10 Wrestling Matches That Shaped Vince McMahon’s Vision Of Sports Entertainment

9. Dynamite Kid Vs. Tiger Mask - NJPW Summer Fight Series

By 1982, the catch style had long since been adapted.

The process was so gradual that it cannot be accurately traced. It formed the basic mode of a wrestling match which exists to this day, a performance in which combatants work hand in hand - literally, in the case of an Irish whip - to approximate combat.

Tom 'Dynamite Kid' Billington and Satoru 'Tiger Mask' Sayama's contribution was to elevate it with an unprecedented level of athleticism and degree of motion. Cartwheeling away from one another's leglocks with a balletic flourish, the smattering of the lucha libre style Sayama adopted from his early tours of Mexico was undercut by Kid's explosiveness.

To underscore just how ahead of the curve the two men were, towards the final lap of this sprint, the referee had to scramble out of Sayama's way when he attempted to run up to and launch himself from the middle turnbuckle. Having never seen such unique and rapid movement, his timing error was completely understandable. The finishing sequence was initiated when Sayama cartwheeled out of the ring with his innovated turning moonsault. He had literally expanded the scope of pro wrestling.

What Dynamite and Tiger Mask did was akin to the colour TV explosion of the 1950s; they made the dark arts of wrestling more vibrant, more immediate, more potent. Its DNA can be found everywhere.

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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!