Keiji Muto vs. Yuji Nagata

[10.0] "This was a masterclass in submission/mat wrestling. The build, psychology and storytelling were all excellent. The last few minutes were pure cinema. Muto (who was actually the reigning AJPW Triple Crown Champ) looked incredible and brought the credibility into this match facing the still unproven Nagata. Lacking a signature win at this point in his career, Nagata's victory here provided just that, and launched him to an incredible career that still controls this day. Loved the finish here too. Nagata hits an exploder followed by Muto's Shining Wizard and both lying motionless on the mat. When Muto stirs and gets up first, he appears to have the advantage only to be caught by Nagata and forced into a Nagata Lock which leads to Muto submitting. Just an excellent match."

[9.0] "BLUE JUSTICE, great story of old ace Vs new up and comer, great great stuff. Fantastic technical work, top shelf final. 4.5*"

[7.0] "Not being a fan of this type of match, which I find rather slow and uninspiring, I still enjoyed the final minutes. I have nothing against ground work and submissions in general, but they need to be useful later in the match, or the transitions need to be impressive, and I didn't always find that to be the case here. This isn't to say the match was bad, of course. In-ring quality: 1.5/4. Stakes: 1.75/2. Justification: 1/1. Place on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 1/1. Bonuses/penalties: none. Total: 7.25/10. Match seen on NJPW World."

[8.0] "First time watching Nagata. I enjoyed the mat work. Arm bars, triangles, guillotine chokes - crowd is eating it up. It's not the most exciting start but these two can make it enjoyable. Muto especially just brings this.... almost frantic energy. Even when he's just moving around the ring it has caged animal feel to it. When he does a dragon screw, it looks like he's trying to pull Nagata's leg off. And I think that's what is so impressive? The pacing never picks up the way you would expect from more modern matches - maybe just the last minute or so. So overall his is a slow match. A slow match that ends on a submission! And it's still a great watch."

[9.0] "Muto is not the best technician, he is not the best striker, and he is not the best powerhouse, but he does bring an undeniable aura to any match he is in. The way he moves and his mannerisms can really entice the audience and lead to a match against such a technically sound guy like Nagata becomes extremely interesting. While the first few minutes are a bit slow, once this picks up it picks up amazingly. The transitions from Nagata are incredible and a lot of this action would feel at home today, almost a quarter of a century later. For the most part this is a submissions based bout, and the limbs of both men are absolutely battered, my only real criticism of the matchup really being that the selling of the limbs throughout is slightly inconsistent. Ultimately Blue Justice blocks a Shining Wizard and transfers Muto into a Nagata Lock for the submission win. A really excellent highlight from the careers of both men and well worth a watch."

[8.0] "It starts mind-numbingly dull and there are moments of slight sloppiness but there is also some fantastic moments and wrestling. The psychology kind of goes out the window for the last 5 minutes which is annoying. But the good moments make this a worth while match and Muto comes across super good here."

[8.0] "Was very good technical match, submisson heavy match between Yuji Nagata & Keiji Mutoh and a worthy G1 Climax final."

[7.0] "NJPW used IWGP champ Muto at G1 '99 to get G-EGG partner Nakanishi over & now it was YN's turn. Something underreported amidst Muto's (sometimes) megalomania was his willingness to truly put his opponents over, ie, Jan '97 & '98 Sasaki, March '12 Akiyama & now it was YN's turn to receive the Muto rub. KM's very calculated in what he does & after this exhausting M Event he kneeled in a corner watching the victor receive his just desserts. As a match, it started-out slow within the first ten as KM was unable to muster any sustained offense against the well-schooled YN. KM tried to vary his attack from the knees to other body parts to little success while YN frustrated Muto. At this point in '01, and to 'boymeetsworld's' comment, YN wasn't as fully confident nor as facially well-versed as he would later become, (I really do believe this victory did wonders for him, ) so the success of this contest came from its length and the quantity of 'bombs' both competitors hit. Easily the longest bout of the tournament, and as the finals rightfully so, YN blocked two-of-three 'Shining Wizard' attempts and kicked-out of the 'Moonsault Press.' At where the, at-the-time, current Triple Crown champ was in '01 this most-definitely made YN stand-out so that after YN's victory, the crowd altered its much-louder 'Muto' chants to one for 'Na-gat-A! ' 3 3 /5 only a 7.2 but the best match of G1 just-in-front-of Kojima/Liger, then Kojima/Nishimura and Muto/Yasuda are essentially tied for third. Due to his performances in the semis & final I have Muto pegged as tourney as MVP though in the qualifying stages Kojima very-much stood-out."

[9.0] "This is a match that's available to watch for free on Archive.org. Go watch it before it's too late. In some ways, it's a bit of a "last dance" for Muto in a NJPW ring, if I recall correctly, it's his last match before jumping to AJPW, and boy it's a good one. This is when Nagata (should have) fully become the guy. He beats the biggest name NJPW has for their old guard, cementing himself as the leader of the Third Generation. It's an excellent pro wrestling match that has the patented excitement from the G1 Climax that can't be matched."

