Masahiro Chono

[8.0] "Obviously, in terms of charisma, I mean, it's Chono but from the footage I've seen of him he honestly comes off as kind of lazy. If he wanted too, he could easily put on a great match but most of the time he's not necessarily phoning it in but you can tell If he really wanted to, he could put on an absolute classic. I'd rate him an 8 overall. Great charisma but certainly "lacks" in comparison to the in-ring work of the three musketeers, at least in my opinion"

[8.0] "Masahiro Chono was really good in the late 80s and the Early 90s bringing a quick and intense technical style every time he stepped into the ring. When you saw Masahiro Chono walk out you knew he was going to give a banger. If he was like that for the rest of his career he would have been an easy 10 but injuries really took a toll on poor Masahiro Chono. A big neck injury cost him his signature style progressing from that great technical spirit to a slow and methodical pace which help boost his charisma but lowered his workrate and when he was finally given the World Championship he had to vacate it."

[7.0] "I liked his early stuff more before the injury and he started wrestling more like a power wrestler. Had some high profile matches in WCW but most of his success of course was over in Japan."

[9.0] "In his early days Chono was a brilliant technical wrestler. He could keep up with pretty much anyone. Everyone remembers Austin getting dropped on his neck and having to completely change his style, and five years earlier Austin did the exact same thing to Chono. And like Austin, Chono had to slow down but he benefitted from that. He became much more methodical with his in-ring work but it allowed him to showcase his charisma and he was arguably the first big-time cool heel. With it came a lot of G1 success and some great stables."

[6.0] "As one inmate alluded to and another was brave enough to call him out on, a solid Masa Chono match depended on the following: Did he feel like working hard that night or did he feel like doing as little as possible because... just because. Many times if it was a buddy or someone he respected - you would get a solid affair lending itself to rewatches. But if he didn't care for the guy or wanted to be lazy - you would get a stinker that made you say "I don't think I'll watch this from beginning to end much in life". Stuff like this ALWAYS puts guys in the middle. For every 10, there is a 1 for someone even as talented as this. Also notable; his kicks looked really great. 6.25 rounded down."

[8.0] "He was good, an important figure for New Japan in the 90s and 2000s, loved his work with nWo Japan and Team 2000."

[9.0] "Masahiro Chono's level as an in-ring worker is shockingly underrated despite his legendary status. The amount of great matches he was instrumental in; the list of legendary moments and matches throughout a lengthy time span is quite unmatched too. The 1992 G1 Climax Final against Rick Rude might just be the greatest G1 Final in its history - a damning statement. But there are so many classics under his disposal against Hiroshi Hase, Keji Mutoh, Riki Choshu, Shiro Koshinaka, and more. His actual ability is understated too. Trained by Lou Thesz, so his technical work was always rock solid, he could brawl, he could simply coast on his almighty charisma. There were many different layers to him even prior to his heel turn. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand even then. While he's below the likes of his contemporaries such as Shinya Hashimoto and Hase, Chono stands the test of time and rises to a status not many could maintain. Furthermore, he booked himself into the greatest title reign of all time. What else does a person need to do'"

[8.0] "Through not as skilled in the ring as the likes of Muto (which became even more apparent after injury) he could carry it with great physical charisma and a unique look that set himself apart from others: as well as that, his promos were usually quite solid, and with someone bumping around him, he could have some superb matches."

[6.0] "Chono is a bit like Mil Mascaras: the talent was just there but when for whatever reason he didn't feel like it his matches became a chore to watch, dragging on seemingly forever. This did not just affect the B-shows but also far too many events: they looked bad back in the days and look somewhat worse nowadays. But when the PPV bonus was juicy, when his opponent was a good friend of his, when the weather outside the arena was fine and generally when he felt like it he put up amazing performances, neck injury or not. The talent was there and was huge. Unfortunately the motivation wasn't."

[6.0] "I won't understate his importance to Japanese pro-wrestling, and I will never discredit his well deserved legendary status. But, man, I have never been able to appreciate Chono as a worker, and I don't think that I ever will. An objective rating would easily be a 9 or 10, but this one is a personal rating, and personally, I've never been much of a fan."

[10.0] "Great at kicks and holds. A legend in NJPW. I was liked his in ring style. Great wrestler for the 90's. NWO he was funny."

[9.0] "To me, what made Chono a legend, was his awesome presence every time he entered an arena. One of the best personas of New Japan in the 90s, though his neck injury prevented truly remarkable in-ring performances."

[8.0] "Masahiro Chono was a good worker with decent charisma before his neck injury. After the neck injury, though, Chono had to completely change his style up, to where his matches had few bumps and were built around mannerisms and heel work. How you rate Chono because of this is probably down to how you view that particular style of working."

[8.0] "Chono might've been the most charismatic of the Japanese heavyweights in the mid-to-late '90s. He just exuded coolness. His workrate was good as well, though it definitely took a hit after the big neck injury and wasn't anything to write home about in the oughts."