Masato Tanaka

"One of the toughest SOB in ECW and FMW. His matches against Mike Awesome and Hayabusa...wow...just...wow. Bangers. There aren't any other words to describe them, in particular Heatwave 1998."

[8.0] "Probably the hardest head in the entire business and one of the most resilient guys to have ever stepped into a ring. ECW champ for a week, anything with him and Awesome is classic material and astoundingly, the dedicated masochist is still going into his 50s."

[6.0] "Masato Tanaka hasn't been great in almost four years . Currently, he is just above average but that's about it. He definitely can connect to the fans so that's an important point but his in ring work theses days are the reason I gave him this rating"

[10.0] "A STROOOOOONG contender for the greatest wrestler of all time, Tanaka has worked everywhere, accomplished damn near everything, and is still going strong at 52 years old"

[10.0] "Tanaka's one of the unsung GOATs of Japan. He won't be at the forefront in discussions of who was the best in the 90s and 00s over there because of a lack of huge runs in the big promotions, but make no mistake, he deserves to be in the conversation. He's a machine that turns ambivalent first-time watchers into instant fans."

[10.0] "Look, the guy is Masato Tanaka. He brings every ounce of passion he has to the ring and it shows. His recent indie work has been very entertaining. He's 52 currently and is still putting on great matches, unprotected chairshots to the head be damned."

"The standard for hardcore wrestling. Absolute legend and household name in wrestling. If you don't know masada tanaka you don't know wrestling"

[9.0] "Tanaka took the path least travelled...but most fun. He didn't get big in Inoki's NJPW or Baba's AJPW but instead, Tanaka was made in the 1990s indie revolution on the Japanese scene, carving out a cult following in the west thanks to his time in ECW and the tape trading network. Tanaka has found success on the main stage in NJPW but he'll always be a cult figure. And he deserves all the praise, Tanaka is a tough bastard and he has put on many great matches especially in FMW against Hayabusa and Awesome. He continues to put on good matches. I've also met him and seen him live in London. Could have been an 8 but decided on a 9 because of what he was capable of."

[10.0] "Probably the toughest, most badass wrestler ever. The fact that he's still going at 50+ years old after everything hes done is frankly insane. His match against Mike Awesome at ECW Heatwave 1998 was legitimately brain altering for me; it acted as my gateway to harder-hitting wrestling than I'd ever seen before"

[9.0] "My review of Masato Tanaka is based on his work in the late 90s and early 2000s between the ECW and FMW promotions. I'll be rating Tanaka using Bret Hart's unofficial system of rating a wrestler by their look, promo, and in-ring ability. Beginning with look, just do a quick search of Masato Tanaka and you'll see he has the look of a wrestler. He looks as tough as Minoru Suzuki while being in great shape despite his age. His forehead is gnarled up as bad as anyone's from blade jobs throughout the decades. Simply put, Tanaka rates very highly on the "people I would never want to be in a wrestling ring with" category. As far as promo goes, I don't recall any Tanaka promos and I'm not sure it matters. Despite the language barrier, Tanaka was able to bring out emotion in any audience that watched him. Example: Mike Awesome would knock Tanaka across the head with several stiff chair shots, only for Tanaka to scream out and ask for more. Moving on to in-ring work, I have no idea how this man is still alive. I have no idea how he survived all those matches in FMW and ECW without serious life-altering injuries. All of Tanaka's strikes and moves looked brutal. There was no fat on his matches and no wasted moments. I always popped for his rolling elbow and especially his Diamond Dust finishing move. Tanaka always gave the fans their money's worth and I don't recall a single Tanaka match I didn't like. In conclusion, Tanaka was/is an amazing wrestler that is truly one of a kind, able to draw out emotions in wrestling fans no matter which language they spoke."

[10.0] "I'm convinced that Masato Tanaka is not human. He's been wrestling at an extremely high level since the early 90s and has taken abuse that would cripple most men. The Mike Awesome matches alone should have driven him into retirement, but Tanaka is still standing and dropping motherfuckers with the DANGAN ELBOW."

[7.0] "Throughout his career, he managed to carve out a very loyal fanbase and a very prominent spot in Japanese wrestling, even managing an ECW World Championship! Hopefully, he can win some more gold in places such as ZERO1 and NOAH!"

[10.0] "I absolutely love Masato Tanakas work across Asia and America, his feud with Mike Awesome needs no introduction, so I guess Ill mention how I enjoy his work with Sekimoto and as the inaugural and still longest reigning NEVER Openweight Champion."

[10.0] "Masato Tanaka is a freak of nature. I don't know how, after all these years and all that he endured, he is still going, and still performing at a high level at the age of 50. While many will acknowledge him as a great hardcore wrestler, and yeah he was awesome in that environment, but he has shown time and time again that this is just a limited label for him. The man is a bonafide legend, and we should feel privileged that we have been able to witness a once in a lifetime talent like him."

