KENTA vs. Tetsuya Naito

[8.0] "For a New Japan match this was heavily criticized at the time, if only they knew how Gedo would be post-2020, huh. This match was focused around character work and storytelling. I loved it to say the least. KENTA ruined Naito's historic Tokyo Dome moment which gave this match an excellent build and story to follow. Naito was his usual anti-hero self and the crowd was fully behind him and booed KENTA. I loved the callback to Ibushi/White with the Bullet Club getting thrown out by Red Shoes. I didn't think the 'stalling' portion was anywhere near as bad as others found it to be. I thought KENTA's heel work was very compelling and so was Naito's counter-stalling. KENTA was one of the best heels in wrestling around this time and it's a shame some overlooked it because of Bullet Club booking. The main issue is the 36-minute runtime. The great wrestling exchanges felt too few and far between. The typical Bullet Club run-ins were kept at a minimum here and used really well. The closing stretch was terrific. The exposed turnbuckle drama was engaging and the crimson mask was awesome. The nearfalls were great and Naito reversing the GTS into Destino was spot of the match. This wasn't your usual NJPW main event and I appreciate they did something different because Naito and KENTA told a memorable story. ****1/4"

[3.0] "Quoting the one and the only Digibro - "THIS WAS GARBAGIO". Absolutely terrible match with afwul pacing, lack of action and even story. I'm a big fan of kinda-slow-wrestling, but this wasn't just slow wrestling, it was stupidly slow wrestling. For the bigger part of the fight KENTA and Naito simply... were doing their moves.. sometimes.. I guess.. cuz for the most part they were just straight walking. Seriously, Taichi vs. Okada was amazing, but this one... they don't deserve their spot in the card. Terrible over-booking in the end was the last shot to already dead body. Damn, Naito's title reign looks terrible, I hope he will show us some good stuff with Hiromu."

[7.0] "It ploddingly turns into a pretty good main event, even though this was a little too long for my taste."

[6.0] "Tetsuya Naito (c) -vs- KENTA - (IWGP Title & IWGP Intercontinental Title) [***] Wish they'd had enough confidence in KENTA to not do all that shenanigans here. A lot going on, so in its own way it was entertaining. It just wasn't the best scenario we could have hoped for."

[7.0] "This match was good, but nothing great. The main problem was that there was some good stuff peppered throughout, but overall a lack of flow between those good moments. Many matches with a slow build make this work because they manage to maintain a flow in between moments/sequences, lead to a very exciting conclusion, and are ultimately meaningful for the duration of the match, but much of what happened for the first thirty minutes of this match felt like filler to increase its length. This match wasn't all bad (obviously), there were some impressive moments early and on some spots that weren't filled with completely dead time in between, but overall it dragged on. The last few minutes were great, but didn't last for very long and didn't really justify the length, and not much from earlier added meaning to what happened at the end. Oh, and while I'm glad they kept Jay White's interference short, it added nothing to the match and only took away from it. ***1/2-"

[5.0] "The first seven or eight minutes were interminable; they did absolutely nothing, and not in a way that generated interest. When they finally deigned to actually do something, Naito and KENTA had a decent match, but it wasn't anything special, and it was nowhere near the standards of a normal IWGP title match. Then, of course, we got the run-ins and other nonsense we've come expect from a Bullet Club match, and all interest, for me, left the building. We've seen Okada run through just about everyone, but I'd take Okada vs. Anyone Else in a heartbeat over this kind of garbage."

[4.0] "This was not good at all. The first 15 minutes were dull, packed with the usual Bullet Club bullshit that now unfortunately affect Kenta's matches as well: a pity, considering I appreciated his solo G1 run last year. The central phase was ok at best, but really lacked of intensity. And then the ref bump and White's interference were the last nail into the coffin for the match. After that, I couldn't care less. I'm not contrary to overbooking and/or interferences, but this time those were just bad. By far the worst NJPW main event in a long time. *1/2"

[4.0] "Well, that's confirmation that Kenta can't do long main events anymore, I guess. Just boring and definitely not saved by excessive bleeding. Really not worth ruining Naito's crowning moment at Wrestle Kingdom for this. I wouldn't call it bad but this was just the bare minimum for a decent match and not worth being the main event."

