10 Holy Sh*t Wrestling Moments You Didn’t Know About
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi Survives The Murderboi
Hiroshi Tanahashi is one of pro wrestling's greatest ever babyfaces because he is the most intelligent strategist and because he grasps the emotional heft of the comeback. He makes it feel real, earned, thrilling. Tanahashi elevates the predetermined win into a genuine triumph.
"You didn't know about" is possibly a stretch here - this, one of the greatest matches ever, was promoted amid New Japan's seminal peak - but it certainly isn't talked about enough. It isn't a "Holy Sh*t" moment because he absorbed some painful bump or participated in some deranged stunt.
Hiroshi Tanahashi created a Holy Sh*t moment by walking. Just walking. He made an arena full of impassioned fans lose their minds by taking a few steps forward.
This is the measure of his genius.
At the 2018 G1 Climax Final, Kota Ibushi descended into the terrifying recesses of his mind - a place far scarier than Alexa's Playground, which only elicits fear in those anxious over a potential FBI raid - and smacked Tana in the face repeatedly. Very, very stiffly, too.
Tana no-sold the squelching barrage. He was done being toyed with by this heretic who had dared challenge the man he perceived as the God of NJPW. He shook his head, set the audience on f*cking fire, and seemed to glow in the middle of the ring, literally fired up by Ibushi's transgressively violent offence.
If you worship me, Tana seemed to convey, what's this strong style sh*t?
Tana begged to be wrestled in that moment. He was the babyface of all babyfaces.