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44-704: Rikidōzan , a former rikishi ( sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-style professional wrestler in 1951, decided in 1953 to establish a territory that would represent the National Wrestling Alliance in Japan. In those early days, Japanese professional wrestlers came from out of the sumo or judo ranks; former sumotori usually used their shikona (Rikidōzan, Azumafuji , Toyonobori , etc.) while former judokas usually used their real names or modifications of them ( Masahiko Kimura , Michiaki Yoshimura, etc.) Rikidōzan pushed himself as

88-650: A black marketeer . His business came through purchasing the belongings of US soldiers departing for service in Korea, and selling these goods to the Japanese. He eventually left this job, and after a petition to return to sumo was rejected, he was given work as a construction supervisor by his former patron Shinsaku Nitta. Nitta had worked in a Tokyo prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, and had secretly provided American prisoners with food and cigarettes; to repay him for his kindness, former prisoners who went on to work at

132-578: A heavy drinker also aroused suspicion surrounding the legitimacy of pro wrestling, as he would "fight" opponents and then be seen drinking and socialising with them just hours later. At one point, Rikidōzan was in a bar with Roberto Barbon , a Cuban baseball player for the Hankyu Braves , who had been drinking and started heckling Rikidōzan, calling professional wrestling fake. Rikidōzan became hostile, threatening violence and demanding an apology, which Barbon agreed to. On December 8, 1963, Rikidōzan

176-754: A member of the National Defence Commission of North Korea since around early 2009, while Bak Myeong-cheol's younger sister is the vice secretary of the Light Industry Division of the Workers' Party of Korea . Sanshō key: F =Fighting spirit; O =Outstanding performance; T =Technique     Also shown: ★ = Kinboshi ; P = Playoff (s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Rikidōzan posthumously became one of

220-465: A policeman . Momota was interested in sumo and supported the Nishonoseki stable . He had recruited several Korean boys for the stable, and persuaded him to join as well. However, his family refused to let him go to Japan, due to his responsibility to care for his father. However, after Kim Sok-tee's death in 1939, Sin-rak left for Japan the following year over his mother's objections. Joining

264-513: A side-career as a businessman , acquiring properties such as nightclubs , hotels , condominiums and boxing promotions. Rikidōzan's luxurious apartment, known as Riki Mansion , is located in Akasaka , Minato , Tokyo and is recognizable for the large " R " printed on the side of the building. Rikidōzan also owned a 9-storey "Riki Sports Palace" in Shibuya , which included a bowling alley,

308-437: A lot of property and real estate, he also had a lot of debt, and the inheritance tax on his estate was upwards of ¥ 20 million ($ 180,000 USD ), equivalent to ¥96.9 million (US$ 665,000) as of 2023, due to Rikidōzan owing millions of yen in unpaid taxes. Due to the notoriety he gained from his wrestling career, Rikidōzan was a huge celebrity in Japan and was frequently discussed in tabloids and magazines. Despite his image of

352-526: A major television star in the process. This was shortly after World War II , and the Japanese needed someone who could stand up to the Americans. Rikidōzan thus became immensely popular in Japan. His American opponents assisted him by portraying themselves as villains who cheated in their matches. Rikidōzan himself was booked as a villain when he wrestled in America early on but went on to become one of

396-470: A national hero, he had a reputation for being a troublemaker, especially in the later years of his career. Due to his deteriorating physical health, Rikidōzan began to abuse painkillers in the early 1960s and would take stimulants before and after his matches. When Rikidōzan was in a good mood, he would leave bar staff a tip of as much as ¥10,000, but when he was in a bad mood, bar fights and violence were an almost daily event. Rikidōzan's reputation for being

440-476: A pool room, a bar known as "Club Riki", and a restaurant known as "Riki Restaurant". Shortly before his death, Rikidōzan had purchased land in Lake Sagami and had begun work on a large scale golf course to be known as "Lakeside Country Club", set to feature facilities such as a shooting range, indoor skate rink, hotel, and more along the shore of Sagami Lake. However, it remained incomplete due to his death and

484-417: A professional wrestler. In September, wrestling promoter Al Karasick of Honolulu-based Mid-Pacific Promotions announced that he, alongside Joe Malcewicz of NWA San Francisco , had secured a deal with Lipton. Karasick and Malcewisz would send six wrestlers for a twelve-date tour, held from September 30 to December 11. These wrestlers included Harold Sakata and Mid-Pacific booker Bobby Bruns. While Bruns

