Nobuhiko Takada

[7.0] "Takada is what I'd consider to be a B+ player; someone who was especially exciting with a game opponent, definitely had some classics for sure, but if he's not got that with him he tends to be very underwhelming as a main event figure when having to actually make a match stand out by his own merits. It didn't help that Takada's grappling on the mat was legitimately quite weak for his mythological status; guys like Maeda, Funaki, Shamrock all completely trumped him in the 90s when it came to articulating and showcasing incredible scrambles for holds alongside extremely clever submissions. When Tamura and Volk Han came along, he looked even more horrendous by comparison, probably why he pivoted so quickly out of UWF-I when business started to tank as he just didn't have the physicality to carry himself at the level required. Takada's strengths came from his ability to dramatize; to make his opponents seem like impossible monsters that he could only barely keep up with, the way he could sell that last bit of energy into every one of his huge roundhouse kicks; that's really what made him such a big star in the 90's, his ability to make the best of what was admittedly a relatively mediocre foundation on his part, melodrama mixed with shoot style was essentially what UWF-I kinda became when Takada got into his ace slot and it stayed that way for a long couple of years because he'd milk the shit out of every big moment he got. What Takada lacked was all in the technical department; he wasn't the best striker, he was pretty boring when doing grappling and that's not when he was trying to intentionally sandbag the other guy, he honestly didn't have anything to stand out from the pack bar his eye for dramatics. Could you say that eye is a "innovation"? Sure, but it's not saying much in the grand scheme of things since again, he wasn't the best at that either. Maeda I'd even argue came off more charismatic at his peak, Sayama definitely was, etc etc. I do wonder if UWF could've been saved if he wasn't just sitting on the title for years while guys like Tamura and Yamazaki had to settle for undercard outings since he kinda tanked the promotion's reputation with his increasing focus on shtick and gimmicks over actually doing good U-Style matches. If you're in a 90s vacuum of platitudes and highlight reels Takada seems really cool, but the more wrestling you watch in general (including from prior eras! ) you start to really see how limited Takada was in retrospect. He was a guy who rode a trend so much that he was directly partly to blame for killing it, if that doesn't prove how flawed he was as a performer idk what will."

[10.0] "Obviously, the UWFI style is not for everyone. In my opinion it can get very repetitive very quickly. But there's one man who was really REALLY good at it and that's Nobuhiko Takada. A guy who was one of the faces of shoot-style, someone who, If he had too could put on a great pro wrestling match. Hell the guy could even talk when he was in HUSTLE, at least from the footage I watched of him there. The guy could do it all, a great wrestler and certainly one of my favorites."

[10.0] "A man destined to greatness since day one. From the "Youth Esperanza" to "Heisei's Fighting King", Takada managed to surpass his "older brother" Akira Maeda with his career, forming UWF-i to a bigger success than UWF, and even capturing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The first man to ever win both the IWGP Heavyweight and Junior Championships, and was the only one until Ibushi also did it."

[8.0] "Takada was one of the few MMA-influenced wrestlers who managed to make the worked-shoot style work. The dude was a massive star and held himself with a star's confidence every single time he got in the ring. The technique he showed in his striking was fantastic, since he mixed intensity and stiffness with good energy and captivating flashiness. His selling was also very strong; it helped that he was usually working matches that claimed to be real, and thus he was often getting hit with moves that were more painful than the ones he'd receive in other matches, but he knew how to make himself look subtly panicked and in pain without coming off as cheesy or weak. His grappling wasn't as famous as his striking, but he could also make that work look relatively realistic and quite interesting because of how quick and fluid his movements were. I always preferred his 'pro-wrestling' matches compared to his "this is totally real MMA! " matches he had in UWF and UWFi, since I've always found worked-shoots fundamentally less enjoyable than straight-up wrestling matches, but I'd always happily watch his 'non-wrestling' performances because his natural charisma and talent would always ensure they were mildly entertaining at worst, plus it was always heaps of fun seeing the audiences treat him as an absolute god. I definitely think his decision to prove his actual lack of fighting prowess by venturing into legit MMA fights sullied his reputation, but if he didn't do that then (apparently) MMA wouldn't have become as big as it did, so I guess him making a fool of himself there was for the greater good. I'll always at least remember him as one of the few wrestlers who truly felt like an absolute star and who made shoot-style fighting interesting."

[10.0] "Takada was one of the most important innovators in shoot-style wrestling, along with Akira Maeda and Satoru Sayama. His promotion, UWFi, became one of the most well-known and recognized shoot-style promotions worldwide, leading to a historic feud with NJPW in the mid-1990s that perhaps resulted in the creation of the nWo in WCW. He had it all in terms of ability. Technical skills, grappling skills, striking skills, psychology, and even storytelling."

[10.0] "A true pioneer for not only shoot style but other sports such as MMA. One of the best underdogs always holding his own against legends like Fujiwara and Maed. Having some of the greatests marche of all time against the likes of Hashimoto and Maeda. Very versatile in the style he can do and highly charismatic."

[8.0] "Nobuhiko Takada was part of some the most historic moments in both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was a great worker, and, for a while, a major star."