Michael Sidgwick's 10 Favourite Wrestling Matches
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2012
It will become apparent that I struggle with the modern North American product.
The over-use of the finisher kick-out trend, adopted from the Japanese scene with little consideration to its own idiosyncratic mode of psychology, has rendered the typical main event match a formulaic chore. An easy shortcut which effectively guarantees temporary audience investment, the spot - which weakens performers and homogenises the product - is practically mandated.
There are no finisher kick-outs in Suzuki and Tanahashi's 2012 classic, a pure wrestling match in which absolutely every move struck has a consequence on the action which follows. Suzuki targeted Tanahashi's arm, in keeping with his armbar-oriented offence, while Tanahashi weakened Suzuki's legs with a view to applying his signature Texas Cloverleaf. Using the ring apron and guardrail to modernise and intensify the most traditional of strategies, it was Tanahashi's rewardingly cerebral, chess-like approach which separated the two men; with Suzuki's leg decimated, the impact of his dropkick was lessened. When Suzuki countered Tanahashi's High Fly Flow, the success of Tanahashi's two-moves-ahead approach was evident. By raising his knees to ostensibly negate the impact, he was hoisted by his own petard.
The match also works as a universal entry point into what many bemoan as an impenetrable scene; the immaculate story was plotted so beautifully that one did not require even a basic grasp of Japanese to comprehend it.