I spent most of my weekend re-watching Inoki matches, more than I intended to do. His matches are just so fun to watch. I believe this is the ultimate list for Inoki matches but feel free to suggest if you think I missed something. I wanted to add B1 Guns macthes, Inoki's tag-team matches with Baba, but those are harder to find and I need to research on them more to see which ones are good.
Based Inoki bro. Thanks for delivering. Many matches I've never watched on the list, especially under "For the spectacle alone". Gonna give those a watch first.
Joseph Watson
Love Tanahashi but I'm not his biggest fan and I've never hoarded his matches. Someone else will definitely make a better Tanahashi list than me. You're welcome, Inoki bro. Some of those are not on NJPWWORLD so you have to search for them, in Japanese even.
Julian Stewart
Thanks man, good stuff
Lucas Rivera
Never watched any Japanese wrestling besides the Kenny vs Okada epics and the few times some of them wrestled in Dynamite. I'll give those matches a watch since you went through the trouble to make a list. Which match should I start with?
You're welcome, bro. Well, the list is in a chronological order but you can start with Antonio Inoki vs. Jack Brisco. That's one of Inoki's best matches ever.
Michael Barnes
Wait >>Antonio Inoki vs. Takizawa Hideaki in Rikidozan Memorial 2000 @ Tokyo Dome >>Antonio Inoki vs. Renzo Gracie in Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2000 @ Osaka Dome I thought Inoki retired in 1998, what are these matches?
Japanese crowds were pretty loud in the 80s and early 90s. Even the joshi promotions were drawing hot crowds at the time.
Austin Flores
What makes that match great is the psychology both of Inoki and Brisco were exhibiting. Also Inoki's moves were sharper and at their peak here. There's no better finish to an incredible match like that than a high-angle German Suplex from Inoki. Oh yeah that match, I should have added it, thanks for reminding me. Honestly you could fill a whole list when it comes to NJPW vs. UWF matches. My favorite is Hashimoto vs Takada in 1996 in the Tokyo Dome. Fuck, that match man. Incredible fight and a white hot crowd.
I mean, they happened in special events with special opponents. Especially his match with Hideaki Takizawa, the heartthrob from Johnny & Associates and one of the most popular idols in Japan (now the vice-president of the company). I was stunned when I found out that Inoki had a match with Takkii.