[10.0] "Maybe the greatest to ever do it! Whether he was working as the fiery underdog during his days in All Japan, the mature and experienced fighter in NOAH and around Japanese wrestling in the 2000s, or now as the veteran gatekeeper of DDT, he's always found a way to consistently put on incredible matches and tell stories in the ring. He's underrated because even those who know him and sing his praises may not fully appreciate how good he was during his career. His match with Shibata is one of the best I've ever seen, and he's had classics with just about anybody he faced."
[9.0] "A fantastic wrestler. He had some vicious offence and his late 90's AJPW and subsequent NOAH work was amazing. Even in his 50's he's still smoother than most."
[10.0] "Still one of the very best to ever do. He's slowed a bit but not shocking given how old he is and how long he's been active. His run in DDT has been great as he showed he can still put on a high level match when he needs to."
[7.0] "Didn't think I'd enjoy his veteran gatekeeper role in DDT but it's actually been very good. His title win vs Endo remains one of my favourite DDT matches this year, but his defenses against Higuchi and HARASHIMA didn't do enough for me. His matches with Takeshita (KO-D Openweight and KO-D Tag) were both very good, and his tournament appearances were solid (Ultimate Tag League especially). Looking forward to his guiding role with Endo."
[10.0] "One of the best yet still underrated wrestlers of all time. The fact he is still so good in 2021 despite the unbelievable miles on the clock is mind."
[10.0] "I did it watch much of his early work obviously I heard about but never saw it and then he comes to DDT at 50 years of age and I tried to keep my expectations low and I thought he would not be the guy he used to be but I was shocked at how good he still is a little slower maybe but still just as effective I. The ring the matches he has had speak for themselves with the match against Takeshita being the best of them so far"
[10.0] "Akiyama ist für mich neben Kensuke Sasaki eine der japanischen Legenden, die sehr stark unter Wert verkauft werden. Konnte seine Klasse in mehreren Dekaden unter Beweis stellen und liefert auch im Jahr 2021 auf hohem Niveau ab."
[10.0] "This guy is just a living legend. He was and he is one of the bests in the world. At 51 years old, he stills do enormous performance, like against Takeshita at Ultimate Party 2020 or against Endo at Kawasaki Strong 2021. Awesome wrestler, from the beginning of his career to the end, Jun Akiyama is fantastic."
[9.0] "A brilliant technical wrestler that was only really hindered booking wise by the fact that he was around when some of the greatest to ever enter a ring in general were also at their top. Akiyama came in as basically a super rookie and very quickly got recognized as a phenomenal natural talent, a guy whom could innovate pretty well with young guys like him or with the major league stars. I did always find him awkward for the first few years in terms of his striking and pacing but he eventually found a niche in a lot of varied knee strikes and attacks. A great heel in his later years but is underrated as a underdog face during those rookie years: his selling was really on top form for those. Ultimately what hurt Akiyama the most was that he just was always booked as the B guy when it mattered, nearly always coming up short in the top title bouts with Misawa and co, and the crowd just couldn't connect with a guy who always choked like him. Having Akiyama lose to guys like Ogawa within five minutes was just bad booking. Regardless, the guy's still a legendary quality workhouse, a killer heel that could just wreck a guy in the ring without a single sign of restraint. I don't get the argument that he didn't have charisma considering he got some amazing crowd reactions from both sides of the coin either: guy could have been a main event star if the whole AJPW/NOAH spilt nonsense and Motoko Baba always lowballing him never happened. Undoubtfully a legend of the ring regardless."
[9.0] "The best heel to have come out of Japan, period, and one of the top ten heels of all the history of pro-wrestling. In a way he is a throwback to the glory days of lucha libre when heels were supposed not merely to be the bad guys, but great workers as well: Akiyama in full "killer mode" was a true marvel to behold because he was not just so good in the ring, and outside of it, but looked downright scary. You know, with people like Minoru Suzuki you just know they are playing the part of the psychopath well. Akiyama trascended that and just looked like something had really snapped inside him and he just wanted to hurt his rival, badly, giving him superhuman skills and reflexes. Amazing and incredible: basically a Fujiwara on steroids. The only problem I have with him is his tenure as AJPW promoter that largely coincided with what are arguably the promotion's darkest days and he carries his fair share of the blame."
