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Nightmare disorder

Nightmare disorder is a sleep disorder characterized by repeated intense nightmares that most often center on threats to physical safety and security. The nightmares usually occur during the REM stage of sleep, and the person who experiences the nightmares typically remembers them well upon waking. More specifically, nightmare disorder is a type of parasomnia, a subset of sleep disorders categorized by abnormal movement or behavior or verbal actions during sleep or shortly before or after. Other parasomnias include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, bedwetting, and sleep paralysis.

Nightmare disorders can be confused with sleep terror disorders. The difference is that after a sleep terror episode, the patient wakes up with more dramatic symptoms than with a nightmare disorder, such as screaming and crying. Furthermore, they do not remember the reason of the fear, while a patient with a nightmare disorder remembers every detail of the dream. Finally, the sleep terrors usually occur during NREM Sleep.

Nightmares also have to be distinguished from bad dreams, which are less emotionally intense. Furthermore, nightmares contain more scenes of aggression than bad dreams and more unhappy endings. Finally, people experiencing nightmares feel more fear than with bad dreams.

The treatment depends on whether or not there is a comorbid PTSD diagnosis. About 4% of American adults are affected. Studies examining nightmare disorders have found that the prevalence rates ranges 2–6% with the prevalence being similar in the US, Canada, France, Iceland, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Austria, Japan, and the Middle East.

Signs and symptoms
During the nightmare, the sleeper may scream and yell out things. The nightmare sufferer is often awakened by these threatening, frightening dreams and can often vividly remember their experience. Upon awakening, the sleeper is usually alert and oriented within their surroundings, but may have an increased heart rate and symptoms of anxiety, like sweating. They may have trouble falling back to sleep for fear they will experience another nightmare.

A person experiencing nightmare disorder may have trouble going through everyday tasks; anxiety and lack of sleep caused by the fearful dreams may hinder the individual from completing everyday tasks efficiently and correctly. Upon experiencing this, these nightmare sufferers may consult with a psychiatrist.

The sleeper may have recurring episodes of awakening while recalling the intensely disturbing dream manifestations which usually result from fear or anxiety, but can also be triggered by anger, sadness, disgust, and other dysphoric emotions. Additionally, the sleeper may experience at least one of the following two features: delayed return of going back to sleep after episodes, and having episodes in the latter half of the sleep period.

Consequences
Nightmare disorder is common: it affects about 4% of the adult population. Even if children have more nightmares than adults, only 1% of children meet the criteria of the disorder. Nightmare disorder can impair the quality of life for people who are affected by the condition. It can make the patient avoid sleep, which leads to sleep deprivation, which in turn may lead to even more intense nightmares. Some other consequences of the nightmare disorder are fatigue and insomnia.

Nightmare disorders have negative consequences on several aspects of the patient's life, such as sleep, cognitive and emotional functioning and well-being. Nightmares can also have negative impact on the bed partner's life.

Content of idiopathic nightmares
Physical aggression is the main theme of nightmares. Other fields, such as interpersonal conflict, failure, helplessness, apprehension, being chased, accidents, evil forces, disasters, insects and environmental abnormalities may also feature in nightmares. Fear is the most frequent emotion associated with nightmares, even if other emotions such as sadness, anger, and confusion can also be present.

Criteria
According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, the criteria needed to diagnose a nightmare disorder are the following. First, the presence of frequent nightmares that imply danger for the person and impact mood in a negative way is needed. Second, when waking up from nightmares, the person behaves in an alert way. Finally, the disorder has to have a significant impact on the patient's personal, social or professional functioning, in areas like mood, sleep, cognition, behaviour, fatigue, family and occupation.

Causes
Nightmares can be caused by extreme pressure or irritation if no other mental disorder is discovered. The death of a loved one or a stressful life event can be enough to cause a nightmare but conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric disorders have been known to cause nightmares as well. If the individual is on medication, the nightmares may be attributed to some side effects of the drug. Amphetamines, antidepressants, and stimulants like cocaine and caffeine can cause nightmares. Blood pressure medication, levodopa and medications for Parkinson's disease have also been known to cause nightmares.

The nightmares may be idiopathic or could be associated with psychiatric disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder. Nightmares can also be triggered by stress and anxiety and substance abuse, such as drugs that affect the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine and serotonin. Nevertheless, causality between drugs such as beta-blockers or alpha-agonists and nightmares is still unclear and further research needs to be done to investigate the biochemical mechanisms of nightmares.

Eighty percent of patients who have PTSD report nightmares. Patients with PTSD have symptoms that are classified into three clusters: intrusive/re-experiencing, numbing, and hyperarousal. Nightmares are usually considered to be part of the intrusive/re-experiencing symptom.

Some differences are existing between idiopathic and PTSD related nightmares. A person with PTSD having nightmares would wake up during the night more frequently and for a longer time than with idiopathic nightmares. Consequently, people with PTSD would have a poorer sleep quality. Furthermore, nightmares related to PTSD would be more stressful than idiopathic ones. However, further studies have to be conducted in this area to obtain more reliable results.

Assessment
Polysomnography records physiological parameters, such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG) and electrooculography (EOG) in a sleep laboratory. However, the frequency of posttraumatic nightmares tends to decrease in an artificial lab setting, which would impact the content of nightmares. Consequently, assessment of nightmare disorders using polysomnography has to last for a longer period, in order to let the patient get used to the artificial environment.

Self-report by a questionnaire or by a diary is another way to investigate nightmare disorders. However, these methods are questionable. Indeed, when filling out questionnaires with questions about a long period, people often tend to underestimate the frequency of their nightmares because of forgetting. On the contrary, filling out a diary every day may lead to an overestimation of the numbers of nightmares, because of the focusing on this phenomenon.

Comorbidity
Studies have reported that nightmare disorders were present in 50–70% of the cases for PTSD, in 17.5% for depression, in 18.3% for insomnia, in 16.7% for schizophrenia and in 49% for borderline personality disorder. For all psychiatric disorders taken together, nightmare disorders are present in 29.9% of the cases, a much bigger rate than for the general population, which is 2–5%. Nightmare disorders can also be associated with sleep disorders such as night terrors, chronic insomnia and sleep-disordered breathing. The presence of nightmares before a trauma would influence severity of PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, having nightmares is linked to a significantly higher risk of attempting suicide and of death by suicide.

Treatment
Stress reduction techniques such as yoga, meditation and exercise may help to eliminate stress and create a more peaceful sleeping atmosphere.

Diagnosis and medication can only be given to patients that report the recurring nightmares to a psychiatrist or other physician. Medications like prazosin are sometimes used to treat nightmares in people with PTSD. Therapy usually helps to deal with the frightening themes of the nightmares and alleviate the recurrence of the dreams. The persistent nightmares will usually improve as the patient gets older. Therapy is usually efficient to treat chronic nightmares in PTSD disorder or in other population.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a specialized intervention in which the focus is to stimulate neural mechanisms to induce disturbing memories and experiences. It has demonstrated a significant nightmares' reduction, especially for the treatment of PTSD. Silver, Brooks and Obenchain have found a decrease of the nightmares with Vietnam War veterans after 90 days of EMDR. Jayatunge has found significant results with people who have survived to a tsunami. Greenwald has successfully used the EMDR with children. There wasn't any negative consequence due to the EMDR sessions.

Imagery rehearsal therapy is a cognitive behavioral therapy where the patient rescripts the nightmare in any way they choose and then practices the new dream they choose to have using imagery. It has been shown as efficient to treat nightmare disorder in PTSD as well as in non PTSD populations. In this treatment, the person has to write a new scenario of the nightmare with positive images that will be rehearsed during 10 to 20 minutes per day, in order to change the negative content of the nightmare. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is also efficient to treat nightmares in the PTSD population. This method aims to change sleep habits with a clinician's help and the use of tools such as a sleep diary. Although many studies have been done in which positive results were recorded, there are few studies in which results were inconclusive or had a delayed effect.

Exposure, relaxation and rescripting therapy is used to treat PTSD-related nightmares. This intervention combines Imagery Rehearsal Therapy with exposure and relaxation techniques. The main objective is to work on changing maladjusted sleep habits and the trauma-related themes of nightmares.

Research has been undertaken to investigate if sufferers of nightmares could benefit from the ability to be aware that they are indeed dreaming, a process known as lucid dreaming. The Lucid Dreaming Therapy is a specific method of the Imagery Rehearsal Therapy. The dreamer is conscious during their dream and can modulate it. Consequently, anxiety decreases, controllability increases, expectations change, which will impact the frequency of nightmares. Several studies have shown significant results with the lucid dreaming therapy. Two studies indicate a decrease of the nightmare frequency after only 12 weeks and one study shows, in 80% of the cases, a total disappearance of the nightmares after one year. Although these studies showed the efficacy of this therapy in the reduction of nightmare frequency on patients from the general population, so far evidence for this treatment is still weak.

Systematic Desensitization, using graduated exposure, has been shown to be efficient to treat chronic nightmares. The person has to face the frightening elements of nightmares in a gradual way, from least to most stressful. When the person starts to feel unsecure, she has to manage the stress by applying a relaxation technique.

Pharmacological treatments
Pharmacological treatments could be also efficient to treat nightmare disorder. Most of the treatments were assessed to patients with PTSD. The most efficient is an alpha-blocker, Prazosin, which reduces tone during sleep by blocking noradrenergic receptors. Prazosin would significantly decrease the number of PTSD related nightmares and would therefore improve sleep quality. However, only few studies considered the effect of Prazosin in idiopathic nightmares. Benzodiazepines are also often used to treat nightmare disorder, despite the lack of efficacy demonstrated in empirical studies. Some patients were also treated with atypical antipsychotic medications. Olanzapine has quickly decreased the nightmares. Two studies have shown the positive effects of Risperidone. Aripiprazole is more tolerated than olanzapine and has demonstrated substantial improvement in the nightmare frequency. Some other drugs as clonidine, cyproheptadine, fluvoxamine, gabapentin, nabilone, phenelzine, topiramate or trazodone have presented an amelioration of the nightmares. But some further researches are needed. Medication has shown efficacy to treat chronic nightmares among a PTSD population but the impact of pharmacological treatments on other populations, such as drug-related nightmares, are unknown. Furthermore, patients usually take more than one medication at a time, whatever the cause related to nightmares, leading to possible interactive effects.

