WCW Nitro Debut Wrestlers: Where Are They Now?
7. Jushin Thunder Liger
Jushin Liger is generally considered the most influential Japanese Junior Heavyweight of all-time. He has amassed an incredibly impressive resume throughout his 33 years in the business, and his success isn’t restricted to his home country either. Liger is a former WCW Light Heavyweight Champion, and made sporadic appearances with the company up until 1999.
It’s impossible to downplay Liger’s influence on the lighter weight classes. His innovative wrestling style and anime-esque appearance made him the focal point of light heavyweight wrestling in Japan, and he wowed audiences with a balanced moveset comprised of dazzling high-flying moves tempered by methodical matwork. Simply put, he’s one of the most iconic wrestlers of his generation, and a true original in the business.
Liger is still going strong today, even at the age of 52. His role is largely restricted to easy-going multi-man tag matches these days, but Liger rarely misses an NJPW show, and still travels overseas for the occasional big match. 2016 saw him appear for Ring of Honor, PWG, and England’s RevPro, and also put up a surprising mid-year fight for NJPW’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title, proving there’s life in the old dog yet.