Francesco Akira vs. Kosei Fujita

[7.0] "Now we're starting to cook. While the first two matches where a bit underwhelming, this one was fun. Not the best match in the world and I do think these two are capable of a lot better against one another, this was still pretty enjoyable and a nice showcase for two of the best in the division right now."

[6.0] "Pretty impressive match, and the best match of the BOSJ so far. I still didn't think it was anything special though."

[8.0] "This match not only featured the enjoyable high speed back to back action of Jrs. but also featured a lot of stiffness especially in the German Suplexes which looked devastating. I don't Fujita should have adopted the Burning Hammer as a new finisher though. ****"

[7.0] "That was a great match. This more aggressive, slightly arrogant Francesco Akira is a great new shade for him. Kosei Fujita, once again, showing that he's one of the future big names for this promotion. SINGLES RECORD: Tied 1-1"

[8.0] "(Grade:B+/****1/4) What a match! definitely MOTN for night 1, two of the future stars of the junior heavyweight division in Fujita & Akira. It started out hot both trying to prove their resilience and grit seeing a more aggressive side of Akira and Fujita got some nasty chops on him. I have hope for Fujita winning the whole thing so seeing him get the victory here makes me happy."

[8.0] "I was fairly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one.Seeing the rise of both of these wrestlers made this match a highly enjoyable escalation and there's clear that these two have a lot more to give. The only thing I'd do is run it back with 5 - 10 extra mins I'd love to see that for a semi final maybe. Very satisfying finish"

[7.0] "[3.75*] In my view, the best match of the night. Seeing Akira working as the heel in the match surprised me because he's usually the one taking the punishment. The intense exchanges between Akira and Fujita and the display of strength from both of them caught me off guard in a good way. The spots with German Suplexes proved that just because they're Juniors doesn't mean they're not strong, and that really won me over."

[6.0] "6.5 - Akira showed his typical fast pace and clean skills. Fujita is trying to make this his tournament to lose, and he started with a pretty decent performance."

[7.0] "The best match of the night so far. You could tell they were pacing themselves a little early, but that's understandable considering how grueling a tournament this is. I don't think these two can have a bad match, and once they picked it up in the second half, you can clearly see why these are two of the top juniors in the division. 3.5 stars."

[7.0] "7 seems a bit harsh but this also wasn't an 8. It was your classic go-go-go match that you come to expect from a junior match, needed more purpose and urgency to take it to that next level. Still it was very good and the best match up to that point"

[7.0] "Really good match. These guys are the future of the Junior division. Wish they got a little bit more time to have the match we all know they can. ***1/2"

[6.0] "Pretty solid. A lot of big bombs and dives in this. Not much in the way of psychology but this worked well as a sort of mini bombfest and both guys showed off some cool stuff here. ***"

[7.0] "Man I love Kevin knight in the ring but he needs to learn to shut the hell up. Christ maybe a whole point was taken away because I would role my eyes at almost everything he said. Great showing from the 2 actually in the ring though."

[7.0] "This was fun. Fujita remains a favorite of mine. Akira worked more heelish here to positive effect. Excited to see Fujita through the rest of the matches."

[7.0] "Good showing from both guys. Akira was particularly good in a more heelish role. Definitely not the best version of this match that we could've got, but this finally feels like this year's BOSJ has started. ***3/4"

[7.0] "First solid match of the tournament for me. Just a very clean match from two guys that we will probably see together in much bigger matches. Maybe this will be the block final. Who knows."

[8.0] "One of those situations where we could use .5 ratings! but rounding this down to a 7 doesnt seem to do it justice so an 8 it is!"

[8.0] "Absolutely loved this match, although I wished this was a finals match. I know these two can do more but this was good for me. Hope to see a rematch down the line."

[7.0] "A match between two potential tournament winners, Francesco Akira and Kosei Fujita. The match was very interesting and fast-paced. I expected a victory for Akira."

[6.0] "***3/4 Good match, although it could have been better, good sequences, good chemistry, good pace, although it was very short and the ending was somewhat dry and rushed, with about 5 more minutes they would have given one of the fights of the tournament, both are part of the future of the Junior division"

[9.0] "What a match man, these two are my favorites in the division with El Desperado. This was really good and i know it's early to say MOTT but when it's all said and done, this will definitely be in the conversation."

[7.0] "Good showcase for Akira and Fujita with quite the fast pace. Looking forward to the rest of their tournament"

[7.0] "This match nicely picked up the pace from the previous two matches. Arguably MOTN. Not worth going out of your way to see, but if you're a completionist this is perfectly acceptable wrestling."

[7.0] "Good for most of it, Francesco Akira's work on his presentation has improved tremendously, Fujita did very good the stuff he is good at, he needs to work the crowd a bit more i think but this was a tournament tag so."

[7.0] "I'm expecting both Akira & Fujita to be major players in this year's tournament, and I was excited to see them face off in the opening night. I think the show up to this point had been fine, but this really stood out as a marked improvement in the quality of the in-ring action. Fujita was extremely impressive here, love that new finish. 3.75 stars"

[7.0] "That was good, and I wasn't expecting any less. Good wrestling, good selling, a good high junior pace. The two know each other well, and you can feel it in the execution of the match. Everything was really good."