The Inoki Genome Federation (イノキ・ゲノム・フェデレーション, Inoki Genomu Federēshon) (IGF), also known in China as International Glory Fighting,[1][2] was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007.
 | |
| Acronym | IGF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Defunct | 2019 |
| Style | Mixed martial arts Professional wrestling (Shoot-style wrestling) |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Founder(s) | Antonio Inoki |
| Owner(s) | Antonio Inoki (2007–2018) Simon Inoki (2018–2019) |
| Parent | Assist Co., Ltd. |
| Split from | New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| Predecessor |
|
| Successor |
|
| Website | Official Site of the Inoki Genome Federation (archived) |
History
edit
Antonio Inoki founded the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) after selling New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972. The first IGF show was held on June 29, 2007 at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The show's main event was a match between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, where they competed for Lesnar's IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[3]
From 2007 to 2008, the IGF served as the Japanese territory of the National Wrestling Alliance.[4][5]
On December 31, 2010, Shinichi Suzukawa was scheduled to face Bob Sapp in an IGF special Super Heavyweight bout at K-1 Dynamite!! 2010.[6] The fight was to be held under modified MMA rules, with the fighters being barred from wearing gloves, closed-fist strikes being illegal, and palm strikes being permitted.[7] The fight was planned to air on HDNet in North America.[8] However, the fight was canceled due to a last-minute contract dispute with Sapp; the Japanese audience in attendance were told by the K-1 promoters involved in the dispute that Sapp “had lost his will to fight.”[9]
In 2011, the promotion presented a gift to Kim Jong Il, the-then leader of North Korea as part of a diplomatic effort.[10] In August 2014, IGF held two shows in Pyongyang, North Korea.[11]
On December 29, 2014, IGF announced a deal with PPTV to bring its programming to Chinese audiences.[12] In 2015, Durango Kid and Laberinto, two of Inoki's former students, along with karateka Alfredo Perez, established an IGF off-shoot promotion in the United States called Inoki Sports Management,[13] also known as Lucha Wrestling Puroresu.[14] The three men would also re-establish the Inoki Dojo in Los Angeles.[13]
In 2017, Inoki began distancing himself from the IGF and created a new promotion called ISM. After the creation of ISM, Antonio's son-in-law Simon Inoki gained more influence within the promotion and created a new brand under the IGF banner called Next Exciting Wrestling (NEW). The IGF's inaugural NEW show was held on April 20, 2017. On March 23, 2018, Antonio Inoki sold his part of the promotion and left the IGF. In April 2018, Nosawa Rongai, along with IGF wrestlers Kendo Kashin and Kazuyuki Fujita, created an IGF off-shoot promotion known as Hagure IGF International.[15][16] A new brand featuring IGF's Chinese wrestlers called Eastern Heroes (东方英雄, Toho Eiyu-den) was later founded by Simon Inoki. On June 26, Eastern Heroes wrestlers participated on night 8 of Pro Wrestling Noah's Navigation with Emerald Spirits tour.[17] The IGF closed on January 9, 2019. After the IGF's closure, Assist Co., Ltd., the promotion's parent company, opened a chain of bakeries, leading to both Kendo Kashin and Simon Inoki to humorously state "IGF has become a bakery".[18][19]
In August 2022, Antonio Inoki revived the IGF, now standing for the Inoki Genki Factory, to serve as his official management company.[20] On October 1, at age 79, Inoki died from systemic transthyretin amyloidosis.[21][22][23] On December 28, the Inoki Genki Factory held their first show, Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye x Ganryujima, a memorial event honoring Inoki organized in collaboration with Samurai Warriors Ganryujima and NJPW.[24] On December 14, 2024, IGF participated in the Antonio Inoki Memorial Show organized in Shanghai, China by NJPW and various Asia-Pacific Federation of Wrestling promotions.[25]
Roster
edit
Roster at time of closingedit
|
Notable alumniedit
|
Championships
editIWGP Heavyweight Championship
editIGF Championship
edit| IGF Championship | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Inoki Genome Federation | ||||||||||||||||
| Date established | August 22, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | January 9, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
In February 2011, IGF started a tournament to determine the first ever IGF Champion, which eventually led to a final match between Jérôme Le Banner and Josh Barnett. However, just days prior to the final match taking place, IGF announced on August 19 that Barnett would not be able to attend the event.[26] On August 22, IGF declared Le Banner the first champion.[27] The title was founded as a professional wrestling championship, but has since December 31, 2013, been contested in legitimate mixed martial arts fights.[28][29]
Title history
edit| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
| 1 | Jérôme Le Banner | August 22, 2011 | – | – | 1 | 327 | 6 | Declared first champion, after Josh Barnett pulls out of a tournament final match. | [27] |
| 2 | Kazuyuki Fujita | July 14, 2012 | Genome21 | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 535 | 4 | [30] | |
| 3 | Satoshi Ishii | December 31, 2013 | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2013 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 235 | 0 | With this match the title began to be contested in legitimate mixed martial arts fights. Won by unanimous decision. | |
| 4 | Mirko Cro Cop | August 23, 2014 | Inoki Genome Fight 2 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 153 | 1 | Second round doctor stoppage.
