Biography

Korean-born, Japanese-raised professional wrestler who was the first Japanese wrestling star. He debuted in 1951 after abandoning sumo wrestling a year earlier. His first match was a ten-minute draw against Bobby Bruns. He became a star by defeating every American wrestler that promoters could throw at him. He defeated Lou Thesz for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship on August 27, 1958. He would hold several titles in Japan and the U.S. He also trained Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba, who would go on to be two of the biggest and most important stars in the history of Puroresu (Japanese professional wrestling.) He established Japan's first formal promotion, the Japan Wrestling Association. He was stabbed on December 8, 1963 while partying in a club and died of peritonitis a week later. He was inducted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006, the NWA Hall of Fame in 2011 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.
- IMDb mini biography by: JasonIK75

Shoulder block

Hip toss

Rising sun (Mongolian chop)

Piledriver

Chops

He left sumo wrestling due to the hostility toward Koreans in Japan. This was also why his real name was reported as Mitsuhiro Momota rather than Kim-Sin Rak.

Two of his matches are among the top ten most highest rated TV programs in Japanese history. His 60-minute draw with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz on October 6, 1957 drew an 87 rating. His 60-minute 2 out of 3 falls match draw with the Destroyer (Dick Beyer) on May 24, 1963 drew a 67 rating, but a larger TV audience (the largest in Japanese history), because more people had TV sets by then.