10 Devastating Injuries That Made Wrestlers WORSE

5. KENTA

Triple H Before And Way Before
NJPW

There's an asterisk here.

KENTA remains a very good or effective pro wrestler who has subsequently leaned harder into his tremendous presence with a more sadistic and disdainful approach. He works smarter now. He can't explode into the brutal swarms of old, so he will linger, with his eyes fixed dead, on slapping the crown of his opponent's heads.

He's far more prone to botching in 2020 because he no longer operates on the same super-athletic wavelength as his New Japan peers. Too many of his matches are plagued by timing issues. The man who once cast such a brutal spell takes you out of it too often.

He has in part arrested a decline that stems from his dismal run in NXT. The hybrid format of showcasing green developmental talent and parachuted super-workers reached an inevitable conclusion twice in as many years; suffering consecutive shoulder and neck injuries, the Hideo Itami that returned in 2017 was far removed from the KENTA of old: heavier, slower, and bereft of confidence, the dynamism was gone. The aura remains, and is applied tremendously in the right context.

It's still good, but man, it isn't the same.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!