5 WWE Superstars you probably didn't know worked with NJPW

#1 Ric Flair

Ric Flair participated in the NJPW G1 Climax tournament in 1991

Ric Flair is truly an icon of the pro wrestling industry and the two-time WWE Hall Of Famer will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time.

While holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1991, Ric Flair made his first appearance for NJPW. In his debut match, Flair unsuccessfully defended the title against Tatsumi Fujinami--the IWGP Heavyweight Champion--in a title vs title match at WCW/New Japan Supershow.

Four months later, The Nature Boy made his next appearance for NJPW when he participated in the G1 Climax tournament. Flair, though, scored a win over Shiro Koshinaka and a draw against Masahiro Chono, he failed to advance further in the bracket.

Following this, Flair stayed absent from NJPW for about a year or so before making his return and unsuccessfully facing Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. With this loss, Flair wrapped up his NJPW career and continued working with WCW until the company ran out of business.

Flair made his return when WWE offered him a contract in 2001. In his first storyline, Flair played the role of co-owner of WWE as well, started a feud with Vince McMahon.