10 Wrestling Matches That Were NOTHING Like You Expected

9. Toru Yano Vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2018 - Day 2

John Cena The Undertaker
NJPW1972.com

Toru Yano - gurning DVD salesman and scourge of the super-cereal connoisseurs of New Japan - stretched the premise of his comedy act to breaking point in the G1 tournaments of old. The guy is d*mn entertaining in a vacuum - a total sh*theel who's too much of a fun and endearing chancer to hate - but beating Katsuyori Shibata with a roll-up was just plain hard-to-buy bullsh*t, and that was the problem. To include Yano, and to engineer drama by having him win the odd match, was to sacrifice not just stars, but psycho sh*tkickers that could f*ck him into next week.

Yano went a different route this year, promising to wrestle in the requisite fair and competitive spirit. And, to unexpectedly brilliant effect, he did, only cheating when thoroughly beaten - at which point it was impossible not to throw your support behind the guy.

In his first B Block match, he faced stablemate, tag team partner, and man with a rock-hard head Tomohiro Ishii in a valiant and violent exchange of fighting spirit that, already elevated by opening match excitement and the G1's traditional upset stakes, became an awesome story of the scolded dog having his day.

 
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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!