Earlier this week, former IWA World Champion Sueo “Mighty” Inoue died at 75.
The former wrestler and referee was a major figure for the International Wrestling Enterprises promotion and shifted to All Japan Pro Wrestling before ending his career in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Inoue was born on April 12, 1949, and trained in Judo while in High School but dropped the sport in pursuit of professional wrestling.
Once leaving school, he learned the trade under Billy Robinson and Hiro Matsuda as he made his pro debut at the age of eighteen on July 21, 1967.
One of Inoue’s heroes was Edouard Carpentier, a legendary figure out of Montreal and renowned for high-flying acrobatics, which Inoue would mimic and was marketed as “The Japanese Edouard Carpentier”.
After wrestling under his real name, then Enzo Inoue, he settled with the popular “Mighty” moniker in 1969 and was known distinctly under that name for the rest of his life.
Inoue traveled working for Maurice & Paul Vachon in Grand Prix in 1972 and later in the decade, returning to Canada for a stay in Stampede Wrestling.
His ascension in IWE skyrocketed after the company lost its major star, Shozo Kobayashi, to New Japan and Inoue was propelled into the top role. His coronation occurred on October 7, 1974, beating Superstar Billy Graham to become the group’s world champion for a six-month reign. His title defenses included ones with Ray Stevens, Nick Bockwinkel, Billy Robinson, and a big Title vs. Title match with Verne Gagne that resulted in a double count-out.
Inoue did not check enough boxes to stay in the spot and IWE wanted to place Rusher Kimura in the role while using Mad Dog Vachon as a nine-day transitional champion to get the belt from Inoue to Kimura.
The remainder of Inoue’s time in IWE was as a staple of its tag division, winning its tag belts three times with Great Kusatsu, twice with Animal Hamiguchi, and once with Ashura Hara. Inoue & Hamaguchi also won the AJPW’s All Asia tag titles in November 1977 in an inter-promotional program and wouldn’t be the last time Inoue would be attached to those titles.
IWE’s demise saw talent splinter for new homes and Inoue found himself in Giant Baba’s promotion as a tag wrestler and as a member of its junior heavyweight division.
With Ashura Hara, the duo won the All Asia tag belts on February 23, 1983, and would have two additional reigns with Takashi Ishikawa in 1985 and 1987.
When the company created its World Jr. Heavyweight Championship, Inoue was its fifth holder when he defeated Joe Malenko on January 25, 1989, and lost to Masa Fuchi on March 8.
Throughout the decade of the ‘90s, he was a mid-card player, often playing comedic roles in multi-man tags and having his place on the show as a member of Tsuruta-gun.
After completing his last matches as a full-timer in 1997, he transitioned to become a referee which was the role he held until the mass exodus of talent from All Japan to form NOAH in the spring of 2000. Inoue was among the many to jump and continued his role as a referee for the next decade before retiring for good.
He officiated his final match on May 22, 2010, where Jun Akiyama teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama & Kensuke Sasaki to defeat Takeshi Morishima, Go Shiozaki & Masao Inoue.
It was reported that Inoue died due to heart issues this past Wednesday at the age of 75.
Additional reading:
– Japan’s Mighty Inoue dead at 75 (SLAM Wrestling)
– Mighty Inoue obit (Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