[7.0] "This match was almost all based around story and the wrestlers' characters. Kenta, the despicable heel, badly wanted to rub in Naito's face that not only did he ruin Naito's Tokyo Dome moment, but he also ruined Naito's first defence with all his time-wasting and cheating. Naito was great in response, though, since he kept to his anti-hero LIJ ways and never let Kenta's heelish antagonism get to him. He instead just maintained his tranquilo style and roughed Kenta up with his usual heelish tactics whenever he could, all of which was incredibly satisfying given how detestable Kenta was and how lovable Naito was. The action was obviously never on the level of an Okada defence, but it was good enough to tell the story of Naito not getting in over his head and instead maintaining the mentality that allowed him to finally cleanse his demons and win the big one at the Tokyo Dome. I found both guys' character work very engaging, even if the physical wrestling they accompanied it with was quite forgettable (excluding the final few minutes). That just goes to show what a great job NJPW have done over the years in building up Naito's character and also recently in building up Kenta's heel character. Would I have liked a match that told the same story and presented the same characterisation but was accompanied by super spectacular wrestling? Yes, but that doesn't mean that this match wasn't still really good, since wrestling is about characters at the end of the day, and I could appreciate quite a lot of this from the 'entertainment' side, even if I couldn't enjoy it as much from the 'wrestling' side. My main issues with the match were: there was zero fear that Kenta might win, the run-ins were stupid and distracting, their truly great wrestling exchanges were rare, and the 35-minute length was massively bloated. Still, the characterisation and story of this match made for a nice change of pace from the usual NJPW main-event style. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Ok, the match was not THAT bad as people were saying. It has the usual LIJ/BULLET CLUB bullshit, but God heard our prayes and it was for a short time. The match itself was pretty good and had great moments and cool spots, also, the character work from KENTA was simply perfect, he really knows how to portray a heel. The main mistake of this match is the length, thirty six minutes is just too much for two guys whose styles doesn't blend, but besides that, the match was good. ****"

[7.0] "The angle at Tokyo Dome turned this into one hell of a heated main event. The dynamics in the match was clear but this was weirdly a clash of gimmicks, KENTA is the annoying little shit who pisses people off, Naito is the cool, calm and collected champion, this wasn't going to work with both men sticking to character. And BOY did this drag. Hot crowd and good wrestling overall made this a good match but don't try to convince me to watch this again. Worst part: the pointless interference. Best Part: Naito getting (accidental) color. ***1/4"

[9.0] "I thought this was fantastic. KENTA is only behind Jay White for me as the best heel in the game, and he delivered a masterful heel performance right here. I loved the beginning with him refusing to get in the ring, and it lead to the great moment of Naito reversing the tables on him. I know many thought this was too slow, but I felt it was beautifully structured, and I was hooked from the beginning. A compelling, methodical pace led to a great shenanigan-filled ending with Naito wearing a badass crimson mask. I loved this."

[8.0] "Very good match and main event. Not as good as the two previous match but in no way was this not worth watching. Loved the early beginning and middle part of the match. Hater the interference and shennnanigans as Kenta is a great wrestler and can put a great match. Loved Kenta for being a dick and trying to kill Naito and as always our champion was tranquilo. ****1/4"

[6.0] "Way way too long and slow. It got really good towards the end but NJPWs really got these match lengths under control man not every match needs to be some over-long ? epic? especially when you have a guy like Kenta whos had such an underwhelming NJPW run so far."

[8.0] "**** rating. Good match that could have easily been great if it wasnt for the neverending stalling at the start. The final stretch was very entertaining and the blood added a lot."

[5.0] "I hope this is the last we'll see of NJPW "epic 30+ minutes" main events for quite some time. It simply dragged on for too long. KENTA's control segments were truly mediocre and felt designed for no other reason than to stretch the match longer than it should have gone. Naito for his part was as great as usual but I don't understand why anybody felt the need for all that blood in a match that was almost over. While not as dreadfully dull and boring as the Okada vs Sanada series it's still a completely skippable main event."

[5.0] "Honestly I was pretty bored by most of this match. KENTA is really good, but all he seems concerned with here is heat. Things take forever to get going and then once they did I just couldn't make myself care anymore."

