[7.0] "****1/4 Very good match, I think it's on par with their G1 35 match, although slightly inferior. Very good chemistry, they're still working well together, although they're still not approaching the level of their first encounter. Very good sequences, good intensity, good, consistent pace, although they should have increased the pace and intensity more significantly before the time limit. Very good ending, the added time was good and somewhat logical, with Takeshita desperately going for several pinfalls and finally finishing with the Ranging Fire to win the TV title"
[7.0] "This is one of those matches where the first 10 minutes wasn't very good but the last ten minutes make up for it. Takeshita doesn't need this belt especially with the Continental match coming up. ELP was really working well with the belt."
[7.0] "I expected nothing from this match and was pleasantly surprised. Nice in-ring action before the restart, non-stop big move exchange after the restart."
[4.0] "This was predictably self-indulgent and bloated as is typical of these two, especially when they are paired together. The time limit draw and added additional minutes was agonizing. New Japan needs to move on from this pairing. The descent of Takeshita from winning the G1 last year to this is stunning."
[8.0] "The ones close to me always say that I usually underrated ELP, and it is kinda right, the guy don't have an style that I enjoy in a wrestler. However, he looked GREAT here. His struggle to get back into the ring is excellent, his fast pace style always worked very well with Takeshita and he doing an call out in the end to not let that match end in a draw was way smarter. Takeshita looked like someone who really didn't know how to do in the entire match until the last five minutes came, and them the last two minutes came."
[8.0] "I really like the matches between these two. They have a really strong match until it goes to a time limit, but they go another five minutes, and Takeshita gets the win. Really enjoyable match and I don't think these guys can have a bad match against each other. ****.25"
[5.0] "There's something a bit robotic about both Phantasmo and Takeshita, as though they're characters in a wrestling video game from twenty years ago just doing moves. This is especially the case when they're together and I'm not a fan of the pairing, so it's unfortunate that New Japan has gone to that well so often. The flow of this match wasn't helped by an agonizingly long count out spot where the count was repeatedly interrupted, nor by the time limit draw and eventual restart. I guess Takeshita will be taking the TV title to AEW for a while, defeating its purpose as a championship that would be defended regularly on the smaller NJPW shows that Takeshita isn't going to bother showing up for."
[4.0] "ELP & Takeshita simply don't work for me as a pairing. Their matches just feel kinda devoid of any emotion and rely more on well executed spots and the greatness of Takeshita to carry, that coupled with the fatigue I have watching so many matches between these 2 left me feeling incredibly checked out through the whole match."
[7.0] "Another great match between the two. Phantasmo even jumped into the crowd again. The ending was cool because it was a race against death. Phantasmo lost the title, but he clearly looks strong and courageous. I wonder what's next for both of them."
[8.0] "Real nice story of two cocky counter wrestlers - one a scrappy babyface and the other an arrogant jerk - taking too long trying to outdo one another to keep an eye on the clock. ELP's recent runs with the TV title have been a career highlight for him and this feud with TAKESHITA is the best work I've ever seen him put on. TAKESHITA finally wakes up in overtime after ELP almost beats him clean and he just perishes the poor dude. Great stuff."
[7.0] "Lots of great strikes and aerial offence, as we've come to expect from this duo, but a notable lack of intensity and some moments of really poor flow where Takeshita looked to be far more comfortable at a higher tempo. The final 2 minutes of the initial 15 were highly entertaining, both men with a huge kick-out and the ELP Raging Fire being a really fun note to end things on. Ending on a draw was incredibly unsatisfying given the history here, so the restart was a great move in my opinion, however I would have preferred that the belt was taken off the table here; Konosuke doesn't need it by any means, and it defeats the point of the belt's set ruling. In conclusion, this was a very mixed bag but had more good than bad, and was thoroughly enjoyable despite its flaws."
[7.0] "[3.75 Stars] ELP and Takeshita don't have any bad matches, but I don't know, I'm a little tired of seeing them face off. They shocked us at G1 34, so now we expect crazy stuff every time, but it's not flying high."
[5.0] "It's an ELP/Takeshita match, they've all been the same and have been gradually getting worse since the first one. Goes to a draw, then more time gets added and Takeshita wins so that New Japan has a reason to keep using him."
