Why you must watch him: Hes the Japanese version of John Cena What do you get when you take John Cena, turn him into a Japanese man, and combine his popularity and physique with the technical grace of Eddie Guerrero? You get Hiroshi Tanahashi, a wrestler so outstanding that he been labelled the one-in-a-century talent by the Japanese press. In every respect, Tanahashi is to NJPW what John Cena is to WWE. Hes an enormous draw, is wildly popular with multiple demographics, and does wonders to promote the company whenever possible. Ever since he became the ace of NJPW in 2009, he has been arguably the best technical wrestler on the entire planet. Like Cena, Tanahashi has been placed in marquis matches for years now, headlining countless PPVs and major shows. And like Cena, Tanahashis matches have, more often than not, garnered huge reactions from fans, critical observers and other wrestlers alike. To this day, many people consider Tanahashi to be the best wrestler alive. He has put on many classic matches over the last six years in particular, so youll have plenty of options to choose from when you go see why Tanahashis so beloved by his fans.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
