Taiji Ishimori

[9.0] "Taiji Ishimori is one of the most consistently outstanding Junior Heavyweight performers that Japan has produced in the last twenty-five years. He has always had a great look, been in great shape, known how to work a crowd, and had catlike reflexes. Towards the end of his NOAH run into the start of his NJPW run when he began to utilize more submission based offense is when he tied a bow on being one of the most complete performers in his field."

[6.0] "When Taiji Ishimori retires I will definitely grant him a higher rating however nowadays he's just being a bit picky on when to perform well and when he just doesn't want to and that's unfortunate for a man his talent"

[8.0] "I love the Bullet Club version. He had better gear, better hair, and a better personality. In either case he's a fantastic wrestler."

[8.0] "Ishimori is a strange case (in a good way). He played an awesome face in NOAH, and plays a good heel in NJPW. The thing is sometimes he doesn't sell and looks like he's just waiting around for a hit and kind of ruins the moment of a match. But nonetheless, Ishimori has been a staple of NJPW's Jr division and Bullet Club for the past 7 years and has had some awesome feuds with Hiromu and Desperado."

[9.0] "I personally think there is nothing bad to say about the Bone Soldier at all. The only issues with him are very minimal: I don't think he's a big enough part of Bullet Club (not his fault) and I don't think he's a big enough heel. That's it. When Ishimori betrayed El Phantasmo, I said "Oh my god, he's gonna be BIG in the Bullet Club! " and then David Finlay left him out of the War Dogs so I dumped my face into a pot of boiling spaghetti and got third degree burns. He's able to time his low blows correctly, he knows how to look like a bad guy, but if he learns how to really fuck his opponent up and work the crowd, this man will be the greatest performer in New Japan. I'm tired of him being a stooge for Bullet Club and only being in tag matches in the middle of someone else's feud, so naturally, I lost my shit that he would be main eventing Dominion for the BOSJ finals. I wasn't even upset that he lost, he got the hype that he needed. The only way I can describe Ishimori is that he is just cool; he's badass. His hair, his entrance gear, his in-ring gear, his promos, his theme, and him shooting at the camera during his entrance is the cherry on top. Plus, I can never get bored of his in-ring technique. He's fast and acrobatic but doesn't show it off too much like other past and present super juniors to where he gets stale. Get this man a BOSJ win, get this man a kickass single run, and book him to be a big evil asshole, and he will be not just be the ultimate athlete in wrestling, not just the ultimate athlete in all of sports, but he will be the most ultimate living specimen in the entire universe, comparable to the likes of God himself."

[9.0] "The 'Taiji Ishimori' fell off comments are something I don't agree with at all, as to me, Ishimori is ageless and I think he's still absolutely fantastic. Taiji Ishimori has been great practically in every role he's been given, even as a baby-face mid-carder/ tag wrestler as NOAH, and I think it was a shame that he had to wait so long for a proper push there due to being cock-blocked by Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Kotaro Suzuki. Even now, Ishimori's deserves great credit for his heelwork in BULLET CLUB, and even though he's considerably slower, he's still able to be really consistent in a busy NJPW junior division. Overall, even though he's not going to be considered the greatest of all time, he's a very solid hand and his longevity should always be praised."

[5.0] "An extremely unfortunate case of the direct opposite of a come up, and a classic case of a major company having virtually zero ideas on how to use a Toryumon guy properly. Taiji was one of my favorite wrestlers ever as a kid, but it's been downhill for most of his recent New Japan run. He's definitely made the best of what he's given, but jeez, the material he's given is beyond disappointing. His in ring style is actually still pretty good, but it's nowhere near as interesting or engaging as it was during his time in NOAH. He's definitely still a star, but from the booking that makes him feel like a side character to the literal n*zi gimmick, this was a pretty bad fumble, mostly due to no fault of his own."

[8.0] "Excellent junior wrestler with great longevity. Very sharp worker and still manages to be super consistent. He was more eye catching in NOAH but moving to NJPW has certainly helped him grow all round. Still flashy when the time calls for it but now shows more character and is an excellent heel."

[9.0] "He is so damn good, he knows how to be a good heel and he definitely knows how to be a good wrestler."

[9.0] "Taiji Ishimori is a great Junior Heavyweight and is one of the best in NJPW as a whole, he has had a great run since joining NJPW, his other stuff is quite good, but I haven't seen much of it."

