Takashi Sugiura vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

[7.0] "It will never cease to amaze me that Sugiura was ever a Junior, he feels massive in there against Kanemaru who he is able to easily dominate physically. In many ways this is very similar to the main event, with Kanemaru serving in the Ogawa role as rat bastard against a more physically imposing opponent. This ends up being a better match because the action is more impressive and the crowd gets all the way behind Sugiura, cheering on the-at-the time rookie as he sought his first championship. 3.5 stars"

[8.0] "This match showed that Sugiura is ready for the big time. There were some moments where I thought he would pull off the upset but I get how it ended the way he did. It took so much from Kanemaru to put him away but between his offensive repertoire and toughness you know that Sugiura is on the way up while Kanemaru proves that he is still the man to beat in the NOAH Jr. Heavyweight division."

[7.0] "There were quite a few boring holds in the first half which isn't surprising considering the time period, but once we got past Kanemaru's control period this ended being super fun. Sugiura was great as the energetic, intense bruiser and Kanemaru never disappoints in the crafty vet/champion role. The big moves, transitions and nearfalls were all well executed and exciting. Kanemaru hit a ton of brainbuster variations to get the win, I'm usually not a fan of finishes where one guy hits like 5 moves on his opponent to win but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of the match. ***1/2"

[7.0] "It's so funny to think that the Killing Machine who could kill with a smirk was once a plucky, inexperienced rookie in the junior division, struggling against Kanemaru of all people. This ended up being a good match after getting through Kanemaru's control period, which is never very exciting. Sugiura's selling was strong and his sporadic stiff elbows were the only real action we got. Whenever he managed to gain control he would ferociously bully Kanemaru, showing glimmers of his eventual badass self. It's soooo much more compelling watching Sugiura in control; he just fit the 'bruiser' role perfectly, as opposed to Kanemaru who was only ever a 'cheeky rat' if I had to give him a role. At some point we started getting lots of smooth big move exchanges, and Kanemaru was quite good at this point because he kept up the pace and made a good rag-doll to sell Sugiura's power moves. Sugiura was impressing in all kinds ways from fluid movement to slick submission holds to stiff strikes, and the crowd was getting more and more invested in his struggle. I especially loved his defiance as he withstood Kanemaru's attacks and dished out his own in immediate response. The finish was also pretty fun, with Kanemaru hitting a hat-trick of brainbusters but being too tired to go for the cover, thus having to go for a fourth brainbuster from the top rope to get the win. So yeah, Kanemaru got a few moments to entertain me, but that doesn't make up for how he's always dull in the first half. If there was any justice in the world Sugiura would have been crowned GHC Junior champ right there. ***1/2"