10 Japanese Wrestlers Who Were Totally Wasted In America
7. Masahiro Chono
In Japan, Masahiro Chono is known as Mr. August for his propensity to shine in the G1 Climax. In America, there is a decent chance he’s not known at all.
Which is a damn shame, because not only did Chono win the G1 five times, he was also an IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a six-time Tag Champion and an NWA World Champion. In other words, he has a bit of pedigree and yet American audiences may struggle even to remember him for his brief run in WCW.
In 1996 Chono did what everyone in 1996 was doing and joined the nWo. However, his time there was disappointing, to say the least. The most memorable incident was him allegedly shooting on Goldberg and dislocating his shoulder. Swallowed up by the ever growing faction, he was never able to show the talent that made him such a star in Japan.
Returning to New Japan in 1998, it’s almost hard to call Chono’s run in America bad because there was nothing to it. He was just there and had the pleasure of joining a long list of foreign stars that American companies just didn’t know how to use.