Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taiyo Kea

[4.0] "If this is people's favourite match from this show it can't have been a very good one as I thought this was very dull. Don't think I've ever seen Taiyo Kea before but he left 0 impression on me here, kinda ran through his moves with varying impact. The Landslide on the floor sounded nasty but Tanahashi isn't at the point to put on the fantastic selling performances he does nor bring something interesting out of a bum. About 75% of the match is Kea running through his moves and it's literally just that, doing moves with no emotion or even any real setup. Tana hits a hell of a sambo suplex that doesn't stick around in his arsenal sadly, he does kick out of what feels like every standing grapple Taiyo Kea has equipped to his moveset until Tana uses a few suplexes and the HFF to win in unconvincing fashion. If it was much longer I'd go down to a 3 but thankfully they kept it under 20."

[8.0] "The best match of the night for me. I enjoyed this match a lot the only thing is it feels like it's lacking something. Some really great action and overall just great match. I never really questioned if Tanahashi would lose the title, I just didn't see it happening at all here."

[7.0] "My favorite match of the card between an in-form Tanahashi and this Kea I didn't know but who made a good impression on me. I really like his kicks and his relatively agile big man style. Good chemistry between the two and a pleasant match. In-ring quality: 2.25/4. Stakes: 2/2. Justification: 0.25/1. Place on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 1/1. Bonus/malus: none. Total: 7.5/10. . Match seen on NJPW World."

[7.0] "A fairly simple match. Kea dominates Tanahashi for much of the match, targeting his back with forearms and various slams including one onto the exposed floor. Tanahashi plays the underdog really well, constantly trying to fight back against Kea, before he eventually finds a big enough opening to get Kea down and hit the High Fly Flow to get the win. Pretty basic stuff, but both guys play their roles so well, especially Tanahashi, who puts in a great performance here. ***1/2"

[7.0] "This was a really good match for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Taiyo Care is someone I'd never seen before and had no expectations of him but he impressed me here. Care really dominated this match and Tanahashi was certainly on defense. This felt like Care's match to win but Tanahashi is able to pull out the win and retain the IWGP Heavyweight Title."

[8.0] "Great match. After a pretty entertaining back and forth opening sequence, Tanahashi takes an absolutely nasty bump onto the exposed concrete and the story of the match is set. Kea dominates most of match while Tanahashi plays the babyface in peril with the occasional hope spots. It's a very traditionally western match structure, in a way, but it really works here and both guys play their roles perfectly. Kea comes across like a million bucks, not only by dominating most of the match but because his offense is great with stiff strikes, dropping Tanahashi on his head a couple of times, a pretty diverse moveset, etc. Tanahashi survives it all and keeps kicking out and has his flurries of offense, which are equally great. His speed and agility are mesmerizing when on offense and he does a pretty good job selling the beating he takes from Kea. Really good match that elevates both guys and tells a great story"

[8.0] "Taiyo Kea is a hooper, apparently. That's what it's all about... dropping workers on their domes. He did it to Tanahashi multiple times this match, and that kicks ass. This might be a shocker of a "First Wrestle Kingdom World Heavyweight match" but it worked. ****"

[8.0] "Tanahashi was so quick in his younger days, he also had no reason to take that back bump on the concrete. But hey, the dude gave it and is currently giving it his all. Taiyo Kea had some really solid grappling in this one, he also had great psychology."

[7.0] "***Ÿ - it is quite a good back and forth match, that I had to debate and just barely did not give 4 stars"

[8.0] "Extremely underrated from what I've heard. Both men play their roles perfectly here, resulting in a very fun match to watch. ****1/4"

[8.0] "I was not expecting this many head drops in a Tanahashi match! This is the first time I've been impressed by Taiyo Kea. He may be lacking in charisma, but he sure can dish out some brutal-looking offense. Tanahashi takes it like the champ he is and fires back when he can find an opening. Thankfully, the flaws that riddle most of Tana's current work are nowhere to be seen. This match never feels formulaic and when Tanahashi hits a tide-turning big move, it feels organic. This matched benefited everyone. Kea looked like a bad ass in defeat on one of the biggest stages in his career, and Tanahashi looked like the ace that NJPW want him to be."

[8.0] "The first of the two main events its about the IWGP Heavyweight Championship when Hiroshi Tanahashi defends the title against All Japan's Tayo Kea. The match is a pure example of how great Tanahashi has always been and how pivotal he was as IWGP Champion for the company. I personally did not know who Tayo Kea was but Tanahashi made him look fantastic. Great Match, great suplexes exchange and great final sequence with The Ace kicking out from a Death Valley Driver, a Sitout Powerbomb and delivering a Dragon Suplex and an High Fly Flow for the victory. Great encounter as real main event in which Tanahashi shined in the beginning of his long carrear as the Ace of the company. Rating: 8+"

[10.0] "The two were very evenly matched. The two matched each other in holds early on and knew what the other would do. I liked how Tanahashi showed little respect when he slapped Kea. I liked how Taiyo Kea was a great match and had counters and offense to get the upper hand on Tanahashi. Taiyo Kea really impressed me in this match. A sick move by him that made me jump was the Michinoku driver onto the exposed floor. I thought that was great. I loved how he stole the dragon screw and used it to weaken Tanahashi so he could suplex him into the ring. I really liked Kea's work on Tanahashi's back after the Michinoku driver. Taiyo beat down Tanahashi for a most of the match. There were some really great nearfalls like after a lariat, TKO 34th, and sitout powerbomb by Taiyo Kea. It was great drama how every time Tanahashi would get some offense, he would be cut off. Tanahashi was an excellent underdog. He was being dominated virtually the whole time and almost lost many times but he fought back and hit a high fly flow for the win. This was really incredible"

[6.0] "Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) -vs- Taiyo Kea - (IWGP Title) [** 3/4] Good match where Kea started best including doing a TKO drop out on the floor. When Tanahashi fought his way back into the match they had a energetic fight busting out their best stuff from scoop DDT's to Dragon Suplexes to splashes to Cobra Clutch Suplexes and anything else these guys have in their arsenal. The one thing it did lack was something to really separate it from other energetic matches. It was kind of forgettable even with all it's qualities. But it's worth your time."

[7.0] "This was not the best Tanahashi match by any means, but this had the usual trademarks that, when expressed more fully, make up a great Tanahashi match. Kea was nice an vicious, delivering some really nice power moves and strikes with strong impact. Tanahashi sold Kea’s offence well, easily making himself into a compelling underdog babyface. Tanahashi is always just so great at looking distressed, exhausted, and in pain. After a second big lariat the crowd was finally buying into Kea’s chances of winning, and from this point on both men upped their game by delivering some big moves along with very good selling which progressively built up tension. Kea delivered a lot of damaging moves and got some convincing near falls. Tanahashi looked great by being able to survive so much, and him staging his final comeback was quite exciting. ***1/2"

[8.0] "I was like "Kea in the pre-main event WFT", but Taiyo proved me wrong by giving the performance of his life, he couldn't get the crowd into the match because of the prior match, but he was all out to have a great bout and he got it. Tanahashi was just there, he only made his stuff and nothing more."