10 Loudest Wrestling Pops You Didn't Know About

5. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi Enters The Babyface Performance Of A Lifetime

Dean Malenko Ciclope
AJPW

They say Japanese wrestling fans are quiet.

Too quiet. So quiet that the very form - one that is confused for a singular form, when the scene is more expansive than in any other corner of the globe - isn't even watchable, much less good.

"They" are complete f*cking birdbrains who watched a few minutes of a slow-burn epic and thought that was it.

They never watched Tsuyoshi Kikuchi and Kenta Kobashi Vs. Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas, because that pulsating classic of a match was not a slow-burn. It ignited immediately into what was a cauldron of a crescendo for its entire duration. Kikuchi generated waves upon waves of Road Warrior Austin Surprise Return From Serious Injury pops within the first minute purely by raining down fists upon Kroffat's head. It is an incendiary scene; Kikuchi is so ablaze with fire that he he nearly tumbles out of the ring, he is so intent on battering his opponent. Every fan in the building stands to their feet, roaring him on, pumping their fists in support. It's a bloodsport atmosphere within the first 60 seconds of a worked match.

Any younger fans raised on WWE who've made it this far: watch this match. An in-ring classic worked in defiance of the bullying foreign bastards, it intersects everything great about the mentality - and one electrifying form - of puroresu.

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Dean Malenko
 
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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!