[2.0] "Ospreay's constant need to get all his offence in and make no one else look good took away from the potentially compelling story here. Seeing him utilise strategy to get past the stronger tougher Ishii would lean into Ospreay's strengths, which are built around selling and comebacks, instead Ishii barely got a foot in as Ospreay mugged and hit him with weak strikes and big moves until the win. This could have been a match similar to the Lance Archer NJ Cup one from 2019 and been another in Ishii's endless catalogue of G1 classics, instead it's the worst match he's ever had in the tournament and it's all due to the narcissism of the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion."
[6.0] "Ospreay's atrocious performances during the 2020 COVID era in Japan has to be one of the strangest regressions I've ever seen for a wrestler in my 13 or so years of watching wrestling. He is absolutely hellbent on countering every move to get ALL of his shit in and refuses to sell anything long-term. There was a potentially good story to tell here between two former stablemates but you wouldn't know it because Ospreay was so self-indulgent. It felt like Ishii barely got a foot in the door after the opening period of this match. Ospreay would cram in all of his signature spots. The powerbomb, the spanish fly and a million counters to Ishii's brainbuster. He has to hit more superkicks, a poisonrana, a stunner and weak strikes one after another as Ishii kept trying for his finisher. It was a total moves exhibition that felt unnatural because Ospreay forced 30 minutes worth of moves in half the time. Hell, Ospreay's double underhook piledriver looked amazing but that couldn't be the finish. Nope, Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker because he has to shove them in too. ***"
[8.0] "A match that I truly wish could have been in front of a vocal crowd. Tomohiro Ishii and Will Ospreay packed a dense story into an 18-minute period that they made feel like 10. I mean that in a positive manner. The wrestling itself was fantastic, with Ishii going step-for-step with one of the most incredible athletes the industry has ever seen. Counter after counter, Ishii showed why Kevin Kelly so often praises his elite footwork. Throw in the absurd level of stiffness from both competitors and the finishing sequence that stands out among the best of 2020, and you have yourself yet another great G1 match from Ishii and a massive boost to the star power for Ospreay. What takes this match from a great wrestling match to the next level is the story at play. Ospreay was still in CHAOS at this point, not stabbing his stablemates in the back and forming United Empire until the end of the tournament. It was clear as day in this match, however, that Ospreay had no respect for his partners in the faction. Rocky Romero provided a great touch on commentary by talking about how Ospreay had a history of disrespecting Ishii outside of the ring. That translated directly into the match as Ospreay continued to make one question his allegiance as he cursed out Ishii while repeatedly slapping him in the face and making light of the fact that this was meant to be a respectful encounter. Ishii, of course, met him with the barrage of offense that has put many before Ospreay in their place. The dynamic of this match reaches new heights, however, as questions begin to linger. Nothing is quite as intriguing as the possibility that Ospreay truly has outgrown CHAOS and reached a level that puts him in a league of his own. Love or hate Ospreay, that combination of power and athleticism had only been displayed by the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and AJ Styles in recent years. All of whom had either won the World Title or conquered the G1. Ishii played the perfect foil to Ospreay as he reminded the arrogant star of what it means to be a CHAOS member. Ospreay, however, showed the depths to which he was willing to sink to defeat his opponent. And thus, the cracks grew even larger in the CHAOS armor. This is a match that is 4 stars or better without context, but reaches an even higher level with it. I also encourage viewers to do their best to imagine the crowd being as lively as it would have been. Especially considering they managed to make the fans break the no audible noise rule. All in all, a match that is crucial to the career of Will Ospreay and perhaps would rate even higher had the live crowd been able to express themselves vocally. 4.25 stars, 8.5 out of 10."
[7.0] "This felt very uneventful and a chore to watch before they went outside for the first time. Pretty ironic since I hate the spot but it worked here. There were alot of little things that people would nitpick like Ospreay completely no-selling the first ishii headbutt or that Piledriver not ending the match. Although I didn't mind them since I know what I'm getting going into a Will Ospreay match."
[9.0] "Phenomenal clash of styles between Ospreay and Ishii in what was a first ever meeting that completely delivered to the hype if you ask me because I think a lot of people had high expectations for this one and it seems that most of them enjoyed it even though obviously it can't please everyone, I'm in the side of the guys who enjoyed it a lot. As I said it was a real clash of styles and you clearly can't get more opposite than these two wrestlers, on one side you have the rough side of Ishii and on the other the speed of Ospreay, despite that they managed to connect perfectly and really surprised me. Because even though I was expecting a lot from this match I didn't know if it was going to work on me, in the end it did and it was even better than I had imagined. Awesome stuff with lots of great sequences, solid spots and a catchy rhythm."
