Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

[6.0] "Just two months before this they fought in the main event at the Nippon Budokan, so I was surprised to see their G1 match getting middle of the card treatment, but after watching this I can get why. That's not a bad match, but rather uneventful. Nakamura already knows he can't rush things with Takayama, so here he goes for safer & methodical approach, but Takayama is just a beast, so he still puts super rookie down with some stiff strikes and couple of flash moves in the end. ***1/4"

[6.0] "This is a nice Inokism-style match: nice and quick paired with lots of shoot-style influences, especially so here because Takayama has a facial injury and doesn't want to make this a long one. Both men start with some good grappling sequences between each other before Takayama brutalises his opponent with a nasty kick to the back. There's some good transitions here as Nakamura tries his best to disable the giant but finds himself consistently overpowered and thrown around. Takayama hits harder, is far stronger: the only thing he can do is hope for a submission or a roll up, both of which he focuses a lot of his effort into. Takayama decides to play along and hit his own roll up pins, even a sunset press at one point, until he has enough of his shit and ends the match with a swift knee to the face after a failed small package for the pin. As stated, this is super short but enjoyable match: these two would have far better showcases against each other in later years, however this is a good tale of Nakamura as the Super Rookie getting way in over his head and paying the price. Check this out if you like either man and you can't be arsed watching a big epic."