[4.0] "This pairing ran its course a long while ago, so nothing really wowed me here and they didn't offer anything new or different either. The overtime portion was decent as it presented some sort of urgency that the previous 15 minutes lacked, but nothing to write home about. Begging for them to move on and stop having these two face each other"
[5.0] "Takeshita is a great athlete with some bad wrestling instincts that flare up depending on his opposition. This would be one of those instances, did not enjoy this match too much, but it was overall fine. This was the opposite of urgent, very telegraphed and moments of slowly getting into position. Match was saved by the final stretch after the original match."
[0.0] "Yet another absolutely putrid match from this pairing. I do not like a single one these matches in this series. ELP's stupid floaty offence and takeshita giving 50% offence to people half his size selling for things that look like absolute dogshit with them making dumb NXT faces. Plus doing a 5 more minutes angle for a 15 minute time limit belt lol. Shambolic state of affairs."
[8.0] "This was an awesome match, however the draw and the extra 5 minutes should've cancelled out the TV title since they went over 15 minutes. Still very exciting and thrilling that had the crowd on the edge of their seats."
[8.0] "This one was pretty entertaining early on. They start with head locks and various reversals and quickly move on to bigger moves. ELP maintains a lot more control than I expected throughout the match which wasn't what I expected but having only watched him twice, I've been impressed. Pretty good final stretch ending in a draw. ELP however, digs his own grave asking for 5 more minutes which gives us an even better final stretch. 4*"
[8.0] "Sleeper match of the card for me, which feels odd to say about a Takeshita match, but I really wasn't expecting this to work as well as it did. The first 15 minutes, the draw fakeout, then the final stretch all just worked really well imo."
[4.0] "I do not like El Phantasmo. He is a full nonsense bullshit movez wrestler. I like Konosuke Takeshita but I recognize and dislike some of his faults. These two had one awesome match in G1 and then kept spamming it this past year. I am tired of this matchup. This one did not give me anything new. It was the same bullshit El Phantasmo match which also resulted in Takeshita in his bad instincts. Just a groan inducing watch, made more annoying with the time limit draw. Do not run this match ever again. Learn to move on."
[8.0] "I'm rating this match and the restart as a whole. This started off like it was being paced for a 20+ minute match, but it eventually picked up momentum before leading to the time limit draw. After the restart they wrestled like a sprint, great urgency. By the end of it I was really into this."
[8.0] "What kind of match? Oh my god It's a banger as always from these two. Just a buzz, just Nonstop Action. Give ELP a push for a more prestigious title already. He deserves it for a long time. Honestly, the expectations were lower, because we had already seen their matches, and it seemed that there was nothing to surprise, but the guys did well. I love them. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Great match. Everytime these two wrestle, they have great chemistry together. They kept teasing the Blue Thunder Bomb, which has been a recurring thing with these two since that Forbidden Door table spot. The first 15 minutes were fast and furious with a really good final 2. The restart was awesome, because the last time they wrestled was a time limit draw and ELP even referenced the Moxley match which was a poorly-received draw. Crowd was mostly on it's feet and very hot for the restart and the finish. AEW needs to pull the trigger on babyface Takeshita very soon, cause this performance showed it's time."
[8.0] "They were absolutely cooking, had the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands, only to halt the pace and try to recapture the energy with a time limit extension. The idea of ELP wanting to defeat Takeshita in a definitive manner and falling short is fine. Taking so long to restart the match wasn't. Still a very good match, but could have been executed better."
[7.0] "Two of my favorite wrestlers right now, but dare I say I was a bit under on this. They had a super hot crowd which is cool and had crazy sequences, and I know the story that El Phantasmo has gotten away with multiple draws for this IWGP Television Championship, but seeing another draw (before the restart) just seemed unfitting. You either have ELP get his big win or Konosuke outright win. The crowd seemed almost uninterested in the draw, so at least they got their winner in the end. I wonder what ELP does in the coming months now, maybe some sort of Hontai tag run, or at least go up the card. Konosuke being the TV Champ sounds interesting though, give that man a killer run."
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