[6.0] "The first-time meeting wasn't great as expected. To be honest, Ospreay worked better if he was an underdog. When he worked on top and got more offence, he got boring quickly. I didn't invest in the match much as he worked on top. Ishii was generally solid. However, I feel like the match was more of a moves exhibition with a lot of 50/50 exchanged moves, which I have seen a lot of before. There were no clear storytelling in this match instead they just went out and doing moves. Disappointing."
[8.0] "Best Ospreay match of this years' G1 Climax, Ishii puts him over incredibly well, the spots were really good and really logical when they were executed. Great selling from both wrestlers, and even if it wasn't the best match of the show, that match was very good ! ****"
[5.0] "This was average. Ishii is a spectacular performer and Ospreay is solid, but both were out of sync and while a lot happened nothing meant anything. Ospreay tried to work an Ishii match and it just came off as phony, before moving into normal 2020 Ospreay territory of getting his shit in. If they worked Ospreay being out of his mind to strike with Ishii into the story and had Ospreay play an underdog babyface I might have loved this. But no. Ospreay had to get his shit in. 2020 Ospreay is only about getting his shit in. Better than I remembered. But still no where near what the rating here would suggest. Ishii gives an unreal one man performance in one of the best carry jobs in recent memory for me. But even Ishii had a hard time carrying Ospreay. Rating: ***"
[9.0] "Really great war between Ishii and Ospreay. Really enjoyed how they worked together, even though Ishii loses a lot of matches he always brings out the best in his opponents like he did with Ospreay here. ****1/2"
[8.0] "Very interesting match. It was pretty good, but not the MOTY contender that many hoped. Ospreay's lack of selling was indefensible. I'll give it a ***3/4 but I can't give it more than that."
[3.0] "This match was like the definition of nothingness: a lot happened but it didn't felt like it meant anything. Ishii's best matches tend to be short and relatively simple: this went longer and because of Ospreay's need to get all of his signature stuff in every match no matter whether its needed or not it didn't flow or really click. The crowd not being the best on this show even by the standards of COVID-era crowds didn't exactly help them."
[0.0] "This was absolutely unbearable, it ruined my mood for a long bit. Ospreay is just unexcusable at this point, he didn't even bother to sell for Ishii for longer than like 5 seconds, didn't give Ishii anything, and forced him to work one of his show-offy matches that only benefit him and bury his opponents as a result. There was a right way to tell a story in this match and this wasn't it."
[8.0] "A very good clash of styles match that never really got into second gear for me. I still really enjoyed it, but it never got to MOTYC. I don? t really know how to feel about Ospreay after everything that? s happened, but I do really enjoy him as a wrestler. Him and Ishii have very good chemistry so I hope they can put on an even better bout once all this COVID bullshit has passed. ****"
[8.0] "Massive disappointment imo. There was a lot of good stuff and some holy shit moments - that stormbreaker piledriver was wince-inducing - but the strong style stuff didn't interest me at all, because I didn't think Ospreay was particularly good during those moments. There were also a lot of moments where the action dragged. Still a good match though. (***3/4)"
[8.0] "A fast sprint match. Very physical and very hard hitting. Tremendous amount of exchanges and nearfalls and a really well executed bout between two of the best in the business. On a bad note though The crowd was a bit cold and the match felt a bit underwhelming. They were aiming for a roaring crowd with this kind of high intensity match but it just wasn't the match for the pandemic era. There were a lot of brutal moments especially that storm breaker piledriver. Ospreay picks up the win and looks to become the first British G1 Winner. The commentary was great here. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Super fun match the styles clashed super well with Ishii just wrecking ospreay and ospreay having to throw everything he had at ishii in order to pull out the win. The pedigree driver thing ospreay hit was one of the coolest moves I? ve seen recently."
[10.0] "The only problem with this match is that I am well aware of Ospreay's attitude towards Ishii, and I find it hard to believe that will would appear to him as such an impudent bastard. I understand why he needs such changes and I understand that this is relevant in connection with the recent scandal, but he could show respect for Tomohiro and the costs of his character. As for everything else, it's a fantastic match. I have been waiting for them to meet in the same ring for a long time and they didn't disappoint me at all. I again, for the first time since February, experienced the pleasure of the Stone Pitbull match and this is a worthy reward for a long wait. The final sequence was a kill, that's what it should have ended up being and I'm glad that in order for Ospreay to win, he went to extreme measures. Convincing, hard, angry. I love CHAOS vs. CHAOS matches. My favorite NJPW match in 2020, not counting Wrestle Kingdom (****3/4)."
