[10.0] "Same general review that I left for Inoki. Easily one of the most important figures in puro history, without Baba the modern puro scene would likely be a VERY different place"
[10.0] "Giant Baba was just a blast. He had a weird body, weird moves, and looked like he was having tremendous fun whenever he wrestled. That's not even getting into him being an exceptionally good promoter and all around nice guy."
[10.0] "Baba was a good wrestler capable of great matches before his disability (gigantism) really took its toll, matches with The Destroyer and with a young Jumbo Tsuruta show what Baba was capable of, and it was pretty good but not 10/10 worthy or anything. The reason Giant Baba is a 10/10 is his promoting and booking of a little known company he founded called All Japan Pro Wrestling. Now Baba's booking wasn't perfect, as was common at the time in both Japan and America, double count outs and DQ finishes were fairly common in the 1970s and early to mid 1980s in All Japan but the quality on offer in the ring was fairly high, however from about 1986 till Giant Baba's death in 1999, he booked and promoted the best wrestling not just on the planet at that time but possibly of all-time. Obviously having Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Stan Hansen, Jun Akiyama, Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta on your payroll in that period helps but we've seen many promoters not know what to do with their talent, well Baba knew and he delivered big time giving us a fantastic tag team scene and one of if not the best, most consistent ever main event scene and the best run of world champions ever, if I watch too much 90s All Japan, my standard for wrestling becomes too high and I see greatness as expected not as exceptional (that's why about 6 months ago, my reviews of AJPW matches became stale and 8s with little review content, because greatness was my expectation and anything less was a disappointment), that is the level of consistency Baba delivered as a booker, so good and so consistent that it was almost too much. No one else ever did that, not Crockett, not Vince, not Inoki. Exceptional booker, good wrestler, 10/10 Giant Baba."
[10.0] "Both one of the greatest bookers / promoters / eyes for talent of all time AND a great example of how good someone who can't move particularly well can be in the ring. His famous match against Fritz Von Erich is a great, bloody epic. Great matches with Funk and others as well. Amazing, insane physique and look. But he'll always be in the GOAT conversation for me due to what he did as AJPWs leader to book some of the greatest matches of all time and organically build stars like Jumbo, Tenryu, Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Onita, and countless others."
[10.0] "Giant Baba is a weird one to rate, because in-ring he is not good at all, although I will admit when he was younger in the JWA he was able to put on some really good matches, but his obvious defect would not allow him to be an incredible wrestler later on in his life. He is responsible for one of the best eras in Japanese pro-wrestling, King's Road. Did it destroy the top guys there? Yeah, Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada and Taue could all be around today wrestling one off matches like Riki Choshu had they not been involved in the King's Road era. As a booker he was very good, as a promoter he was very good, as a spectacle he was very good, it would be absolutely wrong to give him anything other than a 10 as he did a lot of great things for the world of professional wrestling."
[8.0] "A mixed but respectable in ring career but an immeasurable contribution to wrestling at large. Only flaw I can think of is holding Kawada back for Kawada's anti-isolationism."
[8.0] "I personally didn't like him that much as a wrestler, I thought he looked awful. I don't think it's his fault but he was a tall dude with really skinny arms, didn't look that intimidating for a giant. Great booker though and still one of the most important guys in the history of wrestling."
[10.0] "this CONQUISTADOR dude HAS to BE a troll RIGHT? "Giant Caca", ZERO respect FOR the ARCHITECT of THE kings ROAD while he also gives SHANE mcmahon a 10. whatever, Giant Baba's not going to give you five star matches (though he does have some bangers from back in the day), but as everyones rightly pointed out, its his run as the head of AJPW that makes him a truly irreplaceable figure in wrestling. In terms of people who've actually had the most tangibly influence in advancing the art of pro wrestling, he stands in a select group. thank you legend."
[0.0] "Bring out your pitchforks and torches everyone. I am rating The Giant Caca a ginormous ZERO. I do not care about his booking or whatever, I don't follow Japanese wrestling. I do however find myself witnessing some of his trips to the United States. Unbelievable. As in no credibility AT ALL. This super large torso with a deformed face and twig like arms that make mine look like Lex Luger's at his peak, terrible look - just abysmally bad. His offense is frail, his selling has never occurred. HE IS ROTTEN. He is the drizzling dog s#its and there is not much worse in the history of wrestling. Maybe he *is* a good booker but this is based on the kind of wrestling I want to see and that is "at least moderately believable" instead of... sheesh. THIS. Fast forward time, EVERY time."
[10.0] "Crowd reactions on him in his last years shows how big respect he earned during his almost 40-year career. Smart booker and good co-worker either. One of the most important figures for not only puroresu, but whole business history."