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528-498: A promotion to ōzeki before his retirement. Several reasons have been given for his retirement. The amount of success he had earned despite his humble beginnings was a source of envy amongst his seniors in Nishonoseki. Racial discrimination may have also been a factor, but the impetus for his retirement came due to a financial dispute with stable-master Tamanoumi Daitarō . Rikidozan felt that his substantial contributions to

572-502: A second surgery one week later, but had developed peritonitis and died at approximately 9:50pm on December 15, 1963. He was 39 years old. Rikidōzan's funeral was held on December 20, 1963, in Ikegami Honmonji Temple in Ōta, Tokyo . Among those in attendance were Rikidōzan's students, Antonio Inoki , Giant Baba , and Kintarō Ōki , as well as various other opponents from throughout his career. Katsushi Murata

616-416: The shikona of Rikidōzan Mitsuhiro ( Japanese : 力道山 光浩 , Hepburn : Rikidouzan Mitsuhiro ) . He reached the top makuuchi division in 1946 and was runner-up to yokozuna Haguroyama in the tournament of June 1947, losing a playoff for the championship . He fought in 23 tournaments in total, with a win–loss record of 135–82. His highest rank was sekiwake , though he was reportedly close to

660-680: The GHQ gave his construction company preferential treatment when contracting reconstruction work. Nitta also had ties to the criminal underworld, and had been deeply involved with sumo in this manner. In July 1951, the Tokyo-based Torii Oasis Shriners Club announced their intent to sponsor a charity drive for disabled children, for which they would arrange a professional wrestling tour. These events would be promoted by Honolulu businessman Moe Lipton. Around this time, Rikidōzan reportedly expressed interest in becoming

704-757: The Wrestling Retribution Project trophy won by Kenny Omega in Hollywood in 2011. In 2002, Rikidōzan was named the 3rd greatest pro wrestler of all time behind Ric Flair and rival Lou Thesz in the magazine article 100 Wrestlers of All Time by John Molinaro, edited by Dave Meltzer and Jeff Marek. Rikidōzan appeared in 29 films, including お月様には悪いけど Otsukisama ni wa warui kedo (1954, as himself), やがて青空 Yagate aozora  [ ja ] (1955, as himself), and 力道山物語 怒濤の男 Rikidōzan monogatari dotō no otoko (1955 as himself). G1 Tag League Too Many Requests If you report this error to

748-460: The JWA was therefore out of business the following year. World Big League ( ワールド大リーグ戦 , wārudo dai rīgu-sen ) , later renamed to simply World League ( ワールドリーグ戦 , wārudo rīgu-sen ) was a professional wrestling tournament annually held by Japanese Wrestling Association from 1959 till 1972. The 1973 edition was not held as JWA folded that year. Wrestlers from all over the world participated in

792-648: The Japanese needed a local hero to emulate and was lauded as a national hero. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, becoming the first Korean inductee and the third puroresu star to be inducted after Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami . He was killed in a street fight with a member of the Sumiyoshi-ikka in 1963. Momota, who was born Kim Sin-rak , was born in Kankyōnan-dō , Chōsen (now South Hamgyong , North Korea ), on November 14, 1924. He

836-751: The NJPW and the World's Strongest Tag Determination League for the AJPW are the indirect descendant of the original World Tag League. In fact, in 2012, NJPW renamed the G1 Tag League the World Tag League. The following is a list of the winners of each edition: In 2024, the revival of Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling lead by Scott D'Amore established the PWA Champion's Grail, a new championship merging

880-510: The Nishonoseki stable, Kim debuted in June 1940. At first, his Korean origins were indicated on sumo ranking sheets, and he received harassment and racial discrimination for this. However, he was adopted by Momota and took the name Mitsuhiro Momota , and a story was fabricated that he had been born in Omura , Nagasaki . Despite this, he did not attain Japanese citizenship until 1951. He was given

924-667: The World League, known as World Tag League . Its prestige led Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba to create their own respective promotions, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling , tournaments which were presented as the direct followers to the JWA World League. Therefore, respectively, the G1 Climax for the NJPW and the Champion Carnival for the AJPW are considered the direct descendants of

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968-784: The first Japanese wrestlers to be cheered as a babyface in post World War II America. Rikidōzan gained worldwide renown when he defeated Lou Thesz for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship on August 27, 1958, in Japan. In another match, Thesz willingly agreed to put over Rikidōzan at the expense of his own reputation. This built up mutual respect between the two wrestlers, and Rikidōzan never forgot what Thesz did. He would go on to capture several NWA titles in matches both in Japan and overseas. Rikidōzan also trained professional wrestling students, notably including Kanji "Antonio" Inoki , Kintarō Ōki , and Shohei "Giant" Baba . His signature move

