25 Best Wrestling PPVs Ever

20. NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2013

WrestleMania X Seven Poster
NJPW

Best Match: Kazuchika Okada Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Worst Match: Minoru Suzuki Vs. Toru Yano

Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi equalled the rivalries of Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat on this celebrated night - before somehow surpassing them in their subsequent matches. This was the match in which Tanahashi famously resorted to heel tactics in an ill-fated attempt to halt the changing of the guard. By feigning a knee injury and taking advantage of Okada's hesitation, he foreshadowed his supplanting as New Japan ace in a match which your writer reckons is the most intelligent of their series.

Okada's selling of his arm is so masterful throughout that his subsequent inability to apply his Red Ink submission and smash Tanahashi with his Rainmaker clothesline receive more of a reaction than they would have had he been successful.

Katsuyori Shibata's rematch with Tomohiri Ishii lacks the novelty of their original G1 Climax d*ck-measuring contest, but retains its gruesome physicality, while Shinsuke Nakamura and Naomichi Marifuji is a feast of stiff, delirious inventiveness.

Massively gifted and even more deranged sh*tkicker Minoru Suzuki was wasted against comedy midcard jobber in the show's only blotch.

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!