7 Best Ever NJPW Gaijin Wrestlers

It's true, brother: universal punchline Hulk Hogan, a man famous nowadays for appearing in a sex tape and a racism-filled video, was at one point one of the most respected guys in one of the most serious professional wrestling organisations in the world. Before Hulkamania was born, Terry Bollea was bending bones with some of the best grapplers on the planet in ultra-intense matches.

Hogan, who was nicknamed 'Ichiban' (number one) by the Japanese fans, began wrestling for New Japan in 1980 and over the course of the next few years would wrestle hundreds of matches for the organisation. His most high-profile contest from this period was a victory over a man usually allergic to jobs, NJPW head honcho Antonio Inoki, in an IWGP League tournament final match on 2 June 1983.

Watching Hogan work in Japan when compared with his WWE schtick is fascinating. In Nippon, The Hulkster worked a more mat-based style, relying on exchanging holds and counters. His finisher was the Axe Bomber, a running lariat much more suitable than the Legdrop of Doom he favoured everywhere else. Rather than sticking to an easy formula, Hogan's matches in NJPW in the early 1980s are much more varied and, as such, more exciting to watch as a fan.

With Vince McMahon needing Hogan more and more by the middle of the decade, Hogan left New Japan for eight years, returning in 1993 as his WWE career was winding down. In a rare move, Vince actually allowed Hulk (then WWE Champion) to work for Inoki while he was contracted to WWE, with Hogan going over there to wrestle The Great Muta in front of over 50,000 fans at the Fukuoka Dome. Hogan went over, naturally.

Once he'd finished up his WWE commitments in the summer, he returned to Japan again, teaming with Muta against The Hell Raisers and then battling Muta's other self, Keiji Muto. The most interesting thing about Hogan's trips to Japan in '93 were comments he made about the IWGP Championship, declaring it to be far more prestigious than the WWE Title, which he considered a cartoon belt. Whoops.

Hogan would wrestle a further two matches for New Japan, both at the famed Tokyo Dome - on 4 January 1992 (beating Tatsumi Fujinami) and 13 October 2003 (beating Masahiro Chono). Hogan was the man in Japan, earning a great reputation as a worker in the '80s and then returning to command a hefty price tag in major supershow matches in the '90s and 2000s.

If you think Hogan is just a body, a big boot, and a Fu Manchu moustache, watch some of his Japanese work and think again.