In 1987, Vader vs Antonio Inoki ended with fans rioting in the arena.
They threw flaming cushions into the ring, causing the company to lose its TV slot and getting New Japan Pro Wrestling banned from the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo hall.
It is often touted that Vader squashing the Japanese hero Inoki was the reason that fans rioted at the Sumo Hall that night. That is the story that has gone down in legend, but it isn’t exactly why fans tried to tear down the iconic venue in anger that night.
In fact, it was entirely Inoki’s fault for the riot. However, not just because he let the gaijin Big Van Vader finish him off in just minutes. Here is the real reason why fans rioted at the Sumo Hall after Vader vs Antonio Inoki in 1988.
Fans Were Growing Tired Of Antonio Inoki’s Booking Leading Up To The Match With Vader
Before Vader was brought in to wrestle Antonio Inoki, New Japan Pro Wrestling were struggling.
The Japanese promotion was getting lower and lower attendance and ratings by 1987. TV Asashi were close to cancelling their weekly show earlier in the year and the company’s future looked in doubt.
Antonio Inoki hatched a plan to get the fans back on his side. He brought TV star Takeshi “Beat” Kitano to the company to launch his own faction of wrestlers called the Takeshi Puroresu Gundan, or Takeshi’s Pro Wrestling Army in English.
Takeshi signed Masa Saito, Jado and Gedo as his stars to face Inoki. Saito had failed to beat Inoki, having lost in a tournament final to become the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion to Inoki earlier that year. No matter though, as Takeshi had a plan. He had the next big foreign star to debut in NJPW who would be able to defeat the NJPW President.
While Takeshi was a heel in New Japan, his immense heat did not do anything for business. If anything, he was a detriment. Takeshi was so popular in Japan at the time that you could not avoid him. If you turned on the TV in 1987 you would see his face staring back at you.
The comedian was a huge star but people were growing tired of him. He had “go-away heat” (or “X-Pac Heat”), with fans preferring to turn the channel when he was on, rather than boo him and hope to see him getting beaten up by Inoki.
The angle was actually something you’d see in America than Japan. While Inoki was big on non-wrestlers competing in the ring, his willingness was limited to actual fighters. Boxers and MMA stars were welcome to come and try to add legitimacy to the event (which was also a detriment, as Inokiism proved), while the inclusion of a comedian did the exact opposite.
Despite this, the Inoki vs Takeshi rivalry was one of the promotion’s biggest going into 1988. As they prepared for the final show of 1987, Takeshi had one more trick up his sleeve to take on the New Japan President in an American star called Leon White
Big Van Vader Was A Gimmick That Had Been Planned For A While
The gimmick of Big Van Vader is one of the best creations to come out of New Japan, and the gimmick had been planned for some time.
While the Japanese wrestlers were the big stars of the day and fans clamoured for clashes between their local heroes, New Japan was always built on the idea of the Japanese star against the foreign heel. It was a formula that served Inoki (and his predecessor Rikidozan) well, and he sought to recreate the magic with this new Vader character.
The idea for Big Van Vader was one they’d have for a while. It was named after the warrior from Japanese folklore called Vader, who also went on to inspire George Lucas’ baddie in Star Wars. For years, Inoki had former NFL star Leon White pegged to portray the character.
However, he soon became unavailable and NJPW chose a young bodybuilder called Jim Helwig as the man to play the character (he would go on to be known as The Ultimate Warrior in WWE) before going back to White. Sycho Sid was also reportedly considered to be brought in as Vader in New Japan.
The idea for the gimmick was to modernise the legend of Vader with a science fiction twist, with the iconic helmet being the best example of that idea. Inoki envisioned a steampunk version of the traditional samurai armour, spewing steam as Vader addressed the crowd through microphones embedded inside it.
The result of adding this contemporary reimagining of Japanese mythology to the already imposing six foot-five and 400 lb monster that was Leon White helped create one of the most iconic characters in the history of wrestling.
All that was left was for Vader to destroy Antonio Inoki.
Antonio Inoki vs Vader Was A Completely Unplanned Match
Fans were not excited to see Vader vs Antonio Inoki because that match was not planned at all for the show. The main event of the NJPW Year End in Kokugikan 1987 was supposed to pit Antonio Inoki against Riki Choshu.
