in 1972, when he founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He remained the owner of NJPW until 2005 when he sold his controlling share in the promotion to the Yuke's video game company. In 2007, he founded the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF). In 2017, Inoki founded ISM and the following year left IGF. He is also the co-founder of the karate style Kansui-ryū (寛水流) along with Matsubayashi-ryū master Yukio Mizutani.

In 1989, while still an active wrestler, Inoki entered politics as he was elected to the Japanese House of Councillors. During his first term with the House of Councillors, Inoki 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. In 2019, Inoki retired from politics.

Movies for Kanji Inoki...

In Search of Antonio Inoki
Title: In Search of Antonio Inoki
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 6, 2023
Type: Movie
A look into the life and career of the legendary wrestler Antonio Inoki
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Vice Versa: Chyna
Title: Vice Versa: Chyna
Character: Self
Released: June 17, 2021
Type: Movie
The rise and fall of wrestler Joanie Chyna Laurer, whose life was cut short in 2016. Her contributions to the WWE business and her pioneering work and her gripping tale of the "comeback" starting in 2015.
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Title: Vice Versa
Character: Self
Released: March 10, 2020
Type: TV
Independent, immersive, and provocative documentary specials giving voice to radical and unapologetic points of view and tackling broken systems and corrupt power structures head on.
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Title: Dark Side of the Ring
Character: Self
Released: April 10, 2019
Type: TV
Finding truth at the intersection of fantasy and reality in the veiled world of professional wrestling.
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Acacia
Title: Acacia
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: June 12, 2010
Type: Movie
"Acacia" revolves around Sekiji Ishida (Antonio Inoki) a former professional wrestler now a lonely retired man. Sekiji then strikes up a friendship with a reserved young boy.
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WWE Hall of Fame 2010
Title: WWE Hall of Fame 2010
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: March 27, 2010
Type: Movie
Sports Entertainment's most legendary superstars including Ted Dibiase, Stu Hart, and more enter the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2010!
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World Wrestling Peace Festival
Title: World Wrestling Peace Festival
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: June 1, 1996
Type: Movie
The World Wrestling Peace Festival was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki, which took place on June 1, 1996 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The event was organized by Inoki to promote world peace with an interpromotional event involving major promotions from around the world. Forty wrestlers from six countries ended up taking part in the event. Inoki's home promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as smaller independent groups, represented Japan, while World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) took part on behalf of the United States. Both of Mexico's top promotions Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) participated in the event, which was considered unlikely by many in the industry given their own heated rivalry.
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NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 1995
Title: NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 1995
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: May 3, 1995
Type: Movie
The third Wrestling Dontaku was held on May 3, 1995, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome. The event featured eleven matches, two of which were contested for championships. For the third year in a row, wrestlers from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) took part in the event.
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NJPW & WCW Collision In Korea
Title: NJPW & WCW Collision In Korea
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: April 28, 1995
Type: Movie
Collision in Korea was the largest professional wrestling pay-per-view event ever that was jointly produced by World Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. It took place over a period of two days on April 28 and 29, 1995, but did not air in North America until August 4, 1995, when WCW broadcast a selection of matches from the show on pay-per-view. The event was the first PPV from a North American wrestling promotion to be held in North Korea. The main event was Ric Flair versus Antonio Inoki. Other aired matches include The Steiner Brothers vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki, Tadao Yasuda vs Road Warrior Hawk, Shinya Hashimoto defending the IWGP Heavyweight Belt vs Scott Norton, and several other matches.
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WCW Clash of The Champions XXVIII
Title: WCW Clash of The Champions XXVIII
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: August 24, 1994
Type: Movie
WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan defends against Ric Flair. "Stunning" Steve Austin defends the WCW United States Championship against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Antonio Inoki takes on "Lord" Steven Regal in an international showdown. Dustin & Dusty Rhodes take on Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck. The Nasty Boys take on Pretty Wonderful.
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NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 1993
Title: NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 1993
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: May 3, 1993
Type: Movie
Wrestling Dontaku 1993 was the first Wrestling Dontaku professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The event took place on May 3, 1993, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at the Fukuoka Dome.
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NJPW Ganryujima Island Deathmatch
Title: NJPW Ganryujima Island Deathmatch
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: October 4, 1987
Type: Movie
Antonio Inoki and Masa Saito fight in an Island Deathmatch, battling across Ganryujima Island.
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WCCW Christmas Star Wars '85
Title: WCCW Christmas Star Wars '85
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: December 25, 1985
Type: Movie
Witness a brutal battle when The Von Erichs clash with The Freebirds
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The WWF's Most Unusual Matches
Title: The WWF's Most Unusual Matches
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: January 1, 1985
Type: Movie
Some of the most unusual matches in WWF History.
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WWE The Brawl to End it All
Title: WWE The Brawl to End it All
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: July 23, 1984
Type: Movie
The Brawl to End It All was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and broadcast live on MTV. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on July 23, 1984. The show was a major event in the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection in the mid-1980s WWF. The main event featured The Fabulous Moolah defending the WWF Women's Championship against Wendi Richter. Richter pinned Moolah to win the Women's Championship. It was the only match of the event that was shown on national television. The entire event was recorded and shown on the Madison Square Garden network however.
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NJPW IWGP Championship League 1983 - Day 1
Title: NJPW IWGP Championship League 1983 - Day 1
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: May 6, 1983
Type: Movie
The 1983 International Wrestling Grand Prix ran from May 6 to June 2, 1983. The tournament featured 10 wrestlers from across the globe.
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WWE Showdown at Shea '80
Title: WWE Showdown at Shea '80
Character: Antonio Inoki
Released: August 9, 1980
Type: Movie
WWF stadium show in the summer of 1980 from Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens, New York.
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The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
Title: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
Character: Self
Released: June 30, 1978
Type: Movie
In this third film version of the Bad News Bears series, Tony Curtis plays a small time promotor/hustler who takes the pint-sized baseball team to Japan for a match against the country's best little league baseball team which sparks off a series of adventures and mishaps the boys come into.
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Life is a Battle
Title: Life is a Battle
Released: December 30, 1970
Type: Movie
Two born rivals plot a new start after a string of ups and downs.