Predicting The 10 Best Wrestlers In The World Five Years From Now

8. Kento Miyahara

WALTER Tyler Bate
All Japan Pro Wrestling

At 30 years of age, Kento Miyahara is the Ace of - and by some distance the best talent in - this respectable but niche era of All Japan Pro Wrestling.

He is a wrestle capable of blowing your mind, but you need to use all of it to appreciate the intricacies of his work. Miyahara's best attribute is his intelligence, which is so deep that it could, theoretically, see him included in a similar list five years from now. He is a wonderful details wrestler who doesn't overwhelm the crowd (nor his body) with major spots, which is just one comparison drawn between him and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

This is consistent with his philosophy; Miyahara strives to suspend disbelief in the traditional way with a meticulous approach to winning a pro wrestling match. Those nuances converge into a classic, of which he has crafted several in his best year yet: sprinting at breakneck pace to cover opponents who have just beaten the 20 count; clutching to the ropes for an age, desperate, rather than absorb a suplex to the floor; repeated attempts to connect with one move, rather than spam several, putting that move over as a death blow...

The drawback is that, exceptional as Miyahara is, and as good as elevating opponents to his level as he is, he can only enter the elite class if faced with elite competition. Recently, Japanese talents (Taiji Ishimori, Shingo Takagi, KENTA) have shown a willingness to jump, which is (or was) rare.

Perhaps the Miyahara Vs. Okada dream match is a plausible reality.

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!