[10.0] "For the past 25 years Masato Tanaka has been one of the best wrestlers in the world. There has been zero dip in his workrate since 1997 which is nearly unfathomable seeing as how he took some the grossest chairshots to the head a man can get, he still gets headbutted from time to time, I don't think Masato Tanaka is capable of receiving a concussion, he is not a normal man. But he still keeps going, his fighting spirit is unmatched and his elbows are still as deadly as ever, even if he might overdo it sometimes, he still puts some sauce on those Dangan Elbows. His rivalry with Mike Awesome is still of historical significance even giving one of the best matches to take place at a WWE Produced PPV, that sprint is one of my favorite matches of all time and it's because of the fight Tanaka gives. Masato Tanaka is still one of the best wrestlers in the world."

[7.0] "he still good like old time in ECW, even he nearly 50s but he still got it in japan puroresu, also i like him whe he join M alliance in NOAH"

[10.0] "He's still so good at 48 which is crazy with the career he had. He's one of my favorites to watch in NOAH and in wrestling in general."

[10.0] "His longevity with the amount of damage he was taking 20 years ago is incredible. He still wrestlers at a very high level, one of the GOAT."

[10.0] "I love Masato Tanaka. Watching him in ECW putting Mike Awesome through tables I would have never have guessed the absolute banner year he would have in 2021. Still must watch"

[9.0] "It's genuinely amazing that not only is Masato Tanaka still wrestling after all this time, but that he's still really good. He's actually one of the guys who's helped make watching NOAH worth it"

[10.0] "Masato Tanaka is an amazing wrestler who never got the acclaim he so rightfully deserves. He was an amazing hardcore wrestler in ECW and is now an amazing "Japanese style" wrestler. Even at the age of 47 he can still hang with the best of them."

[10.0] "Dangan is an absolute beast and a tremendous workhorse, he can mix with any opponent in any style and be proficient in every single one. He can dominate his opponents with strikes, bombs and even some submissions, as well as he can tell wonderful stories (especially against younger, up and coming adversaries), so he is that damn good."

[10.0] "One of the most underrated wrestler ever imo. Innovated many moves used by various wrestlers, and he is always fun to watch. I can't think of a single bad match he's had."

[10.0] "Masato Tanaka is a fantastic international wrestler who is seemingly ageless and timeless. Best known to a mainstream western audience for his wars with Mike Awesome in ECW, Tanaka could easily be remembered fondly for a generation on this series of matches alone (and with the brief title reigns that accompanied it) but it's important to not let English speaking/Western audiences and the WWE Network app set the terms on which someone can be considered to have had an excellent career. Tanaka earned huge amount of popularity and championship success in the sometimes brutal FMW promotion both before, after and concurrent with his ECW run, but post-ECW despite some visits to and success on US indies (GCW, Beyond, PWF, World-1, AWA, DGUSA), Tanaka would have an excellent career in Japan as he alternated from singles and tag divisions for promotions both bigger and smaller. Tanaka enjoyed meaningful title and tournament victories in NJPW, Zero1, NOAH, DDT, HUSTLE, Wrestle-1 and beyond. In his hard hitting multi-generation career he has faced an eclectic group of stars including (but far from limited to) Mike Awesome, Hayabusa, Taz, PCO, The Dudleys, David Starr, Too Cold Scorpio, CM Punk, Naito, Ishii, Lance Storm, Goto, Steve Corino, Chris Brookes, Harashima, Raven, Eli Drake, El Texano Jr, Bam Bam Bigelow, Samoa Joe, EC3, Pentagon Jr, Chris Hero, Richochet, Kevin Steen, Angelico and many many more."

[8.0] "A great worker, Masato Tanaka is a guy I felt never got the credit he deserved because he was so well known for taking full force chair shots. People tended to lump Tanaka in with the garbage wrestling crew, guys who have to do stupid shit to get noticed because they can't do it with actual talent. and didn't give him his due."

[10.0] "He should be dead with the stuff he put his body through but he's still going strong. One of my fav wrestlers ever"

[10.0] "I can not think of one bad Tanaka match, his matches vs Mike Awesome are legendary, and the fact that he can still perform at the level of his prime with no sign of stopping is just amazing."

[10.0] "Probably one of the greatest WRESTLERS that ECW ever had. Sure, they had guys like New Jack, who were artful in their hardcore wrestling, but lax on the athletic aspects of the sport, but when Masato Tanaka hit the scene, it was like Paul E. found the perfect ECW wrestler. Not only was he capable of artful, effective, downright potentially career-ending hardcore matches (he's got scars on his body that probably made Sabu jealous), he was also a masterful ring general and innovator of several amazing moves in use today by other wrestlers. The man is still competing at peak levels in his native Japan, still taking part in twisted hardcore matches, and still all around awesome. Truly a once in a lifetime talent."

[8.0] "Tanaka is just a phenomenal worker who should have been a much bigger star in the land of the rising sun."