"The cutest pro wrestler in the world! Itoh-chan! Anyone who follows Maki Itoh's wrestling career across TJPW, AEW, GCW, and all other indie scenes she has appeared on knows that she is definitely one of the best wrestlers in the world, apart from being the cutest in the world. She captivates the audience with her charisma and her energy. And she will flip off anyone who gets on her way when it comes to winning matches. Her matches against Rina Yamashita are exceptional and a must watch. Her matches against Mizuki and Miyu Yamashita are also fantastic."
[10.0] "No pro wrestler male or female has captivated me more than Maki Itoh. She just gets it. Her immense charisma, her masterful facial expressions, her aura, her presence, her ability to work any crowd like putty in her hands, all on display every match she wrestles. Also to the people who only saw her in AEW where she had to work a comedy style and gave her bad ratings, citing that she can't wrestle, you can't be any more wrong. Itoh can go in the ring, she's not a technical savant, her style is much more brawler with a bit of submission. Her singles matches with the likes of Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, and Miyu Yamashita are fantastic. Also she sings her own theme song."
[10.0] "Pure charisma. She's got an unreal presence, she can work a good match. It'll be interesting to see what stories she can tell in a televised format."
[9.0] "WHO IS THE CUTEST IN THE WORLD! ITOH CHAN! She is one of my favourite wrestler currently, for the sheer amount of joy she manages to bring to the ring. Hilarious, solid in ring and genuinely entertaining. She is a cartoon character come to life who is of course, also cute. Her unique backstory accentuates her quirky, crazy character. I always have a good time watching Maki Itoh."
"Say what you want about her "pure skills". Maki Ito is entertaining as hell! and whenever she comes out, she immediately has the crowd behind her. Wrestling is just more fun with her around. That has to account for something."
"Maki Itoh is one of the best up-and-coming wrestlers coming from a very competitive Japanese scene where it seems like everyone and anyone is going to the US. He character work is one of the best and her in-ring skills are improving every time I see her. Many might see her as cringy or not a good worker. but her matches with Mizuki or Yamahsita are very good matches that show her skills."
[7.0] "Very hard to rate, Maki Itoh exists and works well within the kawaii fairy-tale universe of TJPW; but when removed from that environment, can come across as cringey and out-of-place, as many of the more cartoony gimmicks in TJPW would. This is a not a knock at Japanese wrestling either, Maki (or other TJPW character gimmicks like Haruna Neko, Raku, Pom Harajuku et al) wouldn't really work in Stardom for example. And therein lies the problem. I'd give Maki a 10 or 9 for her TJPW work, but in AEW? I don't think it works terribly well, unless they give her better matches to wrestle in- ones which are more reliant on dramatic ringwork, than comedy. Orange Cassidy has had to change to remain watchable in AEW, Maki Itoh would have to do the same, or be used sparingly, in that American market. Ironic, considering that in TJPW itself, she has been working more serious matches, especially in the build to her excellent title match at Wrestle Princess II in October 2021."
[8.0] "Maki is definitely an undiscovered gem in the same vein as Edge, Orange Cassidy, and Christian Cage. By that, I mean she has the ability, comedy aspect, and charisma that some of the greats have been able to parlay into their character. She's also a great character in general who will probably bring a smile to your face, but her goofy entrance actually hides a fierce and very hungry competitor who can be a challenge for the great ones in Japan and the US. It's too bad that I can't go to Japan to see just how good she is against other joshi, but I have to give her this rating, because while she's not perfect, she is without a doubt a unique blend of toughness, comedy, and charisma. If Mick Foley taught us anything, it's that sometimes that exact trifecta equals great success."
[8.0] "Ist wie Miyu längst in der USA unfassbar begehrt. Ob sie mal Full nach Amerika ziehen will. Bei Maki ist es entweder liebt oder hasst man sie. Im Ring hat ihrer Tag Team Partnerin noch mehr drauf aber auch Maki kann richtig gut wrestlen."