|
|
| — | Vacated | January 23, 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | Cro Cop was stripped of the title when he signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. | |
| 5 | Oli Thompson | December 31, 2015 | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2015 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 1,105 | 0 | Defeated Fernando Rodrigues Jr. by TKO to win the IGF World GP and the vacant title. | [31] |
| — | Deactivated | January 9, 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | Retired when promotion closed. | |
Tournaments
editIGF Championship Tournament
edit| First round (Genome14, Genome15, and Genome16) | Semifinals (Genome15 and Genome16) | Final N/A | ||||||||||||
| Josh Barnett | Win | |||||||||||||
| Montanha Silva | ||||||||||||||
| Josh Barnett | Win | |||||||||||||
| Bobby Lashley | ||||||||||||||
| Bobby Lashley | Win | |||||||||||||
| Keith Hanson | ||||||||||||||
| Jerome Le Banner | Forfeit | |||||||||||||
| Josh Barnett | ||||||||||||||
| Shinichi Suzukawa | Win | |||||||||||||
| Bob Sapp | ||||||||||||||
| Jerome Le Banner | Win | |||||||||||||
| Erik Hammer* | ||||||||||||||
| Jerome Le Banner | Win | |||||||||||||
| Shinichi Suzukawa | ||||||||||||||
- Erik Hammer replaced Shinichi Suzukawa in the tournament after defeating Ray Sefo.[32]
World Bantamweight Grand Prix
edit- This tournament was co-promoted with DREAM and M-1 Global.
| Quarterfinals (DREAM 17) | Semifinals (Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011) | Final (Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011) | ||||||||
 Masakazu Imanari | W | |||||||||
 Abel Cullum | SUB | |||||||||
| Masakazu Imanari | DEC | |||||||||
| Antonio Banuelos | W | |||||||||
| Hideo Tokoro | DEC | |||||||||
| Antonio Banuelos | W | |||||||||
| Antonio Banuelos | TKO | |||||||||
 Bibiano Fernandes | W | |||||||||
| Bibiano Fernandes | W | |||||||||
| Takafumi Otsuka | SUB | |||||||||
| Bibiano Fernandes | W | |||||||||
| Rodolfo Marques | DEC | |||||||||
 Yusup Saadulaev | DEC | |||||||||
| Rodolfo Marques | W | |||||||||
Inoki Genome Tournament 2012
edit- Ths tournament took place entirely on the Genome20 event.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| Shinichi Suzukawa | Win | ||||||||
| Yusuke Kawaguchi | |||||||||
| Atsushi Sawada | Win | ||||||||
| Shinichi Suzukawa | |||||||||
| Atsushi Sawada | Win | ||||||||
| Hideki Suzuki | |||||||||
Inoki Genome Tournament 2013
edit- This tournament took place entirely on the Genome26 event.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinal | Final | |||||||||||
| Hideki Suzuki | Win | ||||||||||||
| Hideki Suzuki* | Win | ||||||||||||
| Akira Jo | |||||||||||||
| Atsushi Sawada | Double Countout | Atsushi Sawada* | |||||||||||
| Shinichi Suzukawa* | |||||||||||||
| Atsushi Sawada | Win | ||||||||||||
| Shogun Okamoto | |||||||||||||
- Shinichi Suzukawa received a bye to the semi-finals. Hideki Suzuki received a bye to the final after defeating Crusher Kawaguchi in a match. Atsushi Sawada advanced to the final despite his match against Shinichi Suzukawa ending in a double countout.[33]
Road to Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye Challenge Tournament
edit- This tournament took place entirely on the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2014 event.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| Yusuke Masuda | W | ||||||||
| Takaaki "C-Boy" Oban | DEC | ||||||||
| Yusuke Masuda | W | ||||||||
| Ryo Sakai | DEC | ||||||||
| Ryo Sakai | W | ||||||||
| Tsuyoshi Kurihara | DEC | ||||||||
IGF World GP
edit- Quarterfinals took place on April 11, 2015 at Inoki Genome Fight 3.
