Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii

[9.0] "Another great performance by both Ishii and Naito. The taunts, Naito's work over his rival's neck, even the closing stretch with Ishii completely no-selling DDT and firing back with a sliding Lariat, which gave us a beautiful nearfall - this match was wild. I'm looking forward to see more matches with both men in action."

[9.0] "Naito is so goddamn over, it is beautiful to see. Naito and Ishii are always so, so good together. ****1/2"

[6.0] "This had some good action but nothing was creative and I've seen all of this before. If they would've done something new instead of reusing the same sequences I would've enjoyed this a lot more. Would probably go from a solid match to a great match."

[9.0] "Naito and Ishii are quite possibly the most reliable pairing in New Japan. They always have great matches, but if you have seen one you have seen them all for the most part. They split things up to where if you just want to put on a great match, then this match is great for that. Naito trolling Ishii will never not be entertaining. ****1/2."

[8.0] "These two have had so many matches in the last 3 years that it's become more and more difficult for them to truly impressive me with anything new. Still, it's Naito and Ishii, and I don't know if I'm yet to see them produce a match under ****, and this was no exception. The first 5 or so minutes mostly felt like they were both on autopilot and just doing the bare minimum that you'd expect, but the match picked up once Ishii decided to bring out his trademark aggression and start battering Naito all around, to which Naito sold and bumped fantastically. Ishii likewise sold and bumped extremely well for everything that Naito dished out, especially when Naito was brutally working over his neck to weaken him for the Destino. The match picked up further once both guys just began blasting each other with big moves, as the pacing allowed for many exciting exchanges without it feeling like they were overdoing it. There were a handful of purposeful no-sell moments, but I thought they were used sparingly enough and performed well enough so as to not disrupt the match flow and actually add to it. Their chemistry was great during those last 5 minutes, and it was very exciting and cathartic to see Naito suffer through all of Ishii's destructive offence before finally picking up the win. I'd like these guys to be apart for a longggg time now, because I'm quite over their matches, even if they're always great at worst. ****"

[7.0] "This was solid, but their matches have become repetitive at this point. I'd rather not see these two in the same block again next year."

[10.0] "This was yet another fantastic match between these two, although Ishii was the one mostly responsible it due to Naito being below his best, as he has been for the entire G1. But Naito didn't have to be at his best because Ishii more than made up for it."

[9.0] "Holy crap! I seriously dont know how this match didnt got a better score! So far, this is one of the best 3 matches I've seen on these first 8 nights of the G1! These two threw everything at each other and the last portion of the match, they had the crowd at the edge of their seat! Everything built in such a fine way, from the headbutt on the corner, to the crazy leaping superplex, to all the counters and combinations. Ishii is one of the MVPs of the tournament and Naito shows us that he can really carry NJPW with these high-quality matches, if only they decide to actually give him the strap."

[8.0] "8. 5/10 - Best of G129 : Great match cause what else can you expect from these two, of course they are gonna put out a banger. Unfortunately, I had a couple hangups with this match though that impeded my enjoyment. The first is that, often enough, I felt like they were just going through the motions. I don't know if it's a selling or a psychology problem, but too often, it felt like they were just reciting. My second hangup was that it contained a bit too much "you just fucked me up but nah it didn't hurt me" to stomach. Again, very similar to my first hangup, it's about selling and suspending my disbelief, which Ishii made very difficult by surrealistically getting up just for a pop at moments I felt like it didn't make sense. Of course, as a long-time wrestling fan you can get over these flaws without them ruining the whole experience. But too often, they prevent indisputably great matches like these from reaching the level of excellent."

[7.0] "While still a good to great match, this lacked something to shift gear. For the most part they seemed to be exchanging bombs just for the sake of it, without a truly compelling story. Still, this was surely fun, with some great fire and Ishi hitting a sick headbutt plus suplex from the turnbuckle as the top spot. An enjoyable tournament match. ***3/4"

[8.0] "Another great match from these two, although lesser than the last G1 meeting they had. This was a decent match from the start, but it was a bit boring with Naito on top here (also I did like the work he did on Ishii? s neck). There was a spot where Naito just spit and plain ol? disrespected Ishii, and that? s where the match shifted. Ishii beat the shit out of him for awhile there, while wearing an expression that was as literal of a ? fuck you? as possible. The rest of the match was plenty of fun big moves and counters as Ishii continues to sell his neck at times, but it was real fun. ****1/4"

[8.0] "These two together are almost always a guaranteed hit, and such was the case here. It's Naito & Ishii brutalizing one another in classic Ishii vs. Naito fashion, and I liked it very much. Not their best match or anything like that, but a yet another great addition to their awesome rivalry."