[10.0] "Maki Itoh has the same views on wrestling as respected Japanese legends, she has the necessary basic skills, due to which she can build a variety of stories with her opponents, and the distinctive features and mannerisms of the character are layered on top, which make her special and memorable. Maki is a truly great performer with a huge number of amazing singles matches and amazing tag team matches, a woman who has been forcing fans to watch the story of her ascent for several years, who (so far) can't find the final, a woman who can look competitive against the monstrous Kazusada Higuchi, despite the fact that she much lower and much thinner. To be honest, I'm tired of reading comments about her being limited, because it's not true, she does no more and no less than any other wrestler in TJPW. But, of course, most of the negative comments are left by those who have seen two or three of her matches inside someone else's promotion for Maki. I believe that AEW fans need to finally come down from heaven and accept the simple fact that everything doesn't revolve around their favorite company, a person has a career elsewhere, there is a booking elsewhere, there are titles and confrontations elsewhere. On what basis you decide that you can leave your mark on her profile is the biggest mystery that haunts me. Returning to Itoh, she is a real phenomenon, successfully combining excellent wrestling and entertainment. Any wrestler who knows how to sell himself deserves respect, but in the case of Maki, this is a fundamentally different level."
[3.0] "Judging by her few appearances on AEW, I think I'm done with Maki Ito's shtick. She's not particularly horrible in the ring, but she isn't very good either - and without mentioning her frequent botches. While I could pardon some of her flaw in the ring as her being mostly a comedic wrestler, I cannot rate her any higher considering I personally find her comedic routine boring and genuinely cringe-worthy. At least, she is mostly inoffensive: shows up once in a while on YouTube, sing her theme song, delivers an underwhelming match and loose before leaving for another few months. She's not good nor entertaining, but at least she's not there often which is definitely a positive."
[9.0] "I think many look at Ito and right her off as just a "character" and not a worker. But she's actually grown quite a bit in the ring the last few years. Yes she's not the greatest even in TJPW but she is very good at what she does. And at the end of the day she gets fans into her matches which is the real goal of wrestling. Have to bump her up to an 8 because I went back to look at some of her recent work and it's all really good in big singles matches."
[8.0] "A charismatic rising star with a fun gimmick, who conquers Japan and has recently begun to perform frequently on the American scene. A good ring skill, a pleasant voice and the ability to entertain the audience well, 8 points."
[7.0] "Maki Itoh is extremely fun to watch, and a good example of a decent joshi. Her gimmick suits her personality so damn well, and she's really gotten over with the TJPW crowds as well as the good fans of AEW and the American indies. Her in-ring work is decent, but not on the level of people like Shoko Nakajima or Yuka Sakazaki. Her team with Miyu Yamashita is also great, as both women are so talented. Maki's future is bright, but she has to keep getting better to keep up with the ever-changing wrestling fanbase."
[8.0] "Shes obviously not a 0. No one is a 0. Why do they even have that as an option. Vincent isn't a ZERO.She is perfect for tjpw and an acquired taste in aew and gcw. Pretty damn funny and entertaining to me. Maybe not great in ring yet that I've seen."
[0.0] "Little wrestling ability and the worst women's gimmick i ever saw just below Nikki Ash's super hero thing. Seems to only play up to those who care about how pretty a wrestler is. wrestler's arent supposed to be cute. this could possibly work as a short term heel run where she plays up this cute thing to get heat and then is a deadly assassin type wrestler but she's bad in the ring and somehow gets cheered."
[10.0] "Wonderful. Maki Itoh is an excellent wrestler who puts her heart into it when she enters the ring. She is pure charisma, talent and dedication. I met her thanks to AEW and since then I've followed her career."
[8.0] "I've held off on rating Maki for awhile, because I wanted to see her settle into her groove before doing so. She's become legitimately good in the ring, has charisma for days, knows how to get herself over and is unapologetically herself. Her flair and personality won't work for everyone, but it's impossible to deny how far she's come."