Epidemiology
About 2–6% of American adults are affected by nightmare disorders. About 4% of American adults are affected by nightmare disorders. Women seem to be more affected than men, the ratio being 2–4 : 1. This inequality decreases with aging because of a less high prevalence in elderly women. The rate of nightmares increases from ages 10–19 to 20–39, and then decreases during the ages of 50–59. The rates of nightmares for men increases from ages 10–19 to 30–39, and then decreases at the age of 50–59. However, it is still unclear if the difference of prevalence between men and women is real or if it reflects a higher dream recall capacity of women.

According to studies, children at the age of 6–10 years are 41% more likely to experience nightmares and 22% at the age of 11. Children with persistent nightmares range from 10% to 50%. However, only 1% of children meet the criteria of a nightmare disorder. Some factors tend to predict the development of a disorder from the presence of nightmares during childhood, such as a fear of going to sleep or going back to bed after a nightmare, an irregular sleep life and an avoidance of thinking about the nightmare.

Research

 * Dissociative disorders are usually paired with Nightmare Disorder 57% of the time. Nightmare disorder is believed to be associated with Dissociative Disorders as a defense mechanism that is used to escape from the traumatic event that caused the Dissociative Disorder. People with Dissociative Disorder and Nightmare disorder are more likely to self-mutilate, attempt suicide, and have Borderline Personality Disorder.
 * Borderline personality disorder with Nightmare Disorder is very common, since the stages of sleep vary from that of a normal person (i.e. increased stage one sleep, and less stage four sleep). People with Borderline Personality disorder and Nightmare Disorder are usually the severest of those who have Borderline Personality Disorder; therefore, treating those with Nightmare Disorder may also help some with Borderline Personality Disorder.
 * Hypnosis seems to be a new and effective treatment for those with Nightmare Disorder, since it increases relaxation.
 * Nightmare disorder is also associated with those who have lower cholesterol. This connection is unclear; however, cholesterol may affect other hormones in the body (such as serotonin) which may affect one's sleep.

title: Nightmare disorder


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Allende (disambiguation)

Salvador Allende (1908–1973) was the president of Chile from 1970 until 1973.

Allende may also refer to:

People with the surname

 * Allende (surname)
 * Ignacio Allende (1769–1811), Mexican caudillo during the Mexican War of Independence
 * Isabel Allende (1942–), Chilean author

Places in Mexico

 * Allende Municipality (disambiguation)
 * Allende Municipality, Chihuahua
 * Allende, Coahuila
 * Allende Municipality, Coahuila
 * Allende, Guanajuato
 * Allende, Nuevo León

Other uses

 * Allende (meteorite), a meteorite fall of 1969 in Chihuahua, Mexico
 * Allende (spider), a genus of spiders
 * Allende family, a Chilean family of Spanish descent
 * Allende metro station, in Mexico City, Mexico
 * Instituto Allende, an art college in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
 * Allender, a surname

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Allende (disambiguation)


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Talk:Darlington Raceway

I really like what has been done with this page. The content is just great! It seems unusual to find such great text so soon in the life of an article. --Timc 23:19, 29 May 2004 (UTC)

I'm N huge NASCAR fan, y'all, but, isn't it Darlington International Raceway? I've always heard it calld DIR... Trekphiler''' 🇨🇦 08:26, 24 December 2005

Darlington Raceway is the correct name. If someone has a good picture, I think the article could use it. Mustang6172 21:38, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

News article that might fit here
--User:Ceyockey ( talk to me ) 00:39, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

The original Darlington Stripe
The original configuration of Darlington was quite a bit narrower and the back and front straights were opposite where they are now. The wall at the entrance to Turn 3 (now Turn 1) it was especially narrow and the right rear corners of the cars would hit the wall and leave a multi-colored stripe of rubbed off paint, making THE Darlington Stripe. When the track was widened and the front and back straights swapped, the Darlington Stripe at the former Turn 3 entrance mostly went away. Then with the addition of the SAFER barrier, the track lost some width, making scraping the walls more common. Bizzybody (talk) 08:20, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

 * As I recall, because of the high banks on the original track, someone found that the fastest way around the track was high on the turns instead of sticking to the inside as is the convention on other NASCAR tracks. As a result of this practice, many cars would come in contact with the wall. That's where the "Darlington Stripe" came from: brushing the wall with the side of the car body, not colliding with it. It was unique to Darlington, because the fastest way through the turns at other racetracks was to stay on the inside of the turn.TCav (talk) 01:11, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

We have no channels today showing this race! Not ch9 or 3, or 36 etc. We used to see it.
Make em show it, please. 2603:6080:C102:A7C0:E9DA:C477:5FFE:4763 (talk) 19:17, 15 May 2022 (UTC)

John C. Reilly listed as actor in Days of Thunder?
Why is John C. Reilly listed as a star alongside Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder when he wasn’t even in the movie? Did someone have him confused for Dennis Quaid? 2601:245:4500:110:F1BF:5361:AA4B:8C68 (talk) 20:56, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

 * John C. Reilly is in Days of Thunder, he is Buck Bretherton, Cole's car chief. glman (talk) 21:04, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Darlington Raceway


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Stan Stasiak

George Emile Stipich (April 13, 1937 – June 19, 1997) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stan "the Man" Stasiak. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the 1970s, where he won the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in 1973. He was inducted into the Legacy wing of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

Early life
George Stipich was born in the village of Arvida, Quebec. He became a fan of wrestling as a youth, attending shows in Chicoutimi. Stipich and his friends became known for throwing sucker punches at wrestlers; on one occasion, wrestler Don Leo Jonathan blocked Stipich's punch and knocked him unconscious. As a young man, Stipich worked in an aluminium mill while playing ice hockey in the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association but became known for his lack of discipline, with his final coach encouraging him to switch to professional wrestling.

Early career (1958–1965)
Stipich trained in Montreal, making his debut in 1958. He initially wrestled as "Emile Koverly" for the Calgary, Alberta-based Big Time Wrestling promotion. He also wrestled at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto which included a match with Gino Morella, who was later known as Gorilla Monsoon. in October 1960, he wrestled in the United States for the St. Louis Wrestling Club, where he adopted the ring name "Stan Stasiak", taking it from another wrestler named Stanley Stasiak (real name Ignacy Josef Stasiak) who had died in 1931 from sepsis.

By 1961, Stasiak was dividing his time between Canada and the St. Louis Wrestling Club. In June 1961, he won his first championship in the Maple Leaf Wrestling promotion, teaming with Man Mountain Campbell to win the NWA International Tag Team Championship. They held the titles until September 1961. Stasiak continued to wrestle in Canada and the United States throughout the early 1960s, including making a handful of appearances with the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association in May 1962. In late 1963, he had a stint with the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion, where he challenged NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz.

Stampede Wrestling (1964–1968)
From 1964 to 1968, Stasiak appeared regularly with the Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based Stampede Wrestling promotion. He held the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship on four occasions between 1965 and 1967 and the Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship on three occasions in 1968.

Pacific Northwest Wrestling (1965–1971)
In 1965, Stasiak began appearing regularly with Pacific Northwest Wrestling, where he adopted the fictional "Buzzard Creek, Oregon" as his hometown. He won the promotion's flagship title, the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship, five times in 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1971. He also won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship four times between 1965 and 1969, teaming with Haru Sasak, the Mad Russian, Mighty Ursus, and Tony Marino.

International Wrestling Enterprise (1969)
In April and May 1969, Stasiak toured Japan with the International Wrestling Enterprise promotion as part of its "World Selection Series". During the tour, he regularly teamed with Dory Dixon and Tank Morgan in tag team matches and six-man tag team matches. On April 12, 1969, a two-out-of-three-falls match pitting Stasiak and Morgan against Thunder Sugiyama and Toyonobori for the Trans-World Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship ended in a controversial manner, resulting in the titles being vacated; on April 20, Sugiyama and Rusher Kimura defeated Morgan and Stasiak to win the vacant titles. On April 22, Stasiak unsuccessfully challenged Billy Robinson for the IWA World Heavyweight Championship. Stasiak wrestled his final match with IWE on May 5, 1969, teaming with Dixon and Morgan in a loss to Sugiyama, Toyonobori, and the Great Kusatsu.

San Francisco (1969–1970)
In November 1969, Stasiak began wrestling for the San Francisco, California, United States-based Big Time Wrestling promotion. He quickly formed a tag team with The Gladiator and began feuding with Peter Maivia and Ray Stevens, repeatedly unsuccessfully challenging them for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. In August 1970, he formed a short-lived tag team with Pat Patterson. Stasiak left San Francisco in September 1970.

World Championship Wrestling (1970)
In October 1970, Stasiak wrestled in Australia for the World Championship Wrestling promotion. In his debut match, he defeated King Curtis Iaukea in the Festival Hall in Melbourne to win the IWA World Heavyweight Championship - his first world heavyweight championship. He lost the title back to Iaukea the following month.

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1971–1972)
In August 1971, Stasiak debuted in the northeastern United States-based World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). In his debut match, he challenged WWWF Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Over the following months, he faced opponents such as Gorilla Monsoon, Arnold Skaaland, Víctor Rivera, and Chief Jay Strongbow throughout the northeastern United States. In September 1971, he unsuccessfully challenged Bobo Brazil for the WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship. He went on to unsuccessfully challenge Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship on a number of further occasions. In February 1972, he formed a short-lived alliance with Jimmy Valiant. Valiant left the WWWF later that month.

