Top five Japanese Wrestlers

[Shadowmancer]

This is a thread to see if having an International Subsection would work.
As to this thread name with reasons your top Five Japanese Wrestlers, It doesn't have to be the best Wrestlers but your favourites.

Mine are in No particular order
-Tiger Mask II- aka Mitsuharu Misawa, he created one of my favourite moves in Wrestling the Emerald Frosion and also created Pro Wrestling NOAH.
-Masa"he's MY"hiro Chono- I like what Ive seen of this guy in ring against guys like Chris Jericho in WCW.
-Keiji Mutoh- Without whom the Muta scale would never have been invented, great inring work.
-Yoshihiro Tajiri- great inring performer that was underutilised in WWE, but brilliant in his role regardless.
-Masato Tanaka- Puts on great matches regardless of who hes put up against, his matches against Mike Awesome are legendary, A match Ive seen of his against Samoa Joe is good. He is an all round great Wrestler.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kenta Kobashi: In my opinion the greatest wrestler working. I dont know if he'll be the same after getting cancer. But before I think he was completley unmatched.

Tiger Mask: Maybe it's because I'm a huge Dynamite Kid mark but I think this guy is awesome.

Kenta: Why TNA havent picked him up is a mystery to me. Maybe it's best with Russo's booking. Brilliant wrestler and grounded which I prefer.

Keiji Muto: I'm loving him at the moment. Great performer. Currently facing and tagging with Tajiri.

Mushi-King Terry: I really like him. He's not spectacular but there's something about him that make's me watch him as closley as I can.

 

[mr. krinkle]

KENTA....i have only seen him fight 2 or 3 times, but he is something awesome, quick, stiff kicks and chops, the Falcon Arrow and Go 2 Sleep, he has an arsenal and is one of the most impressive guys ive seen in a long while

The Great Muta...one of my favorites since i first seen him in 89...i always thought he looked like a badass, and he was...havent seen any of his All Japan stuff, but i have always been a fan

Takeshi Morishima...the Japanese Samoa Joe...near 300 lbs., and can come off the ropes like a cruiser, fast, hard hitter, only seen fight 2 times, but very impressed with him....total badass

Yoshihiro Tajiri...was always my favorite in the original ECW, and i was glad that WWE did right by him...always looked forward to his matches more than anybodies on Monday Nights

The Dragon Gate guys...i know now i have more than five, but these guys need to be seen to believe....lightning quick, fearless, like to dump each other on their heads....puro with lucha influence....amazing stuff form guys like Dragon Kid, CIMA,Yoshino, Doi, HAGE, etc.... awesome

oh yeah, Kenta Kobashi...only seen him once, vs. Samoa Joe, and WOW...he BEAT Joe's ass like i have never seen....i thought he was going to break his hand over Joe's thick skull...and the faces he would make after Jor hit him, scary badass shit

 

[showtyme27]

This is a good thread as most need to be more knowledgable about the great Japanese Talent out there, but I must admit you got my head booming right now as there are so many greats like Misuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue, Keiji Mutoh, Yuji Nagata(Forget that lackluster WCW run look at has Japan stuff), Hiroyoshi Tenzan and like stated above the incredible Dragon Gate wrestlers notably Ultimo Dragon(Trainer), Dragon Kid, CIMA, Tokyo Magnum, and Milano Collection A.T., too name a few so I decided to go with my personal favorites right now.

In No Order....

KENTA: Not enough can be said about just how good this guy really is, this futher shows just how dumb TNA is as it would rather grab up washed-up WWE talent then great rarely seen in the States talent like KENTA and after seeing him go against some of ROH best he's not just one of my favorite Japanese wrestlers but one of my favorites period.

Jushin "Thunder" Liger: What can't you say about the famed innovator of The Shooting Star Press, he has received praise in every promotion he enters and even though he's slowed in recent showing he's proved time and time again that he deserves to go down as one of the best ever.

Yoshihiro Tajiri: This is one of the most underrated wrestlers ever to grace a wrestling ring, he should have been a major star in the WWE as he had excellent matches against everyone he battled even the big guys un-like WWE's Golden Lightweight Rey Mysterio, I hope one day Tajiri returns and gets that push I thought he deserved before leaving the WWE.

TAKA Michinoku: Underrated and disrespected in the states IMO TAKA is one of the best Japanese wrestlers ever, he has a highly entergized and entertaining style that I can't get enough of, forget that joke of a run in the WWE this guy is an incredible talent that was massly mis-used IMO.

