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RikidozanRikidozan was a professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history. He was credited with bringing the sport of professional wrestling to Japan at a time when the Japanese needed a local hero to look up to. Born Kim Sin-Nak in his native North Korea on November 14, 1924, he travelled to Japan and trained to be a sumo wrestler. Due to the discrimination against Koreans by the Japanese at the time, Sin-Nak claimed that his name was Mitsuhiro Momota. His true nationality was never revealed until after his death. When he completed his sumo training, he made his professional wrestling debut in 1951 with a ten minute draw against Bobby Bruns. Now known as Rikidozan, he established himself as Japan's biggest wrestling star by defeating one American wrestler after another. This was shortly after World War 2, and the Japanese needed someone who could stand up to the Americans. Rikidozan thus became immensely popular in Japan. His American opponents 'assisted' him by portraying themselves as villains who cheated in their matches. Rikidozan gained worldwide renown when he defeated Lou Thesz for the International Heavyweight Title in 1958. Thesz had willingly agreed to "put over" Rikidozan at the expense of his own reputation. This built up mutual respect between the two wrestlers, and Rikidozan never forgot what Thesz did. He would go on to capture several NWA titles in matches both in Japan and overseas. Rikidozan also trained professional wrestling students, including soon-to-be wrestling legends Antonio Inoki and Shohei "Giant" Baba. With his success in pro wrestling, Rikidozan began acquiring properties such as nightclubs, hotels and boxing promotions. He established the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA), Japan's first professional wrestling promotion, in 1953. In 1963, he reportedly had an argument with a member of the Yakuza concerning the expansion of his "territories", after which he was stabbed in the torso. He died a week later of peritonitis. External Link - http://www.wrestlingmuseum.com/pages/bios/halloffame/rikibio.html
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