Texas (1972)
In March 1972, Stasiak began appearing with the Texas-based Big Time Wrestling and Houston Wrestling promotions, facing opponents such as Bull Curry, Johnny Valentine, and Toru Tanaka. In June 1972, Stasiak defeated Red Bastien to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship at the Big Time Wrestling Parade of Champions event in the Texas Stadium. His reign lasted until October 1972 when he lost to José Lothario in a cage match in the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium. He also briefly held the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship. Stasiak left Texas in December 1972, with his final appearance being a loss to Fritz Von Erich in a Texas death cage match in the Dallas Sportatorium on Boxing Day.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1973)
In February 1973, Stasiak appeared in Japan with the recently founded All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. Wrestling as "Crusher Stasiak", he participated in the "Giant Series Total War" tour. His opponents included Motoshi Okuma, Munenori Higo, and Thunder Sugiyama. During the tour, he occasionally teamed with American wrestler Harley Race. In his final match, he and Race defeated Giant Baba and Samson Kutsuwada in a two-out-of-three-falls match.

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1973–1974)
Stasiak returned to the WWF in August 1973, adopting the Grand Wizard as his manager. In his first match, he unsuccessfully challenged WWWF Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales; he went on to challenge Morales in multiple subsequent matches. In November 1973, he faced André the Giant in a series of six-man tag team matches.

On December 1, 1973, in the Philadelphia Arena, Stasiak defeated Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship, ending Morales' nearly three-year long reign. The match ended when Stasiak applied a full nelson to Morales and both wrestlers fell backwards in a position where they both had their shoulders on the mat, only for Stasiak to lift his shoulder as the referee made the count. Following the match, ring announcer Buddy Wagner did not announce Stasiak as the new champion, instead asking the audience to applaud Morales; journalist Dave Meltzer suggested that this was intended to prevent the audience from rioting. Stasiak was given little notice that he would be winning the title. According to him, he was sitting in the dressing room in Philadelphia Arena when a road agent came to discuss the match. Stasiak considered this a formality as he had been having the same discussion, nearly verbatim, in every major city on the Eastern Seaboard for the past two months. However, this time it was different, as the agent told Stasiak that he was to win the championship. According to fellow wrestler Frank Dusek, the WWWF wanted to make Bruno Sammartino champion again, but did not want Sammartino to defeat Morales in the process, so they needed a heel wrestler to win it. Stasiak was used as a transitional champion, holding the WWWF Heavyweight Championship for just nine days before losing it to Sammartino on December 10, 1973, in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Stasiak described his title reign as "the happiest nine days of [my] life". During his brief reign, Stasiak had a single successful title defense, wrestling Chief Jay Strongbow to a no contest on December 7, 1973.

Stasiak faced Sammartino in a rematch in January 1974, but failed to regain the title. In March 1974, Stasiak teamed with Larry Hennig to unsuccessfully challenge Dean Ho and Tony Garea for the WWWF Tag Team Championship. Stasiak continued regularly appearing with the WWF until October 1974.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1974)
In April and May 1974, Stasiak toured Japan with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, competing in its inaugural World League round-robin tournament. On the first day of the tournament, he wrestled Antonio Inoki to a time limit draw in an exhibition match held in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Stasiak scored 5.5 points in the first round of the tournament, but did not progress past the second round. The tournament was ultimately won by Inoki.

St. Louis Wrestling Club (1975)
In February 1975, Stasiak began wrestling for the St. Louis Wrestling Club, where he regularly appeared on its television show Wrestling at the Chase. His repeat opponents included Pat O'Connor, Édouard Carpentier, and Red Bastien. In October 1975, Stasiak unsuccessfully challenged visiting WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino. Stasiak left St. Louis in December 1975, with his final match being a loss to Terry Funk in the Kiel Auditorium.

Maple Leaf Wrestling (1974–1978)
In July 1974 he began to wrestle for Frank Tunney's Ontario promotion, Maple Leaf Wrestling, he fought Tiger Jeet Singh for the Asian title at Maple Leaf Gardens. During the match The Sheik attacked Singh causing Stasiak to lose. From there Stasiak went into a series of matches with The Sheik for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. Stasiak's popularity rose as fans discovered that he was indeed a Canadian. Later on he fought Jack Brisco for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1975, Terry Funk for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1976, Superstar Billy Graham WWWF Heavyweight Championship in 1977 and Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1978.

Georgia Championship Wrestling (1976)
In January 1976, Stasiak began wrestling for the Atlanta-based Georgia Championship Wrestling promotion. He regularly teamed with other heels such as Abdullah the Butcher, Moondog Mayne, and The Spoiler. In March 1976, Stasiak defeated Dick Slater to win the NWA Macon Heavyweight Championship. He lost the title to Mr. Wrestling II the following month. In September 1976, Stasiak and Killer Brooks unsuccessfully challenged The Black Bombers for the NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship. Stasiak left Georgia Championship Wrestling in October 1976.

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1975–1979)
On September 13, 1975, Stasiak wrestled Bruno Sammartino who was WWWF Heavyweight Champion to a double disqualification in Steubenville, Ohio.

In November 1976, Stasiak began regularly wrestling for the WWWF once more. In his first match back, he challenged WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden, winning by count-out. The following month, he lost to Sammartino in a "Sicilian stretcher" match. In early-1977, Stasiak repeatedly challenged Billy White Wolf and Chief Jay Strongbow for the WWWF Tag Team Championship, with his partners including Baron Mikel Scicluna, Baron von Raschke, and Tor Kamata. Throughout spring 1977, Stasiak repeatedly unsuccessfully challenged Sammartino. During the remainder of 1977 and early 1978, Stasiak's regular opponents included Gorilla Monsoon, Ivan Putski, Larry Zbyszko, and Peter Maivia. In April 1978, Stasiak unsuccessfully challenged Bob Backlund, who had recently won the WWWF Heavyweight Championship. Over the following months, he teamed with a series of partners including Butcher Vachon, George Steele, and Johnny Rodz to challenge WWWF Tag Team Champions Dino Bravo and Dominic DeNucci, but was unable to defeat them. Beginning in December 1978, he again teamed with a series of partners to challenge new WWWF Tag Team Champions Larry Zbyszko and Tony Garea. Stasiak left the WWWF in March 1979.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1979)
Stasiak once again toured Japan with New Japan Pro-Wrestling from February to April 1979 as part of its "Big Fight Series". His first match, a loss to Riki Choshu, was broadcast on TV Asahi. During the tour, Stasiak faced opponents such as Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu, Seiji Sakaguchi, and Tatsumi Fujinami. On several occasions, he teamed with fellow Canadian wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh and with the Japanese wrestler Masa Saito.

Late career (1979–1984)
In spring 1979, Stasiak returned to Pacific Northwest Wrestling, where he became a mainstay. He won the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship twice more in 1979 and the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship four more times. In the early 1980s, he did commentary there and also worked as a photographer. In mid-1980, Stasiak appeared with the Louisiana, United States-based Mid-South Wrestling promotion. In the latter half of 1980, Stasiak competed in Texas once more, appearing with Big Time Wrestling and Western States Sports. During this time, he won the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship and the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship. Stasiak retired from professional wrestling in 1984.

Retirement
After retiring in 1984, Stasiak worked for Kellum Datsun in Gladstone, Oregon, as a car salesman. After a short time at the Datsun dealership, he moved to Toronto, where he worked as a security guard. When his health began to decline, he relocated back to Oregon in 1994. He was inducted into the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995, and (posthumously) into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.

Professional wrestling style and persona
For most of his career, Stasiak portrayed a "menacing" heel known for his "rulebreaking tactics". Early in his career he used the nicknames "Crusher" and "the Assassin of Arvida" and a bear hug for a finishing move. Later, he adopted the nickname "The Man" and began using the heart punch - "a stiff shot to his opponent's chest, sold as if it could stop the organ from pumping were Stasiak to land his fist just right" - as his finishing move. He was a "large, powerful, bruising" wrestler. Although hailing from Canada, for most of his career Stasiak was billed from the (fictitious) towns of "Beaver Creek" or "Buzzard Creek" in Oregon in the United States.

Death
Stipich died of congestive heart failure on June 19, 1997, while awaiting a heart transplant. Fellow wrestler Tony Borne gave the eulogy at his funeral, describing him as "a very good natured-individual" and "a real trooper" [sic].

Personal life
Stipich had two children: a daughter, Brittany, and a son, Shawn, who also wrestled professionally as Shawn Stasiak. He was survived by his widow Kimberly Stasiak. Stipich was of Croatian descent.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Cauliflower Alley Club
 * Other honoree (1996)
 * Georgia Championship Wrestling
 * NWA Macon Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Maple Leaf Wrestling
 * NWA International Tag Team Championship (Toronto version) (1 time) - with Man Mountain Campbell
 * NWA All-Star Wrestling
 * NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) - with Dutch Savage
 * NWA Big Time Wrestling
 * NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (3 times)
 * NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Killer Tim Brooks
 * National Wrestling Federation
 * NWF North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Pacific Northwest Wrestling
 * NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
 * NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (8 times) - with Mad Russian (1 time), Mighty Ursus (1 time), Haru Sasaki (1 time), Tony Marino (1 time), Dutch Savage (1 time), Buddy Rose (1 time), and Billy Jack Haynes (2 times)
 * Ring Around The Northwest Newsletter
 * Wrestler of the Year (1965)
 * Stampede Wrestling
 * NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) (4 times)
 * Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 * Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
 * Western States Sports
 * NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version) (1 time)
 * World Championship Wrestling
 * IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Wide Wrestling Federation/WWE
 * WWWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2018)

title: Stan Stasiak


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Ivan Koloff

Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "the Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship.

Early life
Perras was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and raised on a dairy farm in rural Ontario along with his six brothers and three sisters.

