Mitsuharu Misawa

**THE_CRIPPLER** · 05-08-2011, 02:53 PM

I wanted some info on Mitsuharu Misawa....
See im not a huge puro wrestling guy, i watch some of the talked about matches but i dont own a dvd of AJPW or NJPW.... and i watched some Misawa matches over the years and he seems like a amazing worker and i read enough to know he is considered the best in the history of puro wrestling.

What i wanna know from fans of international wrestling who follow it is, What was Misawa considered? is he wildy respected by smark puro fans? was he considered well past his prime at the end of his career and thought of disgracing his legacy for being in past his prime...... Was he always considered a amazing worker or was it just from a certain time period that he did incredible work then after a injury he was never the same again (ie HHH)........ i was just wondering what was the thoughts of the Internet puro fans of Misawa.... im not looking for facts, just the opions of people who followed puro wrestling.... and how he is remembered by fans in japan.

**Necroyeti** · 05-08-2011, 05:07 PM

Well... you'll find it extremely difficult to find a wrestling fan with much bad words to say about Misawa, seeing as how he was basically considered to be a Godlike worker by just about everyone.

Shit you probably already know, but for the benefit of anyone else reading:

Japanese wrestling journalists respected him, dubbing him as one of the "Four Pillars of Heaven" in AJPW during the nineties, (along with Kobashi, Kawada and Taue)
American wrestling journalists respected him, with Dave Meltzer giving him more five star matches than any other wrestler ever.
And the locker room respected him. When Misawa resigned from AJPW in late 99/early 00 and went on to form Pro Wrestling NOAH, something like 90% of the AJPW locker room jumped ship.

He did slow down a bit towards the end of his career, (~2004 onwards) due to age and injuries. For the most part, he had the good sense to disguise this somewhat by appearing mostly in tag-team matches, although he managed to pull off a pretty decent run with the GHC title throughout 2007.

Some fans may consider his later runs with the GHC title as a kind of self-promotion/favouritism - a la Jeff Jarrett and the TNA title, and HHH and the WWE title - coupled with the fact that pretty much everyone in NOAH had lost to Misawa at some point. Although I'd be damned if he didn't deserve every title run he's ever had. Unlike Jarrett, Misawa could draw. And unlike Triple H, Misawa could still go (worth noting: I've never seen a shitty Misawa match. Ever. I actually dare you to go find one.) and make his opponents look like a million bucks.