Today’s wrestling landscape is dominated by two or maybe three main promotions – WWE, Ring of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Many of the smaller promotions in the United States, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom have a handful of main stars, but not enough to truly branch out as major companies.
Thanks to the internet, however, many of these smaller promotions have managed to thrive. Nowadays, one can find videos and information on their favourite promotions with minimal difficulty. Thus, if the main promotions don’t satisfy the interests of a given wrestling fan, those people can find what they’re looking for elsewhere without effort.
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Here, we’ll look at ten wrestlers active today that haven’t managed to get that major exposure that wrestlers from WWE, NJPW, ROH and Impact Wrestling have. Though some of these wrestlers have appeared in one or more of these bigger promotions, they’ve made their names in smaller ones and thus aren’t as well-known as their mainstream counterparts.
A top AEW star just called one of his colleagues 'spoiled' and 'narcissistic' HERE.
#10 Chuck Taylor
If you like watching wrestlers mix seriousness with over-the-top comedy, Chuck Taylor is the wrestler for you.
Taylor is a mainstay of CHIKARA, a PG-friendly and comedy-oriented promotion that focuses on wacky characters and Lucha Libre wrestling. Taylor has been one of its most famous wrestlers, acting ridiculous and over-the-top in several circumstances. But he does all of this in an entertaining way.
Taylor’s finishing move, the Omega Driver (no relation to Kenny Omega in any way), is one of those moves that screams ‘dangerous pro wrestling’. It’s a Back Suplex transitioned into a Piledriver, which is something one would never see in WWE.
Of course, Taylor backs up his serious move-set with some crazy theatrics as well. His signature spot is the ‘grenade’, whereby he pretends to pull a grenade from his waist and throws said ‘grenade’ into the ring, and his opponents sell it in a ludicrously unrealistic way.
If you like your wrestling to be serious, you might want to look away from Chuck Taylor. But if you like your wrestling wacky and over-the-top, Taylor’s someone you must watch.
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#9 Katsuhiko Nakajima
Despite standing at only 5’9 and weighing 95kg, Nakajima is already a record-holder in the world of Puroresu. He made his official wrestling debut at age 15 and became the youngest wrestler to win several awards and distinctions.
He was the youngest person to ever win AJPW’s Champion Carnival (their version of WWE’s King of the Ring) and is also the youngest to win their World Junior Heavyweight Championship. He was trained by very accomplished Puroresu legends like Riki Shoshu and Kensuke Sasaki, both of whom ended up influencing his career in major ways.
By 2005, Nakajima was already wrestling in big matches against the likes of Sasaki and Kenta Kobashi. Clearly, the bookers of various Japanese promotions saw something in Nakajima, and that was also seen by the fans in his excellent matches.
Nakajima is only 29 years old and thus has many years ahead of him in the wrestling world. He has already won singles and tag team championships in several Japanese promotions, including AJPW and NOAH. It isn’t often someone accomplishes so much at such a young age, so it’s clear that things are looking bright for Nakajima.
Hopefully, his name keeps growing as a performer and becomes a truly impressive draw.
#8 Mike Quackenbush
Mike Quackenbush is the founder of independent wrestling promotion CHIKARA and has been one of the most important independent wrestlers of the past decade. Not only has he served as the lead promoter and head trainer for CHIKARA, but he has also won numerous championships all over the U.S. independent wrestling scene.
Because Quackenbush spent most of his time in CHIKARA and other smaller promotions, he hasn’t managed to gain as much exposure as other famous indy wrestlers. However, Quackenbush can also be credited with training and influencing the wrestling styles of many now-famous wrestlers, some of whom are now in WWE.
These include Drew Gulak, Lince Dorado, Cesaro, and Aleister Black. These four are, but a handful of the multitude of wrestlers influenced by Quackenbush and the hilarious and over-the-top craziness found in his CHIKARA promotion.
#7 Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle is one of a handful of wrestlers to have enjoyed a relatively successful MMA career before entering the world of pro wrestling. But instead of keeping his style simplistic and MMA-oriented, Riddle has managed to thrive as a flashy wrestler as well.
His submission-centric approach and shoot kicks are complemented by several ‘showman-like’ moves: Flip piledrivers, German suplexes, and even his own take on Hideo Itami’s Go To Sleep.
Riddle has adapted to pro wrestling so well that the Wrestling Observer named him the (wrestling) rookie of the year for 2016, as well as the most improved wrestler for that same period.
In fact, he was so impressive that WWE offered him a tryout, which led to WWE setting up bookings for Riddle with their affiliate EVOLVE. If this is a sign of things to come for Riddle, one might be seeing more of him in the future.
With regards to a WWE future, Riddle doesn’t seem fully interested in it just yet. He stated that if he were going to NXT, he would have to fight for the title right away. Another possible reason is that Riddle is a habitual smoker of marijuana, which is something that probably wouldn't fly in WWE.
