Koji Kanemoto vs. Naomichi Marufuji

[7.0] "I'm slightly lower on this than most people I guess but it just didn't get to a "Great" match for me. This match is quite sloppy and they looked a little lost at times. The spot of the slaps in the corner was cool but overall just a good match that the crowd was hot for."

[6.0] "I've seen this praised as people's favorite match ever, (crazy thought) and as an all-time performance from Kanemoto. I saw neither. This is bloated, and all though it may have been heavy on spots for the time, is dry but todays standards. Kanemoto has no accuracy on anything aerial, Marafuji doesn't sell his legs, and there's a boatload of laying around. There's some good stuff in here still, the sequence where kanemoto has Marafuji hung up in the corner, Kanemoto's kicks, and the big top rope suplex. 3.25 Stars."

[10.0] "Just an awesome match. The crispness of the strikes is something otherworldly, and they manage to variate and keep it interesting for the entire runtime."

[7.0] "For the most part, this is pretty great even if it outstays its welcome a bit. I think it goes way past it's true peak and there were moments I struggled not to zone out during like when Kanemoto starts throwing avalanche suplexes for fun. It kinda felt like they knew they were onto something special and decided to see how long they could keep it going for which you can't fault them for when the crowd is red hot. Kanemoto beating Marufuji's ass to the delight of the Korakuen audience is what makes this so good though, it's real mean and nasty the way Kanemoto puts the beating in and Marufuji's fun dynamic offence works as a counter to that. Marufuji does La Ayakita 2000 which popped me and Kanemoto hangs Marufuji in the tree of woe (and pushes Red Shoes off the apron while setting it up) for a cool back and forth striking bit that Ospreay would steal and do much worse. Much like any Marufuji match that goes this long, there's limb work that gets ignored but it's not as egregious here and the real action does make up for it. Marufuji's set up for the Pole Shift finish was nice, weird that he actually just...wins? After all the crowd hype behind Kanemoto and he loses, it felt a bit abrupt."

[9.0] "Naomichi Marufuji and Koji Kanemoto really beat the piss out of each other in this incredibly hard-hitting IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title match. Kanemoto took the loss, but he looked incredibly badass in defeat. In fact, both men did! There were some nasty ass spots throughout this. It wasn't too flashy, but it was a real damn fight. Marufuji was so over as a heel. Fantastic match."

[9.0] "Great match here, what really appealed to me in this match was Kanemoto's incredible attitude and will to just beat the piss out of Marufuji and embarrass him. The sequence where he hangs him up in the corner made a real impression on me. Marufuji could have done better selling but he had some cool moves as well."

[10.0] "An awesome junior match, Marufuji is one of the greatest cruserweights wrestlers of all time and Kanemoto is one of the most undervalued wrestlers of all time"

[9.0] "AN ABSOLUTE CLASSIC! A true battle of the prime generation against the old guard. with Koji Kanemoto spending a vast majority of the match looking to prove that Naomichi Marufuji and his generation simply aren't as tough as the one that came before them. Marufuji attempts to counter that thought by beating Kanemoto at his own game. And suddenly... It was time to go to school. Meanwhile, the stoic Marufuji makes one thing abundantly clear from the opening moments, however: Your intimidation tactics don't worry anymore, old timer. And his unflappability throughout proves exactly that. Once they've beaten the bravado out of one another, it's all about strategy and superior execution. And both of these legends hold their own. Marufuji goes to work on Kanemoto's heavily-taped knees, and gets quite a few receipts for it. Kanemoto's arrogance seeps through and Marufuji proves that he can dish out just as much punishment as the men who paved the way for him. Two strategic wrestlers who moved at a deliberate pace and wanted nothing more than to best the other right to their face. As we get deep into the match, the story evolves into something mesmerizing. Suddenly, it's Kanemoto who must prove that he and his generation can still hang with Marufuji and his own. Throw in one of the best slap sequences you'll ever see, Kanemoto treating sequences and combinations like straight business, and Marufuji's endless innovation, and you've got a classic. A five-star crowd with a match that justified it. 4. 75 stars, 9. 5 out of 10."

