Sonny Onoo Reflects On Infamous WCW North Korea Show And Antonio Inoki's Involvement

The death of Japanese wrestling pioneer Antonio Inoki has put the wrestling world in a reflective mood. On the latest episode of "Busted Open Radio," legendary wrestling personality Sonny Onoo looked back on his time alongside Inoki and then-WCW President Eric Bischoff as they traveled to North Korea to put on the infamous Collision In Korea shows.

"Masa Saito reached out to Eric because we had such a great relationship," Onoo remembered. "That led to Eric mentioning that he had a contact with Muhammad Ali, and of course Antonio Inoki was working out with Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, to go to North Korea for a pro wrestling show."

Onoo says he was told "Don't go there, you may not come back," but refused to heed the warning. "We were young. We just said, 'When's the chance that we're gonna go to North Korea?' So we went and got Muhammad Ali involved."

Onoo says Bischoff was able to get Inoki and Ali's entourage to get together and hash out old grudges surrounding their controversial exhibition fight in the late 1970s.

"Mr. Inoki invited Ali [to North Korea], who was also kinda using his sports figure and his position to create friendlier relationships with some of our adversaries," Onoo said. "Mr. Ali said, 'Yeah, North Korea, I'm in.' The rest is history, really."

According to Onoo, he had warnings from the governments of both the United States and Japan. "'Hey, we cannot protect your safety, we do not recommend you go, in the strongest terms,' that's how they put it," he said. But Onoo refused to be deterred. "I've been to South Africa during Apartheid, it was an experience. My thought was, 'When am I gonna get my opportunity to go? Never.'" 

Onoo says that Inoki's presence also ensured a modicum of safety, as he was such a revered figure in North Korea. The Japanese wrestling legend had a friendly relationship with Kim Jong-il, whose reign had only just begun the year prior after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung. Such was Jong-il's respect for Inoki that the North Korean government even printed money with Inoki's face on it.

"That's how much clout he had," Onoo said. "There was a stamp with his picture." 

Though he didn't feel physically threatened in North Korea, Onoo was told to mind his manners while in the country, as "they're listening to everything you say."