New Japan Pro Wrestling (1978–1984) Maeda entered the
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)
dojo in 1978, after being discovered at a
karate tournament, and debuted the same year. Like many other New Japan stars before and after him, Maeda embarked on a foreign tour to the
United Kingdom in 1982, where he adopted the Kwik-kik-Lee moniker. In 1983, he participated in the first
International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament, won by
Hulk Hogan. He was one of three Japanese entrants to the international tournament, alongside
Antonio Inoki and
Rusher Kimura.
World Wrestling Federation (1984) Maeda would briefly join
Vince McMahon's
WWF for a few months in the Spring of 1984 working in the opening matches of shows and even appearing a few times in televised bouts. He defeated
Pierre Lefebvre in a tournament final for the vacated
WWF International Heavyweight Championship on March 25 in
Madison Square Gardens.
Universal Wrestling Federation (1984–1985) In 1984, Maeda,
Yoshiaki Fujiwara, and other New Japan defectors formed the
Japanese UWF. It was during his time in the first incarnation of the UWF that his willingness to show his displeasure in the ring became known; he quarreled with
Satoru Sayama (the original
Tiger Mask) over the direction of the UWF, as Maeda and other wrestlers were reportedly resentful of Sayama's cramming too much creative power. This included booking himself to win all his matches, where others, Maeda included, "
jobbed" in the worked matches. The promotion folded a year later, and Maeda returned to New Japan, where he became one of the promotion's biggest stars.
Return to New Japan Pro Wrestling (1985–1988) Maeda became involved in a real-life feud with New Japan
booker and top star, Antonio Inoki, refusing to work with him in what could have been a huge moneymaking program. In April 1986, he was involved in one of the most surreal moments in wrestling history during a match with
André the Giant; neither man could agree to losing the match. Andre appeared drunk and started no selling Maeda's moves. Then Maeda proceeded to shoot kick André's legs and repeatedly take him down. After nearly 30 minutes of this, André voluntarily laid down to be pinned (in spite of being assured that Maeda would lose the match), but Akira refused to do so. Inoki eventually came to the ring and demanded the match to end as a No Contest, much to the bewilderment of the audience. On November 19, 1987, during a six-man tag team match, as
Riki Choshu was putting
Osamu Kido in a
Sasori-gatame, Maeda delivered a
stiff kick to Choshu's face, breaking his orbital bone. The flow of the match was disrupted, as Choshu then tried to attack Maeda, and a finish had to be improvised. The resulting injury would sideline Choshu for well over a month and Maeda was immediately suspended for his actions. The promotion's management offered Maeda to lift the suspension in exchange for going on a training excursion to Mexico to learn lucha libre, but Maeda refused and abandoned New Japan along with his partners in February 1988. Although the kick is popularly believed to have been a deliberate attack, Maeda has claimed it was actually an accident, with Choshu having supposedly failed at protecting his face at the cue (a tap on his back) before the kick was thrown. Referee
Mr. Takahashi, despite disapproving Maeda's stiff style, has agreed it was an accident on a scripted
spot, declaring that such miscommunications were not uncommon at the time. Years later, Maeda and Choshu reconciled amicably, to the point where Maeda attended his retirement ceremony.
Newborn UWF (1988–1990) In 1988, Maeda formed Newborn UWF with
Nobuhiko Takada and others, this time as its number one star, using the notoriety he gained in New Japan to draw large crowds. Maeda's UWF became the first promotion to hold a show at the
Tokyo Dome, drawing 60,000 to watch Maeda defeat
Willy Wilhelm in the main event. In December 1990, Newborn UWF dissolved due to disagreements over the direction of the company. ==Mixed martial arts career==