[7.0] "A very challenging match to rate. While considerable stretches were subjectively boring, there are details here that I'll remember for a long time to come. The drama and character-work were top-notch - from KENTA's stalling (and Naito's counter-stalling), to the thwarted interference, to the exposed turnbuckle and ridiculous crimson mask, the GTS countered into a modified Destino and the proper Destino that finally put it away, down to Hiromu's inclusion at the end. KENTA is so incredibly locked in as a heel right now that it's disappointing he had to lose - but the right move was to give Naito a definitive win for his first double-title defense. I just don't know if I'll ever be compelled to watch it again."

[2.0] "Pure garbage. Where to start. It's obvious KENTA isn't good enough anymore for a traditional long main event wrestling match, so they had to include all the gaga and ballyhoo to get him over. That means Bullet Club interference and ENDLESS stalling, the cheapest of cheap heat.. 35+ minutes of this was just torture."

[8.0] "Just rewatched this match after having watched it live and not enjoying it, this was much better the second time around. My biggest issue when watching live was the same as most, primarily the length, but I feel much of this criticism was amplified by my own live viewing experience, and the fact that the match came after the far more erratic Moxley vs. Suzuki match, along with my own lack of sleep. This is a rare case of a match making far more sense in a bubble as opposed to within the context of the full show, as it allowed for appreciation for some of the details that would otherwise be overlooked, namely the way KENTA managed to sustain heat throughout the match not only through stalling, but by engaging with the audience (using the Naito teddy bear) and relying on his heelwork to mask his lack of physicality that plagued his early NJPW run last year. Additionally, I developed a larger appreciation for Naitos bumping in the early parts of the match, namely around the guardrail areas, it was nice to see how the match wasn't completely 50/50 in terms of offense the way Ryu Lee vs. Hiromu was, with KENTA constantly cutting Naitos legs out from under him, and placing traps early on that would be used in the closing stretch like the exposed turnbuckle. The closing stretch was as great as I remember, opting not to go overboard with the finisher reversal sequences by giving a bloodied Naito a solid, convincing finish. I implore those who were negative on the match overall during their first watch to revisit this one, as I grew to appreciate it far more. Additionally, I would be VERY weary of those who pin the blame for the unnecessary length of the match on Naito or KENTA, or start fear mongering about the future of Naitos reign. It really comes off as a bizarre double standard to see NJPW fans complaining about "15-20 minutes of NOTHING" here, yet silent about the same core issues in Okada's title defenses when they lack the same creativity as this."

[8.0] "The final stretch to this match was excellent but damn was the first half a drag and really dull. I had a feat it would be like this and that's what it was as KENTA matches have been really hard to get going at the start and Naito usually doesn't deliver the same against guys like that. Okada can make it work most times, starting slow and building but I don't think it worked as well here. However, one they did start getting into the heat of it for the last few minutes it was really really good. Just wish every match didn't have to be extended so long past needed ****"

[6.0] "With this match going far too long considering what was done, with how slow things were, how long it took for it to even get going, Bullet Club shenanigans, Naito being a guy that only goes when he feels like it and KENTA being hit and miss these days, I can't go higher than 6, maaaybe 7 on this one. And here's another bit, what the hell did KENTA do to deserve a shot at BOTH belts? It should be for the IC at best."

[8.0] "Feels like an inferior version of the White/Naito WK match. Loved KENTA's heel antics, but it took a bit too long to get going and it lacked the urgency of the White/Naito match. That being said, this was still great, with KENTA's work on top being generally good, and Naito bumping and selling his arse off. The interference was also done pretty well. At this point, I don't think KENTA has anything to prove. He may not be once was, but this match and the Goto definitely showed that he can still deliver good performances in big-time matches. (****)"

[8.0] "The stalling that started off the match definitely went on for a bit too long, but all in all, this was very good. KENTA delivers when kicking ass on top, and Naito is willing to throw himself around for sure. Especially everything after the ref bump & Switchblade interference was absolutely excellent. Naito definitely rocked that crimson mask well, too."

[10.0] "The entourage of the match was preparing exactly what was happening in the first half of the match. Psychology, heel's tricks, mind games all this confused, and the atmosphere was heated to the limit. The second half of the match literally exploded, and we saw an exciting sight. At some point, it became scary, even for such a protected character as Naito, but still his champion character did not allow KENTA to prevail."

[5.0] "This was good in parts. The stalling battle between Naito and KENTA was quite enjoyable. And the bloody ending was good from a visual and exciting standpoint. The rest was meandering and dull though. KENTA tried but when Naito turns into a human doll, it's hard to be interesting. **3/4"