[10.0] "This match fucking rules, Akitoshi Saito's a damn karate beast in this era. This has to be the most "non-Kenta Kobashi" Kenta Kobashi match ever. It felt like a different style match out of FMW combined with that Battlarts spirit, mostly cause of Saito. It was really interesting watching this and had me wishing Kobashi wrestled Daisuke Ikeda in this reign at some point. I loved Saito's limb targeting with him just doing punches & chops to Kobashi's arm, that was so good. Also that Suplex on the apron is one of the most fucked up spots ever, I loved that shit so much. Kobashi's back didn't though, you could tell that man was in shoot pain. This is a beast of a title defense and I'm glad it wasn't what I was expecting."
[7.0] "There's no doubt that Kobashi is one of the absolute greatest ever, but I think is so-called 'historic GHC Heavyweight Title reign' is quite overrated, with matches like this being a good example of why. This had a few really cool moments but was mostly just 'good' for the majority of its length. They had an energetic start as Saito surprisingly came out on top with the help of his stiff strikes and a big back drop suplex. This led to Saito becoming quite arrogant, since he knew he had already managed to put Kobashi's 600-day reign in danger (although IRL we all knew that Saito certainly wasn't going to be the one to dethrone him). Kobashi did well with his selling to put over Saito's offence despite Saito not being any sort of major star, but there sadly still wasn't anything too interesting about Saito's offence itself. He had some stiff strikes, yes, but that's not exactly a rarity in NOAH, and there wasn't anything too special or unique about his delivery or character work. In contrast, Kobashi was very charismatic every time he was in control or delivering any offence. The match was honestly relatively tame until that ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL back-first bump Kobashi took on the corner of the ring from Saito's suplex. Absolutely the best moment of the match, and it was insanity that Kobashi was able to just walk something like that off. His selling was typically world-class in response, and it immediately made the match far more compelling, since I was then interested to see, in kayfabe as well as IRL, whether Kobashi could really continue to wrestle after that immense damage. Saito started to impress more consistently at this point, with his arm-targeting all looking pretty good. Kobashi did a great job selling his arm in real time as well as in the short, always being sure to gesture to it in some way whenever he used it for his signature offence. He did drop that selling towards the end of the match as they moved into all their big bomb trades, but at that point Saito had likewise stopped targeting the arm as heavily, so that 'no-selling' wasn't as egregious as if Saito had continued targeting the arm the whole way through. While a few of their bomb trades were pretty cool, a lot of it was pretty standard for Kobashi in this period. While Kobashi obviously still remained the more impressive performer, it was Saito's offence I found more interesting, given that this was the biggest match of his life and a chance for his to showcase his signature offence which was far less exposed compared to Kobashi's. Seeing Kobashi get revenge on Saito by hitting some worked-shoot punches of his own was pretty cool, and his match-winning brainbuster looked pretty great too. Pretty good match in the end, though not much more. ***1/4"
[8.0] "Kenta Kobashi's historic title reign continues. Akitoshi Saito is a hard-hitting opponent and there's lots of great moments here (including the nasty apron bump Kobashi takes). The only criticism I give this is that Saito does kind of feel like just another stepping stone and just one more opponent for Kobashi to defeat to continue the reign. Still, it was a very good match."
[9.0] "At this point in time, Kenta Kobashi had about as close to an iron-clad argument as one could possibly pose for the title of Best In The World. Rivaled only by fellow legends of professional wrestling, Kobashi seemed invincible in the midst of a period of dominance that few have ever managed to achieve. Akitoshi Saito could not have cared any less about this. Saito showed up in Osaka and put a fearless beating on Kobashi in a way that almost defies description. His strategy was clear, as he knotted up the hamstring with kicks and worked over the knee with submissions. But it was less about what he did and more about how he did it. Saito not only went strike for strike with Kobashi before hitting his high-impact offense, but allowed his opponent to get back to his feet before pursuing further attempts at victory. It was as though Saito wanted Kobashi to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were not equals. It was as psychological as it was physical. And then Saito hit the nastiest Apron Suplex of all time, leaving everyone in attendance to wonder how Kobashi could possibly continue to wrestle. Seriously, one of the nastiest spots ever. And somehow, it may not have even been the craziest spot of the match. The German Suplex from hell was yet to come. Rather than accepting what felt like an inevitable countout victory, Saito was merciless and continued to methodically pick apart the body of his decorated opponent. He found unique ways to pick apart the strong arm of Kobashi, thus neutralizing yet another area of his body. It was an absolute dissection. All of this leads to an incredible moment as Kobashi limps back down the ramp, unable to extend his right arm and wearing the wounds of battle, as Saito arrogantly smiles in his direction. The crowd had actually been cheering for Saito up to this point in the match, but that was when the tide began to turn. Kobashi could only land small spurts of impactful offense, but he did enough to show signs of life. And after the aforementioned German led to Saito pushing the referee out of the way to continue his assault, the magic began. A monumental kickout that instantly turned arrogance to uncertainty. A desperation Suplex that turned helplessness into hope. A receipt in the form of a Half and Half. And then a declaration of progress in that battle that was perpetually uphill. Saito annihilating Kobashi with strikes, but showing signs of fearing that he was further from the end than anticipated. And finally, a return to even ground. In but a moment, the tables had turned and it was Saito who needed to prove his fighting spirit. Saito who needed to show how much punishment he could with stood. Saito who must face the wrath of a ruthless opponent. Saito who was forced to face his sins. Kobashi closed-fist demolishing Saito is a visual I cannot underplay. In a match that I hope to never forget. An unbelievable story of dominance, insecurity, and fighting spirit. 4.5 stars, 9 out of 10."
