We lost a legend in the world of professional wrestling as Antonio Inoki passed away at age of 79.

Inoki was a pupil of Rikidozan in the early 60s and a decade later he was the top wrestler in Japan and the promotor of New Japan Pro Wrestling, which was and still is one of the biggest organizations in the world.  Holding wins over every major name in his day, Inoki was not just a 12-time World champion, but a true international superstar who sold out arenas all across the world.

An early pioneer of mixed martial arts, Inoki’s fight with Muhammad Ali was a precursor (although it was an awful contest) of what would come.  He also became a politician, successfully winning a seat in the Japanese House of Councillors, and he successfully negotiated the release of Japanese hostages from Saddam Hussein in Iraq.  Inoki also was a proponent of using wrestling and sports to promote global harmony, as how by his multiple World Wrestling Peace Festivals.

Inoki was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, family and friends of Antonio Inoki.

We have to admit that we loved this induction!  Although Antonio Inoki did have a solid relationship with the WWE, wrestling many times for them in the late 70’s and early 80’s, it was in Japan that he was a true star.  In fact, Inoki could very well be the most popular wrestler in Japan of all time and his influence there is still far reaching.  Inoki’s induction showed that the WWE was truly looking to make their Hall of Fame International in scope and it could raise a new series of possible inductions.  Time will tell if it will or not.