‘Did I Just Kill?’: Hulk Hogan Fell Prey to Dilemma With Antonio Inoki’s Shocking Public Move

Hulk Hogan also had a successful run in Japanese promotions and working with WWE. Moreover, he has had some great and memorable matches in both countries.

However, his match against Antonio Inoki in 1983 is one of the most remembered matches in the NJPW. Recently, a famous wrestling journalist recalled a match of Hogan vs Antonio Inoki which panicked everyone.

Recently, on Talk is Jericho wrestling journalist/historian Fumi Saito and WON’s Dave Meltzer recalled the 1983 match between Hulk Hogan vs Antonio Inoki. This was the inaugural IWGP Heavyweight title match in which Inoki laid down for several minutes after taking a clothesline from The Hulkster.

Meltzer said, “[Inoki] swallowed his tongue and everyone’s panicking like ‘Oh my god, what happened?'”  

According to Saito, in some cases, only Inoki had the answer. Saito said, “Inoki did that without telling anybody. That’s how serious that was. He (Hogan) was not clued in.” Instead, the inaugural champion reacted as though he had just seen a ghost.”

Hogan had become the inaugural IWGP champion but was concerned about Inoki not waking up after the match. The WWE Hall of Famer believed he might have severely injured the Japanese legend by hitting a hard clothesline.

What was Hulk Hogan’s reaction when Antonio Inoki didn’t wake up?

The Japanese legend was one of the most dedicated wrestlers of all in the industry. He sold the move to an extent where the fans wondered if it might have hit extremely hard. Similarly, in 1983, he sold Hogan’s clothesline in a way everyone thought he might have been severely injured.

Meltzer shared Hogan’s reaction, “He just wins this tournament and he should be celebrating and Hogan’s out there and he’s got this look on his face like ‘Oh my god? Did I just kill the boss?’ Everyone bought it — from the media to others at ringside, it was real. Until it wasn’t.”

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However, Saito shared about Inoki’s plan, “Not everybody had the same answer. That’s how mysterious Inoki is. The referee didn’t know about it. Sakaguchi (his business partner) didn’t know about it. Hulk Hogan didn’t know about it. Inoki just decided to lay there.”

By the words of both these wrestling journalists, Inoki clearly put Hogan in a state of shock for some time. Out of all his victories in his career, ‘Immortal One’ has never forgotten about this incident. 

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The NJPW star had also put the boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, in a state of shock after their first-ever MMA match. Inoki swept around the ring, kicking Ali from a low range to stop his mobility, which might have ended the boxer’s career. Legend says in this bout which was declared a draw, Inoki kicked Ali’s legs over 100 times throughout the 15 rounds!