Because the Koreans were discriminated against in Japan, his real identity was kept secret for many years even after his death. It was always believed that he was born Mitsuhiro Momota in Ohmura, Nagasaki, Japan. Momota is the last name of his adopted parents in Nagasaki.
Debut:
1951/10/28 Tokyo
10min time limit draw against Bobby Bruns on
Last Match:
1963/12/07 Hamamatsu
60min time limit draw againt The Destroyer, Killer Buddy Austin, & Ilio DiPaolo, teaming with Great Togo & Michiaki Yoshimura
Founder of Japan Wrestling Association.
Inducted to Puroresu Hall of Fame in
May, 1996
Rikidozan is the father of puroresu. He established the puroresu as a popular professional sport
in Japan less than a decade after Japan lost the World War II. He, who continuously defeated Americans
with his famous karate chop, was a hero for the Japanese people with depressed mind. Many of his students
became big stars in the sport, including Shohei "Giant" Baba and
Antonio Inoki, who are two of the greatest wrestlers in the history of puroresu,
and Kintaro Ohki (Kim Ill), who was also a superstar in his home country South Korea.
