Mitsuharu Misawa

[10.0] "Mitsuharu Misawa stands as one of the most iconic figures in the history of professional wrestling. As one of the "Four Pillars of Heaven, " his matches and rivalries with Kenta Kobashi, Toshiaki Kawada, and Akira Akiyama not only defined the Kings Road style of puroresu but also left an indelible mark on pro wrestling worldwide, influencing performers from Samoa Joe to GUNTHER and Eddie Kingston. Misawa's presence in the ring was electrifying; the roar of the crowd as he entered in his green robe, the sheer intensity of his forearm strikes, the tiger driver, and the Emerald Flowsion all combined to make him a masterful storyteller whose power and technique conveyed narrative in every motion. Perhaps no moment better illustrates his genius than Kawada finally overcoming him; an apex of drama that highlighted Misawa's ability to elevate any opponent while maintaining the integrity and flow of the story being told. His contributions to the creation of Pro-Wrestling NOAH and his legendary Triple Crown title reigns only further cement his legacy. Tragically, his life and career were cut far too short, making his untimely passing one of the greatest losses in wrestling history. Misawa's brilliance, courage, and innovation ensure that he will always be revered as the one and only Emerald Warrior."

[6.0] "10/10 in the ring but he lacks charisma to a very substantial degree in my opinion. I can watch him wrestle a match all day but that's it. And wrestling a match is not all that pro wrestling is. He's all sports and no entertainment. You shouldn't be able to achieve a score as high as he has here by only mastering a portion of the equation."

[9.0] "Although I do rate him lower than Kobashi (because Misawa feels more repetitive), Misawa is also a legend in regards of what he did in his cut-short career"

[10.0] "For me, Mitsuharu Misawa is the perfect Ace, the unquestionable top guy and one of the easiest arguments for best ever. His match against Jumbo Tsuruta is my favourite of all time."

[10.0] "Every time I revisit his work I am struck by how natural he was at making drama feel earned. Nothing about him felt forced. He could be calm one moment and absolutely explode the next and that balance made his stories feel sharper than almost anyone. If he had been more known outside Japan he would be in every single GOAT conversation. The influence is impossible to miss and the gap he left behind, never filled."

[10.0] "Quite possibly the greatest wrestler to step foot into a squared circle. One of the iconic four pillars of heaven. His matches and rivalries with Kawada, Kobashi, and Akiyama in AJPW and NOAH not only defined puroresu's kings road style, but all of pro-wrestling and still influences people to this day like some of the best in Samoa Joe, GUNTHER, Eddie Kingston, etc as well as being so influential to create Pro-Wrestling NOAH in general. He certainly earned the nickname Mr. Triple Crown with his mind-blowing defenses and title reigns. Nothing is more bone-chilling in wrestling than when Misawa would come out to ring in his iconic green robe and the crowd is as loud as they can just belting MI-SA-WA! MI-SA-WA! at the top of their lungs. Not even to mention his moveset of forearm strikes, the tiger drive, and the emerald flowsion. He just explodes with power and is just a beautiful storyteller in the ring. Kawada finally overcoming Misawa is ultimately one of my favorite moments OAT in pro-wrestling and that is not only due to Kawada being legendary, but Misawa's ability to be a perfect pro-wrestler and play into any role that he's given or placed into based on his positioning of the match or rivalry that he is attached too. There is simply nobody like him in wrestling and he has more than defined a beautiful style of puroresu. Unfortunately, with all this said, we lost the living legend way too early and it is one of the biggest tragedies to ever happen in a ring. He gave his sport his all and he will be remembered as such and will be respected and revered for the entire history or pro-wrestling. Mitsuharu Misawa is truly a legend that will never be forgotten and he truly was the one and only emerald warrior."

[10.0] "The absolute pinnacle of pro wrestling. Forever a master, a legend, an inspiration. He did everything at the maximum level, with the maximum grace and skill and grit and passion. Just his stare alone could tell the greatest story."

[10.0] "Same as Kenta Kobashi. One of the best of all time. Insane how much stuff he can do with his body despite being a heavyweight. He is a phenomenal wrestler who earned the right to be called one of the greatest of all time"

[10.0] "MISAWA MISAWA MISAWA, For me, the second-best wrestler in history, behind Kenta Kobashi. I agree with this page. He literally gave his life to the ring; that alone deserves to rank him highly. But truly, the passion this guy brought to the ring is one of the things I truly respect about this sport. Pure resilience, made of human flesh!"

