10. He Voluntarily Left Japan To Wrestle In Mexico
Like fellow masked man Jushin Liger before him, Ultimo Dragon was considered 'too small' to be a player in Japan. He graduated from the New Japan dojo in 1987 but, upon realising that his prospects in the group were limited, he instead decided to voluntarily fly himself to Mexico and try his luck there. Ultimo knew that in Mexico, he'd have more opportunities, since the country has long been more accepting of smaller grapplers. It was while competing for CMLL in 1991 that he came up with the Ultimo Dragon name and gimmick. He was purported to have been the 'final student of Bruce Lee' which was, of course, pure fantasy. It's quite incredible that Dragon had to go to Mexico in order to establish himself, given the success that NJPW had in the past with Tiger Mask and other Junior Heavyweights.