[10.0] "5 Stars - THIS MATCH IS CRAZY AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT - absolute sucker for outside champion taking there belt. kanemotos kicks were so satisyfing. Marufuji innovation and influence is not mentioned enough for how it affected the next generation. He was smart to take out the legs so take kanemotos kicks away. some cool ass spot that never seen with like inverted romero special. Kanemoto catch's corner dropkick into a FUCKING ANKLE LOCK, slap battle whilst kanemoto sat down with marufuji in tree of woe. THE DIRTIEST TOP ROPE SUPLEX IVE EVER SEEN. such a pleasure to watch and if you have never seen this match, go out of your way to do so, you wont regret it"

[7.0] "This being my first Kanemoto match I was thoroughly impressed, but as with a lot of Marufuji main events there was a distinct lack of selling which usually would not bother me but with someone whose offense is so predicated on kicks to not change it up or sell it at all really annoyed me, on the plus this was a reeaally hot crowd ***œ"

[10.0] "What an absolute classic, everything here is just perfect and clicks so well, oh my freaking God. Marufuji portraying the heel was simply great, the crowd really was booing him just for the fact that he exists and they were cheering for Kanemoto 'cause he was breathing oxygen. The offense by both man was also great and it looked very painful and real, making me cringe sometimes. The leg work was very good, but it was not the focus of the match, despite having some spots that only happened because of it. Despite Marufuji did not selled the leg work that good, it didn't hurted the match, since it had other aspects of greatness that overshadowed this little flaw, like the sick slaps by Marufuji and Kanemoto just exhaling that badass charisma that he has. This was just perfect and made my jaw drop a lot of times, absolutely majestic. *****"

[10.0] "This is one of those few underrated New Japan classics. Marufuji played the heel champion, and Kanemoto played the babyface defending his company against the outsider. Both men played their roles perfectly, especially Kanemoto who would switch from face to heel multiple times. The audience was red hot for Kanemoto. They cheered him to death and booed Marufuji. It's not often you hear boos like this for a Japanese wrestler in New Japan. Marufuji embraced his heel side and was an absolute joy to watch on the offense. Not only was his attitude perfect but his wrestling was outstanding. Every time i watch Marufuji giving his best i'm always left in awe. Kanemoto was incredible too. Loved his face wash tease and his facial expressions. During the first third of the match both men were a bit cautious. They decided to tell a duel limb work story. The limb work by both men was great. Especially by Kanemoto who really laid into Marufuji with kicks and submissions. The leg work did play a factor in the match but it's not the sole focus. This is a Marufuji match so there's a ton of jaw dropping sequences, counters, and moves. What these two did together is nothing short of great. Their chemistry was a bit awkward at times but they managed to cover it up nicely. The closing stretch was awesome. Tons of excellent nearfalls. The stiff slaps into Shirai Nui, the Spanish Fly, and of course the ankle lock drama. All of it was effective and i could've bought a finish at any time. A slight nitpick would be Marufuji's leg selling, which was inevitable. This is Kanemoto's best performance and most likely the best Marufuji performance next to his title bout with Okada. *****"

[10.0] "Marufuji comes into this as the heel outsider that happens to be champion, getting booed straight away against the babyface veteran defending his company. The story is fairly typical in Japan but they pull it off in a special way. They were non stop for 30+ minutes with some breathtaking sequences, some great limb work from both Marufuji and Kanemoto early on with Marufuji pulling out a funky submission and Kamemoto going to town with kicks and submissions. They moved past it quickly though but it? s for the best with Marufuji in the match. Kanemoto constantly switches from face to heel with his attitude but it comes off so well with his great facial expressions being coming off as both smug and sympathetic. He was able to get the crowd to boo him so soon after cheering him and getting them back in his side like it was nothing. Marufuji was excellent with his counter wrestler offence, his incredibly fast movements followed up by his signature knees or drop kicks looked great against the more calculated Kanemoto. The whole tease of the face wash by Kanemoto was great. Another great example of crowd control. The closing stretch was great as well. The initial hard slaps into the shiranui was a great near fall. And the fight for the ankle lock/teasing off the tap was awesome. The crowd going crazy for it helped the drama a ton. The only thing flaw I have with this match is Marufuji's selling after the leg work. Even if the leg work didn? t factor into the match later on, a little show of pain afterwards would? ve been fine. However, I think there are far more elements of greatness, which far outweigh the flaws of the match. Kanemoto gave one of the best career performances in the match. For someone who was in his old man stage of his career, he looked great. Marufuji bounced of Kanemoto really well and give the match a great sense of urgency in his attacks. Honestly, this is one of my favourite matches and I always love watching it. *****"

