in Brazil was negative, with pundits arguing about who should be considered the victor, even although some acknowledged Gomes had started the affair with an illegal move. As a consequence, the Athletic Commission of Rio de Janeiro banned Takahashi and Ruska from all sport competitions. The Japanese considered Ruska the winner, as Gomes had to receive nine stitches around the right eye for damage suffered in the brawl, while Ruska was comparatively in much better condition. It was also reported Inoki secretly gifted Ruska a money bonus to compensate his ban from competing. A 90 seconds excerpt of the brawl was shown in 1995 in NJPW's TV show, World Pro Wrestling. During the show, Inoki compared the match to a mixed martial arts fight from Ultimate Fighting Championship. Late career Ruska was a close friend to sambo world champion Chris Dolman, also a Bluming understudy. They had a falling out after Dolman joined Akira Maeda's Fighting Network Rings while Ruska was part of Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but they mended it in September 1997, when Inoki visited Holland along with Naoya Ogawa. They stayed in contact until Ruska's death in 2015. Later life In 2001 Ruska suffered a major stroke which left him physically disabled. In 2013 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame of the International Judo Federation. Ruska was admitted to a nursing home in 2014. Ruska died on 14 February 2015 at the age of 74 and was survived by his wife, two children and five grandchildren. Gallery References External links Wim Ruska Dutch homepage Videos of Wim Ruska on Judovision 1940 births 2015 deaths Dutch male judoka Dutch male professional wrestlers Judoka at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic judoka of the Netherlands Olympic medalists in judo Sportspeople from Amsterdam World judo champions Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan