History of Puroresu : The Post-Rikidozan J.W.A.

	Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki
History of Puroresu : The Post-Rikidozan J.W.A. 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973

See also: Showa Puroresu Message Board

The Rikidozan Era

1964
12/15/63: Rikidozan dies at age of 39. NWA Int'l heavyweight title, Asian Heavyweight title, and Asian tag team title are all vacated.
01/10/64: Toyonobori, Yoshinosato, Koukichi Endo, and Michiaki Yoshimura announce the continuation of the JWA.
02/05/64: Lou Thesz defends NWA World Heavyweight Title against Giant Baba in Detroit, MI.
02/17/64: Bruno Sammartino defends WWWF World Heavyweight title against Giant Baba in New York City.
02/20/64: Toyonobori & Michiaki Yoshimura defeat King Cutis Iaukea & Don Manoukian to win All Asia Tag Team title which has been vacant since the death of Rikidozan.
03/20/64: Fred Blassie defends WWA World Heavyweight Title against Giant Baba in Los Angeles. Match ends as a draw.
06/19/64: Japan Pro-Wrestling Commissioner Banboku Ohno dies, and Seijiro Kawashima, the vice-chairman of Liberal Democratic Party, is chosen as the new commissioner.
12/04/64: Toyonobori wins the WWA World Heavyweight Title from The Destroyer at the Tokyo Gym. However, the Destroyer continues to defend the title in Los Angeles and loses to Pedro Morales on 03/12/65.
1965
03/12/65: Masanori(Masa) Saito and Kouji "Thunder" Sugiyama, members of the '64 Olympic Wrestling Team in Tokyo, join JWA.
07/23/65: Luke Graham wins WWA World Heavyweight Title from Pedro Morales. Toyonobori is still recognized as the champion in Japan.
09/20/65: Luke Graham defeats Toyonobori by disqualification at Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium to end the dispute over the WWA World Heavyweight title.
11/24/65: Giant Baba defeats Dick the Bruiser at Osaka Pref Gym to win NWA International heavyweight title which has been vacant since the death of Rikidozan.
1966
01/05/66: JWA announces the resignation and absence of the company president Toyonobori.
03/21/66: JWA expells Toyonobori and announces Antonio Inoki's cancellation in the annual round-robin tournament.
04/23/66: Toyonobori and Antonio Inoki announce the foundation of Tokyo Pro-Wrestling. Toyonobori has stopped Inoki in Hawaii on the way home from the United States.
10/07/66: After leaving JWA, the former chairman of the JWA business department Isao Yoshiwara announces the foundation of a new promotion with Kouji Sugiyama and Kiyomasa Kusatsu.
10/12/66: Tokyo Pro has its first card at Kuramae Kokugikan(old Sumo Hall). Antonio Inoki defeats Johnny Valentine in an upset.
10/24/66: Isao Yoshiwara and Hiro Matsuda start the International Wrestling Enterprise.
11/05/66: Giant Baba & Michiaki Yoshimura win NWA International Tag Team Title from Mike Padosis & Fritz Von Goering.
Fritz Von Erich vs. Giant Baba 12/03/66: On JWA's first card at the Nippon Budokan, Baba defends International title against Fritz Von Erich.
1967
01/05/67: IWE has its first card in Osaka(a combined card with Tokyo Pro). In the main event, Danny Hodge defends NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title against Hiro Matsuda in a draw.
02/17/67: All Japan judo champion Seiji Sakaguchi joins JWA.
04/06/67: Japan Pro-Wrestling Commissioner Seijiro Kawashima announces the return of Antonio Inoki to JWA. Tokyo Pro folds soon, and most of its wrestlers join IWE.
04/19/67: Japan Women's Pro-wrestling Association is established to unify the women's promotions and the titles. They recognize the titles in three weight divisions: heavyweight, middleweight, and lightweight.
08/67: Yukiko Tomoe defeats Miyuki Yanagi to win the Japanese (women's) Heavyweight Title.
08/14/67: In NWA International Heavyweight Title Match, champion Giant Baba wrestles Gene Kiniski to a draw in front of 20,000 people in the audience at Osaka Stadium.
10/31/67: Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki win NWA International Tag Team title from Bill Watts & Tarzan Tyler, who have defeated Baba & Michiaki Yoshimura for the title on 10/06/67.
11/02/67: IWE restart with Thunder Sugiyama and Great Kusatsu with the backup of TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System).
1968
01/03/68: TBS(Tokyo Broadcasting System) airs an IWE card at the Nippon University Hall for the first time. In the main event, the group's top star Great Kusatsu is knocked-out by Lou Thesz's back suplex. On the same day, JWA has a card at Kuramae Kokugikan(old Sumo Hall) with Giant Baba defending NWA International Heavyweight Title against Crusher Risowski in the main event.
01/17/68: Kintaro Ohki (Il Kim) gives the notice to JWA. Great Togo and Lou Thesz have been trying to take pro-wrestling in Japan over, and Ohki sings the contract with them.
01/25/68: Kintaro Ohki returns to JWA. Youssef Toruko claims that he stopped the take-over by Togo and Lou Thesz after going to Togo's hotel room and beating him up.
02/19/68: After failing to take Japanese pro-wrestling over, Great Togo splits with IWE. Four foreign wrestlers, including Lou Thesz, no-show the IWE cards.
03/10/68: Women's Japanese Heavyweight Champion Yukiko Tomoe becomes the first Japanese to win the NWA Women's World Title, defeating Fabulous Moolah in Osaka. Moolah regains the title around 04/01/68. However, Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Association breaks up after this tour.
