The international talent pool of wrestlers all over the world has performers of different styles. Japanese wrestlers have the style of typically working stiffer to make it a more athletic based form of storytelling. The Mexican wrestling world sees lucha libre matches of the masked performers flying all over the ring with grace and agility. Other countries have their own style before talents start performing in WWE and having to adapt to the new surroundings.
We will look at some of the foreign talents that fans have forgotten were in the WWE landscape. Many of these wrestlers had high hopes from management with the belief they would become major stars. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out too well as they did not create special legacies that are remembered fondly by WWE fans today. The fault bounces back and forth between the booking and the talent. Find out just which international stars flew under the radar with ten foreign WWE stars we forgot about.
10 Hakushi
The WWE run of Hakushi featured him having a strange presentation due to his Japanese background. WWE made him weird body paint that looked like tattoos of various Japanese symbols that most Americans couldn’t understand.
Hakushi did have a solid run thanks to his matches with Bret Hart after Hart was already established as a top star. Despite the impressive work against Bret, WWE never pushed Hakushi as a relevant player. Most fans have little to no memory of his time in the New Generation Era.
9 Vladimir Kozlov
WWE signed Vladimir Kozlov from the Ukraine due to his impressive size and intimidating look. The early run of Kozlov on the main roster would see him develop a short unbeaten streak before moving into the main event picture.
Kozlov struggled in WWE Championship matches involving big stars like Triple H and Jeff Hardy. WWE eventually bailed on the idea of him as a top heel and moved him into a comedic tag team with Santino. The run of Kozlov turned into a big disappointment for all involved.
8 Ludvig Borga
Ludvig Borga was signed by WWE out of Finland following runs in UWF and New Japan early in his career. The run in WWE would see him play an anti-American heel character trying to get easy heel heat by insulting United States residents.
Borga struggled to get over as his overall work didn’t compare to the bigger names on the roster. WWE tried to push him harder by ending Tatanka’s undefeated streak and entering a feud with top star Lex Luger. Nothing worked as Borga could not gain momentum before an injury ended his WWE run.
7 Essa Rios
WWE tried copying the WCW blueprint of building their light heavyweight division meant to be a better version of WCW’s cruiserweight division. Various luchadors from Mexico like Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera, and Psychosis broke out in WCW.
Fellow Mexican star Essa Rios was signed by WWE with the company having high expectations for him in the light heavyweight division. Fans ended up liking his manager Lita more than him as the star of the act. Rios worked in the lower card until his eventual WWE release.
6 Ezekiel Jackson
The jacked physique of Ezekiel Jackson made him a top prospect for WWE in developmental and during his time on the main roster. Jackson hailed from Guyana as one of the first West Indian wrestlers in WWE history.
One noteworthy accomplishment from Jackson was that he was the final ECW Champion defeating Christian before the brand ended under WWE’s watch. Jackson even won the Intercontinental Championship, but nothing convinced fans to believe in him. The flaws exposed Zeke to end his WWE run in disappointment.
5 Nathan Jones
WWE invested a lot of time and money into the career of Nathan Jones. The Australian prospect had an intimidating presence, a great look, natural charisma, and huge potential. WWE paired Jones with The Undertaker in a short-term tag team that ended without a huge payoff.
Jones returned later as a heel aligned with Brock Lesnar’s entourage of monsters. Neither run would give Jones the momentum needed to have a bigger role on the show. WWE eventually cut bait after realizing they’d never have the star power they expected from Jones.
4 Ultimo Dragon
One of the most underrated cruiserweights from WCW was Ultimo Dragon. Many fans forget him since he didn’t rise to WWE main event success like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, and Eddie Guerrero. Dragon did have a forgettable stint in WWE that failed horribly.
WWE hoped that the success of Mysterio as a masked superstar would translate to Dragon and potentially others. Fans never gravitated towards Dragon in WWE and the use of him was quite pointless. Dragon is barely remembered for his WWE run, but the Japanese star still had a superb career.
3 Justin Gabriel
Nexus would introduce quite a few young talents to the WWE world. Justin Gabriel was one of the most exciting stars in the faction with an in-ring style that consisted of many aerial moves. Fans would often cheer Gabriel when he went to the top rope even though he was a heel.
The end of Nexus would see Gabriel struggle to break out on his own as a singles star. WWE barely gave him television time to showcase any character depth or gain buzz among the fans. The South African background of Gabriel could have given WWE another market to tap into, but it wasn’t meant to be.
2 Kenzo Suzuki
WWE signed Kenzo Suzuki as a Japanese star with the hopes of getting him over as a heel. The gimmick of Suzuki was a sexist anti-American that mistreated his valet and insulted the United States fans at most live events.
Suzuki even formed an anti-American team with French-Canadian Rene Dupree on the Smackdown brand. Both men feuded with John Cena in the United States Championship picture, but Suzuki could not break out. He’s lucky if any fans remember him today based on that run.
1 Savio Vega
The signing of Savio Vega by WWE gave them a talented international star making his first major run in the United States scene. Vega was a rising star in Puerto Rico as a draw for the shows that frequently ran there.
The WWE run would see him have great matches against Steve Austin was one of the most consistent mid-carders of the New Generation Era. Vega represented the Puerto Rico background with pride during the face. A heel turn would just cause him to lose momentum before getting released during the early stages of the Attitude Era.