Many Japanese wrestlers learned early in their career in Mexico, but it was Hiroaki Hamada who first embraced Lucha Lubre, and created a unique style all his own.

Hamada wrestled more in Mexico in Japan, and would even marry a Mexican woman, and they had two daughters who would also wrestle professionally, mostly in Mexico.  He won multiple titles in Mexico and Japan, and even ventured into the United States on occasion, winning the NWA Americas Title in Los Angeles in 1981.  

Hamada was a near top guy for decades and although he never wrestled for the WWE, in terms of influence, we will argue that he is the most underrated performer of all-time.

There was a time when Dez Bryant was in the conversation as the best Wide Receiver in the National Football League.

A native Texan, Bryant played his college ball at Oklahoma State, and he was a First Rounder in 2010, returning to Texas to play for the Dallas Cowboys.  An All-Rookie with 561 Yards, Bryant broke out in 2012 with 1,382 Receiving Yards and 12 Touchdowns.  He would have at least 1,200 Yards in the next two years, with both campaigns earning a spot in the Pro Bowl, and in 2014 he was a First Team All-Pro and the league-leader in Receiving Touchdowns with 16.

The Wide Receiver began to suffer injuries and his four-digit yardage days were over.  Bryant played three more seasons with Dallas but was unable to land with any other squad for two years, save for a brief comeback with Baltimore in 2020.

He would leave the NFL with good overall numbers, 7,506 Yards, and 75 Touchdowns, but Bryant's career feels like more of "what could have been."

The process continues.

We here are Notinhalloffame.com have plans to create our own set of post-season awards, which we will look back and retroactively present from 1901 on.  That will take a while, but it has never stopped us before!

Our awards are not be league specific.

The first award that we will be giving out is the most important, the MVP, and who else could it be?  It is Los Angeles Angels, Pitcher and Designated Hitter, Shohei Ohtani, who was also the winner of the inaugural NIHOF Baseball Cup.

Not since Babe Ruth, have we ever seen a dominant hitter who was an upper-echelon Pitcher.  On the mound, Ohtani was the ace of the Angels staff, posting a 9-2 record with a 3.18 ERA, 156 Strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.090 over 130.1 Innings.  

Ohtani’s bat was nothing short of electric in 2021.  The native of Japan smacked 46 Home Runs, 100 RBI, and had a Slash Line of .257/.372/.592.  He led the American League in Triples (8) and Power/Speed # (33.2), while also finishing first in the AL in bWAR (9.0) and Win Probability Added (5.1).

Congratulations to Shohei Ohtani for becoming our first ever announced MVP.

The trophy is in our home office of Speightstown, Barbados and is wating for you!

Pre-2021-22 Rank: #47, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #43, Pre-2023-24: #40

Peak Period: From 2016-17 to 2023-24.

Every team wants a player like Jrue Holiday.

Jrue Holiday was an All-Star in 2013 (his last season in Philadelphia), and it took another ten, which coincidentally was his last year in Milwaukee, to earn a second trip.  In between, Holiday joined a particular group that won an NBA Championship (with Milwaukee) and an Olympic Gold Medal (with the United States) in the same year.  

How do you top that?

You do it again.

Last season, his first in Boston, Holiday played a substantial role in the Celtic’s record-breaking 18^th Title, and months later, he again won Gold for the United States. 

Holiday may never be a superstar, but he is one of the most coveted roster players of the last ten years.  That could be worth a look from the powers that be in Springfield.