[8.0] "This took a while to really get into third gear although Saito's work on the arm and how he used his kicks was very solid. Kobashi sold the kicks and holds well in the moment. Kobashi took so much damage like that painful back bump on the corner of the apron in order to get Saito over to the level where the crowd bought the win. I'd say it was successful. The finishing stretch with Kobashi mounting the comeback, but with Saito still that one step ahead until the burning lariat was all great and exciting. ***3/4"
[9.0] "This was insane and came absolutely out of the blue, as Saito put in one hell of a performance, just absolutely destroying Kobashi with bombs and suplexes. Kobashi is a madman for agreeing to take some of the moves he did, especially that goddamn apron back driver. Really underrated match. (****1/4)"
[7.0] "Niemand wird überraschen, dass sich Saito und Kobashi gut ins Gesicht geben. Und zwar ohne Erbarmen mit Headbutts, Chops, Slaps und Suplesen. Besonders Kobashi nimmt einige Moves ohne nach Sonnenschein zu fragen. Das Problem? Mehr gibt es leider nicht. Unterhaltsam alle mal, aber wirklchc viel außerhalb der "Wir werfen uns etwas hin und her" gibt es leider nicht. Schade, aber immer noch ein gutes Match, da wir hier zwei große, breite Männer haben, die kein Mitgefühl zeigen für sich oder ihren Gegner."
[8.0] "Saito's an insane mother****er. Not only does he backdrop driver Kobashi on the most sensitive part of the upper-back neck (beginning of spinal cord) but he suplexes Kobashi, in the form of a 2K1 bomb, from the ring apron to the floor not protecting Kobashi's lower, lower back from hitting the edge of ring hard. As we know, sometimes Saito does not well enough protect his dance partner. Yet one can't deny that he brought it hard to Kobashi... certainly harder than the soon-to-be pushed Rikio in his title match a year prior. Among the other harsh moves that were executed by the 'Night Demon' was a slicing scissor kick right through Kobashi's prone arm and a blistering German suplex landing the champ right on the top of his head, If only NOAH played up Saito as a villain a lot harder the match would have been played to a larger crowd than the 5000 in Osaka's second largest arena. But another problem is that his challengers weren't being built-up with any kind of organization or purpose. It's as if a deck of the wrestler's faces laid face-down on the table and after every successful title defense Misawa or whomever would select another card. Though shorter than most of the epic Kobashi defenses this match certainly was draining. I would place this ahead of the Rikio, Nagata and Honda defenses, on par with Taue's, and a little behind Takayama and Akiyama's."
[9.0] "Holy crap this was amazing! Sati really brought it to Kobashi and was just lethal in his attack as well. The match was just nuts overall, the crowd was really into this one. The crazy drop on the apron was INSANE! The final few minutes though were just incredible. (****)"
[10.0] "Fantastic match! I didn't know what to expect from Akitoshi but he really brought it, seemed like a miniature monster the way he dogged Kobashi and kept blasting away at him. Kobashi did some fantastic selling and really got across that he was weathering a colossal storm before making his comeback and outlasting his opponent. Plus that crazy drop on the apron, holy crap what a spot!"
[8.0] "Kenta Kobashi gegen den oft so geschmälerten Akitoshi Saito, das hier nicht gerade ein ewiger Klassiker ausgetragen wurde, dürft jeden der sich auskennt klar sein. Aber dennoch immer wenn Saito in einem wichtigen Match steht strengt er sich in Rahmen seiner Möglichkeiten an und Kobashi workt und bumbt hier wie ein Bekloppter. Es gilt nicht umsonst für die Wrestler dann die Formel: Main Event Match + Saito = Stiff gegenseitig Mitten ins Gesicht und auf den Kopf!"
[7.0] "Auch ein Kenta Kobashi kann nur mit dem arbeiten, was sein Gegner ihm bietet und Akitoshi Saito ist einfach kein "Highend-Wrestler", mit dem Kobashi ein sehr gutes Match abliefern kann. Der Kampf ist beileibe nicht schlecht, aber Saito ist alles andere als ein geeigneter Herausforderer für ihn und seine Limitierungen werden hier leider überdeutlich. Deshalb in meinen Augen eine etwas schwächere GHC-Verteidigung von Kobashi, auch wenn es nicht an ihm liegt und Saito sich ebenfalls (nach seinen Möglichkeiten) bemüht."
[9.0] "Das Kobashi sich nicht den Rücken bei diesem Apron Suplex gebrochen hat grenzt an ein Wunder. Das hätte auch ganz böse enden können. Dennoch ist das hier Saitos bestes Singles Match. Es scheint als ob Kobashi seine Gegner aufgrund der Tatsache das er Kobashi ist zu absoluten Höchstleistungen anspornt. Das Finish ist zum weggucken stiff - könnte Kobashis Revanche dafür sein das Saito ihn fast in den Rollstuhl geschickt hat."
