El Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

[7.0] "One of the best matches on the card to close it out. Taguchi can be pretty good when he's not doing an overwhelming amount of comedy, and this was an example of that. Of course, though, it does help when your opponent is someone as good as Desperado."

[8.0] "This was technical wrestling done right. Incredibly crispy and fluid and no time to breath between a sequence and another. The battle between both men's submission was great. ***3/4"

[7.0] "Serious Taguchi is such a pleasure to see given some of the absolute nonsense he's put out this tournament. Good storytelling here of Despy continuously getting caught in the ankle lock and only just scraping by with numero dos. ***1/2"

[9.0] "An absolutely brilliant match. Ryusuke Taguchi maintained his focus on El Desperado's ankle throughout, while Despe kept going back to the knee. While there were two, very short, dabbles with light comedy, it didn't detract from the intensity Taguchi brought. Also, please ignore what Walker Stewart was saying on commentary about this being a rubber match. Taguchi also had a couple of wins over a certain Kyosuke Mikami in 2010 and 2011 so Taguchi still leads their one-on-one record. SINGLES RECORD: Ryusuke Taguchi 5-4"

[5.0] "***1/2 interesting match, not good but much better than Taguchi's previous one, interesting intensity, normal chemistry, good limbwork by Despe on Taguchi's leg, some interesting sequences, a normal pace, a bit slow at the start although they increased it slightly towards the end, interesting ending. Despe manages to make Taguchi tap after multiple attempts during the match."

[7.0] "Awesome technical work to open, creative back and forth sequences between both men, but I would've prefered a Wato vs Kushida main event. Nothing super special, but a good match."

[7.0] "Really enjoyed this. Honestly this is probably one of the best matches I've watched from this tournament. Good technical work to start before both guys start going after eachother's legs, which Taguchi gets the advantage on. For the entire match he constantly goes after Despe's ankle which he only manages to escape from by going after Taguchi's leg. The rest of the match is some more great submission counters and sequences and a bit of comedy from Taguchi, before Despe eventually locks in the Numero Dos for the win, not before Taguchi once again tries the ankle lock whilst locked in the hold. Very good match, and another great performance from Taguchi. ***3/4"

[8.0] "I wasn't gonna leave a comment but then I read the one that gave it a 4. That person didn't watch the match. How do you say Despe did not work the leg with a straight face."

[7.0] "Very good main event and another great match from Despe. If Taguchi locks in I really enjoy to watch him. Sadly that only happens rarely"

[8.0] "Very good technical match between these two. Big match Guch has been a pleasure to watch throughout this entire tournament. Really loved the finish and practically all the grappling throughout the match, much better than I thought it was going to be."

[6.0] "Really didn't expect Taguchi to get multiple main event spots in this tournament, I kinda had him picking up one win or two at the most. Taguchi was very focused on the ankle of Desperado, forgoing a lot of his comedy in an attempt to get a victory over the IWGP Jr. Champ. Desperado ends up being a step ahead with the leg work, good match. 3.25 stars"