10 Great Wrestling Moments That Not Enough People Have Seen

9. '90s Joshi

Aja Kong
YouTube

Sexism is hard-coded into the DNA of professional wrestling.

This is an industry that equates the women that follow it with vermin, believed itself to be progressive when women wrestlers were positioned as something remotely approaching their male counterparts 95 years after women were given the vote, and, beyond WWE in the US, insidiously popularised inter-gender wrestling as an assault facilitator and means of inserting a man into a women's match.

This mentality naturally extends to the fandom. Scour virtually any discussion point anywhere the conversation is, and it's shocking how women are reflexively excluded from it. Whatever the topic - who's the stiffest, the most technical, the best orator - that topic barely includes women. Stiffest is Katsuyori Shibata, Vader, Stan Hansen.

It's never Aja Kong, but it f*cking should be.

'90s joshi should be mandatory on the curriculum of any adventurous pro wrestling fan. It's wonderful in a way men's wrestling can't be - the flexibility advantage creates the most gorgeous suplex arcs, the most harrowing-looking submission selling - but also wonderful in a way that it very much f*cking can.

Just look at the disturbing, disgusting treatment to which Kong subjected Yumiko Hotta in a 1994 AJPW war. It's a nasty, incredibly violent fight all the better for its studious lack of customary dramatic rhythms.

It is stronger than strong style.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!