[10.0] "One of all time best performers in and out of the ring, I'm so sorry that we lost him in 2009 and didn't see more of his mastery"

[10.0] "Simply one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time and as at least around 4 or 5 matches in my top 100. Every match I've seen him in has been a technical masterpiece."

[10.0] "I'd give Kobashi and Kawada the edge over him in a GOAT ranking due to both men having all his versatility but with that crucial added oomph of their perfect selling compared to Misawa's own (deliberate) stoic push through the pain, but there's really no argument he isn't in serious consideration as the best to ever do it. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Misawa is how his golden push occurred in a promotion and era that walled off collaboration with other companies at the peak of Japanese cross-promotional wrestling and as such could barely attract new talent, yet for a solid decade he managed to work with pretty much the same 10 guys in endless permutations and always find new ways to tell a story. Incredible offense, unique presence, a guy who carried two promotions to massive success in contexts where failure would seem all but certain."

[10.0] "Mitsuharu Misawa is arguably the greatest professional wrestler of all time, he was one of the most consistent and prolific and has left a long lasting influence even after all these years after his death. Misawa is one of the best in ring performers ever, showcasing he can do any style you give him, showcasing his high flying abilities under the Tiger Mask gimmick he worked under, and then showcasing his storytelling and technician style during the 1990s up until his death, he was a well crafted wrestler. His rivalries are that of legends, matches and feuds that are still discussed and held as bench marks to this day whether it's his feud with Kenta Kobashi or Toshiaki Kawada, every wrestling fan is at least aware of these. He's also an innovator of tons of classic wrestling moves that are still being used by many wrestlers to this day, moves like Emerald Flowsion and Tiger Driver to name a few are moves you can see many guys nowadays using. Misawa's influence is incredibly significant, especially on the independent scene, which is amazing considering he rarely ever worked in North America, mostly sticking with Japan with a few matches outside the country. Mitsuharu Misawa is also one of the greatest sellers and bumpers of all time, going for a more realistic and subtle way than doing a more traditional or flashy way like some of his contemporaries did, which made him easier for the audiences to get behind. Overall, Mitshuaru Misawa is a legend who's impact can still be felt all around the wrestling industry for being one of the all time best to ever do it. R.I.P. Mitsharu Misawa"

[10.0] "The best Japanese wrestler of all time.Technically genius and smooth, but a brawler and hardcore at the same time. His rivalry won't Kenta Kobashi elevated Japanese wrestling. Founder of NOAH, one of the most important wrestling promotions."

[10.0] "I think Misawa is the greatest to ever step in the ring. Even if he isn't your favorite of the Pillars, he's probaby in your favorite matches. He's not really the best at any one particular element of the business, but he's great at all of them - and most importantly, for me, he connected with crowds and got emotion out of people that I just have not seen rivaled anywhere else. Despite his decline in health, he remained committed to a very risky style of wrestling - surely knowing the odds that it would kill him would only increase. It's hard to imagine what that kind of approach to your career feels like. Maybe it's that mindset that made him great."

"https://studyx.ai/questions/4ljb19z/is-priceline-free-cancellation-within-24-hours-is-priceline-free-cancellation-within-24"

[10.0] "Quite possibly the most mythical figure in wrestling and for good reason. A goat-level performer for basically his entire career, along with putting on some of the best shows at the time with NOAH as their booker, while also simultaneously functioning as their top ace when Kobashi underwent treatment for cancer. Simply put, the perfect wrestler."

[10.0] "Quite simply the greatest professional wrestler to ever live. He and Kobashi will always be 1A and 1B for me personally but Misawa always tips it. The epitome of Kings Road; Misawa, for better and unfortunately for worse, gave everything for wrestling and for NOAH. The work of Misawa will live forever, carried on in present day and will definitely be carried on in generations to come. The emotions he was able to draw from a crowd, the matches he had bell to bell, everything about him is exactly what you'd want from a professional wrestler. There will never be another Mistuharu Misawa, truly one of a kind."

[10.0] "Misawa has the catalogue, the moveset, the aura, the historical impact, the success in multiple companies, the success with multiple characters, the abilty to reinvent himself, and the ability to connect with audiences. Undeniably thought of as one of the most gifted wrestlers of all time for obvious reasons, and innovated countless moves and told such a wide variety of different stories. One of, if not, the best (though, for my money, my third favorite pillar! )"

[10.0] "In my opinion he is the best wrestler of his time and top 3 of all time. he put so much effort to change pro wrestling forever. Hell, he sacrificed his health for the sport. Him and the other 3 pillars; Kawada, Taue, and Kobashi, all worked together to make some of the best matches the wrestling world has, and may ever see, not to mention the many he had inspire to follow in his footsteps and try to be a legend just like the "Mr. Triple Crown.""

