8. The Rise Of Tomoaki Honma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlqrPLKe9aE If you're looking for the "ultimate underdog", there aren't many people that fit the bill better than Tomoaki Honma. He's someone that the fans of New Japan have rallied behind, even though he loses... and loses... and loses. His almost comedic character with exaggerated offense reminds some of Santino, especially when it comes to the "lovable loser" aspect of things. Santino lost a lot, but if you think back not all that long ago, fans were going crazy over his near-wins at the Royal Rumble and at Elimination Chamber. Coming into Wrestle Kingdom, fans wanted to see Honma finally overcome the odds and get a victory, and they wanted to see him land his Kokeshi top-rope diving headbutt. Time and time again in previous matches, he would go to attempt the move, only to fail, and usually fail miserably. When he went to the top rope at WK, the Tokyo Dome crowd got very excited, and when he successfully landed Kokeshi, it got one of the biggest pops of the entire night. Those fans went nuts for him, and you could say that a star was born. Kudos to New Japan for organically creating something special with Honma. He doesn't give him, and therefore, the fans don't give up on him.
Aaron Hyden
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Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.
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Aaron