- Hisashi Shinma
Hisashi Shinma was a figurehead president of
World Wrestling Entertainment , then known as the World Wrestling Federation and World Wide Wrestling Federation, from 1978 to 1984. He was succeeded byJack Tunney .Career
Shinma was chairman and one of the bookers for
New Japan Pro Wrestling at the time and negotiated a talent-sharing arrangement with the World Wrestling Federation within the junior heavyweight division, which ultimately launchedTatsumi Fujinami as an international superstar and an eventual successor toAntonio Inoki .Shinma’s most famous moment as WWF “President” occurred on
December 6 1979 , afterBob Backlund regained the WWF title from Antonio Inoki at the end of his Japan tour. Shinma overruled the decision due to interference fromTiger Jeet Singh . Inoki refused to accept the belt, but Backlund regained the vacant title after returning to theUnited States .cite web|last=Slagle|first=Steve|title=Professional Wrestling Online Museum - Ring Chronicle Hall of Fame Inductee - Antonio Inoki|url=http://www.wrestlingmuseum.com/pages/bios/halloffame/inokibio.html|accessdate=2007-09-03] Backlund's title loss to Inoki is still not officially acknowledged by WWE and was kept hidden from American audiences untilPro Wrestling Illustrated recognized Inoki's reign in the late 1990s. Shinma's other accomplishments included fittingSatoru Sayama with theTiger Mask gimmick, discoveringAkira Maeda cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/a/akira-maeda.html|title=Online World of Wrestling: Akira Maeda|accessdate=2007-09-03] , and forming the UWF in Japan after leaving New Japan.cite web|url=http://www.wrestlingencyclopedia.com/dictpromotions.html|title=The Internet Wrestling Encyclopedia: Directory of Wrestling Promotions|accessdate=2007-09-03]Championships and accomplishments
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards :*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)References
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