AMAKUSA vs. Hiromu Takahashi

[8.0] "Amid a largely maligned show, this match stands out as genuinely deserving of the praise it's received. Hiromu delivers one of his strongest singles performances in quite some time, leaning into a far more aggressive and nasty edge than usual. His control segments are especially effective, coming across as vicious and purposeful rather than routine, and giving the match a sharp, mean-spirited tone. Amakusa impresses greatly in his role, blending underdog fire with crisp, confident offense during his comeback stretches. The chemistry between the two is strong, and the second half is packed with dramatic nearfalls that keep the outcome uncertain, even if the volume of them slightly tests patience. The finishing sequence is excellent, capped by a gorgeous corkscrew press that feels earned and decisive. While not flawless, this was exciting, intense, and emotionally engaging; comfortably the first truly great match of 2026 so far. ***3/4"

[7.0] "My first match of 2026; here we go again! A great contest, thoroughly deserving of the recognition it's getting relative to the rest of the card. Perhaps partially due to a lack of personal investment in NOAH, I struggled to get into this with the 'finishing stretch' feeling like it lasted a lifetime without many significant moments. 'Is this the move that ends it? No. Is this? No.' over and over again without an exclamation point can only go on so long, and this was an instance where my enjoyment peaked and left me in a state of 'okay, we get it now'. Don't get me wrong, this was a really strong contest all-in-all with some strong history behind it, but here I justify why I give this a seven as opposed to any higher."

[7.0] "My first match of 2026, and it was a good one, but it seems that other people enjoyed it more than me; I mean, I liked it, it was good; just not great. Hiromu had a good performance there, but AMAKUSA was better in this one. (***3/4)."

[10.0] "The first great match of 2026. Hiromu Takahashi gave his all in this one, and made NOAH's AMAKUSA look like an absolute star in the process. A great end to a shockingly good GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship run from Hiromu, and by far the best match on the show. Just fast paced thrilling action from start to end, NOAH needs more of this energy in 2026."

[8.0] "Fantastic match on an awful show, AMAKUSA with a great face performance opposite Hiromu working well on top as the heel invader champion. I'd give it four and a quarter stars."

[8.0] "A truly great match, one of the best matches I've seen Hiromu have in years against a truly game opponent in AMAKUSA who's long been NOAH's best Jr. I really hope this is the start of an enormous year for both men. 4.25 stars"

[8.0] "Fantastic match, one of the best I've seen Hiromu have in a long time. Amakusa was no slouch either. The juniors division in NOAH really is underrated, booking aside."

[9.0] "On the very first day of the year, AMAKUSA and Hiromu gave us a match that will surely feature on the list of 'hidden gems of the year that don't get enough attention' at the end of the year. A crazy good match in the vein of the great battles of the 2000s for this title, it was the best possible tribute to all the big names who have worn this belt throughout its history. This is the first match of 2026 that I have seen, and I couldn't have asked for anything better."

[8.0] "These two had the crowd eating out of their palms. The first 10 minutes saw Hiromu comfortably in control and one step ahead of the challenger, so when AMAKUSA's time to shine came, Budokan went ballistic. From there this was electric and unpredictable ****"

[9.0] "Fast paced Jr match with a very hot crowd behind Amakusa while hiromu played the outsider role and controlled a large portion of the match with a great face performance by amakusa"

[8.0] "Seen a lot of negativity around this show but this match is seemingly getting a lot of high praise and after watching it i think it's well deserved. Loved Hiromu in this, probably my favourite singles performance from him in a good while. He was a lot more aggressive than im used to him being and his control work was super vicious and mean looking. Amakusa was also pretty fantastic here. This is the first ive seen of him and he played his role as the underdog quite well and he showed off a lot of really crisp looking offence during his comebacks. There's some great nearfalls in the second half of this as well as a pretty sick finish which sees Amakusa get the win with a beautiful corkscrew press thing. I do think there are a few too many nearfalls in the back half of this but for the most part this was very good stuff and the first great match of 2026 in my book. ****"

[10.0] "An amazingly story told and action packed Junior title match that might just be a MOTY contender. Hiromu looked like the dominant gatekeeper that he used to be and he beat the fuck out of Amakusa in the opening moments, until Amakusa fought back. That's when shit hit the fan and it turned into a highly contested back and forth slugfest, with both men giving it their all to win the GHC Jr title, but ultimately Amakusa finally got the win."

[7.0] "Very needed to pick up the show. It's not my type of wrestling, it's more just move after move and kickouts. If you like that sort of stuff that's great, here it approach johnny gargano nxt black and gold levels. But it got over with the crowd which is what matters. Surprised Hiromu lost."

