>>13587668His rivalry and then friendship with Inoki was so hot in the early 70s, and it's not exaggerating to say that it shaped up what NJPW would be in the future. Their two matches in 1974 boosted NJPW's popularity to the roof. Their rivalry, which was unusual at the time because it involved 2 Japanese wrestlers instead of a Japanese and a foreigner, attracted a lot of attention and was called things like the "Forbidden Japanese Showdown" and the "Ganryujima of the Showa Era" in reference to the legendary Japanese figures Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro. Their first match for the NWF strap drew the biggest gate in the 70's. Too bad he retired fast to become a tarento (he was one of the cast of Takeshi's Castle, the huge monster). If he chose to stick around, I wonder how he'd be perceived today.
