Guest DragonflyKid Report post Posted February 7, 2002 My favorite would have to be Danny Kroffatooooooooo, not only was he a great wrestler and formed a great tag team with Doug Furnas but he was also great being a prick in AJ where that wasn't commonplace. My favorite Kroffat moment was when he was acting heelish as he and Furnas took on Misawa and Kobashi in '94, he constantly show-boated while shouting at the crowd to shut-up when they booed his cheating which led to more booing and him telling them to shut-up some more. Later on when he had Kobashi in a submission hold Misawa came in and gave Kroffat an elbow to break the hold and the crowd ended up booing Misawa, LOL. My other favorites include Hansen,Benoit and Vader. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ThePhoenix230 Report post Posted February 8, 2002 Yep, Kroffat was the man alright. I also liked Steve Williams (when he wasn't such the deteriorated man he is today) alot. He just did some awesome stuff over in AJ, like Kroffat. It pains me to see me wrestle the way he does today, and then I watch oh say......his '94 CC Final with Toshiaki Kawada, and see what a monster he was back then. Obviously, Benoit is very high on the list as well, along with Eddy Gurerrero, Stan Hansen (who was in Japan so long, he didn't really seem much like a Gaijin....), and the impossible-to-leave-off Vader. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest J*ingus Report post Posted February 8, 2002 Stan Hansen, plain and simple. Honorable mention for Terry Funk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest goodhelmet Report post Posted February 8, 2002 If Eddy is back in NJ, he is without a doubt the best man available. Even though his wrestling was wretched, Andre the Giant was fun to watch in Japan. The Japanese were just awestruck and frightened of the man. They didn't know what to make of him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BlackRainbow1025 Report post Posted February 8, 2002 I was going to say Stan Hansen. You guys have mentioned most of them of course (Benoit, Guerrero, Vader) but no one has said Bruiser Brody. I like him a lot too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ElLocoTas Report post Posted February 8, 2002 Stan Hansen Steve Williams Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dark Lotus Report post Posted February 8, 2002 Bad Smart marks. You still haven't mentioned Dynamite Kid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted February 8, 2002 I'd have to say Eddie Guerrero too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Midnight Express Report post Posted February 9, 2002 Dynamite Kid Vader Chrsitopher Daniels (Curry Man) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Misawa Da Man Report post Posted February 9, 2002 From the current lot? I could watch Jonny Smith wrestle all day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest super sayan jericho Report post Posted February 9, 2002 Doug Furnas Chris Benoit Dean Malenko Micheal Modest Eddy Guerreo Silver King Dr. Wagner Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BlackRainbow1025 Report post Posted February 9, 2002 Yeah, I totally forgot about Dynamite Kid, damn. Anyway, since he's from Hawaii, isn't Taiyo Kea a gaijin? I also can't believe I forgot Curry Man. He's spicy, he's hot, he tastes great! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ElLocoTas Report post Posted February 9, 2002 Technically Kea is a gai-jin but he's treated like a native. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ace309 Report post Posted February 10, 2002 Dynamite, of course... Hansen is just amazing as well, and I mark as hard as anyone for a good Dr. Death backdrop driver. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Sassquatch Report post Posted February 10, 2002 Vader The man was a "monster" in every sense of the word. He terrorized NJ and AJ. When he was with either promotion, he ruled it with an iron fist. This is the place where he could be Vader and not be restricted to "pussy" wrestling because other's were scarred of him. He broke the mold of the "fat, ugly" wrestler and became the the model for all fat wrestlers to follow. Vader was something else and is a legend. Vader is starting to break down right now but that is an amazing feat considering his age and size. Great wrestler. Bruiser Brody If Vader was a monster, then Brody was the king of the monsters. Brody would murder guys in the ring and the crowd would eat it up. Brody brought hard core wrestling to Japan. Not bringing trash cans into the ring. He brought that pyscho mentality that scarred the shit out of the crowd. Even though Brody was a crazy sonuvabitch, the crowd loved him. The crowd would boo and throw things at Brody, but deep down, they respected the man. No one has been able to duplicate Brody and with today's wrestling environment, it looks as if nobody ever will. Brody wasn't the best wrestler in the ring, but he made up for that with his charisma and attitude. No one will be able to duplicate Brody. The only man that came close to that was Brian Pillman, but he was still not Bruiser Brody and nobody else ever will be. Stan Hansen The man is a legend in Japan and rightfully so. He remained loyal to All Japan for 20 years and enjoyed some of it's highest honors. He