[10.0] "Akiyama wurde gerne als Enttäuschung verschrieen, da seine Big Match-Führung in seiner Prime nicht mit Misawa und Konsorten mithalten konnte. Dass er jedoch bereits ab 1996 in einigen der besten Matches aller Zeiten stand steht jedoch für sich. Ab 2000 etablierte sich Akiyama dann doch zum Heavyweight in der obersten Riege mit sehr vielseitigen Matches, der das Niveau verdammt lange halten konnte."
[10.0] "Jun Akiyama is one of the greatest, no wonder why he is one of my favorites of all time. His matches against Kobashi and Marufuji are on another level that normal human beings can't comprehend."
[8.0] "Akiyama was a really good worker, sometimes great, and it's a shame that he didn't have the charisma to connect with the fans in a manner that would have allowed him to carry a promotion."
[10.0] "Still the fucking man. Jun had arguably the greatest rookie year in wrestling history and even in 2018 he's still one of the best in the world. Jun is a grumpy old man nowadays and it translates over into his matches where he beats the life out of everyone. Greatest examples of this are his matches against Miyahara and Marufuji where he hates the fact they're alive."
[9.0] "Considerred by some as the unoffical "fifth" pillar during the awesomeness that was AJPW in the 90s, Akiyama is undoubtably a great wrestler. I just don't think that he was on the same level as the four pillars though (yes, even Taue)."
[9.0] "#4 as far as the greatest of the 90s AJPW alumni is concerned behind Kobashi, Misawa & Kawada. Jun was perhaps the most intense of the pack and easily the most versatile, but I feel with his versatility he sacrifices some of the crowd connect-ability that the other three have in some way or shape. As they say, less is more, but he isn't hampered too badly by it. His work in NOAH is arguably just as good as his work in All Japan."
[10.0] "When he was younger, he was amazing, as a older vet he put on classics, and as an old grizzled man he has crazy harf hitting matches and has put over the new generation of AJPW while also keeping himself a relevant power player."
[10.0] "One of the very best, so many great matches and one of the best faces in peril ever. Despite he was not a member of the four pillars he was integral to the second half of the 90s and the early years of noah."
[10.0] "Not giving Jun Akiyama the full ten points is criminal imo. The guy is basically the greatest ring technician to come out of Japan, and has a number of classics on his name. Even in 2015 he's still going at the age of 46. Jun is amazing."
[10.0] "Einer der konstantesten Typen im business, dazu bei seinen zahllosen Wurf-Variationen mit einer wahnsinnigen Explosivität und Wucht gesegnet. Wenn Akiyama in einem Einzelkampf steht ist der Gegner fast egal - der zieht jeden zu einem guten Kampf."
[8.0] "Tot gesagt leben länger, nach dem langem Formtief kommt nun doch der sehnsüchtig erwartete zweite Frühling! Das Akiyama es im Inneren immer noch drauf hatte wusste man ja, da er ab und zu noch glänzte. Aber seit dem er Triple Crown Champ wurde ist er wieder da, der Mann der als junger Kerl am liebsten gleich ohne Angst sich mit Kawada strikte, der ohne Furcht auf Misawa losging, der immer wieder von Taue brutal umgeknietet wurde nur um schmerzverzehrt auf zu stehen und ihn mit einem Expolder auf die Matte zu donnern. Jener Wrestler der bei NOAH, einst wie bei Kawada und Misawa, Kobashi wie einer vom Teufel getriebener hinterjagt um ihm endlich zu bezwingen. Akiyama hat seine alte Klasse zurück und so macht es Spaß ihm zu sehen."
