It is sad to report the passing of Japanese legend The Mighty Inoue earlier this week. Inoue passed on 11/27 at the age of 75 after a cardiac incident.
Inoue had a long career, likely best remembered for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling where he held the World Junior Championship as well as The All Asian Tag Team Championship on multiple occasions.
A great technical wrestler, Inoue was trained by Hiro Matsuda and Billy Robinson. He originally debuted for IWE in Japan in the late 1960s, where he held their IWA World Championship after defeating Superstar Billy Graham. He held the belt for about six months before losing it to Mad Dog Vachon. He also teamed regularly with The Great Kusatsu.
Hiro Matsuda vs. Mighty Inoue 12/17/1975
Best known for his run in All Japan, Inoue was a stalwart of the promotion's Junior Heavyweight division and also teamed with Ashura Hara as The Japanese High Flyers. He held the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship, defeating Chavo Guerrero Sr., holding the belt for several months before dropping it to The Dynamite Kid. He later defeated Joe Malenko for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Haruka Eigen, Fuchi, Motoshi Okuma vs. Mighty Inoue, Rusher Kimura, Ryuma Izumida (10.21.1992)
In the 1990s. Inoue was regularly part of six man team bouts featuring other aging veterans, usually teaming with Masa Fuchi and Haruka Eigen against Giant Baba, Mitsuo Momota, and Rusher Kimura in bouts that mixed nostalgia and comedy. He officially retired in 1997 and shifted over to refereeing. When Mitsuharu Misawa led the exodus of talent and staff from All Japan, Inoue followed and refereed for Pro Wrestling NOAH.
After Misawa passed in 2010, Inoue opted to leave NOAH and retire, but did make appearances for the current version of All Japan over the years, most recently in 2023.
Tiger Mask II & Mighty Inoue vs. The British Bulldogs (November 30th, 1985)
