[8.0] "I wasn't sure how this match would be considering their previous matches together, but this exceeded my expectations. The first 5 minutes focus on Taichi attacking Cobb's leg with kicks, stomps, and a few submissions. It's alright but things pick up once Cobb makes his comeback and they begin throwing bombs. Taichi has improved so much as a wrestler. His offense even in smaller matches is fantastic and delivered with great technique. Cobb hitting his strong offense such as those suplexes and forearms was awesome too. Very intense match once it got going. ****"
[7.0] "Certainly better than I was anticipating! The crowd really started to get into it as it developed. Great athleticism from Cobb and some good clandestine heel work from Taichi. The final few minutes of this were excellent."
[6.0] "Taichi hat das Match durch sein Charisma ganz alleine getragen, während Cobb (wie eigentlich immer als Face) komplett ohne Elan sein gewöhnliches Programm abspult. Dank Taichi hatte ich aber trotzdem einigermaßen Spaß beim Zugucken."
[7.0] "Taichi can be good when he puts on just a little bit more effort and that was the case in this match. Cobb also had an equally good showing like Taichi and he gave a really good performance on his return. Some great exchanges and some really good counters and I liked the ending sequence. It was a really hard hitting, intense and physical match. ***3/4"
[5.0] "So oft wie Taichi auf den Deckel bekommt, so zeigt er hier, wie sein Charisma & Co so ein Match prägen kann. Hätte Cobb dies, wäre das sicherlich eine interessante Paarung, aber so spult Cobb sein Programm ohne Esprit ab, während Taichi sein Gimmick mit Leben füllt und das mal wieder als Gesamtpaket. Das geht Cobb leider ab und so wird es zu keinem Zeitpunkt richtig rund, aber sicherlich okay in Summe."
[7.0] "Way better than it had any right to be. Jeff Cobb showed up to work, probably to make up for his lackluster showing last year. Taichi is brilliant. Him becoming a heavyweight saves him from total mediocrity. They had a good match at Dontaku last year, and their G1 Match was among my least favorites of that entire tournament. So the quality with them is a mixed bag. But this more than delivered. A solid 3. 25 Star Match, but then they start throwing bombs, and man! I loved this. Rating: ***. 75 (3. 75 Stars)"
[7.0] "The beginning part was ok. Taichi's using of hammer and attacking on Cobb's leg is good. Then the hardness of Jeff Cobb was shown. Finally with the excellent kicking of Taichi, the match came to a perfect ending. (***1/2)"
[7.0] "Fand ich super. Anfangs kurz Shenanigans und dann geht es relativ schnell zur Sache. Keine Längen, beide on fire und beide sehen richtig gut aus. Cobb mit seinen Power Moves, die guten Impact haben und Taichi mit seinen Kicks und dem Back Suplex, die wieder klasse aussehen. Gerne mehr davon."
[5.0] "My issue with this was pacing - Until the finishing few minutes, Taichi wrestled like it was the third match of the card. Cobb's not really established as a face or someone in NJPW I should root for, and thus, I was bored during long passages t/out this 13 minute match that felt 17-18. I rated this 2 3/4 - 3 *'s, but because I find the current rating 6. 82 too-high by a full-point, my rating on cagematch is a"
[7.0] "I was admittedly worried about how this match would go. Both Cobb and Taichi are capable of 4-star matches. Both also had subpar G1s last year, and Cobb really disappointed after his great opening match with Ishii. This match was slow in the first half and forgettable. The second half, however, was really good. Put it all together and you have yourself a quality ***1/2 match."
[7.0] "Although it did have a slow start this built nicely into an enjoyable match with Taichi in particular looking excellent, not to take anything away from Cobb who played his part well."
[7.0] "Am Anfang war das Match noch nicht so ereignisreich und das Bodypartwork war da, hätte jedoch noch etwas konsequenter betrieben werden können. Hinten raus war die Steigerung in Sachen Intensität, Ereignisdichte und Härte aber deutlich spürbar, sodass es in meinen Augen auch ein mehr als anständiges Match war, welches 7 Punkte verdient."
[6.0] "Für beide ein solider Start ins Turnier. Cobb war ja beim letzten mal eher enttäuschend, legt aber hier eine solide Performance hin, genau wie Taichi. Richtig schön hard-hitting an einigen Stellen, die üblichen Taichi-Faxen und ein starkes Ende(***1/4)."
[6.0] "? Taichi starts with his usual shtick but beats Cobb in the end clean. This was quite good for what it was - nice back and forth.. some nice spots thrown in.. ***"
[4.0] "Another Taichi match with a boring, dragged out start. The finish was at least a little better than usual though. Jeff Cobb did a pretty solid job selling here. Not much to say about this one, it was a match."
[5.0] "Like Ospreay vs Yujiro, this is another standard G1 Climax match with nothing special to see, but this one was a little bit more solid. Taichi kept focusing on Cobb's leg, making hard to the letter to hit his Suplexes. Also, Taichi's Gamengiri and Dangerous Backdrop were really looking very magnific here. ***"
[6.0] "Taichi's shenanigans sind mal wieder ein ordentlicher downer für mich. Für meinen geschmack könnten New Japans referees mal ne ordentliche portion autorität und respekt vertragen. mir fällt es schwer sie ernst zu nehmen."
[8.0] "Very good match between Cobb and Taichi. very pleasant match with Taichi attacking Cobb's leg, both will have great exchanges during this match. Clean victory for Taichi without cheating, note that neither Miho Abe nor Kanemaru was in Taichi's corner."
[5.0] "Maybe the second most unappealing match of the whole G1 on paper but it came out better than expected. Taichi's game plan was to attack Cobb's left knee with kicks and stomps. He even threw in a nice little submission here and there. Cobb's selling was good in return as he couldn't fully pull off his deadlift suplexes without some extra struggle. It was in theory but it was fairly uncompelling. Cobb then began throwing some defensive forearms and the match improved from there. Taichi has really stepped up his second gear offence and that allowed for a really exciting match where Taichi was throwing his King Road Influenced offence such as the Dangerous Backdrop and the Gamengiri. Cobb hit some of his impressive suplexes which popped the crowd. So we got a pretty fun match overall. **3/4"
[8.0] "I didn't expect much from this match, as their previous clashes were mediocre. But in the end, this match surprised me a lot. Jeff is gradually adapting to Puro. Taichi worked cleanly for most of the match, only occasionally resorting to work on Cobb's leg. The match lasted only 13 minutes and was very intense. Cobb was good at selling damage from Taichi's signature moves. Rating: **** (4, 0)"
[7.0] "Good match. Heel Taichi targeted Cobb's leg early to eliminate his base but Cobb fought back and this turned into a slug fest. Had some slow moments but overall, good. ***1/2"
[7.0] "With my dislike of Taichi and Cobb's rather weak G1 last year, this definitely exceeded expectations. Not a great match but surprisingly entertaining."
[6.0] "Fairly standard Jeff Cobb match, as good as its position on the card. Taichi is improving year on year, but it'll probably be another middling performance in this year's G1 Climax. This was fine, both will probably fare better as the tournament goes on."