Ayato Yoshida vs. Yuji Okabayashi

[7.0] "Yuji's 2AW run was good, but somewhat underwhelming. Yoshida looked great, and Yuji sold well for him. Nothing mind-blowing though."

[8.0] "Match was exactly as I expected it to be, solid to say the least and great to give it, its highest praise. Won't be dissapointed with spending time watching this one, definitely capable of more, but not much I can critique here, lovely stuff. ****"

[4.0] "Yoshida has good transitions and nifty cut-offs; his grappling and basics are good but the moments he does any grappling or limbwork are fleeting. Yoshida neither applies himself as a sharper grappler nor fiery upstart, nor does Okabayashi significantly try to put him down dominantly. On-paper the dynamic should be clear but it's never really implemented in the match. Rather, any moments where a dynamic can be applied are quickly stripped away and we're back up to another 50/50-style strike or big move exchange as the match runs through the generic big-match formula beginning-to-end. Yoshida's only an underdog in the sense that Okabayashi hits harder and is visibly older."

[9.0] "Okabayashis big and mean and does lots of chops and lariats, so Yoshida tries to match him in these areas but fails horribly every time. Yoshida eventually decides on a different strategy of kicking big Yuj real hard in the head and trying to choke him out w/ various submissions and is way more succesful until he eventually gets the W w/ a backdrop ****1/2"

[8.0] "This was an awesome title match main event. From the get-go the dynamic Yoshida and Okabayashi have is great. Yoshida is this young and hungry rising star who's finally looking to break through and Okabayashi is this mean hoss who doesn't give a shit who you are, he's here to defend this title and beat you up. It starts off with some solid technical work but transitions to a striking exchange where the tides really change. Yoshida mistakenly tries to outstrike mean Okabayashi and gets destroyed in some great moments. From there Yoshida has to make this fantastic comeback performance to have a even a chance and it plays out really well. It's such a satisfying story to see fold out in the match and it culminates in a great finishing sequence with Yoshida giving it his all. Probably the best performance in Yoshida's career. Great stuff."

[8.0] "A very good mix of styles, a simple but satisfying story of the homegrown youngster trying to take the belt off his bigger, meaner outsider opponent. Big meaty chops & lariats, stiff kicks, it's really all you can ask for."