Taichi

"I'm a newer fan of him so I'm just gonna comment, but I really taken a liking to him. I've enjoyed him in any match I've seen him in."

[8.0] "Taichi's been quietly brilliant for so many years. One of the best, hell maybe even THE best character work in NJPW. He was great as a foil to ZSJ in Dangerous Tekkers, the whole story arc with Miho Abe was so good and The Holy Emperor himself is quite a deep and interesting character when you really read into it. Carries over in-ring as well, his psychology is fantastic and despite mainly being a heel he can really get the crowd behind him for some really dramatic moments (see his match against Will Ospreay from G1 Climax 33 for example). But the coolest thing about him of course is that he can sing without moving his mouth. Would really love to see him win the IWGP championship one day, I think there's enough fans of him that it could be pulled off Goto-style."

[9.0] "One of the most underrated workers in modern New Japan. Charismatic as the day is long, great tag worker, was fortunate to tag with ZSJ but still matched him at points, started off rough early in his career in the singles department but caught on since then. He has a great gimmick and great look and the crowd seems to take to him well. But I just adore watching him wrestle, his G1 performances are very special he makes the most of what he gets all the time."

[10.0] "Taichi is my favorite NJPW wrestler. Seeing him as NJPW tag team champion in 2025 and performing at this level at the start of the G1 Climax at 45 years old is simply impressive. In addition to having an incredible entrance theme."

[7.0] "He has improved from his early career especially in singles, but I still don't see the appeal. He was lucky to team with Zack. He has a cool outfit and a very funny singing gimmick but I just don't see his appeal. If he does actually sing, pretty good voice!"

[8.0] "Charismatic, consistent worker who's 'Holy Emperor' gimmick was a hit with me, especially with Miho Abe! Tag team with ZSJ was also good. Taichi always seemed a bit underrated to me and never quite reached the levels I think he could have."

[9.0] "Taichi has been one of the most underrated wrestlers that New Japan has, and has been delivering some of NJPW's best matches since 2020. His pairing with ZSJ definitely elevated him, and pushed him further up the card. His style of wrestling makes him a guy who can have a good match with anyone. I hope New Japan puts a singles belt on him at some point."

[10.0] "Taichi is probably one of the most underrated and unvalued wrestlers in Japan as of now. He's got the entrance, he's charismatic, and his moveset is amazing considering he was trained by Kawada in the All Japan dojo. He's an amazing tag wrestler and a very good singles wrestler. He's really been outstanding for the past 4-5 years. Although he is an older guy, his peak has just started recently, and he's one of my favorites today."

[10.0] "one of the most underrated and underappreciated wrestlers in the world today , hes a great tag wrestler and a very good singles performer, Trained by Kawada in the All Japan dojo you can see it all shine through in his work today , from his early days in AJPW to Dangerous Tekkers to now in J4G hes always been a personal favourite and a standout performer every single time he gets in the ring"

[10.0] "Taichi, where do I start. Probably the most underrated and underappreciated talent in all of Japan. He has the look, the swagger, the in ring talent, you name it. I'm surprised to see hos rating so low on here, seeing as how he hasn't really had a bad singles match since 2018. Taichi is my favourite wrestler of all time so I may be a little bias."

[6.0] "Lots of people including myself sadly are sleeping on Taichi. At first glance, I thought he would be some comedian wrestler because of his Emperor singing gimmick with Taichi not even moving his lips while singing his song, LOL. Now, I appreciate the work of Taichi bit by bit. His offensive kicks are crisp to watch and no doubt he could be an A-hole in the ring that you can really hate. Love on how Taichi ripped off his pants as some sort of a cheap pop. Taichi has amazing chemistry with Tomohiro Ishii, in which I enjoy most of their matches together. Nowadays, NJPW finally putting some respect on Taichi's name but possibly too late to finally have his crowning achievement. One of the most improving wrestlers today and Taichi is getting better with age. Sadly, no defining moment that Taichi has so far in his career. But let's see in the future, with some few more years left on his career. Also, sucks to see Taichi not with Miho Abe as his valet anymore, Miho is such a character for me though. It seems that his gimmick sets him back into mid-card status hence why he is not in the league of Tanahashi, Okada, Naito, Omega and Ospreay. A skilful wrestler in the ring but very underrated."

[9.0] "Perhaps the most underappreciated wrestler-redemption ark in all of wrestling. I remember in 2013-2016, Taichi was the fucking worst with the Suzuki-gun bullshit and was all over NOAH and NJPW without ever really justifying such. However, when you compare that to now, he's done a complete 180. Taichi is one of the most loveable wrestlers in NJPW, and his faction J5G is a large part of that. His matches are much better too, and his been consistent for so long that if he never gets a championship match before he retires I'm gonna be fucking devasted"

[8.0] "Taichi is very underrated and I'm not sure why, every singles match that I have seen him in he always puts in at least a decent performance and you can tell he is very charismatic. In my opinion he deserves a good singles title run (not the Never Openweight)."

