Debut, American excursion, and megastardom (1951–1958) In July 1951, the Tokyo-based
Torii Oasis Shriners Club announced their intent to sponsor a charity drive for disabled children, for which they would arrange a professional wrestling tour. These events would be promoted by Honolulu businessman Moe Lipton. Around this time, Rikidōzan reportedly expressed interest in becoming a professional wrestler. In September, wrestling promoter Al Karasick of Honolulu-based
Mid-Pacific Promotions announced that he, alongside
Joe Malcewicz of
NWA San Francisco, had secured a deal with Lipton. Karasick and Malcewisz would send six wrestlers for a twelve-date tour, held from September 30 to December 11. These wrestlers included
Harold Sakata and Mid-Pacific booker
Bobby Bruns. While Bruns was in Japan before the tour began, he invited Rikidozan, as well as
judoka and Yasuyuki Sakabe, to participate in these events. After one month of training, Rikidozan made his professional wrestling debut at Ryogoku Memorial Hall on October 28, 1951, wrestling Bruns to a ten-minute time-limit draw. He would continue to work on the rest of the tour, although he would later comment that he had done so with great difficulty, as he lacked the stamina required of wrestlers. Rikidōzan left Japan in February 1952 to work in America for further training and experience. This began with a five-month stint for Mid-Pacific Promotions, where he was trained by Oki Shikina. Rikidōzan's breakout performances were with partner and famous judoka
Masahiko Kimura in matches against the
Canadian Sharpe Brothers in 1954, coinciding with increased television viewership in Japan. He continued to establish himself as Japan's biggest wrestling star by defeating
foreign wrestlers, becoming a major television star in the process. This was shortly after
World War II, and the Japanese needed someone who could stand up to the Americans. Rikidōzan thus became immensely popular in Japan. His American opponents assisted him by portraying themselves as
villains who cheated in their matches. Rikidōzan himself was
booked as a villain when he wrestled in America early on but went on to become one of the first Japanese wrestlers to be cheered as a babyface in post World War II America.
NWA International Heavyweight Champion (1958–1963) Rikidōzan gained worldwide renown when he defeated
Lou Thesz for the
NWA International Heavyweight Championship on August 27, 1958, in Japan. In another match, Thesz willingly agreed to
put over Rikidōzan at the expense of his own reputation. This built up mutual respect between the two wrestlers, and Rikidōzan never forgot what Thesz did. He would go on to capture several
NWA titles in matches both in Japan and overseas. Rikidōzan also trained professional wrestling students, notably including
Kanji "Antonio" Inoki,
Kintarō Ōki, and
Shohei "Giant" Baba. His signature move was the
karate chop, which was actually based on sumo's
harite, rather than actual
karate. Rikidozan had likely conceived the move while being with a Korean-born
karateka,
Hideo Nakamura, who was one of Rikidozan's dearest friends. It was rumored that he had been coached by fellow Korean
Masutatsu Oyama. He established the
Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA), Japan's first professional wrestling promotion, in 1953. His first major feud was against Masahiko Kimura, the famous judoka who had been invited by Momota to compete as a professional wrestler. Other famous feuds included those against Thesz in 1957–58, against
"Classy" Freddie Blassie in 1962, and against
Dick "The Destroyer" Beyer in 1963. In wrestling journalist John M. Molinaro's 2002 book
Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time, it is noted that two of his matches are rated in the top ten television programs of all time in Japan. His October 6, 1957 hour-long draw with
Lou Thesz for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship drew an 87.0 rating, and his May 24, 1963 hour-long
two out of three falls draw with The Destroyer drew a 67.0 rating, but a larger viewing audience (the largest in Japanese history) than the previous match, since more people had television sets by 1963. == Acting ==