[8.0] "How I love Taiji Ishimori. One of my all-time favourite wrestlers along with Master Wato. He's put on a series of great matches, especially with Hiromu Takahashi. I'm saddened I've only recently tuned into NJPW, so I have so many recent matches to watch of him, but I'm looking foward to seeing more matches from him in the future."

[10.0] "Taiji Ishimori is in hindsight is the best junior heavyweight of his era better than devitt, ibushi, taguchi, Omega, Shingo, Etc. based off his absolutely mind boggling levels of consistency I think his NOAH run is an all time great run of any Lightweight division in history full stop it felt like every big time Ishimori match always delivered and he even carry more average workers *Hayata * to their best Match even in since joining the lion mark he still is able to consistently put on top level matches with crazy consistency making an very amazing and entertaining tag team with Phantasmo having plenty of bangers with Hiromu, Despy, Eagles, Sho and Yoh watching him in the ring you'd have no ideal the dude's almost 40... Ishimori Is a legend and I'm happy to see people give him his flower 10/10"

[9.0] "Taiji Ishimori is an impressive and legendary wrestler. His stuff in NOAH is worth the watch, and his final career run in NJPW... not bad at all. Ishimori is awesome, a legend in the business and a hidden gem. One of the best technical wrestlers, and has one of the coolest Crossfaces."

[10.0] "One of the most impressive Juniors that I've ever seen in my Life. After a great career, his run in NJPW is just the end of a nice trip in Puro."

[9.0] "Another Junior wrestler in New Japan who has a large body of work but i have only seen his work in NJPW besides from a couple NOAH tag matches. The Bone Soldier gimmick fits him like a silk glove. He's really good in promos and his chemistry with Phantasmo is quite hilarious backstage and in the ring. His wrestling style has been described as only made of spots but he knows how to pace and build a match beautifully. His match with Hiromu at the BOSJ finals is one of the greatest Junior matches in New Japan history. He's a joy to watch in the ring. One of my personal favorites from his division."

[10.0] "One of the best Junior Heavyweights today and one of the best Junior Heavyweight ever. In the ring, he is very interesting, is a great technical wrestler, he is a great high flyer, fantastic seller and always delivers good performance. He delivered some classics in NOAH. Because he is a master in the ring."

[9.0] "Very good in ring worker but lately i haven't seen anything from him I'll wait for now to see what he does next year and for his wrestling and mic presence I'll give him 9. I hope next year he'll do as good as he was doing in 2019."

[9.0] "What a phenomenal wrestler - one of my favourite in NJPW. Very spectacular style, great highflyer. He's rather short, but it doesn't work on his disadvantage much. He is ripped as hell, so he's got the strenght the big guys do. What makes him better is the speed and agility. I like his matches a lot - cool action and fast pace."

[10.0] "The most underrated wrestler/worker in NJPW imo. I do enjoy ELP and I do think they work wonders together and they have been a highlight this year but Ishimori is a fantastic wrestler and I can't wait for him to return to singles run, the only thing I see lacking out of him is his promo ability, because we haven't exactly seen much of it, he sure has charisma, so he should be showing off a bit more on the mic (worked during the tag league)."

[9.0] "I always liked his work from PWG and IMPACT, but there was always something missing. Bone Soldier is what was missing. His cutthroat heel attitudes is just more fitting gimmick that goes well with his move set, he's a much better heel."

[9.0] "This guy's agility, stamina, and moveset are unreal. Watching him in the ring is absolutely incredible."

[8.0] "If Ishimori were a few inches taller he'd be main event material in whatever promotion he chose to work for. Originally the very definition of "spot-wrestler", he has worked hard to improve himself in the ring and outside. He understood how to structure a match, and understood it well, worked a lot on how to make his opponent look good and his promos have got better and better... when he's given the occasion to cut any. In many ways he made that final step towards being top quality material that continues eluding Kota Ibushi, being only held back by his diminutive height. It seems NJPW is set on putting him in the top Jr Heavyweight slot to replace Kushida, a decision few would argue against and I can only pray NJPW will give us a proper feud between him and Shingo Takagi..."

[7.0] "Ishimori is a mixed bag for me. When he wants to, he can put on an incredible match, that combines spot wrestling, with smart pacing, and a more well-rounded style. On other days, he sleepwalks through matches (his Impact Wrestling/PWG matches), and becomes predictable."

[10.0] "My favorite wrestler in the world right now. I have yet to see a match of his I didn't love. His match with Tatsuhito Takaiwa was my personal match of the year 2013 and Daisuke Harada winning the Jr Heavyweight Championship from Taiji this year is in contention."