The Strongest Style Against Nature Itself
As New Japan Pro Wrestling's founder and first ever ace figure, Antonio Inoki made a name on proving that pro wrestling is the strongest style. Much of his work through New Japan's first decade is aimed at proving that philosophy in a variety of ways. Notably, it's here where we see some of the defintional Inokiism booking traits. Inoki often cast himself against outsiders and legitimate martial artists, all in the name of testing not just his own mettle, but the strength of the entire medium as a whole. To Antonio Inoki, pro wrestling is a martial as genuine and credible as karate, judo, or even boxing.
It's through Inoki's clashes with these outsiders of combat sports that he fashions himself, and New Japan by extension, as The King of Sports. Here against Andre the Giant, he's even defending the Real World Martial Arts Championship, a physical representation of his domination of the field of combat.
What's interesting then about this match up against Andre the Giant is that Inoki finds himself defending not against an opposing discipline, but rather against the random freakishness of nature itself.
Andre the Giant may be a pro wrestler, but he hardly seems to be any mere man. True to the name, Andre's greatest strength both as a performer and a character is his gigantism. The sheer scale of him dictates how he moves, and more importantly, how those around him react. The problem that Antonio Inoki needs to solve is not how to overcome a mastery of technique, but simply how to apply all he knows against a man as large as Andre the Giant.
Note all the ways that Andre's size alters what might be standard pro wrestling fare in this match. It first comes into play with that courting hold he grabs on Inoki's early on. In Andre's massive arms, and with the added leverage from his height, his courting holds turns into an even more oppressive top wrist lock. Instead of relying on his hands for the hold, there's the added weight pressure of his huge arms wrapped around Inoki. The same can be said of the neck crank Andre grabs later on in the match as well. Having your neck twisted is painful enough. But when it's being twisted from a man whose entire palm is the size of your face? That's bad news indeed.
The match's dynamic relies on how Inoki attempts to get past these natural gifts. It's to his credit that we see this develop in a variety of ways too. At first, he seems to able to use raw ability and technique to his advantage. When Andre grabs a big standing chinlock early, Inoki's able to twist at the hips to take Andre down to the mat. Inoki also needs a little on his side throughout this bout. Andre finds himself in control in closed quarters. Simple enough idea, if the big man can lean his weight on you, you're probably in trouble. But Andre makes a strategic error by sending Inoki into the ropes, and the Irish whips creates enough distance for Inoki to hit a dropkick.
Perhaps the match's most interesting play on Inoki fighting for control takes on a more emotional color. For fans of Danielson/Sabre from 2023, Inoki works to anger Andre to open the man up for further attack. When Inoki strikes at Andre early in the match, the air in the room changes and Andre puts on the most wicked grin you've ever seen before spitting in his hand and balling up his fist to punch Inoki with. It's Andre in these more angered moments that he's more prone to mistakes. The payoff to that first threatening fist is him wildly swinging and Inoki dodging so that Andre punches the top turnbuckle instead. Later on as the match grows more dynamic and Andre's charging to squish Inoki, the latter dodges again to send Andre's whole weight onto his shoulder into the ringpost. This also informs the finish of the match. Inoki, finally finding some purchase against Andre and spilling both men to the outside, lures the big man into an attempted headbutt on the outside. When Inoki gets out of dodge, Andre self-Nigels and crashes his head right into the ringpost, opening up the wound that would lead to the TKO victory in Inoki's favor.
This rather subtle and complex storytelling really only functions because of how expressive both men are in the ring. Andre, especially, is a tour de force here. There's just pure indignation on his face whenever Inoki tries to strike at him. First, on their feet, but later on the mat when Inoki hits a thrust to the face, Andre has this wonderful, borderline humorous expression, "Did you really dare?" in response. Beyond that, his selling is out of this world good. There's arm selling here to warm the hearts of a 2010s forum nerd like me, and even if that fades into the background a little later on, it all still feels proportional to the work done in the match. That said, the loss of the arm thread--as well as Inoki generally moving past Andre's own attempts at limb work--probably knock this match down a few pegs as a whole.
Still, there's such wonder to behold in here still. Andre's size, Inoki's determination, the tightness of every hold and the little struggles and games being played on both a physical and mental level. It's the clashing of styles as Inoki envisioned it, a worthy test to prove that pro wrestling is, and always will be, the strongest.
Rating: ****1/4