[10.0] "I like Taichi. He is one of my favorite wrestlers in this generation. He wasnt good when he did dirty role, but these days Taichi is just so good. He has great gimmik and cool looks. And his in-ring performance is very good. I like he doing Kawada moves. He made bunch of bangers after 2019, and people realized how good is him. I love Taichi and I hope he get some golds someday."

"I love taichi, he the kopw champion yay. Big up my mans hes the best part about new japan. Currently smashing the tag league with Y Sheila. Thank you taichi, my beloved."

[7.0] "Taichi is good. I've enjoyed a lot of his matches and he has greatly improved in my eyes this year. He's pretty charismatic, and after his match with will ospreay I started to care"

[10.0] "I love Taichi persona, plus he is a good wrestler, He is in my opinion very underrated and he is doing better than some of people may think, I give him 9.5 [10] Almost perfect for me, Taichi is very cool dude with amazing theme song amazing look amazing entrance and skills are fascinating, it's finally time to appreciate this guy"

[7.0] "His gimmick is one of the few I find just outright awful, and I have never warmed up to much of his character work. He improved in ring greatly in the past couple years and had a good thing with Zack. Overall tho there's nothing standout imo."

[9.0] "Updating my rating on Taichi. This is what I said in 2019: "Better than what people think. Cool character who plays his role of lazy asshole pretty well. Charismatic and good on the mic." Now people are willing to give him his flowers so it's good to see. Since he moved up to the heavyweight division he has been very good and had a lot of memorable matches and rivalry. Even at 43 years old it still feels like he can wrestle at a high level for a few years. He is consistently over with the crowd and can work very well with a dominant dynamic or being the underdog of the match, though I think people prefer the latter."

[10.0] "Taichi has improved so much. Ive been a fan of his for a while and got some ridicule for it, but since then hes been turning heads. The guy completely reinvented himself in the ring and I look forward to every singles match he has. Im beyond excited for his run as KOPW Champion and I wish NJPW would send him over to AJPW so he can potentially challenge and even win the Triple Crown with the Kawada ties. Its times like these where I wish New Japan didnt get rid of the IC title because Taichi getting a run with that belt wouldve been great."

[10.0] "Taichi is great in-ring, has a great gimmick, great entrance, is brilliant on the mic, he is the complete wrestler."

[10.0] "When I first got into NJPW Taichi was only a Jr Tag guy with a bad gimmick & multiple injuries. However once I saw him do the loaded knee brace gimmick as a Jr, I knew he was going to be great. His team with ZSJ has really helped show him as a good wrestler and even before then his singles stuff was doing great. As a guy whose character was "lazy coward" the storyline of Ishii bringing the Strong Style out of him was good and helped evolve his character because when Taichi taps into the Strong Style the crowd pops for his personality change in ring. He also does a tribute sumo legend Hakuho and his infamous forearm strike & taunt in his last match ever, got to love this goof."

[10.0] "Lord Taichi deserves a 10/10 rating. He has a great character and something else that we don't find in other wrestler. I hope he wins the New Japan Cup this year."

[8.0] "Took quite a while for him to find his feet, but man, is he one of NJPW's best guys right now, and easily one of it's most entertaining personalities."

[7.0] "An amazing example of a late bloomer. Pre-2019, Taichi was a whole load of nothing really; decent in the ring when he was motivated but coasted a lot, and the character work ranged from non-existent to cringey. Looked a completely different wrestler in the NJC 2019 then got his chance in the G1 later that year and he's just gone from strength to strength since. The character work is now enjoyable and he's showing some decent charisma. In-ring improvement has been massive and now you almost expect good matches from him."

[8.0] "Limited by his gimmick but man in the past few years Taichi has absolutely shown he can go in the ring. He's no spring chicken but he's still got great stamina, athleticism and power and can really put on a show. Very good also on the mic. Just a shame I don't think we'll ever see him get a real push beyond what he's got as a tag wrestler."

[10.0] "Taichi is the fucking man now. His morphing into a hybrid Strong Style/King's Road style wrestler has made him one of the more compelling in ring performers in addition to already being one of the most interesting characters in New Japan."

[10.0] "Taichi embodies everything the japanese culture has to offer: the mocking mood, the extravagant clothes of a royal gimmick (acting the total opposite of it), the pleasant musics and the polished wrestling (and now sumo) skills. Not only that, he makes you hate him and love him at the same time; hate for treating his shortcomings like no big deal and for being lazy at times, and love him for the stories he can tell when he achieves success, so you will always expect more. At this point, Taichi is the heel you CAN'T hate, along with ZSJ and the rest of Suzuki Gun."

[7.0] "Absolutely love Tachi's entrance and ring attire, and gimmick. Lots of intensity behind his moves, and it really looks like it hurts. Seen some great matches with him in the G1 this year. He's definitely on the right track with every match feeling better and better."

