10 best Japanese wrestlers who were wasted in the US

#2 Toshiaki Kawada

Kawada's time in America was so difficult for him he has rarely talked about it at all

Toshiaki Kawada is known by many wrestling fans as one of the most dangerous strikers in wrestling history. His kicks, in particular, were notoriously stiff, which helped him develop an aura of danger and drama. Through all of this, Kawada became one of the best wrestlers ever, with an extensive catalogue of outstanding matches (including the first-ever 6-star match).

Sadly, all of these great things about Kawada and his matches relate to his time in Japan, and not in the United States. That’s because Kawada had several negative experiences while wrestling in both Canada and the U.S.

He wasn’t booked very well in the few promotions that actually did use him, he wasn’t paid very well, and from the accounts of the wrestlers that did know him, he was having a hard time accepting that he didn’t have the best look and that was working against him, no matter what he did.

As a result, Kawada hasn’t spoken very highly of his time abroad and was more than happy to return to Japan after his learning excursion ended. This is disappointing, given that Kawada would go on to become one of the famed Four Pillars of Heaven only a few short years after this excursion ended.