10 Times Wrestling Made You Lose Your Goddamn Mind

1. The First Time You Watched THAT AJPW Tag

Kobashi Kikuchi
AJPW

Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas on May 5, 1992. If you've watched it, you have already fallen in love with it.

If you haven't, set aside 25 minutes for a match you are guaranteed to fall in love with. In a tribalistic wrestling landscape pitting e-drones on one side and AEWsexuals on the other, that might seem like an impossible claim. But it's true.

There is no such thing as an objectively great pro wrestling match. Kenny Omega is either an explosive storyteller with unparalleled depth or "Twinkletoes". The Young Bucks are either heart-pounding twist experts or "spot monkeys". Roman Reigns is either the Tribal Chief you must acknowledge or a man auditioning for Hollywood in plain sight.

If there is such a thing as an objectively great pro wrestling match, it's this.

It plays out in front of the hottest crowd ever gathered. Kikuchi is the babyface fighting from underneath, and every punch he lands against the two jerk bullies is received as the last-minute winner in a fierce local derby. Kobashi is his protector, and he is incredible at exacting his vengeance. Selling, drama, big moves and when to do them, atmosphere, storytelling: literally everything anybody could reasonably want from a wrestling match is here, it's all done at a world-class level, and not a single second goes by without a mega-pop.

 
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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 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!