A statue of the professional wrestling and mixed martial arts pioneer has been unveiled in Yokohoma.
Inoki is famous for a lot of things, from his professional wrestling prowess to his ability in mixed martial arts. Inoki is also famous for being a part of the first “superfight”, which resembled what mixed martial arts today as he battled Muhammed Ali in 1976.
On September 12, a ceremony was held unveiling a bust of Antonio Inoki. The ceremony took place at the Sojiji Temple in Tsurumi, Yokohama. It has almost been a year now since Inoki’s passing, as he tragically passed away on October 1st of last year.
Interestingly enough, Kazuchika Okada would be the body double for the torso of the bust. Okada, along with several other NJPW stars attended the ceremony.
September 12 saw a special ceremony at the Sojiji Temple in Tsurumi, Yokohama marking the first anniversary of Antonio Inoki’s passing at the age of 79 on October 1 2022, as well as to unveil a special statue at the temple.
Representing New Japan Pro-Wrestling at the unveiling were Tiger Mask, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Kazuchika Okada, as well as NJPW consultant Seiji Sakaguchi. AJPW and NOAH representatives were also present along with Inoki students Yoshiaki Fujiawara, Masahiro Chono, Kazuyuki Fujita, Naoya Ogawa and more, with 120 people in attendance at the ceremony.
After incense was burned according to traditional Buddhist ceremony, Naoya Ogawa acted as IGF representative, leading a call of ‘1,2,3, Daa!’ From there, a special ‘Burning Fighting Spirit’ statue was unveiled at the Inoki family grave by Sakaguchi, Chono, Fujiwara, Ogawa, Okada, and Kaito Kiyomiya of NOAH and Kento Miyahara of AJPW.
Inoki’s cremated remains are currently with his daughter Hiroko, who resides in the US, and will be laid to rest in Yokohama when she returns to Japan later this year. The grave and statue are open for viewing to the general public.
NJPW
A special ceremony in Yokohama today marked one year since Antonio Inoki’s passing, with a bronze statue unveiled at the Inoki family grave.
NJPW
AEW’s next PPV, Wrestledream, will be a celebration of Inoki on October 1st.
Zack Sabre Jr vs Bryan Danielson has already been confirmed for the upcoming matchup.
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