Tomohiro Ishii

[9.0] "To me, Tomohiro Ishii is an example of a wrestler who--while perhaps not looking like a typical major star--has earned immense respect through his in-ring work. Over the years in NJPW, he has demonstrated that you don't need a huge name or a massive push to deliver great matches. His style is highly physical and intense, relying primarily on hard-hitting strikes and a gritty approach. Ishii has a vast number of excellent bouts to his name, particularly during the G1 Climax. Crucially, he was capable of putting on a great match with practically anyone. Even when he wasn't contending for the top titles, his matches were often among the best on the entire card. What I regret most is that he never quite reached the level of prominence I believe he deserved; he often hovered near the biggest names but was rarely positioned at the very top. Nevertheless, he remained one of NJPW's most reliable performers for years. He may not be the flashiest wrestler, and his style certainly won't appeal to everyone, but for anyone who enjoys hard-hitting, intense matches, Ishii is one of the best choices out there."

[10.0] "Tomohiro Ishii is everything I want from a professional wrestler. If I'm going to give someone a 10/10, I need to feel that there is something fundamentally special about the way they approach wrestling, and Ishii has that. He doesn't need an elaborate character, a complicated entrance or a huge moveset. He walks into the ring, fights, and somehow makes every single thing he does feel important. What I love most about Ishii is his ability to make professional wrestling feel physical without turning it into empty spectacle. His matches can be incredibly stiff and violent, but the violence always serves a purpose. A forearm isn't just a forearm. A chop isn't just a chop. Everything feels like part of a conversation between two wrestlers trying to prove something. Ishii also has one of the best examples of how you can create a compelling character without relying heavily on promos. His character is communicated almost entirely through his wrestling. He's the guy who refuses to stay down. You can hit him with almost anything and he'll get back up and ask for more. That could easily become ridiculous, but Ishii sells it through his facial expressions, his body language and his selling. You believe that he's hurt. You also believe that he's stubborn enough to keep going anyway. And that's where his psychology comes in. Ishii understands the value of escalation. His matches often begin relatively simply and gradually become more intense. Two wrestlers trade strikes, one gets the advantage, the other fights back, and eventually they're throwing everything they have at each other. It sounds simple on paper, but Ishii is one of the best in the world at making that structure feel completely natural. His chemistry with different opponents is another reason I rate him so highly. Put Ishii against a technical wrestler, a high flyer, a heavyweight or another hard-hitting wrestler and he finds a way to make the matchup work. His matches with Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay and many others demonstrate just how adaptable he is. The thing that impresses me most is that Ishii can make a match feel important without needing a championship involved. That's incredibly difficult. A wrestler who can convince you that two people fighting over pride is enough to justify watching twenty or thirty minutes of wrestling has mastered one of the fundamental principles of the business. I also think Ishii is one of the greatest examples of why size doesn't determine credibility. He isn't the biggest guy in the room. He isn't presented as an unstoppable monster because of his physical dimensions. His credibility comes from what happens when the bell rings. You believe that Ishii can beat anybody because you've watched him fight people much bigger than himself and refuse to back down. His selling deserves special mention too. Ishii doesn't just absorb punishment. He makes you understand the punishment. When he's exhausted, you can see it. When he's hurt, you can see it. When he finds that final burst of energy, you feel it. That's why his comebacks work. There are wrestlers who can have spectacular matches. There are wrestlers who can cut incredible promos. There are wrestlers who can draw huge money. Ishii's greatness comes from something slightly different: he makes me love wrestling itself. That's why I'm giving him a 10. A 10 doesn't mean that every Tomohiro Ishii match is automatically a five-star classic. That's impossible. It means that when I evaluate the wrestler as a complete performer, I can't find a meaningful weakness that outweighs his strengths. His physicality, psychology, selling, intensity, consistency, adaptability and ability to create emotional investment all come together perfectly. Tomohiro Ishii is not wrestling's biggest star. He doesn't need to be. He is something I value just as much: a wrestler's wrestler. When Ishii wrestles, I believe him. I believe that he wants to win. I believe that he hates losing. I believe that every strike hurts. And I believe that he will keep getting back up until the match is over. For me, that's what professional wrestling should be."

