Yoshihiro Takayama

[10.0] "ngl people now only know him as the guy who fought Don Frye (on YouTube) and when I search up Takayama on YouTube that's the only thing I see and I have to scroll all the way down JUST to find his Shoot Style and Wrestling matches"

[10.0] "He's definitely most famous for his fight with Don Frye and if that was all he was known for, that's hall of fame worthy. After seeing his positive update recently, I wanted to come here and give him a rating. I also rewatched some great matches with Kenta and Minoru Suzuki. The first thing that comes to mind when I watch Takayama is that he's a man's man. Yeah, that kind of saying is out of touch but he would've fit right in wrestling in the 70's and 80's. One of the toughest men I've ever seen wrestle."

[10.0] "An all-time bad motherfucker. Takayama was one of the toughest men to ever step into the ring, and he hit just as hard as he got hit. Had one of the best German suplexes in the business. Seeing him in public again at the Takayamania show recently hit me hard, and I wish him all the best in his health."

[10.0] "One of the coolest wrestlers ever and maybe the best monster of the 00s. Just a beast of a man who you did not want to fuck with. The fight he had with Frye added to his legitimacy as a guy you had to pretty much kill if you wanted to beat him and it was so sick. Him just kneeing a dude in the gut or giving them a german suplex had more feeling and danger to it than most things wrestlers throw nowadays. A truly unique worker"

[9.0] "An awesome force in Japanese pro wrestling , was a hard hitting and impactful wrestler , very much missed in the squared circle , get well soon Takayama san"

[9.0] "A really solid and consistently top performing wrestler in his prime, for his size Takayama could do a lot that you just don't see regularly and then some. Early 2000's AJPW/NOAH Takayama was one of the best performers in the world whom could bring out the best in his opponents, from stiff battles to long endurance bouts to fully utilising his size and presence as the monster bullying the underdog, the sheer versatility he deployed in the ring (not even including his underrated tag runs) was extremely impressive. I wouldn't say he was the most technical or well organised in the ring, but he knew what worked and what got people invested, which is basically the core of what wrestling is all about. When put together with someone who can work with that kind of style, you get some incredible matches, like with his series with Kenta Kobashi or the stuff he had with Kensuke Sasaki. It's just sad that he never got to end his career on his own terms."

[9.0] "One of the best big guys in the history of pro wrestling, had a great career as a tag team wrestler but also proved himself as a singles. Intimidating presence in the ring, stiff strikes but could also show some technical abilities. He was complete for a guy his size, one of the most convincing at playing this giant monster role. Is also one of the very few guys to have won the 3 major titles in Japan, wich add to his legendary status. A shame that his career ended because of an horrible injury."

[10.0] "Takayama is my favorite wrestler. He was a master at really any style he wrestled. Shoot style, Kings Road, Strong style, he wrestled all of them perfectly. Takayama is maybe the best to ever wrestle in the monster role, dominating and brutalizing his opponents, but would you believe he could even play a convincing underdog? He showed this in his match against Minoru Suzuki in 2015, and the fact that he was still having memorable bouts that far into his career should be another sign of his greatness. Takayama was truly great for the entirety of his career. Takayama's injury last year was the greatest tragedy in wrestling and I wish him all the best. Takayama, in my opinion, is the best wrestler of all time."

[10.0] "An underrated wrestler for sure. While he's mainly know for his box match with Frye, he was also a truly great big man in the ring, and I seriously love the wars he's had in the ring. Didn't have a lot of great matches, but the one he had are truly special. The one with Kobashi is one of my favorites of all-time. Good luck to Yoshihiro for the bad time h's having, seriously hoping he makes it through"

[9.0] "Love me some Big Taka! Seriously, what an amazing (& underrated) wrestler. His run in the first half of the 2000's was absolutely fantastic - he was without a doubt one of the absolute best wrestlers in the whole world during that time. He obviously slowed down after he suffered a stroke, but he still busted out some great stuff after that happened too - most recently he had an awesome match vs. Minoru Suzuki in 2015."

[8.0] "Not a great athlete and he doesn't have a lot of moves, but his stamina and brutallity are enough for entertaining me."

[9.0] "The Big Boss, that's what I like to call him, one of the best big men in Japan if then all of wrestling. Very stiff in the ring and takes no nonsense against any opponent. His matches kinda have that big match atmosphere when he steps in between those ropes. Don Frye couldn't stop him and neither can a stroke."

[8.0] "Anybody who has seen this man's PRIDE fight against Don Frye back in 2002 will tell you 1 thing - he can really take a beating! Despite having had a stroke, he's still able to work, and he is 1 of few wrestlers who has held all of the major heavyweight championships in Japan. At 6'5, he's enormous for a Japanese wrestler, and both his suplexes and knees are not moves that his opponents want to experience. In general, a very good powerhouse wrestler with an intimidating charisma about him."