The influence of manga and anime in pro wrestling

Manga and anime are closely tied to professional wrestling, as the performers themselves often channel characters from these forms of art.

Full disclosure: I have been reading manga and watching anime for about 25 of my 31 years. I mean, just look at this list of manga I’m currently reading (and for most, watching their accompanying anime series); these don’t include series I’ve finished reading/watching, like Full Metal Alchemist or Bleach. For this piece, I will focus on the influence of manga/anime in pro wrestling in the United States, but give a little background with manga/anime and pro wrestling in Japan to set context.

Unlike the US, where comics have traditionally been more of a niche culture (though the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may upend this), manga have and are crucial elements of Japanese culture. Also, unlike the US, pro wrestling has long-held a popular space in Japanese culture. As noted here, the first nationally televised broadcast in Japan in 1954 was of pro wrestling with the legendary Rikidozan; look at all those people gathered around a tiny TV!

Rikidozan is hailed by many as the first national hero in Japan post-World War II, so much so that further down the same article, it’s noted how the iconic image of Rikidozan with his championship belt finds its way into anime. He also trained the legendary Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba.

Anime has also birthed two real-life legendary wrestling characters in Tiger Mask and Jyushin Thunder Liger, not to mention the latter’s Shooting Star Press was influenced by the series Fist of the North Star.

Thanks to the Tiger Mask W series (which debuted 2016, but not to be confused with previous versions), stars from New Japan Pro Wrestling are finding their animated versions competing with or against the legendary Tiger Mask, including Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and Tama Tonga. Captain of the “I’ll slap your head off” team, Minoru Suzuki, is even immortalized in the iconic manga/anime series One Piece (though I’m not a fan of the series).

Particularly with the current generations of pro wrestlers in the US, manga/anime and Japanese culture writ-large are very popular. Sasha Banks loves Sailor Moon (who doesn’t?); Dio Maddin’s entire existence seems to hinge on LARPing his favorite anime and video games (just scroll through his timeline), and his handle is “GREATBLACKOTAKU” (“otaku” basically being an overly obsessive stan for manga/anime); and even John Cena loves “Japanimation,” particularly Fist of the North Star (just like Liger). I mean, even Japanese media is looking at New Japan parent company Bushiroad Inc. as picking up on the coattails of manga/anime in “exporting” Japanese puroresu (and Japanese culture) to the West, particularly the US. It’s hard to argue with this last point.

Moving to the US, there have been a lot of wrestlers who channeled American comics and video games in their gear or characters, but again, I’m focusing on manga/anime. In that vein, I’m going to highlight a few wrestlers/groups and posit some crossovers I would like to see in the future.

Side note: it’s not just pro wrestling. Roxanne Modafferi, UFC flyweight contender, routinely weighs in donning a wig based on Dragon Ball characters (look at the other cosplay in that last picture). Modafferi loves anime, as further evidenced in this interview.

Further, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya set Twitter ablaze with his entrance for his title-winning fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. Adesanya, a big fan of Naruto, is also known for doing the hand signs from the show for a “Summoning Jutsu,” as well as writing the names of his opponents into his metaphorical “Death Note,” based on the anime. The 243 entrance included a nod to Rock Lee, who we’ll see later on:

Now, back to pro wrestling.

First, let’s start with The New Day. Everyone knows they love anime (Big E’s Twitter used to say “ShinigamE,” a play off “shinigami” from Bleach, or “soul reaper/death god”). Xavier Woods not only has his video game channel, UpUpDownDown, where he plays many Japanese video games, but he is also set to host this year’s Crunchyroll Anime Awards on Feb. 15. Kofi Kingston doesn’t seem as big into it as his partners, but I mean, that WrestleMania entrance is one for the ages.

Just in case you didn’t know, they’re wearing Saiyan battle armor from maybe the most iconic of all manga/anime, the Dragon Ball series. Woods is such a fan of the series he posted a video at his excitement over a set of Dragon Ball shoes.

Speaking of Dragon Ball, multiple wrestlers have created gear resembling Goku’s main garb. Recent AEW signee, Shanna, has competed in Goku-inspired gear for other promotions, but has recently employed the gear in AEW. Also, “Super” ACH had a Goku-inspired shirt and gear he would wear to the ring before he had signed with NXT.

ACH is also a HUGE anime fan. Besides the aforementioned shirt, he has worn a vest that is eerily similar to those worn by the Chunin and Jonin level ninja in Naruto. Also, he competes with his right thigh taped, an homage to the best taijutsu (hand-to-hand) combat specialist in Naruto, Rock Lee:

Kenny Omega operates a unique space in this discussion: he competed in Japan for years and speaks the language fluently. He loves gaming, routinely whooping fools in his favored Street Fighter to the point he co-hosted the Capcom Cup in 2019. At Fyter Fest, he and the Young Bucks donned the iconic attire of Akuma, Ryu, and Ken:

He also donned Sword Art Online-inspired attire when he faced Chris Jericho in the main event of Double or Nothing. It’s probably safe to say we will see some more anime or Japanese video game-inspired looks from Omega.

The most popular manga/anime series in recent years is My Hero Academia, and it’s not surprising to see wrestlers also channel the hit. A couple of years ago, Leva Bates defended her Heavy on Wrestling title while wearing the training outfit of students at UA High School in the show.

Ricochet, however, may be the biggest, unabashed fan of the series among pro wrestlers. He posted his copy of the video game between figurines of Deku and All Might; his copy of Deku’s provisional hero license; and him wearing a new shirt with Deku and All Might, all within a couple of weeks!

However, his gear for Crown Jewel takes the championship (so to speak). His gear was a complete replica of All Might’s hero outfit (except the long, weird blonde hair). Just look at the comparison photos:

With that covered, here are a few crossovers I would like to see in the future.

First, I think Ember Moon wearing gear inspired by Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan would be superb. Moon already uses brown with other colors for her gear, which fits perfectly with the standard Survey Corps garb. The red scarf of Mikasa would be a fine compliment to the color in Moon’s hair. Further, while her “War Goddess” character’s gear seems apt for God of War, it never really connected with fans (partly because we don’t know who Moon is yet).

We know she’s a gamer and fan of Japanese culture (remember when Sonya Deville smashed Moon’s Nintendo Switch?). Not only would this crossover give her a new look when she returns from her Achilles injury, but I think channeling the most ferocious fighter from the series (and maybe coming out with faux-iron bamboo swords) would make us more believe in her character as both a “War Goddess” and an otaku gamer. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?

Next, I would like to see The Elite (well, maybe not “Hangman” Page) to dress as various captains from the Gotei 13 in Bleach. Omega could be Hirako Shinji, the Bucks the duo of Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro, and Cody could be Hitsugaya Toshiro. Bleach was hailed as one of the “big three” during its time along with Naruto and One Piece, so the popularity and nostalgia are there. The chances of this happening, especially all four together, are probably non-existent, but one could hope, right?

Lastly, I would like to see the “Pirate Princess” Kairi Sane done some Monkey D. Luffy-inspired attire. This is purely based on Sane’s competitive yachting experience, and unlike Rodney Ruxin declaring everything “Forever unclean!,” Sane will be “Forever adorable!” I mean, of course she could rock a straw hat and red button up while wearing jeans and slippers. Further, she could definitely still beat her opponents while looking like the “Straw Hat” pirate.

I know I didn’t cover everyone, but what I did cover shows that manga/anime are becoming more popular in the US, influencing even professional wrestling. I, for one, am looking to more crossover looks from wrestlers, especially knowing so many also enjoy Japanese culture. What are some of your favorite, and what inspired looks do you want to see?