[8.0] "Seeing Saito rated this low is absurd. I've watched a fair bit of his work and he's was an awesome part of the Heisei Ishingun angle/faction during the early parts of New Japan in the 90s. he has some pretty good midcard matches and his matches against Go Shiozaki, of course Kobashi and Naomichi Marufuji match that he had last year which was an amazing tribute match to Misawa in my opinion, a great tag wrestler, considering his run with Jun Akiyama & Bison Smith (May He Rest Easy), it's sucks that he'll be remember because of the "incident" and i'm not proud about how he will not be given more credit for what he's done."
[6.0] "Spent his peak years surrounded by all time level workers and really outside of a match or two he does not have a body of work that demands you go back and watch a retrospective. He was basically a broken shell of a worker for near enough 15 years before he finally packed it in but then puro just does not pay well enough to allow people to retire in good time."
[7.0] "Yeah his work has been on decline the last couple of years but he's still a decent tag guy and his matches during the 2000s were generally pretty good."
[8.0] "I love this grumpy old bastard. He was damn cool as part of the Heisei Ishingun angle/faction in early 90s New Japan. As a midcard feud from this time period I'd imagine most in the West haven't seen much footage of it - but I would definitely recommend looking for what you can. In 00s NOAH he formed a couple of enjoyable tag teams. Particularly his run with Bison Smith (RIP)."
[8.0] "I have no idea how Saito is rated this low, granted I haven't seen all of his work but he's an easy 7 or 8 out of 10. I'm going 8 for much I like his tag work, and because his singles match in 2020 against Shiozaki showed how great he still was even that late into his career."
[8.0] "I think this veteran is very underrated. Yes, now he's a half-comedy, but he still got it, he still can perform really well and show cool exchanges and moments with both low-carders and main-eventers. Storyteller skills, charisma and nice work make a good wrestler from Saito, and I'm not happy about the fact that he will not be given more attention."
[5.0] "I never really got Saito as a wrestler. He's short, chubby, not particularly threatening in anyway and looks like a goof. The few times he's been given to step up over the years have gone nowhere, and he's basically been stuck being the side-man in tags and stables. He's not TERRIBLE in his prime but wasn't particularly fantastic either, there's honestly not a lot of matches that I can say were definitively good because of him: it's always his opponent taking him to the next level. He's pretty eh by himself, tolerable in Funky Express in short doses, and he's definitely nearing the point where wrestling isn't gonna be a option for him. That being said, for a 50+ year old he's very much above average in terms of performances, and his status as a NOAH vet who's rearing the next generation is a worthwhile job. All in all: decent in his prime but very much a undercard worker."
[8.0] "In den 90ern sehr brauchbar als bulliger Karateka, der einfach alles wegkickt. Bei NOAH im Team mit Akiyama jahrelang ein Leistungsgarant. Abzüge für teils abfallende Leistung, aber seine Singles-Matches gegen Kobashi, Honda, Kawada oder auch Marufuji gehören mit zum besten, was man im grünen Ring bestaunen durfte."
[7.0] "Fairly good wrestler that can handle competitive or comedy wrestling. His moveset seems pretty limited by his age, but what he can still do, he does very well."
[8.0] "Ein von unterschaetztesten Wrestlers im Geschichte vom Puroresu. Ein toller gimmick mit einem passenden Moveset, beeindruckunde Erfahrung in Karate und viel Liebe fuer Wrestling. Es is Scham, dass er GHC Heavyweight Title nie getragen hat."
[4.0] "Similar to Honda, Saito always seemed like he had better matches and a cooler moveset in him than he let show in throwaway matches. Unlike Honda, however, Saito never truly rose to the occasion in his title shots. Competent wrestler, but not very exciting and a bit too sloppy-looking to be taken seriously as a main event level guy."
[6.0] "Ist wohl zur tragischte Gestalt im Pro Wrestlings geworden (ich sage es hier mal ganz deutlich: Ihn trifft keine Schuld an Misawas Tod). Hat einige sehr gute Kämpfe abgeliefert, allerdings genau so viele langweilige."
[6.0] "Ist besser, als manche denken. Ist zu recht so weit oben bei NOAH, auch wenn seine Leistung schwanken. Das hängt natürlich vom Gegner ab, aber er ist und bleibt ein zuverlässiger Big Match Worker. Saito ist angesehen beim Publikum und wenn soll man sonst neben den jungen Talenten in die höhren Cards stellen ? Außerdem muss man sein Willen und Mut nach den Unfall von Misawa bewundern. Er liebt das Wrestling sonst hätte er aufgehört. Er hat sich bewiesen und von einer Schuld losgesagt, die ihn überhaupt nicht trifft. Nur weil er nicht gleich die Klasse eines Akiyama, Kobashi usw. hat, ist er doch nicht schlecht."
[4.0] "Für japanische Verhältnisse unter aller Sau und auch nach "normalen" Maßstäben alles Andere als der Bringer. Ein Selling das Hogan und den Warrior in der Hinsicht gut erscheinen lässt und bei seinen Offensivaktionen gelangweilter als ein Kinderkanal-Moderator."
