Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA

[7.0] "This was really good, but I expected more from a NJ Cup semi-final (even if this tournament is known for having matches as great as the G1). This was similar to Tanahashi vs Sabre in that it had a lot of grappling exchanges. Sanada stood out with his energetic flurries, and he played well off of Tanahashi, who established himself as the heel to help put Sanada over. Sanada did a great job selling his legs as Tanahashi began targeting them. We got brief power moves before both guys started bringing out their signature moves. Sanada hit one Muto Moonsault but then had his second countered. Tanahashi became desperate after this going for some cradle and roll-up pins just to try end the match while also referencing how he likewise beat Sabre. We then had some slightly slow albeit still fun exchanges based around both guys going for the European clutch pin. Sanada then locked in the Dragon Sleeper for a second time, and this time he shockingly got the tap-out. That final submision sequence was very convincing, obviously aided by the fact that it would actually lead to the finish. This was slightly awkward at times but also pretty exciting at other times. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Great technical match, it reminded me of how much the moveset of Tanahashi works perfectly in every dynamic possible. Here he worked as a subtle heel against the hometown hero. Good story, nice to see students of Keiji Mut? going at it and the Ace did a great job to make SANADA look like a star before the final."

[1.0] "Didn't care for this at all. There's legwork that gets absolutely no sold, and there's nothing else that stood out in the entire match. It's around 25 minutes of boring & generic big match New Japan wrestling - just even more boring than usual for whatever reason, as I came from it with & feeling absolutely nothing. *1/4"

[9.0] "Mutoh student vs Mutoh student. A different paced match compared to the previous hard hitting match, and I would say just as good. This was more about getting SANADA over as the hometown boy, which led Tana to work in rare "heel-ish" fashion. Both of these guys have had some pretty great matches before together, and this didn't feel any different. Lots of chemistry in the sequences and storytelling, and I love the finish with Tana going for the move that won him his previous match but being countered into the Skull End for SANADA's win. I hope they finally pull the trigger on SANADA, well at least I can dream, ****1/2."

[9.0] "An absolute incredible match. I love Tanahashi going to the well to try what worked in his earlier New Japan Cup match, but SANADA's brilliant counter wrestling was just too much. In my books, its an instant classic and one of the best matches of the year so far. ****1/2+"

[9.0] "A very technical wrestling match which nicely contrasted the brawl in the other semi-final. Crowd was loud for hometown boy SANADA. Tanahashi heeled it up a bit during his sequence targeting the leg. SANADA did well playing babyface. I just felt that the match struggled to keep up the intensity of the first half. Still a great match though. ****1/4"

[9.0] "This match did a great job showcasing the technical prowess of Sanada. Tanahashi leaning a little more into a heel style and Sanada getting in a lot of offense really helped me get into the match. I 100% expected Tanahashi to win this so the finish was a huge positive shock to say the least. Great match."

[8.0] "Pretty good match. Both are very similar in various ways and that doesn't always lead o good matches but I really liked what they did here. Tanahashi was awesome as the subtle heel and SANADA did a good job of selling for him and being the fighting face. The spinning cold skull looked great as always too. SANADA in the post match with the phone lights looked like a star, he really did. ****"