[8.0] "This was one of those matches where the energy kept ramping up throughout. A lot of fun with two wrestlers from different generations performing at the highest level. SINGLES RECORD: Konosuke Takeshita 2-1"
[9.0] "The match began with a series of lockups and shoulder tackles, and around the time Konosuke Takeshita slammed Hirooki Goto's head into the corner pad, a fierce striking battle and an exchange of high-difficulty moves kicked off. When Goto unleashed his signature moves midway through the match, TAKESHITA responded in kind with fierce offensive moves reminiscent of his AEW performances, such as a no-touch tope con hilo and a Blue Thunder Bomb. If anything, the match proceeded with TAKESHITA holding the upper hand, and while Goto attempted to turn the tide with a headbutt followed by a chop reminiscent of Edmond Honda (Goto plays Edmond Honda in the live-action *Street Fighter* movie set to hit theaters soon), TAKESHITA countered with a Hadouken and a strike knee (His mentor, Kenny Omega, provided the motion capture for the Hadouken in the "Street Fighter" video games). Against Goto, who had been showcasing Edmond Honda-style moves in recent matches, TAKESHITA was the only one able to deliver a precise counterattack. In the end, TAKESHITA secured the victory with a Raging Fire. It was not only a fantastic match but also reaffirmed that Hirooki Goto and Konosuke Takeshita are professional wrestlers who can compete on the world stage."
[8.0] "What a banger. Simplicity and hard hitting action at its finest. Hirooki Goto and Konosuke Takeshita have had two of my favorite matches of the tournament thus far and so it only makes sense that they have another great match when facing off. Two of the hardest hitting guys in their block going strike for strike, big move for big move and making it look like it could go either way. They threw everything at each other including each other's moves and Goto even pulled an Avalanche Code Red. One of those matches that needs to be seen rather than described"
[9.0] "[4.75 Stars] Lowest I have ever rated a Takeshita/Goto match. Now that's saying something. Much like Takeshita/Tsuji and Tsuji/Goto, this is just one of those matchups that will always do it for me. Brilliant stuff."
[9.0] "A proper main event style match. Hard hitting, fast paced, filled with drama and nearfalls and big moves, absoltuely loved this. The forearms and elbows looked stiff, the big moves were hard hitting, but the real thing that makes is stand out is how natural and real the flow between moves and the transitions looked. Very very well executed match with an outstanding structure. Honestly it wasnt short but it really could have done with an extra few minutes to reach that absolute climax and become something truly special, but as it is, it's still fantastic"
[8.0] "very great paced match, with some hard hitting strikes and sequences. out of the tournament so far this is a great display of the wrestling throughout"
[9.0] "Besides the silly ass Radouken homage for Kenny Omega/Street Fighter, great wrestling match. They pulled the best match they ever had so far during their lives, the pace was great. Well, technically that match exposes the biggest difference between Hirooki Goto facing an good wrestler and facing an bad wrestler. He didn't tried an thing with Jake Lee and GOK, but here, with Takeshita, he took excellent GTR maneuvers, avalanche code red, sold his life on each move. I really like how that match really was constructed."
[8.0] "Real good work from both guys. I don't think the tournament has been as strong for them as I'd have hoped but I think Takeshita just getting started. Real good strong match. (****1/4)"
[6.0] "Goto puts in a mountain of work to give Takeshita his best match of the tournament so far. His selling is consistent and you always feel like he's doing all he can to stay in a match or get the job done. Takeshita on the other hand, he doesn't show anything new. He gets beaten up a bunch but then suddenly; he gets an energy boost, doesn't sell anything, hits a move or two and gets a win. It's formulaic and lame. Fortunately, Goto's good enough to get to the expected finish without this becoming too much of a kickout/finisher fest. ***1/4."
[10.0] "Goto vs. Takeshita was a perfect match for this stage of the G1 and represents the absolute peak of NJPW. These two are without a doubt the brightest stars that NJPW has on their roster currently and this match showed exactly why they carry the star power that they do. WWE wanted to reference Street Fighter but this match actually much better represented the combo-based combat of the video game. This match wasn't that long but it didn't have to be as both dealt considerable damage in a short amount of time. Takeshita is at the top of his game and Goto is still wrestling great late into his career. There hasn't been a NJPW match as exciting or engaging as this match in 2026. These two dealt stiff strikes to each other but Takeshita gets the upper hand taking the elbow pad off for a spinning connection. The back/forth in this match was excellent and the reversals allowed for a lot of different moves to be hit in this shorter match. In the end, they meet with a double headbutt but Takeshita stays up and hits Raging Fire for the win. Rating: *****"
[7.0] "****1/2 A great match; it came close to being a Match of the Year contender but fell just a bit short, ranking below their two previous bouts. The chemistry was magnificent--these two have had three tremendous matches that are underrated and rarely discussed. The build-up was simple yet tremendous; both men know how to work a match and escalate the action effectively. There were great sequences, high intensity, and a great pace. The only things missing were a stronger opening ten minutes or an extra 5-7 minutes of duration to reach an even better climax than the one they delivered. It had a great finish: Takeshita hit the Direct Drive Knee and followed up with the Raging Fire to win the match, taking the trilogy against Goto 2-1."
[7.0] "This was a good main event. Not as good as the Oiwa/Tsuji match before it but still pretty great in its own right. It's a hoss fest as you'd expect from both of these guys but both Goto and Takeshita are great at that style so it's no surprise that this ended up being very good. Glad to see Goto back in his bag after 2 pretty unfortunate matches with GOK and Jake Lee. His performance was great here and im very much looking forward to his match with Oiwa on the next A Block show. ***3/4"
[9.0] "Another spectacular main event in this years G1. It does not try to subvert the expectations you have for it going in. It is just simple, we are going to knock seven bells of shit out of each other and build to a great fucking climax. They just went all go right from the bell and didn't let up until the 3 count. Goto is so good at playing the underdog maybe one of the best of all time and we saw it here again as he fights a much younger opponent so he had to pull out all of the stops. That Avalanche Code Red was a thing of beauty. Takeshita just dominating the match in the best way he always does throwing his biggest strikes throughout the match. The closing stretch where they were using each others moves was just bloody great. Then Takeshita winning with the GTR and a raging fire was great after some great near falls that did have me think Goto might of stolen it. Just a really good old fashioned G1 smash up with no quarters drawn by either man whilst i don't think it is as good as there clash last year that is mainly due to the added stakes of the belt being on the line. But still a great match with two great performances. (****1/2)"
[9.0] "Did I just see Takeshita hit a hadouken on Goto? Goddamn! What an awesome, truly incredible match. The tension in every single move, the drama in the strikes, the sheer power, and that razor-thin margin between victory and defeat, it was all top-tier. The closing stretch was amazing, with Takeshita landing devastating strikes while Goto fought with every ounce of his being just to stay alive. And that final pin: Goto loses, but right at the end you can see him trying to build momentum with his leg to kick out, just running out of time by a split second. It brilliantly proved that he wasn't completely beaten yet. Awesome match from start to finish!"
[6.0] "Goto put in a good shift here but Takeshita just couldn't hold his own. The guy is just so all over the place. There is so little reason behind anything he does. One moment he'll be really hurt the next he'll be filled with energy. Then he'll out of nowheres hit some major spot for no reason. Everything just feels so disconnected with what he does. Goto on the other hand was much better, if not spectacular at least there is some logic behind what is happening when it comes to Goto. He sells consistently, if he is hitting a big spot there is some explanation as to why it is happening. Just sad to see the lesser of the two wrestlers go over here."
[8.0] "Hirooki Goto's fighting spirit was what captivated me about this match. Unc still got it, he's got aura, as the kids would say nowadays. What I didn't like about the match was that there were several unnecessary no-sells. It felt like some of those moves were executed without any real meaning, purpose, or impact behind them. I feel like the match lost its way a little bit in the middle, but the finish was absolutely insane."
[10.0] "OMG, Goto's Code Red off the third rope was absolutely breathtaking. An outstanding match with a relentless pace. This match proved Goto still has that fire in his belly. What a match!"
[8.0] "[4.25] Goto is at his best when he's the clear underdog trying to overcome the odds... which is probably what Gedo was thinking during all those years with Goto never winning a damn thing, but I digress. This match started with steam and didn't really stop until the bell rang, consistently pacey and consistently engaging. I do believe this is the type of match that benefits greatly from a final stretch of Goto nearly getting the win, and the fact that Takeshita is barely selling all these high impact moves. Normally I'm not too bothered with this "no-selling" given the right context, and this was not the right context."