[10.0] "Giant Baba start he's sports career as a baseball pro player in 1955 for the Yomiuri Giants/Tokyo Giants (the greatest baseball team in japan history). Baba won the Nippon Professional Baseball league's Central League best pitcher award 3 times (56, 57, 59) and the Central League Championship twice 56 and 57. While he was playing baseball Baba meet Rikidozan and shortly after began training for JWA along with Antonio Inoki under Rikidozan instructions. After the death of Rikidozan Baba become the ace of JWA. He also formed a popular tag team B-I Cannon with Inoki. Baba decided not to renew his contract with JWA in 1972 and shortly after he founded the AJPW and established him as the top star of the promotion for the 70s before the rise of his students Tsuruta and Tenryu. Incredible promoter booker (best exemple AJPW 90s Tag division and main event). He was regarded by many as the most honest promoter in pro wrestling. Giant Baba used to treat foreign wrestlers with respect. He ensured they travelled in first class, stayed in best hotels, had beer and food he paid for personally. Baba had a great reputation for keeping his word when it was about match finishes as well as payrolls. Also incredible trainer Tsuruta, Onita, Tenryu, Misawa, Kawada, Hase, Taue, Kobashi, Akiyama, Takayama, Marufuji etc. He's simply one of the 3 most important figures in Puroresu history with his trainer the god of puro himself Rikidozan and his friend and rival Inoki. For me it's a huge 10."
[10.0] "As a wrestler he mostly got over because of his looks and charisma but couldn't really wrestle that much. I'm rating him as a booker/promoter for the coveted '90s AJPW era. While most wrestler turned promoters like Onita and Tenryu would book themselves as main eventers and title holders, Baba wasn't like that. You'd most likely see him in 6-man tags in the opening contests. The guy knew how to book and how to promote. The more I read about his "Four Pillars" booking method and his patented King's Road style the more I respect him. Who knows what would happen if he lived a litte longer or his wife didn't ruin AJPW by running Misawa and everyone else out to start NOAH."
[9.0] "One of the smartest, most creative & downright important booker wrestling has & will ever see. His work isn't the most experimental or out there but that's true solely because he defined what booking should be. Baba may posses the highest success rate for churning out stars on his own back. WWE may have created more stars but most of those are accidental. Baba wanted Jumbo to succeed him, Jumbo did it with flying colours, he wanted to create the 4 pillars, he got 4 goddamned wrestlers over all at once for a whole decade & they overstayed for a decade more. Baba is the template of this business & as such he will always be one of the best."
[10.0] "As a wrestler in his prime, Baba was a tremendous worker; he was scientific, agile and pretty much energetic for a gigantic wrestler. His matches with Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Harley Race, his student Jumbo and Hansen where mindblowing, not only for in the case of wrestling skills, but for the story behind them. However, when his age caught up he stepped aside and let Jumbo and Tenryu carry the main event status, while he put himself along with aging guys like Rusher Kimura and Motoshi Okuma in minor roles, then the 90's came in and we would see even less of him, when he finally hung up his boots. As a promoter, I don't need to say almost a thing; an honest man, a man that preserved wrestling ONLY (not like Inoki and his idea of mixing wrestling with MMA, Karate, Sambo, Judo), an honorable image that created such impact that made his wrestling company be the number one in Japan for years, and a kind, lovable, sweet man, who yet would not tolerate stupid attitudes from anyone. His legacy is immortalized by his image and the topics I mentioned above; with a cigarette in his mouth, wearing his huge blazer suits and his focused smile, you know some big things could come."
[10.0] "A lot of people are going to sit here, without ever doing a single run of the ropes mind you, and try to say that Baba was a "bad wrestler. " These people likely have only watched his matches from the 90s, when he was an old man and the booker of AJPW. But those same people won't shoot on Andre like that. Baba was a fantastic wrestler in his day (he did freaking DROPKICKS back in the day) had a brilliant mind for the business, booked the best promotion of the 80s AND 90s (maybe of all time) and wrestled right until the end. Baba WAS Puroresu, and to give him anything less than a 10 would be short sighted or at the very least uninformed. Baba rules."
[7.0] "Als Booker/Promoter natürlich unschätzbar wichtig, wenn sein hochgradig konservatives Booking auch teilweise überbewertet wird. Als Wrestler besser als manche ihn sehen, aber bei weitem nicht das Ring-Genie, zu dem ihn andere machen. Glaubwürdige Offensive ist wichtig, auch wenn man ein vom Volk geliebter Riese ist, dessen Hauptaufgabe es ist, sämtliche Bösewichte gnadenlos wegzuchoppen. Dennoch hatte er eine Menge ansehnliche Matches, dank seiner Ringintelligenz."
