10 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About KUSHIDA
8. He Is Undefeated In MMA
To some, too many of today's performers simply "play" pro wrestler.
It is an opinion oft-spouted by an old guard in denial of the industry's evolution, from its origins of strenuous kayfabe-driven protection to wide open, multi-faceted postmodernism. Irrespective of which school of thought one adheres to, the old or the new, KUSHIDA fuses both: spectacular and deeply credible, that credibility was informed by an undefeated record in mixed martial-arts.
Far from a Brock Lesnar or a Kazushi Sakuraba, among the most credible MMA fighters to have ever stepped inside the squared circle, KUSHIDA never fought in any company nor occasion of renown. He never lost once, however, and in two of his six career wins, he tapped out opponents Normlasa Isozaki by rear-naked choke and Takahiro Uchiyama via armbar. Settling on pro wrestling as full-time pursuit in the mid-2000s despite being afforded several opportunities to progress further, KUSHIDA used his MMA experience to inform his repertoire - which he immediately diversified by heading to Mexico in his early days.
KUSHIDA's mat work, accordingly, is sumptuous - few other pro wrestlers boast the athletic ability and nous to transition a hip toss into an armbar, or to fashion the early phase of a pro wrestling match as a fight that can end at any time.