[9.0] "This started off very fast pace and stiff. Those stiff chops from both men were just brutal. Hiromu was just stiff with his chops, just not holding back with them. I've seen only one Hiromu match, but not a single Amakusa match, so I didn't have any exceptions with this. Thankfully I did, because this was a pleasant surprised. I really enjoyed this match, it went at a decent pace were it wasn't too fast or too slow. Amakusa had a great showing here, and Hiromu had some fighting champion spirit here as well. Both wouldn't stay down. That slicer from the top rope was incredible."

[10.0] "Heading into this I wanted Hiromu to retain solely because I was hoping he'd put over someone new like Junta Miyawaki, Daiki Odashima, or even a returning Owadasan. I liked AMAKUSA and thought he was fine. Never loved him but never hated him either. I enjoyed the match these two had back at Keiji Muto's retirement show and expected something similar but I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't the case. These two went all out and AMAKUSA looked like an absolute star here. His new look--only slightly different with tweaks here and there to his gear and hair--made such an improvement on his presentation. I went from hoping Hiromu retained to wanting AMAKUSA to solidify this performance with the title win. The nearfalls were incredible and I legit wasn't sure what the finish would be. This was one of my favorite matches in recent memory and it's such a great one to start the new year. Both these guys deserve praise for this match because they went above and beyond in being the highlight and elevating an otherwise mid event."

[10.0] "My MOTN this match was very special, AMAKUSA lost to Hiromu Takahashi in 2023 for the Muto Final show, since then Hiromu took the GHC Junior Belt from NOAH and this become very personal to AMAKUSA. This was was very well done, and very poetic, i LOVED IT."

[9.0] "A great start to 2026. The seventeen minute runtime here felt maybe half that because the work was so good and compelling. The match was Hiromu at his absolute best in terms of effort and structure and AMAKUSA getting a big win on this stage is huge. That leg capture suplex he countered the super kick with was beautiful. I rewinded to watch it again. All of the kickouts and battles on the turnbuckles were earned spots. The twin splashes AMAKUSA hit were picture perfect including the finish. Great match."

[8.0] "This was amazing. The first banger of the year. Hiromu Takahashi as the arrogant outsider bully was incredible to watch. Amakusa was amazing. I haven't seen too much Amakusa to have a concrete opinion or pre-conceived notions about him but good god, he was amazing in this. Jr Heavyweight wrestling rocks and I'm glad these two got to ball out like this. Incredible effort by these two and by far the best match of the year so far (well the year just started but still)"

[10.0] "This match is without a doubt a Match of the Year contender. I loved every second of it and it constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. Knowing how invincible Hiromu is portrayed in the Jr. Heavyweight division on NOAH's platform, it was unbelievable to see AMAKUSA kick out of move after move that felt like it should have ended the match. Even after multiple Tickling Time Bombs, AMAKUSA still refused to stay down.It's hard to put into words just how absurdly good this match was, especially as a way to start the new year. What an incredible New Year's gift for NOAH. I would absolutely recommend this match to friends, peers, and anyone looking to get into wrestling. A truly unbelievable performance."

[10.0] "I loved this match, I was going to go 9 becuase it didn't have that kind of epic lenght, but then I thought about how dynamic the action was, how great the nearfalls where and how this really felt like the top Jrs from the top top mens promotions clashing to decided the top Jr and I went 10. Hiromu was superb with his nearfalls, both when going for the pin and kicking out, he's so good at disguising whether it's the finish or not. They were a perfect blend, Amakusa has all the athletcism that Hiromu lacks, while Hiromu is just a wizard at match structure and storytelling. Excellent."

[10.0] "A must watch. Real edge of your seat match hoping Amakusa would pull out the win. Hiromu really played up his size and it plays into a really wonderful match. Really hope this match is something that gets people to watch more of AMAKUSA, he's been a great junior for NOAH and played the defeating an outsider role really well."

[9.0] "This was a really brilliant clash, easily the match of the night and one of the better bouts NOAH has put on in the last year or so. AMAKUSA and Hiromu just went to war and AMAKUSA managed to reclaim the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title for NOAH. A must watch from the NOAH New Year show, and a MOTYC on the first day of 2026."

[10.0] "Fuck. Me. Hiromu well and truly turned the clock back here. This was astonishingly good. This had an awesome start with Hiromu beating the shit out of AMAKUSA on the outside and that seemed to be the theme of the match. Hiromu threw everything at AMAKUSA who just refused to give in. Wow. Emotional, technically fantastic, paced brilliantly and this ended in under eighteen minutes - before it could overstay its welcome. Un-fucking-believable. The first day of 2026, one of the first matches of the year and there may not be a match that beats this all year. *****."

[10.0] "Lord where do I even start. To have the experience to watch Hiromu do this kind of match once again was absolutely unreal. AMAKUSA was on an absolute tear. Just dying on every possible move. Hiromu was beating the shit out of him. He's been such a good asshole outsider in NOAH. About as impactful of a match you will find anywhere on any card in 2026 and it's because if this didn't exist then this show would've been one of the worst ever."