8 Japanese Stars WWE Should Sign
6. Naomichi Marufuji
Although he's getting up in years now, Marufuji is a legend of Japanese wrestling with IWGP and GHC title reigns to his name.
Taking his place as the backbone of Pro Wrestling NOAH following the death of Mitsuharu Misawa, the retirement of Kenta Kobashi, and the departure of KENTA (now Hideo Itami in NXT), the evergreen Marufuji had a real resurgence this year when he was invited to compete in the renowned New Japan G1 Climax tournament.
He beat the IWGP champion Kazuchika Okada on his very first night of the tournament and enjoyed a solid run in the G1. It was his rematch with Okada for the title last month at King of Pro Wrestling which really got people talking though, as the two delivered a stone cold classic.
Given the success of his tag team partner turned rival KENTA/Hideo Itami in NXT, Marufuji may fancy giving it a shot Stateside.
It's difficult to see what more he could achieve in Japan at this stage of his career but the fact that he's 37-years-old now may prove a bit of a stumbling block to getting hired.