10 Best Intergender Wrestling Matches Ever

In the midst of the infamous Suzukigun invasion of Pro Wrestling NOAH, then-GHC Heavyweight Champion Minoru Suzuki took a break from pulverising the Mitsuharu Misawa-founded promotion to have an intergender war.

Mio Shirai, the older sister of Iyo Sky, was on her road to retirement at the time, which included a painful pitstop opposite the dreaded Pancrase founding father. Needless to say, Suzuki didn't hold back his typical, sadistic self against the Triple Tails member.

Over the course of 15 minutes, the pair gradually built a fiery, physical contest. Suzuki frequently got the better of his female foe during the opening chain wrestling sequences before whittling her down with stiff leg kicks. The physically outmatched Shirai won the audience's sympathy with her refusal to give in to her villainous foe, frequently daring him to throw more punishment in her direction.

Shirai's explosive, high-flying bursts of offence in the closing stretch kept the trash-talking Suzuki at bay, helping to further hammer home their very different personas. Ultimately, Shirai's athleticism was simply not enough in the face of one of puroresu's gnarliest bad guys. Suzuki picked up the win with his Gotch Piledriver, which elicited a gasp from the crowd considering Shirai's litany of neck injuries. While not exactly the most uplifting of underdog stories, the realistic action and crisp character work makes this a fine example of intergender wrestling done right.