Kaz Hayashi: I love this guy he is an amazing talent that rarely gets the respect he deserves, Kaz has so much skill and talent that never even got tapped in too in WCW, I hope one day soon he make's a run somewhere in the states and put on some classics with some of the talented US indy wrestlers, One day I hope Kaz gets the reconition for his outstanding talent.

 

[X]

Kenta Kobashi - Like Jake said, easily one of the best wrestlers to ever work. It is a damn shame about his cancer, and he's gonna be missed sorely. I remember first seeing his stuff about three years ago...man I was so blown away I instantly became a mark for the guy.

Hayabusa - What can you say about the guy? I don't think I've ever seen a bad match from him, and his few appearances in the states were always absolutely legendary performances. His match with Jinshei Sinzaki(spelling? he was Hakushi in the WWF) against RVD and Sabu back at Heatwave 98 I believe it was, still sends chills down my spine.

Yoshihiro Tajiri - Amazing, absolutely breathtaking performer. Another guy who I'd never seen a bad match from until he went to die in the WWE. God, he is so amazing it's ridiculious. Where is he now? I can't believe TNA hasn't tried to sign the guy...

Masato Tanaka - Another completely underrated guy, his matches with Mike Awesome (The Gladiator for you FMW fans) were all five star classics. They were such perfect opponents I can't imagine there ever being a feud that traveled across the world so much and always provided classic matches like that again. Once again, where is he? He came back for the ECW One Night Stand a few years ago, but obviously that was a one-off thing I guess. Another guy TNA needs to pick up if they want to seriously compete with WWE.

and finally,

Tiger Mask - What can you really say? A legend in every sense of the word, I can't even describe his matches with Dynamite Kid. Just...amazing. This is why I've always loved Japanese wrestling so much, because of this guy. If I had never seen his matches with Dynamite Kid, I'd never of gotten into japanese wrestling.

Great thread idea too Shadowmancer, I think an international subsection would be great. Infact, why haven't we started a Top 5 Mexican Wrestlers thread?

 

[Kasey]

Wow, this one is tough.

If I'm just thinking right off of hand about who I like most?

Tiger Mask I : Satoru Sayama -
What I would consider the godfather of the modern junior style of wrestling. He was doing wrestling in the late seventies and early eighties that is still better than some of the top juniors wrestling of TODAY. Plus, he is also legitimately skilled with MMM and shooting, as well as training other for that, so he has double street cred in my eyes.

Muta -
As a youngster growing up watching NWA/WCW, I really was amazed by the execution that Muta displayed during his tenures with these companies. He single-handedly elevated the excitement of any match he was involved in and I still mark out hardcore for his Battlebowl win at Starrcade 1992 when he defeated Windham in the final seconds (after having already fought Chono for the NWA Strap earlier in the night!). What a machine.

Jushin "Thunder" Liger -
I also became acquainted with this guy through my viewings of WCW tv as a youngster. I really was taken aback by some of his contests with Pillman as it showed the creativity and versatility the Japanese were offering on a regular basis. It also clued me into how far behind the times American wrestling was. Strangely enough, WCW and WWF wouldn't catch up to this type of juniors wrestling for another five-plus years. I still cherish my Starrcade 1996 tape for the one-time meeting of Liger and Misterio when both were in their athletic and creative primes.

Yoshihiro "Ultimo Dragon" Asai -
Probably one of my favorites of the mid-nineties NJPW boom that featured some of the best juniors wrestling of all time. Matches against Sasuke and Misterio were outstanding. I still remember my first time watching Ultimo make his American debut at Hog Wild in 1996. That was the first time I'd witnessed a running Liger-Bomb. I almost choked on my grilled cheese sandwich. Friggin' awesome. I also loved his series of stiff kicks. Those still just tickle me pink.

Masato Tanaka -
As my interest in WCW and WWF waned a bit during the earlier parts of 1999, I was treated to my first glimpses of Japanese hardcore wrestling brought stateside when Tanaka and Awesome began their feud in ECW. I was absolutely blown away by the ferocity of their spots and the insanity of the maneuvers. I still remember my first PPV match watching these two go at it. I hadn't realized until one of my friends told me, but I stood up for the last ten minutes of the match because I was so damn excited. DANGAN!