10 Precise Moments Kayfabe Ended
5. Koji Kitao Causes An Earthquake
Koji Kitao was one the of those Stampy The Elephant-cum-Homer Simpson types.
Some people are just jerks, and Kitao was a jerk: expelled from the sumo world after physically battering a trainee - and striking the wife of his stable boss on the way out - this just awful, belligerent disposition followed him to the professional wrestling arena. It intensified, if anything, because on the evidence of his infamous match with John 'Earthquake' Tenta, he had zero respect for it.
Certain malcontents had threatened to expose the sham on Japanese soil before - the Great Antonio tried to clown on Antonio Inoki, who simply beat the sh*t out of him with such ironic professionalism that it felt like a deliberate takedown, and not a frenzied assault - but Kitao's transgression was different. Refusing to cooperate with lesser-ranking sumo Tenta under the illusion of competition, in a 1991 Super World of Sports match, Kitao stood steadfast in his awkwardness. An increasingly pissed off Tenta screamed "This is pro wrestling!". Kitao, like a true bully, kicked not Tenta but the referee. The match was thrown out.
Kitao grabbed a microphone and roared at Tenta "You're just a monkey in this fake wrestling circus!"
Kitao was fired in the aftermath, and to underscore how little this sort of thing matters, post-1911, puro continued to thrive throughout a hugely lucrative decade.