Asian Wrestlers

[victor kwon]

So the wrestling scene in Japan is one of the biggest in the world. Right up there with Mexico. Everyone knows that. And the WWE, in recent years, has become quite the international company. We have Mexican wrestlers, South African wrestlers, Swiss, Canadian, British, etc... But why aren't Asian wrestlers ever properly used in the WWE? Why hasn't the WWE ever had a "good" Asian wrestler? It's something I've wondered for a long time.

Usually, WWE gets someone who isn't that impressive or, if they do have potential, they waste it and the wrestler is poorly developed.

I think back to the Kaientai / Taka Michinoku days. People remember Taka very well, but he rarely ever wrestled from what I remember, and the only story line I can remember those guys a part of was when they tried to cut off Val Venis' dick. lol.

Then there's Tajiri. Now here was a guy with potential. He was actually doing things nobody else was doing. He was a great performer and his martial arts were believable. What does the WWE do? Make him a "little Asian servant" to William Regal. Waste. And the comedic aspect of that hurt the legitimacy of him as a wrestler.

Now, we have Yoshi Tatsu. I heard JBL refer to him as the very bottom of the roster, down there with Hornswoggle. WTF? The man is good. He just needs a decent push. With the facepaint and mask, the gimmick actually worked. I thought he could finally be a legit Japanese wrestler. Yet we see him once in a blue moon.

I get that the English is an obvious issue. But as big a company as WWE is, how could they not find an Asian wrestler who's both good and fluent in English?

What do you guys think? Shouldn't the Asian wrestling scene be better represented in the WWE? What would it take for Yoshi Tatsu to get over?

 

[Nick]

Taka was over as fuck in 1997. He had a lengthy Light Heavyweight title reign, but like any small guy in the WWE, he was forced to job. But it's not only that. All these Japanese guys had no mic skills. Some couldn't speak English. Others could barely. That's what held them back

 

[victor kwon]

Taka was over as fuck in 1997. He had a lengthy Light Heavyweight title reign, but like any small guy in the WWE, he was forced to job. But it's not only that. All these Japanese guys had no mic skills. Some couldn't speak English. Others could barely. That's what held them back

I disagree. He had a light heavyweight title reign but just to hand it over to someone else. How was he over? What PPVs was he a part of? I would argue Tajiri was much more "over" than Taka ever was. At least Tajiri was wrestling against good opponents.

And you made my point. It's always tough if they can't speak English. But what I was asking was, as rich as the WWE is, why can't they find an Asian wrestler who's fluent in English?

 

[Farooq]

I assume because it's not important to them. Why take time to look for another wrestler that's Asian and good with English, when you have other wrestlers that are fine already. If they really cared about foreign fans, they wouldn't have The Joke Khali in WWE.

 

[victor kwon]

I assume because it's not important to them. Why take time to look for another wrestler that's Asian and good with English, when you have other wrestlers that are fine already. If they really cared about foreign fans, they wouldn't have The Joke Khali in WWE.

I agree that it's not important to them, but not for the reason you stated. By that logic, what's the point of having Justin Gabriel? Antonio Cesaro? Sin Cara or Alberto Del Rio? They're all foreign wrestlers. None of them are "necessary".

There are plenty of reasons to look for a good Asian wrestler. Like I said before, the Japanese wrestling scene is huge. Getting a good Asian wrestler would certainly draw an even bigger audience. Not to mention a martial arts style wrestler is fun to watch for a lot of people. People remember Taka Michinoku well after all these years. A lot of people liked Tajiri. He was doing things in the ring that no one had done before.

Yoshi Tatsu says on his twitter he's working on his English. So who knows... maybe he could get a push once he can speak English good enough.

 

[Farooq]

Because Cesaro is a great wrestler, ADR is a great wrestler, and so is Justin Gabriel. I'm saying race isn't a big issue for them to scope out a certain person or race for their quality. It doesn't mean they won't get any people from other countries and what not, it's just not a big priority to them.

 

[victor kwon]

Because Cesaro is a great wrestler, ADR is a great wrestler, and so is Justin Gabriel. I'm saying race isn't a big issue for them to scope out a certain person or race for their quality. It doesn't mean they won't get any people from other countries and what not, it's just not a big priority to them.

There are PLENTY great Asian wrestlers. Why do you think NJPW is so well reputed?

