Masakatsu Funaki

[9.0] "An elite striker as well as grappler, Funaki has always been one of the more underrated workers of his time period. That underrated reputation only becomes exacerbated given that his most notable peer is also wrestling's most popular grandpa, Minoru Suzuki, but Funaki is different enough from Suzuki, and also clearly good enough that his legacy should be remembered as well. While he was better in sprints rather than marathons, although he clearly did have the stamina to go for 30 minutes if needed, and he wasn't as magnetic as Suzuki, he's one of the crispest workers ever, almost always delivering convincing blows, as well as being able to play a strong gatekeeper or even final boss in some cases. While the match catalogue is a little lighter compared to the all time greats, at his peak, there were few better than him, and The Last Samurai has been able to become a legend in both the world of pro wrestling and mixed martial arts. A main eventer in any combat sports company on the planet."

[10.0] "The only true rival Minoru Suzuki fears and first threat to the Gracies before Wallid Ismail and Sakuraba came around. Funaki is the eternal Modern Day Samurai, not only because he never ages, never looks bad, where his conditioning tops Tanahashi's, Suzuki's, Kojima's and more vets, but also because his polished skills followed him since his teenage years as a wrestler, going back to almost 40 years ago. A rapid striker, a threatening grappler and tremendous momentum driver, this man happens to drive any match into shock or amazement as he mixes drama and technique to make any fight worth watching."

[10.0] "Funaki is one of the most talented technicians and shoot-style wrestlers in history. The standout of Pancrase before injuries slowed him down, Funaki is the only professional wrestler to ever come close to defeating Rickson Gracie and I think that's pretty cool! He's continued to be an amazing grappler over a decade into his return to professional wrestling, and for a long time has been one of the most reliably good wrestlers around."

[9.0] "Not to be confused with the WWF's Funaki, this Funaki is one of the all-time great Mixed Martial Artists. Founder of Pancrase alongside Minoru Suzuki, his wrestling work should not be overlooked either. While Suzuki still has incredible charisma, I think Funaki has become a better worker than him as the years went by. Underrated due to his career path that lead him to more obscure promotions, Funaki is one of the best killer badasses ever in wrestling, and you should look him up."

[8.0] "Rather overlooked by wrestling fans because of (1) being the "other" Pancrase founder, next to a more popular wrestler in Minoru Suzuki, and (2) mainly spending his time post-All Japan with fairly niche promotions like WRESTLE-1 and RJPW. Now that he's having a more regular presence with NOAH (winning the National belt last month), plus GLEAT on the side, people are starting to come to know how good he is. Highly recommend his N-1 Victory match with Nakajima from last year."

[6.0] "I know that there's an appeal to his grappling-based wrestling, but he made Kongo a lot less cool and those types of matches just aren't for me."

[9.0] "Has aged a LOT better than Suzuki has in terms of ring quality. Funaki doesn't quite have his magnetic personality or menace but as a straight laced badass who'll snap you in half, he's easily the better when it comes to that regard. A really underrated main title holder (his Triple Crown stuff is sensationally underrated) and a obvious shoe-in as a top level shoot artist in his prime: his stuff in the 90's are regarded as legendary for a reason, either taking a rookie Ken Shamrock to some amazing bouts or just generally looking like a world-ender on the rare occasion he travelled outside of shooty promotions. He does hurt from basically disappearing from wrestling until his 40's but he's proven to be a extremely valuable asset to any company he's thrown into. One of of the most intensely technical guys I've seen around and probably would've dominated the wrestling scene had he not gotten into legit MMA in his prime given his mix of legit wrestling talent and underrated charisma. Very solid overall."

[8.0] "His return to pro wrestling was not as good as Minoru Suzuki's as he's kinda bland personality wise, but his ability both work and shoot put him up there as one of the greats. His uwf matches are works of art"

[10.0] "One of the best shoot-style wrestlers ever, and a proven champion in MMA. His ability in the ring in either sport remains unquestioned."

[9.0] "Masakatsu Funaki started out as a rookie with great potential in wrestling, and ended up becoming a pioneer in mixed martial arts. It's hard to give Funaki a higher rating because most of his body of work was in MMA, but Funaki is, for many reasons, a Hall of Fame talent."

[8.0] "A pioneer for both MMA and pro wrestling, Funaki also helped to pioneer the hybrid style of pro wrestling and his influence on modern day combat sports cannot be denied."

[10.0] "A true pioneer who dedicated this life to growing wrestling and building MMA. Ken Shamrock's trainer as well."

[10.0] "One of the pioneers of the shoot style as well as MMA. A superb catch wrestler and a submission specialist. His rivalry with Minoru Suzuki was one the greatest, as it transcended from pro-wrestling to MMA and back to pro-wrestling. The co-founder of PANCRASE, the former triple crown champion and king of PANCRASE, is a true legend !"

"Great transition from MMA back to regular puroresu. Funaki may not be as charismatic as rival Minoru Suzuki, but he still is a worthy Triple Crown champion. He may be the lightest man to hold the title but he certainly didn't show it."