10 Wrestlers Who Reward You For Paying Attention
5. Tomohiro Ishii
A man who doesn't benefit from what great episodic wrestling television at its best affords as a platform, Tomohiro Ishii relies on pure in-ring to cast his spell. And there's not a great deal of long-term vision to it - Ishii is never rewarded for his brilliance on New Japan's grandest stage - but there are very few better in the guts of a match at rewarding emotional investment.
His fans live and die with Ishii in those moments, lost within his magic. If pro wrestling reduced is the art of suspending the disbelief of the audience, Ishii's brilliance distills that essence.
The detail Ishii applies to his selling is exceptional. When he absorbs a blow, he doesn't just sell the point of impact; the pain courses through his body, as pain does. And because Ishii is so hermetic, so convincing in his approach, his selling rewards and informs his glorious comebacks. He is awesome at putting over the idea that he is operating out of pure resolve through the pain, only to die once again.
It's genuinely deflating, when Ishii crumples, his body weaker than his heart. You fall when he falls. You scream when he rises. Those crowds scream for Ishii, in 2020, when they're not allowed and otherwise observant of the rule.
The crowds pay so much attention to him that they forget themselves.