Since first watching professional wrestling on TV at the age of eight, he wanted to become a wrestler, and would often wrestle with his brothers growing up. At age 18, he left high school and joined Jack Wentworth's wrestling school in Hamilton, Ontario, where he would lift weights and learn wrestling holds.

Early career (1963–1967)
Perras debuted as an Irish rogue villain character named Red McNulty, billed from Dublin, Ireland and wrestling with an eyepatch. For the next three years, he wrestled around the Toronto area, eventually quitting his regular job to wrestle in the north-western area of Canada. There, Perras acquired much wrestling experience, and from there he made his first trip to Japan.

The Russian Bear (1967–1994)

In 1967, Perras became "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, a bearded villainous character billed from Ukraine, and debuted with the International Wrestling Association in Montreal, Québec. He defeated Johnny Rougeau for the IWA International Heavyweight Championship the following year. Koloff debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in late 1969, managed by "Captain" Lou Albano. He soon started a rivalry with then-WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino. On January 18, 1971, Koloff defeated Sammartino in Madison Square Garden for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship by pinfall after a knee drop from the top rope, ending Sammartino's seven and two-thirds years reign. Koloff lost the championship 21 days later to Pedro Morales, essentially being used as a "transitional champion" to move the title from Sammartino to Morales without the two fan favorites working against each other, much like Stan Stasiak and The Iron Sheik would be in later years. After the loss, Koloff remained a contender for the title but never reclaimed it, leaving the WWWF in 1971. During his time in the WWWF, Koloff weighing in at 310 lb wrestled WWWF World Heavyweight Championship title matches against Sammartino, Morales, Superstar Billy Graham and Bob Backlund, holding the distinction, with fellow villain Stan Stasiak, as one of only two men to challenge all four of these champions. Koloff would also be the first opponent to ever challenge for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match in a rematch loss against Sammartino. He fought in the WWWF from 1975 to 1976, 1978–1979 and 1983.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Koloff found success in the National Wrestling Alliance, winning many regional tag team and singles titles in the Georgia, Florida, and Mid-Atlantic territories. In February 1981, he teamed with Ray Stevens to defeat Paul Jones and Masked Superstar to capture the NWA World Tag Team Championship. This would be the first of his four reigns as NWA World Tag Team Champion, later winning the belts with Don Kernodle and twice with his "nephew" (kayfabe), Nikita Koloff as The Russian Team.

In April and May 1973, Koloff wrestled in Japan for the International Wrestling Enterprise promotion as part of its Dynamite Series. In his debut match, he teamed with Mad Dog Vachon to defeat Great Kusatsu and Strong Kobayashi for the IWA World Tag Team Championship in a two-out-of-three falls match. They lost the titles to Great Kusatsu and Rusher Kimura several weeks later.

The Russians (which also included Krusher Kruschev) were a top villainous group from 1984 to 1986, and Nikita, under Perras' training and mentoring, and by association, became a hated villain in his own right, and would go on to have a successful singles career of his own. After Nikita turned on Ivan to join their enemy Dusty Rhodes in 1986, the latter teamed with Vladimir Petrov and Dick Murdoch to get revenge. Koloff's biggest NWA feuds were against Rhodes, The Road Warriors, The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) and Magnum T. A. In 1988, Koloff spent time in Paul Jones' faction, The Paul Jones Army, where he was a "coach" of sorts for The Powers of Pain, The Barbarian and The Warlord. He later split with Jones, reunited with Nikita, and feuded with Jones' team, The Russian Assassins, before leaving Jim Crockett Promotions in January 1989. In 1992, Koloff also wrestled in the first television main event of Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, beating Bobby Fulton. He lost to Ron Garvin at Tim Horner's National Championship Wrestling on July 22, 1994. He retired afterwards.

Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992–1993)
He also spent time in Eastern Championship Wrestling, appearing on the very first ECW card in 1992. In 1993 he began teaming with his storyline nephew Vladimir Koloff. The team won their debut match on the June 29 edition of ECW Hardcore TV. Koloff defeated The Sandman on the July 6, 1993, episode of ECW Hardcore TV in a number one contenders match for the ECW Heavyweight Championship.

Return to wrestling (2004–2013)

In 2004, Koloff returned to the ring for the first time in 10 years. He wrestled in the independent circuit. On August 27, 2005, Koloff defeated Dominic DeNucci in a Russian chain match at WrestleReunion. Koloff would win his final wrestling title defeating The Barbarian in a Russian chain match for the Legends title at NWA Charlotte. On July 19, 2013, Koloff lost to Shane Douglas in an Extreme Rules match at Mega Pro. His final match was against Bob Armstrong in which Armstrong won on November 16, 2013, at Superstars of Wrestling 1 in Rome, Georgia. Koloff stood around 5 ft tall, and weighed approximately 300 lb when he was at the peak of his career as a wrestler but Towards the end of his career, he dropped a considerable amount of weight and was tipping the scale at 205 lb.

Personal life
Perras wrote a book titled ''Is That Wrestling Fake? The Bear Facts'' that was released on January 1, 2007. He became a born again Christian in 1995 and traveled to churches to share his testimony as an ordained minister. Koloff spoke openly and candidly of his conversion to Christianity and struggles with alcohol and drugs and the crazy days of wrestling in his 2014 book, Life in the Trenches. Perras was named as a defendant in a 2015 lawsuit filed by WWE after they received a letter from him indicating that he intended to sue them for concussion-based injuries sustained during his tenure with them. He was represented by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who is involved in several other lawsuits involving former WWE wrestlers. The lawsuit was dismissed in September 2018.

Death
Perras died at his home in Winterville, North Carolina, on February 18, 2017, from liver cancer.

Other media
Koloff is featured as a playable character in the video games Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments

 * American Championship Wrestling
 * ACW United States Championship (1 time)
 * Atlantic Coast Wrestling
 * ACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Vladimir Koloff
 * Cauliflower Alley Club
 * Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2013)
 * Championship Wrestling from Florida
 * NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Pat Patterson (1), Masa Saito (3), and Nikolai Volkoff (1)
 * NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
 * Coastal Real Extreme Wrestling
 * CREW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * CWF Mid-Atlantic
 * CWF Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sean Powers
 * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * Frank Gotch Award (2009)
 * Georgia Championship Wrestling
 * NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Ole Anderson (5), and Alexis Smirnoff (2)
 * Great Lakes Wrestling Association
 * GLWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * High Volume Pro Wrestling
 * HVPW Hall of Fame (2014)
 * International Wrestling Enterprise
 * IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Maurice Vachon
 * International Wrestling Association (Montreal)
 * IWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Maple Leaf Wrestling
 * NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) (1 time)
 * NWA Television Championship (Toronto version) (2 times)
 * Masterz of Mayhem
 * MoM USWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling/Jim Crockett Promotions
 * NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 * NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Don Kernodle
 * NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (2 times)
 * NWA Television Championship (3 times)
 * NWA United States Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Krusher Khruschev (1), Dick Murdoch (1)
 * NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev (Baron von Raschke with Krusher injured) (1), The Barbarian and The Warlord (1)
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid Atlantic version) (5 times) – with Nikita Koloff (1), Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev (1), Ray Stevens (1), Don Kernodle (1), and Manny Fernandez (1) (substituting for Rick Rude who had left for the WWF
 * NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament (1986) – with Krusher Khruschev
 * Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Alliance
 * MAWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Charlotte
 * NWA Charlotte Legends Championship (1 time)
 * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
 * (Class of 2011)
 * Southern Championship Wrestling
 * SCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1999)
 * Virginia Wrestling Association
 * VWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Western Ohio Wrestling
 * WOW International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Wide Wrestling Federation
 * WWWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Wrestling Association
 * WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Wrestling Council
 * WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2015)

title: Ivan Koloff


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Trans-Am Series

The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types including road courses and street circuits. Trans-Am is split into the TA and TA2 classes for silhouette racing cars, while its production classes are the GT (grand touring), SGT (super grand touring), and XGT (extreme grand touring).

It was known as the CRC Chemicals Trans-Am Championship (1981–1983), the SCCA Budweiser Trans-Am Championship (1983–1984), the SCCA Bendix Brakes Trans-Am Championship (1985–1987), the SCCA Escort Trans-Am Series (1988) the SCCA Liquid Tide Trans-Am Tour (1991), the SCCA Tide Trans-Am Tour (1992), the NTB Trans-Am Series (1998), the BFGoodrich Trans-Am Series (1999–2000), the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Cup (2001–2002), the Motorock Trans-Am Tour for the BFGoodrich Cup (2003), the Motorock Trans-Am Series (2004), and the Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am Series (2009).

Origins
The Trans-Am Series was created in 1966 by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) President John Bishop. Originally known as the Trans-American Sedan Championship, the name was changed to the Trans-American Championship for 1967 and henceforth. The series has in fact gone by at least twenty different names through the years. Some were linked to sponsors, some not. It has evolved over time from its original format as a Manufacturers' Championship series for modified passenger sedans and coupés to its current form as a Drivers' / Manufacturers' Championship Series that is open to GT style racecars. Champion drivers have been officially recognized, and Drivers' Championships awarded since the 1972 season. The series was cancelled after 2006 but was revived in 2009, using SCCA GT-1 based cars.

Over the years, the series has raced on a variety of different types of race tracks (Permanent and temporary road courses / street circuits / airport circuits) all over the country, as well as at venues in Canada, Mexico, and even San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2003. Since 2015, Trans Am has been a national series (Continental U.S. only), racing at tracks primarily throughout the East Coast, South, and Midwest. In 2017, the new stand-alone West Coast Championship was added to the Trans-Am Series. Currently, there are six races on the schedule, two of which are joint, or "shared" races with the national Championship series, in which drivers from both championship series race together in the same races, but only earn points in the championship series that they are entered in. The Trans Am series also awards the Northern Cup and Southern Cup which give points in certain races of the national series for competitors who do not run the full season.