[9.0] "This match fucks. Just on a whim decided to watch this and it was even better than the Tenryu match months prior. Nagata and Muto spend the first half of the match working technical and submissions, then decide to throw bombs and steal one another's shit. When Nagata does his pose while falling back for the Figure 4, I jumped from my bed. ****1/2"

[10.0] "A battle of generations, as the Musketeer goes up against the star of the Third Generation. The established icon against a man looking to take the mantle as the Ace. Everything, from the early chain grappling, to the trade of submissions to the moments where the big spots occurred felt very calculated to have a maximum impact and tell the compelling story of the torch not being passed, but being taken. It's a phenomenal match and a great way to conclude this tournament."

[9.0] "This crowd was HOT! And of course they were. Two of the greatest of all time going all-out in the final of G1 Climax 11. With no hyperbole whatsoever, these two gave a masterclass on how to make every moment count. The chain wrestling was not a form of standard practice to simply get to the next stage of the match, but instead a tense encounter that was about establishing the physical advantage to set the tone for the rest of the bout. The trading of submissions was as much about storytelling as it was finding a target and dissecting it to near perfection. And the big grapples were spaced out so brilliantly that every single one felt like a seismic shift. Through it all, we see the story of Yuji Nagata desperately seeking validation as he pursues the title of Ace for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Keiji Mutoh, already a legend and former G1 Climax winner, sought to prove that he could overcome the injuries to his knees and still thrive as the top star in the company, if not all of Japan. And they told that story in masterful form. I will never not mark out for the way Mutoh so brilliantly worked over the knee of Nagata. Nor will I not freak out every time I see people in the crowd literally jump out of their seat in excitement for either man. A phenomenal match. 4.5 stars, 9 out of 10. A genuine classic and one of the best G1 Finals ever."

[9.0] "What a fantastic match between two legends. It starts slow, with both Mutoh and Nagata taking it to the mat and working body parts. As the match moved on, it picked up speed and built to a thrilling and believable climax. This match is a great example of a style of wrestling that doesn't require the viewer to suspend their disbelief to a realm that is unbelievable. ****3/4"

[9.0] "This match is fantastic, but I've stopped short of going with a 10 rating for it because it's quite an acquired taste and won't be for everyone due to how much of it is on the mat. Mutoh had suffered from all kinds of injury issues with his legs, so in 2001 he focused a lot more on working holds on the mat and weakening the legs of his opponents to set up the Figure Four or Shining Wizard. I love technical wrestling and I also love how this one is a slow burner that builds gradually to a big finish, but I also accept that some might not find that as engrossing as I do. Into the final stretch it's super exciting with great submission teases and the finish is executed perfectly. I love this match and New Japan even put it up on their official YouTube page recently too, so hopefully a whole new generation of fans has been exposed to it also"

[6.0] "Match was pretty good towards the end, crowd was super hot and they made this match fun, Keiji Mutoh is a very charismatic pro-wrestler and tried his best, Yuji Nagata... yeah."

[7.0] "This one just didn't grip me as I hoped it would. I think it is because of the over reliance on submissions and catch. Everything was solid from a wrestling standpoint and it did have some good nearfalls."

[9.0] "What a brilliant match! The pace of it was amazing and the sequences/reversals were simply magnificent. I can't put into words on how good this match is, it's just beautiful. ****1/2"

[10.0] "An incredible G1 Climax finals match that saw Muto passing the torch to the new "Ace" in Yuji Nagata. This had a slow-ish start in the first few minutes of grappling, but this quickly went into third gear with Nagata looking like a beast the whole match just countering many of Muto's moves into crazy submission counters. I guess if I had to point out a flaw it would be Nagata not selling that well for Muto, I am positive he even no sold a Shining Wizard at the end, but it really didn't take me all that out of the match. Hell, I would even say this is the best match I have ever seen Muto have in New Japan, ****3/4."

[10.0] "lots of grappling and ground work at the beginning of the match. there was a part when Nagata got Muto into Guillotine choke which the crowd popped big when they thought he might've come close to winning. there is a feel to an MMA fight in this match as they have a lot of ground game as mentioned and lots of submissions. I liked when Nagata countered Muto's handspring back elbow into Nagata lock II. There is lots of excellent limb work in the match by both men. Muto targeted the knee with great dropkicks and leg whips as well as some submissions such as the figure 4. Nagata attacks many parts such as the legs and arms. He counters a leg whip into a heel hook which gets the crowd excited. There are lots of great counters from submissions into other submissions that I really love and apparently so does the crowd. Great final minutes as they're throwing a lot at each other before Nagata wins with Nagata lock II to win the G1 Climax. Really excellent stuff."

[6.0] "A solid, pretty good match here. It had some pretty neat mat work, limb targeting, submissions. It was totally worked on the mat, and Muto & Nagata made it pretty engaging & interesting for the whole time. One thing that annoyed me though was Nagata pretty much totally no selling Muto's leg work. Oh well, anyway, a pretty good match. **3/4"

[9.0] "It was a little slow and melodic but just an amazing match. tremendous Mat-wrestling, and of course one of the best final streches I've ever seen. ****1/4"