Shota Umino

[7.0] "Whenever Shota Umino is in the zone he bumps up two points. Whenever he isn't he drops down two. It has taken this man forever to find out that he's more a Shinya Hashimoto-esque brawler than the second coming of Hiroshi Tanahashi and the world is all the better for it. He's been slowly, but consistently getting better ever since his dud of a first Tokyo Dome main event and I've no doubt that when he puts all the pieces together he's gonna be back in the main event spot and actually good enough to warrant it."

[3.0] "All things considered Shota Umino isn't a bad wrestler , If anything he's a good one but his booking has turned everyone against him and ruined his confidence completely. The awful match with Zack in the dome was the cherry on top of the shit cake for Shota and really shows how badly NJPW have done with developing him. He's a good tag wrestler but he should never be the next ace and should accept his mid card ceiling."

[6.0] "Inconsistency, that's the one word i would use to sum up Umino as a wrestler both character wise and in ring. I don't think it's bad to take inspiration from other wrestlers but the way Umino for most of his run post excursion was a fusion of a bunch of different guy like Tanahashi, Moxley, and Osprey made him feel inconsistent as a character to the point where he's now reverted back to being a blank slate. As for in ring wise he can be very good. Key word being "can be". On the right night with right opponent he's been able to put on banger matches but on other nights he just seems to shit the bed. The biggest example of this was earlier this year where he somehow put on an absolute stinker of a match in the main event of wrestle kingdom with arguably the best technical wrestler around today in ZSJ. I don't know whether it's a motivation issue or not being satisfied with his booking but clearly something is holding him back from being a top consistent guy in New Japan. I truly think there is potential for Umino to still be great and I'm hoping with him seemingly starting fresh he can find his footing eventually."

[5.0] "I like Shota, I feel they messed him up with changing his look. I get it looked like Tanahashi I really didn't care, if people did whatever. I also feel he should've beat Ospreay again neither here nor there. He has a good move set, I think his expression could improve and I feel sometimes it looks like he has no passion and just doesn't want to be in the ring. It also doesn't help that NJ keeps shoving him down peoples throats, yeah he is good but the fans reject him partially because of his bad booking. Like we did not need 2 months of HoT feuds with Shooter. Overall, bookers have failed Shooter completely. He is a good wrestler that needs some improvement to match, Yota and Yuya. He will get there one day. *EDIT* Dropping my rating, I still love Shooter and desperately want him to succeed but after being completely underwhelming since the main event of WrestleKingdom, and now with the beyond stupid "Second Chapter" gimmick, it seems like a humiliation ritual."

[8.0] "I still like ol Shooter and his now polarizing style is interesting. I think he's getting better and I enjoyed his WK match with ZSJ. Nothing is going to be Okada/Omega but it's a solid match with a good work. As of this writing Shota has had a great showing in the G1 35."

[4.0] "I liked Umino in 2023 and thought he was a great star just waiting for the right push, but unfortunately he got worse instead of better. He looked like shit when he changed his gear in 2024 and he's only gotten worse. His matches started to suck, especially in 2025. He gave Konosuke Takeshita one of his worst matches, which really tells you how much he's downgraded. Sure he's had a few good-great matches, but his character is all over the place and has gone nowhere's. He should've been a heel dick or an anti-hero of sorts, but he's just a bland wrestler who looks like one of the basic characters on a WWE 2K game. I really hope he fixes himself before there's even a thought of him getting a world title."

[4.0] "I loved Shota Umino back on 2023, the match against Will Ospreay was the peak of his young career, and i was promised to be the ace of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Unfortunatly since then, he has no momentum, fails his Wrestle Kingdom Main Event Match against Zack Sabre Jr in one of the most terrible ME in Kingdom ever. His match and his mooveset is just boring and the other guys like Uemura, Oiwa and Tsuji are just better to fit in the Main Event Title picture, more than him."