- Semi-finals took place on August 29, 2015 at Inoki Genome Fight 4.
- The final took place on December 31, 2015 at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2015.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
 Yosef Ali Mohammad
| TKO | |||||||||||||
 Dion Staring
| Rd 1 | |||||||||||||
| Yosef Ali Mohammad
| TKO | |||||||||||||
| Fernando Rodrigues Jr.
| Rd 1 | |||||||||||||
| Fernando Rodrigues Jr.
| TKO | |||||||||||||
 Antony Rea
| Rd 1 | |||||||||||||
| Fernando Rodrigues Jr.
| TKO | |||||||||||||
 Oli Thompson
| Rd 1 | |||||||||||||
| Chris Barnett
| TKO | |||||||||||||
 Emil Zahariev
| Rd 2 | |||||||||||||
| Chris Barnett
| DEC | |||||||||||||
| Oli Thompson
| Rd 2 | |||||||||||||
| Oli Thompson
| DEC | |||||||||||||
| Ikuhisa Minowa
| Rd 2 | |||||||||||||
Genome-1: Osaka
edit- This tournament took place entirely on the Genome33 event.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| Naoya Ogawa | Win | ||||||||
| Minowaman | |||||||||
| Atsushi Sawada | Win | ||||||||
| Minowaman | |||||||||
| Atsushi Sawada | Win | ||||||||
| Montanha Silva | |||||||||
Genome-1: Nagoya
edit- This tournament took place entirely on the Genome34 event.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| Hideki Suzuki | Win | ||||||||
| Wang Bin | |||||||||
| Hideki Suzuki | Win | ||||||||
| Daichi Hashimoto | |||||||||
| Daichi Hashimoto | Win | ||||||||
| Raj Singh | |||||||||
Lucha Libre World Cup 2017
edit- This tournament took place entirely on night 2 of the Lucha Libre World Cup 2017 event and was co-promoted with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and Lucha Underground.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
 Team Mexico AAA(Pagano and Psycho Clown) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Team USA Noah (Cody Hall and Quiet Storm) | ||||||||||||||
| Team Mexico AAA (Pagano and Psycho Clown) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Team Japan IGF (Kendo Kashin and Nosawa) | ||||||||||||||
| Team Japan IGF (Kendo Kashin and Nosawa) | DQ | |||||||||||||
 Team Rest of the World(Mil Muertes and Vampiro) | ||||||||||||||
| Team Mexico AAA (Pagano and Psycho Clown) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Team Noah Japan (Hi69 and Taiji Ishimori) | ||||||||||||||
| Team Noah Japan (Hi69 and Taiji Ishimori) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Team USA Lucha Underground (Marty Martinez and Son of Havoc) | ||||||||||||||
| Team Noah Japan (Hi69 and Taiji Ishimori) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Team USA Impact (Andrew Everett and DJZ) | ||||||||||||||
| Team USA Impact (Andrew Everett and DJZ) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Team Mexico Lucha Underground (Aero Star and Drago) | ||||||||||||||
IGF events
editSee also
edit
References
edit- ^ "猪木の看板外す。INTERNATIONAL GLORY FIGHTING". igf123da on Twitter. July 31, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ "今でも中国のIGFは「INTERNATIONAL GLORY FIGHTING」の略なんですよ…www". Tatsuya Kay on Twitter. June 2, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ Woodward, Hamish (2023-11-17). "How Inokism Almost Killed New Japan Pro Wrestling - Atletifo". Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Súper Luchas se convierte en medio asociado de la National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)". Superluchas.com. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ "Inoki Genome Federation Pro-Wrestling Results: 2017". PUROLOVE.com. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
In the usual Inoki manner, the debut show was followed by great controversy. In the run-up to the show, Inoki already announced that she wanted to fight out the IWGP Heavyweight Title in the main event between Lesnar and Angle. Brock Lesnar was the holder of the title until July 2006, but then refused to lose a title match against Hiroshi Tanahashi, whereupon New Japan (owner of the IWGP trademark) revoked the title. However, Lesnar refused to return the title and simply kept it to himself. After announcing the IGF main event, Inoki said Lesnar was still the champion and that the title would be at stake in the match. The NWA governing body recognized Lesnar (and then Angle, who won the debut show title) as the NWA Japan Champion
- ^ "DREAM Dynamite!! 2010". dreamofficial.com. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ "DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010," special rules detailed". mmajunkie.com. December 29, 2009.
