LogFAQs > #902526717

#53 - Ultimo Dragon Nominated by: GOGZero

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M_noF_meLo" data-time="

Dragon was, for a brief period of time, one of the coolest man on the planet in my estimation as a young child. Rewatching his work years later only serves to reinforce my perception that, while he wasn't high on my radar or formative to my wrestling experience, Ultimo Dragon was still one of the greatest workers of an era.

The story of Dragon is really interesting, especially considering how he originated his style. He thought that the Japanese style of wrestling was great, but Dragon was an innovator and he wanted to make it his own. Adding more to it would be better. He could add the American style, English, Lucha Libre, and Japanese style to seemingly make one super wrestler. He was taught his Japanese style of wrestling, and while in Japan, he was trained in martial arts by the legendary Bruce Lee. He was the last student Lee ever had, coincidentally. He added the martial arts style to his wrestling performance, and it seemed that once he started doing it, the trainers in Japan did the same. However, it was nothing near what Dragon would do. In the 80s when he was coming up, Dragon would shock and amaze with his Japanese performance. But, he always felt something was missing. So, he went to Mexico where he learned the Mexican style known as Lucha Libre. He seemed to transition into it quite well, and earned the name we know him as today, Ultimo Dragon.

Dragon was the first worker to really hybridize multiple styles, and it worked to such an extent that he was able to fit in with virtually any promotion. At the same time, promotions were working together in an unusual way in Japan, and this allowed Dragon to capture the J-Crown, a conglomeration of 8 titles. On top of that, Dragon also eventually claimed the WCW Cruiserweight Title and others, eventually reaching 11 concurrent title reigns with his J-Crown. In a way that's never been duplicated to such an extent since, Ultimo Dragon looked like the biggest name in a division. It was a decisive position - there was no one bigger or better than Dragon in the junior heavyweight world. For more, I still think of Ultimo Dragon as the be-all and end-all of a division. His work was phenomenal in ring, his performances always varied and new. On top of that, he had the kayfabe record to back up his style in such a way that no one would question the legacy of Ultimo Dragon.

And for a while, that J-Crown meant something to a young Scarletspeed7. Sure, other guys in WCW had a title (or sometimes two, like Lex Luger). But no one traveled around the entire world and showed just how dominant they could be. And for that, he captured my imagination and earned a high place on my life.
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