06/25/68: Baba loses International title to Bobo Brazil in what could be his 22nd title defense.
06/29/68: After the conflict within the Japan Women's Pro-wrestling Association, the Matsunaga Brothers start All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling with eleven female wrestlers and four midget wrestlers. Matsunaga Brothers and Jack Briton, a Detroit promoter, establish American Girls' Wrestling Association.
11/68: Fuji Television Network airs an All Japan Women's card for the first time.
12/19/68: Billy Robinson wins a round-robin tournament to be the first IWA World Heavyweight Champion.
1969
05/12/69: NET(today's TV Asahi) announces the weekly program for the JWA. From this point, Nippon TV is not to air Inoki's matches while NET is not to air Baba's matches.
05/18/69: Toyonobori & Shozo "Strong" Kobayashi defeat Michael Nador & Ivan Strogoff in Paris, France to be the first IWA World Tag Team Champions.
08/24/69: National Wrestling Alliance refuses the membership application from IWE. IWE president Isao Yoshiwara starts negotiating with Verne Gagne of the American Wrestling Association.
12/02/69: In the first NWA World Heavyweight title match in Japan in 12 years, Dory Funk Jr. wrestles Antonio Inoki to a 60min time limit draw to defend the title.
1970: AGWA is absorbed into Mildred Burk's World Women's Wrestling Association.
02/01/70: AWA World Heavyweight Champion Verne Gagne comes to Japan for the first time. AWA and IWE sign the working relationship.
02/05/70: In the first AWA World heavyweight title match in Japan, Verne Gagne wrestles Shozo "Strong" Kobayashi to a double KO draw.
02/11/70: Toyonobori retires on an IWE card.
07/27/70: Dory Funk Jr. teams with Terry Funk for the first time in Japan and defeat the All Asia Tag Team champions Antonio Inoki & Michiaki Yoshimura in a non-title match.
08/02/70: Dory Funk Jr. wrestles Antonio Inoki to a 60min time limit draw in the NWA World Heavyweight Title Match.
09/17/70: Abdullah the Butcher has his first Japanese match.
10/08/70: Rusher Kimura (IWE) has the first steel cage match in Japan against Dr. Death (Moose Morrowski). After this match, TBS(Tokyo Broadcasting System) bans the cage matches from television.
1971
01/23/71: On Giant Baba's 33rd birthday, the webmaster Hisaharu Tanabe is born in Tojo, Hiroshima.
02/19/71: Mil Mascaras defeats Kantaro Hoshino in his first match in Japan
03/26/71: Antonio Inoki wins NWA United National Heavyweight Title from John Tolos in Los Angeles, CA.
04/02/71: On a JWA card, Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson wrestle to a 30min time limit draw.
05/20/71: Antonio Inoki requests Japan Pro-Wrestling Commissioner for a shot at Giant Baba's NWA International Heavyweight Title. The Commission refuses, saying "it is something to be taken care of inside JWA, not the Commission."
05/29/71: JWA refuses Inoki's title shot at Giant Baba, saying "too early."
12/07/71: Baba & Inoki lose the International tag title to the Funk Brothers (Dory Jr. & Terry). This ends up being Inoki's last match in JWA.
12/13/71: Inoki is expelled from JWA for planning a coup. It's still uncertain who the leak was.
1972
03/06/72: Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro-Wrestling has its first card at Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo. The wrestlers include Tatsumi Fujinami, Kotetsu Yamamoto, and Osamu Kido. Inoki, the promotion's top star and the president, loses to Karl Gotch. Toyonobori also appears on the card.
04/03/72: JWA breaks a contract with Nippon TV, letting NET to broadcast a match involving Giant Baba. The contract says NET is not to broadcast any of Baba's match while Nippon TV is not to broadcase Inoki's match.
05/15/72: Nippon TV cancels broadcasting JWA cards.
08/18/72: Baba wrestles his last JWA match.
08/25/72: Kintaro Ohki challenges Baba for the NWA International Heavyweight Title. However, Baba refuses and vacates the title on 09/02/72.
10/04/72: Antonio Inoki wins the "Real World Heavyweight Title" from Karl Gotch. Gotch, however, regains the belt on 10/10/72.
10/16/72: The Momota Family(Rikidozan's) presents Rikidozan's old NWA International Heavyweight belt to Giant Baba. Baba announces that he creats a World Heavyweight title with the belt(later becomes PWF Heavyweight Title).
10/21/72: Baba starts his own promotion, All Japan Pro-Wrestling with the support of Nippon TV and has the first card at Machida City Gym in Tokyo.
10/31/72: Tomomi Tsuruta, member of the Japanese Olympic wrestling team for Munich, joins All Japan.
1973
02/03/73: At the NWA Board meeting in St. Louis, MO, All Japan is accepted as a member.
02/08/73: Antonio Inoki(New Japan) and Seiji Sakaguchi(JWA) have a joint press conference and announce the merge of both promotions. However, Kintaro Ohki, the top star of JWA, refuses the idea.
03/30/73: Seiji Sakaguchi, along with his followers Kengo Kimura and Masashi Ozawa (Killer Khan), joins New Japan. NET cancels broadcasting JWA cards and starts with New Japan.
04/20/73: JWA folds after its history of 20 years.

1970s

[ Puroresu Dojo ][ History of Puroresu ]

Credits for pictures and images are given to these sites/people.

Internet Marketing - United Specialties - Renegade Motorhomes - Credit Cards