10 Things WWE Doesn't Want You To Know About NJPW

8. Cruiserweight Wrestling CAN Be A Thing

Okada plays the Crystal Maze
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"Who cares? It's all flippy sh*t with zero psychology," is the conditioned reaction. WWE's way of putting it, a line regurgitated by so many in the corridors of power, is that too many performers outside of WWE "don't know how to work".

The NJPW Junior Heavyweight scene of 2017 is a diverse and rich beast. The idea behind any given wrestling match, "cold story" or no, is to beat the person across the ring from you because if you don't, you cannot feed yourself. No less an authority on wrestling psychology than William Regal tweeted that. It's a philosophy so evident in the division that those who write it off mustn't be paying attention.

Hiromu Takahashi and Dragon Lee stole the early year headlines in the continuation of their Mexican blood feud. Yes, they dove out of the ring and off the top rope to wow crowds, but the action was all in service of the wider goal: by destroying each other so recklessly, they conveyed the idea that they genuinely hated one another through the brutal execution of those aerial moves - not the moves themselves. Takahashi and KUSHIDA ramped up that philosophy later in the year. They rattled each other's brains to suspend disbelief in a series of matches in which the animosity was palpable.

Meanwhile, WWE's 205 Live babyface roster struggles to really convince anybody of their hatred towards Enzo Amore - and they hate him in real life.

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!