- ^ "Dream Dynamite 2010". mmajunkie.com. December 31, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010.
- ^ "Overeem win highlights traditional NYE show". Yahoo Sports. 31 December 2010.
- ^ "Gift to Kim Jong Il from Japanese". Archived from the original on 2012-05-19. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
- ^ "インターナショナル・プロレスリング・フェスティバルin平壌 - アントニオ猪木 IGFプロレスリング". igf.jp. Archived from the original on 2014-09-05. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
- ^ デイリースポーツ社 (8 September 2023). "ＩＧＦが中国最大ネットＴＶ局と提携". daily.co.jp.
- ^ a b Bryant, Steve (April 18, 2019). "Lucha Otaku and Inoki Sports Management partner to launch PuroLucha". SoCal Uncensored. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "Lucha Wrestling Puroresu (LWP)". Cagematch.net. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "IGF Hagure: Cartel para «International Flight», Arkangel, invitado especial". Súper Luchas. March 7, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ "Hagure IGF International: "Lauching Business" Comienza un proyecto". Súper Luchas. April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ "NOAH Navigation With Emerald Spirits 2018 - Tag 8". Cagematch.net. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "IGFがパン屋になったり覆面レスラーがWWEで授業する本【多重ロマンチック的ぼくらのプロレス】". boku-pro.com. ぼくらのプロレス. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ "【最終回】サイモン・ケリー「IGFはパン屋になって、みんな幸せになった」：Dropkick". Dropkick：ブロマガ - ニコニコチャンネル. 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ Thompson, Andrew (August 26, 2022). "Antonio Inoki bringing back 'IGF' as a management company called 'Inoki Genki Factory'". POST Wrestling. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ アントニオ猪木さん死去 プロレス界の巨星堕つ. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2022-10-01. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
- ^ アントニオ猪木さん 自宅で死去 79歳 燃える闘魂 プロレス黄金期けん引. Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese). 2022-10-01. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
- ^ Rose, Bryan (October 1, 2022). "Antonio Inoki passes away at 79 years old". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ Thompson, Andrew (November 1, 2022). "INOKI BOM-BA-YE x Ganryujima scheduled for 12/28 at Ryōgoku Sumo Hall". POST Wrestling. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "NJPW set for Inoki memorial event in Shanghai!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. September 17, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ "ジョシュ・バーネット欠場のお知らせ (2011/08/19)". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). 2011-08-19. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
- ^ a b "INOKI GENOME追加対戦カード発表のお知らせ (2011/08/22)". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). 2011-08-22. Archived from the original on 2011-09-19. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
- ^ "藤田「役目終わった」／ＩＧＦ". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (2014-08-13). "Wed. update: Jones undergoes surgery, Another UFC drug test failure, Sonnen tells Jericho what WWE told him about coming in, Mania activities in San Jose, WWE Network in Canada, Cro Cop goes after pro wrestling world title, Rollins talks (updated)". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on 2014-08-16. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
- ^ "藤田、王者レバンナ破った／ＩＧＦ". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- ^ "オリィ・トンプソン". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- ^ "IGF Genome16". cagematch.net. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ "2nd Inoki Genome Tournament". Cagematch.net. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Asia MMA. "IGF 3: 8-man World open weight GP". mma-in-asia.com.