Akitoshi Saito

[9.0] "Later in his career he was broken down to hell but prime Akitoshi Saito, that dude is a beast. Different Style Fights, the Early NOAH stuff, all of that is beast, also the Death Brand is one of the best and most aptly finishes ever."

[10.0] "I've wanted to talk about Akitoshi Saito as a wrestler for a long time, and how happy he made me and still makes me today. I discovered him relatively late, around 2022, and although he wasn't very high on the card anymore, I paid close attention to who he was and his career in general. This led me to watch his match with Go Shiozaki in 2020, which was incredibly moving. I later learned about the tragic story that connects him to Misawa in 2009. All I feel for him is not pity, but immense admiration and pride. He's a man who fought his whole life, both in and out of the ring. I'm so happy when I watch his old matches or when he's on commentary."

[8.0] "Seeing Saito rated this low is absurd. I've watched a fair bit of his work and he's was an awesome part of the Heisei Ishingun angle/faction during the early parts of New Japan in the 90s. he has some pretty good midcard matches and his matches against Go Shiozaki, of course Kobashi and Naomichi Marufuji match that he had last year which was an amazing tribute match to Misawa in my opinion, a great tag wrestler, considering his run with Jun Akiyama & Bison Smith (May He Rest Easy), it's sucks that he'll be remember because of the "incident" and i'm not proud about how he will not be given more credit for what he's done."

[6.0] "Spent his peak years surrounded by all time level workers and really outside of a match or two he does not have a body of work that demands you go back and watch a retrospective. He was basically a broken shell of a worker for near enough 15 years before he finally packed it in but then puro just does not pay well enough to allow people to retire in good time."

[7.0] "Yeah his work has been on decline the last couple of years but he's still a decent tag guy and his matches during the 2000s were generally pretty good."

[8.0] "I love this grumpy old bastard. He was damn cool as part of the Heisei Ishingun angle/faction in early 90s New Japan. As a midcard feud from this time period I'd imagine most in the West haven't seen much footage of it - but I would definitely recommend looking for what you can. In 00s NOAH he formed a couple of enjoyable tag teams. Particularly his run with Bison Smith (RIP)."

[8.0] "I have no idea how Saito is rated this low, granted I haven't seen all of his work but he's an easy 7 or 8 out of 10. I'm going 8 for much I like his tag work, and because his singles match in 2020 against Shiozaki showed how great he still was even that late into his career."

[8.0] "I think this veteran is very underrated. Yes, now he's a half-comedy, but he still got it, he still can perform really well and show cool exchanges and moments with both low-carders and main-eventers. Storyteller skills, charisma and nice work make a good wrestler from Saito, and I'm not happy about the fact that he will not be given more attention."

[5.0] "I never really got Saito as a wrestler. He's short, chubby, not particularly threatening in anyway and looks like a goof. The few times he's been given to step up over the years have gone nowhere, and he's basically been stuck being the side-man in tags and stables. He's not TERRIBLE in his prime but wasn't particularly fantastic either, there's honestly not a lot of matches that I can say were definitively good because of him: it's always his opponent taking him to the next level. He's pretty eh by himself, tolerable in Funky Express in short doses, and he's definitely nearing the point where wrestling isn't gonna be a option for him. That being said, for a 50+ year old he's very much above average in terms of performances, and his status as a NOAH vet who's rearing the next generation is a worthwhile job. All in all: decent in his prime but very much a undercard worker."

[7.0] "Fairly good wrestler that can handle competitive or comedy wrestling. His moveset seems pretty limited by his age, but what he can still do, he does very well."

[4.0] "Similar to Honda, Saito always seemed like he had better matches and a cooler moveset in him than he let show in throwaway matches. Unlike Honda, however, Saito never truly rose to the occasion in his title shots. Competent wrestler, but not very exciting and a bit too sloppy-looking to be taken seriously as a main event level guy."