[10.0] "I think most people are underrating this match. As much as I give shit to Naito for just coasting along nowadays, he really brought out a performance here that drastically showed he is still able to hang with the best. In a way, this match took me back to the wars these two had back in 2014. Naito was anything but Tranquilo here, and it was for the best. Add on the perfect pacing, and this was almost the best match of the G1 so far, ****3/4."

[9.0] "One of the most underrated feuds in NJPW, which is weird since these two are fairly popular guys. I guess it's because they have yet to have a match on the level of their 2014 February classic in Osaka. However this match came close to that and it might be their second best encounter against each other. The beginning portion of the match with Naito targeting the neck was great stuff. Ishii is the best seller in NJPW and Naito is quite underrated when it comes to ring psychology as he is one of the best at it in wrestling today. Of course by the end the match turned more into a bombfest. Hiroshima is a heavy Naito-loving town, so this was a really hot match as well. ****1/2"

[7.0] "Considering their previous matches, it did fall short of my expectations. But still, they managed to deliver an excellent main event. Ishii is on white-hot fire right now. He is putting on bangers after bangers like he always does this time of the year. Absolute legend. ***3/4 for me."

[10.0] "Gave this a 4. 75. I thought I'd seen it all with these two, but this may have been their best match yet. Those Ishii headbutts are immaculate."

[9.0] "These two fought a lot of times and at this point there is not much things that we have not seen from them but they're just so good together. They have a great chemistry, know how to perfectly pace their match and the crowd was absolutely hot so it's always exciting."

[9.0] "Great match. One of the best in the tournament. It was evident that the performers are trying. So much so that both broke each other's lips. ****1/2"

[7.0] "I think it was a very cool match, but honestly we've seen better from those two, the finish was a bit meh also, not as epic as they used to do, but don't get me wrong it was very enjoyable, maybe I'm influenced by the fact that I found Moxley vs Takagi superior."

[5.0] "I didn't really enjoy first 10-12 minutes of the match when Naito was in control. Naito is a good wrestler and has some really great looking offence but he really struggles to make it interesting when in control for an extended amount of time. It always comes off much better when he plays off the opponent, in this case Ishii rather than using it to beat the guy down. And it was the same in the match. When Ishii got more into the match and they threw together some sequences, the match (or Naito should I say) improved tremendously. The match wasn't awful though. The final third of the match ruled. There was some great nearfalls with Ishii kicking out of the destino. Ishii hitting the top rope brainbuster is always an amazing looking moment of the match. The crowd was hot as well which more often than not can carry the match. **1/2"

[10.0] "Fucking awesome! People that say that Naito is a lazy-ass motherfucker NEEDS to watch this match, this fucking rules! Their chemistry is simply excellent and the storytelling is on point. The pace is great and so is the in-ring action. *****"

[8.0] "Certainly not their best offering but a very good match none the less. Slow start, sort of abrupt finish. Naito winning was never in doubt due to the points situation, so that may have taken away some of the drama for me. 4 stars flat."

[10.0] "Another fantastic match between these two. Great storytelling and pacing. Ishii wanted to fight through the pain, but it was too much in the end. ****1/2"

[10.0] "Tonight, these two were men amongs boys. These two knows how to put on a f'n great match. The pacing, the neck work, Naito was brilliant in this match. Ishii's selling was top notch, as usual, and his intensity was so great. I loved the taunting between the two. These two just showed to the entire card how to pace a match tonight. (****3/4)"

[8.0] "Two of the best in-ring performers in current New Japan was obviously going to produce a great match. Was really enjoying this but this was yet another Naito match this G1 that ended just as I was starting to really get into it. Not sure what's up with that but it's becoming a recurring theme for him."

[9.0] "Awesome match as always between these two. Does feel like it ended a little too soon but great stuff nevertheless. Some really cool spots but nothing too unfamiliar, Naito hit some of his best offense in this match and the trading of different striking styles and general disrespect in this match from both men added a lot and really got the crowd pumped. ****1/2"