Jinsei Shinzaki, known to WWF fans as Hakushi, only wrestled in the company for a brief time, but his effect on the promotion was quite lasting. A major star in his native Japan, who is well known for his electrifying combination of perfectly-timed high flying moves and punishing, ground work, Shinzakis short stint with the WWF was enough to set a generation of young wrestling fans facing Eastward. As Hakushi (the name loosely translates as White Death), Shinzakis frustratingly short, but otherwise superb, feud with Bret Hart highlighted a major new talent on the WWF roster - and even hinted at a possible World Title run one day. Sadly, neither came to pass for Hakushi and, following a couple of humiliating losses at the bottom of the card, he left the company under a cloud. Shinzaki then briefly wrestled for ECW (he is no stranger to hardcore wrestling) before heading back to Japan. Despite his brief tenure in the WWF, Hakushi makes this list for his combination of effortless poise, uncanny ring savvy and a stunning shock and awe style that looked forward to high-flying WWE daredevils like Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon and Jeff Hardy. His unique look, legitimate toughness, tightly structured ring-work and fascinating character portrayal mark him out as one of the WWEs most frustrating missed opportunities. A WrestleMania bout with Undertaker would have been a major draw, especially when one considers that some fans refer to Shinzaki as The Japanese Undertaker.
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
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Latcho Drom,
- CQ
