[6.0] "I mean, im sure its terrible in the sense that people on this site like, but as an overbooked spectacle wwe-style it was rather fun, it told it's story very well."
[8.0] "This match was excellent. A complete opposite to the main event which still managed to reach the same level of greatness. OZAWA is that dastardly heel who constantly plays mind tricks on everyone and cheats whenever possible while Inamura is the big great babyface powerhouse who manages to outsmart and survive Team 2000x with a little help from Dragon Bane. I would have rated it even higher if not for the ref bump."
[7.0] "The first thing that hit me was Inamura's theme sounding like a modern cover of the Headbangers' theme. For a main event, this never really found the drama it needed. There were decent moments but as the closer of the night, it felt oddly flat and undercooked."
[8.0] "Remove the shitty Team 2000X run-ins and beatdowns that killed the pace and limit their involvement to passing along that crutch and Inamura scaring/pushing them away around the midpoint and I'd be giving this a 9. OZAWA & Inamura had excellent chemistry here, the rock-solid ex-sumo champion with a bit of flair he found in the US vs a very charismatic and animated challenger with some old-school heelish tactics. I loved OZAWA's stalling, the way he interacted with the ref, his taunts and little cutoffs, and yet he took the full brunt of the champ's offense. Great finishing stretch that established that Mr. Smack Daddy is really going the distance for his first reign. ***3/4"
[2.0] "This was one of the most useless pro-wrestling matches I've seen in quite a while - it didn't make me frustrated, upset or even annoyed, but after it was all said and done I questioned why I spent my time on it, simply because it didn't help anybody involved actually get over. A big chance to actually make NOAH fans take Inamura seriously was just wasted on a boring match that also had to have a bunch of run-ins just because 'this is how pro-wrestling is' these days - fans don't get angry about it, they don't boo this shit out of the building in a 'wrong kind of heat' way, they just accept it and adjust their fandom to it because they probably don't know that their reactions (at least in theory should) actually matter. OZAWA lost clean in the middle and it meant nothing, post-match had a swerve for the sake of swerve and none of that made me interested in watching what's gonna happen next in NOAH. If there's one lesson to take away from this, is that it doesn't really matter if a bad match made a viewer very angry, a bad match is a bad match, there's no reason to twist myself into a pretzel to make carry dog water for some imaginary made-up reasons, it's much easier call it out for how bad it was, laugh about it and move on with my life."
[5.0] "The match between OZAWA and Inamura worked best in the clash of styles: OZAWA's cocky, evasive approach complemented Inamura's raw power and straightforward offense, giving the bout a clear and logical dynamic. Once the match properly got going, the wrestling itself was solid, with good exchanges that allowed both men to showcase their strengths. However, the opening phase dragged far too long. OZAWA constantly running away made sense from a character standpoint, but the repetition hurt the pacing and stalled momentum. On top of that, the frequent Team 2000X interferences felt excessive and distracting, ultimately taking away from what could have been a stronger, more focused singles match."
[8.0] "I get why people don't like Ozawa's work here, it's not exactly workrate stuff. But it's so entertaining to me, and I believe it's great heel work and gives him such a distinct personality. Very LIJ esque to me. Outside of the Team 2000X interference, Ozawa busts out some incredible moves. It's a good contrast to Inamura's power, so they played off each other well. The final stretch was amazing, with OZAWA mocking Inamura's splash and hitting a 450, then a Wrist Clutch Blue Thunder Bomb, and missing a Phoenix Splash. Inamura gets the win, solid match. It didn't help that Takahashi-Amakusa was such a barn burner before it, so I'm sure that contributed."