[7.0] "Mixed feelings about Shooter right now. On one hand he feels like a big disappointment and a failed top guy experiment but on the other hand, he has so much talent and he still can be the new ace of the company and he's showed it in the matches against ZSJ and Shingo in this G1 so far. I hope he makes a big comeback to the top because things aren't looking so good for him"

[3.0] "The failed ace. Shota Umino is simply not a good professional wrestler at this point in time. He's a boring babyface, and they refuse to turn him heel. Pretty much any member of the new generation should be getting the push he has gotten. Every time I watch him he seemingly gets worse from what he once was, never seen a guy this young regress so rapidly. Maybe in time he can flip that and prove me wrong, maybe then this rating can go up"

[7.0] "I've had quite a journey in how I view Shota. He's sadly one of those wrestlers you can't evaluate without also addressing his negative fan reactions, given they've directly affected his career trajectory. I firmly believe these reactions are, for the most part, unjustified, and he is in fact a really good wrestler (not great, but still really good). He's been controversial since his NJPW return from excursion in regards to his booking, his selling/charisma, and his in-ring work, and it now seems a lot of people have completely soured on him and refuse to change their opinions despite the various improvements he (and NJPW) have made to address his shortcomings. I was quickly turned off by 'rockstar Tanahashi-lite' Shota when he returned back in 2022, since he was getting pushed so prominently with these big matches despite not having the physicality, athleticism or flashiness to deserve it. He was still decent enough and at least had some good energy and crowd-connection, but you'd expect far more from someone that high up the card. I guess I was an early member of the "Shota ain't it" bandwagon in that regard. Slowly, though, Shota won me over a bit as he notably upped his selling, coming off a lot more sympathetic and fiery with each passing month, and his in-ring technique became a bit cleaner and more convincing too. Everything looked on the up and up for Shota. I then dropped all wrestling for about 8 months and came back at WK19, where both Japanese and western opinion had suddenly nose-dived against the guy. I agree that he wasn't remotely talented/popular enough to deserve that WK main-event yet, but GEEZ some people are really weird for letting outside factors like that influence their entire judgement of the guy, as if Shota himself is to blame for that booking, and as if that brief over-pushing somehow means he now has zero talent at all. I swear, if your only knowledge of Shota's booking was just the vibe you get some certain fans' vitriol towards him, you'd assume he'd actually won the title at WK19 and has been undefeated since then, defeating all the far more popular guys in the company one after the other. It was a difficult situation where NJPW, having been so incredibly stupid for so long, were forced into the situation of now desperately needing some of their younger guys to finally become top guys, since all their actual top guys were retiring or leaving by other means. Yes, NJPW should never have allowed themselves to be in this situation in the first place, but now that they're in it, I can't blame them too much for saying "f*ck it, let Shota main-event WK". If they continue using and pushing Shota for the next decade plus, as we all assume will likely be the case, then at least that WK main-event will have been justified post-facto, even if the match itself was underwhelming (though still pretty good). Now, even considering his initial push of big matches upon first returning in 2022, and this forced WK main-event in January 2025, I really have no issues with Shota's booking as of mid 2025. He's currently doing a 'so close but so far' story, where he's losing every major match he has but at least remaining on the periphery of being a top guy by way of having those matches in the first place, and I have no issue with that in terms of continuing to build him up as a future star but making sure not to push him TOO hard and then have fans resent him because it feels forced. Hopefully people are more open-minded by the time he gets pushed again. In terms of his charisma/selling, there's this extremely weird phenomenon of people straight up claiming Shota "shows no emotion" or "can't sell", whereas I CONSTANTLY see various babyface fire-ups and sympathetic selling segments all throughout his matches, so what gives? I think it's more likely that people just go into Shota's matches actively intending to dislike him, and then because they know that it's *usually* the case that a babyface wrestler will get booed if they can't connect with a crowd, and that selling is one of the major ways a babyface can connect with a crowd, they then work backwards when they hear Shota getting booed and automatically, resolutely conclude that his weak crowd connection is simply because he can't sell whatsoever. So, Shota's selling isn't "bad", it just isn't changing hearts and minds. Finally, when it comes to his offence, I again find it pretty weird when people describe him as anything less than a good worker at the absolutely least. I mean, look at the numerous examples we have of him laying in those stiff lariats, delivering his power moves with big impact, and upping the slickness of his more creative signature spots. I think it's very obvious what improvements he's made compared to his 2023 offence, and that's probably what he deserves the most credit for. So, we've got a guy who currently is NOT being pushed to any serious extent, who can indeed sympathetically sell and show babyface fire, and who is managing to bring his offence together into a nice mixture of flash and impact. Remind me again why I'm meant to dislike this guy? He can obviously still misstep and be mediocre at times, but never to the extent that he deserves all the negativity and loud 'indifference' he's getting. At least those reactions are now making him more endearing in my eyes, to the point that I guess I'm now a (cautious) fan. My only real negatives against Shota right now are that he's still a bit too blank-faced and dull outside the ring (e.g. entrances), and also that he is indeed automatically lacking a certain next-level aura just by default of the crowds seemingly refusing to budge on allowing him to properly win them back over. Apart from that, yeah he's still no Okada, Tanahashi, or Naito, but I already see clear signs of progress, so I'm hopeful for what's to come for him."