[7.0] "Great by the very end. Very very long. Dry for a lot of it, especially in the beginning. This could easily pass as a big time GHC title match today. It's a great match, but in my ind its one of those great matches that takes way too long to get there. I wish this was 9 minutes shorter. ****"

[10.0] "I think I finally found my favorite Naomichi Marufuji match of all time. Not a lot of people talk about the best NJPW matches in the 2000s, but if there is one that still holds up, it's this Marufuji vs Kanemoto match that still is at least the best New Japan junior heavyweight match of the 2000s (or tied for the best in the 2010s). You rarely see Korakuen this hot for a match, and they were hot for all 30 fuckin minutes. The crowd was super behind everything Kenemoto did, and booed the shit out of the outsider, Marufuji. I don't think I've ever heard a New Japan crowd chant "Shin Nihon" at a guy before! I don't mind the meh leg work all that much because it was never really a focus of the match, and honestly that was a story element in it as Marufuji made sure to not get his leg attacked even if he failed at that sometimes. This match also made me realize why I've never thought any of the Marufuji vs KENTA matches were perfect matches, because unlike KENTA, Kanemoto has an endearing badass charisma about him that wants to make you get behind him in everything. The spots weren't even the star of the match as it was all about this heated war between the two men. Kanemoto failed in the end, but he took Marufuji to the limit in doing so, *****."

[10.0] "Just amazing. First of all, the crowd was crazy since the first second of the match. Then weŽve got two of the best juniors in a brutal fight with an awesome heat by Marufuji and excellent spots. Kickouts and acting was fŽn amazing. The finish was awesome."

[9.0] "Hidden gem. There was strong Kanemoto-supporting crowd and plenty of boos for Marufuji, causing Marufuji to totally embrace his heel side and really antagonise the crowd by wrestling so dirty, which was awesome. The chemistry between these two wasn't always perfect; there were at least two noticeable botches, but they were both covered up very well and ended up being insignificant. Apart from those two mistakes there were also a few noticeable moments of awkwardness as they both tried to get their positioning correct, but these two wrestlers just had too many great sequences to count and pulled off a large variety of unique and spectacular moves. Every minute the audience was being treated to fresh ideas, which was always really exciting. Both men take great delight in inflicting pain on the other and arrogantly boasting about it, and I love that sort of passion. Marufuji's leg selling became quite weak in the second half, but since it was never really a major feature of the match (though still significant to an extent) I didn't feel too bothered by this. Given the large variety of moves on display and the extremely high quality of chemistry between these two I simply found it impossible to not love this match. The match was one of those special few that had an absolutely intense atmosphere due to the great connection these wrestlers established between themselves and the crowd. Definitely check this match out. ****1/2"

[1.0] "Typical overly long match, with that go go go style where they just do spotz and movez after spotz and movez. A total spotfest, really. I appreciated Kanemoto targeting Marufuji's knee, but I knew that Marufuji would no sell it. And that's exactly what happened; the good ol' Marufuji, unsurprisingly, totally no sold Kanemoto's knee work, which was expected, but still annoying. Not my type of a match. *1/4"

[9.0] "Very physical match between Kanemoto and Marufuji, with a very good crowd. I really liked the layout of the match and the relative lack of near-falls early on; too bad that the first half of the match is made pointless, when Marufuji decides to no-sell his damaged knee during the finish. Very good, but not quite elite."