Hayabusa

[10.0] "One of the most influential high fliers in professional wrestling history, Hayabusa made things look effortless. The Ace of FMW, taken from the ring and life itself far too soon."

[10.0] "An absolute legend and the greatest "what if? " in wrestling history. An incredible innovator whose legacy lives on in every risk-taking high-flyer. 10/10 for what he showed us, and eternal sorrow for what we lost."

[10.0] "Hayabusa could evoke emotions that most highflyers could not, hayabusa makes you crry for him in a way only jeff hardy could evoke in people his matches with mr gannosuke. hes genuinely astounding and probably the best baby face highflyer of all time."

[10.0] "This wrestler definitely was ahead of the game, first of: how many pro wrestlers go to the extreme and become one of the best high flyers? Mainly this is the JPN answer to Sabu. Hayabusa is known as the phoenix, a nickname deserving of. A decade of incredible innovation in an era relying on strong style, sports entertainment or kings road. He added aerial to his field of work. One of the most innovative splashes is used numerous wrestlers ever since his time is named after his nickname, the phoenix splash. His career ended tragically but his presence in the business will be felt forevermore."

[10.0] "One of my personal favorites from FMW. Hayabusa was so damn good and had a great moveset and look that made him stand out. It is such a shame that his career ended the way it did."

[10.0] "Even for the time that he was a worker, Hayabusa was so insanely innovative. He basically set the standard for any high flyers that have come along since. His injury was apparently caused because of an issue with the ropes, so it really sucks to think his entire career ended because of somebody elses mistake. Either way, amazing legacy, amazing wrestler, and he would've had an even longer and more significant career if not for that freak accident."

[10.0] "One of the most influential and revolutionary wrestlers of all time, a perfect blend of high-flying based offense mixed with hardcore elements. A lot of your favourite active wrestlers will be inspired or take from Hayabusa. A truly tragic story, a wrestler who's career was cut far too short and a wrestler who isn't acknowledged nearly as much as he should be in regards to the importance of wrestling history. Equally as apt in tag, singles or stipulation matches, Hayabusa was truly one of a kind and someone who will truly live on in wrestling history forever"

[10.0] "A revolutionary in terms of high-flying offense, one of the best of all-time and the fact his career got cut short is a genuine tragedy, one of the most influential wrestlers of his time and truly way too overlooked in terms of importance to wrestling history... 10/10."

[10.0] "An inconsistent genius. Some of his matches leave me feeling cold whilst others are incredible. He had all the talent, great technical and athletic ability. A deserving legend who unfortunately got badly hurt. I'm beyond glad that he was showcased in AJPW and had a legendary main event run as the face of FMW."

[9.0] "Japans ultimate underdog. Hayabusa was an incredible talent in the ring and had some underrated character work throughout his career. Even though his career was cut short his influence on the business is undeniable. He invented moves that modern greats like Seth Rollins and Kota Ibushi have been well known for using. His loyalty to FMW is also comendable as he turned down offers from WWE and NJPW to stay in Onita's promotion."

[10.0] "One of Japan's best Junior Heavyweights, Hayabusa never truly got the exposure he deserved. He was dedicated to FMW to a fault when he easily could have gotten more money and exposure in other companies (I believe WWE and New Japan both gave him offers). His career was sadly cut short, but while he was around, the Phoenix of FMW burned bright"

[6.0] "An iconic figure in the world of the Japanese Indies. Influential world-wide, the star wrestler of a promotion, which, while was losing popularity under him, probably would've floundered more after Megumi Kudo's retirement if not for him. Beloved by his peers and fans alike. But however, despite his innovative moves, amazing imagery of his look and his charisma, his wrestling is just so, so underwhelming. Occasionaly, I can find entertainment in his performance but he mostly leaves me cold. His wrestling comes off derivative of a much exciting style with his own style infused with it, his peers, such as Mr Gannosuke come off way more interesting and capable. A mid-level star, yes. A great wrestler, no. My rating is based upon my enjoyment of him, more so his legacy, which is palpable. Even if it can link to the rise of Seth Rollins. A crime against humanity."

