DOUKI vs. Master Wato

[3.0] "Giga dork Wato with the utterly dreadful HoT was always a recipe for disaster, and sure enough this stunk. The usual nonsense, and unfortunately the babyface we're meant to get behind is frickin mega nerd MASTER WATO. Nah. *1/2"

[6.0] "While it's nothing close to being in the league of their match in November 2024, this was still a fun match. I know a lot of people hate House of Torture matches but I prefer to take every match on its own terms. And when you watch a HoT match, you get Hot shenanigans. SINGLES RECORD :Tied 3-3"

[4.0] "It was all going too well. Wato has finally reached a point where he is definitely the next Junior Ace but they just will not pull that trigger on him. This was beyond frustrating to watch as I thought the match was pretty good before the last 3 minutes. But hoo boy, that finish.... Despite Hontai taking out all of the HoT dickwads SHO JUST CAME BACK ANYWAYS TO LOW BLOW WATO? WHY? You could literally hear the life getting sucked out the crowd when DOUKI gets the win. At least YOH was funny post match? As a mini rant, this was the perfect time to finally crown Wato as Tanahashi was watching him at the Anniversary Show to become the 100th Junior Champion against the guy that attacked him on his return from excursion in his 10th anniversary with New Japan and HE LOSES? Can only pray Wato is winning BOSJ 33 to dethrone DOUKI as he is the man to do so but its really feeling like he will never win the big one. Good match until House of Torture ruined it whats new? (**)."

[7.0] "I liked this match very much, Master Wato deserves that push because he's great and on point in the ring. DOUKI has been great in this match, I missed him and the House Of Torture bullsh*t weren't that pointless in the match. I wasn't pissed so I can say this match was cool with good sequences."

[3.0] "The in-ring action was insanely good and in a better world this would have been a 5-star match. Unfortunately it is ruined by constant interferences by House of Torture that are so obvious and repetitive I was able to see when they were about to happen again..."

[3.0] "The reliance on tactics for Douki that we've seen a million times really ruined this match. The main event of the anniversary show is definitely supposed to be better than this. Wato had a decent performance but all the ref spots and shenanigans really took away from a match that wasn't much else. **/5"

[6.0] "We are once again visited by Main Event Master Wato! They try this experiment every other year with the guy and the end result is always an okay-at-best match. Apparently the Japanese are not familiar with the popular definition of insanity. I get that Tanahashi digs the kid but he just is not IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship material. Neither is DOUKI, come to think of it. This match is exactly what you think it's going to be. It was okay. Nothing more, nothing less."

[7.0] "Eh, I thought DOUKI vs Master Wato turned out to be a good wrestling match for the most part in spite of the House of Torture interference/shenanigans (which I personally believe wasn't even that excessive). I give this main event a 7 out of 10."

[8.0] "Much prefer Douki in this paranoid heel role. Given his size, he just didn't quite make sense to me as this heroic, world beating champion he was previously cast as. Crowd bit on a few of the near falls for Wato. Although I was sad to see him fall short, I think the match brings him back to the fore of the junior division, and sets him up for a really good run in bosj hopefully. The way to the grandmaster is a long and winding one."

[5.0] "I don't think it's that bad, besides the HoT interferences, it was an entertaining match to watch where both of them delivered. That last interference really pissed me off though, but i was still somewhat entertained by the inring presence of the two wrestlers, which makes me not wanting to give this a 0/10. If i was Master Wato i'd just retire though at this point lol bro's never gonna win the jr title. Also i can sense a Shun Skywalker wannabe gimmick on Douki and idk how to feel about it."

[4.0] "I truly don't think this is as bad as people are making it out to be, but that's not to say this was good. But, if you can look past all the of HOT shenanigans then underneath that layer there is some good wrestling and moments here"

[8.0] "This is what I want from DOUKI heel matches, some great lucha and fun bs. I wasn't sure if Wato can pull it off, but I think their experience working together helped them a lot, those transition moves were god damn slick and action was cool. Third day in a row of HoT beating Hontai, each time more faces come out, hope this storyline continues until Ryogoku. Happy to hear Ota-ku being so hot for Wato, hope bookers heard the fans. ****1/4"

[0.0] "Okay this match pissed me the fuck off. Of course the House of Torture completely ruin what could have been a great match, that was to be expected. But it was the way that Douki was kicking out of everything and looking insanely strong too. Is it not enough that House of Torture have to ruin every single match are in with a parody of heel cheating, they also have to be flat out stronger than the babyfaces too? Wato left this match looking HORRIBLE. I honestly don't think anyone can take him seriously as a title contender again after this. This was just absolutely baffling on all levels. Were there spots where the match shined? Sure it wasn't all bad. But the indefensible decision making on the part of Gedo just made this match infuriating. Oh and there were two fucking ref bumps, lmao. Tanahashi is sitting ringside like "Are we fucking serious with this shit? ". If all of this isn't building to HoT getting their shit kicked in by someone SOON and fucking off forever, I think there should be serious talks about replacing Gedo as booker."

[2.0] "Another in the line of god awful HoT matches that have plagued this promotion since the NBG in Osaka. Wato should have won the title off of Hiromu when he won BOSJ in 2023, instead here we are 3 years later, he still hasn't won the belt, and he's still treated as a total geek by the booking. Douki is a great wrestler who is now unwatchable due to all the HoT nonsense ruining his matches, he never should have turned heel after his return from injury and should be one of the cornerstones of the jrs alongside Fujita, Akira, Eagles. On top of the awful booking, this was just an awful, soulless match, not quite as bad as Fale/Wolf but far closer than it should ever have been with 2 good wrestlers facing off."

[3.0] "Oh my sweet baby Jesus just take the fucking title off Douki. Hiromu, Desperado, Douki, Fujita and other's have made this title a fighting championship that you knew was going to be some sweet shit to watch... And now Douki's off doing piss all with it after they should've crowned Wato as the 100th champion on the anniversary show, dethroning his first rival in New Japan. But alas... Douki's probably going to beat YOH and lose the title to the BOSJ winner (hopefully Fujita, Wato or Eagles)."

[3.0] "Wato's not bad but unlike yesterday's HoT main event, he doesn't carry nearly as much interest on offence as someone like Taichi and as a result, this match suffers from being rather bland and uninspired. Of course, all the shenanigans take away from this being able to gain any momentum but I felt like this dragged so much with neither man doing anything I'd regard as remotely interesting in the little time they got to put on their worker boots. Couldn't really get into this as a result. Post-match was fun, though. *3/4."

[3.0] "The usual HOT dogshit, now with the added bonus of the charismaless void that is Wato. Using this to build to a YOH challenge and dragging poor Wolf into this vortex is just the icing on the cake. Incredible that the company that just ran that very fun US show is still recycling this garbage domestically."

[3.0] "[**] More HOT bullshit. Wato does his best to make this a decent match, as he's quite entertaining throughout, but the HOT rub gets him in the end. Aaron wolf helps out by taking out Fale, the worst and most immobile member of House of Torture. DOUKI retains thanks to some more bullshit. The post match is by far the most intresting part, HOT & DOUKI disrespecting Tanahashi, then YOH comes out with EVIL gear and uses EVIL's finisher on SHO and DOUKI."