Joe Higuchi

[8.0] "While his skillset and limitations were poorly suited for the period of work for which he is most often judged, Higuchi deserves his reputation as one of puroresu's great referees. I don't think there's any argument that he was the best Japanese referee of the 1970s. Watch him in that milieu and you'll notice that he was great at adapting his range of motion depending on what the wrestlers are doing. He barely moved when both wrestlers were standing (unless he's getting involved for a reason; more on that later), but when they were on the mat, Joe compensated for that excellently to keep the crowd and viewer engaged. His count was a pretty much legit three seconds. He was also perfect for Showa period foreign heels to work with. In a company where the interpretation of wrestling rules was that a weapon attack was not in itself grounds for disqualification (as it was an "instantaneous foul"), Joe breaking things up and trying to keep the funny business under a lid was necessary to keep the tension rising. It may make Higuchi come off as an irritant if you want referees to stay in the background, but the referee is a performative role, and besides, you could not have Kyohei or Red Shoes or Nishinaga or any of those guys referee the Funks vs Abdullah/Sheik tags without them falling apart. Finally, Joe was an ALL-TIMER at the ref bump. But in the post-Choshu period, Joe's toolkit was passe. His hands became swollen to the point of disability, which forced him to soften his counts. As Kyohei Wada was developing the modern nearfall with his theatrical but incredibly effective "2.9 count", Joe admitted that he could not replicate it, and Wada became the permanent co-lead referee for native vs native matches. The period where Joe concentrated exclusively on native vs foreign matches is what he is usually judged for these days, and I'll admit it plays some factor in my rating, but I do think the rating trend on here has been somewhat unfair; he was as well-suited for pre-1985 AJPW as he was ill-suited for post-1985 AJPW. Also, whether or not you think the slowness of AJPW native vs foreign matches to embrace the "modern nearfall" was a weakness of the 90s product, I also believe it's only right to acknowledge that Joe's limitations were somewhat accommodated. Besides, would the 9/4/91 Kobashi/Hansen match have been so effective had the layout not allowed Kobashi to survive two Western Lariats without having to kick out of them?"

[4.0] "Echoing the sentiments of arrancar. A legend, sure, but there are a few matches where he noticeably sucks the life out of crowds with his slow counting and barely even touching the mat whilst doing so (which I later learned was for issues with his hands so fair enough). Also has a habit of getting in the wrestlers' faces asking them questions when it is really random or simply out of place, for instance Stan Hansen vs Toshiaki Kawada where he literally just starts flailing his arms at Stan Hansen as he's tying up his boots and uttering some nonsense. Kyohei Wada is leagues above him."

[4.0] "This guy shows up a lot during AJPW's golden years in the 90s, and sadly he doesn't leave a very good impression. His trademark is that he's basically a lucha referee, taking what feels like twice as long to do a 3 count as any other referee. Not only does his count constantly get the audience off pace because they're used to the standard time for a 3 count, thereby leading to the audience feeling confused, but he also ruins a lot of tense moments by taking so damn long to slap his hand down. Quick pin attempts mean absolutely nothing when this guy officiates, as you can tell there's no way someone wouldn't have time to kick out with such a slow count, and if they didn't then that would just make them look quite bad for being beaten by not just a 3-count but essentially a 4-count (given the extended time). When contrasted with fellow AJPW referee Kyohei Wada, who is fantastic in big matches with his fast but believable pin-fall counts, Higuchi just looks like an amateur. It's as if he is totally unaware of the audience's expectations and is actively trying to make big moments less important by ruining THE most tense moments of the match. The guy was quite old at the time I've seen him, which would at least explain his lack of energy, but that's no excuse for sucking the life out of a match. I can't believe AJPW never saw how badly he was impacting the audience's enjoyment and never decided to train him properly or just replace him."