[10.0] "An incredibly good wrestler, but also quite an unlucky one in a way. He was the youngest of the AJPW famous five in the 1990s, and unlike the other 4, he never wrestled Jumbo Tsuruta when Jumbo was in his prime. He also didn't hold the Triple Crown until 2011, 11 years after he stopped working there full time to join NOAH. In NOAH, he was (and is) a main-eventer - But despite being GHC champion and Triple Crown Champion, 2 of his reigns ended in less than 5 minutes, after being booked to look dominant for a number of months before that. He is a fantastic tag team wrestler, with a number of 5-star matches to his name, and he is also an innovator, with the Exploder (T-Bone) Suplex, Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex and the Blue Thunder Driver being moves that he effectively created for Pro Wrestling. With age, comes experience, and Akiyama has more experience, memorable matches and accomplishments than a lot of other 20 year careers."
[9.0] "All die Verletzungen, all die Schicksalsschläge und all die zermünbenden Titelverluste scheinen nichts an diesem Mann und seinen Fähigkeiten zu kratzen. Er ist immer noch eine Macht im Ring und der letzte Vertreter des klassichen Kings Road Stils. Ein großer Mann ohne Frage"
[8.0] "Der Lack ist inzwischen irgendwie ab und man kann sich nur verwundert die Augen reiben, was aus dem Mann geworden ist. Wo ist der Mann mit dem ewigwährenden Feuer und der grenzenlosen Leidenschaft geblieben, was ist aus dem Rookie geworden, der in jungen Jahren bereits auf der Augenhöhe mit den alten Hasen war? Vielleicht liegt es an den vielen Jahren im Geschäft und den Verletzungen? Akiyama ist heute leider nicht mehr das, was er einmal war. Edit zur Bewertung vom 22. 12. 2009: Hat definitiv sein längeres Tief überwunden und ist seit gut einem Jahr wieder obenauf."
[8.0] "Einer der großen Japans , der aber wird für mich nie mit den 4 Himmelssäulen auf einer Stufe stehen wird , unabhängig ober er nun die triple-crown holte oder nicht. Er ist , oder war , zwar einer der besten im Ring , aber wirklich überzeugt hat er mich auf Grund von mangelnder Ausstrahlung nicht zu 100% , dewegen auch ''nur'' 8 Punkte. Trotzdem hatte er eine großartige Karriere mit einigen Klassikern und ich hoffe , dass er diese bald ausklingen lässt."
[10.0] "Der beste Wrestler der nie Triple Crown Champion wurde; So könnte man Akiyama wohl am besten beschreiben. Ist im Ring wirklich ganz große klasse, konnte schon bei seinem Debüt begeistern und schon 1 jahr später war er einer der besten Wrestler im Business. Heute nicht mehr das was er früher war, ist aber auch verständlich nach all den verletzungen. Ich hoffe das Akiyama so langsam ans aufhören denkt, denn er hatte eine tolle Karriere, auch wenn der größte Championship in seiner Sammlung fehlt."
[6.0] "Akiyama wirkt inzwischen so, als hätte er gar keine Lust mehr, überhaupt noch in den Ring zu steigen. Somit komme ich bei ihm, trotz alter Leistungen, nicht über eine 3 hinaus."
[8.0] "Hat nie den vollen Durchbruch geschafft, obwohl viele es prophezeiten, sobald die Legenden abtreten. An guten Tagen ist er überragend, hat er aber keine Lust, hätte man sich ein Akiyama Match auch sparen können. Mit anderen Worten: Der Mann ist für mich ne Art Wundertüte, aber da das Positive in der Regel überwiegt, gibts ne 2."
[10.0] "Trotz GHC-HW Titelrun(s) noch nicht da wo er hingehört. Bisher (leider) noch nicht als Ace von NOAH etabliert, was wohl daran liegt das Misawa und Kobashi noch aktiv sind. Trotzdem: Für mich absolut überzeugend im Ring."