10 Painful Wrestling Receipts Caught On Camera

Rikidōzan was the Godfather of Japanese professional wrestling, which had struggled to take off before he led it to prominence.

The Japanese Korea-born former sumo star masqueraded as a native and thwarted the foreign menace invaders to - and this isn't hyperbole, he truly was this enormous a cultural icon - heal the psyche of the post-World War II public. With a legitimate tough guy background and unparalleled position of power, he was not to be f*cked with.

The mercurial Masahiko Kimura tried to f*ck with him, leading to one of the most infamous shoot incidents in 20th century pro wrestling. Deep into a collaborative match, Kimura shot on him with a kick below the groin. Rikidōzan sniffed both blood and an opportunity. Kimura's low blow was a serendipitous development; a suspicious media had questioned the legitimacy of puroresu, since Kimura had shrugged off Rikidōzan's success as "for show". Rikidōzan, by losing his temper and slapping the sh*t out of Kimura as a receipt, also attempted to maintain the illusion.

He was not successful; despite his claims that he had refused to go along with Kimura's suggestion of a predetermined draw, the mere suggestion of an agreed-upon outcome itself only intensified the suspicion.

Puro's public image was rehabilitated in the years since, owing largely to legendary heel performances from the likes of Freddie Blassie and the Destroyer, but Kimura almost ruined everything.