"Founder and walking embodiment of the best wrestling faction to ever take the name Evolution. New Era Ace of All Japan when they desperately needed his strength, honour and integrity, master of the Last Ride, Suwama"
[10.0] "A goat wrestler. I've watched him consistently since 2020 and he has been great. A rough patch in 2022 when they tried to bring back the VDM but they ended up figuring it out and really making it work. Since he was the old ace, he is able to be a big "mountain" like figure for all the younger guys to overcome. His comedic timing is great. He is a GREAT wrestler!"
[8.0] "Suwama realistically should be seen in the same vein as Tanahashi in New Japan and Marufuji in NOAH. He really has had AJPW on his back since like 2010"
[10.0] "Suwama is a man that seemingly gets better with age. He arguably reached his peak in his mid-40s. For a time, he could have been considered a guy that lacked the presence of a top star and had a sluggish offense. However now, hes the rightful successor to the likes of Tsuruta. A stiff and powerful worker, his offense may look basic to some, but he knows what move to use and when to get a reaction. A great sense of storytelling, especially for the finishing stretches of his matches, great look, and certainly believable as the main guy, hes a guy that is excellent as both a singles and tag team wrestler."
[6.0] "Suwama is a very good wrestler. However, the constant forced push to the top of the card and Triple Crown Title in more recent years has (and will forever) kind of tainted what could have been an outstanding legacy. It's less Flair and more Hogan, effectively killing my interest (and, notably, live draw) of All Japan every time the belt inexplicably find it way back around his waist."
[8.0] "Suwama has had some ups and downs in his careers in ring. The reason I am giving such a high rating is the highs have made him worth watching for years. He has had several great runs as a singles wrestler and in several tag teams. He's been a big part of AJPW during their rough period though they have improved in recent years with Suwama being a contributing force in that."
[8.0] "I might not be the biggest fan of Suwama's work in the ring over the past few years, but there's no question that this guy has an aura that very few people in Japan have right now. He is an ace in the truest sense of the word and will go down as one of the best in his era."
[9.0] "It's annoying that Tanahashi gets all the credit for "saving" NJPW when Suwama did the same, but for a far smaller company heading a far bigger decline. With Misawa and the roster gone, AJPW were mostly lost and needed to bring in guys like the WAR crew and NJPW talent like Kojima and Muto to boaster the ranks and hide how shallow their roster was, hence why there's a lot of Western talent also around at the time. What they needed was a home-grown ace: Suwama filled that role perfectly as a bleeding heart, pure AJPW guy whom took no shit and defended the company from all challengers. Suwama's imposing size and solid wrestling talent was what kept him there, through he's a guy who matured as he got older: wasn't great in the early years but after experiencing some downtime for injuries, he really starts to get great work done, being able to work both at the bottom as a underdog face getting the crowd hot or as a domineering ace who focuses on power moves and heavy strikes, capable of attracting pity to his opponent. He's a great champ: guy has had multiple amazing title runs full of solid matches, even got Yoshitatsu into one, a task almost considered impossible. A powerful all-rounder in everything, not even mentioning his Violent Giants work or EVOLUTION respectfully. Suwama reminds me a lot of Jumbo as even in his older years he's pulling out fantastic material. Not GOAT material but a underrated top player in wrestling for sure. Wouldn't call him a impressive Kings Road wrestler (he's not really made for really long bouts) but snappy matches that cut the fat for more substantial work."
[10.0] "Suwama is awesome, anytime I've seen him within the past two years in a big main events he's excelled whether it's a singles or a tag. I haven't seen much of his early career, but I'd rather not judge him based on his bad points, I like to judge wrestlers on how high their good points are and Suwama has been very good!"
[10.0] "That man is an incredible wrestler. One of the bests of his generation. Top 3 wrestlers of the year, at 44 years old. He sells like a God, he tells stories like a God, he is an incredible wrestler and he never botches. Awesome in ring performer, the boss of AJPW today."
[3.0] "Suwama ist für mich jemand, der die Probleme des japanischen Wrestlers in den 2000ern symbolisiert. Ein durch und durch durchschnittlicher Wrestler, der weder besondere Ideen noch besondere Ringintelligenz anzubieten hat, aber trotzdem hochgepusht wird, da man sonst auch niemanden mehr hat. Seine Big Matches waren teilweise echt grausam und mit ein Grund für das langsame Siechtum von AJPW. Harte Lariats schlagen reicht als Main Eventer eben einfach nicht. In den letzten Jahren scheint er sich doch etwas gemausert und seine Fans gefunden zu haben, wobei es natürlich hilft, dass er nicht mehr in 30 Minuten lange Kämpfe gebookt wird. Besonders interessant ist er aber m. E. immer noch nicht."
[7.0] "Suwama is someone that grew as he aged. His best matches are defineitely later in his career, a late peak so to speak. I found myself continiously unimpressive with early Suwama (Before 2013) with few exceptions. Sluggish offence with no much oomph to it. Lacked a real precence for ages. Not good opponents. He grew into his role later thankfully. Now he's must better at hitting the required peaks in both singles and tags."