[10.0] "The critiques are true. Ishii really only has one style of match. Thankfully, that style of match is fucking awesome. One of my favorite sellers of all time, because of how much he delays the sell to try and be a tough guy in front of his opponent. Can have a barnburner with just about anyone. Getting up there in years now, and his summer vacations to AEW haven't lead to good results these last few years, but whatever, he's the fuckin Stone Pitbull, he gets a 10."

[10.0] "How can you not love this guy. He has the most apt nickname of all time. He's someone who knows his limitations and highly exceeds at what he does best. Has been involved in some of the greatest matches of all time and he always puts a smile on my face. Isn't that what we all want in our favorite wrestlers. Salute to the "Stone Pitbull" Tomohiro Ishii"

[7.0] "It's hard for me to give Tomohiro Ishii a seven because I have him as the 9th best wrestler ever. He's great in the ring and I always rooted for him in the ring even when it wasn't cool to do so. But he's not the same and it's understandable he's 50 . I am really glad his last NJPW tag match was phenomenal. But before that the last Great match he was part of was over a year ago"

[9.0] "Tomohiro Ishii as a performer is fairly two dimensional but so is this computer monitor and I watch it all day. Simply put, nobody chops and headbutts better than Tomohiro Ishii does when he's in the zone. Ishii is in the upper tier of all-time great hardman brawlers, just barely edged out of the top crown in that field by the likes of Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada. You are always going to get a good fight when Ishii is in the ring."

[7.0] "The matches I've seen of his range from being certified bangers or garbage. I get why people love him during his prime, but I also understand why people aren't a fan of his. I don't know why, but his nickname kills me."

[7.0] "I like his style. He's stiff and I'm a fan of that. But his character lacks depth. His character is basically he's a tough guy and that's it. So it's hard for me to agree with the overall score here. If pro wrestling were simply what happens between the ropes he'd be a 9 or 10. Pro wrestling, as an art form, is much more than that though."

[9.0] "I love Tomohiro Ishii, he's one of my all-time favorite wrestlers because I love his in-ring fighting style. As soon as I discovered New Japan Pro Wrestling, he was one of my favorites. I think it's such a shame that he never had the opportunity to be IWGP Champion."

[5.0] "I don't like ishii but to be fair he's really good at this Njpw formula lmao, he really works with their style and their identity and direction. He's matches all the same things there's a barely noticeable difference in them, he's really overrated, but not bad at all and actually he can be really good when they used him well. Like in his match with shibata g1 (? ) (? ) (? ) (? ) , idk but I think so really, he's still overrated and can be extremely boring in a lot of time."

[10.0] "My favorite midcarder of all time, ishii has put on one phenomenal match after another for decades while never being pushed as a world champ or top guy. This was probably due to his height which he has always made up for by being a stocky built beast that just hits the hell out of people. Over the decades Ishii has proved he is capable of putting on solid matches with anyone and anywhere on the card even in other promotions. Even at 49 it does not look like he is slowing down at all and is still exceptional in the ring."

[10.0] "He's such a beast. I'm so happy he's been getting his flowers in multiple countries and still putting on great matches nearing 50. Some people say he doesn't look like a star, but when I tell people about this 5'7" pitbull with no neck that everyone barks at, they love him before they even see his amazing brawling. Should have got a short IWGP Heavyweight run at some point, but he's had a great career regardless."

[9.0] "Ishii is a really fun presence in the ring. Despite his lack of height his body is built like a power lifter and he can lift guys much bigger than him, he's offense always looks great. He has a unique style that sometimes seems overdone, especially with the long striking exchanges but I personally enjoy everything he does. He's also very good at making his opponent look strong. I also don't mind his no-selling because he actually does it right."

[10.0] "Without a doubt he is going down as one of the greatest in ring performers of all time. He is someone that is incapable of having a bad match. At 49 years of age he still carries over this quality. The fact is that he's been better in his late 40s than a lot of wrestlers in their prime."

"legit one of my favourite wrestlers. i love wrestlers who arent build like a bodybuilder and who i could recognize purely by shilouette."

[10.0] "The fact that Ishii is as good as he is still at 49 is ridiculous. It's so tragic for him that he hit his peak during the era of the most stacked main event scene in wrestling history. A true all time great and a legit greatest of all time contender"

[10.0] "Despite being nearly in his 50s, Ishii remains one of the most consistently entertaining wrestlers in the world and one of my personal favourites of all time. You can have him go out there with basically anyone, and he will always produce something solid. His match structure, despite remaining pretty much the same for over a decade at this point still doesn't get old or repetitive because Ishii has a formula that he's pretty much perfected that works so well in getting a crowd invested in his matches. His selling and facial expressions are always so on point that it makes the moments when he powers through and no sells feel so much more cathartic. I really just can't say enough good things about Ishii, he's been one of the best for at least 20+ years now and he's been one of my favourites ever since I found out about him. A genuinely perfect wrestler."

