10 Most Humiliating Wrestling Moves

2. Kazuchika Okada's Chest Slap

Orange Cassidy Luchasaurus
All Elite Wrestling

Kazuchika Okada doesn't do next to f*ck all for the sake of it in the first eight to ten minutes of his signature epic New Japan main event.

He doesn't just meander through chain wrestling at a glacial pace to make the second half of his matches more exhilarating by comparison, nor does he take his sweet time to stretch out the run-time of a match so that it more easily reaches a minimum of a half an hour, knowing that, in critical circles, a match of that duration is more likely to receive praise.

Well there's an element of truth to that, honestly - he knows what he has to do here - but it's not artless and grabby. He intentionally slows down the pace to a near-halt and exerts complete mastery over his opponent so that, when they really get themselves into a match, it registers as an achievement before they even score a close near-fall.

He heels it up like a complete d*ckhead throughout this early phase, too, which enhances that comeback when it arrives deeper into the match: the way in which he smugly pats his opponents on the chest is detestable. It is beyond patronising. Treating title challengers like they're some young boy is the ultimate humiliation: the "You've got no chance" moment that makes the fans rejoice - sadly, with a round of applause these days - when they summon the wherewithal to grab the chance.

 
Posted On: 
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 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!