[10.0] "Misawa is another guy who you could make a very solid case for being the greatest to ever lace a pair of boots. I can see why everyone would think so, as in my opinion he is tied for first. Misawa knew how to get a crowd behind him. Every time he set foot into the ring he knew how to work. People should study Misawa tapes to try and get a better understanding of the business."

[10.0] "Possibly the greatest wrestler of all-time. Misawa first came to prominence under the Tiger Mask gimmick and established himself as a good grappler with some good high-flying but no one could have seen what he'd become after he took the mask off. With the mask off, Misawa became the face of All Japan, as the main guy in AJPW, Misawa was a perfect in-ring and he bought massive amounts of charisma and intensity to every match. Misawa's matches with Jumbo, Kawada, Kobashi and Akiyama were fantastic, show stealing events. Then Baba died and after some politics Misawa went on to form Pro Wrestling NOAH and make them the number 2 promotion in Japan and 3rd biggest in the world, Misawa in NOAH clearly declined but he still had great matches before his unfortunate death in the ring. I do struggle to watch Misawa landing on his head knowing what would happen, but also knowing the end of Misawa's story makes his immense highs feel even higher and makes me emotional on occasions. Misawa had the ability to make me pop off a single elbow strike... which quite frankly no one else can (well maybe Kawada), Misawa's in-ring action is exciting and gripping. RIP to the GOAT, you excited us in the ring, changed the whole industry with NOAH and left a legacy few others can compete with."

[10.0] "Misawa was such a once-in-a-lifetime wrestler and definitely one of the most legendary professional wrestlers in the history of wrestling. He had everything a wrestler needed; he had the charisma, he had the athleticism, he had the near-perfect moveset, he pretty much had it all. He serves as one of the best examples for young upstarts in wrestling on how to be the greatest wrestler ever. The most notable problem about Misawa was that he was too passionate about wrestling; he loved the business so much, he died in it. Not to note his notorious obsession of neck bumps which had a long-term consequence of death in 2009. It made his legacy, or atleast the legacy of King's Road style he was famous for, a bit problematic. Nonetheless, Misawa is a must-watch wrestler for new wrestling fans and should be recognized as one of pro wrestling's greats."

[10.0] "A contender for quite literally the best wrestler of all time and one of the most important and influential, at least in Japan. He sacrificed his health, and eventually his entire life to change professional wrestling in Japan, and in turn professional wrestling as a whole. He made every match he was a part of mean something, he elevated each bout and opponent he faced and with every teammate he worked with. He is a part of some of the best matches of all time that will stand the test of time and will be endlessly rewatchable. He, alongside the Four Pillars of Heaven, were what made the best years of AJPW, and after Giant Baba's death, he was what led to creating one of the best wrestling promotions of the 2000s. He sacrificed so much for the business, and I don't think we can ever thank him enough for what he did. Thank you Misawa."

[10.0] "Simply one of the greatest to ever step into a ring. Top five, minimum. His technical skill, ability to tell stories through the action, and his surprising athleticism make him one of the best of all time. It's a shame we lost him at all, especially when he should've retired two years before. He deserves to still be here, working behind the scenes, no longer battering his body with dangerous bumps. In a better world, that's what he's doing."

[10.0] "Personally he is easily the greatest and most influential wrestler of all time. That match with Kawada in 94 will stand the test of time as the greatest athletic performance of all time."

[10.0] "The greatest! " I could just put that and every wrestling fan would understand. His aura, his ring style, and his love for wrestling was the complete package. Every match he had seemed big to me. I could never put my finger on it but I do know that I always loved PURO but Misawa made me appreciate it."

[10.0] "Mitsuharu Misawa is personally my favorite Japanese wrestler of all time. Second is Kobashi. The fact that Misawa is one of the greatest professional wrestlers can't be disputed. 10 out of 10."

[10.0] "One of the greatest if not the greatest technical wrestlers in history. He put on banger after banger and for his efforts was rewarded with multiple top titles. When NOAH started it relied a lot on Misawa. Despite the immense pressure this must have put on him I still look at that period in his career fondly."

