8 Wrestlers Who Put Insane Details Into Things You Didn't Notice
1. Everything Kazuchika Okada Does
It's almost impossible not to notice at least some of the insane details New Japan's MVP Kazuchika Okada puts into his work, given they manifest pretty much constantly. If you've ever been grasping for superlatives to describe why The Rainmaker's matches are a cut above his contemporaries, it's down to these almost imperceptible details; not a single scintilla of his act is left to chance.
An overt example came at Wrestling Dontaku, when, shortly after dismissing SANADA in his IWGP Heavyweight Championship defence, he received a pre-recorded challenge from Chris Jericho. Fully cognisant of The Painmaker's devious demeanour, Okada's usually confident trademark pose was repeatedly interspersed with paranoid glances over his shoulder.
A less immediately obvious touch was when Okada hit NOAH hero Naomichi Marufuji with Mitsuharu Misawa's signature Emerald Frosion at King of Pro Wrestling 2016. It was a subtle act of disrespect drawing on the history of Japanese wrestling, one appropriately walking the great King's Road method of storytelling paved by the man he'd imitated.
These are two more evident examples. Watch any of Okada's matches with heightened scrutiny, and you'll notice a multitude of nuances which all add up to define him as the finest of his generation.