[5.0] "A mediocre start to the card until the three 1v1s, whose quality increased. The main event should have been the IWGP title match, instead of this correct tag which was more fan service than a clash worthy of closing the show. On the whole, this first Wrestle Kingdom is rather hard to digest, because beyond the variable quality of the matches, the fights follow one another without any elements to justify them or present the stakes when they don't revolve around the title. At least the NJPW World version is edited in such a way as to focus on what's happening in the ring. Some might say that's the style of the product, but it makes the whole thing a bit off-putting. In-ring quality: 3/5. Angles and segments outside matches : 0/3.. Bonus/malus: none, as defects already included in match rating. Total: 5/10. Show seen on NJPW World."

[6.0] "A show that's kind of all over the place. Half of the card consists of a bunch of random multi man tags which aren't particularly good, while the second half has all of the featured matches. 3 out of 4 of these matches are worth watching in my view. The match between Nakamura and Kawada was really good, the Triple Crown title match between Nagata and Suzuki was exactly as good as it sounds and the IWGP title semi main between Tanahashi and Taiyo Kea was a structurally standard David vs Goliath match which ended up being really good because of how strong each man's individual performance was. The only miss on the second half of the show for me was the main event. Not to say it was bad, because it wasn't, it just didn't have much going for it. There's a nice tribute to Shinya Hashimoto afterwards and the show ends there. A bit all over the place but overall, this was a pretty solid event. Not a bad starting point for New Japan's signature event. MOTN - Minoru Suzuki v Yuji Nagata"

[7.0] "I haven't watched very much New Japan and I always like to broaden my wrestling horizons so I decided it was time to watch the very first Wrestle Kingdom from 2007. I thought this was a pretty fun show. Funnily enough, the weakest parts of this show in my opening were the opening and close; with the main event being my least favourite. From the eight man tag to the IWGP World Title match was a really good stretch of matches. My favourite match of the night was the Triple Crown Championship match."

"Very much can be compared to Mania 1 in the fact that this is the first of an event that would go on to become synonymous with big time moments and matches but it isn't quite there yet in it's first installment. The three singles matches on the show are all very good, especially Suzuki VS Nagata, although Tana VS Kea comes very close to it in terms of fire and physicality. Kawada and Shinsuke have a brutal match with both men throwing some hefty strikes. Kawada cracks Shinsuke with one early on that really popped me. The main event is a mostly lackluster tag match between 4 guys that individully I am pretty big fans of."

[8.0] "The three singles matches at the end were all very good. Other than that there weren't particularly good matches, although many of the tag matches were actually quite fun regardless of the quality."

[6.0] "Decent show but way below what future WrestleKingdom would establish as the standard. The first half of the show is little more than filler, there is really nothing on note in any of the multi man matches and you can skip them entirely. The show is built on the four feature matches and while 3 of them deliver to varying degrees, the main event is a major letdown and not at all worthy of the spot its given. Suzuki vs Nagata was great, I really liked Tanahashi vs Kea and Kawada vs Nakamura was fun, but 3 good to great matches is a little short for a 3 hour show, let alone a wrestle kingdom"

[7.0] "Alrighty, this sure didn't feel like the typical Tokyo Dome / Kingdom show...but it wasn't all that bad either. We have two quality Tokyo Dome matches in Nakamura vs Kawada and Suzuki vs Nagata, we have two decent matches in Tanahashi vs Kea and the 10 man Super Jr Tag, and the rest is mid. But mid isn't bad. Usually the undercard Tag Team matches are mid but I found enjoyment throughout all of these. The lack of Title matches isn't the best either I noted."

[7.0] "The first WrestleKingdom (which is NOT the first January 4th event) isn't on par with the recent ones, but it's still a highly enjoyable show. My favorite match here is Minoru Suzuki vs Yuji Nagata, which is crazy as anyone'd expect from them. Also, Toshiaki Kawada and Shinsuke Nakamura have a big match where Nakamura fights one of the biggest stars of all time. The main event has four great names but it's not really epic, when the Takahasi vs Kea match is okay but nothing more. Nothing special from the undercard, the only stranger which impressed me is Giant Bernard. A good start for the WrestleKingdom series."

