Minutes to Bell Time

                    I Draw Wrestlers: WWE Fails Japan

                    I Draw Wrestlers: WWE Fails Japan

                    I Draw Wrestlers: WWE Fails Japan

                    Contributor Chris Guest writes “I Draw Wrestlers: WWE Fails Japan?” Each week Chris will discuss a topic, and do a drawing that represents that subject matter. This is all posted to his You Tube channel (embedded video below), but we’ve reproduced it here in written form. He would love to hear your reviews on the artwork he produces. If you draw, send him a link through the comments on his You Tube Channel .  The best way to support him is by subscribing to his You Tube channel and connecting with him on Instagram at @IdrawWrestlers. 

                    Kairi Sane

                    With news from the Wrestling Observer that Kairi Sane has left the WWE to return to Japan, you can’t help but wonder that if she had been treated more seriously on the roster, and Nia Jax hadn’t decided to use her as a personal punching bag, she might have felt differently about staying.

                    Yokozuna

                    WWE doesn’t do well with Japanese stars, and throughout their history they have struggled to get over any Japanese wrestler on the main roster as a world champions, and at worst portrayed them as racist stereotypes.  Yes  – people may reference Yokozuna, but he was about as Japanese as well err …  A Samoan – and the fact that he was portrayed as a Sumo, kind of sums up my point.

                    NXT and Asuka

                    Let’s start where all good things begin in WWE and that’s inevitably NXT. HHH and William Regal just get how to use Japanese wrestlers. Their formula works: book them strong, don’t give them a lot of mic time (unless they are confident in speaking English), and let the work get over with the fans. They do it time and time again with the Japanese talent in NXT. They’re doing it now with their current champion Io Shirai

                    When Asuka arrived, WWE instantly treated her as a big deal. She didn’t lose and the commentary team pushed her.  Asuka looked great establishing herself as a no nonsense wrestler with fans. It allowed the company to have a star attraction ushering in the second wave of  the NXT female wrestlers after the void left by Charlotte Flair and the gang that left for the main roster.

                    When called up to the main roster, WWE instantly crushed Asuka on the grandest stage of them all. The Charlotte bandwagon rolled in, and poor Asuka never recovered. Gone was her winning streak. Her aura was destroyed. Even worse, she was given very little time on screen to establish herself with fans that largely hadn’t seen her before. I got into Asuka’s treatment as champion in our last video about Charlotte, but my view still stands she has  looked weak from the moment Becky gave her the title.

                    Managers

                    Establishing Japanese stars shouldn’t be hard, but Vince seems incapable of getting these stars over. They could easily just copy HHH’s formula over in NXT, which would be the path of least resistance.  But say they wanted to develop their character more and felt just having in ring matches wouldn’t be enough well here’s an idea – give them a good manager! Managers in the 80s and early 90s were used to good effect to get stars over who found it difficult or were unable to communicate effectively with the audience. Think of the best managers they were great communicators, Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman, Jimmy Hart. All known for their verbal skills and their ability to make their talent look good.

                    We see more managers recently with the likes of MVP and Zelina Vega. Japanese stars with phenomenal in ring talent that struggle to communicate should get a manager straight away. And by manager, I don’t mean Paige!

                    Failing that: there’s no reason Japanese wrestlers have to talk live and they could easily record vignettes that had subtitles for the audience to read. That way you would get their passion and it would separate them from the crowd, instantly making them appeal to fans.

                    Back to Kairi Sane

                    Seeing the treatment of other Japanese wrestlers, the pirate princess should have known how the story would go for her on the main roster, but I doubt she thought it would have been this bad.

                    As a natural babyface, Kairi Sane’s facials draw sympathy. Her fan pleasing insane elbow finisher makes Kairi easy to cheer. Why on earth did WWE turn her heel? She possesses so much talent that even after WWE stripped her of her gimmick and changed her heel, she still managed to get over.

                    Kenta

                    Perhaps along with being with her husband back in Japan, Kairi Sane realizes she will be treated properly back in her homeland of Japan. Kenta (formerly Hideo Itami in NXT) did exactly the same thing. Robbed of his move set by CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and with a whole host of injuries, no wonder Kenta asked for his release. Just look at the difference now. He sits firmly in the Bullet Club as one of their key players. Taken seriously in New Japan, Kenta now has the star power that he should have always had in the WWE.

                    Tozawa

                    Poor treatment of Japanese stars has continued. The use of Akira Tozawa is appalling. WWE’s thought process seems to be “Japanese wrestler must either be a ninja, sumo, and preferably hate the United States.” The fact that they use this to get laughs from the viewer is even worse! Why not go the whole hog and have an evil Japanese manager carrying the Japanese flag and a bucket of salt? There is no excuse for it in modern wrestling and shows that the only thing more stale and repugnant than the WWE’s in ring product is their outdated and out of touch views on race.

                    But what choice does Tozawa really have? Sure he could object, but I doubt that would go down well, and given that the attention he is receiving now probably feels he can’t rock the boat without ruining his standing with the company. It’s a sad situation.

                    Shinsuke Nakamura

                    Nakumura was another star of NXT, who can forget his match with Sami Zayn? It was brilliant and probably one of the best matches of that year. This built onto Nakamura’s legendary status even if you haven’t seen his stellar matches with AJ Styles in New Japan.

                    The best Shinsuke Nakamura has been on the main roster is when he faced AJ styles and poked fun at the prejudice shown to foreigners, when he said “Me no speak English.” Whoever thought of that in the WWE should have been given Nakamura to work with permanently as the irony was brilliant!

                    Some criticize Nakamura as lazy, that he never reached the heights of his new japan career, but given so little and treated like an after thought would any of us be motivated to work harder?

                    I wouldn’t blame any Japanese talent for leaving the WWE, but what do you think?

                    I Draw Wrestlers: WWE Fails Japan

                    Did You Enjoy this Article? Check Out the Rest of the Series

                    Share this: