Claudio Castagnoli vs. Takeshi Morishima

[8.0] "A highly entertaining power-based contest. Despite Morishima's clear size advantage, Claudio cast himself effectively as the underdog, using his own strength and agility to trade power moves back and forth. Both men look confident and comfortable throughout, and the match builds tension masterfully through multiple nearfalls, including an especially dramatic finish that lands perfectly with the crowd. Morishima ultimately secures the win with a backdrop driver, but the narrative of resilience and near-misses carries the match more than the outcome itself. This is straightforward, exciting, and fun; a showcase of strong-style wrestling executed with clarity and energy. ****"

[8.0] "This is a bombfest, very fun match between strong guys, and despite Morishima having the clear size advantage, and even making Claudio look like the underdog, the swissman is also very tall and can work power matches, and that's what he did here, he went back and forth with Morishima, several times even lifting him up and throwing him, the way he could. Morishima was kicking out of a lot of stuff, and he was kicking out very late, so when THAT insane nearfall happened, I was astonished, but I can't say I was surprised, because those near finishes were the biggest story of the match, and the crowd reaction was amazing. After a lot of action and an electric match, Morishima did the backdrop driver and won the contest, a really good and enjoyable one, easy to watch, both guys were visibly very comfortable here - {***3/4}"

[8.0] "[4.0*] Awesome match. The crowd was hot as hell for Claudio and he had an impressive showing doing power moves on a 300+ pounds guy. The Swing and mostly the Ricola Bomb were insane spots that kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending was very anticlimactic and the crowd went dead, but I get that this is kinda of Morishimas thing. Great match."

[6.0] "The first ten minutes of the match is a mixed bag, Castagnoli goes to town on Morishima and once he loses his momentum Morishima responds with some offence that kind of kills the pace of the match up to that point. But god that nasty dive that Castagnoli made to the outside really saved this match and from there on out the match is great as both of them land blow after blow on each other to try to put each other down."

[8.0] "A good match with a lot of good moments offered by these two excellent wrestlers and the public. (4*)"

[8.0] "[4.25*] I simply loved this match, all of Castagnoli's strength and technique were shown in this match, he managed to do a giant swing on Morishima with ease. The match was stiff and there were great moments at the end, it was exciting and dramatic. Morishima's finishing and final exchanges were excellent."

[9.0] "Great David vs Goliath match. Castagnoli's babyface performance was great here, it looked like a small hero that actually did everything to slay the dragon, even the Sit - Out Ricola Bomb. Instead Morishima spent his time kicking his ass and in the end got the win. A beautyfull example of ROH Castagnoli. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This was absolutely awesome, two of the biggest, best heavy hitters just absolutely clobbering each other in any way they could. Claudio barreling through Morishima with that barricade exploding dive was jaw dropping. Wonderful stuff."

[9.0] "One of Morishima's best title defences. This is a great battle of heavyweights, with Claudio really showing off both his power and athleticism. The suicide dive that separates the barricade is a fantastic moment that really creates a sense of destruction, and I absolutely love the way they build to the Ricola Bomb, with the clever pinning combination Claudio attempts off the set up when he can't get it the first time, and Morishima absolutely flattening him the second time. The nearfall when he finally hits it is tremendous. My only significant criticism is that the finish really felt flat after seeing Claudio take Morishima to the limit. That aside, this is a great match and probably Claudio's best performance in ROH up until this point."

[9.0] "This match was a little bit better than the Claudio Castagnoli vs El Generico match that led to Claudio earning this title shot, so I bumped this up to a 9. Morishima is a great big guy wrestler, who absolutely clobbers Claudio with some nice Lariats. Claudio's strength was on full display here, lifting up Morishima and hitting him with some big moves several times. Some of the most ridiculous near falls I've ever seen were in this match, and the crowd was so pissed off that Claudio didn't get the win. Sometimes it's nice to just see two powerhouses beating the hell out of each other."

[8.0] "A great effort from Claudio in proving that he is main event material. This match was super physical from the start with Claudio throwing stiff strikes and moves at Morishima, who more than held his own in being the bigger bully of the match. This could maybe have been the perfect time to give Claudio the big win as the crowd was super on his side, but unfortunately the dream was put on hold because of Morishima's wrath, ****1/4."

[9.0] "One of Morishima's finest title defenses. This match is quite underrated cause nobody ever mentions it. Claudio made the crowd believe that he could beat Morishima, he tried every move in his arsenal, and every pinfall the crowd thought that he won. Fantastic stuff. ****1/4"

[8.0] "Claudio was SO CLOSE to getting the pin and the crowd bought it and made it that much more entertaining. Morishima continues to roll and Claudio is the best he’s ever been right now."