Most Popular
-
1
Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
-
2
Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
-
3
Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
-
4
First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
-
5
Industry experts predicts tough choices as NewJeans' ultimatum nears
-
6
Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
-
7
Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
-
8
Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
-
9
Opposition chief acquitted of instigating perjury
-
10
Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
PYONGYANG (AP) ― North Koreans got their first look at pro wrestling in about 20 years on Saturday when an ex-NFL lineman and 20 other grapplers from around the world took to the ring for an exhibition put together by a charismatic former Japanese pro wrestler who is now a member of parliament.
Kanji “Antonio” Inoki, who organized the two-day event in Pyongyang, said he hopes it will pave the way for more exchanges with the North.
The exhibition was the first major sports event with big-name foreigners in the North Korean capital since Dennis Rodman and a team of other former NBA players staged a game in January for leader Kim Jong-un’s birthday.
Jang Ung, a member of the International Olympic Committee and the North Korean coorganizer of this weekend’s event, opened the show Saturday with a speech denouncing the U.S. for conducting military exercises with South Korea that he said were preparations for a nuclear attack. South Korea and the U.S. say the training is purely defensive.
When Americans Bob “The Beast” Sapp and Jon Andersen took to the ring, the crowd of about 15,000 didn’t seem to know how to respond.
“It was real eerie and a little scary at first,” said Sapp, who briefly played for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears before becoming a celebrity in Japan as a mixed martial artist. “But we were able to take control of the audience. It went over very well.”
Kanji “Antonio” Inoki, who organized the two-day event in Pyongyang, said he hopes it will pave the way for more exchanges with the North.
The exhibition was the first major sports event with big-name foreigners in the North Korean capital since Dennis Rodman and a team of other former NBA players staged a game in January for leader Kim Jong-un’s birthday.
Jang Ung, a member of the International Olympic Committee and the North Korean coorganizer of this weekend’s event, opened the show Saturday with a speech denouncing the U.S. for conducting military exercises with South Korea that he said were preparations for a nuclear attack. South Korea and the U.S. say the training is purely defensive.
When Americans Bob “The Beast” Sapp and Jon Andersen took to the ring, the crowd of about 15,000 didn’t seem to know how to respond.
“It was real eerie and a little scary at first,” said Sapp, who briefly played for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears before becoming a celebrity in Japan as a mixed martial artist. “But we were able to take control of the audience. It went over very well.”
-
Articles by Korea Herald
