Could Hakushi have been a world champion in WWE?

[MINISTRYrising]

I have been reading a lot of threads on here recently and a lot of them have mention former WWE talent Hakushi. A lot of you talked very positively about him and after going back and watching some of his matches I started to think to my self that WWE really dropped the ball with this guy and if given the chance the guy could have been a very good WWE champion or at the least a solid main eventer. The guy was only in his late 20's when he made his debut for the company and his unique look and wrestling style made him stand out from everyone else on the roster. His feud with bret Hart showed that the guy had potential to be one of the top guys in the company and I believe he could have gone on to have some great feuds with the likes of the Undertaker and HBK. This is only my opinion, But I would like to know what all of you think about Hakushi and if you think he could have gone on to do great things in WWE.

 

[The Brain]

I liked Hakushi a lot back in 1995 but I never once thought about him being champion. He very simply was not championship material. Even though he did have a good feud with Bret Hart I don't picture him as a main eventer. I could see him having a good match with Shawn Michaels on Raw but not a feud. I don't see him as a challenge to Taker at all. Hakushi was fun to watch in the ring but he was a better fit against guys like 123 Kid, Marty Jannetty, or Bob Holly rather than Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. If Hakushi had any chance of getting to the main event he was going to need someone like Jim Cornette as a manager. It's hard to be in the main event when you can't communicate with the fans.

 

[Raiden46]

I have to wonder where some of the ideas for these topics come from...

No, Hakushi was not a world title contender at any point in time during his tenure in the WWE and never would have been if he stayed there. His wrestling acumen was very good, but skill alone does not make a champion in the world of sports entertainment. If he were around in todays WWE, he would get the same treatment as Albert/Tensai. Let's face it, if you want to be the WWE champion and be THE face of the company, you need to cater to and cut promos IN ENGLISH. Look at Hogan, look at Cena, look at Austin, the list goes on. Wrestling skill aside, you ever wonder why Khali never got a serious run despite having the same mammoth frame as someone like Andre the Giant? That's why. Hakushi would have needed a manager who spoke immaculate English, just as did Yokozuna for him to get over.

The point I'm trying to make is that if you don't connect with the main fanbase, they will not accept you as their champion.

 

[fenderjapan]

Well, anyone COULD have been, given that the whole thing is predetermined.

But I assume you mean could Hakushi have been a believable world champ, or was he deserving of it? I have to go with no in both cases.

When I think of guys who could have been WWE champ but never were, I think of Vader, Davey Boy Smith, Curt Hennig, Ted Dibiase.

I'd put all those guys before Hakushi.

 

[daddyJ_t]

they would have to make him more the evil samari type and i agree that they would have had to have a manager for him. mr fuji anyone? look what he did for yoko. and the fact that he actually spoke japanese would have helped make his gimmick more believable. with his skill set and partial lucador style. i could see it being labeled back then as a kamakaze attack. with the right push. i could see him in the main event but not champion. or perhaps a high midcard champ with american challengers trying to redeem the american spirit by reclaiming the ic title from him........off the subject, with that gimmick, imagine him cowering in a comedy role from adam bomb.. sorry had to go there

 

[RicSpade]

Here is the thing, was Hakushi talented? Yes, but you have to ask yourself are we talking about the gimmicky Hakushi of WWE or the talent not held back in Japan and ECW...I remember back in like 97-98 in an ECW DVD I had they had Hakushi in a tag match teaming with Hayabusa taking on RVD and Sabu and I thought to myself, man he's better now than he was in WWE. Now think about this, if Hakushi had been anywhere and they let him be himself he could have been something, World Champion? No. Midcard title? maybe, but I think its more of a fit in the fast pace style today or Lucha in WCW in the 90's compared to WWE back then.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

No. Just ... no.

Hakushi was a good hand in the ring, but not a person you give a WWE title reign. He's good at 'enhancing' talent, and maybe even main event talent, but to give him a reign with even the IC title would be pushing the envelope.

If he had someone to speak on his behalf, then MAYBE there's a shot at him being considered during that time, but unless it's Japan, then no.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

Nope. He had as much chance of being a world champion as Barry Horowitz, Flash Funk, Funaki, Tajiri, Taka Michinoku, Virgil, The Goon, Mantaur....the list goes on. Vince never would've made any of them world champions. Besides, when Hakushi was receiving his biggest push, Diesel was champion. I don't know if that match ever took place, but I'm sure it would've been a squash.

 

[waylonmercy]

I have to wonder where some of the ideas for these topics come from...

