Wang Jinrei

Wang Jinrei (simplified Chinese: 王惊雷; traditional Chinese: 王驚雷; pinyin: Wáng Jīngléi • ワン・ジンレイ (Japanese: Wan Jinrei))^[a] is a character in the Tekken fighting game series of Bandai Namco Entertainment. He is the best friend of Jinpachi Mishima, the founder of the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Wang is a distant ancestor, or fondly called a "grandfather" to Ling Xiaoyu, one of the main characters in Tekken.^[1] Wang, being the oldest character in the series serves a mentor role to Xiaoyu and to Lee Chaolan, another Chinese tournament fighter who migrated to Japan and was even adopted into the Mishima family by the tournament host Heihachi Mishima.^[2] He is considered a notable fan favorite among the characters in the series.^[3] Because in part, Wang has been credited with helping to popularize internal martial arts practice through the medium of action video games, and due to his portrayal of older martial arts masters crossing from action cinema to gaming.^[4][5][6] His gameplay notably features motion capture of uniquely short but explosive blows and grappling techniques, which is a product of Wang's mastery of Xingyiquan ("Form-Intention"), specifically the variant preserved by Hui Muslims in Luoyang, China.^[7]

The Tekken team wanted to add a character who represented the old master in martial arts found in popular movies, particularly films including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.^[8] Wang was presented as an old hermit who would reside around the Mishima Zaibatsu estate to visit Jinpachi Mishima before the events of Tekken unfolded.^[9] His native home is found somewhere in Fujian Province as revealed in Tekken 6.^[10] He was featured with his accompanying theme song composed by Yoshie Arakawa in Tekken 2 which was accompanied with Chinese guqins and pipas at the Szechwan mountains stage.^[11]

His character has been compared to Master Roshi in the manga Dragon Ball, due to the wisdom and age of both characters, as well as the comedic aspect of Wang's eccentric fondness for women in the same manner as Master Roshi.^[12] This is seen in Tekken 5 and revised in Tekken 6, when he exhibits the same eccentric tendencies as Master Roshi in the pre-fight intro taunt.^[12] Wang's character was best friends with Jinpachi, and the two often would drink tea, baijiu, or sake as their favorite pastime besides martial arts training. This friendship is first seen in Tekken 2 and later explored in Tekken 5.^[13]

In the first Tekken game, Wang debuts as a veteran fighter in the first game. Jinrei is a known master of Xingyiquan or Shinirokugo-ken and the best friend to Jinpachi Mishima, the grandfather of the protagonist Kazuya Mishima.^[14] When Heihachi, the son of Jinpachi overthrew his father in a coup and locked him under a temple for the next few decades, Wang put his trust on Heihachi without knowing about Jinpachi's whereabouts. Out of suspicion he joins the King of Iron Fist Tournament hosted by Heihachi, but continues to watch over him and the family.^[15] At the end of the tournament Jinrei reaches a draw with Marshall Law and is thus eliminated from the tournament.^[16]

In the second tournament, Kazuya defeated his father and threw him into a ravine. Kazuya then uses the corporation's resources for nefarious deeds similar to his father, then hosts the 2nd King of Iron Fist Tournament using the Devil Gene. Wrapped up in the wishes of Jinpachi, who desires to end the Mishima bloodline, Wang decided to join the second King of Iron Fist tournament to stop Kazuya Mishima. He is then defeated by Jun Kazama, the eventual partner of Kazuya.^[17][18]

Wang does not appear in Tekken 3. However, his moves, particularly the vaunted Dragon Power Punch and Waning Moon throw are possessed by Ancient Ogre, the final boss of the game, who is able to copy the moves of other fighters.

Wang would return again in Tekken 5 for the 5th King of Iron Fist Tournament, after learning of Jinpachi's sudden return. Wang was living in isolation when he received a letter stating that Jinpachi needed his help. Wang ends up defeating the Chinese renegade fighter Feng Wei, who was introduced in Tekken 5 with a prologue stating that he murdered his own master, who happened to be a good friend of Wang. Wang then humiliates Feng and teaches him to train harder, which causes Feng to bow down to Wang.^[19][20] However, Wang would go on to lose to Jin Kazama, the son of Kazuya who defeated his great grandfather Jinpachi. Nevertheless, if the player wins the tournament with Wang, the ending cutscene shows Wang holding Jinpachi, and asks, "Jinpachi, are you ok?" Jinpachi replies, "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble..." Jinpachi then turns to dust and a shooting star flies across the sky. The ending has been regarded as one of the best Tekken endings in the series.^[21]

In Tekken 6 Wang, already aged 105 years old, would take part once more in the King of Iron Fist Tournament to stop the Mishima Zaibatsu, which was already being controlled by Jin Kazama, who after defeating Jinpachi plunged the world into a third world war.^[22] In the main storyline or Scenario Campaign, the protagonist Lars Alexanderson meets Wang at his tulou neighborhood in Fujian Province to find out the secrets of the Zaibatsu.^[23]

Wang Jinrei is playable in Tekken Tag Tournament and in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and has special moves when linked with Jinpachi and Ling Xiaoyu. In Tekken Tag Tournament, Wang is seen in his ending doing internal Kung Fu moves with Ling Xiaoyu. Wang accidentally breaks his back in pain with comedic timing, while Xiaoyu smirks at the camera shrugging to her "grandfather."

