Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi

[9.0] "This kind of japanese tag matches is one of the most enjoayble thing to watch. Where the last 5-10 minutes are absolutely unreal and breathtaking. The beginning wasn't bad at all on top of that, but after Devitt's Tope Con Hilo, everything went crazy, and obviously the crowd was very locked in. One of the best match of that type, but I can agree that it could have been even more brilliant and more developped. It's still kinda perfect, and an absolute must watch."

[8.0] "An amazing tag match, between 2 of the best teams at the time. It was real cool seeing Kenny, Kota & Prince all young before they took the leap to superstardom."

[8.0] "Its interesting watching a new japan match from this time in their history regardless of who Im watching because the scale and vibe just feels so off and a little claustrophobic and not in a good way. Maybe I missed something, it was fast and brisk and really enjoyable but nothing jaw dropping. Very interesting how quickly they gave Golden Lovers the belts though, that is nice."

[8.0] "A wonderful spotfest. Tons of fun. Exciting from the beginning to the end. A beautiful example of this style of match. 4.25 stars."

[10.0] "This is officially the first NJPW match I have ever watched, very spotty but kept me excited the whole time"

[10.0] "Lots of action for only 15 minutes, so you're always entertained. Very impressive stuff from everyone, which makes sense given the talent. The Golden Lovers are individually two of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Balor/Devitt's work is buttery smooth as well. Edge of your seat awesomeness. I don't care if it is "spotty." (5*****)"

[6.0] "Honestly... People might be overrating the match to hell and back. I'm not saying it'd bad, and with the finish Omega and Ibushi provide is incredible, there's just a lot of dead air in between that's some boring, mediocre wrestling, and idk, definitely left me wishing for more given the talent involved. At least the Golden Lovers were allowed to pick up the win, otherwise this match would've been rated much worse."

[8.0] "A good, fun tag match that will keep your focus from bell to bell. It felt different from other tag matches, the style of all 4 men matched perfectly so it felt smoother and more polished, but (for me) this is in no way a 9 or 10. Maybe it's my general dislike for tag-team wrestling, only certain tag teams throughout certain promotions actually pique my interest, and these two teams did that for me, but it wasn't an instant classic. If you want a fast-paced, high-action tag match between a few of the greatest wrestlers NJPW has to offer, you'll enjoy this as much as i did."

[9.0] "Bro Kenny was getting cheered the whole match, this match is incredible man , great spots and even greater near falls, Kota Ibushi is athletic asf and all 4 men showed out. It did pick up close to the end but that isn't necessarily a bad thing"

[3.0] "My tastes clearly aren't aligned to others here but I am genuinely struggling to understand how people are throwing 9's and 10's out for this. Pretty much the whole match seems incredibly contrived and a series of spots which have no connection to each other. It doesn't even work particularly well as an example of wrestling choreography, with nothing in the match remotely mattering before they move to the next spot. Worse, there is nothing in here that is exciting or stand out. I guess if you somersault before you hit someone this gets four stars."

[9.0] "Everyone was on absolute fire. An amazing match that had me on the edge of my seat for the last few minutes. Never seen Devitt wrestle before and hes very good. That stomp of his is brutal."

[9.0] "I'm working my way through Kenny Omega's pre-AEW work and stumbled on this - my first exposure to the Golden Lovers - and DAMN! This was some wild shit, especially considering it happened 15 years ago. The last 5+ minutes are just absolutely bonkers, with both teams pulling off insane double team maneuvers and Ibushi in particular just going berserk. Loved how loud the crowd got as the match progressed as well. ****1/2"

[10.0] "Golden Lovers in their prime is absolutely crazy. Amazing sequences by both tag teams. Devastating dropkicks and acrobatics especially by Ibushi. Great tag team moves."

[9.0] "Some of these tag-team moves were awesome, and this match was very good. I can see how it stood the test of time, and why it is still praised to this very day. Golden Lovers and Apolllo 55 are both incredible teams."

[9.0] "All four of these guys had amazing chemistry in this incredibly fast-paced and exciting tag team title match. Apollo 55 came in as the big babyfaces and Prince Devitt was the most over guy in this match. Kota Ibushi was amazing, though, and I have to believe he won the crowd over because he was doing some out of this world stuff. It's kind of amazing to see Kenny Omega playing second fiddle to him considering he'd become one of New Japan's top guys, but he was still doing a great job here. Taguchi was a great partner for Devitt as usual and kept up with everyone else (even though he seemed to stand out the least in this match, in my opinion). This match had lots of great action and so many fun and amazing tag team moves (especially from the Golden Lovers). Awesome!"

[9.0] "Golden lovers were really something. Just wild to see what they could do 11 years ago with no issues, Devitt and Taguchi were also good here but the DDT boys stole the show."