1012-587: The first members of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996 and he was posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006, as well as the "Legacy Wing" of the WWE Hall of Fame for the 2017 class. In 2024, Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling established the PWA Champion's Grail, a championship merging the lineage of Rikidozan and Toyonobori's 1962 Toyonaka trophy with

1056-486: The ground until Murata stabbed Rikidōzan once in the abdomen . Both immediately fled the scene and Rikidōzan was taken to Sannoh Hospital, where a doctor decreed the wound to be non-serious but advised Rikidōzan to have surgery. The surgery was successful and he returned home, but went against doctor's orders and began eating and drinking the same day, sending his assistant to the store for sushi and sake . Due to drinking so much, Rikidōzan worsened his condition and required

1100-605: The hands of a gangster in 1963 , at the peak of his fame. After Rikidōzan's death in 1963, the company continued to operate as the nation's premier (and only male) wrestling circuit until challenged in the late 1960s by International Wrestling Enterprise , which featured the first major World heavyweight championship based in Japan, the IWA title . The JWA's top stars, Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki left to form their own promotions ( All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling , respectively) in 1972. With its top drawing cards gone,

1144-727: The lineage of Rikidozan and Toyonobori's 1962 Toyonaka trophy with the Wrestling Retribution Project trophy won by Kenny Omega in Hollywood in 2011. This is not an exhaustive list, as the JWA was the only Japanese promotion until 1966 and many wrestlers, both Japanese who competed for a brief time and then retired, or foreigners who came for a single tour, were booked. Rikid%C5%8Dzan Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Mitsuhiro Momota ( Japanese : 百田 光浩 , Hepburn : Momota Mitsuhiro ) (born Kim Sin-rak ; Korean :  김신락 ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan ( 力道山 ),

1188-415: The original World League. The following is a list of the winners of each edition: NWA Tag League ( NWAタッグ・リーグ戦 , NWA taggu rīgu-sen ) , also called World Tag League, was a professional wrestling tournament annually held by Japanese Wrestling Association from 1970 till 1972. The 1973 edition was not held as JWA folded that year. Wrestlers from all over the world participated in the various editions of

1232-563: The ring in 1970 and retired in 2021 at 73, but was never able to earn the recognition that once made his father famous, despite winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1989. Mitsuo's son, Chikara Momota, made his in-ring debut on December 16, 2013, the day after the fiftieth anniversary of the death of his grandfather. Rikidōzan's other son, Yoshihiro Momota , was also a pro wrestler. Rikidōzan's son-in-law, Bak Myeong-cheol ( 박명철 ), has been

1276-440: The stable made him worthy of major financial support, but Tamanoumi considered him selfish, and he was refused after a heated argument. While the public explanation for his retirement claimed that he suffered from paragonimiasis , the truth was that on September 10, 1950, soon after the argument with Tamanoumi, Momota "impulsively" cut his own chonmage top knot. After his retirement, Momota initially worked alongside Americans as

1320-684: The stamina required of wrestlers. Rikidōzan left Japan in February 1952 to work in America for further training and experience. This began with a five-month stint for Mid-Pacific Promotions, where he was trained by Oki Shikina. Rikidōzan's breakout performances were with partner and famous judoka Masahiko Kimura in matches against the Canadian Sharpe Brothers in 1954, coinciding with increased television viewership in Japan. He continued to establish himself as Japan's biggest wrestling star by defeating foreign wrestlers, becoming

1364-497: The top star of the promotion, first battling other Japanese wrestlers such as Kimura and Toshio Yamaguchi, but found a strong niche in feuds with American wrestlers such as Lou Thesz , The Destroyer and Bobo Brazil . In 1957 he defeated Thesz to win the title that would be the JWA's top title thereafter, the NWA International Heavyweight Championship . As a newly found hero to the war-weary Japanese masses, Rikidōzan expanded into several business ventures. It resulted in his murder at

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1408-548: The top ten television programs of all time in Japan. His October 6, 1957 hour-long draw with Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship drew an 87.0 rating, and his May 24, 1963 hour-long two out of three falls draw with The Destroyer drew a 67.0 rating, but a larger viewing audience (the largest in Japanese history) than the previous match, since more people had television sets by 1963. With his success in pro wrestling, Momota began