Tire suppliers and presenting sponsor
In 2017, Pirelli became the exclusive tire supplier (replacing Hoosier Racing Tire) and presenting sponsor for the Trans Am Series, and all classes use Pirelli P ZERO radial ply racing slicks. The change from bias ply tires to Pirelli P ZERO radial tires has been very well received, and has resulted in faster average speeds and improved lap times in all four classes.

Schedules
In late 2016, the Trans Am Race Company (TARC) announced that after a long absence, the Trans Am Series would return to the West Coast with the 2017 Trans Am West Coast Championship, partnering with the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA). The West Coast Championship Series consists of a separate 3 race competition, plus one round that is shared with the Trans Am Championship Series at Circuit of the Americas. (3 permanent road courses / 1 temporary road course)

For 2017, the schedule was reorganized, with five race venues (Homestead-Miami Speedway, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, Virginia International Raceway, and New Jersey Motorsports Park) receiving new dates, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway being added, and Louisiana's NOLA Motorsports Park being dropped.

For 2018, the Brainerd, MN and New Jersey Motorsports Park races were dropped, and a race at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex was added for the TA, TA3, and TA4 classes only. There are now 12 race venues on the Trans Am Championship Series schedule (8 permanent road courses / 3 temporary road courses / 1 temporary street circuit), with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear race being open to TA2 class cars only. There are actually 13 actual races on the schedule, as the TA2 cars race twice in Detroit.

For 2018, the West Coast Championship's race at Willow Springs, CA was dropped, Sonoma, CA was added, and a shared race at INDY was added, expanding their series to a separate 3 round competition, plus two shared races (3 permanent road courses / 2 temporary road courses).

The schedule for 2019 continues to be 12 races long (including two "shared events" with the West Coast Championship Series), but the mid-April Homestead, Florida race date changes to an early May event at Weathertech Raceway, Laguna Seca, California—the first time the series has raced there since 2004. The early August Pittsburgh race was also dropped, having been replaced by the Memorial Day Motorsports Festival at Connecticut's Lime Rock Park, the first time the series will have raced there in three years, and it will be the thirtieth time overall. Additionally, the Indianapolis race weekend moves from mid-June to early August, and the "shared" Circuit of the Americas (COTA) race weekend moves from early November back to early October. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear moves from early June to May 31—June 2, just four days after the event at Lime Rock Park ends. The season finale at Daytona International Speedway moves up one week to mid-November.

On the 2019 West Coast Championship schedule, the season is one race longer (6), and opens a couple of weeks earlier at Willows, California's Thunderhill Raceway Park. The shared event at Laguna Seca takes place in early May, with Sonoma moving from early June to mid-June, replacing the shared event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The shared event at Circuit of the Americas (CoTA) moves from early November to early October.

For 2020, the season finale at Daytona was dropped due to unresolvable scheduling conflicts, and after a two-year absence, the race at Brainerd, Minnesota was reinstated to honor the late Jed Copham, the track's co-owner and part time Trans Am Series driver. The season's grand finale in both series will now be the shared event at Circuit Of The Americas (CoTA), with that race being moved from October to November. The Indianapolis race is the only event that is open to all competitors who are registered to race in the Trans Am Championship series, or either of the regional sub-championship series. In the West Coast Championship series, the season will start one month earlier (mid-March) at Sonoma Raceway, which will for the first time ever also hold a second race in late August to make up for the Auto Club Speedway race being dropped. Other than this and minor reordering, the schedule remains at six races, with Laguna Seca as the other shared event with both series racing together.

On March 17, 2020, the Road Atlanta round was forced to be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. This was the start of a series of postponements and cancellations that lead to a revised schedule being announced on April 7, 2020. In this schedule, the Detroit round was dropped reducing the series to an 11-round championship. Unfortunately the planned restart of the series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was also postponed with a new date for the track still to be determined and the series resuming at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course instead. The rounds at Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park were the final casualties of the outbreak with late cancellations leading to double headers at Virginia International Raceway and Road Atlanta.

In 2021, for the first time since 2017, the series will return to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Trans-Am will also be having its first ever race at the newly renovated Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and a TA2-only round at the inaugural running of the Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville. No double-headers are scheduled to return following their appearances in 2020; however, all tracks that were featured on the preliminary 2020 calendar are scheduled for 2021 as well. For the first time in series history, Trans-Am instituted a drop-round system where competitors can choose to drop their two worst round results including non-appearances that took place before August 1.

TA
TA class cars are high-performance Grand Touring race cars with a tubular chassis and a Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Camaro (Gen 6), Dodge Challenger (Gen 3), or Ford Mustang (Gen 6) full-scale replica body built by Advanced Composite Products or Derhaag Motorsports. All body types are eligible from the first year of production of the street car to five years after production ends. After each body model's full eligibility ends, each body will be partially eligible for an additional five years, and may be used in up to five races per year of eligibility. Cars may use a single-element rear wing. (Older body styles may continue to be used in the West Coast Championship, Northern Regional Cup, and Southern Regional Cup for an additional 10-years after partial-eligibility for the National Championship has ended. Cars using a Trans Am approved body model with bodies from alternate manufacturers that are approved to run in the SCCA Club GT1 class may be approved to run in the West Coast Championship, Northern Regional Cup, or Southern Regional Cup on a case-by-case basis.)

Power comes from overhead valve (two per cylinder), pushrod, naturally aspirated, carbureted (single 4-barrel) 366 cubic inch (5.99 L) V8 engines producing 850+ horsepower. The minimum base weight is 2,780 pounds. Current rules allow for the use of leaded gasoline, whereas all other classes except XGT must use unleaded gas. Automatic transmissions are prohibited, and manual transmissions must have no more than five forward gear ratios, as well as a functional reverse gear. Sequential shifting transmissions are permitted, as well as commercially available No-Lift Shift (NLS) systems, and also "auto-blip" RPM matching systems for downshifting. Traction Control systems or devices that function independently of the driver are strictly prohibited, as is ABS (Anti-skid Braking System).

TA2
TA2 class rules specify a tubular chassis built by Howe Racing Enterprises, Mike Cope Racing, M-1 Motorsports, or Meissen Enterprises, and a Chevrolet Camaro (Gen 5 & 6), Ford Mustang (Gen 5 & 6) or Dodge Challenger (Gen 3) body (full-scale replica) built by either Five Star Racing Race Car Bodies (Gen 6 Camaros / Mustangs), or Howe Racing Enterprises (all other eligible cars). The minimum base weight (including driver and any driver gear) for all cars is 2,830 pounds. The costs of shock absorbers, brake calipers & pads, and wheels are controlled, and no titanium or carbon fiber components are allowed. Only the driver's seat and Derhaag single plane rear wing may be constructed using carbon fiber. TA2 is currently Trans Am's most popular class among competitors and has been exported internationally to Europe, Asia and Australia.

TA2 engines are similar to TA engines, except that they must be supplied by a Trans Am Approved and Certified Engine Builder/Rebuilder, and use fuel injection rather than a carburetor, as well as a Trans Am certified inlet restrictor plate, as maximum power is limited to 490 HP and 447 lb-ft of torque. Engines must comply with all TA2 engine regulations, and are sealed by the builder/rebuilder. As per current rules, "Nothing may direct or force air to the filter or housing." Transmissions must be commercially available, "H pattern" manual units with four forward gear ratios (1:1 fourth gear ratio, and no overdrive) and a reverse gear. Sequential shift mechanisms are not allowed, nor are shift-without-lift mechanisms. Traction Control devices or systems that function independently of the driver are strictly prohibited, as is ABS (Anti-skid Braking System).

XGT
New for 2020, the Xtreme Grand Touring (XGT) class will be used for former FIA Group GT3 cars whose homologation has expired under SRO and FIA regulations. During the 2019 Indianapolis Motor Speedway round, an Audi R8 whose GT3 homologation had expired was placed in the SGT class. After Trans Am Series officials and owners of former GT3 cars that could not be raced in a GT3 series following the expiration of the car's GT3 homologation had discussions, the series' officials announced that for the 2020 season, the "Xtreme Grand Touring" class will be part of the series. All original period-correct GT3 specifications will be enforced, and the series intends for 2016 and earlier cars that have had expired homologations to participate.

SGT
This class is intended to be a place for "... sports cars, grand touring cars, performance coupes, and performance sedans, all with their varying engines and drivetrain layouts..." to race. Unlike GT class cars, the current rules allow them to compete at a higher level of vehicle preparation. Some engines are required to have restrictor plates, for the purpose of equalizing performance. SGT class cars must be of a number of different specified domestic or foreign makes, models, and year of manufacture, from American "muscle cars", such as Chevy Corvettes and Camaros, Dodge Challengers and Vipers, and Ford Mustangs to European exotics like Aston Martins, Ferraris, Ginettas, Ligiers, McLarens, Mercedes-AMGs, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Panozes, and Porsches, as well as Asian exotics, such as Acura NSXs. Eligible cars up to fifteen years old will now be able to race in the series, and for five years after that, partially eligible cars will be able to race in up to six races per year of eligibility. Standard body appearance must be maintained, including the OEM grille and badge. Aftermarket or OEM rear wings are allowed. As with GT, Tube frames are not allowed, but roll cages are mandatory. Minimum Vehicle Base Weights may be changed for the same purpose.

GT
This class complies more with the classic Trans Am standards of "the glory era", and is the entry-level class of the three production-based classes within the Trans Am Series. "All vehicles must be production based, whether mass-production or limited-production, or a "kit car" that matches the look and performance of the GT class, and is available to the general public" (including 'track specific' models), such as Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, Dodge Vipers, Nissan 350Zs, Porsche Caymans, or Mercedes-AMGs, and many more. The class is intended to be a competition between late model, nearly stock, high-performance cars, and as the introductory level for Trans Am Series beginners to start racing. As with the SGT class, there is a fifteen-year period of full eligibility, and a five-year period of partial eligibility for eligible makes and models where a maximum of six races may be run. OEM rear spoilers/wings may be used. As with SGT, some engines are required to have approved restrictor plates, for the purpose of equalizing performance. Minimum Vehicle Base Weights are adjusted depending on optional components used.