[10.0] "Tomohiro Ishii could've been word champion in almost any company he stepped foot into. He has the charisma, the energy, the look, the moveset etc. If there something you want from him, he will deliver. He still puts on entertaining matches at the age of 48. Any time he stepped foot into the ring with a major player, he either matched them or over beat them when it came to enjoyment. Truly a one of a kind wrestler we will never see replicated."

[9.0] "Damn, I really miss peak Tomohiro Ishii, as on his day, this guy could've been a serious contender for best wrestler in the world. Tomohiro Ishii is probably the best example of a guy who could've worked well with pretty much anyone, given hoe even a lot of NJPW's worst wrestlers looked at least credible when they were working with him. It is sad to think that his best days are behind him and that he's more of a AEW wrestler now, as I simply don't like how Tony Khan has booked him as a cheap prop to show hardcore fans that he knows what they want, and I also don't like how the guy almost constantly loses. Nonetheless, it still amazes me how this guy still can give us amazing matches coming up to 50, and his legendary matches against the likes of Masato Tanaka, Katsuyori Shibata, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi will never be forgotten. I could deadass use the whole of cage matches 6, 000 character limit listing everyone he's had a banger with, seriously."

[10.0] "Tomohiro is one of the most subtly entertaining talents in the world. Every single movement, every expression, every attack is executed with precision and commands the exact emotion from the crowd he intends. He is a master of long term storytelling and the perfect example of how to stay relevant and captivating with nearly no changes to his character, values, and demeanor of his career."

"Absolutely love this guy, one of the most underrated wrestlers in general, hope he can keep wrestling for as long as he can with his age."

[10.0] "Absolutely insane to me that Ishii never won the iwgp world heavyweight champion ship. An amazing worker who put on so many spectacular matches. Never suffered from being in the midcard for his career either hes been amazing the whole time"

[8.0] "Ishii is a really good hand to play in the midcard, not believable ever as a top level talent that could carry a promotion as its top guy; however, you need guys like Ishii to fill out a card. he's a really good brawler despite his size, and is one of those guys who is much better in a live audience than he is on TV. He's a real spectacle to watch because of his body type and his ability to absorb genuine impact with apparent ease. Rarely, if ever, does he put out a stinker of a match or have zero chemistry with someone, and has a really good ability to read a live crowd and adjust as necessary."

[10.0] "For the guy below my rating that gave him a 4/10. Watch his match against Katsuyori Shibata from the NJPW G1 Climax 23 tournament (2013). If you dont like or appreciate that for everything that it is, you are likely never going to be a fan. And in that case, may God have mercy on you."

[4.0] "Seriously, what is people's fascination with this guy. His move set is basically limited to chops and headbutts. He looks like he works unsafe. He no sells everything and has no decreeable character other than being a stoney faced biggish guy. There are no nuances to his gimmick and moreover it has been basically the same act that he has been doing his whole in-ring career. Ive never seen a match of his that was not lacking in something and Ive never seen an opponent of his that has come off significantly better for being in the ring with him."

[10.0] "One of the best to ever do it. Certainly amongst the most consistent wrestlers in recent history. His hit rate is incredible."

[9.0] "An absolute delight to watch and perhaps the most consistently good performer in all of wrestling. It's such a shame he's never been and probably now never will reach the pinnacle of NJPW but he fills his role perfectly and is a pleasure to watch."

[9.0] "Tomohiro Ishii is an amazing pro wrestler who even with his age, can still keep up and even out wrestle the younger competitors. I'm a big fan of his work and I wish that NJPW put the IWGP World Championship on him, however that never happened. Still he's an overall great wrestler that I really enjoy."

"Just the best to ever do it. He looks like a statue who Is wrestling but is always endlessly entertaining. I am sad we dont have him in G1 34 but getting him for a Summer in AEW is a great consolation."

