Antonio Inoki

Antonio Inoki was larger than wrestling itself, and that's why he fascinates me. He didn't just found New Japan Pro-Wrestling and run it for over three decades; he treated the ring as a stage for spectacle, diplomacy, and pure force of will. The man wrestled Muhammad Ali, won a seat in Japan's parliament, and flew into conflict zones to free hostages. Some of it was theater, some of it was genuine courage, and I think Inoki blurred that line on purpose. His passing in 2022 closed a singular chapter. To me he embodied fighting spirit as a complete philosophy of life.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Name (English)

Antonio Inoki

Name (Japanese)

アントニオ猪木

Reading

あんとにおいのき

Born

February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022

Origin

Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Height

191 cm

Occupation

politician / professional wrestler / writer / actor / martial artist

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Goat

Active years

1960 - 2022

Awards & achievements

• WWE Hall of Fame
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
• The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon
• Order of Friendship, 1st class

Spouse

Mitsuko Baishō

Works summary

Appearances

63 (1962–2023)

By year (titles with a known year)

1962: 1, 1976: 1, 1978: 1, 1979: 1, 1980: 1, 1981: 2, 1984: 1, 2002: 1, 2003: 2, 2004: 1, 2006: 2, 2007: 2, 2008: 1, 2010: 4, 2011: 1, 2012: 2, 2013: 1, 2015: 1, 2016: 2, 2018: 2, 2019: 1, 2022: 1, 2023: 1, year unknown: 30

Debut work

チャンピオン太 - 死神酋長役、ストライプ・スネイク役

Filmography / notable works

• Xhttps://x.com/Inoki_Kanji
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio%20Inoki
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%83%8B%E3%82%AA%E7%8C%AA%E6%9C%A8
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45207

Tags

• Kanagawa Prefecture
• politician
• professional wrestler
• writer

Last updated

September 24, 2026

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Works and profile fields sourced from Wikipedia reflect content as of 2026-08-26. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.