10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Care About Kayfabe

1. Minoru Suzuki

Joey Janela Kip Sabian
NJPW

The best thing about the Minoru Suzuki Vs. Mecha Mummy match is that it exists, and its existence is the perfect counter argument to the knackers who claim that comedy wrestling is the preserve of those without the talent - nor the toughness - to have made it in pro wrestling when it was a real man's world.

Minoru Suzuki would tear every '80s territorial babyface who very theatrically played blind with the crimson mask limb from limb. He is also an incredible wrestler and performer, an elite talent at 51, who is so legitimate and expressive that he can make a 10 minute heel hook entertaining. And yet, he worked a comedy match with a robot mummy because it was never going to do a damn thing to his aura. He will absolutely kill you, bastard. The other best thing about Minoru Suzuki Vs. Mecha Mummy is that Suzuki doesn't betray his character nor patronise the form.

It's a very elegant joke; he ambles from end of the ring to the other, playing along, before ensnaring Mecha Mummy into a submission hold. Mummy is helpless - he is a chancer in a stupid outfit - but the outfit while stupid is very well thought-out, and he is able to temporarily blind Suzuki with the dust he coated it with. Suzuki then short-circuits the Mummy with a bottle of water, because he is also a machine, again, in what is a marvellous, inexplicable twist.

Only fractionally less inexplicable character development than the EC3 Vs. Dean Ambrose feud.

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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!