[9.0] "One of the most charismatic wrestlers in the world, she just eats up the screen. You could almost call it a problem since I can barely pay attention to her opponents, but it's a good problem to have, not to mention her ever improving in-ring ability. Maki's a star, plain and simple."
[0.0] "Sie ist absolut grausam. Das ganze geschreie und das kindliche rumgetanze sorgt dafür dass ich nichts anderes als Fremdscham verspüre, wenn ich sie sehe kommt nichts rüber. Sie sorgt dafür dass ich mich als Wrestling-Fan manchmal selbst frage, wieso ich es bin. Wenn ich sie nie wieder sehen muss, wäre es zu früh."
[10.0] "The cutest wrestler in the world. Not just that, but she can kick ass as well. Maki Itoh is a very easy underdog to root for - and yet she hardly carries herself like an underdog. It's that kind of infectious personality that makes her so endearing. One of the knocks on her used to be her in-ring skills, but she has improved leaps and bounds and is now one of the very best in Tokyo Joshi Pro. Also, she has one of the highest ceilings of all joshi when it comes to international crossover appeal. Tony Khan needs to back up the Brink's truck for her ASAP."
[9.0] "Maki Itoh polarisiert, ohne Frage. Wer sich an alte stocksteife Vorgaben von früher klammert und sie nur von ihren kurzen Auftritten bei AEW kennt, wird nicht viel mit dem Gimmick anfangen können. Ansonsten ist Itoh brilliant in ihre Rolle, erzählt Geschichten mit ihren Gimmick und entwickelte sich unerwarteterweise zu einer sehr unterhaltsamen Wrestlerin. Ihre Popularität kommt auch nicht von ungefähr, auch dank ihrer Social Media Aktivitäten, wo sie z.B. mal eben locker Ewiggestrige wie Cornette in die Tasche steckt."
[10.0] "Now i discovered Maki when she was in aew and was drawn to her quickly. I love her gimmick and its over as fuck to boot. She was a good wrestler at the beginning of 2021 but holy shit she has became the full package. She is probably one of the charismatic women in wrestling right now with the swear word saying fired idol gimmick i love most. She was already good in ring but is now also one of my favourite women in wrestling and my fav in TJPW. I cant wait to see what she'll do in her second reign as International Princess champion. An easy 10"
[1.0] "Ich glaube an Ihrem Gimmick und dem gesamten Auftreten scheiden sich die Geister, entweder man liebt es oder hasst es. Für mich ist es einfach eine völlige Katastrophe! Etwas nervigeres als ihren Entrance, habe ich im Wrestling bisher selten gesehen. Im Ring von dem was ich gesehen habe, ebenfalls unterdurchschnittlich und sehr anstrengend. Sie hat eine große Fanbase und ist wohl einfach nicht "my cup of tea", daher gibt es einen Bonuspunkt. Geschmäcker sind verschieden, ich möchte sie jedenfalls nie wieder bei AEW sehen."
[8.0] "She's getting there. Emotional and character wise she's perfect for TJPW and would probably be absolutely lost in a promotion like Stardom. She has improved a lot in ring to back up her promo skills, but she'll never be the worker Mizuki, Miyu or Yuka are. That's not her strength and I hope she sticks to it."
[7.0] "A product of DDT/TJPW, she's a perfect fit there, getting over on her character work alone. Her wrestling resembles the skills of a punk rocker: all attitude with technique that is limited and unrefined. She's weak and doesn't have a natural command of physics. Reflexes can be slower than average and anything physically demanding may not be great, but more nuanced movements are quite good. Can be in comedic matches and serious ones to boot, laughing 70 percent of the time and crying 30. Is a natural on the mic and a very emotional/expressive performer. Comes across as very genuine, which is hard to do in wrestling. Easy to root for and the way she carries herself makes it interesting to watch, more interesting than PED-ridden charisma-vacuum fakes."
[8.0] "Maki has the charisma of a mountain, also she is a good wrestler, she delivered good matches in the 8th Princess Cup and WrestlePrincess 2, also her match against Miyu in January 4th was very good"
[9.0] "Maki Ito's performances in the Princess Cup this year prove she's more than just a gimmick. I always think that's been overstated anyway, but now it's clear."