[5.0] "I don't really get the appeal of this guy. First of all his physique looks like shit. He somehow has a gut and skinny arms and legs at the same time. Hard to buy his credibility as a top guy when it doesn't even look like he works out. He wrestles really slow, letting every move breath. His offense is very basic, only a few big moves. He reminds me of Jumbo in that sense, but not nearly as good."
[10.0] "He carried AJPW on his shoulder as their rightful Ace, before passing the torch to Kento. He still dominates every division he steps in, being also fantastic tag wrestler. Too bad people didn't seem into puroresu when he was the literary ruler of AJ's heavyweight division. And by the way, he wrestles like a lovechild of Jumbo and Tenryu and he was trained by Hase and it doesn't get better than this."
[9.0] "It's strange to say: I don't really like Suwama, but at the same time, I can't say he's a bad wrestler. In fact, he's probably one of the best in AJPW at the moment, despite being 41 years old! He's a wrestling machine that never gets old, like Hiroshi Tanahashi, despite not being as successful nor good as him. Buy you can give Suwama any wrestler and he will be able to give you at least a 4 star match."
[6.0] "I understand Suwama's appeal, though I do not personally feel very strongly about him either way. I don't think he's particularly good at anything and his matches feel like they drag quite a bit, even the short ones."
[7.0] "Tödliche Suplesen, tolle Strikes und ein Mann den man es abnimmt nicht nur ein Tough Guy sondern auch ein World Champion zu sein. Der Protege und Pro Wrestling Love Ära Star aus den eigenen AJPW Reihen und genau das ist jetzt das Problem, er ist es nicht mehr. Beim neuen AJPW ist Suwama in die zweite oder dritte Reihe getreten und wurde von Akiyama, Shiozaki und Omori verdrängt, die ihm die Show stellen. Er ist nicht mehr das Ace und auch kein Veteran Wrestler der gefürchtet wird, sondern einfach da. Woran erinnert man sich wenn man seinen Namen hört? An seinen epischen Fight gegen Tanahashi, seine brutalen Schlachten gegen Takayama, Suzuki und Funaki usw. Unter Muto konnte er blühen, alles wurde getan um ihn zu legitimieren Champion und Ace zu machen. Und jetzt merke ich erst wie stark er von der oben genannten Protektion profitiert hat, die aufgezählten Highlights fühlen sich wie aus einer ganz anderen Zeit an. Dabei ist es so lange nicht her und was nun mit ihm... ? Suwama blieb und ging nicht zu W-1, vielleicht ein Fehler?"
[10.0] "HE IS THE TRUE AJPW ACE! HIS POWER AND STIFF MOVES DON'T EVER CEASE TO DISAPPOINT ME, TO ME IT SEEMS HE ONLY GETS BETTER WITH HIS AGE I HOPE HE LEADS AJPW TO NICE RESURGENCE!"
[10.0] "One of the best Triple Crown champions ever, his match against Minoru Suzuki is pure gold! I hope he will join NJPW one day in order to be exposed to large crowds. If he is not so famous, the fault is of the inability of the current AJPW."
[6.0] "Suwama hat sich zu einem glaubhaften Aushängeschild des aktuellen AJP entwickelt. Im Vergleich zu den Aces der 90er ist er aber allenfalls ein durchschnittlicher Wrestler. Im Ring ist er einfach zu schwerfällig und seine Ausstrahlung sagt mir nicht zu. Alles in allem ein wichtiger Mann für AJP in einer Phase, die hoffentlich nur der Übergang zu einer besseren Zeit ist."
[10.0] "Suwama hat eine richtig gute Entwicklung hinter sich. Er steht jetzt zurecht bei All Japan ganz oben. Muto hätte sich für sein "Ace" keinen besseren aussuchen können. Der Mann kann alles."
"Ich habe leider erst 2 Matches von ihm gesehen, doch beide Matches habe ich 10 Punkte gegeben. Ich finde Suwama wirklich gut und freue mich schon auf weitere Matches von ihm."
[7.0] "Suwama gibt mir oft Rätsel auf. Eigentlich ist er ein guter Wrestler mit viel Potential... aber er ist einfach auch so unwahrscheinlich langsam, dass bei ihm manchmal einfach kein richtiger Matchfluss entstehen will."
[8.0] "Suwama-also die neue Hoffnung von NJPW! So richtig überzeugen konnte er mich bis jetzt noch nicht, aber ich finde es mutig und einen Schritt in die richtige Richtung von AJPW, da kam in den letzten Jahren zu wenig. Bin mal gespannt wie das da weitergeht und Suwama sich noch steigern kann."
[7.0] "Sollte er konstanter werden, wird die Wertung auch besser. Ein "Second Jumbo Tsuruta" wird er wohl nie, aber schlecht ist er auch auf gar keinen Fall. Es wird sich in den nächsten Jahren zeigen, ob er auch Main Event Material ist."
[6.0] "Ist zwar schon recht gut aber so richtig überzeugen konnte er mich noch nicht. Ob er wirklich das Zeug zum neuen Jumbo hat, muss er wirklich noch erst beweisen."