Championships and awards
Originally, Manufacturers' Championship points were awarded in all classes to the top 6 finishing positions of each make of car: 9-6-4-3-2-1. Beginning in 1972, the SCCA instituted a Drivers' Championship that would be based on overall finishing position from 1st through 10th places: 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. Beginning in 1990, the top 25 finishers were awarded points as follows: 30-27-25-23-21-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-1.

Currently, Manufacturers' Championship points are earned in exactly the same manner as they were originally. (*Vehicles must be classified as finishers to score Manufacturers' points.) Final point standings ties will be decided by which manufacturer has more wins, second-place finishes, etc., as necessary to determine the winner.

Series Champions in each of the four competition classes are determined based on points accumulated during the season. Drivers' Championship points are awarded as follows: At each race, after Qualifying has been completed, 3 points are awarded to the First Qualifier, 2 to the Second Qualifier, and 1 to the Third Qualifier. The top 24 finishers in each class, at each race are awarded points as follows: 30-27-25-23-21-20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2. All other finishers are awarded 1 point, provided the driver is classified as a starter. After the first green flag lap of a race, 1 point is awarded to any driver leading a lap in class, as well as 1 point for leading the most laps in class for each race. "In the event qualifying was not held due to any reason, Drivers Championship points will not be awarded." (A driver must be classified as a starter to score Championship points.)

The West Coast Championship Series operates just like the national championship. Points earned at shared events only count toward the series that the driver / team is currently entered in. If a race counts toward more than one championship series, a driver wishing to earn points for more than one championship must formally enter each series.

After the results of each race are "final", the COOLSHIRT Systems "Cool Move of the Race" Award (If applicable, it is given to the outstanding driver of the race, and the "move" could also be a 'move up through the field'.), pitboxes.com Crew Award, and Traq Gear Crew Chief Award are given out.

Series Champions are awarded the brand new for 2017 Trigon Trophy (sponsored by 3-Dimensional Services Group, and custom designed by longtime partner Crystal Sensations). According to The Trans Am Race Company, LLC President John Claggett, "The base is shaped as a "D"... The crystal is essentially 3 sided... thus... the Trigon Trophy reflects the sponsorship. And yes... They are beautiful." The Trans Am Series' traditional colors are red and black, and Pirelli's color is yellow, with The Trigon Trophies incorporating those design elements.

2018 introduced the Northern Cup and Southern Cup Regional sub-championships for teams that either do not wish to, or cannot run the entire race schedule, and have run a limited number of races in the past. There are very specific requirements for entry into the regional championships, as they are intended to allow drivers to try competing in the series before committing to running the full schedule of events. A driver / team may earn points in one or both championship series, or either the Northern or Southern Cup sub-championship series, but not in both a sub-championship series and also a championship series.

Also new for 2018 is the Master's Championship, which is intended to recognize drivers still actively competing on the racetrack who are over 65 years of age. Again, the points schedule for driver's championship points will be used. The highest finishing Master's Championship driver in each class will be recognized during the podium ceremony after each race. At the end of the year, the top three Master's Championship drivers in each regional series will be recognized at the series awards banquet.

Rookie of the Year winners in each class are also determined by points accumulated during the season.

New for 2018 is the Trans Am Team Championship, with points being awarded to each car/car number. Multiple drivers may compete in the same car / car number in order to earn points towards the Team Championship. The number of points earned follows the same methodology as in the Driver's Championship (according to finishing position), but as the rule book states, "In addition to the points earned on-track, teams will be judged by several factors that embody a professional team and help promote, and improve, the Series".

For the 2021 season, the Trans Am Series in partnership with the Sports Car Club of America created the Pro/Am Challenge. The Pro/Am Challenge allows SCCA drivers to compete in Trans Am using the 2021 SCCA road racing rulebook for their cars, making the transition back and forth between the SCCA Road Racing program and Trans Am much easier. This secondary championship is open to all five Trans Am classes and the primary SCCA classes that fit into these Trans Am classes are GT1, GT2, GTX, T1, T2, T3 and STO. The various cars are balanced into the correct Trans Am class with minor weight and restrictor changes. The Pro/Am Challenge requires competitors to compete in the two specific Pro/Am Challenge rounds and pick four other Trans Am Series or West Coast Trans Am Series races in which they will earn points. Points are awarded using the same system as the main Trans Am Series championship.

* See current rule book for complete information on all Trans Am Series rules and regulations.

National championship
NOTE: In 1980, the Sports Car Club of America retroactively named an overall drivers' championships for all pre-1972 seasons, using the points system of the time to calculate drivers' championships. The SCCA and the Trans-Am Series now recognise these drivers as series champions.

Other series based on the format
The Trans-Am Series has used tube-frame / silhouette cars, similar to the original IMSA GT Series, since the early 1980s, with heavy emphasis on GT cars. The SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge racing series, run by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), respectively, utilize modified production-based cars, sports cars, and touring cars, similar in spirit to the Trans-Am Series since the 1980s. With the rise of these other series, Trans-Am saw decreased attention from the media, however, Speedvision did occasionally cover Trans-Am races.

Trans-Am an international series outside USA, Trans Am Australia.

title: Trans-Am Series


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title: Template:Taxobox


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Antonio Inoki

Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born Kanji Inoki (猪木寛至); February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name Antonio Inoki (アントニオ猪木), a homage to fellow professional wrestler Antonino Rocca. Inoki was a twelve-time professional wrestling world champion, notably being the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the first Asian WWF Heavyweight Champion – a reign not officially recognized by WWE.

After spending his adolescence in Brazil, Inoki began his professional wrestling career in the 1960s for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) under the tutelage of Rikidōzan. Inoki quickly became one of the most popular stars in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. He parlayed his wrestling career into becoming one of Japan's most recognizable athletes, a reputation bolstered by his 1976 fight against world champion boxer Muhammad Ali – a fight that served as a predecessor to modern day mixed martial arts. In 1995, with Ric Flair, Inoki headlined two shows in North Korea that drew 165,000 and 190,000 spectators, the highest attendances in professional wrestling history. Inoki wrestled his retirement match on April 4, 1998, against Don Frye and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.

Inoki began his promoting career in 1972, when he founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He remained the owner of NJPW until 2005 when he sold his controlling share in the promotion to the Yuke's video game company. In 2007, he founded the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF). In 2017, Inoki founded ISM and the following year left IGF. He was also a co-creator of the karate style Kansui-ryū (寛水流) along with Matsubayashi-ryū master Yukio Mizutani.

In 1989, while still an active wrestler, Inoki entered politics as he was elected to the Japanese House of Councillors. During his first term with the House of Councillors, Inoki successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the outbreak of the Gulf War. His first tenure in the House of Councillors ended in 1995, but he was reelected in 2013. In 2019, Inoki retired from politics.

Early life
Inoki was born in an affluent family in Yokohama in 1943. He was the sixth son and the second-youngest of the seven boys and four girls. His father, Sajiro Inoki, a businessman and politician, died when Kanji was five years old. Inoki was taught karate by an older brother while in 6th grade. By the time he was in 7th grade at Terao Junior High School, he was 5 feet 11 inches tall and joined the basketball team. He later quit and joined a track and field club as a shot putter. He eventually won the championship at the Yokohama Junior High School track and field competition.

The family fell on hard times in the post-war years, and in 1957, the 14-year-old Inoki emigrated to Brazil with his grandfather, mother, and brothers. His grandfather died during the journey to Brazil. Inoki won regional championships in Brazil in shot put, discus throw, and javelin throw, and finally the All Brazilian championships in the shot put and discus.

Early career (1960–1971)
Inoki met Rikidōzan at the age of 17 in Brazil and went back to Japan for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) as his disciple. He trained in the JWA dojo under the renowned Karl Gotch, complementing further his training under amateur wrestler Isao Yoshiwara and kosen judoka Kiyotaka Otsubo. One of his dojo classmates was Giant Baba. After Rikidozan's murder, Inoki worked in Baba's shadow until he left for an excursion to the United States in 1964.

After a long excursion of wrestling in the United States, Inoki found a new home in Tokyo Pro Wrestling in 1966. While there, Inoki became their biggest star. The company folded in 1967, due to turmoil behind the scenes.

Returning to JWA in late 1967, Inoki was made Baba's partner and the two dominated the tag team ranks as the "B-I Cannon", winning the NWA International Tag Team Championship belts four times.

On May 16, 1969, during the 11th World Big League, Inoki stopped Giant Baba's fourth consecutive victory and won his first tournament.

In July 1969, when NET (currently TV Asahi) started broadcasting Japanese professional wrestling, Inoki was the ace of NET's wrestling broadcasts, as Baba's matches were monopolized by Nippon TV under the agreement between the JWA and Nippon TV. On December 2, 1969, he challenged Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and on March 26, 1971, won the NWA United National Championship.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1972–2005)
Fired from JWA in late 1971 for planning a takeover of the promotion, Inoki founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 1972. His first match as a New Japan wrestler was against Karl Gotch. In 1975 he faced Lou Thesz, with Inoki taking a vicious Greco-Roman backdrop within the first seconds of the match.

In 1976, Inoki fought with Pakistani Akram Pahalwan in a special rules match. The match apparently turned into a shoot, with an uncooperative Akram biting Inoki in the arm and Inoki retaliating with an eye poke. At the end, Inoki won the bout with a double wrist lock, injuring Pahalwan's arm after the latter refused to submit. According to referee Mr. Takahashi, this finish was not scripted and was fought for real after the match's original flow became undone.

