10 WWE Stars And Their New Japan Equivalents
4. Brock Lesnar And Kazushi Sakuraba
Everybody knows Brock Lesnar, who's one of the most famous men in pro wrestling. After an initial run with WWE, Lesnar left the company to become an MMA fighter. He ended up reaching the apex of the sport by capturing the UFC Heavyweight Championship, then retired and returned to WWE as a megastar and a proven bad-ass. His wrestling matches are few and far between, but they always carry a special aura.
New Japan also has an MMA legend on its roster, one who's achieved even more in the sport than Lesnar. Kazushi Sakuraba started out as a shoot-style wrestler in promotions like UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling, but in the mid-'90s, he made the jump to legitimate competition.
He came to acclaim through groups like UFC and PRIDE, but his true claim to fame is being "The Gracie Hunter" - he scored wins over four members of the legendary family, including a 2000 victory over Royce Gracie. That match marked Gracie's first defeat and made Sakuraba a national icon in Japan.
Despite his stature in the Japanese mainstream, Gracie's advanced age (he's 46) and difficulty with standard pro wrestling ensures that New Japan won't push him the way WWE pushes Lesnar. Still, Sakuraba's occasional singles matches against shoot-style workers deliver, making an argument that New Japan could be doing more with "The Gracie Hunter".