Sueo Inoue (born April 12, 1949), better known by the ring names Mighty Inoue () and All Mighty Inoue, is a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...

. He is best known for his appearances with International Wrestling Enterprise from 1967 to 1981, with

All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, w ...

from 1981 to 2000 and from 2015 to present, and with Pro Wrestling Noah from 2000 to 2010.

Early life

While attending high school, Inoue competed in

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

Professional wrestling career

International Wrestling Enterprise (1967–1981)

Inoue was trained to wrestle by Billy Robinson and Hiro Matsuda. He debuted on July 21, 1967 for the International Wrestling Enterprise promotion. From May to October 1972, Inoue wrestled in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Canada where he teamed with Mitsu Arakawa. In October 1974, Inoue defeated Superstar Billy Graham in an upset victory to win the

IWA World Heavyweight Championship IWA World Heavyweight Championship is the name given for the principal title of a number of professional wrestling promotions that operate under the acronym "I.W.A." (despite not sharing corporate name). It may refer to: * IWA World Heavyweight ...

. He held the title until April 1975, when he lost to Mad Dog Vachon. In 1975, Inoue formed a tag team with Great Kusatsu. Between June 1975 and January 1977, they held the IWA World Tag Team Championship three times. Inoue held the IWA World Tag Team Championship twice more from 1979 to 1981 with Animal Hamaguchi, then a final time with Ashura Hara in 1981.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1981–2000)

In 1981, following the closure of International Wrestling Enterprise, Inoue joined

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Bab ...

full-time as part of its

junior heavyweight Junior heavyweight is an alternate name for cruiserweight used in multiple combat sports: *Cruiserweight (boxing), a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. The current weight limit for the division is 200lbs (14st 4lbs/90 ...

division. He made his debut in October 1981 during the "Giant Series" tour, forming a tag team with Ashura Hara known as the "Japanese High Flyers". The duo held the All Asia Tag Team Championship from February 1983 to February 1984. In February 1984, Inoue defeated Chavo Guerrero to win the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship; he held the title until June 1985, when he lost to Dynamite Kid. From 1985 to 1987, he won the All Asia Tag Team Championship twice with Takashi Ishikawa. In January 1989, he defeated Joe Malenko for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship; his reign lasted until March 1989, when he lost to Masanobu Fuchi. From 1990 to 1993, he was part of the Tsuruta-gun stable. In April 1994, Inoue formed a "legends" stable with Haruka Eigen and Masanobu Fuchi; for the next three years, he primarily competed alongside them in

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

es and six-man tag team matches. Inoue retired from professional wrestling in April 1997, transitioning to refereeing. During his final months as a wrestler he regularly teamed with Eigen and Futchi to face

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

Mitsuo Momota (born September 21, 1948) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and executive, known for his work in the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling and later in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is the son of wrestler Rikidōzan. Career Japan Wres ...

, and Rusher Kimura.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2000–2010)

In 2000, Inoue was among the personnel to leave AJPW to join Mitsuharu Misawa's breakway Pro Wrestling Noah promotion. He worked for Noah as a referee for the next decade. He broke his retirement for a single night on December 31, 2009, wrestling in an elimination match at the "New Year's Eve Special" event jointly promoted by

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasak ...

, DDT Pro-Wrestling, and Kaientai Dojo. He retired from the professional wrestling industry in 2010 following Misawa's death.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2015-present)

Inoue broke his retirement on December 3, 2015, wrestling for All Japan Pro Wrestling as "All Mighty Inoue". He appeared sporadically with AJPW over the following years, appearing in

es and six-man tag team matches.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Inoue wrestles in a "technical" style. His finishing moves include the

somersault senton Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

and the

sunset flip In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

. He customarily wrestles in red

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...

Championships and accomplishments

** All Asia Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Ashura Hara (1 time), Animal Hamaguchi (1 time), and Takashi Ishikawa (2 times) ** NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * International Wrestling Enterprise **

(1 time) **IWA World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Ashura Hara (1 time), Animal Hamaguchi (2 times), and Great Kusatsu (3 times)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Mighty 1949 births 20th-century professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people NWA International Junior Heavyweight Champions People from Kobe Professional wrestling referees