has wrestled with some shitty wrestlers but was able to pull them to their best matches. Ever. His match against Andre the Giant is required viewing. And Hansen's stuff with Bruiser Brody and Ted DiBiase in the 80's is also highly recommended. And of course there are his matches against Kobashi in 93 and his matches with Kawada later. And his tag matches with Baba are also pretty good. Hansen wrestled a style that the Japanese had never seen. There were wrestlers who wrestled stiff in the past but none of them wrestled like Stan. His lariat is the blueprint for all other's to follow. Hansen was damn good. Terry & Dory Funk Jr. One of the greatest tag teams in America and Japan. They were responsible for breaking the mold of the "evil foriegner" that had been in Japan for decades. They brought a style of wrestling over into AJ that became a staple in Japan. When Terry and Dory were "on", they were "ON"! Even though Terry became the one that achieved more fame with his solo work, Dory was still respected by the crowd just as much as Terry for his work years prior and rightfully so. Get any tag matches from the 70's to the early 80's. It's ALL good. Fritz Von Erich Fritz the person might be a piece of shit but thw wrestler was a whole different story. Fritz was THE evil foriegner. And he played the role perfectly. Fritz was like Stan Hansen-lite. Fritz was tough and would destroy guys in the ring. He brutalized Giant Baba in their matches which was something unheard of. Fritz would take it to Baba and wouldn't hold back. Fritz was a gruff motherfucker who had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Fritz was a master of psychology in the ring as well. He knew exactly what to do at the right times to get the crowd riled. Fritz was not much of a speaker but he made up for it qith his presence in the ring. His matches with Brody in WCCW were great. They would wreck eachother out there in the ring and the Texas crowds would eat it up. Fritz was a hell of a wrestler and is not talked about in that respect because of his dealings in wrestling years later. Awesome worker. The Destroyer One of the greatest all around wrestlers ever. He was the 60's to the mid 70's Ric Flair. Except he was better. EVERYONE needs to go out and buy footage of this man. You will get hooked. He was the true master of psychology in the ring. Jake Roberts would get smoked if you compare him with the Destroyer. The Destroyer would do all of the little things in a match that would make fans appreciate wrestling more. If he injured a leg, the Destroyer would have 13 different ways he could attack the leg and not look repetitive or boring. The Destroyer was perhaps the biggest gajin draw ever in Japan with only Freddie Blassie coming in second. Back in the day, more than 60% of the TV audiences in Japan would watch the Destroyer wrestle. Only Rikidozan and "Big Daddy" Shirley Crabtree would come close to that those kind've ratings. Even though he wore a mask, the Destroyer became a cross-over hit in both Japan and the US. Back in the day, the Destroyer was just as well known as Hulk Hogan or Austin. He was huge. The Destroyer would make you proud to be a wrestling fan. Get ANY footage of this man that you can. Honorable mentions: Andre the Giant Billy Robinson "Dr.Death" Steve Williams Terry Gordy Ted DiBiase Johnny Smith Dynamite Kid Chris Benoit Dean Malenko Eddy Guerrero Black Tiger 1 Doug Furnas Silver King Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fouronthefloor77 Report post Posted February 12, 2002 Three Words:MIRACLE VIOLENCE COMBO Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy and Steve "DR.Death" Williams Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MRFTW Report post Posted February 12, 2002 Isn't it the Miracle Violence Connection not Combo? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ElLocoTas Report post Posted February 12, 2002 You're right, it's a CONNECTION. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest thefrenchargel Report post Posted February 13, 2002 Definitely Vader. His stiff style fits in perfectly. I'd say Dynamite Kid, but I haven't seen him wrestle anyone but Sayama outside of the WWF. What are some other great matches he's had? I haven't seen too much of him, really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jubuki Report post Posted February 13, 2002 There's Destroyer, there's Dynamite Kid, there's Stan MOTHER FUCKING Hansen, and then there's just a bunch of white guys. Word. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MoneyIvezaj Report post Posted February 13, 2002 Terry Funk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest poopsicle316 Report post Posted February 13, 2002 Vader Vader Vader or Darkness Dragon is he truly is not a native. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Spanky Report post Posted February 14, 2002 Gotta be Stan Hansen. His matches seemed like a war. He just kept going and going, straight ahead ass kicking rarely taking a step backward, always trying to get in a blow. It was impressive that he could adapt from era to era - I doubt Bruiser Brody could've had the great matches with Kawada, Kobashi, et al that Hansen did. Honorable mentions for Dynamite Kid, Terry Gordy, Vader, Benoit, and Mark Rocco. Simon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