1452-549: The tournament, as it was meant to be a world tournament. It was created in 1970 as the tag team counterpart of World Big League. Its prestige led Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba to create in their respective promotions, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling , tournaments which were presented as the direct followers to the JWA World Tag League. Therefore, respectively, the G1 Tag League for

1496-415: The various editions of the tournament, as it was meant since its beginning to be a world tournament. It had been one of the most important pro-wrestling tournaments of its time, because it was one of the very few (and for some years after its creation the only) pro-wrestling tournament of its time to be considered representative of the entire pro-wrestling world. In 1970, JWA created a tag team counterpart of

1540-401: Was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling . He was known as The Father of Puroresu , and one of the most influential persons in professional wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a rikishi (sumo wrestler). He was credited with bringing the sport of professional wrestling to Japan at a time when

1584-409: Was against Masahiko Kimura, the famous judoka who had been invited by Momota to compete as a professional wrestler. Other famous feuds included those against Thesz in 1957–58, against "Classy" Freddie Blassie in 1962, and against Dick "The Destroyer" Beyer in 1963. In wrestling journalist John M. Molinaro's 2002 book Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time , it is noted that two of his matches are rated in

1628-594: Was eventually sold and became Sagami Lake Resort, a hotel. Rikidōzan was known to have many girlfriends throughout his lifetime and was often known to see numerous women at the same time. He married his wife, Keiko Tanaka shortly before his death. A 1984 article in weekly Playboy drew much attention after it revealed Rikidōzan was actually from Korea and had been married and had children before he met Tanaka, considered to be taboo in Japan. After his wrestling matches, he would often immediately go to Riki Sports Palace and start drinking without cleaning up any wounds. He

1672-479: Was in Japan before the tour began, he invited Rikidozan, as well as judoka Kokichi Endo  [ ja ] and Yasuyuki Sakabe, to participate in these events. After one month of training, Rikidozan made his professional wrestling debut at Ryogoku Memorial Hall on October 28, 1951, wrestling Bruns to a ten-minute time-limit draw. He would continue to work on the rest of the tour, although he would later comment that he had done so with great difficulty, as he lacked

1716-618: Was known to joke with bar staff and say "work was awful today" while either being covered in blood or having a large scar on his face. According to Why did Masahiko Kimura not kill Rikidozan?  [ ja ] , Rikidozan had a friendship with Hideo Nakamura , who was also from the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It is said that Rikidozan adored Nakamura and called him "Hyung Nim ( 형님 )", which means his older brother in Korean. Rikidōzan spent his spare time hunting and

1760-505: Was later found guilty of manslaughter in October 1964 and served eight years in prison before being released in 1972. Murata visited the grave of Rikidōzan every year on December 15 following his release. He also called the sons of Rikidōzan and apologised yearly. In the years following his release, Murata became a high-ranking yakuza. Murata died on April 9, 2013, from natural causes. One of his sons, Mitsuo , followed his father into

1804-467: Was said to own several legitimate hunting guns at the time of his death. His autobiography also claimed that Rikidozan made his wife carry a handgun wherever she went. He would also play shogi with professional player Kusama Matsuji. After Rikidōzan's death, actor Ikuro Otsuji also lived in Riki Mansion in his later years. After his death, his son, Mitsuo Momota said that while Rikidōzan owned

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1848-416: Was stabbed once by Katsushi Murata, a member of the ninkyō dantai Sumiyoshi-ikka , a yakuza organization, after an altercation in a nightclub. Rikidōzan alleged that Murata stepped on his shoe, and demanded an apology. Murata refused and the two began to argue which eventually led to Rikidōzan punching Murata in the face, knocking him against a wall. Rikidōzan then mounted Murata and continued to punch him on

1892-537: Was the karate chop , which was actually based on sumo's harite , rather than actual karate . Rikidozan had likely conceived the move while being with a Korean-born karateka , Hideo Nakamura , who was one of Rikidozan's dearest friends. It was rumored that he had been coached by fellow Korean Masutatsu Oyama . He established the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA), Japan's first professional wrestling promotion, in 1953. His first major feud

1936-433: Was the youngest son of Kim Sok-tee, the owner of a Korean farm with a Confucian tradition, and his wife Chon Gi. He tended his father whilst he had suffered from ill health, whilst his mother and older brothers tended to the farm. Kim participated in ssireum in his youth, and, after placing third in a local competition, spoke to Minosuke Momota, the father-in-law of a Japanese man from Omura who had moved to Korea to become

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