Mighty Inoue
| Mighty Inoue マイティ井上 |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sueo Inoue[1] |
| Born | April 12, 1949 [1][2] Kobe, Hyogo, Japan[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | All Mighty Inoue[2] Chati Mikki Inoue[1] Enzo Inoue[1] Mickey Inoue[3] Mighty Inoue[1] Mitsu Inoue[1] Sueo Inoue[1] Tonpachi Inoue[3] |
| Billed height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 108 kg (238 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Billy Robinson[1] Hiro Matsuda[1] |
| Debut | July 21, 1967[1] |
| Retired | December 31, 2009[4] |
Sueo Inoue (born April 12, 1949), better known by the ring name Mighty Inoue (Japanese: マイティ井上), is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and referee. He is best known for his appearances with International Wrestling Enterprise from 1967 to 1981, with All Japan Pro-Wrestling from 1981 to 2000, and with Pro Wrestling Noah from 2000 to 2010.
Contents
Early life
While attending high school, Inoue competed in judo.[3]
Professional wrestling career
International Wrestling Enterprise (1967–1981)
Inoue was trained to wrestle by Billy Robinson and Hiro Matsuda.[1] He debuted on July 21, 1967 for the International Wrestling Enterprise promotion.[1]
From May to October 1972, Inoue wrestled in Montreal, Canada where he teamed with Mitsu Arakawa.[5]
In October 1974, Inoue defeated Superstar Billy Graham in an upset victory to win the IWA World Heavyweight Championship.[6] He held the title until April 1975, when he lost to Mad Dog Vachon.[7]
In 1975, Inoue formed a tag team with Great Kusatsu. Between June 1975 and January 1977, they held the IWA World Tag Team Championship three times.[7] Inoue held the IWA World Tag Team Championship twice more from 1979 to 1981 with Animal Hamaguchi, then a final time with Ashura Hara in 1981.[7]
All Japan Pro-Wrestling (1981–2000)
In 1981, following the closure of International Wrestling Enterprise, Inoue joined All Japan Pro-Wrestling full-time as part of its junior heavyweight division.[3] He made his debut in October 1981 during the "Giant Series" tour, forming a tag team with Ashura Hara known as the "Japanese High Flyers".[8][9] The duo held the All Asia Tag Team Championship from February 1983 to February 1984.[7]
In February 1984, Inoue defeated Chavo Guerrero to win the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship; he held the title until June 1985, when he lost to Dynamite Kid.[7] From 1985 to 1987, he won the All Asia Tag Team Championship twice with Takashi Ishikawa. In January 1989, he defeated Joe Malenko for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship; his reign lasted until March 1989, when he lost to Masanobu Fuchi.[7] From 1990 to 1993, he was part of the Tsuruta-gun stable.[10]
In April 1994, Inoue formed a "legends" stable with Haruka Eigen and Masanobu Fuchi; for the next three years, he primarily competed alongside them in tag team matches and six-man tag team matches.[11][12][13][14] Inoue retired from professional wrestling in April 1997,[15] transitioning to refereeing.[3] During his final months as a wrestler he regularly teamed with Eigen and Futchi to face Giant Baba, Mitsuo Momota, and Rusher Kimura.[14]
Pro Wrestling Noah (2000–2010)
In 2000, Inoue was among the personnel to leave AJPW to join Mitsuharu Misawa's breakway Pro Wrestling Noah promotion. He worked for Noah as a referee for the next decade.[3] He broke his retirement for a single night on December 31, 2009, wrestling in an elimination match at the "New Year's Eve Special" event jointly promoted by Big Japan Pro Wrestling, DDT Pro-Wrestling, and Kaientai Dojo.[4] He retired from the professional wrestling industry in 2010 following Misawa's death.[3]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Inoue wrestled in a "technical" style.[4] His finishing moves included the somersault senton and the sunset flip.[1][3][15] He customarily wrestled in red tights.[16]
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- All Asia Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Ashura Hara (1 time), Animal Hamaguchi (1 time), and Takashi Ishikawa (2 times)[7]
- NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[7]
- World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[7]
- International Wrestling Enterprise
- IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[7]
- IWA World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Ashura Hara (1 time), Animal Hamaguchi (2 times), and Great Kusatsu (3 times)[7]
References
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- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
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