[8.0] "(Sorry english is not my firtst language) This is one of the wrestlers who is more traditional but he still catch up with the modern wrestlers"

[7.0] "An absolute intimidating force in the ring. I wouldn't normally find his no-selling style exciting, but there's something just brutal and intense, and yet sympathetic about him I find engaging. A brawler that often feels like the underdog when paired with higher profile foes, and you want him to win. Edit 2024: the lack of creativity in the last two years has vastly decreased my enjoyment of an Ishii match. Feels like the same chop spamming no selling copy paste over and over."

[10.0] "He is just one of the best wrestlers in roster right now. And it's a shame that Tomohiro - san is not getting IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. He can do amazing matches with literally anyone (except Evil and HoT)."

[9.0] "The Stone Pitbull is one of the greatest brawler in modern wrestling. He has so many ways to get to what he does well that it makes it more believable to me. He has an aura around him and even now as he nears 50 he is still putting on great matches."

[9.0] "Tomohiro Ishii is probably the best mid-carder of all time, this man almost wasn't treated like a main eventer in his entire career, but still managed to achieve greatness and gain the recognition and respect of everybody. If you need a guy to work a great match and make a crowd cheer in the middle of an event, call Ishii, because he's the man for the job. He's the definition of underrated, always was, and still is a lot of times, it took a long time for NJPW to realize what they had in Ishii, they were very resistant but after a huge public acclaim, the Stone Pitbull received more opportunities, even with an advanced age, it look a long time to Ishii start receiving some respect, he's a late bloomer. The structure of his matches are repetitive but work pretty well, when worked right, it's one of the most enjoyable formats there is, even if sometimes some of his stuff bothers me a little, there are things that I personally don't like, but he's a talented hard-hitter and a puroresu legend."

[10.0] "My favourite wrestler, ever since I first saw him I was blown away by his speed and toughness. He just doesn't give up, quick on his feet and hits like a train. He sells like no one else, makes his opponent look fantastic. Makes you believe he can win every fight and you'll cheer him on every time. For a man as stoic as the stone pitbull, he has a lot of charisma. Honestly, should've been Intercontinental champion before they merged the IWGP titles."

"One of my favorite wrestlers. Such an overachiever. We're probably past the point now that there'd be any hope of him getting an IWGP World championship win, but it'd make me so happy if he did."

[10.0] "The Stone Pitbull. Amazing wrestler, great brawler, fantastic in ring work. His brainbuster is one of the best in this business. The master of round robin tournament, best workhorse in njpw history."

[10.0] "At 48 years of age, Tomohiro Ishii is STILL wrestling at an elite level and putting on excellent matches. He is on my Mount Rushmore of Japanese wrestlers without question, a true workhorse in every sense of the word and never afraid to put younger talent over. Even his presentation is so simplistic yet fantastic, the way he struts out to the ring looking like an indestructible brick wall gets me hyped for every single one of his matches. I cant sing his praises enough. Despite his age, its still not too late to give him the IWGP World title run hes always deserved because hes still *THAT* good."

[10.0] "I'm still suprised Ishii is still so good at the ripe old age of 45. His style is formulaic, however it's a formula that fuckin works. He's cool, he's stoic, he's fun to watch, He is Ishii. one of my favourites."

[10.0] "the GOAT. Every match of his is must-see TV. I've never seen someone take such a simple formula and make it so captivating time after time. He wrestles with an intensity most can't even dream of replicating. Fucking awesome"

[10.0] "One of The best brawler in professional wrestling history. Just like Takagi, he is an outstanding performer capable of having a great match with anybody. Although he has never won the G1, he has been one of the most outstanding performers in the G1's history."

[10.0] "It seems that the Stone Pitbull's best days may finally lie behind him now, but what days those have been! Tomohiro Ishii will go down as one of the best wrestlers of New Japan's best era, delivering banger match after banger match. One underrated aspect of Ishii's in-ring work is his selling. He will no-sell a move to his opponent's face and then sell to the crowd and/or the camera once his opponent isn't looking. Genius bit of character work, but only one small aspect of his captivating persona. If you haven't already, check out his matchguide and watch some of his top matches, you will not be disappointed."

