10 Wrestling Geniuses you probably didn't know about

#6 Antonio Inoki

Inoki showed great intelligence when he was an active wrestler and as a promoter

Antonio Inoki is one of the smartest men in wrestling history, and has played an instrumental role in shaping the modern pro wrestling business. Inoki was the first promoter to start giving more time to the cruiserweight wrestlers, especially with the original Tiger Mask.

Inoki then began emphasizing junior heavyweight wrestling for years, which turned his NJPW into a hub for smaller wrestlers looking to make a name for themselves. This led to several of the greatest wrestlers of the past thirty years working for NJPW because the head promoter was smart enough to understand that smaller guys could draw as well.

Wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor, and many others wrestled in NJPW because they knew they could go there and become bigger stars by doing so.

This showed just how much of a genius Inoki was: even though a lot of his contemporaries didn’t think small guys could draw, Inoki went with his gut and booked them strongly. And when he saw that the fans loved these smaller, more agile wrestlers, he made a fortune by promoting them as top stars.