And I wouldn't say "race" is a big deal, but being "international" is clearly something WWE boasts. The fact that they even hired Yoshi Tatsu should show that they at least recognize the Asian wrestling scene.

But who knows. Maybe some Asian wrestlers are wary of being a part of the WWE due to their history of handling past Asian wrestlers poorly.

 

[Farooq]

Im aware of Japan having tremendous talent, but as I said. Not a big priority when there's indies in the US to choose talent from too.

 

[Stopspot]

I don't think American audiences would accept an Asian talent at the top so readily. There is a serious language barrier.

The Japanese that has done the best for himself I think is Hakushi. He feuded with Bret Hart back in the 90's if I am not mistaken.

 

[Pop Tatari]

Well unless the wrestler has good English it would be hard to push him especially in a promo heavy company.Plus a lot of people in the world still see Asains in a stereotypical way unfortunately and there lack of size in a company that has hard ons for big useless sacks of shits.

 

[Stopspot]

Well unless the wrestler has good English it would be hard to push him especially in a promo heavy company.Plus a lot of people in the world still see Asains in a stereotypical way unfortunately and there lack of size in a company that has hard ons for big useless sacks of shits.

Yup. There aren't a lot of Japanese talent who meets the size "standards". The ones that do come to mind is Goto (who is built like a tank) and Okada who is like 6ft3 without boots (making him taller than Cena for example).

 

[victor kwon]

Well unless the wrestler has good English it would be hard to push him especially in a promo heavy company.Plus a lot of people in the world still see Asains in a stereotypical way unfortunately and there lack of size in a company that has hard ons for big useless sacks of shits.

It's true... but look at Alberto Del Rio. His English is pretty harsh, I still have a hard time understanding what he's saying. Why not pair a decent Asian wrestler with a manager? An ASIAN Paul Heyman guy would be awesome. lol. Brock Lesnar and Curtis Axel both rarely ever speak thanks to a manager attached to them.

I'm sure the WWE still buys into the idea that "bigger is better", but not nearly as much as they did in the 90s, when pretty much everyone was on steroids.

I think the problem isn't that people in the world still see Asians in a sterotypical way... it's that THE WWE DOES. But here's hoping that changes in years to come.

 

[louissiscool]

I disagree. He had a light heavyweight title reign but just to hand it over to someone else. How was he over? What PPVs was he a part of? I would argue Tajiri was much more "over" than Taka ever was. At least Tajiri was wrestling against good opponents.

And you made my point. It's always tough if they can't speak English. But what I was asking was, as rich as the WWE is, why can't they find an Asian wrestler who's fluent in English?

Didn't taka michinoku have a tag team with funaki? and didn't they both win the hardcore title wich i believe was at a ppv also haven't they been tag team champions?

 

[Pop Tatari]

It's true... but look at Alberto Del Rio. His English is pretty harsh, I still have a hard time understanding what he's saying. Why not pair a decent Asian wrestler with a manager? An ASIAN Paul Heyman guy would be awesome. lol. Brock Lesnar and Curtis Axel both rarely ever speak thanks to a manager attached to them.

I'm sure the WWE still buys into the idea that "bigger is better", but not nearly as much as they did in the 90s, when pretty much everyone was on steroids.

I think the problem isn't that people in the world still see Asians in a sterotypical way... it's that THE WWE DOES. But here's hoping that changes in years to come.

Well yeah the wwe does stereotype Asain wrestlers thats why they would not be pushed for main event status,its not just the size at the end of the day as its the overall look,charisma and ring skills along with the promos we have talked about.

I can understand ADR most of the time,Brock has the look and the talent thats why he was pushed as far as he is. ADR has the look as well.

 

[victor kwon]

Well yeah the wwe does stereotype Asain wrestlers thats why they would not be pushed for main event status,its not just the size at the end of the day as its the overall look,charisma and ring skills along with the promos we have talked about.

Well but see everyone's saying that, but it's not entirely true. Tajiri had some great matches, and he was wrestling some top guys at the time. No one could deny his ring skills. I can't remember if he ever main evented, but i wouldn't have been surprised and he definitely had the ring skills to do so. His "green mist" and his heavy hitting kicks actually made him quite threatening despite his size. So it really isn't as big a stretch as some people think.

Allz I'm saying is, if they WWE does it right, they could make anyone who's talented and hard working, no matter how unlikely they seem, a successful performer.