[8.0] "Sometimes it seems to me that some people are not able to enjoy wrestling, which is going to entertain you and tell a story, and not just throw a bunch of tricks at you. I continue to give NOAH credit, if only because in a world where the main event is 90% of the time an epic battle, they are ready to make something more entertaining out of the match. Although I should still point out that Inamura and OZAWA do not have enough chemistry when it comes to action, and therefore, ironically, the final part, which is "the only good thing" according to some people, seemed to me not so interesting and exciting. Also, I understand that many people don't watch NOAH these days, but if you saw last year's New Year, you might have caught the meaning of this match. OZAWA tried to repeat his success, he also tried to make Yoshiki lose his temper with all his might and at the same time he was more furious because Inamura did not react. He also tried to infuriate him with a slow start, resorted to the help of a group and carried out other moves that had brought him victory and success in the past, but Yoshiki was much better prepared for this. You may notice how he preemptively attacked OZAWA or interfered with him at the most necessary moments. After all, OZAWA had prepared even more dastardly techniques, so he could at least somehow resist. And that's how the whole match went, a storylined and fervent fight, where there were still a couple of cool sequences, like the reverse of Real Rebel or that OZAWA bomb, which he barely lifted Yoshiki on. Overall, OZAWA was able to be a more classic heel here, and unlike the match with Kaito, Inamura was generally supported more and even on a par with OZAWA, which is a good result considering his wild popularity. Well, it's a bit insulting for Inamura, a great and charismatic wrestler of the old school, who was supposedly born to perform in the noughties and nineties, so I'm not surprised that a certain audience doesn't accept him, but I'm glad, that target audience love him."
[8.0] "While I understand the frustration regarding the pacing, I don't think this main event was as bad as the current rating suggests. Perhaps it's my "fan filter" speaking as someone who follows NOAH year-round, but there were many interesting moments if you look past the stalling. OZAWA's opening provocations are his signature, though I agree they dragged on quite a bit. Having utilized this same heat-seeking formula throughout the first half of 2025 until his injury in September, it might be time for him to evolve his style to keep the audience engaged. As for Yoshiki Inamura, I don't see the "sluggishness" others mentioned. Having watched his previous title defenses, I believe he is a phenomenal heavy-tank-style wrestler with surprising speed. The main issue here wasn't individual skill, but rather a lack of "chemistry" between the two at this specific stage of their careers. Their styles clashed rather than complemented each other this time. Overall, it was a solid encounter between two pillars of the new era. I don't expect a rematch anytime soon, but I look forward to seeing how much they both evolve before they inevitably cross paths again. 8/10."
[8.0] "People need to understand. Every Japanese promotion has a pantomime villain stable currently. OZAWA puts every single one of them to shame. Yes, the schtick is always dry, but you actually watch OZAWA where I skip the others. Even when he's stalling, people are watching and waiting, rather than changing the channel. He doesn't have to do much, just show some charisma and freestyle a bit. The Team 2000x stuff doesn't help, but OZAWA is a star in spite of it. So much so that the relatively boring Inamura gets genuine babyface reactions. Lots of problems with NOAH currently, but OZAWA and Inamura aren't them."
"Yoshiki Inamura vs. OZAWA was a fundamentally misguided match from its very conception. Pairing OZAWA, fresh off a significant injury, with a wrestler as limited and one-dimensional as Yoshiki Inamura already raised serious concerns before the bell even rang. On paper, the matchup lacked both upside and necessity. For roughly the first fifteen minutes, the match felt awkward and directionless. We got the usual OZAWA antics -- the games, the dances, the stalling -- but without any real structure to support them. What is normally a deliberate pacing tool instead came across as empty time-filling, as the bout never established a clear rhythm or narrative thread. At best, the match reached a barely acceptable level of competence. That in itself is disappointing when viewed in the context of OZAWA's recent body of work, which includes strong performances against Kiyomiya, Kenoh, Kitamiya, and Eita. Those bouts created the expectation that OZAWA could elevate opponents and deliver meaningful drama. Here, that expectation went unmet. The match remained largely flat throughout, with the crowd clearly rallying behind OZAWA, although Inamura did manage to draw sporadic reactions and occasional pops. However, those moments never translated into sustained momentum or emotional investment. While Inamura undeniably possesses strong charisma, presence, and microphone skills, in a promotion like NOAH, a wrestler lacking a refined and distinctive in-ring skill set ultimately struggles to truly captivate the audience. Charisma alone is not enough to compensate for technical and athletic limitations at this level. Inamura, in particular, felt like an active detriment to the match. His sluggishness, lack of intensity, and limited offense consistently disrupted whatever momentum OZAWA attempted to create. Rather than functioning as a cooperative opponent capable of enhancing the contest, he came across as a constraint. The end result is something I honestly can't quite grasp... although booking, of course, isn't my job."
[6.0] "Not terribly executed, but the approach is tired. OZAWA should have evolved past this type of match by this point. It was interesting the first time we saw it last January, but we don't need to see him establish character anymore. Start wrestling and sprinkle that stuff in, right?"
[6.0] "Disappointing main event but this wasn't an awful match. Lots of schtick but there was also some good wrestling here although the result was baffling."