[7.0] "Shota is an interesting Wrestler in my eyes. Amongst His Class of Young Lions such as Yota Tsuji, Yuya Umerma, and Ren Narita; Shota is headed to be the new ACE of NJPW and his early iteration of" The Shooter" with the flowy hair, association with Jon Moxley, overwhelming support of the fans, it you could see the potential there! He's a great in-ring performer with a nifty moveset to boot. However, Shota seems to be in a lull which sucks to see with the comparison to Hiroshi Tanahashi, Lacking any gold or achievements compared to Tsuji or Narita, and the crowd seemingly turning against him especially at WK 19 its devastated to see his back against the wall. I'm hoping with Shota shaving his head at New Beginning in Osaka 2025, There's a spark within him that can gain back that popularity and notoriety earlier in his career. I HAVE HOPE FOR YOU SHOOTER!"

[7.0] "He's solid, a lot of his matches are good, but he's very young and doesn't need to keep getting these IWGP World Championship matches for no reason. His in-ring is solid, but can be lacking at times. He's improved a lot more since last year and I feel that he can be a top asset, probably not as a good guy though because he doesn't have that good guy kinda look. He dresses like a face, however he seems like one, and kind of seems like a quiet, risk taking, however cocky. I dunno, he's better than he was, but still, stop putting him in a position to fail."

[4.0] "I've been on Shota Umino's bandwagon longer than most (I loved ZSJ vs Umino in WK'25 main event), but after the New Japan Cup '25 semi-final I'm getting off. I'd rather watch 60-years old Jinsei Shinzaki instead of monk-ish Shota doing another "ok, I guess" match. Rating to be revised if he turns things around into some sort of consistent worthwhile performances."

[4.0] "Weird case because he was one of my favorite wrestlers and one of the wrestler I had the most hope on carrying NJPW post Ospreay and Okada departure but he became stale ever since. Shota Umino has been the man when he faced Ospreay and delivered the best match that any of the Reiwa Musketeer, Uemura, Oiwa and Fujita has had but he was caught in a downroad spiral ever since. He had a lackluster Tokyo Dome Main Event against one of the most consistent wrestler in the world, he dropped his great look for whatever the fuck he is now, and just failing every plateform NJPW gives him. I really hope the situation gets better in the future because It is painful to see"

"Fair play to him for shaving his own head in the middle of the ring - its what Jack Perry should've done to make himself a bit more interesting. If he ditches the pink and comes out in plain black trunks and playing into the boos it might be half decent, but I will have to wait and see."

[8.0] "I'm starting this at a 7, with a ton of room to grow for him. I've only seen him wrestle for a few months, but almost every time I see him, I find myself convinced that he's a future cornerstone for the company. The dude can go, and he's just scratching the surface. Update: after the WK19 main event, and the G1 this past year, I'm bumping him up to an 8. He's grown pretty well, even if the crowd hasn't fully come with him. He's got potential to go even higher too."