On December 8, 1977, Inoki was involved in a match against former strongman turned professional wrestler Antonio Barichievich better known as The Great Antonio. Barichievich inexplicably began no-selling Inoki's attacks and then stiffing Inoki; Inoki responded by shooting on Barichievich, retaliating with a series palm strikes, grounding him with a single leg takedown and following with up repeated kicks, and then stomping his head repeatedly as he lay on the mat before the match was stopped.

In June 1979, Inoki wrestled Akram's countryman Zubair Jhara Pahalwan, this time in a regular match, and lost the fight in the fifth round. In 2014, 22 years after Zubair Jhara's death, he announced he would take Jhara's nephew Haroon Abid under his guardianship.

On November 30, 1979, Inoki defeated WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund in Tokushima, Japan, to win the championship. Backlund then won a rematch on December 6. However, WWF president Hisashi Shinma declared the re-match a no contest due to interference from Tiger Jeet Singh, and Inoki remained champion. Inoki refused the title on the same day, and it was declared vacant. Backlund later defeated Bobby Duncum in a Texas Death match to regain the title on December 12. Inoki's reign is not recognized by WWE in its WWF/WWE title history and Backlund's first reign is viewed as uninterrupted from 1978 to 1983.

In 1995, Inoki and the North Korean government came together to hold a two-day wrestling festival for peace in Pyongyang, North Korea. The event drew 165,000 and 190,000 fans respectively to Rungnado May Day Stadium. The main event saw the only match between Inoki and Ric Flair, with Inoki coming out on top. Days before this event, Inoki and the Korean press went to the grave and birthplace of Rikidōzan and paid tribute to him.

Inoki's retirement from professional wrestling matches came with the staging of the "Final Countdown" series between 1994 and 1998. This was a special series in which Inoki re-lived some of his mixed martial arts matches under professional wrestling rules, as well as rematches of some of his most well known wrestling matches. As part of the Final Countdown tour, Inoki made a rare World Championship Wrestling appearance; defeating WCW World Television Champion Steven Regal in a non-title match at Clash of the Champions XXVIII. On April 4, 1998, Inoki defeated Don Frye in the final official match of his professional wrestling career. Inoki would later participate in four exhibition matches after his retirement. On March 11, 2000, at a Rikidōzan memorial event, Inoki was defeated by Japanese actor and singer Hideaki Takizawa; later that year during a New Year's Eve event, he wrestled Brazilian mixed martial artist Renzo Gracie to a time limit draw. On December 31, 2001, he teamed with The Great Sasuke to defeat Giant Silva and Red & White Mask; two years later, on December 31, 2003, Inoki wrestled the final match of his career, facing Tatsumi Fujinami as part of Fujinami's retirement ceremony.

In 2005, Yuke's, a Japanese video company, purchased Inoki's controlling 51.5% stock in New Japan.

Post NJPW years (2005–2019)
In 2007, Inoki founded a new promotion called Inoki Genome Federation. (IGF)

On February 1, 2010, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced on its Japanese website that Inoki would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010. Inoki was presented with a Hall of Fame certificate by WWE's Ed Wells and stated that he would be attending the WrestleMania XXVI weekend festivities, during which he was inducted into the hall by Stan Hansen.

In 2017, Inoki created a new company, ISM. ISM held its first event on June 24 of that year. On March 23, 2018, Inoki left IGF.

In October 2019, Inoki appeared at a Pro Wrestling Zero1 event at the Yasukuni Shrine, which is controversial for its relation to World War II.

1989–1995: First stint
Following in his father's footsteps, Inoki entered politics in 1989, when he was elected into the House of Councillors as a representative of his own Sports and Peace Party in the 1989 Japanese House of Councillors election. Inoki's win secured him among the highest offices ever won by a professional wrestling personality in politics.

Imitating Muhammad Ali in 1990, Inoki traveled to Iraq in "an unofficial one-man diplomatic mission" and successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the outbreak of the Gulf War. It was then that he personally organized a wrestling event in Iraq for the purpose of freeing the 41 captive Japanese nationals which was ultimately a partial success with 36 Japanese nationals ultimately freed. He subsequently retained his seat in the 1992 Japanese House of Councillors election. He failed to win re-election in the 1995 Japanese House of Councillors election following a number of scandals reported in 1994, and left politics for the next eighteen years.

2013–2019: Second stint
On June 5, 2013, Inoki announced that he would again run for a seat in the National Diet under the Japan Restoration Party ticket. Inoki won the election to return to Japan's Upper House as an MP.

In November 2013, he was suspended from the Diet for 30 days because of an unauthorized trip to North Korea. He had visited on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the armistice in the Korean War, and had met with senior North Korean figure Kim Yong-nam during his visit. This was Inoki's 27th visit to North Korea; he explained in an interview that the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens had caused the Japanese government to "close the door" on diplomacy with the North, but that the issue would not be resolved without ongoing communication, and that he saw his relationship with North Korean-born Rikidōzan as a crucial link to the people of the North.

He was reportedly considering running for governor of Tokyo in 2014 following another visit to North Korea.

Inoki joined the splinter of the Japanese Restoration Party, Party for Japanese Kokoro, in 2014. In January 2015, he helped to establish a new party named the Assembly to Energize Japan, which he left in 2016, to sit in the 'Independents Club'.

In September 2017, Inoki re-established his position that Japan should make more of an effort to have co-operative dialogue with North Korea, in the wake of North Korea launching ballistic missiles over Hokkaido. This was succeeded by another of Inoki's controversial trips to the nation.

In June 2019, Inoki announced his retirement from politics.

Mixed martial arts involvement
Inoki was amongst the group of professional wrestlers who were tutored in the art of hooking and shooting by the professional wrestler Karl Gotch. Inoki named his method of fighting "strong style." This method of wrestling (which was taught to Inoki by Gotch) borrowed heavily from professional wrestling's original catch wrestling roots, and is one of the most important influences of modern shoot wrestling.

Inoki faced many opponents from all dominant disciplines of combat from various parts of the world, such as boxers, judoka, karateka, kung fu practitioners, sumo wrestlers, and professional wrestlers. These bouts included a match with then-prominent karate competitor Everett Eddy. Eddy had previously competed in a mixed skills bout against boxer Horst Geisler and lost by knockout. The bout with Eddy ended with the karateka knocked out by a professional wrestling powerbomb followed by a Hulk Hogan-esque leg drop. Another such match pitted Inoki against 6'7" Kyokushin karate stylist Willie Williams, who had allegedly fought a bear for a 1976 Japanese film entitled "The Strongest Karate 2". This bout ended when a doctor stopped the fight after both competitors repeatedly fell out of the ring. Although many of the matches were predetermined and scripted, they are seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts (MMA). When asked about Inoki's fighting skills, business colleague Carlson Gracie stated Inoki was "one of the best fighters he'd seen."

His most famous bout was against heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali on June 26, 1976, in Tokyo. Inoki initially promised Ali a predetermined match to get him to fight in Japan, but when the deal materialized, Ali's camp feared that Inoki would turn the fight into a shoot, which many believe was Inoki's intention. Ali visited a professional wrestling match involving Inoki and witnessed Inoki's grappling ability. The rules of the match were announced several months in advance. Two days before the match, however, several new rules were added which severely limited the moves that each man could perform. One rule change, specifying that Inoki could only throw a kick if one of his knees was on the ground, had a major effect on the outcome of the fight. Ali landed a total of six punches to Inoki, and Inoki kept to his back in a defensive position for almost the entire duration of the match of 15 rounds, hitting Ali with a low kick repeatedly. The bout ended in a draw, 3–3. Ali left without a press conference and suffered damage to his legs as a result of Inoki's repeated kicks.

Following his retirement from professional wrestling, Inoki promoted a number of MMA events such as NJPW Ultimate Crush (which showcased pro wrestling matches and MMA matches on the same card), as well as annual Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye shows which took place on New Year's Eve in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. Some of the major attractions of these events involve the best of NJPW against world-renowned fighters in legitimate MMA matches. Inoki faced mixed martial artist Renzo Gracie in an exhibition match at the 2000 Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye. Future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida began his career in MMA under the management of Inoki. Machida was described by Inoki as a symbolic "successor" figure for himself, as Naoya Ogawa and Kazuyuki Fujita had been in the past. In 2003, Inoki co-founded the Brazilian MMA promotion Jungle Fight with Wallid Ismail. Inoki was also the ambassador for the International Fight League's Tokyo entry before that promotion's demise. Additionally, Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation promoted both professional wrestling matches and mixed martial arts fights.

Personal life
Inoki married American woman Diana Tuck (also known as Linda Tuck) in 1965. The couple would have a daughter together, but separated two years later. Inoki's daughter later died at age 8. Inoki was married to actress Mitsuko Baisho from 1971 to 1987, and together they had a daughter, Hiroko. Inoki married for a third time in 1989, with his third wife giving birth to Inoki's first son. Inoki's son later attended Columbia University in New York City. The couple divorced in 2012. In 2014, Inoki took Haroon Abid, nephew of his Pakistani rival Zubair Jhara Pahalwan, under his guardianship. Inoki's fourth wife, Tazuko Tada, died on August 27, 2019. Inoki has two grandsons, Hirota and Naoto Inoki. Hirota was a swimmer at Santa Monica College, having previously set school records in swimming at El Segundo High School. In June 2023, Hirota was appointed to the board of directors of the Inoki Genki Factory. In January 2024, it was reported that Naoto was training in professional wrestling under Katsuyori Shibata, having previously trained under the staff of the L.A. Inoki Dojo. Naoto additionally trains in mixed martial arts (MMA) at Blackhouse MMA.

Inoki converted to Shia Islam in 1990 during a pilgrimage to Karbala, the Shiite holy city in Iraq. He was in Iraq negotiating for the release of several Japanese hostages. While in Iraq, Inoki was bestowed the Islamic moniker Muhammad Hussain Inoki, later reportedly describing himself as both a Muslim convert and a Buddhist. In 2014, Inoki said he was "usually a Buddhist".

