10 Failed WWE Wrestlers Who Became Cult Classics
3. Kai En Tai
Taka Michinoku's boy-popping antics as a member of Suzuki-gun in New Japan Pro Wrestling have, in recent years at least, kept alive memories of his fabled and often-farcical Kai En Tai. Worthy of countless revisiting, his mere visibility welcomes generous review of what's perhaps best classified as a entirely different time.
That time was 1998, not 1948, but 50 years feels behind the curve feels about right for the insulated insanity of pro wrestling anyway.
A collection of killers in Japan, the group's Attitude Era incarnation started with good intentions but degenerated into a marginalised malfunction within months. The group debuted by battering Taka before welcoming him in after Val Venis worked a split shift in his other employ with Michinoku's sister.
The "Choppy Choppy Your Pee Pee" segment that followed forever reduced them to comedy, but some of the craic wasn't without its charm even after the four became two.
With retrograde Godzilla dubbing gimmicks, Taka and Sho Funaki got over all over again as crowd pleasers during a time that popular stars were at a premium. Considering the deep-rooted bias within the organisation, it was a credit to their craft and graft that they managed to find a place at all.