DanBaltar wrote:
Raw was terrible last night. The crowd sucked and Lord Tensai just sucks in general. Don't give a shit what Albert has been doing in Japan, it's what I see now that counts.
I was having a discussion with someone about this yesterday. I think it's almost impossible to be a big star in Japan and in WWE. It's been done but by very few people. The two are just so different that it's almost not even the same sport/brand of entertainment.
The fans of each are looking for different things. In America if you look like a body builder and you can cut a good promo then you're over. Whereas in Japan it's more about giving the impression that you're a tough guy and being able to hit people really hard. The two styles are just drastically different. So it's hard for people to go back and forth because what works in Japan doesn't work in America and what works in America would make you look silly in Japan.
Also, and this has nothing to do with Albert, the fans in Japan are more respectful. The big name Japanese guys have been around for a while. The fans have seen them go from a total nobody to a big star and therefore they feel connected to them. So by the time a guy in Japan has been around 20 years he's got fans who have followed him for 20 years. They've grown up with that wrestler and they love them unconditionally.
Most American wrestlers don't take that kind of path, at least not that most people are aware of. You never see a guy go from jobber to main event just as a part of the WWE. At least not in this day and age. Therefore American fans have much more of a "what have you done for me lately?" point of view. When a guy has been around 20 years the fans think "this guy is old, he should get out of the way so someone new can take his spot."