[10.0] "Taichi has always owned it just took njpw not having all his matches be interference fests for people to realize it. It's nice to see him get more and more love as the years go on as he deserves every bit of it. One of the best acts in njpw the last 5 years or so"

[8.0] "When I started watching New Japan in 2017, I remember how much people disliked Taichi, the lazy asshole of the junior heavyweight division who never had good matches. But he was getting reactions nonetheless, and it was obvious that people weren't just ignoring him. Something finally clicked with him during his match with Ishii in the 2019 New Japan Cup. Since then, he has slowly become one of the better mid-carders in the company."

[7.0] "Taichi has really hit his stride over the past few years. A veteran of the business and a pretty solid undercard guy in NJPW. Unfortunately it took him 15 years."

[10.0] "Taichi looks like the perfect wrestler. But he doesn't get push, it's a pity. His matches deserve to be in the main events of big shows."

[9.0] "He's underrated. One of my favorites to watch. He can be funny and be an absolute killer in the ring. Dangerous Tekkers is probably my favorite tag team too."

[10.0] "Taichi is incredibly underrated in njpw he always has on solid matches against anyone he wrestles and his tag team with zsj is also very good"

[8.0] "Taichi used to be hit or miss for me, there would be times where he didn't seem to care all that much and just be average in the ring, but all that has changed. Taichi now has been putting on bangers for the past 2 years or so, part of that is him being in a team with Zack Sabre Jr, but I think if he were to be on his own I'd think he'd still shine as a singles star."

[9.0] "Taichi has really grown as a wrestler, from someone you'd groan about having to watch to now someone you really enjoy. In ring he's broken into that upper echelon with the other top NJPW talent, and his character work has gotten excellent too. He's gone from a bleh heel to now a superb face leaning tweener the crowd actively loves. I hope he eventually gets a run at the top of the card with a World Title, he's earned it."

[5.0] "Love Dangerous Tekkers as a team, though the start of their year was bogged down in a GoD feud. Had two amazing matches on the Summer Struggle tour - vs Naito and SANADA for the IWGP Tag Team Championships, and vs CHAOS for the NEVER Six-Man belts. Unfortuantely his singles tournament performances were weak in my opinion, lowlights vs Goto in the NJC, and SANADA in the G1. His character work is elite, but he can have a plodding style that pads too much time, especially in singles bouts."

[10.0] "Taichi is an extremely underrated performer who is mostly disliked for his days as a junior heavyweight. Then he was really annoying, but since 2018 Taichi moved to the heavyweight division and since then has developed very quickly and by 2021 he is one of the most interesting performers of New Japan, which is always interesting to follow and at the same time Taichi shows excellent matches."

[7.0] "His gimmick is so corny that it's easy to forget he's actually pretty good until he gets to show out for a match. He's steadily gotten to a point where he's consistent in delivering good, to even great performances."

[7.0] "Taichi is a mixed bag for me. In some matches I think he can steal the show but in others... it's just so mediocre. Taichi is a good Heavyweight now, and I think his current placement on the card in New Japan suits him well, especially for his age."

[8.0] "I don't often rate wrestlers. But Taichi deserve a better note. He's improve a lot that last two and a half years. He's look a completely different wrestler the one i knew when i start watch njpw."

[5.0] "A honest but very limited midcarder whom NJPW has been more or less forced to push due to how depleted their roster has become over the past couple of years. I genuinely honestly don't understand the hype surrounding him: he's exactly the same honest if uninspiring worker as before. His matches become a veritable chore to watch when they go over 10 minutes, which these days in NJPW means always. One bonus point however for being Kawada's whipping boy in his early days and lampooning his teacher's lounge singer gimmick."

[4.0] "He has some charisma and that's the end of his upsides. He's a slog to watch at times and his gimmick isn't that great at all. Move him away from ZSJ so Zack can get some singles runs."

[10.0] "over the past 2 years, Taichi has made a huge leap in self-development, he certainly has charisma, and he is also one of the best in-ring performers"

[3.0] "The guy has a good look and that? s where the positives end he is very average in the ring with little to excite anyone not particularly athletic or charismatic in the ring and treated like a bigger star the. He really is there are much better wrestlers in Japan"

[9.0] "He has improved so much. He is definitely one of my favorite NJPW wrestlers now. Great gimmick, charisma, in-ring skills. His bromance with Zack is awesome. I wish him all the best and I am sure that the future is bright for him."

[10.0] "Taichi is one of the best wrestlers in the world and the continuous disrespect towards him makes no sense. He has a clearly defined character and psychological approach to his matches, his work is built off of a symbosis of him and his opponent's personalities as much as their technical styles, and that makes everything he does immediately engaging to watch. No one played with Suzuki or Jay White's characterisation more in last year's G1, and no one has brought the fight to Ishii more than Taichi in the last 2 years. He is filled with swagger, has consistently excellent matches, has fantastic kicks, is great in singles or in tags and is more than capable of delivering when it matters most."

[10.0] "Taichi has improved a lot this year, he has started to show his best side. He is good as a solo performer and as a team performer."

[9.0] "Taichi cut the bullshit this year and is possibly in the top ten best wrestlers in New Japan because of it. Superb talent when he just wrestles. God Bless him... wait? He is the holy emperor! Nine!"