4 WWE stars who were able to translate their notoriety over to Japan
Just a couple of weeks ag, WWE did a spectacular show in Japan and while hundreds of live events are done all over the world by the wrestling conglomerate throughout the year, this one was not the run-of-the mill can-miss live event, as it was shown live on the WWE Network and had quite possibly the strongest roster putting out a non-PPV show for the WWE in recent memoryWhile WWE for most wrestling fans has been synonymous with pro-wrestling in the States, overseas that wasn’t the case for a long time. The Japanese wrestling organizations such as NJPW & AJPW in the territory days extending into the 90s, was a viable alternative for wrestling aficionados looking for a different type of scene to whet their appetite for pro-wrestling. This alternative extended to the wrestlers as well who were in a position to make a good living by wrestling and becoming stars in Japan if things weren’t working out in the United States.The Japanese promotions and fans, for their part traditionally always had a special place for the foreign imports, termed as ‘Gaijin’ in the local circuit, as they represented the America that could be conquered, all those years later. Not all were villains though, as names such as Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody were as beloved as the local icons. However, many of the Gaijins were ex-WWE stars who had been big stars when wrestling in front of the American audience, and were able to parlay that to capture the imagination of the Japanese audiences during their time in Japan.Below is a list of the wrestlers who were able to live off their notoriety earned in the States when they wrestled in Japan:
#4 Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar was a huge star in the WWE during his first run in the WWE, back in the early 2000s and he is a big star now as the “Beast Incarnate”. Nowhere was it more evident than at the live event couple of weeks back when the Japanese fans rode up in droves to see ‘The Beast in the East’.
After leaving the WWE abruptly back in 2004 and unsuccessfully trying out for the NFL, Lesnar competed in Japan for a bit between 2005 to 2007. However, his box-office appeal wasn’t fully utilized by the management due to their inner conflicts at the time and Lesnar moved on to a career in MMA. But some of his matches during his time there were memorable, including one with local legend Akebono and old rival Kurt Angle, and the fans were responsive to him.