10 Parallels Between Vince McMahon And Antonio Inoki

4. Bitter Rivalries With Some Promotions & Cooperation With Others

Inoki and Vince have never enjoyed competition. They both viewed their respective promotions as the biggest and the best, and have sought to prove this as fact on several occasions. To that end, they€™ve both gone to great lengths to eliminate their competition, which has in some cases required them to cooperate with lesser enemies. Vince expanded WWE into a national promotion in the early 80s by poaching the top talent from other territories. But when WCW became a major threat in the 90s, he supported and organized a talent exchange with ECW in order to change fan perceptions and take viewers away from WCW. As for Inoki, he was involved in a major war with All Japan Pro Wrestling for decades. Inoki and Giant Baba had cordial relations over the years, and constantly strived to dominate the other during a back-and-forth rivalry. To accomplish his mission, Inoki opened NJPW up to the world and partnered with WCW and other American promotions in order to increase interest in his product. In both of these cases, the bookers in question managed to overtake their biggest rivalries, even if it meant cooperating with lesser competition. Both Vince and Inoki managed to swallow their pride and use other promotions for their benefit.