Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu, more inducted into Japan Wrestling Hall Of Fame

The Japan Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame held a ceremony at the LEGACY event at Korakuen Hall and the 2021 inductees were announced

Photo Courtesy: Kazuhiro Yokozeki

The 2021 Japan Wrestling Hall Of Fame class were formally inducted.

September 14th was day one of a two-day event titled ‘LEGACY’ where organizations came together to celebrate the history of wrestling in Japan. Five Japan-based wrestling companies including New Japan Pro-Wrestling were represented on the 14th and are going to be represented on the 15th.

The 2021 Japan Wrestling Hall Of Fame inducted six new members. The class consisted of Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu, and Genichiro Tenryu.

Inoki accepted the honor via video message and Tenryu and Fujinami were there in-person. Giant Baba, Riki Choshu and Jumbo Tsuruta’s inductions will take place on the 15th at Korakuen Hall. Baba passed away in 1999 and Tsuruta passed in 2000.

When the announcement of the ‘LEGACY’ event was made, nine organizations were listed to be participating in the event but the Tokyo Sports article noted that five different groups participated. Those initial nine were New Japan, All Japan, Michinoku Pro, Big Japan, DDT, Dragon Gate, NOAH, ZERO1 and 2AW.

About Andrew Thompson 7997 Articles
A Washington D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, Andrew Thompson has been covering wrestling since 2017.