10 More WWE Superstars And Their Japanese Counterparts

Hardcore Holly can be best summed up as ‘a stiff tough guy who never rose beyond the mid-card.’ Holly was a fifteen-year veteran of the WWE, though he spent the majority of his career as an ‘enhancement talent’, testing out the new guys and helping the younger generation of wrestlers get over. He was solid in the ring, and had a few good moments throughout his career.

More than anything, it’s his reputation of being incredibly rough and ridiculously stiff with his peers that really made him a household name among fans of the WWE.

Japanese counterpart: Takuma Sano

Naoki/Takuma Sano was a lifelong midcarder who, like Holly, earned a reputation for being ridiculously stiff, even by the incredibly high standards of Japanese wrestling. As a relatively nondescript wrestler lacking any flashy moves, Sano was a pragmatist who preferred a simpler approach to his matches. Translation: he hit people as hard as he could, and let the sound of his kicks connecting with his opponent’s body get the crowd’s attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpC0UKpAMsw

Like Holly, Sano has experience in legitimate fighting, and with that came a reputation as a badass. But while Holly earned his reputation by fighting bears and generally being tough-as-nails, Sano trained Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFi), a shoot-fighting promotion that was the precursor to MMA in Japan.

Either way, both of these men are people you don’t want to cross, or things will end very badly for you.