SANADA vs. Yuya Uemura

[7.0] "Surprisingly not that bad. Neither of these men are bad wrestlers, although I haven't been big on SANADA since his heel turn. So, this was nice. Not everything I would hope for from these two, but better than I expected with SANADA being in House of Torture."

[6.0] "Decent enough I guess. Some OK exchanges but too many slow moments with SANADA's bad heel work, the guy is truly washed. Uemura looked pretty good but not exactly a future ace. ***"

[6.0] "This match was decent, but had too many moments in it that kinda dragged the whole thing down for me."

[7.0] "This match was getting quite good but then the ending turned to be really messy for little reasons. As an ending to their rivalry this match was surely better than their last one and luckly it featured a stone cold result, it could have just been better. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Really fun fast paced way too kick off the main card of the show. Yuya has so much talent and is super over, and SANADA is pretty decent considering he's a former world champion. Yuya got the much deserved win, and I hope he can get a big push soon because he deserves it more than Shooter. Overall a really good match"

[6.0] "They're a reliably good in-ring pair. I actually forgot that the Just 4 Guys thing is what's had them linked this whole time."

[5.0] "I wanted this to be a sleeper hit but fool me for thinking Sanada's "character" would care. As soon as the armbar was locked in, dude tapped out. Milano should've jumped him, would have been funny. Anyways, nice to see Yuya getting his shine, definitely exceeding expectations. Hopefully he moves up the ranks now and be done with Sanada."

[7.0] "Nice way to open the main card. While the direction they're taking SANADA is an unknown, he's still putting out excellent work. I'd like to see more of these two going at it. SINGLES RECORD: Yuya Uemura 2-0"

[5.0] "***1/4 normal match, they started very classic, I didn't expect anything from this match but it was fulfilling, interesting chemistry, some interesting sequences, the fact that there were no interventions or much time wasting helped, that said the ending seemed too insignificant to me, there was no limbwork and Yuya just applied the arm-bar out of nowhere and won, Sanada looked very bad in that ending"

[5.0] "Classic babyface/heel match. SANADA fighting dirty, Uemura selling his ass off. There was some good wrestling in this match, but I can't give it any higher than a 5 because they spent nearly three minutes outside the ring and the ref never started the count."

[6.0] "Not a bad match but kind of a confusing one. It started off okay, was building pretty well and then... the finish? Just done and dusted out of seemingly nowhere. Sure, SANADA has had his injuries with that arm and Yuya uses the arm bar as a fairly big move but the structure and pacing leading up to the spot did not scream "finish" to me. Felt like we were just getting started so it felt like a pretty lame ending."

[7.0] "Well, I don't want to spoil anything about the event, but this is possibly SANADA's last good fight in a long time after what happened."

[8.0] "Not only this was a fun match and not only a good opening, this was also a good match! You can clearly notice the good chemistry SANADA and Uemura have and this made this 10 minutes match enjoyable. Insane start but it became weaker when the time passes, something usual in Uemura matches. I love the finishing anyways."

[7.0] "Fun match, really enjoyed the mass reversal spot. The outside stuff was pretty entertaining with Yuya literally tossed into AT. The right person won the match as well. Good opener."

[6.0] "It was fine, nothing that special. I just have no interest in seeing SANADA in most matches, seems like he is just not interested in wrestling these days. Uemura has good fire and he will probably have a good run in the G1 this year."

[9.0] "WOW what a way to kick off the main show at this year's Sakura Genesis! SANADA came in with a bit of that Double J vibe, taking on the fiery hero Yuya. He showed off some slick technical skills that honestly would have fit perfectly during his babyface run, though it felt a bit out of place under the War Dogs, who sometimes does on dirty tactics. The early grappling exchanges were smooth and showcased both of their wrestling backgrounds through counters and tight holds. The brawl that followed was a blast, and poor Milano looked like he was struggling to escape from Yuya's collapsed body. The final stretch really brought the energy, with a big move that made it seem like Yuya was done, and the crowd was fully locked in. But then Yuya pulled off a fiery counter and locked in a submission that made SANADA tap out to end the match. It was fun, exciting, and full of heart, and Id happily watch it again just to enjoy the technical wrestling they put on display."

[9.0] "Very good and exciting match, and I thought both guys looked very sharp in the ring. SANADA seemingly tries to beat Uemura with some very impressive technical wrestling, reminding us that he's actually great in the ring when he feels like it. However, as Uemura keeps up with him, SANADA starts trying to turn it into a brawl on the outside. The finishing stretch was great, I genuinely fell for it and thought SANADA was going to win when he started cheating, as did the crowd. I feel like this is the best way to utilize cheating, to create a sense of doubt in the audience. However, Uemura managed to avoid the moonsault and sneak in an armbar, which was very exciting and unpredictable. ****"

[7.0] "Solid match that would've been an eight if it wasn't for the abrupt submission victory. It seemed the match was shifting into it's third and final gear when Yuya made SANADA tap out to the armbar. The match started off with some good chain wrestling until SANADA got the upper hand on the floor, which is when he started his shenanigans. He brought Yuya to Milano and purposely kept knocking into him for a few minutes. Once in the ring, SANADA kept control until Yuya fired back. Yuya picked up steam and then the ref gets knocked down, nut shot and SANADA's back in control. Some more wrestling until Yuya connects with the armbar for the finish. Solid match, nothing much to add."

[7.0] "SANADA was repping the minion outfit in his entrance, I kind of love his random and esoteric outfits. This rivalry has not really delivered so far in ring, but this was probably their best encounter yet with some really solid technical work and grappling. SANADA is noticeable smaller than even around a year ago, but he worked really well here, not compromising his skills to enact his heelwork. Some brief outside brawling did not distract too much from some really excellent wrestling in the second half of this bout. SANADA landed a low blow but it was not enough as Uemura landed a sweet hurricanrana into an armbar for the win. This was a strong match for recent SANADA and an enjoyable one."