#6 Davey Richards
If Davey Richards were half a foot taller and 40lbs heavier, there’s no doubt that he would’ve not only been signed by WWE to a full-time contract, but he’d probably have been quite successful, too.
Richards is a fantastic wrestler, and he proved this in both singles and tag team competition. He has won many championships all around the world in promotions such as CZW, NJPW, PWG, ROH and TNA. One would have to be incredibly talented to be booked to win championship gold in all of these promotions. That just shows you how good of a wrestler Davey Richards is.
To prove how good Richards is, consider the following: Richards is one of only two non-Japanese men not signed to WWE to have had a 5-star singles match in over a decade. Richards had a 5-star match with Michael Elgin at an ROH show in 2012, which was a testament to his abilities.
This led to Richards signing a developmental contract with NXT, but sadly it didn’t lead to anything beyond a single shot at the NXT Tag titles. However, despite being in his mid-30s, there might still be a chance Richards would return to WWE, now that he has obtained even more experience and qualifications proving his talent.
#5 Taiji Ishimori
Taiji Ishimori is one of the best cruiserweights active today. He has been a staple of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s junior heavyweight division for years and holds the record for longest single reign as GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion.
While he hasn’t enjoyed the same high-profile fame as his NJPW counterparts like KUSHIDA and Hiromu Takahashi, Ishimori has still proven himself to be one of the biggest stars in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He’s a 3-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, 5-time GHC Junior Heavyweight tag team champion, and has also found success in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and the Toryumon promotion.
Ishimori is 34 years old and in the prime of his career. If you want to see a great cruiserweight wrestler that isn’t from the big leagues of WWE or NJPW, I would strongly suggest Ishimori.
#4 Delirious
Delirious is a simple wrestler with a simple gimmick: 90% of what comes out of his mouth is pure gibberish but spattered in there is 10% understandable language that makes him one of the funniest wrestlers active today.
Delirious is one of those wrestlers that know how to get a reaction out of the audience by doing very little. For example, in the link above, Delirious wrestles another gimmick wrestler named Player Uno, whose entire gimmick is centred on video game stuff.
So Delirious taunts Player Uno with ridiculous lines like: “blah blah blah…8 BIT”, “[incoherent rambling] Sega Genesis”, “blah blah blah Princess Peach is a tramp”. You can see how this gimmick works.
He basically acts as a Wildman, but hidden underneath those layers of supposed monstrous incoherence is a clever man that knows how to annoy his opponent and make his audience laugh...all of which make him an excellent wrestler.
#3 Super Dragon
Super Dragon is one of the most interesting wrestlers in the world. Not only is he a versatile high-flyer with an unpredictable move-set, but he’s also a merciless brawler that hits his opponents with viciously-stiff strikes.
Super Dragon is most famous for three things. First, he’s one of the six wrestlers to have founded Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) and has also served as its booker. Second, he has become quasi-famous for an infamous incident involving the ‘Super Dragon super fan’ that wouldn’t stop chanting his name.
Thirdly and most importantly, Super Dragon is another one of those crazy ‘dangerous moves’ wrestlers that excites people by pulling off dangerous moves that both make fans cringe at their level of danger, and brings respect to the wrestlers that are willing to put themselves through such pain for the sake of entertaining an audience.
#2 Kotaro Suzuki
Kotaru Suzuki is one of those cruiserweights that, for some inexplicable reason, fell under the radar for many years. He has been wrestling in Japan since 2001 and has been an excellent wrestler during that entire period. He has won many championships, including the Junior Heavyweight titles in AJPW, NOAH, Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Wrestle-1; and tag team gold and tournament glory in AJPW, NOAH and Wrestle-1.
What makes Suzuki such an interesting wrestler is the wide variety of impressive moves he uses on a regular basis. Some of his crazy moves are the 450° splash, the Tiger Feint Kick (619), the poisoned Frankensteiner, the Widow’s Peak, and an Electric Chair Driver that resembles Kenny Omega’s One-Winged Angel.
Kotaru Suzuki has had many great matches during his career, making him someone you absolutely should check out.
#1 Dragon Kid
The man known as Dragon Kid might be on the downside of his career, but that doesn’t mean this man isn’t a fantastic cruiserweight wrestler.
Dragon Kid is literally a Japanese version of Rey Mysterio: they’re of the same height and weight, and both of them run around the ring like they’re wrestling on fast-forward mode. Watching Dragon Kid wrestle is a spectacle in itself; it doesn’t matter whom he’s facing because he’ll always steal the show.
Dragon Kid is the guy that defies gravity in so many impressive ways. He does Hurricanranas with multiple revolutions. He can run across the top rope with perfect balance. His finishing move is the always-beautiful Dragonrana. Words don’t do his awesomeness justice; Dragon Kid must be seen to be believed.
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