Every Wrestling Rookie Of The Year: Where Are They Now?
17. 2006: Atsushi Aoki
A very good worker, hence his '06 award, Atsushi Aoki may not be remembered as one of the very best ever in his field. He was a grounded mat-based junior who worked that weight division when the styles within it had long since crept into the modern "hybrid' main event style (and were no longer special). He was nonetheless very, very good at making his hard-nosed stuff look like it really hurt.
He tragically died at 41, in 2019, in a motorcycle accident. Before his death, he won several championships across Pro Wrestling NOAH and All Japan Pro Wrestling.