Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki

[8.0] "Great work from both men, the action was great. Great post-match too. Just a really good match. ****"

[7.0] "As far as brawls went, this was fairly average. Thankfully both Suzuki and Liger are smart enough workers that they were able to coast by on their sheer amount of charisma and their ability to tell a compelling story. Liger might be retiring soon, but he's still got plenty left to give. Suzuki punishes Liger with some stiff shots before finishing him off with a Gotch Piledriver. The post-match gave me chills and I'd never thought I'd see Minoru Suzuki fight back tears!"

[8.0] "This was a highly anticipated match and was expected to be at Wrestle Kingdom, but i'm glad it happened here and it was a perfect send off to Liger's singles match career. Adored how Liger came out as "Battle Liger" which is fitting to the build up because we've already seen the appearance of Kishin Liger and this was the attire he used against Suzuki is their MMA fight. The match started off slow with mat-wrestling, which may seem odd considering this is a bloodfeud but makes perfect sense story-wise because Liger wanted to beat Suzuki in what Suzuki excels at. We got some brawling on the outside which was well done. Suzuki would really lay into Liger with some stiff chair shots. The rest of the match feels like one big last stand from Liger, as he tries so hard to stand with Suzuki in strike exchanges but is unable to do so. The nearfalls in the finishing stretch were great and it felt like every move mattered. The post-match was outstanding because it was a genuinely touching moment. With a lesser story this match would probably go overlooked, but both men played their roles perfectly and gave two good performances worthy of praise. ****1/4"

[6.0] "Match was very technically sound, but it missed that next step for me. Man is Liger in awesome shape for his age."

[8.0] "Absurdly intense match with a perfect storytelling and an amazing pace. Liger refusing to back down is simply awesome and the post-match is the best part. ****1/4"

[6.0] "From bell to bell, the action was fairly solid, opening with matwork that is often not emphasized by either performer when they ascribe to New Japan's match conventions and house style, especially in the case of Suzuki, who is often presented as an intimidating striker (despite his technical work being far more impressive than his strikes). I made the mistake of having high expectations coming into this match, and was a bit puzzled with the tone of this match once Liger came out, especially after the appearance of Kishin Liger during the buildup to this feud. Perhaps it was silly of me to expect a wild brawl solely because of the way the feud was presented leading into this match, but it's hard to come out of it feeling anything other than blueballed. Still going to have high expectations coming into his first retirement multi-man tag match at the Tokyo Dome, and wouldn't be as disappointed if the upcoming match is in the same vein as this match with Suzuki, especially given talent like Fujinami and Otani are returning one last time, and are still in fine shape."

[8.0] "In terms of in-ring work this was just alright, pretty much what you'd expect. But as an emotional rollercoaster the match absolutely delivered."

[8.0] "My most anticipated match on the show and it didn't really disappoint although I thought match could have been better. I expect a brutal fight like the AAA Triplemania main event this year but they worked a normal match. And it was still enjoyable. Suzuki was the evil and Liger was the crowd's hero. The dynamic here was easy to get invested into it. Few good stuff like Liger working over Suzuki's arm to regain the advantage. Yet he couldn't overcome overall. Post match was great, without a doubt. Match itself was very good but still slightly disappointing given how much heated this feud has been as it has been built for months."

[9.0] "This is a really hard match to rate because it wasn't very good but It was an incredibly important match in the history of pro wrestling. It was a mediocre brawl between two men in their early fifties which isn't ideal but the story being told was incredible. I almost cried during the ending when Liger walked out of Ryogoku Kokugikan for the last time. If you're a wrestling nerd and you love Jushin Liger, this match is incredible but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to the average wrestling fan. You have to go into this with an appreciation of the two men involved or otherwise, you're going to hate this match. I would say that this was not a good professional wrestling match in the traditional sense but that it was a really emotional angle. This was the greatest match I've ever seen between two fifty-year-olds but I'm not sure that's a great accolade to bestow a match."

