Japanese wrestler-turned-parliamentarian (Kanji) Antonio Inoki (third from left on front row) shows his enthusiasm at a press conference in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday. Inoki, 71, traveled to the North with a host of international fighters to stage a rare combat sports extravaganza in an attempt to use sport to thaw relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang. Inoki has organized the festival with North Korean authorities, taking along 21 grapplers from Japan, the US, France and Brazil as well as one from China. In 1995, Inoki organized and competed in the first-ever pro-wrestling exhibition in North Korea. Photo: IC

This picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday shows professional wrestlers performing during the Pyongyang International Pro-Wrestling Contest. Photo: AFP

A North Korean woman reacts to the wrestling exhibition Sunday. Photo: IC

The audience looks rapt as wrestlers grapple on Saturday. Photo: IC

US fighter Bob Sapp (right), a former American mixed martial artist and household name in Japan, pursues his opponent outside the ring during the final day of the wrestling event at a gymnasium in Pyongyang on Sunday. Photo: IC