10 Incredible Wrestlers Who STILL Don't Get The Praise They Deserve

There was a time where people believed Bushi would become New Japan's masked marvel. Instead, he's turned into Los Ingobernables de Japon's resident pin-eater.

It's almost a yearly tradition at this point for Bushi to begin the Best of the Super Juniors tournament on a losing streak. His singles bouts in general (bar a surprise 2019 win over Zack Sabre Jr.) typically end with him staring at the lights.

When Gedo finally did pull the trigger on him winning the coveted IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in 2016, he lost it in his first defence. He has not really even come within sniffing distance of the belt since then.

The former AJPW fan favourite is a quality high flyer with a good deal of charisma. There was a time, back when his win-loss ratio was a little more respectable, that the New Japan faithful were very into his work. His association with the wildly popular LIJ faction only bolstered his crowd reactions.

The point at which Bushi stumbled into unappreciated territory is Power Struggle 2016. Not only did he drop the gold that night but Hiromu Takahashi, one of the most popular stars in all of New Japan, made his debut. Also joining LIJ, the former Kamaitachi became the stable's junior ace, leaving Bushi as the odd man out in the faction.

At it stands, a Bushi comeback or return to title relevance (beyond the junior tag and NEVER 6-man belts) seems painfully unlikely unless he receives a major character revamp a la EVIL last year. However, considering the reception to EVIL's 2020 betrayal of LIJ, that might not be the best call either.