Great Sasuke

[9.0] "The Great Sasuke is one of the last in a dying(figuratively and literally) breed of utterly insane wrestlers. Sure, deathmatches are often ultraviolent and nutty in their own right, but it is done with a sense of control and understanding of how far the body can be pushed in most cases. Sasuke does not have that knowledge, and doesn't seem in a hurry to find it. Starting out as one of the single best wrestlers of the 1990s with his dazzling array of high flying maneuvers and classic junior heavyweight technical work, his tag matches with men like Kaientai alongside Grans Hamada and Naniwa utterly redefined the wrestling landscape for the next decades to come. Despite never truly getting that massive break he absolutely deserved in the WWF, WCW, or even New Japan, Sasuke has left behind an unforgettable reputation in pure ring work that will be difficult to rival. But along with those matches comes an utter disregard for his own health and safety with countless head crunching bumps well into his fifties that have miraculously led to little injury. Still, Sasuke seems to be hellbent on leaving it all in the ring, I just hope he doesn't leave his life in there too."

[4.0] "Er lebt ganz stark von seiner Reputation aus den Neunzigern. Als vorzeige Junior neben Liger, Ultimo und mir Abstrichen Delfin und Samurai. Aber nach dem Osaka Pro split, ging es stetig immer weiter Berg ab. Die unzähligen Plunder matches sind ja lustig das erste oder Zweite mahl, gefühlt passieren diese aber seit 2007 gefüht in jeder Show und es sind immer die gleichen Spots und immer gegen die Brahams. Sasukes Hochzeit ist im großen Spektrum seiner Karriere wirklich nur noch ein kleiner Teil, dass man ihn jetzt immernoch in der Fukumen World League bringen muss ist einfach nur zum kotzen. 4 Punkte sind für seine Hochzeit noch drin."

[10.0] "One of the best high-flyers ever, any match with Sasuke in was exciting, his match with Liger at the 1st Super J cup is one of the best matches ever wrestled. Legend."

[10.0] "You could limit your lens of Sasuke to only his NJPW appearances and he'd easily be an all time great, but the man went above and beyond. Michinoku Pro, especially in the 1990s is Sasuke's gift to the world and we're all better for it. While he rose to fame thanks to the spotlight people like Liger shone on him, a lot of his MPro time is spent putting on great shows and matches in front of just hundreds of people in school gyms. He is unable to say no to the most insane match proposals put in front of him / dreamed up, especially later in his career. He's also done death matches with Onita, cross promoted Battlarts events with his pal Yuki Ishikawa, spent a brief but impressive time in CMLL where announcers still recognize the Sasuke special, and innovated The Great Space War where you can watch Ninja Turtles and Ultraman wrestle before the ring gets torn open and something dangerous happens to Sasuke, probably involving a barrel. Sasuke is proof that God is real and he wants us to be happy."

[6.0] "The guy the WWF wanted to make the first light heavyweight champion, but business stuff intervened so Taka Michinoku, the guy who was brought into put Sasuke over, got the belt. Only seen a handful of his matches, but good enough."

[10.0] "Mostly known as the phenomenal aerial worker that wowed audiences, he had plenty of good technical matches too. He could strike with the best of them in his division and make it look like a martial arts fight. He could become a hardcore wrestler too if needed, or even act as a comedy goof. He was simply a joy to see perform, no matter the environment."

[8.0] "If you're looking for someone who is accomplished in a variety of styles, add Sasuke to the list. Most known as the phenomenal high flyer but also had plenty of good technical matches too. He was a bit too much of a spot monkey at times and some of his bumps were frankly insane but he was absolutely great at doing it. Also managing to keep his own promotion afloat for 30 years is worthy of appreciation."

[9.0] "a great high flying wrestler who was also good on the mat, maybe not as great as liger, ultimo, or hayabusa but he is still one of the best"

[10.0] "The Great Sasuke is one of a kind. For starters, there's just too much to his skills and career than people usually give him credit for. While Sasuke will probably always be best remembered for his athleticism and flying moves from his time in the 90s', since that's the decade in which his most famous matches took place, it's hard to pinpoint if that's even his strongest suit. Depending on his opponent and the atmosphere of the match, you may get very different sides from The Great Sasuke. Athleticism-based spotfests? Yes, he can do that. Ground-based matwork and submission competitions? Oh, he's more than up to the task. Strike-heavy matches agains opponents with legit martial arts background? He can hold his own pretty nicely. Borderline hardcore matches with dangerous spots? He will take them - and keep on fighting like a superhero. A fun, comedy match with people dressed up as Star Wars characters? For somebody who has a reputation of taking things very seriously and being very short-fused, he will shockingly pull those off as well. A combination of any of those? Sure, why not? So, based on his ability alone, The Great Sasuke should be reknown as a legendary wrestler and one of the best junior heavyweights of all time. That said, what keeps me from rating him 10 points is the other side of the coin: The Great Sasuke may be just too over the top for his own good. Sometimes, the bumps he takes and the way he performs the simplest of the moves are more exaggerated than they need to be (conversely, his Thunder Fire Powerbomb seems pretty tame when compared to most of his regular moves). While that doesn't necessarily take too much from his matches, it just keeps many would-be classics of ever reaching that status, since they just don't flow naturally. Also, there's just too many painful bumps one can take before the audience stops being impressed and just wonders "Why? ". Apparently, Sasuke doesn't really believe in the proverb "less is more". Granted, age and injuries finally made him catch a break, but he will still do something unecessarily risky once a while, just because he can. Nevertheless, Sasuke's resumé is impressive any way you look at it and had he got more exposure instead of remaining mostly working on his long-lasting niche promotion, Michinoku Pro (which is really hard to follow unless you're local or a bootleg collector with a lot of disposable income), he would probably be as adored worldwide as someone like Ultimo Dragon or even Jushin Thunder Liger. EDIT: After some consideration, I've decided to raise his score to 10, as the negatives I've mentioned above are far outweighted by the positives."

[9.0] "One of the most well known and well respected Japanese wrestlers around. I can honestly say that Sasuke is indeed Great has his name suggests and deserves all the credit he has been given in wrestling. All I am going to say is watch a few Great Sasuke matches to discover the greatness for yourself."

[10.0] "I honestly feel like Sasuke is one of the best wrestlers of all time, overall. Excellent wrestler, excellent high flier, pretty cool costumes, willing to take ridiculous bumps even now. As one of the founders of Michinoku Pro, he's helped establish the japanese lucha style and inspire an entire generation that followed in his footsteps."

[9.0] "This man needs no introduction, he is one of the most fast and agile wrestler in junior heavyweight division and perhaps the greatest junior heavyweight champion in his prime to hold many of championship titles came from Morioka, Iwate, Japan no doubt he is a truly and rightful owner of Michinoku Pro"