10 More WWE Superstars And Their Japanese Counterparts

10. Santino Marella

Marella was hired for WWE for one role: the comedy act. To the surprise of absolutely no one, he was very good at his job. Marella would play an Italian-American stereotype to great effect, and even though he was a certified low-card act, he got great reactions on a regular basis, both from children who bought into his PG-approved shtick, and from older fans who appreciated his comedic timing.

This created a character who rarely won big matches, if ever, but when he did win, he often got a huge fan reaction. Sadly, a neck injury forced him to retire from in-ring competition, depriving WWE of one of its funniest wrestlers.

Japanese counterpart: Tomoaki Honma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vBKcP7oyXA

Honma, like Santino, rarely scores victories in wrestling unless it’s against a true jobber. He made a name for himself in death matches in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, before becoming a glorified jobber and comedy wrestler in All Japan and in New Japan. However, while Santino was beloved for his comedic instincts, Honma was beloved for his comedic instincts and his determination.

In the lead-up to Wrestle Kingdom IX earlier this year, Honma suddenly started having great matches, but still kept losing. Over time, fans fell in love with his character, and they so desperately wanted to see him win, not unlike Santino when he came close to winning the 2011 Royal Rumble match.

So when Honma teamed with two bigger names in Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan at Wrestle Kingdom, and hit his trademark diving head-butt and got the three-count, the fans erupted in cheers. It was a true underdog story that finally reached its zenith, as the guy who was presumed to be the jobber-for-life scored a big win on the biggest stage imaginable.

So when it comes to being jobbers for their respective companies, Santino and Honma have a lot to ralk about.