[10.0] "One of the biggest "what if" in wrestling, in my opinion. An innovator and a person with an impressive life story that motivates to never give up. Hayabusa successfully combined hardcore style, performing in the FMV, and high-fly, showing very impressive maneuvers, even inventing several ones. A talented performer who can show moves that seemed amazing in those years, speak and tell a good story in a match. His career ended too soon due to a terrible injury, but even after that, he connected his life with wrestling, becoming a promoter and continuing to appear on the ring from time to time and live the dream of someday soaring above it again."

[10.0] "Hayabusa was FMW's Diamond in the rough. Constantly putting on bangers with the top stars of All Japan and FMW, he became a instant fan favorite. He tried to do new things with H character or Darkside Hayabusa that I liked but the fans just wanted the normal Hayabusa."

[10.0] "He was incredible, and isn't talked about enough. With FMW going under, It's so sad he never got that big full time NJPW/NOAH move, and his best work has been lost to time. He could've legit been the missing link between the 4 Pillars/3 musketeers & Tanahashi."

[9.0] "While it's perhaps true that he was never as good in-ring as Jushin Liger or Keiji Mutoh at the time, there are few junior heavyweights in history who mean more to more wrestling fans than Hayabusa. The man who innovated such gorgeous moves like the Falcon Arrow and Phoenix Splash had way too short of a career, and life, but his wonderful legacy continues on through equally marvelous talents like PAC, BxB Hulk, and Bandido. Rest easy, legend."

[6.0] "Well, I can't say I am surprised Hayabusa has this high rating because he was loved by almost everybody but he was as good in the ring as his opponent was, he could never put up a good match with someone who isn't better than him in the ring."

[8.0] "You'd have to be insane to not see what a talent Hayabusa was. Yeah, he was a bit of a spot-based worker a times, but damn, he was SUCH a great high-flyer in a time when very few people could do even 30% of what he was doing. His style was incredibly explosive, unlike a lot of high-flyers today whose styles feels more 'floaty' and weak because they focus too much on technique (especially overly contrived technique) as opposed to impact. Hayabusa would definitely botch every now and then, but when he properly hit his aerial spots, they would always look beautiful and damaging. In FMW, he would often get rather bogged down by working the messy hardcore brawl style that the company loved, but he would always look great whenever he was allowed to run wild and fly around. I can't rate him any higher than an 8 because he's one of those workers who, despite very obviously being extremely talented, often didn't have the appropriate partners to produce properly great matches. This meant that while he would hit some awesome spots in his big matches, his opponents often wouldn't give him the same amount of interesting work back, thus he's sadly lacking in seriously great matches. He's had plenty of quite good to really good matches, and some great individual performances, but that's it. Also, as I said, his wrestling was a bit limited outside of his aerial attacks. This isn't to say he was only an acrobatic attraction though, since he definitely also had a variety of impressive and even rather brutal power moves, but his aerial work always took the centre stage, and for me, a truly top-tier outstanding wrestler requires a bit more diverse and equally spread-out offence. Given what a star he was in Japan (despite being part of a non-major company) and the notoriety he's gained as a high-flying icon in the west, it's absolutely appropriate to refer to Hayabusa as a legend."

[2.0] "Having watched through a good amount of his 97 work in FMW and AJPW I have come to the conclusion that he is a really overrated and often very bad wrestler. He is lazy, just has his big spots and has absolutely nothing to offer in between his springboards. He also does not sell really at all either. Now he is not a complete stiff as he is carriable, but only by some extremely great wrestlers such as the 4 pillars and Akiyama. Through his 97 run in AJPW he is often against a young Kentaro Shiga and Shiga works rings around him. By all accounts a really nice guy and he did have some presence but he was not a good wrestler."

[10.0] "Excellent high flyer! Always exciting to watch. He was a big name in FMW. Very quick in the ring. He only made one appearance in North America for ECW. His career was very short due to back injuries."

[6.0] "I was a big Hayabusa fan; he could do spots that were, for the timeframe, incredible. But that was all he could do, and if you wanted a Hayabusa match with some meat to it, something other than just spots, you needed someone to carry him. To his credit, Hayabusa could be carried to some great, great matches. But they were great almost entirely because of who Hayabusa was facing rather than Hayabusa himself."

[9.0] "Great hardcore high flying wrestler. It was the Japanese equivalent of Sabu. Such a shame his career and later his life was cut short. RIP, you'll always be missed."