Meanwhile, in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Wang has called a meeting with Jinpachi Mishima, Sebastian, and Dr. Bosconovitch on a conference table. Wang and Jinpachi discuss each other's popularity, and blames each other for their appearances in the latter games. Dr. Bosconovitch then comes up with an idea to turn all the characters into cyborgs to increase their power and keep them involved in the future games. The ending has been praised as one of the best endings in the series due to its ability to inject humor and charm while being simultaneously imaginative.^[24][25]

Wang's character has been praised for his storyline and gameplay, and has gained notability as a fan favorite in the series.^{[26][27] [3]}

Wang's story has been highly acclaimed as outstanding among the Tekken characters.^[2] A large part was due to the seriousness, and his status as a relevant character in the series due to his elderly role among the Mishima family.^[28] The Tekken player Lotus stated,

"Sidelining Wang Jinrei so consistently is maybe the biggest missed opportunity in Tekken’s lore; his non-canon story mode endings are some of the earliest examples of Tekken’s ability to pay off on the emotional beats of longform storytelling."

Wang's character and portrayal of his backstory have also been praised for its good representation of Chinese culture in popular media such as action video games, that goes beyond traditional popular cinema.^[29][30] Such portrayal has gone on to affect physical exercise and martial arts subscriptions across the United States.^[31]

As mentioned, Wang was featured as a missing fighter due to Ogre's absorption of fighters and their moves (Waning Moon and Dragon Power Punch) in the Netflix adaptation Tekken: Bloodline.^[32][33]

Wang's gameplay features easy launching abilities and moves that inflict high damage despite his diminutive height, such as the unblockable Waning Moon throw and the powerful Heavy Power Punch.^[34][35] The Heavy Power Punch in particular is a popular combo shared by many characters such as Paul Phoenix, and was famous due to its easy execution (quarter circle forward + 2) which in older games including Tekken 5 could inflict a substantial damage of 45 in the opponent's health (out of a total of 180 HP), while the Dragon Power Punch was much slower but could more than double the damage caused (100 HP in Tekken 5 and 84 HP in Tekken 6).^[35][36][37] His quickness and nimble abilities combined with his deceptive strength made him a matchup problem throughout the Tekken series.^[38] This is based on the style of Xin Yi Liu He Quan, which is to use short explosive attacks as an internal martial art. Wang's portrayal in the Tekken franchise gave a wider exposure and rising interest to internal martial arts, specifically Xingyiquan.^[39][40][41]

In Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Wang developed a unique reputation for having the quickest hand parries on defense, with a simple b+1, that deflects any attack infinitely. Player TheMainManSwe commented that Wang's parry could even parry tag assaults in the two v. two based combat as long as the first hit is timed, then the buttons can be held indefinitely to deflect all attacks.^[42][43] His parrying ability and throws are some of his best skills. Wang's counterattacks are based on his fighting style Xin Yi Liu He Quan, which is unique in fighting games as the only style of fighting practiced by the Chinese Hui Muslim minority at the time of his debut. The ability to neutralize is a common theme based off ten different animals, a style which Wang introduced into the series as the first pure Xin Yi Liu He Quan master in the fighting game.^[44]

The fighting style is still preserved by the same Muslim community today. After Wang was introduced with this moveset, numerous characters would follow suit.^[45] For example, the character Gen Fu from the Dead or Alive series later made his debut, who was also featured as an old and diminutive Chinese master with the exact same fighting style (Xin Yi Liu He Quan- Six Harmonies) in 3D. Another later character is Eliot also from the Dead or Alive series. Then there was Kano in Mortal Kombat who in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance adopted the Xinyi Liu He Quan fighting style.^[46]

• Fuente (2020). Personajes de Tekken. General. ISBN 978-1-230-70969-7.
• "Tekken 6". Game Informer Magazine. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University. May 5, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
• Hunt, Leon (2003). Kung fu cult masters : from Bruce Lee to Crouching tiger. Wallflower. ISBN 978-1-903-36463-5.
• Hurwitch, Nick (2019). The Art of Tekken: A Complete Visual History. Mount Laurel Township: Dynamite. ISBN 978-1-524-11308-7.
• Hutton, Conor; Gasking, Frank; Gill, Shane (2016). Video Games You Will Never Play. Columbia, South Carolina: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-537-64379-3.
• Miller, Dan; Cartmell, Tim (1999). Xing Yi Health Maintenance and Internal Strength Development. Unique Publications. ISBN 978-0-865-68174-3.
• Rubin, Scott (2020). The Complete List of Comic, Game, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Names!. Familius. ISBN 978-1-641-70344-4.

• Media related to Wang Jinrei at Wikimedia Commons