10 Early WWE Hall Of Fame 2018 Predictions
7. Giant Baba
Giant Baba was never the most mechanically gifted performer in the history of puroresu, but he was an immensely popular and charismatic special attraction. He was also a drawing card as gigantic as his frame. To underscore that, he was ranked 93rd in a list of favourite historical figures as chosen by his countrymen nearly two decades after his death.
His contributions to the business outside of the ring were arguably as important as his body of work inside of it.
Baba was the founder and chief creative force behind All Japan Pro Wrestling, the 1990s oeuvre of which is for many the absolute greatest era of both match quality and purposeful star creation in puro history. Baba instigated the company's golden period with a brave and intuitive decision to put a young Mitsuharu Misawa over then Ace Jumbo Tsuruta in 1990. Misawa became the 'Standard Bearer of Future Generations', amassing more five star matches than any performer ever, selling out the sizeable Budokan Hall countless times. The carefully orchestrated pushes of Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue, and Kenta Kobashi unfurled in parallel. His Four Pillars of Heaven sustained mega business for a full decade, all under his immaculate penmanship.
He had little to do with the WWF throughout his legendary wrestling career, but the recently introduced "Legacy" wing - which essentially is a way of honouring incredibly important figures who nonetheless aren't perceived as glamorous enough to have lengthy speeches made on their behalf - might yet provide him with an in.