10 Wrestlers Who Proved Their Worth In A Crisis
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi
New Japan Pro Wrestling was mired in identity and business crisis when Hiroshi Tanahashi emerged from his Young Lion chrysalis in the early 2000s.
Inokism had mangled the very purpose of the promotion, much less the style and quality. The wrestlers were obliterated, legitimately, by MMA stars under Antonio Inoki's strange and wildly counterproductive quest for legitimacy. Oxymoronic in concept and shameful in execution, the soul of New Japan was as battered as the faces of its humiliated stars: the innovative Junior Heavyweight division and its underrated, similarly eclectic heavyweight counterpart were scarcely recognisable.
Gates nosedived. Not unlike WCW, which became a grim ersatz version of the WWF, and failed because fans wanted an alternative, NJPW had become a quasi-PRIDE. At least the WCW of 1999/2000 was astute enough to know which industry to parody.
Tanahashi proved his worth by implementing a new ring style, or at least the core values of pro wrestling; with his handsome face, eye-catching physique and wholesome, electrifying charisma, Tanahashi became the Ace, a role synonymous with him now through his mesmeric, deeply intelligent in-ring performances, so profoundly brilliant that they have informed the prestige of World championships and the mythos of legends beyond himself.
Tanahashi proved his worth in tandem with...