10 Best Male Japanese Imports In WWE History
9. Kota Ibushi
Debuting for the WWE in 2016’s critically acclaimed Cruiserweight Classic, Kota Ibushi was a firm crowd favourite and quickly tipped to win the tournament overall.
Defeating Sean Maluta in the First Round and Cedric Alexander in the Second Round, Ibushi was a standout from the very start of the tournament. His exciting offence and hard-hitting style caught the imagination of the WWE fans and saw him advance to the Semi Finals, with victory over Brian Kendrick in the Quarters. Nevertheless, the impressive Ibushi would ultimately fall short, losing to eventual winner, TJ Perkins, in the Semis.
Ibushi also made several appearances on NXT during his time in the States, defeating Buddy Murphy on NXT #206 (which aired mid CWC tournament), while he also returned to Full Sail as part of the annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Originally set to partner with Hideo Itami in a Japanese dream team, an injury to Itami would see Ibushi team with the very man who eliminated him from the CWC, TJP.
The poetic pairing would eventually lose to Sanity in the Quarter Finals and Ibushi’s last WWE appearance to date came in defeat to Bobby Roode on an NXT house show. Let's hope that match was not his last in WWE.