25 Greatest "Martial Arts" Wrestlers Ever

12. The Orient Express

Style: Karate The combination of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato (and later Kato) was brought into WWE by Mr. Fuji to supplement his primary tag team clients, Demolition. Tanaka and Sato had a mind-blowing (for 1990) series of matches with The Rockers, a satisfying blend of 80€™s style tandem manuevers and 90€™s cruiserweight pacing. They also had a less impressive rivalry with the Legion of Doom, although every LOD rivalry was pretty much destined to be one-sided. In the ring, their "karate" was mostly restricted to Ricky Steamboat style drop-to-a-knee backhand chops and the occasional chest-high superkick. After the team dissolved, Kato lost his mask and reverted noted non-Asian Paul Diamond, while Tanaka went to WCW, grew a Fu Manchu and wrestled in a Chinese tangzhuang despite still being a Hawaiian dude of Japanese descent. There is balance in all things.
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Long-time fan (scholar?) of professional wrestling, kaiju films and comparative mythology. Aspiring two-fisted adventurer.