[3.0] "One of the most overpushed guy in history. How you can get a Tokyo Dome main event while still being this bad at selling, while clearly getting negative responses from the fans and while being such an impersonal wrestler is just crazy and shows how bad New Japan's booking is right now. He is a CAW from these WWE games, he just copies stuff from a lot of different wrestlers except everyone can see through this shit. Tried to look like a mix of Tanahashi and Naito at first, took Moxley's vest and finisher. He dropped some of those things eventually but still ends up looking like an idiot, and he copied some of Ospreay's stuff. He still has his horrible death rider finisher, he will never be taken seriously, will never look like he is his own man while he still does all of this shit. It's not working, he hasn't been helped by his booking but a lot of the problems are still tied to his abilities as a wrestler. No one forces him to copy so much wrestlers and feel like a CAW, no one forces him to look like such a silly loser waving at every kids and fans to desperately try to get some crowd support, he also has negative charisma. Nothing about him is compelling, the fans see through that and yet he still gets booked like he is the future of this business. Ridiculous."

"Not even 1 week in the year 2025, the majority of fans, from Japan to the world, are against Shota Umino. The year is not over so I still think he will come on top."

[2.0] "There's no other way to say it now than that Umino is mediocre. I was initially skeptical of him. I liked the interaction with Moxley, yes it was cool and important to him, but everything else is an example of how not to do things. Shota is literally parasitic on imagery. New Japan decided to make a modern day Tanahashi in him. Where did they get the weird idea that if he wears pink, that's it, he's ours, he's modern? Otherwise I don't understand why his appearance is getting more and more arthouse. If it's Umino's own opinion, he's entitled to it, but if it's to the detriment of the company(everyone criticizes his style, especially his current one), why position him as the main star. You have to be able to adjust to the realities. Not how you want to be seen. It's how you want to be seen. People mistakenly think that if Will has a cool match with you, you're automatically mega cool. In fact, that match was one dancer's dance. Umino himself doesn't look very cool in the ring. He has mediocre finishers, he's not good at drama, he doesn't have the charisma he needs. There are too many problems and all of this has led to a situation that even the Japanese audience isn't happy about. I know there is criticism for Tsuji, Narita, Uemura as well. But any of those three are a head above Umino, even considering none of them were given the kind of opportunities just for fun as those opportunities are given to Shota. Tsuji deserved every moment he got. Yeah, Narita isn't in the best position right now, but even he's more relatable and not as annoying as Shota is. If we're talking about "Golden Youth", when you look at Shota, you don't want to worry about him. It feels like everything has already been decided for you. It feels like he's being given this every opportunity while the rest of us are earning them. The way Shota came to fight in the main event of WK is just an epic of nonsense and illogical events. He was literally paved his way to the title and everyone had to accept it. I can't remember in my entire life such a runaway road to the main event, such an unimportant road. Yeah, Umino looks like a really nice guy in person and I'm sure he's under a lot of pressure, which is evident in any promo, because it feels like he's being forced to do this and is trivializing it. All because a new generation is needed and it's not ready. At least Shota, he's definitely not ready. I'm not sure if WK will turn out to be a box office failure, but that kind of signage wouldn't appeal to me. Zach needed someone more legitimate for such an event after what he went through. Even Shingo would have been more appropriate. Even Sanada. Anybody but Shota. If he was mid-card, I would never have made that grade. But we're working with what we've got. Now he's where he doesn't deserve to be, which is obvious to anyone who looks at things objectively. He needs to work, work and more work"

[6.0] "The son of the legendary referee Red Shoes, and protected by Jon Moxley... I really like Shooter, I think he's young and has some flaws, but those things are figured out by the time, his look remembers me a lot of Hiroshi Tanahashi, and I think that is his ceiling, with due proportion, I see a great babyface potential, and he's a future ace material. Still not as good as some of his contemporaries, but definitely valuable."

