Mr. Fuji: Ranking His WWE Managerial Clients From Worst To Best
6. The Orient Express
When The Powers of Pain started failing him, Mr. Fuji upgraded with The Orient Express. Tanaka and Sato were brought to WWE shortly after Fuji had split the Powers up, and were designed to make an immediate run in the WWE tag division.
With Fuji by their side, The Orient Express engaged in a feud with The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty). They earned a countout victory when Sato threw Mr. Fuji’s trademark salt in Jannetty’s eyes at WrestleMania VI, and the rivalry continued on-and-off for well over a year.
Tanaka and Sato served as backup for Demolition (another Fuji-managed team) in their feud with the Legion of Doom just as Demolition were being phased out of the company. This didn’t go too well, however, as the size disadvantage saw the Express regularly beaten by the LoD. The Orient Express also clashed with Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff during this time, and in late 1990, Sato departed WWE, replaced by the masked Kato.
Though unable to capture the tag titles, the Orient Express were always a solid tag unit with Fuji by their side, and they remained with the iconic manager all the way up to the 1992 Royal Rumble. This places them among Fuji’s most tenured clients.