The New Japan Juniors 1990-1999 Pt. 1: Jushin "Thunder" Liger

If you're going to write a multi-part tribute to the finest era of junior heavyweight wrestling that has existed anywhere in the world, which was 1990-to-2000 in New Japan, there really isn't a better place for anyone to start than with the man who was, and still remains this in some ways now, the personification of what the junior heavyweight ace is supposed to be. We're starting with the king, the gold standard, the guy who is to junior heavyweight wrestling what the 4 Corners of Heaven are to heavyweight wrestling: Jushin "Thunder" Liger.

Now to be fair, the title up there and the first paragraph might very well give you a very real expectation that somehow the junior heavyweight division of New Japan just sort of went into thin air in 2000. It didn't. Right now, Prince Devitt is doing some good work as is matinee-idol in training Kota Ibushi and a lot of other people. But when I, and the people who love this era, talk about the New Japan Juniors we mean the Liger, Kanemoto, El Samurai, Pegasus Kid, Shinjiro Ohtani, and Great Sasuke era. That's the era everyone means, and that's the era I'm talking about here.


It's difficult as a non-wrestler to explain why you should appreciate Liger. There aren't too many things that I, as a wrestling fan, can tell you that you probably aren't already aware of. I can only get ever so close to explaining what made him as influential as he was to every young wrestler. I mean, I could try but it'd be lying.

So instead, I'll hit this from a different angle. I'll try and explain to you what he was to me as a fan. He was like watching something brand-new. To you young people watching this who grew up with the Internet and being able to see every wrestler you wanted, whenever you wanted, you might have in some ways missed this phenomenon.

There are no words that can explain what it was like, the feeling of supreme joy that came through you when you suddenly turned on TBS and saw Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura telling you about this new awesome guy that you just had to see.That's what Liger was. Explaining his arrival in America, and how many wrestlers and people he influenced, is as simple as saying this: If you weren't there when it was happening, nothing that i can ever say would ever be able to do it justice.

This is just the beginning. Next up: Koji Kanemoto.