2. Mitsuharu Misawa
Misawa was All Japans top face throughout the entire 1990s decade. He had demonstrated that he could fly while wrestling as Tiger Mask II, and proved that he could take on the biggest wrestlers in guys like Jumbo Tsuruta. By 1999, he was president of All Japan, and had major plans to change the companys direction, so that it could better compete with archrival New Japan. But then, when Giant Baba died in 1999, his widow, Motoko Baba, the Dragon Lady, vetoed any and all of his decisions. She wanted to keep All Japan on the same course, not wanting to change anything, no matter how much money could be made by Misawas decisions. So instead of allowing things to stay the same, Misawa formed his own promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH. He was such a respected and popular man among his peers that all but four people, not just including wrestlers, joined him. Wresters, referees, trainers, cameramen, support staff and even NTV, the company that aired All Japans weekly TV show, followed as well. For comparison, imagine if, when Jeff Jarrett founded TNA, he gutted 90% of the talent from WCW, and they went on to become serious competition for WWF for years to come. That is essentially what Misawa did. As a wrestler, Misawa is often hailed as the greatest and most respected Japanese wrestler of all time, having put on many clinics in wrestling. His skill was so immense that one of his nicknames was the Standard Bearer for Future Generations. When Misawa passed away in 2009, there were tributes done to him around the world, from a moment of silence in Ring of Honor, to a lengthy reference in JRs blog. Few men in wrestling earned as much respect as Misawa, but given the things he has accomplished and the influence he has had on the wrestling industry, all of that respect is well-deserved.