| RIKIDOZAN by Damian Gray (trakxx2k3@vicgrimes.zzn.com) |
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| A man called Rikidozan (translated to english means "Rugged Mountain Road", who had retired from the ancient sport of sumo in 1950, longed to become a professional wrestler. His real name was Kim Sin-Nak, and he'd been born in 1924 in what is now the nothern area of Korea. Because Koreans were often discriminated against in Japan, he took the Japanese name Mitsuhiro Momota and claimed to be a native of the Japanese city of Nagasaki. His true origins were not revealed until years after he died. On October 28th, 1951, Rikidozan had his first match, wrestling American Bobby Bruns to a 10-minute draw. The next year he moved to Hawaii, training at a wrestling gym while engaging in matches in both Honolulu and San Francisco. In 1953, he returned home, formed his own promotion and began importing american wrestlers to work as heels against the Japanese. Few Japanese had television at this time, but a February 1954 tag team tournament featuring Rikidozan and partner Masahiko Kimura was carried on two networks. Thousands of people packed themselves in front of Tokyo store windows to watch the pair take on americans Ben and Mike Sharpe. Soon Panasonic became the first Japanese company to manufacture televisions. As this luxury became more affordable, Rikidozan established himself as one of Japan's first true television stars. In December 1954, Rikidozan and Kimura met for the first Japanese heavyweight championship. Kimura later claimed that the match was supposed to be a work that would end in a draw. But he said that Rikidozan double crossed him and began , to try and win the title. In 1957, NWA World Champion Lou Thesz became the first american heavyweight titlist to defend his belt in Japan. Naturally, his opponent was Rikidozan. The two wrestled to a 30-minute draw in front of over 30,000 fans. In 1962, Rikidozan travelled to Los Angeles, where promoters had broken away from the NWA and formed a group called the World Wrestling Association (WWA). The Japanese star defeated the late Freddie Blassie to capture the organisation's crown, becoming the first Asian to win an american "World Championship". Wrestling had become huge in Japan, and Rikidozan was a very wealthy man. He bought his own wrestling arena, along with nightclubs, apartment houses, hotels and golf courses. The Yakuza -or Japanese Mafia- was also involved in these businesses. On occasion, the Yakuza found themselves in conflict with the stubborn wrestler. On December 8th 1963, a member of the Yakuza followed Rikidozan into the toilets in a Tokyo nightclub and warned him not to interfere with the Yakuza's business interests. When Rikidozan responded with an insult, he was s*abbed. According to one account, the wrestler staggered back into the nightclub, grabbed the microphone, and cursed at his attacker while slowly dying. But this particular story is the type of exaggerated tale often heard in dressing rooms at wrestling arenas. Less sensational reports of the incident have Rikidozan being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. He was told that the injury wasn't serious and would heal. A week later, though, the 39-year-old father of Japanese professional wrestling died. Investigations that followed the m*rder uncovered a great deal of Yakuza influence in Japanese professional wrestling. Some arenas refused to allow their buildings to be used for the events. There was concern that wrestling would no longer interest the Jpanese public. But Rikidozan had prepared for his eventual passing from the game. Two of the students from his dojo -or training academy- stepped in, they had displayed enough skill, charisma and they displayed enough business savvy to carry Japanese wrestling through to the late 1990s. Those two men were the late Shohei "Giant" Baba, -who without injury or illness competed in over 4,100 matches between 1960 and 1984- the other man was Kanji "Antonio" Inoki. Kim Sin-Nak/Mitsuhiro Momota aka Rikidozan ("Rugged Mountain Road") 1924-1963 |
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