WWE has confirmed the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame: Class of 2020.
Jushin “Thunder” Liger, the Japanese wrestling legend whose career spanned over 35 years before retiring at Night Two of Wrestle Kingdom 14, will join the Batista, the nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman), The Bella Twins, “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, and JBL in the Hall of Fame.
Excerpt from WWE’s write up about Jushin “Thunder” Liger’s career below:
The masked marvel emerged in Japan in the late 1980s, enchanting fans from the moment he emerged from the curtain, clad in a dazzling red-and-white body suit and a striking mask with three protruding horns. But as impressive as he was on first glance, Liger was even more remarkable once the bell rang. Inside the ring, Liger was an innovator in every sense of the word. His high-flying, hard-hitting style has influenced generations of competitors, and is credited as the inventor of the Shooting Star Press.
Liger made his way to the United States in 1991, arriving in WCW and engaging in an epic rivalry with Brian Pillman over the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship, the precursor to the Cruiserweight Title. Liger and Pillman’s incredible bouts are still talked about to this day as some of the most influential in sports-entertainment history.
Liger appeared for WCW sporadically throughout the 1990s, taking on competitors like Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko. Meanwhile, in his home country of Japan, he established himself as one of the greatest competitors of all time, becoming an 11-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, even after a brain tumor almost took his life. He went nearly four decades without competing in a WWE ring, until he made his WWE debut at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in 2015, defeating Tyler Breeze in a battle that brought the NXT Universe to its feet.
This year’s Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 2 from the Amalie Center in Tampa, Florida. Whether that event actually takes place from there, rescheduled, or relocated remains to be seen as the world deals with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.