Hiroshi Hase

[9.0] "Mustache Hall of Fame, Junior Heavyweight Hall of Fame & a great transition star into politics, even more than Inoki. Sasorigatame or the Boston club really stood out. Excellent wrestler in his prime and yes he did invent the northern lights suplex."

[10.0] "Arguably the greatest wrestler to have never won a world title in Japan, Hiroshi Hase was the wrestler any company dreams of. An excellent worker who can work in any role (though mainly as a face), in any place on the card, and be insanely unselfish. The ultimate company man, who would do whatever it took to make any opponent, regardless of talent, look like a million bucks. In my humble opinion, he was just as good as the Three Musketeers and Four Pillars of Heaven, but he was also your ideal nearly man, and gateway to the main event scene. Its 2023 now, and even after over a decade of not being an active wrestler due to his political career, he still got it."

[8.0] "The only Manliest man in pro wrestling, is some roided up freak or some 7 foot tall powerhouse, it's Hiroshi Hase. He represents the earnestness, dedication & simplicity of a pro wrestler like no other & tops it all off with a beautiful mustache."

[9.0] "A great guy for the NJPW roster in the 80s who could fit into any program and be believable. Great as a junior heavyweight and great as a main event tags and singles programs."

[10.0] "When he took the shirt off during his entrance, you know he's business! Hase's popularity came when he was wrestling in Choshu's heel stable in 1987, but he just could not let go being a nice guy (reflecting on his real life personality) towards the fans, so he inherited that good guy personality for most of his career before BATT. A mustache, mustard yellow tights and boots, and suplexes where you didn't even know how he managed to connect, a pro-wrestling machine who aimed high for big chances, who deserved at least 1 or 2 reigns with the main belt, and a true gentleman with contributions such as training most of the wrestlers we know and appreciate."

[9.0] "One of the best workers in NJPW at the time, and possibly overall in their history, not only being over as hell, but a solid and completely unselfish worker that was prepared to put over other guys on the drop of a hat, doing so all the way up to his last days. While Inoki could be described as "talented but selfish" Hase is the exact opposite, squeezing great matches out of pretty mediocre talent (here's looking at you, Hashimoto) and not placing himself as the top dog almost indefinitely like he did. Even in his twilight years, the guy could still work pretty damn well. A excellent all rounder that could do it all and then some."

[8.0] "Hase was an absolutely amazing wrestler: wide array of moves, great power, good agility etc. He was always a pleasure to watch in the ring back in the days and his work has aged extremely well. I am old enough to remember him becoming a big crowd favorite already 5-6 years into the business, which is all one needs to say about his ability to connect with the crowd: when he hit the Northern Light Suplex the roof usually came off the building. However what I have always admired and loved in him the most was his complete dedication: he was always trying to give the fans a throughly enjoyable match, even if the opponent he was facing was, let's be charitable, less than competent if not downright unwatchable. It takes talent to make people look good but it takes superhuman dedication to do that year after year. I would rate even higher if not for his tendency for gory "blade jobs" which were frankly excessive by the standards of the early 90's but trust me on this: pick any of his matches with Mutoh, Jushin Thunder Liger etc and you won't be disappointed one tiny bit."

[10.0] "Excellent wrestler. Wish he had more exposure in North America and wrestle in WWE. Very exciting to watch."

[10.0] "Hiroshi Hase is almost an unsung hero of New Japan, because, despite being Riki Choshu's booking assistant, Hase was completely unselfish and put the good of the company first, And Hase was good enough that had he kept himself on top, nobody would have said he didn't deserve to be there. Hase was an excellent worker, but his speciality, and this became something of a trademark, was making inferior workers look better than they really were and getting them over so they could have main event matches, and with some of the guys Hase faced, that was a real challenge."

[10.0] "Criminally underrated because he's right up there with the likes of the musketeers and pillars as one of the best wrestlers to have ever lived. He was almost physically incapable of having a bad match. Literally everything you want out of a wrestler. If he won a top belt he'd now be regarded as one of the best ever but even without I know he's the GOAT."

[9.0] "1 of the best Japanese wrestlers to never hold the IWGP heavyweight title or the Triple Crown title. Also is the innovator of the Northern Lights Suplex"