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Former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. feels Vince McMahon possibly did not push Japanese wrestlers because of his cultural ignorance.
Over the last few years, several Japanese wrestlers in WWE have become fan favorites, including the likes of Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Kairi Sane, to name a few. The former has seemingly been, by far, the most successful Japanese star, having won multiple women's titles in the promotion.
On his Wrestling with Freddie podcast, Freddie Prinze Jr. was asked by co-host Jeff Dye why Japanese superstars weren't successful in the Stamford-based company in the past.
"So it's just a cultural ignorance, man. Vince always felt - and this is public - if English isn't their first language, the American fan is always going to look at them as a heel and if they're a baby face, they're going to look at that - he wanted them to be like funny and goofy. I think that's why. There was a lot of like goofy Mr. Moto when it came to Japanese wrestlers over here," said the former writer. [From 16:29 to 16:54]
Triple H, McMahon's successor as the creative head, pushed several Japanese athletes when he was in charge of NXT. Nakamura, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Iyo Sky (fka Io Shirai) were all prominently featured on the former black-and-gold brand.
Vince McMahon once almost got sued by the Japanese royal family over a WWE storyline
Dan Madigan, who previously wrote for WWE, recently revealed that McMahon had to cancel plans for a storyline as the Royal Family of Japan threatened to sue him.
"I’ll tell you what’s going on. Apparently the Japanese royal family’s p****d off at us. They’re gonna sue us and kick our boys out of Japan (…) They watch wrestling and they’re f**king mad at us,” said McMahon to Madigan.
The aforementioned storyline was discussed in the early 2000s, featuring a character named Hirohito, a relative of the Emperor of Japan. However, the angle was scrapped, and the gimmick never made it to the company's programming.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Wrestling with Freddie and H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription.
