Tuesday January 31st marked the 13th anniversary of the passing of Shohei "Giant" Baba one of pro-wrestling's greatest giants. Baba was not only an imposing figure in the ring, he was arguably just as imposing outside of the ring as a highly successful promoter. His fingerprints and giant foot steps are still felt and seen in today's current pro-wrestling scene in Japan.
Before entering pro-wrestling, Giant Baba was a professional baseball player in Japan. In 1956, he posted a 12-1 record as a pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants. Unfortunately, things ended badly for Baba as he sustained a serious injury to his throwing arm. His baseball career ended in 1959. According to the Pro Wrestling HOF, Baba was rehabbing his arm injury when he would meet Rikidozan.
Rikidozan was the father of Japanese pro-wrestling and took Baba into his dojo to train him in 1960. Baba would train at Riki's dojo alongside another Japanese legend Antonio Inoki.
Early in his career, Baba traveled over to the U.S. and wrestled for numerous promotions like the WWWF and the WWA. He would take on wrestlers like Buddy Rogers and Bruno Sammartino. His time in the WWA sparked a lifelong friendship with The Destroyer Dick Beyer which would play a major role in Baba's promotion down the line.
After a few years as singles competitors, Baba and Inoki formed a successful tag-team and dominated the tag-team landscape. They worked for Riki's promotion the JWA (Japan Wrestling Association) and defeated all challengers both local and abroad.
Unfortunately, Inoki and Baba would have an irreconcilable difference and split up. In 1972, Inoki left the JWA and started his own promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling. A few months later, Baba would leave the JWA and start his own promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling. The two promotions would feud over signing talent and running shows.
However, Baba's promotion gained the upper hand as it secured a working relationship with the NWA, which saw Baba become the first Japanese pro-wrestler to hold the prestigious NWA world title after defeating Jack Brisco. Additionally, Baba's friendship with Dick Beyer proved valuable as Beyer was just as big of a star in Japan as he was in the U.S. Beyer helped open the door for other American wrestlers to come into Baba's promotion.
All Japan was the top promotion in Japan and one of the best in the world due to Baba's keen sense of business, angles and friendships. By the mid 80's, Baba eventually began to wind down in the ring and focused more on the promotion. Baba would begin pushing other stars like Tsuruta and Tenryu. Baba would only make a few appearances during the 90's as his health began to drastically decline.
On January 31st, Shohei Baba died of cancer. After his death, Baba's wife, and other Japanese stars, vowed to keep All Japan going. The promotion is still a viable wrestling entity to this day.
Baba won the following titles according to Wikipedia:
- AJPW All Asia Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (6 times) - with Jumbo Tsuruta
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- PWF World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- Champion's Carnival (1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982)
- World's Strongest Tag Team League (1978, 1980) – with Jumbo Tsuruta
- Japan Wrestling Association
- NWA International Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (6 times) - with Michiaki Yoshimura (1), Antonio Inoki (4), and Seiji Sakaguchi (1)
- World Big League (6 times)
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (1 time) - with Jumbo Tsuruta
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