Mai Sakurai vs. Nao Ishikawa

[5.0] "Comment in brazilian portuguese: Começou com um falso fair play proposto pela nao, para em sequência a mesma romper e aplicar dois german suplex seguidos de um roll up após a sakurai impedir o terceiro suplex. A sakurai se demonstra muito boa sempre que ela é agressiva e tenta brawl, são as partes mais imersivas dos combates dela junto com o seu STF. Falando nele, os melhores momentos da ishikawa no combate, depois da sequência inicial, são justamente quando ela fica tentando através submissões, golpes e até uma mordida no braço da sakurai, claramente afetando a região que a oponente mais necessita para aplicar sua arma mais poderosa, o STF. O combate e os comentários do narrador vão em duas direções: a Mai como uma personagem mais consolidada no upper-midcard da marigold, comparado a fome de ter espaço da nao ishikawa, bem como quanto tempo até a mai aplicar o STF. E esse STF chega, e vem de uma forma brutal, esticando todo o corpo da ishikawa. O combate possui uma estrutura de contar história bem boa, mas certas sequências, como o comeback da Mai e os golpes aleatórios a estratégia da Ishikawa, como um blade runner que não agregou nada a história contada, deixam o combate com lacunas pouco interessantes. Mas reafirmo, as submissões da Ishikawa foram muito bem aplicadas, principalmente aquela chave por trás das costas (uma variação do golpe que acho que é de autoria do pentagon jr.). No geral, *** 1/2. Vou ficar de olho na ishikawa."

[8.0] "A very fun sprint that did not devolve into executing random moves. Whenever Ishikawa gets a chance to work a more serious match type, she always elevates it and makes it feel like the most important match ever. Sakurai holds her own here, her slaps look great too. I also really liked Ishikawa's escape from the second STF attempt, after the reversal there's some jostling on the ground until she comes out on top and applies an armbar. The whole exchange, it looks so real and cool. Fun wrestling that tells a story!"

[8.0] "Great match. Short and sweet with just raw aggression. An all killer no filler bout. Mai Sakurai is new to me and I didn't know what to expect after I wasn't blown away by her match with Victoria Yuzuki and I'm not at all familiar with Nao Ishikawa either. The way Sakurai immediately lays into Ishikawa after that cheap shot during the handshake made it feel so real. Even amongst that though Ishikawa has moments where she believably scouts Sakurai's next move which makes for an incredibly interesting sprint. This is one of those matches where it reminds you that as long as the simple stuff is done with the right physicality it will sell super well. Good shit"

[8.0] "The match was just great, just a classic singles match but the magic of Korakuen worked, the exchange was super stiff, highlights Nao and makes him incredibly credible. But before his match against Aono in early 2026."

[8.0] "Match of the night. It's somewhat crazy to think that Nao has had singles matches with Utami, Nanae and Sareee but it's Mai Sakurai who gives her her best one to date. This is dramatic, stiff and intense. Also, the match is given enough time to breathe and is stronger for it (a lesson there for Rossy). Yes, Sakurai gets the victory but due to the quality of her performance, Nao loses nothing by losing and, once again, shows that she might not be physically capable of a sustained push but she's highly reliable at producing good singles bouts."

[6.0] "This had the tone of an extended squash, albeit with some mildly unconvincing competitive segments. There was zero chance Ishikawa was winning here, but she at least put up a fight against her bully ***"

[5.0] "It may be difficult to understand because I used the translation function. I was surprised to see that Maipan and Ishikawa's singles match was highly rated, so I watched it, but it didn't resonate with me at all. The content was really mediocre, and unfortunately, there was no point in making the effort to watch it."

[9.0] "Two women whom I don't believe I've ever seen before come out in a promotion I don't watch that often and have a pretty darn great match. I'll be interested to see how both of these wrestlers can build off the success of this right now."

[9.0] "This is the kind of match that really makes me appreciate this site and community. I have never heard of either of these women and only watched based on the rating. I was quite impressed! It was quick but they were working every second of the match. Great physicality, outstanding psychology, the structure of the match and each participant told a consistent story with a beginning, middle, and end that made sense. Hoping to see more of everyone involved in the future"

[9.0] "Why was this match soo good, neither wrestler ever had as good as a performance as this. Nao Ishikawa has never really had much of a push really, so it was a massive surprise to see this match rated so high but it is well deserved. Good for the both of these, maybe Nao could be a Superfly Champion in near future. ****1/4"

[9.0] "Great match. Without a doubt the best Nao has ever looked. Mai worked stiff here to get as much out of Nao as possible and see how she would respond. Nao put in a fiery performance where she gave Mai everything she had to try to beat her. Nao comes close to winning a few times with some very believable near falls, but in the end Mai makes her tap out with an STF. It's interesting to see Mai become the gatekeeper of Marigold, she's proven numerous times she can thrive in that role. Coming in this felt like a test for Nao to see if she could hang with one of the top wrestlers in the company and she more than passed. Hopefully this leads to Nao finally moving up the card, she deserves it. 9/10"

[9.0] "Nao Ishikawa turned in possibly the best performance of her career, showing why she can handle virtually any style in the ring. Mai Sakurai was equally impressive as usual. Excellent pacing, crisp execution, and memorable false finishes made this engaging and very exciting from start to finish."

[9.0] "Best Nao match up to date. I don't understand why she's so underrated, but she actually can do everything. Mai since match vs. Giulia are getting better as well. Love to aee it."

[8.0] "This match immediately pulls you in with some german suplexes. Mai responds quickly by working extra stiff, which Nao reciprocates. Great false finishes. This rocked."

[8.0] "Nao Ishikawa delivered a very strong performance here, possibly her best to date. The match was well-executed and a beautiful bomb fest. Mai Sakurai continues to prove that she is a main-event caliber wrestler. Great match."