[5.0] "I like her as a character, I really do. Unfortunately she's also a character that doesn't work too well outside of the safe confines of DDT/TJPW programming and her in-ring skills are more miss than hit."
[8.0] "Maki Ito is great, actually. Definitely character-driven, but a wrestler who is always engaging in every match she's part of, whether it be singles, tags, serious, comedy, intergender, etc. She's also someone who has improved leaps and bounds since her debut, and that doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon."
[4.0] "Ihr Gimmick ist nervig, aber effektiv. Ihre Arbeit ist anständig, aber nie großartig. Sie ist ein großartiger Charakter für eine Midcard, aber mehr auch nicht. Ich frage mich, wie lange es ihr durchhält."
[0.0] "Without doubt the worst wrestler I have ever seen in my life she is an absolute embarrassment her recent matches on AEW had some of the worst mic shots ever. Hopefully she finds another line of work to fail at with her wrestling career and her crap singing"
[10.0] "Maki is very expressive and entertaining in every single match she is in. Her wrestling abilities improved as well heavily over the last few years, which is why I gladly give her a rating of 10."
[8.0] "Maki Itoh... hat sich in den letzten Jahren zu einer recht populären Persönlichkeit gemausert, ohne jemals bei einer größeren Liga angetreten zu sein. Sie war im Ring selbst nicht gut. Im letzten Jahr hat sie sich immer mehr gesteigert, was sich in diesem Jahr nahtlos fortsetzt. Sie scheint mit jedem einzelnen Match besser zu werden, man kann ihre tatsächlich sehr guten Matches nicht ausschließlich ihren Gegnern zuschreiben. Erst kürzlich hat Maki mit Yuki Arai einen Rookie wie ein gestandener Veteran durchs Match begleitet. Vor 2 Jahren hätte ich das nicht für möglich gehalten. Deshalb ist es wirklich extrem oberflächlich, sie nur auf ihren Charakter zu reduzieren."
[8.0] "Maki Itoh has that unwavering confidence on the mic that you can't teach, seriously quick wit, and a matchguide that exceeds her supposedly mediocre in-ring reputation massively. Her match against Miyu was one of the best matches of the year, and her singles match against hikari was very good. She's more than held her weight in several high quality tag matches. She'll surprise people in AEW."
[9.0] "Is Maki a great in-ring wrestler? No, especially compared to other Joshi wrestlers she's EXTREMELY unremarkable and sometimes straight up bad even. That said, Maki's in-ring ability is surpassed by her backstory and her storytelling since arriving in pro wrestling as well as her extremely charismatic personality. I think a lot of people have really confused her popularity being attributed to her being "cute" or really charismatic since she has had appearances for AEW when although that has really helped that isn't what got her popular to begin with and I think that hasn't been properly explained."
[3.0] "Maki Itoh is all charisma. To her credit, people seem to love her quirky personality, and finding a way to stand out amongst your peers really is the most difficult thing to do in professional wrestling; all three points of this rating are for that alone. As a worker, Maki Itoh is awful. My favourite aspect of pro-wrestling is, believe it or not, the wrestling. I am not a fan of Maki Itoh."
[10.0] "Great character. Delusional heel that believes she's a face. Acts as if she is a beloved celebrity and role model... until cornered, then she resorts to every dirty tactic in the book. Great on the mic, serious and emotionally or comedically. Great in the ring (against any girl her weight class at least). Singles & Tag wrestler. Frontman/Focus of whatever tag team. Leader of her stable. Great Entertainer. A+ social media and promo game. Well fleshed out multi-year feuds and character development. Top tier heel."
