Naoya Ogawa

[10.0] "One of the realest and toughest wrestlers ever and a great fighter too. Has a lot of incredibly stiff matches and brought alot of legitimacy to New Japan. His feud with Shinya Hashimoto was extremely defining for New Japan and in turn Japanese wrestling. He was also just a mad bastard on top of everything and could shoot beat up almost anyone in wrestling. One of Inoki's favorite and for a good reason he embodied everything Inokiism meant."

[6.0] "Ogawa is a real a difficult case to pin down a rating on. As a pro wrestler, his matches tend to revolve around his style and his strengths as a legitimate martial artist. They tell a specific story that is unique to someone of his stature. The low rating seems to revolve around booking decisions, which can't be held against him entirely. Ultimately, I think he is above average and while I'm splitting the middle, I'm doing so leaning more on good than bad."

[7.0] "One of the biggest names in Japan in the late 1990s, maybe he best personified the early moments of a shifting industry, a shifting fan perception of pro wrestling. His best work is obviously in hatred-filled worked shoots against the likes of Hash, but he really worked sporadically. I think, with Ogawa, you get much more good than what's being said of him. Not really his fault for how the industry shook out the years following the Hash feud."

[8.0] "Naoya Ogawa is genuinely one of the coolest motherfuckers to ever step into the ring. Is he the best shoot-style guy? No. Does he have a big legacy? Well, that's not really his fault, but no. Does he beat people up and play to the crowd really fucking good? Yes. Yes, he does."

[9.0] "I'm happy to see some appreciation here, recently, for Naoya Ogawa. This man was very good in the ring, had some legendary moments and was a big name in Japan for over a decade. Please respect his legacy."

[4.0] "Suprised to see so much hate for The Big Chicken on here. He turned out alright oncr he was allowed to break away from being the uber badass shooter that Inoki thought he was supposed to be. He wasnt the second coming of Maeda or Takada, he was simply too clumsy and green and awkward. Hustle was really where Ogawa shined brightest, doing matches that were short and simple and just being kind of a big charismatic goofball who sang with children and cosplayed as Hulk Hogan from time to time. As Captain Hustle himself would say, 3-2-1 Hustle Hustle!"

[10.0] "Naoya Ogawa is a good worker and a real life badass (awesome judo career (world champion and silver olympic medalist)) + a ok mma career. NJPW huge draw (late 90s-early 2000) watch his feud with Shinya Hashimoto! Ogawa deserve more respect 10!"

[8.0] "Ogawa's score on Cagematch pretty much reflects how fans are quick to throw away the baby with the bathwater by dismissing "Inokism" altogether. It gets even worse when people still bash him on the account of that one infamous incident, when he supposedly shot on Shinya Hashimoto (it was never really confirmed if it was a workeor not). Anyway, considering Hashimoto and Ogawa remained friends after that match and also that it's been largely accepted Inoki was behind the angle, that point should be moot by now. Naoya Ogawa should be evaluated by his actual work and, the truth is, at that time when MMA was fusing awkwardly with pro wrestling, Ogawa proved himself to be on the better half of the scene: contrary to many of his contemporaries, Ogawa actually excelled on mixing his shootfighting/judo knowledge with pro wrestling sensibility. Even though he was never a specially gifted mixed martial artist (his skills were passable, at best), he looked and played the part well enough and his offense largely felt legit. The very fact the STO (alongside its variations) has since become largely popular on pro wrestling should be enough proof Ogawa has made his mark. Ironically, his greatest career accomplishments didn't even take place in NJPW itself: not too long after his debut, he would go on to be a solid World Heavyweight Champion as well as an Intercontinental Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (alongside no other than Shinya Hashimoto) for NWA. But few people were actually paying attention to NWA at the time and, after his time bouncing back and forth between the two promotions and some MMA matches, Ogawa would spend most of the rest of his pro wrestling career on more niche promotions ZERO-1, HUSTLE and IGF, continuing to have good, but not essential matches (the closest he would come of pulling out a classic would be against Toshiaki Kawada on ZERO-1). All things considered, Naoya Ogawa is a good wrestler and should be way better regarded than he is."

[10.0] "one of the most legitimate badasses in pro-wrestling history. it's only fitting that this was the man that gave us kazunari murakami. but that's not to take away from his own wrestling value. he was amazing, had great strikes, amazing judo throws. just all-around great."

[10.0] "Deserves way more respect, I thought he was one hell of a worker who actually gave a damn about pro wrestling unlike all those other Inokism guys and proved it with his matches against Shinya Hashimoto."

[10.0] "I am shocked about this rating. Unfair! He was an excellent wrestler. He has a background in judo and has won medals in the Olympics. Well known in New Japan. Excellent feud with Shinya Hashimoto. Former two time NWA champion. His career was short and sweet. He also fought in MMA. Don;t understand the bad rating but a 10 is great!"

[4.0] "Ogawa did draw some big TV ratings, and was part of a legendary feud, but had a lousy attitude and wasn't against being completely unprofessional if he felt like it."

[9.0] "The rating Ogawa has on this site is unbelievably unfair. This makes clear how much people needs to go back and rewatch (or maybe watch) pre-westernized NJPW. He was one of the best in the kind of matches his used to fight and he was incredibly charismatic and intense."

[8.0] "Ugh, people only read the stories and not look at the actual wrestler. People remember that he shot on hahsimoto but forget how they were big friends at the time and had a great tag team and awesome feud, even if they booked the ending like shit ruining both careers effectively. Any way the guy is very good at what he does and makes a match feel real and intense. good grappler and strikes as well. A bit bland but that's all."

[8.0] "Unbelievable that this guy is rated below 3, a sign that the story of Inokiism needs to be retold and reunderstood outside of numbers drawn. Go and look for Ogawa-Severn for the NWA title on youtube. It's like a version of wrestling that never came to be and was replaced with flips and computer game reversals (which are fine, they have a place) - it's snug and manly and it feels like nothing else. Not a world level talent but the guy had the aura missing from a lot of top talents and worked some good matches along the way. Booked right he could have been a credible Japanese Goldberg."

[8.0] "Ogawa may not have been the greatest in-ring talent of all time, but his reputation as a factor in NJPW's decline is hugely exaggerated. He was a popular figure of the era - just listen to the reactions he got - and he had ring presence to spare. Go back and watch his short clusterfuffle with Kensuke Sasaki at Wrestling World 2002 - the crowd is hot and the match itself, whilst short and with a schmoz finish, feels like a real Big Fight. Add to that his later work with Shinya Hashimoto (the guy everyone seems to think he should be eternal nemeses with) in Zero-One and his willingness to poke fun at himself in Hustle and you've got a guy who was way more of a credit to the business than he was a hindrance. Also his finisher was called the Space Tornado Ogawa, which is a lot better than whatever garbage finisher name the dorks you like have"

[9.0] "Well I like him. Was at the centre of Inoki-ism and New Japan's rapid decline but was also a part of some classic matches opposite Shinya Hashimoto. Extremely scary individual who did carry some big match cred. Just look at the crowd response for his big matches. I wouldn't say he was a great pro wrestler per se, but his presence was noteworthy."