Inoki operated a wrestling themed restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo, named Antonio's Inoki Sakaba Shinjuku. Inoki is the namesake of two islands, the Inoki Friendship Island in Cuba and the Inoki Island in Palau. In 2021, it was reported that spinal issues had confined Inoki to a wheelchair.

Death and legacy
On October 1, 2022 (September 30 in Eastern Time), at age 79, Inoki died from systemic transthyretin amyloidosis.

American professional wrestling promotion WWE paid tribute to Inoki on the September 30 episode of SmackDown. On October 1, at Royal Quest II in London, England, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) held a ten-bell salute for Inoki. Numerous other Japanese promotions would additionally hold ten-bell salutes for Inoki in the weeks and months following his death. NPB team Yokohama DeNA BayStars would play Inoki's theme song, "Inoki Bombaye" (itself a remix of "Ali Bombaye (Zaire Chant) I" from Muhammad Ali's 1977 biographical film), at their games as a tribute to Inoki following his death.

On October 4, NJPW announced that they had made Inoki the promotion's Honorary Chairman for Life prior to his passing. On October 10, during Declaration of Power, the first NJPW event held in Japan since Inoki's death, the promotion held a second ten-bell salute for Inoki.

On December 28, Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye x Ganryujima, a memorial show honoring Inoki, was organized by the Inoki Genki Factory in collaboration with Samurai Warriors Ganryujima and NJPW. Three days later, on December 31, mixed martial arts promotion Rizin held their Rizin 40 event as a memorial for Inoki. On January 4, 2023, NJPW held their Wrestle Kingdom 17 event in tribute to Inoki. On June 9, NJPW, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Noah held All Together: Again to celebrate Inoki's legacy.

On January 16, 2023, Inoki was posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Government of Japan. On that same day, it was announced that Inoki had been awarded the Junior Fourth Rank in Japan's ikai court ranks system. On June 9, the Japan Anniversary Association declared October 1 to be Antonio Inoki Fighting Spirit Day. On September 9, a statue of Inoki was unveiled at the Sojiji Temple in Yokohama.

America's All Elite Wrestling held an event on October 1, 2023, the one-year anniversary of Inoki's death, titled WrestleDream that was organized in honor of Inoki. WrestleDream has since been established as an annual event held by AEW in tribute to Inoki.

Two of Inoki's former students, Durango Kid and Laberinto, currently run a lucha libre promotion that bears his name, Inoki Sports Management. The two also serve as the head trainers of a wrestling school named the L.A. Inoki Dojo.

In media
A character based on Inoki called "Kanji Igari" appears in the Japanese manga series Baki the Grappler by Keisuke Itagaki.

Inoki appears in the manga Tiger Mask, in a secondary role: he is the only one who was able to win over Naoto "Tiger Mask" Date, with the two subsequently becoming best friends.

Under the names "Kanta Inokuma" and "Armand Inokuma", Inoki appears in the manga Rasputin the Patriot by Takashi Nagasaki and Junji Itō, a manga heavily based on the book Trap of the State written by ex-diplomat and political writer Masaru Satō. This manga reveals Inoki's experience when he visited Russia and his meeting with vice president of the Soviet Union Gennady Yanayev at May 1991, three months before Soviet coup attempt.

Inoki appeared in the film The Bad News Bears Go to Japan as himself. A subplot in his scenes involved Inoki seeking a rematch with Ali. Gene LeBell, who also appears in these scenes as a manager of Inoki's scheduled opponent, Mean Bones Beaudine, was the referee of Inoki's match with Ali. Inoki's appearance in the film culminates with a match against the main character, Marvin Lazar (played by Tony Curtis), when Beaudine suddenly becomes unavailable to participate. Professional wrestler Héctor Guerrero served as Curtis's stunt double for the wrestling portions of this scene.

Inoki had the starring role in the film Acacia directed by Jinsei Tsuji.

In Oh!Great's manga Air Gear, Inoki is regularly referred to by the author, and by the manga's characters as an influence on their fighting style. The manga also makes several references to Inoki's large chin. Along with Inoki, fellow wrestler Steve Austin of the World Wrestling Federation has been referred to in Air Gear's pages.

Inoki made an appearance as the guest in 2005 Doraemon episode "The Pitch-Black Pop Stars", where he wrestled Gian after he splashed ink on his face.

Inoki is the inspiration for the wrestling legend Iron Kiba, from the manga Koukou Tekkenden Tough.

Several episodes of the Japanese comedy show Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! (most notably 2007's "Do Not Laugh at the Hospital" and 2009's "Do Not Laugh as a Hotel Man") have included parodies of Inoki. In the former, three "patients" are presented as being Inoki, with each imitating Inoki's in-ring persona; while in the latter, the guest known only as Shin Onii was asked to imitate Inoki as if he were a hotel bellhop.

In May 2021, Inoki appeared on the Vice on TV series Dark Side of the Ring in an episode covering the 1995 Collision in Korea event.

In 2023, Inoki was the subject of a documentary film, Looking for Antonio Inoki.

Wrestlers trained

 * Adam Pearce
 * Akira Jo
 * Akira Maeda
 * Alex Koslov
 * American Balloon
 * Atsushi Sawada
 * Bad News Allen
 * Bobby Quance
 * Brian Adams
 * Bryan Danielson
 * Chad Wicks
 * Christopher Daniels
 * CM Punk
 * Daniel Puder
 * Dru Onyx
 * Durango Kid
 * Finn Bálor
 * Hartley Jackson
 * Heddi Karaoui
 * Hiroshi Hase
 * Jimmy Ambriz
 * Ivan Gomes
 * Joanie Laurer
 * Joey Ryan
 * José the Assistant
 * Josh Barnett
 * Justin McCully
 * Justin White
 * Karl Anderson
 * Katsuyori Shibata
 * Kazunari Murakami
 * Kazuyuki Fujita
 * Keiji Muto
 * Kendo Kashin
 * Kengo Kimura
 * Kotetsu Yamamoto
 * Laberinto
 * Masahiro Chono
 * Masakatsu Funaki
 * Masanobu Kurisu
 * Mikey Nicholls
 * Minoru Suzuki
 * Misterioso Jr.
 * Naoya Ogawa
 * Nobuhiko Takada
 * Osamu Kido
 * Ricky Reyes
 * Riki Choshu
 * Rocky Romero
 * Salman Hashimikov
 * Sara Del Rey
 * Satoru Sayama
 * Sean McCully
 * Sinn Bodhi
 * Shelly Martinez
 * Shinsuke Nakamura
 * Shinya Hashimoto
 * Samoa Joe
 * Tadao Yasuda
 * Tatsumi Fujinami
 * Tatsutoshi Goto
 * The Iceman
 * Tian Bing
 * Tiger Ali Singh
 * T. J. Perkins
 * Tommy Williams
 * Victor Zangiev
 * Willem Ruska
 * Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Championships and accomplishments

 * Cauliflower Alley Club
 * Lou Thesz Award (2004)
 * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * Class of 2005
 * International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * Class of 2021
 * Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance
 * NWA International Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Shohei Baba
 * All Asia Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Michiaki Yoshimura (3) and Kintarō Ōki (1)
 * 11th World Big League
 * 1st and 2nd World Tag League with Kantaro Hoshino and Seiji Sakaguchi
 * National Wrestling Federation
 * NWF Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
 * New Japan Pro-Wrestling
 * IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * IWGP Heavyweight Championship (original version) (2 times)
 * NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time) – with Seiji Sakaguchi
 * NJPW Real World Championship (1 time)
 * NJPW IWGP League (1984, 1986, 1987, 1988)
 * NJPW Japan Cup Tag Team League (1986) with Yoshiaki Fujiwara
 * MSG League (1978–1981)
 * MSG Tag League (1980) with Bob Backlund
 * MSG Tag League (1982) with Hulk Hogan
 * MSG Tag League (1983) with Hulk Hogan
 * MSG Tag League (1984) with Tatsumi Fujinami
 * Six Man Tag Team Cup League (1988) with Riki Choshu & Kantaro Hoshino
 * World League (1974, 1975)
 * Greatest 18 Club inductee
 * Greatest Wrestlers (Class of 2007)
 * NWA Big Time Wrestling
 * NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (1 time) – with Duke Keomuka
 * NWA Hollywood Wrestling
 * NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time) – with Seiji Sakaguchi
 * NWA United National Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Mid-America
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) – with Hiro Matsuda
 * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
 * Class of 2009
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * Ranked No. 16 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995
 * Ranked No. 5 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003
 * Ranked No. 12, and 44 of the 100 best tag team of the "PWI Years" with Tatsumi Fujinami and Hulk Hogan, respectively, in 2003
 * Lifetime Achievement Award
 * Stanley Weston Award (2018)
 * Pro Wrestling This Week
 * Wrestler of the Week (June 7–13, 1987)
 * Tokyo Pro Wrestling
 * United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Tokyo Sports
 * 30th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award (1990)
 * 50th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
 * Best Tag Team Award (1975) with Seiji Sakaguchi
 * Best Tag Team Award (1981) with Tatsumi Fujinami
 * Distinguished Service Award (1979, 1982)
 * Lifetime Achievement Award (1989, 2022)
 * Match of the Year Award (1974) vs. Strong Kobayashi on March 19
 * Match of the Year Award (1975) vs. Billy Robinson on December 11
 * Match of the Year Award (1979) with Giant Baba vs. Abdullah the Butcher and Tiger Jeet Singh on August 26
 * Match of the Year Award (1984) vs. Riki Choshu on August 2
 * MVP Award (1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981)
 * Special Grand Prize (1983, 1987)
 * Technique Award (1985)
 * Universal Wrestling Association
 * UWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Championship Wrestling
 * WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
 * World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment
 * WWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time, unrecognized)
 * WWWF/WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship (2 times, inaugural)
 * WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Promoter of the Year (2001)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

title: Antonio Inoki