Choshu was a young star at the time and was viewed as the future of Japanese wrestling. He had just been lured over from Giant Baba’s All Japan Pro Wrestling and was the last piece of the puzzle for TGP.
Ricki Choshu had only wrestled Antonio Inoki once before in one-on-one matches, in 1984. However, they had battled numerous times since his return to NJPW, and the fans were clamouring to see the two stars clash. The show at the Ryogoku Kokugikan was built on that match, with over 11,000 fans buying tickets for the event.
However, the booking for the show was absolutely dreadful. As it got towards the end of the event, Ricki Choshu and Masa Saito wrestled in a tag team match. This was odd, as the planned main event was Inoki vs Choshu. The pair faced Kengo Kimura and Tasumi Fujinami, who aligned themselves with Inoki in his fight against Takeshi.
It appears that Ricki Choshu was not originally supposed to take part in the match. Vader was supposed to debut for the TGP in the tag team match, likely alongside Saito against Fujinami and Kimura. TGP won the match before Choshu grabbed a microphone and goaded Inoki into facing him.
It was very odd to have the ultra babyface facing a weakened opponent but that’s how Inoki booked it. He beat Choshu by disqualification in just six minutes and absolutely enraged the crowd.
They had been annoyed enough at the tag team match, suggesting that the planned main event wasn’t taking place. However, the shoddy quality of it made them even angrier. The fact that it was near the new year and they were largely drunk did not help the matter either.
After easily beating Ricki Choshu and pretty much burying their top heel, Antonio Inoki called out Big Van Vader to face him. This was the first time the New Japan crowd had seen this new monster and it certainly made quite the impression on them.
Out walked a monster of a man. The Mastodon was huge, dressed in black and red and with a steampunk helmet attached to his head. The American did not wear the red mask he would later be known for, but was still formidable.
The presentation was unlike anything else anyone had seen before. The character had been a long time coming, but by the reaction, it was certainly worth it.
There was a curiousness to the match that is rare in wrestling. After the removal of his incredible helmet and the bell ringing, Vader was something brand new. The crowd seemed in awe as he backed Antoni Inoki into the corner and began to manhandle the IWGP World Champion.
From that moment on, Vader dominated Antonio Inoki. The NJPW president did not get any offence in. This was a man who rarely lost clean throughout his entire career, and when he did, it was usually by count out.
After two and a half minutes where he was battered, thrown around and even Gorilla Pressed above Vader’s head, Inoki was pinned after a brain buster, lariat and power slam combination.
As the referee’s hand hit the mat for the three count, the sumo hall erupted. However, not in a good way. The already rowdy crowd was getting even rowdier. There was a feeling that they had been cheated out of a fantastic main event between Ricki Choshu before seeing the top babyface in the company destroyed in seconds.
Just days before the New Year, it did not seem like an ending fit for the holiday season, and they let Inoki know. Anything and everything that wasn’t nailed down was thrown into the ring. Food and drink, rubbish and even seat cushions that were lit on fire were thrown into the ring to show their displeasure at the main event.
The prevailing narrative is that the result was so shocking and their love for Inoki was so much that the fans rioted. This was not the case. Riot may be too harsh a word for what happened but there was certainly major damage done, both to the building and New Japan’s credibility.
New Japan Pro Wrestling were banned from running shows at the Sumo Hall, leaving their only Tokyo venue being the 2000-seater Korauken Hall, although the ban only lasted until 1989. Meanwhile, TV Asahi was not impressed by the events or the recent TV ratings and moved their shows into a much worse timeslot.
The company recovered after this misstep and still runs to this day. Antonio Inoki beat Vader in the rematch, but an injury suffered the following year meant he had to vacate the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his sole reign with the belt.
I’m sure Inoki was devastated, not having to put anybody over for the belt.
Meanwhile, Vader went on to be one of the greatest gaijin in Japanese wrestling history. His matches in New Japan and later in All Japan broke the mould of what a 400 lb behemoth could do in the ring and to this day remains beloved by fans in Japan and America alike.
British fans aren’t as enamoured with him after the whole Will Ospreay vs Vader debacle in 2016, but swings and roundabouts.