"The greatest professional wrestler to ever live. I say that with no hyperbole. He is the number 1 wrestler I study."

"[10.0] This man laterally gave his life for this business his fueds are great he wrestled kings road style which is dangerous but cool he had natural charisma and a love for wrestling sad to see him go out the way he did the stuff he did in all japan and pro wrestling Noah was great a match of his i recommend watching is when he faced stan Hansen for the AJPW triple crown its just good."

[8.0] "Mitsuharu Misawa is a very overrated wrestler. While he is one of the most important wrestlers of all time, by no means is he one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. My main problem is that he has very formulaic, he can go against the formula, but he tends not to, and I know may praise him for his stoicism, and sometimes it works, but often it can just make him more dull than his contemporaries. He has a lot of good strikes, and can tell a good story, but he can still not connect more than he should."

[10.0] "As previous comments have said, Misawa's aura coupled with his ability to make everything he did meaningful make him one of the greatest of all time. I have recently started working my way back through his match catalogue and I am yet to find a match I don't find enjoyment in. There may never be another like him."

[10.0] "As far as personal enjoyment goes, Misawa is not my favorite "pillar" of the AJPW four. But there's something that's so undeniable when his music hits, the elbows fly, and when the crowd comes alive. It's the presence of being the Ace. And I think as far as company Aces go, Misawa is a top tier one, in two companies. Peak years are 1990-1994 for me. Super Generation Army, his quest to getting to the top of the card, is incredibly interesting to me. As booker he was dealt the hand of mismanagement and differing philosophies with Matoko, and his untimely passing removes a potential final third of his career. His entire run in AJPW is recommended watching for any pro wrestling fan, as well as some of the first years in NOAH."

[10.0] "Misawa wrote the book on how to put together a wrestling match. Every detail mattered, no wasted motion, genius! Anyone reading this who didn't have the privilege of growing up watching Misawa work, go back and watch him. I don't disagree with other comments that we may never see another on his level."

[10.0] "the goat. everything he did, from his demeanor, to his moveset, to his selling, his storytelling, was all perfect. i doubt we'll ever see a wrestler as good as misawa"

[10.0] "One of the greatest wrestlers of all time, could tell amazing stories in the ring and could keep you engaged in some amazing long matches. He had some fantastic matches with Kobashi, Kawada, Taue, Akiyama and Tsuruta. Just an unbelievable talent and i wish he was recognized more in western wresting."

[10.0] "Without a doubt the greatest wrestler of all time. People talk about the likes of Flair, Steamboat, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, etc., but none of them are even close to being on the same level as Mitsuharu Misawa. His in-ring work was second to none. Excelled when he went under the Tiger Mask persona in AJPW and took his career to the next level by unmasking mid match. Was the top dog in AJPW throughout the 90s and left to start Pro Wrestling NOAH which overtook AJPW and even rivaled NJPW at one point in the mid 2000s. Misawa had won it all and done it all in professional wrestling. In my opinion, he is the greatest of all time. Others may come close, but nobody can take that top spot away from him in my eyes."

[10.0] "There will never be another like him. He defined an era of pro wrestling with his legendary bouts with the likes of Kobashi, Kawada, Taue, Tsuruta, Akiyama, Williams, et al. His legacy is assured and his influence far reaching and monumental. He is truly one of a kind."

[10.0] "After a lengthy period of being utterly medicore as a Satoru Sayama wannabe, Misawa's luck changed with a few shady business dealings that lead to spots being opened on the card. He lost the mask and his legacy starts from there. Suddenly, he has charisma, his wrestling has energy, purpose, orignality to it. The fans take to him to a point where only Giant Baba rivals him as the guy in All Japan's history, and it's hard to compete with that. Misawa is truly a world class wrestler. One of the greatest wrestlers of all time. A massive draw for his home promotions (AJPW and then NOAH) until his death. His wrestling needs no analysis. And while he has his flaws, his strengths are too great. His worst attributes come with his booking and promoting skills, which were flatline around being medicore to decent, argubly being helped by the foundations Baba gave him once he took the book and then created NOAH. But those periods still gave fans great memories, iconic wrestlers and famous matches to this day. Misawa is an icon. Perfect? No. But legendary nonetheless."

[10.0] "Tremendous individual, alongside Kobashi - a king of puroresu. It sucks that wrestling literally took his life, but in some way i'm glad that he died during something what he really loved."

