Manabu Nakanishi

[6.0] "Only seen his WCW tenure, and he was solid enough for the lower midcard but totally underutilized. Feuded with Road Warrior Hawk then hung out in the lower mid card for a few months."

[7.0] "You can tell that NJPW had alot of plans on Manabu at one point but he just never reached his full potential. And that's not a bad thing, even into his later years, he was still a solid hand to have around and I'm glad he got the one reign as IWGP champion."

[7.0] "The definition of a solid worker. Didn't set the world alight in the ring but played his power role brilliantly which got him over well at certain points. His IWGP title win was certainly a nice moment."

[6.0] "Manabu was just one of those guys who slipped threw the cracks but climbed his way back to the top. His IWGP Heavyweight Title win was so unexpected but he was so much muscle and enthusiasm. His time WCW was short but I think he had a good run, missed an opportunity to push him to the TV title."

[6.0] "By far the worst out of the Forgotten Generation (Nagata, Kojima, Tenzan, etc) and mostly relied on being a big dude who could brawl and do power moves. Guy wasn't particularly remarkable even in his better days but could squeeze out a good to great match when he was in the ring with guys who could work around that effectively. He wasn't particularly charismatic and mostly relied on his physicality to really establish any real connection with the crowd: that's fine to do, but that's ALL he was capable of, and he has a lot more lukewarm to plodding bouts than ones worth watching. Long standing injuries wrecked him completely after probably 2008/9 and he was never the same afterwards, though he could still do alright in a restricted role in tag bouts. Not great, but has a extremely respectful career."

[7.0] "It was only after his career ended in 2020 that I took some time to rewatch some of his classic moments from the 90s and 2000s. While he's not at the level of a Tenzan, Nagata, or Kojima, he was once a really great hoss wrestler and a tough out for any up and coming heavyweight. He's kind of an earlier version of what Tomohiro Ishii would become later."

[10.0] "Manabu Nakanishi used to be an elite wrestler back in the day. And, yeah sure, now, he just was a shade of his old self and, sure, he was never the best, but; I do not know why, he became one of my favourite wrestlers of all time just because he was him. And this rating is probably given more taking feelings in account, but still I cannot rate him any lower."

[8.0] "Now that he's officially retired I can rate his whole career retrospectively instead of his awful modern matches. And if you look at his entire career you really can't help but be amazed by the consistency and quality of his younger days."

[9.0] "Obviously not at his peak these last few years but at his best was a phenomenal wrestler who just capped off his great career."

[9.0] "Look, I know nowadays he was immobile, but since Nakanishi's retired, we can look at his whole career and from 1996-2005 this dude was a HOSS, a great hoss that would make sweat fly off his opponent's chest off a Lariat cause he was the dude."

[8.0] "A very respectable wrestler who at once reached the heights of new japan. He obviously wasnt (he just retired) the wrestler he was in the previous decade but if we look at the entire picture he easily deserves an eight."

[10.0] "Nakanishis rating on here made me sick, sure hes broken down now but Nakanishi between 1998 and 2009 was one of the best wrestlers in the entire world and deserved the IWGP title way earlier then he actually got it."

[7.0] "Nakanishi is probably the least gifted of NJPW "Lost Generation" which includes other greats such as Nagata and Tenzan who had to suffer through the "Inokism" phase of the promotion. He had a very high level amateur wrestling background and in his youth, back when he sported long hair and some of the angriest facial expressions in the history of wrestling, he was quite good and entertaining in the ring, albeit he never showed any of Nagata's sheer brilliance. What made him such an outstanding character, however, is his real life persona: in that field Nakanishi would deserve a full 10. To this day he still possesses a tremendous work ethics, something that led him to wrestle over 100 matches per year for over a decade and has endeared himself to fans with his larger-than-life exploits, such as amazing feats of strength followed by eating enough food for a small team of lumberjacks in a single sitting. On top of this he's always been a true people's champion, always kind with fans, especially children and the elderly, something that Japanese fans do not forget easily."

[7.0] "Manabu Nakanishi was an OK worker; he wasn't great, but, if he was in with someone great, he didn't entirely suck. But he just wasn't good enough, nor charismatic enough, to live up the push that was given to him."

[9.0] "F**k the low rating, Nakanishi deserves much, much more than this. Sure he is rather broken down this days but in his hey day, he was a tremendous wrestler. Brought so much energy and fire to his matches. Awesome array of power moves and big bombs but was a great seller too. A big part of his Nishinmura vs Chono/Tenzan classic tag match. Incredibly hard working wrestler who rightfully got the title that he deserved after years of being great."

[8.0] "Something about him makes me smile. His old work is hype as hell and the fans were super into him. Even now with his limited mobility he's still awesome. Love this big goof"

[3.0] "I'm not tremendously familiar with Nakanishi, but all I know is that he is a shell of what he once was. Seeing limited older stuff of his, I wasn't too impressed with his work. Injuries, a late start, and high-level amateur wrestling in his youth seem to have taken its toll."

[2.0] "Maybe, /maybe/ Manabu Nakanishi was a solid wrestler in his younger years? His reputation, and his list of recommended matches on this very site don't seem to suggest that at all. But I haven't seen that. The Nakanishi I know is an out of shape, broken down old man who shouldn't still be wrestling. I want to give him credit for giving his body to wrestling as long as he has, but I also feel like he should have just retired years ago, and doesn't necessarily deserve commendation for not doing so."

[10.0] "Manabu Nakanishi was tipped for success early. All you need to do is look at how tall, ripped and strong he is and you can see why. But for a long time it looked like he'd never win the world belt, as if they waited too long and he was too old. Then, he won it! People cried in the aisles. He's not only a great wrestler but a loveable personality and a huge character, as you can see on his reality show, Nakanishi Land."