Minoru Suzuki vs. SANADA

[6.0] "Sanada's selling was great here but I don't think the match needed to be as long as it was. Suzuki also did a great job targeting Sanada's leg. I imagine I would've liked this one a lot more if it was 5 minutes shorter. *** 1/2"

[7.0] "Sanada looked great here, and that's mostly because, as I'm sure others have already pointed out, he excels when up against an evil heel who can bring out his inner fiery babyface, since Sanada is often too comfortable playing the 'cold badass' to the point that it's difficult to connect with him. Sanada sold extremely well as Suzuki placed him in all his well-applied holds. Suzuki carried himself in his usual evil, arrogant way, all of which played well into the story of Sanada, a fellow grappler, having to go up against the grappling master himself. It was great seeing the crowd rally around Sanada, especially as Sanada had to sell the damage done to his leg. We then got the usual sickening stiff strikes from Suzuki that totally floored Sanada, with Sanada once again selling fantastically. It seemed possible Sanada might tap out to Suzuki's rear naked choke, since both wrestlers had very convincing performances at that moment, even if I knew Suzuki had never finished a match with the RNC. Both guys then started pulling holds out of nowhere and countering and evading each others' signature moves. Suzuki remained the dominant one, and Sanada looked like he was slowly starting to lose energy. Suzuki's desperation to finally put his stubborn opponent away was great, and I was impressed that Sanada was still selling his leg at this point. There were some more fun trades as Sanada went for the Dragon Sleeper while Suzuki went for a variety of leg-based locks from the same position. This was a rather unique sequence; I can't think of anything similar that I've seen in a long time. The finish was great, as Sanada had worn Suzuki down from the Dragon Sleeper, and Suzuki was screaming in desperation and anger as he saw Sanada go to the top rope and hit the Muto Moonsault to put him away. This was very, very good. It wasn't the typical NJPW big-match style, but still very compelling and exciting. ***3/4"

[5.0] "Wasn't a huge fan of this, I felt like length each man was in eachother's submissions was too long and combined with Sanada's lack of selling made them look weak as a result, this sucked alot out of the match."

[7.0] "This match would have been a lot better and far more dramatic if SANADA would have been more consistent with his selling, and if he wasn't constantly slapping the mat when in submissions; it looked like SANADA was tapping out, and it stretched credibility to breaking point for the referee to keep ignoring it."

[9.0] "This match was soooo good. Probably will go down as match of the entire tournament. I haven't really been a fan of the SANADA and Suzuki series as others, but they knocked it out of the park with this match. Suzuki's matches usually work best when the man he is giving a beating to, ends up fighting back with as much intensity as Suzuki has, and that's exactly what SANADA did. These two didn't hold a damn thing back and it made for an excellent slug fest. The closing minutes of this match were done also very well. Building up suspense and drama because you weren't sure who was going to end up with the advantage. An excellent paced contest and a MOTY contender for sure. ****3/4"

[8.0] "The beginning back & forth is good, and I loved the way Suzuki eventually established control by baiting SANADA into thinking he has the Paradise Lock in, but then immediately escaping as SANADA charged, and then going after the leg. Suzuki works a mean heat segment with the main target being that leg of SANADA's - now while SANADA's selling was FAR from perfect, it was definitely better than I expected, and during the actual submissions his selling was GREAT. The match definitely drags quite a bit at times though, and that's what holds it back from being a great one overall - there's some really dull & uninteresting stuff in the middle, but it picks up in the homestretch with the incredible drama that was SANADA's Skull End vs. Suzuki's leglock battle on the mat. That whole thing was absolutely amazing & one of the best New Japan finishing stretches in recent years. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Great match and one of SANADA's best performances ever. Korakuen was a little bit more behind the legend Suzuki in the beginning but when it became clear that the story was Suzuki being the heel and SANADA playing babyface, the fans were more than willing to go along with the story. Suzuki targeted the leg and it was great as Suzuki is one of the best at working on top. SANADA was awesome at playing the fired up babyface and his selling was solid too. ****1/2"

[7.0] "These two were good last month and they were again here. Some good work throughout, Suzuki struck the right balance of torturous submissions to brawling and Sanada is a supreme athlete and ultra smooth wrestler. Sanada's selling of the leg was a little iffy and lacking in consistency but it played into the matches excellent last few minutes which were a real war of attrition."

[8.0] "Great match-up. The crowd was hot for SANADA all match. Begging for him to make his comebacks and show fight against Suzuki to the very end. Only few in the company get the reaction SANADA got here - something people often overlook about him actually. Liked the first half of the match where Suzuki outwrestled SANADA and countered everything he did, meaning SANADA had to dig down deep to find new ways to defeat Suzuki. Now his selling of the offence wasn't... ahem great.. but Suzuki didn't exactly stick with the leg work either to warrant SANADA selling a whole lot more than he actually did tbh. ****"

[7.0] "It was a good match with a great crowd and some very good wrestling by SANADA & Suzuki. A bit too long for me, selling wasn't on point either but a good match regardless"

[9.0] "Very strong match. Easily in my top 3 of the tournament so far. Both guys got to shine and show their talent. The match was a good mix of brutality and technical wrestling, tied together with an absolutely incredible finishing stretch."

[9.0] "One of the best matches of this tournament. These guys almost throughout the match kept the audience in suspense until the very end. Suzuki, despite his age, continues to show great matches. ****1/2"

[8.0] "It was a good match, I personally preferred their previous match, here it was a bit too long for nothing more. ****"