Akira Maeda

[10.0] "Supremely consistent dickhead wrester. He's very easy to understand, probably because of how much of an asshole he is."

[8.0] "The biggest plus for me is that I thought he was the best of the UWF guys on the New Japan set. That's not including Fujiwara. I thought he was really good at mixing in the shoot-style stuff into traditional pro wrestling matches, and he contributed a lot to lots of really good matches. Maeda just had the aura of a big time player, something that sets him apart from others. I don't think it's the same as what Choshu had, as Choshu was just dripping charisma, and I don't think Maeda was that charismatic. I'd say it's more of a Triple H thing, where he kind of wills you to believe he's the man. Except more legit. Although, it seemed that he wasn't that good until he started UWF. The earlier bouts I saw him in had him looking kinda out of his depth. He also REALLY sucks at working from underneath. The worst thing about him for me though was that in almost every shoot-style bout I saw him in, I thought the other guy was better. Not that he was bad or being carried in these bouts, just that I found his opponent more engaging a lot of the time."

[9.0] "Akira Maeda was simply put one of the founding fathers of MMA as we know it today. As a wrestler, Maeda was trained by incredibly skilled performers and was always a very stiff and believable worker who also boasted great charisma. His wrestling style was revolutionary for the time, all the subsequent hybrid wrestling movements of the 90s in Japan owe their existence and influence to this man. Akira Maeda was known to be a bit uncooperative and kind of a hot head, but that trait of his real personality made him one of the most compelling in-ring characters of his time. For his tremendous influence in what would then evolve into MMA and his extremely solid work as a pro-wrestler, Akira Maeda deserves to be remembered for decades to come, there will never be another like him, 9/10."

[10.0] "Just about everything that could be said about Akira Maeda has been said here already. He is arguably the best wrestler of his generation, and is severely underrated in terms of his contributions to the sport."

[10.0] "The best anti-heroic babyface ever. His childhood was a hard one, so his attitudes might be something to explain that. You can say whatever you want about this man, but there would be no MMA, kickpads and high kicks without this man and his company. The IWGP Champion we needed, but never had the chance to see because of his different visions. Legend!"

[10.0] "One of the most amazing anti-heroes in Japanese wrestling. When all he does is heel-badass tactics, but still has a crowd chanting his name, that's charisma. Shares a number of features with Inoki, and part of the same crew of Sayama and Fujiwara that gave birth to shootstyle and was one of the parents of the later MMA movement. A towering figure in multiple sports and probably assembled the finest crew of gaijin wrestlers in all of puroresu. What more can be said?"

[10.0] "What more can you say about this man. Phenomenal in the ring. Revolutionized wrestling and even had a hand in starting a similar style that was MMA. Was at the head of one of the best and most successful feuds in the past 40 years. looked and totally was a badass. Looks like a boss of a Yakuza gang which is awesome and had a high level aura of coolness. He deserves way more love then what he gets."

[10.0] "Akira Maeda is the legendary nail that couldn't be hammered back in. He was like the leader of a motorcycle gang in a Japanese Anime. While he was professional about 99% of the time, it was that 1% that made him stand out among his peers and become very memorable to fans. The 1% included his refusal to job to the prime-passed and seemingly drunk Andre The Giant (in the middle of the match), kicking Riki Choshu in the face while he was working with another wrestler, therefore breaking an orbital bone, and when he decided to start his own promotion with Satoru "Tiger Mask" Sayama, he hits Sayama right in the manhood. His wrestling style was very stiff, consisting primarily of kicks and suplexes that would be found in various fighting styles, more so than professional wrestling at the time, including a move he innovated, the Capture Suplex, that Taz in ECW eventually popularised in the USA. His idea of showing "real" fighting in a wrestling environment, played a part in the growing and evolving process that would eventually become Mixed Martial Arts. A 10, because he was not only an interesting character and an idealist for things to come, but also because he was actually a very good wrestler. He stepped outside the box, and it worked."