Ranking Who Was Really The Man In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020

26. 1995 - Shinya Hashimoto

Austin Jericho
NJPW

The beloved, super-charismatic and totally convincing Shinya Hashimoto was the Man in 1995. He fulfilled the Three Musketeers prophesy magnificently.

He positively dwarfed any attendance any promotion in the US managed just four days in; headlining the annual Tokyo Dome spectacular in a weapons-grade squelcher opposite Kensuke Sasaki in a successful defence of the IWGP Heavyweight Title, an astonishing 62,000 piled in to witness the Ace of the company kick seven shades of sh*t out of the emerging Power Warrior, who ascended in no small part as a result of Hashimoto's incredibly balanced performances.

Hashimoto reigned at a time when NJPW was some degrees above white-hot, drawing 48,000 to the Fukuoka Dome in his title loss to Keiji Muto in another stunning battle.

Muto overtook him as a draw by October - he set the record for the largest live gate of all time opposite Nobuhiko Takada at the scintillating peak of the hubristic inter-promotional war with the UWF-i - but on aggregate, folding in the critical adulation, Hashimoto was the Man.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!