- Rikidozan vs. Masahiko Kimura [CLIPPED]

2 Out of 3 Falls Match Japanese Heavyweight Championship Decision Match Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance Japanese Championship Series 1954 Kuramae Kokugikan Former partners turn enemies, Judoka meets Rikishi, one of the most important bouts ever in Pro Wrestling history. The story here is that Rikidozan decides to start beating up Kimura for real with his chops and ends up knocking him out. English Wikipedia more or less says it was a conscious decision by Rikidozan to go back on the deal made between the two to make their matches a series that they’d tour around the country, while Japanese Wikipedia appears to say he got mad at a stiff shot Kimura hit him with. Regardless, Kimura gets a fool made out of him and Rikidozan becomes the main man of wrestling. Kimura would not forgive this, settling the matter only because the payout would help his wife who had tuberculosis. Anyway, this is a cool match.