[10.0] "If not the greatest, definitely in the top handful. As a worker he just had all the tools. He would tear the house down week after week and it looked like a stroll in the park for him. He had that perfect combination of natural talent and an unrelenting commitment to wrestling. Even in his earlier years he did some great work as Tiger Mask, so much so that they had to unmask him because the fans were chanting "Misawa" during his matches. Then he truly broke through and the 92-98 run was pretty much wrestling perfection, even as injuries started to pile up. Still continued to bust out all-timers in NOAH long after his body had peaked."

[10.0] "One of the greatest of all time. Classics with Tsuruta, Kobashi, Kawada, Taue, and Akiyama. In my opinion, the best of the 4 Pillars. I was very late to appreciating his greatness, wish I appreciated him sooner. Really liked that he had several moves that could end the match."

"Misawa in my opinion is the best in ring worker ever. Everything he did in his prime looked effortless. He was obviously an all timer by 1993 and he was the obvious choice as all japan's ace."

[8.0] "I know it's sacrilege, but--after watching a lot of his best-regarded matches--I think Misawa is really overrated. Not because he was a bad wrestler (not at all), but because he's a distant third of the four AJPW pillars, behind Kobashi and Kawada. There's no denying his impact on puroresu via his AJPW feud with Tsuruta, the founding of NOAH, and so on, but I have to say: too often I find him to be kind of dull. He's got good offense and smooth reversals, but I think his selling is frankly kind of weak in my eyes and a lot of the time he weirdly looks bored to me during his own matches. I like him a lot better in tag matches than in singles matches."

[10.0] "He is probably my least favourite pillar but he is also in pretty much every single one of my favourite ever matches."

[10.0] "In my own completely biased opinion Misawa is the best wrestler to ever walk the earth. He was so well rounded and so innovative in the ring. His matches were awesome and some of the best in the world. Just a fantastic performer top to bottom."

[10.0] "As many have said, he is an almost perfect wrestler and a real jack of all trades with no real noteworthy weaknesses. He always knew how to put on a show and do something breathtaking."

[10.0] "If you're like me and you form your initial opinion on Misawa based only on watching a handful of his most highly rated matches, you'll get the impression that he is a robot-like stoic character who never show emotions, never sells, and just got over because of his superman push. I still considered him an amazing wrestler, but no-one deserving of a 10/10 rating. Having now seen a good amount of his 90s AJPW work plus some of his NOAH work while he was more spry, I have to conclude this dude is one of the GOATs. His wrestling style was unlike anything else in Japan at the time he was on top, since having previously been a junior with the Tiger Mask II gimmick, he brought over a lot of impressive acrobatic and high-flying spots to his heavyweight matches. It was awesome seeing a guy of Misawa's size fly around, since his relatively large weight meant that all his flying attacks connected like absolute missiles that would obliterate his opponents or at the very least convincingly knock them down. No-one else in the AJPW main-event scene moved around like Misawa, so he was instantly a fan favourite for that reason. Then there's also his signature strikes and power moves. Misawa had a variety of absolutely fantastic suplexes, which in appropriate 90s AJPW fashion would absolutely wreck his opponents. But okay, there's Benoit, Lesnar, and Angle who were also known for their suplexes. Well, how about a wrestler known literally just for their elbows and forearms? Because Misawa would absolutely KILL with those stiff strikes he'd throw, which was usually also when he'd show his emotions getting the better of him, as he often couldn't stop himself just repeatedly smashing away at his opponent. That's the thing about Misawa: yes, he was stoic and 'collected' with his emotions, but the actual array of moves he hit showed that he was anything but complacent or uncaring. An uncaring man doesn't destroy his opponent's neck like that, or genuinely knock them senseless with a brutal strike to the face. Misawa was the handsome badass who smartly chose the right moments to show him in real pain or getting fired up, since then those emotional moments would feel far more special because of how rare they were. There's also the fact that Misawa was a fantastic seller and bumper. His selling was a lot more restrained than someone like Kobashi, who wore his emotions on his sleeve and always communicated his struggles clearly. Misawa's selling style was different (neither better nor worse), being a lot more subtle and less "showy" in the traditional pro-wrestling style, which likewise allowed him to connect with fans because he appeared more realistic with his experiences of pain and discomfort. His bumping was absolutely godly, and he sadly put his body on the line so frequently to the point it cost him his life. At the very least Misawa will never be forgotten for the legendary performances he gave alongside other fellow legends."

[9.0] "One of GOAT's of professional wrestling, only behind Kenta Kobashi in my eyes. He in ring work will never be matched again"