[4.0] "A match is absolutely nothing. Receptions for receptions and nothing more. the constant dodges and reversals of the finishers killed the pace of the match. I got the feeling that the essence of the match is to perform as many techniques as possible for Ospreay. A very bad spotfest with zero semantic load."
[7.0] "A match with well-executed moves but no story or anything to really get invested in. Way too dominant performance from Ospreay; kind of made Ishii look bad."
[7.0] "Ospreay's offense frequently looked piss-weak, and the extra bulk has seemingly just made his acrobatics slower; he's still pretty decent, but I'm not as sold on this new and supposedly improved Ospreay as most people seem to be. Ishii was Ishii, though, so it was still an entertaining match."
[8.0] "The match seemed like it was worked to create an audience frenzy but the non-verbal pandemic era crowd didn't seem to take to it as well as I expected. Ospreay was allowed to shine here and it felt like Ishii doing the honors to make the young guy look good. Fun match but it under delivered on my unreasonably high expectations."
[7.0] "This was my most anticipated match of the entire tournament. Ospreay vs. Ishii was something I wanted to see for a long time and their first singles encounter was a really solid bout but unfortunately, it wasn't on the level that I had hoped it to be. Loved the counters, the incredibly harrowing Stormbreaker piledriver thing, but the first half was just to slow."
[10.0] "I mean you'd expect this match to be great and it absolutely delivered. Hosspreay is now another level of great wrestler. Kept much of the quickness but the extra power and intensity in the strikes is great. Him and Ishii gelled so well with some ridiculous sequences and an awesome finishing stretch. Would've been epic with a roaring crowd, but this overcame that and still delivered a top level MOTYC ****3/4"
[7.0] "CHAOS vs CHAOS! Aside from the occasional cuteness from Ospreay, this went along sweetly. Ishii was willing to lay in his strikes more and even showed some arrogance when trash-talking in the corner. Ospreay had some cool counters like his Marufuji Spring Basement Dropkick and the backflip counter into the powerbomb. The match didn't exactly peak as expected but the match ended on a high note with Ospreay pulling out a nasty double underhook piledriver before using the Stormbreaker. Great ending. ***1/2"
[9.0] "God, I don't know what to say, I simply really love this match and think that the hype was worthy. This was a very very good hard-hitting match with amazing and magnific spots + a great pace. I hope these two confront each other again in the future, because they have a excellent chemistry. ****1/2"
[8.0] "Excellent match between this two. It's not surprising to see ospreay and Ishii put in a great match but i'm little disapointed that this match didn't reach 23 minute or something like that."
[9.0] "This was more of an Ospreay match than an Iishi style of match but it was still a great match however. Iishii took some bumps that I would not have expected him to do such as being a base for Ospreay's high flying. It did not seem like the crowd was into the hard hitting action like they usually are so they decided to switch it up a bit which was good. ****1/4"
[9.0] "This match was great, Tomohiro Ishii in top fashion, such a great worker, can have great matches with anyone. Ospreay adapted very well his style to Ishii. What more can you say about this match? And what a night for NJPW. 4. 5stars."
[9.0] "This was their first one on one, and what a match that was. Ospreay looks like a heavyweight now. They could have done a lot more, but this match was still great"
[10.0] "sometimes we really need matches like this fast, hard hitting and fun there was not many storytelling or anything else just 18 minutes of fun and enjoyable moments"
[10.0] "One of those matches where you can't look away from the action, it didn't have much psychology but the fast hard hitting action displayed here was incredible."
[8.0] "Didn't quite reach the level that I was anticipating, but I can't say that I was disappointed. You could tell that these two have wanted to work a singles match together for a while, and I feel like they held a lot back for a later match with a less restricted crowd. Still, a strong recommendation. This was great. ****¼"
[9.0] "From one first time inner-stable match-up to another... and this one also didn't disappoint. This new super cocky borderline heel Ospreay is really good, and Ishii was the perfect foil for him in this match. They traded some heavy shots, got in some good spots and had a good finishing stretch. Is it too soon to ask for a sequel? ****1/2."
[10.0] "My dream competition! In this game, O Spread is fierce, and its size looks bigger than Ishii. The whole game has a moderate rhythm and some explosion points. At the end, o spread's set of actions was particularly fierce, and that Driver scared people to death. Looking forward to their confrontation again, these two people still have something to play out, 4. 75 stars!"
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