10 Wrestlers Scarier Than The Fiend
1. Kota Ibushi
Kota Ibushi has incorporated a new development of his character into his matches, and it is legitimately terrifying.
Colloquially, unfortunately known as his "murderboi" schtick, it's something else. Ibushi enters a disassociated fugue state in which his expression becomes completely still. He does not even feign to wince at a crushing forearm blow. It is as if he isn't there. He doesn't wear a mask, he doesn't emerge from underneath the ring, he doesn't control lighting systems, and he is the closest wrestling has approached to a Michael Myers figure - a profoundly unsettling void of humanity, relentless, and impervious to pain. It's an unholy union of body language and action; the punches he throws, to the face, are unspeakable in their full, gruesome contact.
It feels more scary because Kota Ibushi is a real enigma. This is a man who has mastered his craft with deeply intelligent, years-long tales but who also gets lost in airports in his capacity as a professional traveller. This is a man who for years refused to commit his future, and in 2019 signed a lifetime deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
He is so erratic that it feels like he might lose himself entirely in those disturbing moments, which informs a profound anxiety and empathy for his opponents.