Rikidozan vs lou thesz biography

All All. Sign In. Kim-Sin Rak. Father of Puroresu. Korean-born, Japanese-raised professional wrestler who was the first Japanese wrestling star. He debuted in after abandoning sumo wrestling a rikidozan vs lou thesz biography earlier. The amount of success he had earned despite his humble beginnings was a source of envy amongst his seniors in Nishonoseki.

While the public explanation for his retirement claimed that he suffered from paragonimiasisthe truth was that on September 10,soon after the argument with Tamanoumi, Momota "impulsively" cut his own chonmage top knot. After his retirement, Momota initially worked alongside Americans as 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.

In Julythe 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. Karasick and Malcewisz would send six wrestlers for a twelve-date tour, held from September 30 to December While Bruns 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.

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 the stamina required of wrestlers. He continued to establish himself as Japan's biggest wrestling star by defeating foreign wrestlers, becoming a major television star in the process. His American opponents assisted him by portraying themselves as villains who cheated in their matches.

He would go on to capture several NWA titles in matches both in Japan and overseas. His signature move was the karate chopwhich was actually based on sumo's hariterather than actual karate. Rikidozan had likely conceived the move while being with a Korean-born karatekaHideo Nakamurawho was one of Rikidozan's dearest friends. His first major feud was against Masahiko Kimura, the famous judoka who had been invited by Momota to compete as a professional wrestler.

In wrestling journalist John M. Molinaro's book Top Pro Wrestlers of All Timeit is noted that two of his matches are rated in the top ten television programs of all time in Japan. With his success in pro wrestling, Momota began a side-career as a businessmanacquiring properties such as nightclubshotelscondominiums and boxing promotions.

However, it remained incomplete due to his death and was eventually sold and became Sagami Lake Resort, a hotel. He married his wife, Keiko Tanaka shortly before his death. After his wrestling matches, he would often immediately go to Riki Sports Palace and start drinking without cleaning up any wounds. He 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? 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. Despite his image of a national hero, he had a reputation for being a troublemaker, especially in the later years of his career.

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. He was 39 years old. Katsushi Murata was later found guilty of manslaughter in October and served eight years in prison before being released in In the years following his release, Murata became a high-ranking yakuza.

One of his sons, Mitsuofollowed his father into the ring in and retired in at 73, but was never able to earn the recognition that once made his father famous, despite winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship in Mitsuo's son, Chikara Momota, made his in-ring debut on December 16,the day after the fiftieth anniversary of the death of his grandfather.

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Rikidozan vs lou thesz biography

By his death inwrestling was selling out all across the nation. Even though he died at a very young age and still had a lot to contribute to the sport, there is no doubting the impact that Rikidozan had on wrestling not only while he was alive, but the foundation that he left ready for future stars to take wrestling to the next level.

Born in Korea, Rikidozan never revealed where he was born in fear of discrimination from Japanese fans. With a background in Sumo wrestling, Rikidozan easily adapted to professional wrestling and in his short career only 12 years he accomplished more then most wrestlers do in a lifetime. Since World War II had ended less then a decade earlier, he had a natural gimmick in that he would defeat the "evil" American wrestlers to the cheers of the crowd.

Although his name might not be easily recognized by many U. It is widely acknowledged that had there been no Rikidozan, there would likely be no such thing as professional wrestling in Japan. Because of the long history of discrimination by the Japanese against Koreans, Sin-Nak used the name Mitsuhiro Momota and claimed that he hailed from Nagasaki.

While growing up, he encountered the Japanese prejudice against Koreans often and was known to have been quite bitter because of it. He kept his true identity a secret for his entire career and his true nationality was not revealed to the public until after his death. After training as a sumo, the man who would go on to rule Japanese pro wrestling began his career on October 28, in Tokyo, wrestling to a 10 minute draw against Bobby Bruns.

Within a few years, and after spending some time in the U. After they lost World War II, the Japanese people were understandably in a state of depression and looking for heroes that could help ease the pain of their everyday lives. The sport of pro wrestling was, literally, brand new to the Japanese public and Rikidozan became the biggest wrestling superstar in the country.

By defeating American wrestler after American wrestler who were portrayed as evil villiansRikidozan helped win back some respect for Japan in the eyes of the Japanese people and in the process, he became a national hero.