Jushin Thunder Liger is one of the most legendary performers in the world of professional wrestling. The Japanese junior heavyweight, saddled with a gimmick in which he turned a forgettable anime character into a compelling, electric, flesh-and-blood superhero, had a glorious career that spanned more than 35 years.
He wrestled for worldwide institutions like New Japan Pro Wrestling, WCW, Ring of Honor, and NXT. He grappled with legends like Owen Hart, Big Van Vader, Sting, Rey Mysterio Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Eddie Guerrero, and Toru Yano.
And, in 2018, he added Frep the Fox, one of four (!) mascots of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, to the pile of bodies left in his wake.
Here’s the full clip, which went viral this week thanks in no small part to the swelling confluence of Wrestlemania and baseball seasons:
Jyushin Thunder Liger throws out the first pitch at a baseball game and ends up fighting one of the mascots! pic.twitter.com/TVio0eSlr7
— Ciarán (@CiaranRH93) April 9, 2022
Liger is a master technician and ring general. He is not a pitcher, and Frep does not take his brush-back attempt lightly. This is foolhardy, but not uncharacteristic for the young fox. His profile at the Mascots.Fandom wiki lists his strengths as “the place that is straight if I take it” and counts among his weaknesses “having a poor endgame, scatterbrain. Has a poor final smash.”
We get to see that all on display in 2018. His poor endgame is apparent his his decision to challenge an 11-time Junior Heavyweight Champion to battle. After a quick pat down from Hanshin mascot To-Lucky …
… battle is waged. Poor final smashes abound.
Liger easily absorbs Frep’s chops …
… then delivers his own that sends the young fox flying backward to the hard turf.
Does Liger take this opportunity to show mercy on the scatterbrained young mascot?
No, he does not. After stretching him with a surfboard, Liger puts him away with his Shotei Palm Strike:
Seconds later, To-Lucky is slapping down the familiar 1-2-3 Liger’s heard more than 2,300 times in his career.
Two years later, the Japanese legend would be inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame despite never working on a proper WWE show (not counting NXT). Was this because not even Vince McMahon could hold back the tide of history when it came to Liger’s undeniable resume? Or because he saw Liger absolutely ruin some poor young fox’s day before a random Nippon Professional Baseball game?
Honestly, both are good reasons.