[7.0] "Goto is such a reliable performer whose spirit from underneath comes off as genuinely hard fought. Takeshita's schtick where he sells moves as devastating then magically recovers within 30 seconds is a lot less convincing. This wound up being a solid tit-for-tat trade off that stayed in fourth gear for most of the second half and never quite hit that top level ***1/2"
[9.0] "What a fucking match man. I knew this would be good, but they out-done themselves with this banger. The strikes, sequences, reversals, exchanges, kick-outs, and so much were fantastic. Those forearm strikes both would give were brutal sounding. The chemistry between these two was something else, it was simply incredible. I do wish they got maybe 4 more minutes, but overall, this was a fantastic match between two amazing wrestlers."
[8.0] "Takeshita takes control of Goto, but not in a slow, rest hold way. Rather in a "I'm athletically superior" way. There is slower moments, but they don't take over the match. Goto gets back into it through his wits, baiting Takeshita in. Good action all around."
[6.0] "Goto continues to be one of the greatest underdogs working today. This is very much your typical G1 banger, Takeshita hits a lot of big moves and didn't always have me engaged, but I found myself really rooting for Goto throughout. ***"
[9.0] "Takeshita is the best in the world and Goto ages like a fine wine, so what else do you expect? They went out with everything to prove, and while it feels like the Goto revolution is firmly in the rearview mirror at this point, he works very well as an elder statement, an example of the "late career thank you reign" making him a much more sage presence and makes it even more meaningful when Takeshita conquers him. I honestly expected Takeshita to lose this one, it felt like a perfect time for one of the New Japan icons to get a win over the semi-outsider, but instead Takeshita put him to the limit and beyond in a hard fought war."
[9.0] "It was what you would expect: massive strikes, big bombastic moves back and forth, very hard-hitting action, and a super hot crowd. Terrific main event! ****1/2"
[9.0] "The new MOTT. Yes the Tsuji/Oiwa match was excellent, bur these two topped it imo. Goto is probably the most over guy in the company still and that energy from the crowd just pushed it above the prior match for me. Two absolutely excellent workers putting on a typical hot G1 main event. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Takeshita vs Goto is a match made in heaven for me. Every single match they've had against each other is incredible and I think this might be my favorite out of them all. Tsuji & Oiwa brought an incredible story but these 2 brought that classic back and forth meaty njpw action to the highest degree and delivered a brilliant bout. The tension with each struggle and reversal and clobbering shot not only had me going crazy but the crowd too."
[8.0] "Excellent match. Both men had sustained periods of control in the early period. Later on, the battle became a consistent back and forth between the two before entering a 2nd gear once Goto hit the sunsetflip powerbomb. The final stretch saw several big moves, reversals, nearfalls, and a gnarly headbutt before the decisive raging fire. 4*."
[9.0] "Hot crowd, expertly worked and tense until the very end. Shocked Konosuke won, I imagine he's not seeing any more wins. These two have showed how good they are in their previous 2 bouts in G1 34 and Final Homecoming and this was just as good as those. Two fiery babyfaces unloading every move they have against one another until Takeshita manages the win after a GTR and a Raging Fire. May I kindly ask NJPW that Goto can start winning now? He's dropped 3 in a row but manages to keep the crowd loud and lively no matter what. Excellent main. (****3/4)."
[7.0] "A predictably very good match which just fell a bit short for me considering what it followed, I will say this felt like the weakest and most formulaic of the matches Goto and Takeshita have had together, but it was still a very entertaining watch. Takeshita got the win with a Raging Fire, a really enjoyable main event."
[9.0] "Wonderful main event between Konosuke Takeshita and Hirooki Goto. I always forget that Goto is 47 year old, and has been in G1 Climax for almost 20 years now, it's just crazy. The pace and the in ring action was absolutly beautiful. They both have some nice spots in this match. My only and main complain will be about the winner of the match, I don't think Takeshita needed the win, he already has many points, in the contrary, Goto really needed this win, he's basically already eliminated now, and it's sad."
[10.0] "Perhaps I was just in a really good mood, but this was the best match of the G1 thus far. Incredible selling, pacing, stiffness and some excellent transitions. They got in their near falls without overdoing it and at no point did this feel even remotely bloated. I may not feel this strongly on a rewatch but as of right now this is one of the 8-10 best matches of the year."
[6.0] "Did not care for this one all that much. It was solid - both of these guys are nothing if not solid - but they didn't really have much to offer other than moves, and it became evident very quickly that that's all they were gonna be doing. It's impressive that Goto is capable of keeping pace with someone like TAKESHITA at his age, but other than that I wasn't terribly blown away by anything on display here. I've seen it all before and done better. A bog standard NJPW tumbling routine."
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