TPWW Forums - View Single Post - Who do you think are the 10 most important Gaijins in Japan's history?

**Fignuts** · 05-28-2017, 05:17 AM

Ok, this isn't going to be as in depth as my last one but I'll at least give some explanation.

10. Dynamite Kid
Matches with Tiger Mask are legendary and inspired wrestlers for decades to come. Might be the biggest asshole in the history of the business.

9. Dr. Death Steve Williams
Like Hansen, williams is one of the most successful foreigners of all time. Great tag team with terry gordy, and his matches as a main eventer in ajpw are classics. A shame the wwf fucked up with him.

8. Billy Robinson
Throughout the late 70's and early 80's this guy put on mat wrestling CLINICS with everyone he stepped in the ring with. If you like technical wrestling, you need to get on robinsons matches. A true master, even if he was a massive dickhead behind the scenes.

7. Vader
Do I really even need to say anything here? Even a casual fan knows how big Vader was in japan. From njpw to ajpw to noah, his body of work in japan far surpasses his work in the states. Plus, HES FUCKING VADER MAN.

6. Bruiser Brody
There has never been anyone quite like Brody, and fans in japan knew it. He brought the unorthodox brawling style to japan, and got over huge with it.

5. Funk Brothers
While Terry's work in Japanese deathmatches is probably more well kbown to most fans, their biggest impact was during the 70's when they wrestled as a tag team as well as Dory defending the NWA title. They were huge in that era.

4. Karl Gotch
Gotch pretty much set the tone for njpw for decades to come. It's focus on submissions and mat wrestling is directly due to the influence Gotch had on Inoki.

3.Stan Hansen
Easily the most important abd successful foreigner of the 80's and 90's. Big rough texan who didn't give a shit how hard he was hitting his opponent. He fit right in. So many classics both in njpw and ajpw.

2. The Destroyer
Lot of people probably haven't seen his work, but anyone wanting to be a wrestler needs to watch Dick Beyer's work, because he was one of the earliest masters of ring psychology and story telling. You hear guys like regal say things like "everything you do should mean something" The Destroyers entire body of work is a perfect example of that. Milking holds, teasing spots and paying them off later. The guy was an absolute master. It's a shame there isn't more of his work available to watch.

1. Lou Thesz
So a big part of why I didn't rate Rikidozan higher in the last list, is because I feel Lou Thesz did more to make wrestling a sensation in japan. He was the first NWA champion to defend the title in Japan, and actually petitioned hard to drop the title there, though he was eventually turned down by the board. Regardless, he let Rikidozan pin him clean which was huge back then. Rikidozan may have been jaoans first big star, but Lou Thesz nade him.

05-28-2017, 05:17 AM	#6
Fignuts Hey Mister! Posts: 54,952	Ok, this isn't going to be as in depth as my last one but I'll at least give some explanation. 10. Dynamite Kid Matches with Tiger Mask are legendary and inspired wrestlers for decades to come. Might be the biggest asshole in the history of the business. 9. Dr. Death Steve Williams Like Hansen, williams is one of the most successful foreigners of all time. Great tag team with terry gordy, and his matches as a main eventer in ajpw are classics. A shame the wwf fucked up with him. 8. Billy Robinson Throughout the late 70's and early 80's this guy put on mat wrestling CLINICS with everyone he stepped in the ring with. If you like technical wrestling, you need to get on robinsons matches. A true master, even if he was a massive dickhead behind the scenes. 7. Vader Do I really even need to say anything here? Even a casual fan knows how big Vader was in japan. From njpw to ajpw to noah, his body of work in japan far surpasses his work in the states. Plus, HES FUCKING VADER MAN. 6. Bruiser Brody There has never been anyone quite like Brody, and fans in japan knew it. He brought the unorthodox brawling style to japan, and got over huge with it. 5. Funk Brothers While Terry's work in Japanese deathmatches is probably more well kbown to most fans, their biggest impact was during the 70's when they wrestled as a tag team as well as Dory defending the NWA title. They were huge in that era. 4. Karl Gotch Gotch pretty much set the tone for njpw for decades to come. It's focus on submissions and mat wrestling is directly due to the influence Gotch had on Inoki. 3.Stan Hansen Easily the most important abd successful foreigner of the 80's and 90's. Big rough texan who didn't give a shit how hard he was hitting his opponent. He fit right in. So many classics both in njpw and ajpw. 2. The Destroyer Lot of people probably haven't seen his work, but anyone wanting to be a wrestler needs to watch Dick Beyer's work, because he was one of the earliest masters of ring psychology and story telling. You hear guys like regal say things like "everything you do should mean something" The Destroyers entire body of work is a perfect example of that. Milking holds, teasing spots and paying them off later. The guy was an absolute master. It's a shame there isn't more of his work available to watch. 1. Lou Thesz So a big part of why I didn't rate Rikidozan higher in the last list, is because I feel Lou Thesz did more to make wrestling a sensation in japan. He was the first NWA champion to defend the title in Japan, and actually petitioned hard to drop the title there, though he was eventually turned down by the board. Regardless, he let Rikidozan pin him clean which was huge back then. Rikidozan may have been jaoans first big star, but Lou Thesz nade him.