[6.0] "The fact that this match even happened in 2025 is more important than the match itself. The match itself though is a borderline comedy half-hour chop battle all over Korakuen Hall. The joke however dragged on too long. It was still a pleasure seeing Kobashi throw a couple of good chops and hearing Takayama commentate as well. Unfortunately nothing else happens and you can only ride on nostalgia for so long. Also Shibata and KENTA squaring their beef at the end was a nice touching moment."
[7.0] "Four of those wrestlers are completelly washed. Maybe the one least washed here might be MiSu because his style never pushed that much from his athleticism, so you never feel that impact. Katsuyori always need to keep his eyes open with his head, KENTA and Maurfuji suffered from some serious injuries during the last decade. And 70% of the match was chops, only chops. With that being said, special. Great tribute for Takayama that clearly enjoyed everything here, Shibata attacking KENTA in the beggining was so damn good, made everyone remember that heel turn KENTA did in 2019 alling with the Bullet Club while it still exist, it was good. But again, they're washed, old and the match was pretty longer. Worth the experience, without an doubt."
[10.0] "You know who's still got it? Minoru Suzuki has still got it, at 57 years old this grizzled fighter is as fun to watch as almost anybody you can think of in wrestling. He's pure weird aura and sadistic meanness, and he can still beat the hell out of anybody in several different ways. This match is the main event of a show to honor and benefit Yoshihiro Takayama, an awesome wrestler known for UWF shoot style, AJPW, NOAH, and other places who was tragically paralyzed in a freak accident in the ring 2017, breaking his neck on an attempted sunset flip. Minoru Suzuki has run several shows for his friend and it's really quite touching, as well as generally being very fun and unique cards. Takayama even did commentary for this match and was even interacted with a bit by the wrestlers, and he seemed to be having a great time under the circumstances, so you love to see that. Here you've got a match that, well, I'm not sure I'd exactly call it a dream match but it's a really interesting and unusual combination of talent. You've got Suzuki himself, most associated with New Japan but a guy who has freelanced all over for decades. You've got Marufuji, one of the most successful guys to ever come out of NOAH and a trainee of the great Misawa. You've got Shibata, who needs no introduction I'm sure. And then you've got KENTA, another guy who exploded out of NOAH in the 00s and has worked extensively in New Japan and elsewhere after departing WWE in 2019 following a fairly limp run. What do you get when you mix these four major puro names together for the first time? Well, you get something that's definitely a hell of a lot of fun! And I say that as a guy who is not always into modern puro, but this stratched the right itches for sure. The initial story of the match was highly unusual, Shibata and KENTA have a partnership going back 20 years, with Shibata even supporting KENTA in New Japan for awhile when he could not wrestle himself. However, KENTA turned on his support while there, and the fallout was never able to be fully addressed. You might think this was all forgotten for a match like this, but the first thing Shibata did in this match was kick KENTA right in the face! After Shibata got some aggression out on his partner they were able to work together at times, but the tension between them remained. Suzuki and Marufuji have had their own issues but were able to work a bit better together. Even so, the match seemed like an even heat of four guys just striking the hell out of each other. I think the most fun part of the match would have to be when they fought their way over to the commentary table where, in addition to interacting with Takayama, they got into it with the legend Kenta Kobashi, who was also doing commentary. At the behest of the crowd, Kobashi got up and delivered some of his famously great chops to the competitors, and while I don't think he'll be returning to the ring anytime soon I must say his chops still looked damn great. All four guys were stuck between the honor of being chopped by a legend and the pain of being chopped by a man with sledgehammers for hands. The whole thing fell apart in a very fun way at the end, as a maniacal Minoru Suzuki goaded all three of the others into attacking him as the time limit ran out. He was still standing when the 30 minute bell rang so I guess he is the emotional winner? More accurately you could call it a spectacle or exhibition than a regular match but damn, it just hit the spot even with the long run time. Just a damn fun match that makes you feel good inside."
[10.0] "My personal MOTY for 2025 so far, and I doubt it gets topped. Just a highly entertaining, hilarious, and sweet match. The KENTA/Shibata stuff is absolutely brilliant. Kobashi's involvement could bring a smile to the most cynical wrestling fan's face. Takayama on commentary enjoying it so much and chanting along with the fans. Everyone going apeshit on Suzuki like he's the biggest asshole alive. All 4 guys putting their upper bodies through Hell just to honor Takayama. Just a wonderful, fun match. I had such a blast watching this."
[6.0] "The Kobashi segment with Takayama chanting along was gold, but the 30 minutes of stubbornness it adorned never quite found its tone or direction. Sure, the audience loved the in-joke laden strong-stick comedy, but the audience is dwindling to the point of irrelevance ***"
[5.0] "I kind of expected to not really enjoy this match much as I didn't care much for last years main event with Minoru Suzuki taking on Katsuyori Shibata. I thought maybe with all four big name involved we might get an actual match but this Takayamania Empire so it boils down to a striking dick measuring contest pretty quick. This gimmick is fine and welcomed but this match is 30 minutes long with very little variation. I thought maybe Kenta and Shibata attacking each other as tag team partners would make for a more interesting match but I didn't really get much out of it. The strikes were well done and Kobashi getting involved was cool but I thought this match was pretty one note overall"
[10.0] "It isn't the best worked match. It isn't the most diverse match. Actually, I'd say 80% of it is an extended strike battle between these four legends. The story told between KENTA and Shibata from the moment the teams are switched until they coalesce at the end is absolutely perfect. The Kobashi segment with Takayama chanting his name as he gave some of the gnarliest chops to all the participants in the match was nothing short of amazing. I loved this match so much. And Suzuki being in God mode at the end was a sweet moment"
[8.0] "Really really enjoyable and fun match. Katsuyori Shibata attacking Kenta immediately after the bell was gold and their continued beef throughout the match led to a lot of great moments. Really emotional but still managed to have some incredible in-ring moments. Outside of the ring led to some great parts of the match as well such as a fun brawl through the crowd and an incredible moment of Kenta Kobashi slapping all the wrestlers in the match. Would've been nice to see a finish but it's hard to complain. The aftermatch speeches were incredibly emotional and touching."
[9.0] "It was a very good main event. Thank you, Takayama, for reuniting Kenta and Shibata in a tag team. Otherwise, it was a great match, and I thought it was spectacular to see Kenta Kobashi's chops again, although Suzuki took the brunt of it. I think the ending was expected, but it was still a great main event in a great event for a very good cause."
[10.0] "This was fucking awesome. So many stories, so many hard spots and the callbacks were absolutely crazy, that was definetely the best thing of the bout. The action was rentless and brutal and the stories blended like a book, watch this if you love puro. *****"
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