IGF_Championship

Inoki Genome Federation

Inoki Genome Federation

Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts company


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.

Quick Facts Acronym, Founded ...

History

Antonio Inoki, IGF's founder and namesake, in 2012

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]

Roster

Championships

IWGP Heavyweight Championship

IGF Championship

Quick Facts IGF Championship, Details ...

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.[25] On August 22, IGF declared Le Banner the first champion.[26] The title was founded as a professional wrestling championship, but has since December 31, 2013, been contested in legitimate mixed martial arts fights.[27][28]

Title history

More information No., Reign ...
More information No., Champion ...

Tournaments

IGF Championship Tournament

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.[31]

World Bantamweight Grand Prix

 
Quarterfinals
(DREAM 17)
Semifinals
(Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011)
Final
(Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011)
 
          
 
 
 
 
Japan Masakazu ImanariW
 
 
 
United States Abel Cullum SUB
 
Japan Masakazu Imanari DEC
 
 
 
United States Antonio BanuelosW
 
Japan Hideo Tokoro DEC
 
 
 
United States Antonio BanuelosW
 
United States Antonio BanuelosTKO
 
 
 
Brazil Bibiano Fernandes W
 
Brazil Bibiano Fernandes W
 
 
 
Japan Takafumi Otsuka SUB
 
Brazil Bibiano Fernandes W
 
 
 
Brazil Rodolfo MarquesDEC
 
Russia Yusup Saadulaev DEC
 
 
Brazil Rodolfo Marques W
 

Inoki Genome Tournament 2012

  • 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

  • This tournament took place entirely on the Genome26 event.
QuarterfinalsSemifinalFinal
Hideki SuzukiWin
Hideki Suzuki*Win
Akira Jo
Atsushi SawadaDouble CountoutAtsushi Sawada*
Shinichi Suzukawa*
Atsushi SawadaWin
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.[32]

Road to Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye Challenge Tournament

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

  • 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
         
Sweden Yosef Ali Mohammad TKO
Netherlands Dion Staring Rd 1
Sweden Yosef Ali Mohammad TKO
Brazil Fernando Rodrigues Jr. Rd 1
Brazil Fernando Rodrigues Jr. TKO
France Antony Rea Rd 1
Brazil Fernando Rodrigues Jr. TKO
England Oli Thompson Rd 1
United States Chris Barnett TKO
Bulgaria Emil Zahariev Rd 2
United States Chris Barnett DEC
England Oli Thompson Rd 2
England Oli Thompson DEC
Japan Ikuhisa Minowa Rd 2

[33]

Genome-1: Osaka

  • 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

  • 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

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
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

More information #, Event title ...

See also


References

  1. "猪木の看板外す。INTERNATIONAL GLORY FIGHTING". igf123da on Twitter. July 31, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  2. Woodward, Hamish (2023-11-17). "How Inokism Almost Killed New Japan Pro Wrestling - Atletifo". Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  3. "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
  4. "DREAM Dynamite!! 2010". dreamofficial.com. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  5. "DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010," special rules detailed". mmajunkie.com. December 29, 2009.
  6. "Dream Dynamite 2010". mmajunkie.com. December 31, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010.
  7. "Overeem win highlights traditional NYE show". Yahoo Sports. 31 December 2010.
  8. "Gift to Kim Jong Il from Japanese". Archived from the original on 2012-05-19. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
  9. 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.
  10. Bryant, Steve (April 18, 2019). "Lucha Otaku and Inoki Sports Management partner to launch PuroLucha". SoCal Uncensored. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  11. "Lucha Wrestling Puroresu (LWP)". Cagematch.net. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  12. "NOAH Navigation With Emerald Spirits 2018 - Tag 8". Cagematch.net. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  13. "【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.
  14. Thompson, Andrew (August 26, 2022). "Antonio Inoki bringing back 'IGF' as a management company called 'Inoki Genki Factory'". POST Wrestling. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. "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.
  20. "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.
  21. "藤田「役目終わった」/IGF". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  22. "藤田、王者レバンナ破った/IGF". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
  23. "オリィ・トンプソン". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  24. "IGF Genome16". cagematch.net. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  25. "2nd Inoki Genome Tournament". Cagematch.net. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  26. Asia MMA. "IGF 3: 8-man World open weight GP". mma-in-asia.com.

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