[8.0] "The build to this match has been absolutely amazing, and while the match they did here wasn't as hate-filled & 'hot' as one could've & would've imagined, it was still a one helluva contest. Minoru largely dominates, but Liger gets lots of time to shine & deliver an asskicking as well, and it's very, very good stuff. Two pros going at it, making every moment mean something. And then there's the post-match too, which was legitimately touching."

[7.0] "This wasn't a work-rate masterpiece, but there was definitely a charm in seeing two legends far past their prime yet still going to battle. I enjoyed seeing Liger in his serious 'battle mode', and I thought he did well working through the grapple and strike exchanges that Suzuki was used to. He showed great fire as he suffered through Suzuki's onslaught and did his best to fight back, and I liked seeing Suzuki's viciousness eventually become too much for Liger to withstand. It was genuinely quiet emotional seeing Liger slowly be broken apart, but that was made up for with the adorable show of respect that Suzuki gave him in the post-match. ***1/4"

[6.0] "This was ok, they marketed it like it was gonna be a war but it turned out to be pretty standard and ended endless chopping, I really liked the finish and match aftermath."

[8.0] "One of the most anticipated matches of the year. It's been building all year and it's boiled to the point of a borderline hate feud with the two threatening to kill each other, the appearance of Kishin Liger, etc. I loved the addition of Liger coming out to the same attire he used against heavyweights and more importantly, against Suzuki in his MMA fight. It gave the match that extra bit of levity. Love the intensity off the bat. Liger is the best of body language and he shows it here. Suzuki does a ton of his usual stuff like use the chair, to great effect, unleashing a nasty chair shot on Liger's back. Liger lying down and inviting Suzuki to get join him was a pretty awesome moment and Suzuki doing it back a little later in the match was cool, too. Most of this was Suzuki dominating but Liger's selling was really good and Liger was great on offence too. Getting some great nearfalls of a brainbuster and even a Thesz Press. Liger's work on the arm, while brief, looked good and Suzuki using it to get a rear naked choke was a great "false finish" . The finish was rather simple but yet again, it was effective. Suzuki showing respect to Liger after the match was heart warming. Surreal. Liger~! ****"

[8.0] "I really enjoyed this match. I loved how they did a callback to their Pancrase match in the first half, and then had a straight-up brawl in the second half. Everything was well-paced. The ending was worth it. ****"

[7.0] "The match was fine for what it was but was nothing special, Liger looked very slowed down by his age and the match pace was a bit too slow for my taste, really emotional ending though."

[7.0] "I respect Liger. He is a promotion legend, but we are evaluating matches here. I admit, I was a little disappointed. The match turned out to be bad. The only good thing in the whole match is psychology. Wrestling was low. He was not very high quality. The post-match tribute from Suzuki was enjoyable. Thanks to Liger. ***1/2"

[10.0] "This was a great, great match that wasn't flashy at all. Liger came out as Battle Liger, which was treated like his final form after Kishin Liger (fitting for a wrestler who was literally an anime character). He wanted to beat Suzuki at his own game, challenging him to mat wrestling, and trying to stand toe to toe with him in a shotei strike exchange. It all brought to mind Liger stepping up on short notice to be Suzuki's final MMA fight (which was referenced on commentary, as well), and Liger still was not nearly Suzuki's equal in MMA. Suzuki brushed off everything Liger threw at him, and demanded more, wanting everything Liger had left before destroying him with some slaps and elbows. There was a moment towards the end where you could see Suzuki hesitate before throwing an elbow, as though a flash of humanity or sentimentality entered into his head. Once Liger expended everything he had, Suzuki ended him, and then paid his respects. This was just a great, emotional story that had me crying at the end. I don't know what Liger's final match is going to be, but this feels like it should at least be his last singles match. This was too perfect a send off, from a man who's only still in New Japan to get to do this program."