10 Wrestling Matches That Buried Top Stars ON PURPOSE

3. KUSHIDA Vs. Hiromu Takahashi - NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017

Bray Wyatt John Cena
WWE.com

The New Japan resurgence of the 2010s was - still heartbreaking to refer to it in the past tense, incidentally - was defined by incredible, lengthy matches on top.

The formula was evidently a formula, but it was perfect: brief multi-man tags underneath, junior heavyweight bangers at the 15 minute range, string style squelchers at the midway point, a 20 minute Intercontinental cracker, and then, in front of a crowd that had not been exhausted, the epic: 30-40 minutes of slow-burn action that ignited into a reversal-packed blitz of overwhelming drama.

A graduating atmosphere of escalating excitement, that formula is quite dead now because that main event is imposed on every worker, whether they are capable of it or not. EVIL, while pretty good in the right spot, is not Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL demonstrated this by walking through painfully dull 40 minute matches with a vacant, David Flair expression like a sh*t-arse in the wretched summer of 2020. At least David Flair went four minutes on Nitro.

At NJPW's peak, Gedo tinkered with the formula at Sakura Genesis 2017 by booking Hiromu Takahashi to go over KUSHIDA in under two minutes. It was one of the very best short matches ever - it was thought KUSHIDA was going to end things quickly, informing the shock of Takahashi's win all the more - and it set the eccentric and dangerous-feeling Takahashi apart.

He was a transgressive wrestler even in an era defined by risk. This match deepened his legend spectacularly.

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!