On June 26, 1976, at the Bodokan in Tokyo, Japan, legendary NJPW wrestler and owner Antonio Inoki took on the iconic boxer Muhammad Ali in what was called "The War of the Worlds." Inoki wanted to prove how talented professional wrestlers were, and Ali, always the showman, was game for the bout, which was more of an MMA fight than a wrestling or boxing match. Their showdown didn't live up to the hype, but a young Vince McMahon had a crazy idea to really take it over the top by blading Muhammad Ali without getting the fighter's permission first.
Vince McMahon Was Asked To Help With The Antonio Inoki Vs. Muhammad Ali Fight
Vince McMahon Jr. Worked For His Father's World Wide Wrestling Federation
Bob Arum was a boxing promoter who helped with Muhammad Ali's rise in the 1960s. In 1976, Arum was still promoting Ali, and a young Vince McMahon was working for his father, Vince McMahon Sr's, WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation). After a failed attempt to work together in 1974 for an event with daredevil Evil Knievel, Arum and the younger McMahon reconnected when a match was set up between Antonio Inoki and Muhammad Ali, an event that would pit wrestler against boxer. The book Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America by Abraham Josephine Riesman, details what happened next.
Arum was perplexed by how to make a fight between a wrestler and a boxer work, so he called up someone he knew in the wrestling business, Vince McMahon, and sought his advice. Arum recalled:
"The scenario was, and I'll never forget it, that Ali, after two or three rounds, was going to be ostensibly pounding the hell out of Inoki for fake, but make it look real. And Inoki was the kind of wrestler that had a razor, like you shave with, in his mouth, and he would take the razor out and slit his [own] eyebrows."
Ali would keep beating up Inoki, with blood pouring down his face, leading to Ali turning to the ref, begging him to stop the fight. The ref would refuse, and then Inoki would jump on Ali's back and pin him for the win. Everyone loved it, except Muhammad Ali, who had no interest in losing. Things were so chaotic at the beginning that they hadn't even decided if the fight would be real or staged.
Vince McMahon Wanted To Blade Muhammad Ali Without His Permission
Vince McMahon Also Claimed He Took Muhammad Ali Down In A Wrestling Hold
As the day for the fight came closer, almost everyone agreed that the fight would be fixed, and Inoki would be victorious in his home country. Ali still wouldn't cave, however, in his refusal to lose. Enter Vince McMahon Jr., who was now helping to promote the event with his father. McMahon met with Ali to convince him of the decision, but Ali wouldn't come around. Vince then claims that he took Ali down with a wrestling move to prove that Inoki might do that as well.
With Ali refusing to lose, McMahon came up with another idea, one even more insane than the Montreal Scewjob against Bret Hart two decades later. Vince wanted to sneak a blade to the referee and have them cut Ali on the forehead instead, without him even knowing it was going to happen. Ali would be bleeding everywhere, and the ref would have to stop the fight, allowing the boxing champ to save face and set up a potential rematch. This, of course, would have been a very illegal assault. According to Vince, it was his own dad who put a stop to it, telling his son:
"Goddammit, you're dealing with Muhammad Ali, and you're going to get into trouble legally in Japan. Get you ass back here now."
How Did The Muhammad Ali Vs. Antonio Inoki Fight End?
Muhammad Ali Later Appeared At The First Ever WrestleMania
The fight ended up being staged, with neither men really doing a lot. One moment had Ali throwing a punch that missed Inoki, but the wrestler still sold it anyway, falling into the ropes. With who should win never being agreed upon, the fight ended in a disappointing fifteen round draw. The crowd booed the match and a rematch never happened.
Both men came out of the embarrassment just fine. Inoki, who founded New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1972, continued to lead it through 2005 and is the most famous Japanese wrestler of all time. The WWE recognized his accomplishments as well, making him a Hall of Famer in 2010. Antonio Inoki passed away in 2022 in Tokyo.
As for Muhammad Ali, his career continued on, and even though his latter life was hindered by his fight with Parkinson's disease, Ali lived until 2016. Like Inoki, Muhammad Ali became a WWE Hall of Famer in 2024, thanks not only to his match with Inoki, but also getting in the ring with Gorilla Monsoon in 1976, and after his boxing retirement in 1981, being the guest referee for the main event of WrestleMania 1, where Hulk Hogan and Mr. T teamed up to take on "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. At the end of the fight, Ali laid Piper out with a punch. Thankfully, Vince McMahon Sr. put a stop to his son wanting to blade Ali or this moment would have never been.