Wrestling skill aside, you ever wonder why Khali never got a serious run despite having the same mammoth frame as someone like Andre the Giant? That's why.

If Khali was an above average worker in the ring for being 7'+ legit he would have been a main event player. The ONLY reason he isn't a main eventer has to do with his wrestling skill not the fact he can't speak english. If language was such a big issue they could have given him a fitting manager who can speak good english to represent him.

As for Hakushi one major reason he never got al ong term push had to do with his size. He was 5'11" billed and billed as 220lbs. Only the best talent at that height had a chance and he was good but he was so far from being 5 star abilities. Hakushi also had a manager in Shinja (formely Sato back in Orient Express) Even the best mic manager wouldn't have elevated him any further. He lack of build doomed him to midcard at best.

 

[HBsam31]

I always liked Hakushi back then. I liked his match with Bret Hart at the In Your House ppv a lot. A poster above mentioned his tag match against RVD and Sabu, and that is one of my favorite ECW matches. While I liked his work I never looked at him and thought WWE champ. A lot of it probably has to do with him not speaking the language as well. The Brain pretty much summed it up when he said he was better to face guys like 123 kid and Janetty.

 

[GameOver]

No chance in hell.
Ability wise he had it all but
A) he couldn't speak a lick of english nor could Sato so he never would've even been a thought.
B) he dissapeared almost as soon as he got noticed

If they had an asian themed championship or a cruiserweight style title at the time no doubt he could've won those or a Tag champion but no way in hell would he have ever been the face of the WWF, i don't even think they would've even considered him for the IC title.

 

[GameOver]

If Khali was an above average worker in the ring for being 7'+ legit he would have been a main event player. The ONLY reason he isn't a main eventer has to do with his wrestling skill not the fact he can't speak english. If language was such a big issue they could have given him a fitting manager who can speak good english to represent him.

As for Hakushi one major reason he never got al ong term push had to do with his size. He was 5'11" billed and billed as 220lbs. Only the best talent at that height had a chance and he was good but he was so far from being 5 star abilities. Hakushi also had a manager in Shinja (formely Sato back in Orient Express) Even the best mic manager wouldn't have elevated him any further. He lack of build doomed him to midcard at best.

They did he had Ranjin Singh and also Jinda Mahal who spoke perfect english and he was a champion but he's perpetually injured, really uncoordinated and the only reason he's still around as far as i'm concerned is to pull in the Indian viewers and the kids that like his rediculousness. Jinda Mahal/Drew McIntyre are the same as far as no chance of getting anywhere again. They were all flash in the pans.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

I think it was a stretch, but nowhere near as much of a stretch as other posters are implying. He was a favorite of mine back in the day as Hakushi. He definitely deserved to be pushed better than what he was and could see him having a short heel title reign with a good manager. A lot of folks are harping on the language barrier need to go back and watch the old tapes again. There was a champion in the WWE from June of 1993 to Wrestlemania X that couldn't speak english, and on top of that he was a fat slob that sucked in the ring so how would it be any more of a stretch for a guy like Hakushi who could actually go in the ring? Yokozuna sucked. God bless his soul and may he rest in peace but god damn he sucked. Hakushi would have made a much better champion than he did for sure. At least the matches would have been better.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Hakushi had serious potential but was hamstrung by poor booking from day one. Making him part of Bret's mediocre run in 95 could have elevated it, had he not always beaten Hakushi. By the summer it was over and he became proto-Tajiri.

He could have been a contender without question, assuming he came out on top over Bret and took the IC title from Shawn, perhaps after the ladder rematch. Had that occured he could have been in contention when Shawn won the title for some classic matches.

The reasons it didn't happen, firstly while Jinsei Shinzaki was in the top ten talents of his day in the ring, charisma wise he just didn't have it to the level that those who did get the title matches did and they all seemed to have Jim Cornette as a manager... Hakushi could have been a good fit for him, but with Yoko,Davey,Owen and Vader they were always gonna be ahead of him. A feud with that stable would have worked but he needed someone else with him who could carry the mic work and they didn't have it on the face side in 95.

Ultimately, Hakushi was wasted in WWE. Had he gone to WCW a year later he would have been their top cruiser.

 

[PLATINUM PAT]

I had mostly forgotten about hakushi until I watched the Bret hart vs hakushi match on the in your house dvd. That match was awesome. I think if booked right he could have been a main event star or at least a upper mid card guy. Hakushi had a unique look and he could wrestle. I can imagine him having a feud with hbk for the title if wwe booked him well enough. He only would have main evented for a few years though because I don't think he would have been a good fit in the attitude era.