10 Most Painful-Looking Wrestling Matches Ever
9. Katsuyori Shibata Vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2013
The narrative of this match was so primal, so completely genius, that it's a wonder no two performers stumbled upon it earlier.
Consider it a simple, untapped chord progression excellent in its simplicity; Shibata and Ishii - serving the major stakes of the tournament in which they fought - emerged immediately from their respective corners as if confronted by their mortal enemies, as opposed to predetermined opponents with no prior personal grudge.
It was modern New Japan's equivalent of the classic irresistible force versus immovable object dynamic.
Shibata played the irresistible force, running the full length of the ring to deliver a huge big boot with the angled shape and cutting impact of a shuriken. Ishii played the immovable object, his legendary ability to absorb punishment carved on this seminal night.
This dynamic could only manifest as a mutual war of attrition somehow fought at warp speed, like pro wrestling's version of Don Frye Vs. Yoshihiro Takayama. It was also oddly, delightfully polite. Ishii and Shibata encouraged one another, patiently, to hit the other as hard as they f*cking could. And Shibata, Jesus Christ, could hit hard: his low corner dropkick almost removed Ishii's scalp.
Ishii took it all. He screamed in the face of punishment, almost blacking out at one point, this unsurpassed selling ability hooking the molten crowd, making them feel it as much as he did.