[8.0] "Great wrestler with many things. Selling out crowds in Japan and the US, amazing feuds, great promoter and takedowns amazing. The only thing was Baba was limited with his moves. He at times did not excite me."
[10.0] "In fact, to say that Baba is bad as a wrestler, even if it means the period of the 80s and 90s - this is complete nonsense. While not at his best, he was able to show Hansen as a destructive wrestler, while maintaining his own legitimacy and legacy. In these little things, too, lies his talent as a promoter and booker, who didn't have to follow standard rules for his ideas to gain value. Baba gave us one of the best periods in wrestling, which, in commercial terms, no one has come close to."
[8.0] "It really isn't fair to judge Baba's ring performances in his waning years in the late 80's and 90's, when his body was already starting to break down. In his prime, Baba was one of the most athletic giants around, being able to perform dropkicks and flying body scissors with relative comfort (keep in mind also that this was early NWA quality wrestling, so this stuff didn't happen rarely if ever) being able to have explosive matches the one night and a 40+ minute wrestling bout the next. He wasn't a amazing wrestler by any means, but he certainly wasn't bad either. The guy was one of the most over babyfaces in Japan and was still getting big reactions even when his body couldn't match the hype he got, which is why he put himself in those 6-man tag matches in the first place. Baba's strengths also came from his expertly done booking and management: being the guy to introduce Kobashi and Misawa to wrestling, as well as setting up one of the hottest periods in AJPW history (the best it EVER had, arguably) and firmly put them on the map as one of the top promotions, both in quality and company wise. While he wasn't exactly the "only" guy pulling the strings, it was clear that he did a lot regardless, considering his death left a massive creative hole that even today hasn't really been filled by anyone completely."
[10.0] "Not as good in the ring as Tsuruta and Inoki but an amazing draw, even when his health was already starting to decline and re-invented himself as some sort of special attraction. But of course he was the promoter behind one of the best periods in pro-wrestling in history, had more than a hand in breaking Misawa and Kobashi into the business and taught them everything he knew and wrestled his final match when he already knew he was going to die shortly. Amazing."
[10.0] "One of the most popular wrestlers of all time. Had a lot of classics to his name. One of the most respected promoters there's ever been. One of the greatest bookers there's ever been. Bonafide Hall of Famer. A true Legend."
[2.0] "I'm sorry, I know Giant Baba was an excellent promoter and an awesome booker, but as a wrestler, he totally sucked. Every good match that he's in it, he was carried, and all that matches are Tag Matches, 'cause Baba can't do a good Singles Match, it's impossible. But, to be fair, he was charismatic and a Big Draw, so I recognize why some people like him, but like I said, he's not a good wrestler."
[10.0] "A great wrestling mind and one of the most underrated wrestlers, just because of his look. Had great matches in every decade he wrestled in and booked the best period of Wrestling. Just a Legend and deserve nothing less than 10 points."
[10.0] "Shohei Baba was a legend in Japan, on a level that few others, regardless of country, achieved. And he was one of the most respected promoters in the business, a man whose word was considered to be more binding than any written contract."
[8.0] "One of the most important figures in the history of Japanese wrestling. Similar to guys like Andre the Giant, people tend to judge him for his work in a time where his body was beginning to deteriorate. In the 60s and 70s, Baba was a massive star in Japan. He's a pioneer in more ways than one and doesn't deserve anything less than a high rating."
"Eine Legende ist er auf jeden Fall. Auch wenn er im Ring sich unbeholfen bewegt hat (was natürlich seiner Körpergröße und seinem ungewöhnlichen Körperbau zuzuschreiben ist) und seine Punches nach gar nichts ausgesehen haben. Trotzdem war in einigen guten Matches und hat in Japan das Wrestling weiter aufgebaut."
[10.0] "Sein Körperbau mag kurios aussehen, aber lasst euch nicht täuschen, im Ring, was ich von ihm gesehen habe war er ziemlich gut und schnell trotz Einschrenkungen seines Körperbau. Wenn man bedenkt das er auch ein dreifacher NWA World Heavyweight Champion, und auch noch Gründer der AJPW war, kann ich nicht weniger als 10 Punkte geben."
[2.0] "Ok, ich hab nur 2, 3 Matches von ihm gesehen, aber was ich da gesehen habe, war übelst schlecht. Er ist langsam, unbeholfen, einfach nicht das Wrestling das ich sehen will."
