10 Most Larger Than Life Wrestlers In The World Today
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi
New Japan Pro Wrestling's 'Ace of the Universe' may have fallen out of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship scene since dropping the belt to Jay White back in February and ceded much of his spotlight as the face of the company to Kazuchika Okada over the past few years, but he's still the modern Lion Mark icon.
Tanahashi is a pro-wrestling superhero. From the moment he pops out of the curtains fans know they're in the presence of somebody special, with Tana's presence and charisma enough to fill even the sport's biggest rooms (see: the Tokyo Dome). He's the perfect idealised good guy: a babyface you root for not because he's a relatable everyman, but because there isn't a purer symbol of heroism in the entire sport. He is a beacon of white light. He is Captain America.
This master storyteller's larger than life appeal is as dependent on his in-ring as anything else. Old and beaten up he may be, but Tanahashi remains a master psychologist whose timeless, intricate style helped save NJPW from the problems of Inoki-ism. He'll still be getting roof-raising crowd reactions even when he's 50 and can barely do a Dragon Screw anymore.