Kensuke Sasaki vs. Satoshi Kojima

[5.0] "That was a fun okay-ish opener for the show and the tournament, you can't really go wrong with these two but this one really lacked some obvious stuff; like the execution of the moves cuz some of them didn't looked good imo, the ending imo is utterly flawed and came out of nowhere which hurt the match a bit, Sasaki's work felt un-naturalness tbh tho he did a good selling to be honest to his arm but still it felt so incomplete, there's just a lot of things that been missing from this to be a good opener; the two did some fine and some not really utterly completed work, I can't say the Kojima whiffed too, his techniques really showed here and it was fun to watch how Sakai is trying to get out of them, still not a really satisfying bout imo considering the names and the Circumstances of the match/event. **1/4"

[8.0] "Really enjoyable and lengthy hard-hitting match with two bruisers hitting each other with everything they got. I knew it would be good, when Kojima started the match by suicide diving head first into the barrier."

[7.0] "Very good opener with two great wrestlers. After a Suicide Dive (that made him bleed) Kojima targeted Sasaki's right arm the whole match and Sasaki sold it very well, you can see he was struggling to hit his chops and lariats. Kojima looked strong and you can believe to his upset but Sasaki's will to win back his championship was too strong - ***1/2"

[7.0] "This is high-octane from the get-go. Kojima does a tope suicida where his head hits the guardrail and he starts showing some color. Some mat wrestling ensues and it's back and forth with a chop battle finding its way into the mix. Koji smartly works on Sasaki's arm throughout the match so his chops and lariats are ineffective. A great sequence where Koji goes for a head kick, Sasaki counters with a powerbomb, but Koji holds on with an arm breaker. Koji keeps up on the arm. Good finish where Sasaki hits a lariat followed by a brainbuster for the win."

[7.0] "Good opener to the show. Probably most notable for the crazy tope from Kojima right at the beginning, where he eats the guardrail and is immediately cut open. Good high impact moves throughout. Sasaki with the big high energy comeback and the fans lap it up."

[7.0] "Great match. Sasaki is very good in this type of match & Kojima is more dynamic, good combinaison."

[6.0] "Nice fun compact Choshu-style encounter. Kojima and Sasaki rely on impact and momentum, with Cozy being more dynamic and gaining some edge early advantage, but Kensuke then shows his notorious power. *** - ***1/4"