[9.0] "Giant Baba was an interesting wrestler. He is easily 1 of the most technical and scientific wrestlers of all time who stood 6'6 or taller. In terms of physical appearance, he had the worst physique of any big man in history (Big chest, big head but tiny arms), but he made up for it with skill, charisma and presence. If I was to compare his booking skills to his wrestling, I would say he's a better booker. His booking is now legendary, as he gave wrestling fans more 5 star matches than Vince McMahon could ever hope for."
[10.0] "Als Wrestler nicht der wahre? Hat den hier niemand seine Schlachten in den 60ern und 70ern gesehen? Er hat dort GEROCKT, absolut GEROCKT. Als Promoter.... muss Ich gar nichts mehr sagen, das haben mir schon andere abgenommen. Einfach ein gott."
[9.0] "Der beste Riese den ich je gesehen habe. Dazu gründete er die Liga mit den besten Matches die ich je gesehen hab. 9 Punkte sind definitiv gerechtfertigt."
[6.0] "Rein vom Körperbau und der äußerlichen Erscheinung betrachtet einer der "unglaubwürdigsten" Wrestler aller Zeiten, frage mich ob der gute Mann jemals auch nur eine schwere Hantel in seinem Leben angehoben hat. Ein spackiger Mann mit über zwei Metern Körpergröße mit dünnen Armen und Beinen, Hühnerbrust und schmalem Rücken sieht in einem Wrestling-Ring halt nicht gut aus. Dazu kommt natürlich die Tatsache, dass er sich im Ring nicht gerade wie ein Schwan im Wasser bewegt hat, was z. B. beim jungen Andre The Giant trotz der immensen Körpergröße der Fall war. Und nun kommt das große Aber: Er hatte im Ring trotz der schwächlichen optischen Erscheinung und der leichten Grobmotorik meiner Meinung nach durchaus etwas drauf, sicherlich kein begnadeter Weltklasse-Wrestler, aber nun auch nicht die wrestlerische Niete, wie er von manchen dargestellt wird. Dass er uns All Japan geschenkt hat, muss man natürlich würdigen und anerkennen, allerdings ist hier dafür nicht der richtige Ort. Und außerdem war er, genauso wenig wie Inoki, kein "absoluter Egomane", beide Männer sind bereits recht früh aus dem Titelgeschehen und den Spotlights ihrer Promotions herausgetreten und haben der nachfolgenden Generation Platz gemacht, was man nicht hoch genug honorieren kann."
[10.0] "Der Riese aus Japan, der eine genauso große Legende ist wie Inoki. Giant Baba war vielleicht nicht so technisch versiert wie Inoki, aber das macht er mit seiner Statur und Aura weg. Genau wie Inoki hat er eine gewaltige Ringpräsenz. Ob seine Matches aus heutiger Sicht noch gut sind, ich würde sagen ja. Baba ist ein Mythos, geschaffen durch sein Talent und den Respekt den viele, sehr viele Wrestler noch heute für ihn empfinden. Keiner hat so oft das Champion Carnival gewonnen wir er. Hatte Ringschlachten mit Harley Race um den NWA World Heavyweight Title und und. Baba stellt sich nie allein in den Vordergrund in seiner Liga, er sah Talente und gab ihnen die Chance sich zu präsentieren. Die Liste der Stars und Legenden die er trainiert hat und bei seinem AJPW war ist lang, sehr lang. Misawa, Tenryu, Tsuruta, Kawada, Taue und soweiter. Ein großartiger Booker, Kommentator, Wrestler und Trainer. Ein Mann mit Einfluss und Macht, die er wohl fast immer zum Wohle des Wrestling eingesetzt hat. Ganz AJPW wurde nur durch ihn zusammengehalten, leider drohte sein Erbe auseinander zu brechen. Ich verneige mich tief, vor so einem bedeutenden Beitrag zum Wrestling. Deswegen bekommt er auch eine bessere Bewertung als Inoki."
[8.0] "Für die Schaffung von AJPW muss ihm gedankt werden, da hat er echt was aufgebaut, seine In Ring Skills waren aber im Vergleich zu anderen Riesen mieserabel, kein gutes Selling, keine Power in den Moves, und schlichtweg lächerliche Kicks."
[9.0] "Wrestlerisch war Giant Baba nicht schlecht, wenn auch nicht das Maß aller Dinge, aber wie einige vor mir gebe ich hier eine dermaßen gute Note, da er uns mit AJPW in den 90er Jahren die beste Zeit in Wrestling-Japan gab!"
[10.0] "Eigentlich bewerte ich nur die In-Ring Leistung und den Unterhaltungswert, aber Baba hat uns mit AJPW während den 90ern das beste Wrestlingprodukt aller Zeiten geliefert. Dafür verdient er die Höchsnote und nicht weniger."