[7.0] "A lot of people dont realize they have the luxury to just skip whenever ozawa does his Shtick of just stalling, pretty typical ozawa match with their usual house of torture shit but no actual complaints about the wrestling between inamura and ozawa themselves."
[7.0] "Its a standard Ozawa match, i dont really see how this one is much worse or better than any of his title defenses from 2025. He loses his shine everytime he entertains more than he wrestles but this was just a match not worth watching due to its boring nature."
[1.0] "Jesus what an absolutely boring, painful let down of a main event. Team 2000X reminds me of House of Torture, just with slightly better wrestling, however this was a pain to get through. It didn't help that it had to follow the instant classic Jr title match, but I thought it would at least be better then what it was. There was relentless stalling, too much interference from 2000X members, the in ring action was decent at best and there was absolutely nothing memorable about it. Overall a very disappointing match that didn't live up to the expectations of the fans."
[7.0] "Man no one hates NOAH more than NOAH fans. This match was fine. Had some really good moments but wasn't a start to finish banger match. I don't really care about the booking of NOAH. They put the two guys they want build the future around and it was good. Could've been better but wasn't terrible"
[6.0] "Very overhated. A fine match. If you're complaining about stalling and Team 2000X bullshit, have you ever seen an OZAWA match before? Aggressively fine.3 stars."
[2.0] "One of the least enjoyable matches I've watched in some time. Endless stalling, false selling and a whole lot of nothing happening. This was my first exposure to Ozawa and while I know he's a draw, I got little to say regarding his actual skill because of the structure of the match. Inamura was the standout in this, overall, hugely poor effort."
[2.0] "i needed to rewatch that, because i was not sure about what i saw but this is a shame, a pure one, guys like Misawa Kobashi put they ass on these rings for what?"
[4.0] "Ozawa takes all of the worst 2016 Naito elements but instead of ramping up intensity to build to what is ultimately a great match, he stalls for 15 minutes and then has a mid match for 5 minutes. It doesn't even really make sense from a psychology standpoint either, it's not like his opponent is getting super angry and then making mistakes, which he's then capitalizing on. They are mostly just doing nothing... then they wrestle for 5 minutes, and then the other guy wins anyway."
[6.0] "OZAWA is a great wrestler, but his style and the booking of his match are really boring, and it's sad because things could have turn differently. I just hate T2000X interventions in GHC match."
[6.0] "Kinda can't believe how underwhelming this is compared to OZAWA's truly ascendent performance at last year's Budokan Show. Really nervous about what NOAH's up to. 3 stars"
[0.0] "Once again, NOAH strikes with another DUD. Two in one show. An awful start to the year for them. This match was largely dull and boring for the most part. No dynamic with Ozawa works since the crowd root for Ozawa and there's hardly any reaction to the babyface's offence. You take all the stalling and interferences and nothing about this is good. I absolutely despise Team 2000X and this was an interference galore. Hate it. It being this long, it having nothing good in it, and it having some of the worst modern wrestling troupes that I absolutely hate, i honestly cannot give this more than a 0. i am not someone who rates in extremes. I hardly give out 10s and 0s but when i feel so strongly about something in either side, i just cant help it. Kitamiya is the next challenger and boy im not interested in that either. Just end 2000X please."
[5.0] "The main event was very frustrating. 15 minutes of stalling and interference to set up five minutes of good action leading to an abrupt finish. I think it's worth watching this match next to the Saya Kamitani match from Dream Queendom. Saya gets through all her cocky poses quickly while wrestling aggressively in the context of an action packed match, Ozawa is too talent to just kill 15 minutes on the biggest show of the year."
[5.0] "Not worth a watch, kind of my view of Inamura overall. The goofy American cowboy shtick entrance might be the most entertaining part of this whole match. OZAWA is great, very talented, his gimmick really works but this felt like a paint by numbers version of it to just give it to the crowd. Maybe this looked way worse in comparison to the match before it but big disappointment here."
[6.0] "I was entertained, the interferences were expected and not too jarring with the satisfying moment of Dragon Bane getting some revenge on his brother and Team 2000X. I will say, I felt that this only barely got started after we were done with all of the interferences and OZAWA-ism's. The match was starting to get going and then bang, it's over. Not a bad match at all, I just felt that this didn't kick into second gear given its place on the main event of NOAH's biggest card of the year. ***1/4."
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