When a pro-wrestler is named as one of the 100 greatest personalities in the history of a country, it speaks volumes of his achievement in the business. That is just what Giant Baba managed during his professional career in Japan.
Today would have been the legend’s 78th birthday and even though he passed away nearly two decades ago, his name still commands respect in the pro-wrestling world. Today’s ‘This day...’ focusses on the legendary career of Giant Baba.
Also on this day 17 years ago, WWE held a Royal Rumble which ended in a botched finish and an Olympic gold medallist was taken for an ‘Extreme’ ride.
#1 The Rock botches the Rumble finish – 23rd January 2000
The 2000 edition of the Royal Rumble was one of the most poorly built up. All signs pointed to a Rock vs. Big Show climax and that is exactly what happened. The duo was the last two left in the ring and the finish was supposed to be Rock eliminating the 500-pounder.
However, the finish was botched and it was the Rock’s feet that actually touched the floor first just before Show’s. WWE covered up the mistake by removing the footage from clear camera angles and announced The Rock as the winner even though the crowd had clearly seen the botch.
The situation was then written into a storyline with the Big Show presenting a picture proving that the Rock had, in fact, touched the floor first. The proposed WWE Championship match between the Champion Triple H and The Rock eventually turned into a messy Fatal Fourway match also featuring the Big Show and Mankind.
#2 Giant Baba’s birthday – 23rd January 1938
Rikidozan was the founder of Japanese professional wrestling and the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) owner was on the lookout for a successor. He eventually decided on two youngsters – Kanji Inoki and a professional baseball pitcher Shohei Baba.
Starting out in 1960, the duo would be renamed as Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba respectively. They would bring laurels to Japan by winning the NWA International Tag team Championship four times. Baba would wrestle for Vincent J McMahon’s WWWF, challenging the likes of Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers.
By 1972, JWA was on its last legs and Baba decided to form his own promotion – All Japan Pro Wrestling. It would compete directly with Inoki’s recent venture – New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was All Japan that took JWA’s place in the NWA and Baba’s sharp business sense saw many NWA wrestlers becoming popular in Japan.
Baba’s All Japan would regularly sell out the famous Budokan Hall, pocketing more than $1,000,000 multiple times a year. Baba, was also known as an honest promoter to whom a handshake was as good as a written agreement.
Giant Baba would die of cancer in 1999.
#3 Kurt Angle meets the Tazzmaniac – 23rd January 2000
Kurt Angle would debut in the WWF after winning a Gold medal for the United States at the Atlanta Olympics in ‘96. He would be cast as a heel, constantly berating the fans and broadcasting his superiority.
Angle would defeat Shawn Stasiak in his WWE debut at 1999 and was undefeated going into the Rumble ‘00. The American hero’s boastful nature would come to haunt him at the Royal Rumble, as a debuting Tazz would answer Angle’s open challenge.
The ECW Superstar would lock in the Tazzmission on Angle, forcing him to pass out and handing him his first loss in the company.
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