[3.0] "In my opinion her character doesnt belong on a wrestling show. It belongs on a ballet show or Halloween costume show. I need to be able to take her more seriously than a girl that acts and sounds like shes still in kindergarten"
[6.0] "Itoh is a tough individual to rate. Many factors to delve into. I think it's hard to deny that she has charisma for days. She plays up the "cute, innocent schoolgirl" schtick, but she pairs it with a "crass, unabashed, vulgar, troll" attitude. I can see how this might create a polarizing sort of character & it seems it's one of those "you either love it, or hate it" sort of dynamics. I, for one, love her character. She also uses social media well, which only adds to her intrigue. Moving beyond pure character work, her in ring is where she really falls off the rails. Being enmeshed in TJPW is doing her no favors with concern to becoming more proficient in the ring. I've never been very impressed with most anything in TJPW from a wrestling standpoint. I'm also not too entertained with the "hard head" gimmick. I've seen it so many times before & with Itoh, it is especially hard to buy into. With her recent appearance in the AEW Women's Tournament, it seems like it's only a matter of time before she starts making more waves in the western hemisphere. I only hope that once she comes over that they really invest in getting her better training that the folks in TJPW are not very concerned with."
[9.0] "After watching her shine in TJPW, DDT, and the recent AEW Women's Title Tournament, I'm content to say that Maki Ito is the most entertaining wrestler in joshi today. She's probably the best in her subgenre (joshi) at connecting with any crowd, whether it's Japanese or American. I can't wait to see more from her, especially as her in-ring ability continues to improve."
[9.0] ""Who's the cutest in the world? " Sorry Itoh-chan I would have to give that to Haruna Neko personally. However, like many other people she is one of my favourite Joshi wrestlers. Everything she does is golden. She is an entertainer and wrestling is entertainment over everything else. She is a pretty good wrestler as well even if people chose not to see it and she clearly puts the effort in in order to get better. Happy for (hopefully) a wider range of people seeing her at the big recent Korakuen Hall event with the first ever English commentary. I love her last two costumes and her entrance obviously, her Twitter nonsense is brilliant as well."
[10.0] "There are certain wrestlers in the world who have that "It" factor. It's something that can't really be measured, but it makes you want to watch them even when they have a few flaws here and there. Maki Ito isn't the best in-ring worker, but she is absolutely packing in that special "It" factor. Her entrance is amazing, and I can't wait for the COVID era of wrestling to end to hear crowds singing along with her. She has a personality that just shines in any match she takes part in and makes her a star. And while she's not an Asuka or a Miyu Yamashita or a Riho in-ring quality wise, Maki Ito is slowly getting better, and her recent match against Mizuki in the Princess Cup was an absolute treat. She didn't win in the end, but her time will come one day! Maki Ito is going to go down as one of the biggest female stars Japan has ever seen, she has the charisma, the presence, and with enough time her ring work will catch up with everything else."
[10.0] "Worship Ito-chan! Defend her in all costs! Devote your life to the goddes herself! We must spread Itoism to every culture! This world needs Ito-chan! (also, she is pretty good wrestler and great entertainer)"
[5.0] "Ito-chan is not a particularly compelling wrestler. She has a great entrance, the way she interacts with the crowd and gets them to rally behind her tells me that she gets it. But that's about it. She's not there yet. I would not go out of my way to see her. Maybe someday."
[8.0] "If Maki improves in the ring, she would become the full package as she has everything else in abundance. Maki is also one of the very few comedy wrestlers I genuinely find funny, however, as I have already said, despite a few decent matches here or there, her matches largely fall short of expectations."
[8.0] "Maki Ito is something else. She is very charismatic and her psychotic treat is awesome. This woman can be the best if she keep improving her wrestling skill."
[8.0] "One of the breakout stars of 2018 for sure in terms of character. She is still a bit limited in-ring, but every show she seems to be getting smoother, and I hope she includes other moves as she feels more confident and gains more experience. Her character of a losing underdog who never gives up is excellent and is the main reason why I gave her such a high rating. Also keep an eye to her facial expressions."
[8.0] "Maki Itoh is the cutest ! Obviously she is limited in the ring but her charisma and presence makes up for it . I am not sure if she will be able to be the main champ but she will do very well as a tag champion or a faction leader"
