WWE's Track Record With Japanese Wrestlers Is Terrible

It’s that time of the year where contracts in New Japan Pro-Wrestling come up for re-negotiation and the IWC begins saying who should or will head on down to Florida.

I bring this up since scuttlebutt has kicked up that WWE is supposedly interested in Shinsuke Nakamura. Checking the comments of multiple articles that cropped up around the rumor and you’ll always see several “He should go to NXT!” or “He’ll get over in WWE!”

I’m one of those who isn’t pulling for Nakamura to be a part of WWE—NXT or main roster. While I feel he’s actually too big to just be in NXT or to have to go through a developmental stage in the company—the man is a concrete national star with global exposure—the main reason is that Japanese wrestlers to have poor runs in the company.

Hakushi (Jinsei Shinzaki of Michinoku Pro) was in WWE in the earlier half of the 1990s for an actual stint. It was a pretty memorable stay since he was something new in the company style-wise. Outside of his feud with Bret Hart and his rope walk, he is remembered for how his career ended: a lost to Barry Horowitz.

The other Japanese junior heavyweights who came in during the late 1990s and early 2000s—TAKA Michinoku, Sho Funaki, MEN’S Teioh, Dick Togo, TAJIRI, and Ultimo Dragon—most had the same amount of success. TAKA, Funaki, TAJIRI, and Ultimo all held some version of the Light Heavyweight or Cruiserweight Title. TAJIRI had more success than the others in the company and his stint wasn’t largely him simply existing on the roster, but all ended up just…disappearing from the promotion.

KENSO had a run in WWE as Ultimo and TAJIRI’s stints were ending and Yoshitatsu came in sometime after KENSO left. It should also be noted that both these wrestlers in question—KENSO (Kenzo Suzuki) and Yoshitatsu (Naofumi Yamamoto) also came out of the same generation as Nakamura, Tanahashi, Shibata, Goto, and Makabe.

A case could be made that it wasn’t WWE’s fault with KENSO and that he simply wandered into the company and stayed for a couple of years. KENSO is an oddity. I can see this having been the case.

I mean Tomohiro Ishii and Takashi Uwano managed to get to New Japan after being in Riki Choshu promotions. I’m sure it wasn’t of a case of “You two can join us, but you Kenzo? Fuck you. You can’t come back, damn it.” Plus a learning excursion would’ve been better handled with New Japan overseeing it.

In 14 years of watching men’s puroresu KENSO’s career path is the oddest I’ve ever seen up until he joined All Japan. He traveled through the U.S for MLW and WWE, landed in CMLL and AAA in Mexico, and returned to Japan for HUSTLE then All Japan.

Yoshitatsu’s wasn’t as interesting. He got an opportunity, left for Florida, and debuted on a B-brand. He was received well in WWECW thanks to him being a solid wrestler, athletic, and doing his Japanese star/martial artist gimmick very well. He threw those mandatory kicks.

His WWE run ended with fewer appearances on main roster TV, going to FCW in a trainer/wrestler role, not being allowed to move to Texas as there was a Japanese community there, and eventually leaving the company all together.

KENSO and Yoshitatsu are both “what ifs” in puroresu. Anything could’ve happened for the two of them had they stayed with New Japan. They could’ve ended up stuck in the midcard, freelanced, or found a home in another promotion. A WWE stint didn’t add much to their stock in Japan.

This track record is why there was some concern for KENTA joining WWE. Actually there’s still concern because the main roster looms. The thing with KENTA—and Shinsuke Nakamura—is that outside of having a run outside of NOAH he’s established as a main eventer and had a western following heading into NXT—something KENSO and Yoshitatsu didn’t really have.

The best solution for Japanese wrestlers appearing in WWE would be what we saw at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn with Jushin Liger. Wrestlers coming in for matches and heading back. Puroresu legend Genichiro Tenryu did this for two Royal Rumble events (1993 and 1994) and in tag team action for WrestleMania VII.

Shinsuke Nakamura has entertained fans for a long time. The man survived late-Inokism New Japan and thrived. We’re talking about a period in New Japan where the previous generation—Nagata, Nakanishi, Kojima, Tenzan, Nishimura, Iizuka, etc—was stifled because MMA talent was brought in and were placed high up on the card when Nagata and company should’ve shined among each other.

Chono had to face Lesnar and Kazuyuki Fujita in a triple threat match. Early 2000s New Japan is no place to raise a wrestler. Nakamura survived this strange period. He doesn’t need the creative hassle of WWE.

While the decision would ultimately be Nakamura’s to make—if WWE is actually interested in Nakamura and if he’s actually considering all option—as fans we should know that he is very, very likely to be subjected to the main roster’s creative staff’s janky booking of Japanese workers. As usual this would lead to “Man, he’s being booked wrong, man. What is this shit?” and “He’s being buried.”

It always happens.

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