10 Wrestling Matches Fans Can’t Agree On

6. Will Ospreay Vs. Ricochet - NJPW Best Of The Super Juniors Day 6

Ospreay Ricochet
NJPW

The Will Ospreay Vs. Ricochet BOSJ match caused such a furore that wrestling fans were joined in their social media meltdown by those within the industry.

Most infamously, Vader was repelled by what he perceived as a psychology-devoid spotfest. To him, it was ballet, not wrestling. He was joined by Jim Cornette, who felt that Ospreay and Ricochet would make more money as, and would be better suited to, roles as stuntmen in martial-arts movies. The argument was that style took jarring precedence over substance - but it could also be said that the style was the substance. Ospreay and Ricochet were peacocks - and the match acted as a courtship ritual for the support of the crowd.

For your writer's money, aspects of it were taken too far. A death valley driver to the apron should be sold with the utmost conviction. That it wasn't - without a sub-thread of fighting spirit body language to justify it - was tough to digest.

The wrestling business relies on the suspension of disbelief to prop it up. In their own progressive way, Ospreay and Ricochet, with their unfathomably convoluted sequences and rotations, did just that.

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!