10 Best Male Japanese Imports In WWE History
2. Antonio Inoki
A list of greatest Japanese imports wouldn’t be complete without arguably the most famous Japanese wrestler in modern history, Antonio Inoki. While Inoki only had a handful of matches for Vince Sr. in the United States, the impact of Inoki on WWE history back in Japan was monumental.
In a little-known title change, long-since buried by WWE, Antonio Inoki actually defeated Bob Backlund to become WWF Champion on 30 November 1979. He would face off with Backlund again the following week; however, the return bout ended in controversy and Inoki refused the title on account of the dishonourable outcome.
Having also taken part in perhaps the most famous inter-sport match in history (the boxer vs. wrestler bout against Muhammad Ali), Inoki’s influence on the wrestling cannot be understated. In fact, Vince Sr. even helped promote that very bout in New York by presenting it on closed circuit TV at Shea Stadium.
Inoki was also awarded the forgotten WWWF Karate World Championship as a result of the Ali fight, in recognition of his accomplishments against other fighting disciplines. While the Karate World Title and his WWF Championship win are mere footnotes in unread history books, Inoki certainly made an impact during his time in WWE and was fittingly awarded WWE Hall of Fame status in 2010.