[6.0] "Look, I really try, okay? I really try to click my interest into what people see in Umino, but I just waste my time. He has no star power, he has no aura, he relies to much on the stupidities of America, and the only cool things he has are his ring gears, his Tanahashi-esque theme song and his quite impressive moveset, nothing else. I mean, come on, everyone around him moved their pieces way faster like Tsuji winning the NJCup and Never Six titles, Uemura winning KOPW, Narita winning the Never Six titles, and yeah, even Wato winning the BOSJ 2023 and the IWGP Jr. Tags was valuable. You see, all those guys were accomplishing great stuff while Umino was wasting his time enjoying being called a "Japanese Sexy B**ch" and imitanting Mercedes Mone's stupid dance. Not to mention, his lack of charisma, a confused facial expression at all times and repetitive promos about being the Ace and the future of the company, such a shame. Tsuji is the best choice of future ace for NJPW, while Narita is the best choice for future main villain."

[9.0] "Shota is a wrester I've slowly been falling in love with ever since I saw him, his Match with ospreay at Power Struggle is a star-making classic that too many people sleep on. And his recent match with Narita how's just how much Star power he has, while he's not there yet, we're witnessing the rising of an Ace every time he steps in the ring"

[7.0] "Though Yota Tsuji is so far the best of the Reiwa Three Musketeers, Shota Umino is my favorite of the three and has a huge amount of potential, his character development reminds a bit of Tetsuya Naito when he was in his Stardust Genius Fighter persona, he's a bit a copycat of Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi but this is really interesting to follow and as soon as he will be his own self, he will be a major star and the ace of NJPW. He has a great ringskills, babyface fire and play his character really well."

[8.0] "The expectations that have been placed on Shota since he returned from excursion are unfair. He was never going to be the next Okada because wrestlers like Okada are the exception not the rule. Not often do we have a wrestler come in at 25 and run the the table. All in all Shota is a solid young wrestler who is missing just that little bit of something, and I have faith that he will find it. All the tools are there, the framework is solid and he has great mentors that will help him get there. Starting with a 7/10 with room to grow."

[7.0] "On one side he can look really lame when he comes with his Moxley jacket, the weird mix of Tanahashi-Naito, he's pretty confusing in that sense. He can feel like a fucking nerd but at a point where sometimes it's somehow endearing, I don't know if that's the expected reaction to him though. Anyway, he's a very solid wrestler even if I think he still has to improve a lot. When he is more dominant than his opponent and has to lead the match he can be very bland (see his matches against Naito or SANADA) but when he fights as the underdog fiery babyface he is great (see his matches against Kiyomiya, Hikuleo or when he's in the ring with Okada). So right now he still feels limited in the dynamics he is able to work. Hopefully he can improve because he clearly has the potential to become a main eventer and he is still more over with the crowd than someone like Ren Narita."

[7.0] "He has gotten better (thankfully) but he's not on the level that New Japan are trying to present him on. He can pull it off in the ring and I really like his theme but the charisma is very stop-start. Sometimes, you can see a little bit of fire from him, which happens when talented wrestlers like ZSJ and Okada bring it out of him. In terms of being charismatic or interesting on his own and without strong opponents or Moxlex by his side, there's a lot of improvement. I hope for a heel turn (I can see him as a cocky young heel) or a character change. He's not comparable to Narita or Tsuji as I think they are both ready for gold or a big push, while he still needs some work."

[7.0] "I don't know man, I just like Shota. He's been improving so well since his debut. I honestly hope this man has a great G1 Climax and maybe even make it to at least the semis."

[7.0] "Shota feels like he gets better with every match he has, but he still isn't quite there yet. I'd say his biggest problem right now is that he's yet to develop a personality and style of his own. He looks like Hiroshi Tanahashi's Cloned Son but uses Jon Moxley's moves, but as I said, give him some time and I'm certain he'll start to come into his own."

[6.0] "Shota Umino pretty much just started his career and I see him as a future player. Not as good as the likes of Ren Narita but I still see him as a pretty talented player."

