Jushin 'Thunder' Liger Confirmed for WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020

Japanese wrestling legend Jushin 'Thunder' Liger was confirmed for the WWE Hall of Fame on Monday, [...]

By Connor Casey

Japanese wrestling legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger was confirmed for the WWE Hall of Fame on Monday, joining Batista, The New World Order, John Bradshaw Layfied, The Bella Twins and The British Bulldog as part of the Class of 2020. Liger is best known for his run as the longest-tenured wrestler in New Japan Pro Wrestling history, competing in the company from 1984 all the way up to this past January at the Wrestle Kingdom 14 event. Regarded as one of the best junior heavyweights of all time, he held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship a record 11 times, successfully defending the championship on 31 occasions for a combined 2,245 days. He held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships six times and won the Best of Super Juniors tournament on three occasions.

Though he is recognized as a former WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, Liger's affiliation with the WWE is limited to one match at the Wrestling Summit event in 1990 (a cross-promotional event at the Tokyo Dome involving the WWF, All Japan and New Japan promotions) and a match with Tyler Breeze at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in 2015. American wrestling fans will know him best from his time in WCW, where he wrestled 52 matches from 1991-99.

"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," WWE wrote in its announcement regarding Liger. "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."

The announcement makes no mention of WrestleMania 36 and its related events, including the induction ceremony, possibly being postponed/canceled/rescheduled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Just like last Friday's SmackDown, this week's edition of Monday Night Raw will take place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with no fans in attendance. Edge, The Undertaker and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin are all scheduled to appear regardless.

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