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| Shinya Hashimoto: IWGP Legend |
I have a confession to make. As a young wrestling fan, I was not a huge fan of the heavyweights from Japan. Hashimoto, Chono, Hase, Muta never intrigued me. The juniors, on the other hand, changed what I wanted out of pro wrestling and in many ways changed how I watched it. (And trust me when I tell you this, there will be a huge appreciation post on the New Japan Juniors coming soon. Liger, Kanemoto, Ohtani, even................ Kendo Kashin, who i think no one likes.)
But when i was a young wrestling fan, I thought like a child. Not to say that there's not a place for the kind of junior pyrotechnics that i remember, and still love, but more that there's something more there, and there should be. And what did i discover as an adult? That the New Japan heavyweights were kind of awesome, and they were the reason why New Japan during Hash's prime was one of the most complete promotions ever.
If you needed excitement, top-level matwork, and some pretty bananas high-flying, the juniors were going to give it to you. If you needed pathos, stiffness, and the kind of "epics" so many people try to pursue but can't come close to, the heavyweights were going to give to you. While Hase was the technician, and Chono the hard-luck "almost" champion, Hashimoto was the king. He was the standard-bearer everyone pursued. And I will freely admit that I feel bad for not realizing how awesome he was earlier. And hopefully, his son Daichi can keep that legacy alive. It's not the legacy of the Von Erichs, the Harts, or even the Guerreros. But it is a legacy nonetheless.
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