Strong Style
Strong Style makes wrestling a test of fighting credibility.
Antonio Inoki established New Japan Pro-Wrestling in January 1972; its first show followed on March 6, with Karl Gotch facing Inoki in the main event. This room reads Strong Style as the fighting ideal associated with that lineage: grappling, strikes, and the claim that a professional wrestler could stand against other combat disciplines.
That ideal took different forms. Inoki faced boxer Muhammad Ali in a real mixed-rules contest in 1976; Hashimoto reclaimed the IWGP title from UWFi’s Takada in 1996; Okada defended it against Shibata in 2017. These are different kinds of encounter, not evidence of one permanent ruleset. The viewing path follows the professional-wrestling side of the tradition.
Documented Record
- Company Formation
- Inoki established New Japan Pro-Wrestling in January 1972.
- Opening Main Event
- Karl Gotch faced Antonio Inoki at NJPW’s first show on March 6, 1972.
- Ali Landmark
- Ali and Inoki’s June 26, 1976 contest at Nippon Budokan ended in a draw.
- Title Reclaimed
- Hashimoto submitted Takada for the IWGP title at Battle Formation on April 29, 1996.
- Modern Title Defense
- Okada defeated Shibata to retain the IWGP Heavyweight title on April 9, 2017.
