Inoki was one of the top three most famous pro-wrestlers in Japanese
history, alongside Rikidozan and Giant Baba, all three dead now.

I found it interesting how the Americans introduced it to Japan to lift
morale. The Japanese didn't know it was staged at that time, and they'd
have "American"-billed white wrestlers take a dive after these intense
bouts. The Japanese loved it.

Inoki later became a politician. The oddest thing he did was secure the
release of Japanese hostages from Iraq. Saddam Hussein turned out to be
a big fan of Inoki's and they became friends. Saddam had him convert to
Islam and the Islamic world made a big deal about this.... Except, it
was all for show. In Japan he still claimed to be a Buddhist.

More about his wrestling career, which never interested me much, can be
found in the many obituaries online.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/antonio-inoki-japanese-pro-wrestler-politician-with-nkorea-ties-dies-media-2022-10-01/