[8.0] "Light Tetsuya Naito. He Is over with the fans but probably NJPW Is not according to. He Needs more character, he Is too similari with the leader of Los Ingorbernables de Japon. ***3/4"

[6.0] "So much potential in this man. First experience with him was at Forbidden Door and he had me sold. His match with Ospreay was great and a nice debut match for his new character in Japan. But his match with Naito was a mistake. Even though it was a mistake in booking, I believe he will be fine enough to become a new main event star. He has a great look and has potential to bring more foreign fans into NJPW with his wild character. My favorite match of his is him, Yuta, and Kingston vs Jericho, Suzuki, and Guevara."

[6.0] "Shota Unimo... where do I begin? There's so much Tanahashi in this guy I can't begin to describe it. He's got potential, but he REALLY needs to put in the work and improve enough to appeal to the high standards of the wrestling audience. His stuff in RevPro was fun, and he did improve, but he still has a ways to go until I can say he's title material."

[5.0] "Clearly viewed as a star of the future but there's a long way to go. Showed great promise as a young lion and has good size. His in-ring work is solid but still quite basic and he doesn't yet have much psychology and is lacking is nuances like timing, positioning and feeding. Still very young so that can come with experience so I hope he's not elevated too quickly."

[7.0] "Shota is very young, but he already feels very good in the ring. Wrestling was in his blood, his father is a very significant figure, who is considered by many to be the best referee in history, and perhaps that is why he quickly began to make progress. His experience is only 5 years, but he already has some amazing matches, including a recent clash with Will Osprey and a 3-on-3 match in AEW. He has what it takes to become a big star in the NJPW in the near future."

"He is way too high on the card right now and he will not ever be accepted at the top. It's like putting a utility player with babe ruth and lou gehrig. I hope to see him develop and keep his spirits high. Naito was too high too soon and rejected early in his career too so maybe Umino just needs to go to Mexico."

[8.0] "The second coming of Tanahashi. I'm super high on him. Shooter vs Ospreay will Main event NJPW events for many many years to come."

[4.0] "Can have a 4 star match with an incredible, god-tier opponent (Will Ospreay) but otherwise falls short, and fails to impress, he has not done well in RevPro, he does not bring any fire to his matches and is so disappointing, he was given a good spot in the company, but has lost it due to failing to have many good matches or connect with the crowd despite everyone wanting to support him, when he was a young lion he was thought to be the next ace, but now it is all in doubt. Also he is so dull."

[8.0] "Despite some hang ups still, Shooter has a bright bright future ahead. If he can put together one or two missing pieces, he can solidify himself as the future of NJPW. I'm really hoping that when he comes back it lights a fire under his ass and kicks him into high gear cuz when he gets into high gear it's a sight to see."

[7.0] "entertaining when paired with mox before going to RevPro, an impressive and captivating new appearance he created! im excited to see what he'll produce when he comes back to japan. 7.5"

[8.0] "The best Young Lion of NJPW! Shota Umino is going to be the future Ace and will break records, just like Kazuchika Okada. This dude has everything to be an ace, he just needs to be booked right, which he will."

[8.0] "Umino has "future star" written all over him. Give him a year or two and a good foreign excursion and he'll be a world class wrestler."

[7.0] "Obviously this guy is new. So I'll keep the 7 as the ceiling for young Lions. This guy is really good, especially when you look at his moveset, Wich is minimal. He has charisma even in his current Young Lion gimmick. It's also obvious that he's been working out since every tour he seems to put on more muscle weight. He also just physically looks great, he's handsome and in shape. I've seen him in interviews and heels even good there. This guy is going to be a champion eventually."

[8.0] "Shota Umino now take the Kawato's role as the most explosive young lion in New Japan Pro Wrestling. His work in ring is improving a lot and he already show his charisma a little bit. I can see him in the future that he will compete in Heavyweight and he will be as the one of the wrestler that New Japan will push as one of their main attraction."