10 Times Wrestlers Got Over With ONE Match
3. Mitsuharu Misawa
On May 14, 1990, Mitsuharu Misawa literally revealed himself to a watching, rapt world.
He had performed under the Tiger Mask gimmick as its second iteration for years, but the chintz of its diminished return obscured both the man and the potential that glowed through the mask. He was performing as Tiger Mask II, present tense, in a match against Samson Fuyuki and Yoahiaki Tatsu, when in the vengeful heat of the comeback, he ordered teammate Toshiaki Kawada to remove it. The seminal ironic poetry of the blocking aside - Kawada, the literal walk-behinder, realised the full potential of his fiercest rival - this moment was something beyond any meteoric rise. Misawa's rise to stardom was faster than even an overnight sensation.
Kawada helped Misawa remove the mask, and where he struggled with the lacing, the fans willed him to complete the job. They were desperate to see Misawa's true face because they knew precisely what the moment represented: ascendancy into superstardom and the revelation of an open secret.
Won over by Misawa's in-ring work - his futuristic and ultra-convincing fusion of the junior and heavyweight styles marked him as the most popular emerging talent in a stacked company aching for change - the fans cheered his name as, in nanoseconds, he evolved from midcard gimmick to unmasked hero, and from prodigy to master.