Trained by Karl Gotch, Akira Maeda definitely seemed to have the intention to change the world of Professional Wrestling.  Maeda disliked the worked style of wrestling and sought to bring a more realistic style to the ring.  Maeda was a big part of the origin of three pseudo shoot promotions in Japan (UFI, UWFI and RINGS) and was himself a big draw in Japan and used his excellent ring work to inspire a new generation of wrestlers and wrestling fans.  Maeda may have loved shooting too much as his actions against Andre the Giant, Riki Choshu & Satoru Sayama are legendary.  Still, he did have a run with the WWE in 1984, so he is not an unknown to WWE brass.