Hansen was the mountain the "Four Pillars of Heaven" (Misawa, Kawada, Taue & Kobashi, and even Akiyama later) had to climb in order to secure their position at the top of All Japan in the 1990's, especially since Jumbo Tsuruta had to step away from the main-event scene due to his Hepatitis (and also due to Genichiro Tenryu's exit from the company at the beginning of the decade). Zack, like Hansen, is a respected and beloved "gaijin" that is/will be the primary foe of the younger generation (Umino, Tsuji, Narita, Uemura, Kidd, even Oiwa someday), the one they will need to overcome to secure their spots at the top of NJPW just as the Pillars did in AJPW.
Now, is there a possibility that Zack could sign an AEW contract one day? Sure, but I think there's an even (if not more so) likelihood that he becomes the "gaijin who stayed" in NJPW just as Hansen was in AJPW.
by MrPuroresu42