Ric Flair Shares Rare Photo With Former North Korea Supremo Kim Jong-il and Antonio Inoki After the Latter’s Death at 79

Antonio Inoki, a pro wrestling legend, who once famously fought Muhammad Ali, passed away at the age of 79 yesterday. In his wrestling career, Inoki wrestled with some of the biggest names in the world of pro wrestling. His impressive list of opponents includes Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, and Ric Flair, among others. In fact, his match with Ric Flair in Korea drew an astounding audience of over 165,000 to the arena.

Antonio Inoki’s NJPW joined hands with WCW to co-produce the event ‘Collision in Korea’ in 1995. The marquee match between Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki headlined the match card at the Rungrado May Day Stadium. The PPV event drew an attendance of over 160,000, which remains the largest ever for a wrestling event.

Ric Flair pens an emotional message after the passing of Antonio Inoki

After the sudden passing of Antonio Inoki, tributes flooded in from many wrestlers and other personalities. In particular, many wrestlers thanked Inoki for his contribution to pro wrestling as well. Ric Flair, who wrestled with Inoki in Korea in front of a record crowd, also shared a rare photo of himself with Inoki and former North Korea Supremo Kim Jong-il.

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In the photo, Kim-Jong is raising arms of both Flair and Inoki, after the match. Furthermore, the two men were honored with vases and flowers afterwards.

Ric Flair shared the photo on his Instagram and thanked the wrestling legend for his memories. Flair wrote, “Rest In Peace Antonio Inoki! Thank You For The Great Matches & Memories My Friend! “

‘The Nature Boy’ will always be a part of Inoki’s legacy after their historic match in Korea. Indeed, it was a sad day for fans of pro wrestling worldwide and like Flair, we also thank Antonio Inoki for the special memories.

Collison in Korea pay-per-view

The Collison in Korea was a two-day pay-per-view held at the May Day Stadium in North Korea in 1995. Inoki organized the event to promote goodwill between Japan and North Korea and was officially known as the Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace.

For this purpose, Inoki reached out to Eric Bischoff of WCW to get his wrestlers for the event. Moreover, Bischoff saw this as an opportunity to boost the profile of his promotion worldwide. He even got Muhammad Ali to attend the event and greet the crowd.

The match card had a total of 15 matches over two days. Apart from Ric Flair, the event featured other WCW wrestlers like The Steiner Brothers, Scott Norton and Road Warrior Hawk.

Despite being left out of discussions, we will remember this event for its massive attendance and an even bigger main event featuring two of the greatest names in wrestling.

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