How A Fight With The Yakuza Killed The Father Of Japanese Pro Wrestling

Highlights

• Japanese professional wrestling has gained popularity in North America due to its unique style and talented wrestlers, with Japanese stars even joining prominent US promotions like WWE and All Elite Wrestling.
• Mitsuhiro Momota, known as Rikidōzan, is credited for bringing professional wrestling to prominence in Japan and his legacy continues to live on.
• Unfortunately, Momota's life was tragically cut short when he was murdered by a member of the Yakuza in 1963, but his contributions to Japanese professional wrestling are still greatly celebrated.

Japanese professional wrestling has been popular not only at an international level but also has somewhat of a cult following in North America. One could easily cite the influence of Japanese wrestling in prominent North American organizations like All Elite Wrestling, as the concept of Japanese wrestling, regarding its style and talent, is still very much relevant in today's professional wrestling industry in North America. The success of Japanese professional wrestling could be traced back to WWE Hall of Famer Mitsuhiro Momota, better known as Rikidōzan, as he is widely credited for bringing professional wrestling into prominence in Japan. Unfortunately for Mitsuhiro Momota, he was murdered by a member of the Yakuza in December 1963, but his legacy continues to live on.

RELATED: 10 Most Bizarre Storylines In Japanese Wrestling History, Explained

The Success Of Japanese Professional Wrestling In Recent Years

In recent years, the popularity of Japanese professional wrestling has been thriving in North America like never before, as many modern fans respect the stiff in-ring strong-style that's specialized in Japan. Although Japanese wrestling has been around for many years, it appeared in recent years that much of the talent has made its way to prominent professional wrestling promotions in the United States.

Over the past decade, many fans wouldn't have expected Japanese stars like Shinsuke Nakamura to join WWE in 2016, especially considering Japanese talent generally weren't pushed as main event talents. And with other professional wrestling promotions like All Elite Wrestling employing many Japanese professional wrestlers and even going as far as doing cross-over events with New Japan Pro Wrestling, like the annual AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door PPV events.

Japanese professional wrestling continues to have an important place in this generation of the industry. And because Japanese professional wrestling continues to thrive, certain past talent within the Japanese wrestling scene could be cited as a major influence.

RELATED: 10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About Japanese Legend Rikidozan

Rikidōzan Is The Father Of Japanese Professional Wrestling

One man who deserves much of the credit for popularizing professional wrestling in Japan is the late Mitsuhiro Momota, better known by his ring name Rikidōzan. For those who don't know much about the Korean-born Japanese talent Mitsuhiro Momota and his upbringing in the professional wrestling industry, he is considered by many to be among the greatest professional wrestlers in the history of the industry. Known as The Father of Puroresu, Momota became one of the popular figures in Japan after the Second World War.

Although he's not the most-known figure among fans in North America, his contributions are widely credited for the success of Japanese professional wrestling due to his popularity. Because of this, Mitsuhiro Momota was among the first inductees into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 1996.

A former decade veteran in sumo wrestling, Momota made his professional wrestling debut in 1951 when he started working in the Japanese professional wrestling scene. His popularity in Japan rose when there was a need for a Japanese hero during the post-World War II years, as he became popular when going against American-billed wrestlers.

While Mitsuhiro Momota became a well-accomplished professional wrestler in Japan, being a multiple-time world champion in the Japanese scene, he also achieved championship success internationally, including in the United States. One of his most decorated championship wins was defeating Lou Thesz to capture the NWA International Heavyweight Championship.

How Rikidōzan's Run-In With The Yakuza Ended His Life

Mitsuhiro Momota's life was cut short due to an unfortunate run-in with the Japanese mafia during the early 1960s. On December 8, 1969, Momota got involved in an altercation at a Tokyo nightclub. It was alleged that a man named Katsushi Murata, a member of a group affiliated with the Yakuza, stepped on Mitsuhiro Momota's shoes. They began to scrap after Murata refused to apologize.

The altercation became deadly when Murata stabbed Momota with a knife in the abdomen. After both men left the scene, Momota went to the hospital to have surgery, which was successful.

However, despite being in the process of healing, he needed a second surgery after going against doctors' orders when he started drinking too much. Mitsuhiro Momota later got peritonitis and passed away on December 15, 1969, at the age of 39.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Japanese Wrestling Legend Giant BabaKatsushi Murata was convicted of manslaughter over the events of the altercation and served eight years in prison. He later apologized to Momota's family after his release from prison. And even though it's been many decades since Mitsuhiro Momota passed away, his contributions are still celebrated as he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in recent years.