Again - more details are important.
1) Was the machine a wound rotor (or squirrel cage) induction design?
2) Was it synchronous - and if so, brushed or brushless?
3) Is it intended for multiple consecutive starts in a short time period - or the usual "2 cold, 1 hot" requirement?
4) What is the driven load? Some loads have much higher mechanical inertias, which means a longer acceleration time - and although the DOL method produces more torque, there is no way to regulate the amount of current flowing during the start. This may create an unsafe (or at least undesirable) condition inside the motor winding(s) - usually at the bar-to-cage joint.
5) What is the allowable voltage dip on the bus supplying the machine? A Direct On Line start may draw enough current to temporarily drop the voltage to where protection trips on under-voltage either due to the actual amplitude or duration of the dip, or possibly both.
Most likely the design does not have sufficient material (mass) in rotor bar, shorting ring, or both to accommodate the heating associated with the relatively high inrush currents (and length of time to accelerate), which then requires that there be some means of controlling that current to a lower setpoint - which is accomplished by the soft starter. There will be no mechanical (i.e. "structural") difference where steady-state operation at rated power/speed/voltage is concerned.
Converting energy to motion for more than half a century