[7.0] "First half of the show is barely watchable in my opinion, with some 3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4 Tag team matches. Its fun to see some former WWE midcarders or jobbers come to Japan to get some money and to do a Tokyo Dome show. The second half of the show is very interesting with 3 great singles matches and one historic tag team Main Event for so many reasons. I loved the match between Nakamura and Kawada in one technical and almost "shoot" encounter with great in ring psicology and some Hard Hitting stuff. Nakamura very different from nowdays, MMA oriented and tried his best to hit with heavy knees Kawada that reacted in a way that only he is able to react hitting Shinsuke with some heavy slaps. I loved the Suplexes exchange between the two of them and I really loved the finisher with Kawada connecting first with a Powerbomb from which by the way Nakamura got up not even allowing Kawada to make a Pin in full Fighting Spirit Style, second with a Brain Buster and after this with a high knee for the victory. Great Match with the All Japan's veteran winning the contest. After this we have what in my opinon was the Showstealer of the night when Nagata and Suzuki squared off in the center of the ring. I think that there have never been a bad match between Suzuki and Nagata, two in ring veterans with incredible chemistry and able to deliver always a fantastic performance one against the other even to this days. The Match almost started with the two exchanging chair shots one against another outside of the ring, ending up bleeding after few minutes and with Nagata hitting a Brain Buster outside of the ring on Suzuki. In the Ring they exchanged hard hitting blows, forearms and tried to make eachother tap out with their respective submission hold, Nagata working on Suzuki's arm and Minoru trying to put Yugi at sleep. The match ends with a Suzuki bleeding that applies the sleeper hold on Nagata for the Ko winning the match, absolute outstanding performance in pure NJPW Style. The first of the two main events its about the IWGP Heavyweight Championship when Hiroshi Tanahashi defends the title against All Japan's Tayo Kea. Great Match, great suplexes exchange and great final sequence with Tana kicking out from a Death Valley Driver, a Powerbomb and delivering a Dragon Suplex and an High Fly Flow for the victory. Great encounter in which Tanahashi shined in the beginning of his long carrear as the Ace of the company. In the Main Event we have 4 "Puroresu" legends competing in a tag team match with an emotional ending. In fact we have Chono and Muto against Tenzan and Kojima. Chono seemed a little out of shape and, in fact, really near to a semi retirement situation to become a promoter by his own. At the end, after the match we have a great emotional moment with the two legends wearing the white bandana and rising their finger to the sky to pay omage to Hashimoto the third of the three original musketteers for New Japan that passed away in July 2005."

[8.0] "I thought the show was really great. The first half of the show was pretty slow. Gedo and Jado vs MAZADA and NOSAWA was the worst match on the show for me. Ishii, Makabe, and Yano vs Buchanan, D-Lo, and Tomko was pretty bad as well. I didn't get excited from the event until the eight man tag match. That's the first time the crowd seemed to care. I liked whenever they popped for the New Japan team especially Riki Choshu. Giant Bernard had a few good spots too. The 10 man tag match was alright as well. After that, all the other matches were excellent from there. Kawada vs Nakamura was a really awesome back and forth fight. Nagata vs Suzuki was excellent as a bloody fight where they destroyed each other. My pick for match of the night was Tanahashi vs Taiyo Kea. Taiyo Kea impressed me a ton and was fantastic in the match. He destroyed Tanahashi and came close to winning many times and it was great drama. The main event was really great. All four men put in a lot of work. I liked the tribute to Hashimoto by Chono and Muto at the end."

[5.0] "Lot's of interesting matches, but too many of them left a bit to be desired considering this probable was the biggest pro-wrestling event in Japan of '07. The title matches was a lot of fun and that Suzuki vs Nagata lived up to the hype and is a strong contender for MOTY. Masanobu Fuchi & El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi -vs- Kikutaro & Nobutaka Araya & Akira Raijin [* 1/4], Jado & Gedo -vs- NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA [* 1/2], Togi Makabe & Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii -vs- D-Lo Brown & Buchanan & Travis Tomko [* 3/4], TARU & Suwama & RO'Z & Giant Bernard -vs- Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka & Naofumi Yamamoto [* 3/4], Tiger Mask & Koji Kanemoto & Kaz Hayashi & Taka Michinoku & Wataru Inoue -vs- Jushin Liger & Minoru & Milano Collection AT & Shuji Kondo & "brother" YASSHI [** 1/4], Toshiaki Kawada -vs- Shinsuke Nakamura [** 1/2], Minoru Suzuki (c) -vs- Yuji Nagata - (Triple Crown Title) [*** 1/2], Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) -vs- Taiyo Kea - (IWGP Title) [** 3/4], Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono -vs- Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima [* 3/4]"

[6.0] "Most of the opening matches were rather dull. Also not to sure about the organisation of the matches. Why have two matches involving the leading championship from the two biggest promotions in Japan and then finish with a tag team match? Based on entertainment value I believe the Nagata/Suzuki match should have been the main event. No other match on the card could compare, and it was a great match in its own right; ****1/4. Tanahashi and Nakamura only showed glimpses of the brilliance they would achieve 5-8 years later in the promotion. Both were somewhere around ***3/4."