Every Time Jushin Liger Unmasked Ranked From Worst To Best
Kishin Liger returns to New Japan Pro Wrestling!
Jushin Liger's weekend unmasking was the talk of the wrestling Twittersphere for a hot second - but then when a legendary figure runs at a fellow icon with a f*cking great spike trying to stab him, that sort of press attention is going to follow.
Lost perhaps to the brief video doing the rounds was the contextualised story behind Liger's unleashing of "Kishin", the deranged alter ego of the perennial superhero Keiichi Yamada has portrayed across four decades.
Set to retire over Wrestle Kingdom weekend in 2020, Liger's farewell tours have seen him enter emotional and evocative performances for international crowds as they bid him adieu for the final time, a historic Madison Square Garden moment with Keiji Mutoh and now, the shocking return of Kishin to bat back the almost-as-terrifying offence of Minoru Suzuki.
'The King' has been out to dispel the myth of the legend over the last several months, leading many to speculate that the pair will face off in Liger's final match at the Tokyo Dome in January. This looks even more likely following Kishin's latest awakening, but how did this moment stack up with the other equally shocking times he's allowed the soul-eating monster within to roam the ring?
4. Vs The Great Muta - 1996
The original release of Kishin Liger makes for a remarkable reveal, though the loss he suffers to legendary partner and rival The Great Muta after the chaos of the scene undermines the impact of the character's emergence on rewatch.
Like three of the four occurrences in this list, it comes out of nowhere within the body of the match, despite Liger having full justification for releasing the 'Beast God Of Thunder' deeply embedded within his psyche. Enraged by Muta's cheating throughout, Liger well and truly has enough of his sh*t at about the 6:30 mark when he goes for his sacred mask.
Unmasking himself to reduce the power of the moment, an insane Kishi sprays Muta with his own green mist before racing to the floor to procure a steel chair to fight his foe on his terms. The sort of moment that would be saved for the very end of the match in modern times, the palpable shock in the crowd remains magnificent despite the defeat.