[8.0] "Ishii has had a magnificent fall from grace over the last few years. For quite while, from at least 2012 to say 2018/19, he was the loveable and endearing 'forever underdog' mid-carder who always had fantastic matches and occasionally got big upsets to maintain strong fan support without ever feeling like a "loser" who was never worth cheering. His match style was basic: just lots of strikes and power moves, but he'd show so much genuine passion in his displays of fighting spirit that he made every movement larger than life, and his real-time selling was (and probably still is) some of the best I've ever seen. He genuinely felt like one of the best in the world AND of all time. The issue that holds Ishii back now -- and which is why I can no longer consider him the 10/10 I rated him back in 2017 -- is because he's simply far too obsessed with copy-and-pasting literally the exact same performances week after week, year after year, to the point that he's now genuinely one of the most uncreative wrestlers in all of Japan. I first noticed this back in 2018, when people were giving him rave reviews for having basically the exact same matches he'd already been having for years, just with very slight variations to account for some fresher opponents. I still thought his performances around that time were great, but the lack of that 'unique' feeling meant that I couldn't consider those matches as truly special as some of his best. And now, in 2023, the guy is just a robot that wrestles the exact same matches and gives the exact same performances no matter where in the world he goes or who he faces. Even in his prime years, his match style and character were always both quite basic, never exactly reflecting the depth of emotions that true all-timers would show, so that's become even more of a negative with him these days, since that provides even *less* opportunities for his current performances/matches to stand out and feel worthwhile. Does he really show any different approach or attitude towards, say, a NJPW main-eventer compared to an AEW mid-carder? No, not at all. And that's what has made all his 'big' matches of the last few years progressively more and more boring. I'm now no longer remotely excited to see an Ishii match, since I know exactly what I'm getting minute by minute, and I know he's never going to try do anything outside his usual, completely done-to-death "fighting spirit" and "strong-style" spots and sequences. He even makes whatever wrestler he's facing work done to his level, which likewise makes his opponents far less interesting because they're only allowed to work the same way as every other Ishii-opponent, regardless of whether that fits them or not. As negative as I've been, I still can't consider Ishii any less than "great" because, in his prime, he really *was* incredible, producing heaps of great, amazing, and even all-timer matches against a variety of opponents. Overexposure/popularity really was the worts thing to happen to Ishii, since he became far too complacent after he smartly realised he could just coast by on the exact same matches each time with 0 creativity or uniqueness. Maybe a re-watch of his matches in a few years will lead me to re-evaluate Ishii as more deserving of a 9 or even back to a 10, because he really did feel like an all-timer for a few years, but the last few years have pretty strongly soured me on him, so I'm not too sure of that."

[10.0] "I do not think that we have seen a wrestler as consistent as Ishii is. He has had MOTYC every year for seven years now, I think that he may be the best wrestler in the world even at 44. He is super charismatic. A fan favourite for hardcore and casual NJPW fans and, when G1 Climax is around, get ready to see the best version of the Stone Pitbull. Basically, an unbelievable wrestler that will stun you day in and day out with incredible matches."

[9.0] "Best powerhouse wrestler in Japan right now. The only ting missing from this man's mantle is the world title!"

[10.0] "This rating is for how I perceive him as far has career in its entirety goes (or at least since the 2010s decade). He's legit one of the greatest underdog wrestlers of all time, (like its completely believable for him to beat the odds and defeat an unstoppable champion...and its just as believable for him to lose to an undercarder- I mean how rare is that? ! ? ), one of the greatest brawlers of all time (his matches are generally peak-BIGMEATYMENSLAPPINGMEAT material), and hes been part of some of my absolute favorite matches ever. For that, he will always be a high 9 to a 10 for me. Nowadays tho, its seems like his age has caught up to him :("

[7.0] "Ishii is a bit of a mixed bag for me in that he can either have one of the best matches of all time, or one I think is insanely boring. He definitely has more good matches than bad, that being said they get formulaic. He's put on some of my favorite matches period so it's hard for me to to rate him, but I think he at the very least has a lot of psychology with most of his opponents."

[9.0] "It's a shame New Japan has never and will never see this guy as a main eventer but Ishii is hands down one of the best ever. He can pull out a 5-star match with a broomstick. He doesn't need flips or fancy moves either, he can get you involved in the match with just forearms and chops. He is that good."

[8.0] "A great worker for a very long time now. Lacks height and charisma that would have elevated him to the top of the card but has fantastic brawling skills and has put on many great matches over the years with a variety of opponents. Incredibly consistent and an underrated seller."

[9.0] "The dude really does look like a Stone Pitbull. He looks like he eats punches for lunch. A true badass style of wrestler."