[9.0] "This match was incredible on so many levels. 1. A clash between two of the best tag teams ever. 2. A tease of the dream match between Kenny Omega and Prince Devitt. 3. A preview of the iconic BOSJ Final between Devitt and Kota Ibushi. 4. A great example of just how good of a wrestler Ryusuke Taguchi is when you put the comedy aside. And that's just the surface of it. As for the match itself, what an absolute classic! The Golden Lovers tried to slow things down by working over Devitt's back, while Apollo 55 looked to speed things up and take it to the DDT outsiders with frequent tags and quick-hitting offense. That culminated in one of the greatest closing sequences that I've ever seen from a tag team match. Absolute madness in a sprint to the finish line that ranks amongst the best that NJPW has produced. Struggling to not go 5 stars here, but I'll say it falls just short at 4. 5 stars and 9 out of 10."

[10.0] "Of the few dozen matches Ive watched so far (I'm new to this pro wrestling thing), this was my favourite. The last five minutes or so were mayhem!"

[8.0] "This was a good speedy junior-style match for the first 10 minutes, but then those final 5 minutes were awesome and bumped the match up massively. The exchanges and spots in those first 2/3rds were still good, but then once Golden Lovers gained control, they took the drama to a whole new level with all their wacky yet creative and perfectly executed tag spots, and Ibushi and Omega's own individual spots were still great too. Taguchi and Devitt were mostly just dummies to sell and bump for all of the Golden Lovers' crazy spots at this point, but they did extremely well in this, as they kept up with Ibushi and Omega at every step and then eventually staged a comeback where they fired back with their own great tag-team and individual spots. The finishing stretch was great with all the incredible high-flying spots, suplexes, and big strikes, plus a good number of very convincing near falls and exciting pin break-ups. Ibushi's wondrous match-winning Phoenix Splash capped off the match in fantastic style, and convinced me that this was a straight-up great match. It's crazy to think that it only took 5 minutes to make this 15-minute match as awesome as it was. ****"

[8.0] "A beautifully fluid match as you would expect. Pretty much from the start, they started out very quick, putting together some really good sequences. There isn? t much tagging in and out after the start , which a very brief portion of the match, sadly but I think they more than make up for it in effort. The double triangle moonsault the Golden Lovers do (the Golden Triangle) looks awesome. ***3/4"

[9.0] "The beginning of the match is pretty good, with each team having a control segment and nice spots. Then the Golden Lovers go wild and show off their classic offense (synchronized 450, golden triangle, etc. ), which is always very exciting and gets the crowd going and cheering for them. Taguchi and Devitt fight back and end up nearly putting them away, and the end of the match is very back and forth, with lots of pin breakups and unpredictability. I just watched MCMG vs Apollo 55 from june 2009, and compared to that one, it was shorter and had fewer big spots, but the intensity was ramping up more and the selling (Ibushi selling a dropkick by landing on his head... ) was better and more fun. Both are great matches!"

[7.0] "7. 7/10 : Damn did action pick up in that second half ! Overall I loved the match but it is honestly all thanks to its last 7 minutes. Before that, this match had absolutely nothing close to fantastic going on for it, and I was feeling surprised it deserved any praise at all. Then the latter 7 minutes went down and oh boy it's like they saved it all up for that second half. 3 of the biggest stars in pro wrestling today shared the ring at a time where they were already very capable so when they put there minds to delivering the goods, it did not matter how stale everything that preceded was, they just kicked ass and gave birth to some really beautiful wrestling sequences."

[9.0] "This is a classic Jr Heavyweight tag match between four great talents, three of which are still with NJPW today. It's intriguing to see all four being proto-versions of their later selves, all showing their amazing potential. This match is a prime exhibition of what the Golden Lovers are all about and Apollo 55 certainly hold up their end of the bargain. Between some crazy nearfalls, the rising drama and insane pace kept up throughout, the crowd reaction is awesome - especially considering that NJPW were still struggling at this point. The sequence between Devitt and Ibushi trading high spots is excellent, and brings this match to an even greater level. Highly recommended. (****1/2)"

[9.0] "Another Jr tag match that was under the radar here. This won the tokyo sports's best bout award in 2010 and i could see why. This was what you expected from JR match. Just crazy non-stop action, hot crowd, drama, awesome nearfalls. Golden lovers did their own unique stuff while apollo 55 also did well. Just re watch this match because now omega/ibushi are likely to reunite."

[9.0] "The DDT-representatives in the form of the Golden Lovers, a weeb from Winnipeg and a man who loves jumping off high things from Kagoshima taking on Apollo 55 and this made for an awesome match. The opening 5 minutes had its bits but from then on it was really really good with some amazing nearfalls and a hot Ryogoku crowd. Couldn't want anything more from this match. (****1/2)"

[9.0] "This was peak NJPW Jr Heavyweight action in my opinion. Just two teams with amazing chemistry putting it all out there to have an awesome match. Golden Lovers were definitely the stars of the match as they did so many awesome spots and had great sequences with both Apollo 55 opponents, ****1/2."

[10.0] "Excellent tag match - non stop action from bell to bell"