Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
– Japanese stars Gedo, Jado and KENTA were all at WrestleMania 26 weekend for the Antonio Inoki Hall of Fame induction. Inoki did a lot of photo ops for the Japanese media, including congratulating RAW’s Yoshi Tatsu on winning the pre-show battle royal.
There was already some Japanese media in town because Major League Baseball star Hideki Matsui is playing pre-season baseball there. This helped out with the coverage from Japan on Inoki’s induction. Part of the reason why Inoki was chosen for this year’s Hall is because of the exposure WWE would be getting in Japan. The media took photos of Inoki with Vince McMahon, where Vince thanked Inoki for the friendship with Vince Sr.
With WWE aiming for maximum exposure in Japan, that could very well be part of the reason why Yoshi Tatsu won the WrestleMania pre-show battle royal.
