To me, Kenichiro Arai is certainly one of the greatest wrestlers ever. I think everyone that is on my ballot are amazing professional wrestlers and I think that they all deserve all the praise that anyone gives them. I think they are all "smart" in that they all were aware of how to produce good psychology and matches and knew how to execute those ideas. With that being said, I would not call 95% of them genius. Without hesitation though, I'd say Kenichiro Arai is a genius.
I had a bit of an epiphany when drafting my list originally. I have always felt that wrestling is an art form and my favorite matches are more beautiful to me than the most critically-acclaimed paintings, movies, and albums. Yet, it was not until recently that I really understood what it meant to perceive the wrestlers themselves as artists. When I finally did get it, Arai's brilliance uncovered itself right before my eyes. What does it mean to perceive one as an artist? For me, and for how I want to tackle Arai's case, that meant to take a look at his creativity, earnestness, purpose, commitment to pushing the medium forward (and conjointly, his appetite for risk), and of course, the quality of the execution itself is still important. There are plenty of other factors that characterize artistry, but I don't think I would be able to articulate all of what makes him so great. Hell, I don't think I'll be able to do his career any justice with this (but I can try).
Arai's creativity is his biggest asset. Yes, this can work when describing so many of his incredible, novel spots that he's still coming up with even now. But more importantly, I don't think I have ever seen him approach any two matches the same way. That's not to say that his opponent does the heavy lifting of the match conceptually, not at all actually. Every Arai match still feels like it's the work of the man who's mastered his craft. His dedication to innovating 25+ years into his career is admirable. Never once does even the most miniscule match he has feel like a "throwaway." Every single time he steps into the ring, he is there to make his art.
AraKen wholeheartedly feels like he believes everything that his character stands for as this often cockier bastard that knows that he's the shit. He's very technically sound and knows his way around most of the beloved J-indie grapplers. He has the skill but also the wit to accompany it. Whenever a match begins, it feels like he knows that the audience knows how good he is, but he sometimes makes it his goal to see how far he can manipulate their idea of him over the course of a given match. And he ALWAYS is able to pull it off, too.
Top this off with his reign as the Haoh of Mutoha being one of the best title reigns across of all wrestling this decade. Throughout, he knew how to balance feeling like a dominant "Overlord" and a coward at the same time. It's classic pro wrestling schtick but he brings it out in a way that has never been seen before, will probably never be seen again. The reign particularly gave us the outstanding two out of three falls match against GENTARO in 2023, which I still consider to be both of guys' magnum opus. A beautiful match that brings another notion to the term war when describing a pro wrestling bout. If wrestling is to be considered art, I do not see any reason for that match to not be considered one of the greatest human feats anyone could experience.
Recommended Matches:
Kenichiro Arai (c) vs. GENTARO [Haoh Title Two Out of Three Falls] - Mutoha (2/5/23)
Akira Jo, GENTARO & Taro Yamada vs. CHANGO, Kenichiro Arai & PSYCHO [Unicorn Style Rules] - Mutoha Premium (2/16/25)
Legitmately any of his other matches in Mutoha. No, seriously. All of them.
Mr. Gannosuke vs. Kenichiro Arai - Guts World Vol. 115 Shinkiba Bukotsu Shuen (2/3/18)
Kenichiro Arai vs. Shota - Tenryu Project Survive The Revolution Vol. 2 (5/12/21)
Yasu Urano vs. Kenichiro Arai - Mr. Gannosuke Produce Kishindo Returns Final (3/27/18)
Kenichiro Arai vs. Keita Yano - Mr. Gannosuke Produce Kishindo Returns 6 (3/31/11)
Kenichiro Arai (c) vs. Masaya Takahashi [Asuka Project Title] - Asuka Project (9/30/15)
Naoki Tanizaki (c) vs. Kenichiro Arai [Drunkers Title] - Apple Star (6/13/17)
Kenichiro Arai (c) vs. Kotaro Nasu [STYLE-E Openweight Title] - STYLE-E West Chofu Yume No Kakehashi 2 (9/2/12)
