7. Funaki
Funaki is probably one of the last names anyone would have expected to see on this list, and the reality is SmackDown’s Number One Announcer is actually a close friend of more than one major WWE superstar. In addition to “Stone Cold,” Funaki is also good friends with Shawn Michaels, as all three of them live relatively near one another in Texas. There were even reports that Funaki purchased a ranch directly next to Austin’s due to this friendship, although those rumors have long remained unconfirmed. What is pretty clear, though, is that the longest tenured WWE employee out of Kai En Tai at least has a few friends in high places, said long tenure is in anyway indicative of things.
Kai En Tai debuted for WWE in 1998 as a six-member collective, that was quickly whittled down only to Funaki and his tag team partner Taka Michinoku. The duo remained lower card comedy characters for many years until Funaki found his calling as a broadcaster, a position he still holds in WWE today, calling the Japanese commentary for Pay-Per-View and WWE Network events. While the other members of Kai En Tai left for a variety of reasons, including travel and an inability to adapt to an American style of wrestling, Funaki’s friendships with Austin and Michaels could definitely be a reason he’s stuck around for as long as he has. Indeed.
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