Jake Lee vs. Shigehiro Irie

[6.0] "Lee certainly had a comfy spot in Irie's backpack, because Irie carried the fuck out of him, I don't know what it is with Lee in this tournament specifically I mean, but he doesn't excite me at all, there is barely any energy in his performances, like he cant be bothered, I guess he tries to be nonchalant but it ain't working out bud. On top of that, his moveset is just dull to me. Irie on the other hand was gold in this match, he made it watchable, his comebacks were fiery and just great while his offense looked impactaful as always."

[5.0] "Jake Lee was not good in this match and I am usually a fan of his. His control was dull especially outside, his crowd interaction just amplified the lack of atmosphere and his selling was a mixed bag too. Things picked up with Irie's comebacks but did not save the match from being skippable. **3/4."

[8.0] "Lee's ruthless behaviour against Irie's great fire created some superb sparkles. That felt very intense, they clicked so well. Lee could have smashed Irie all night that the later would be stood up again and again."

[6.0] "While Lee controlled most of this match, it really felt like it was dragging out. Most of it was just dull but in Irie was very good at fiery comebacks. Just lacked intensity although I think it was more on Lee not even reacting to some offense."

[6.0] "Irie's performance and the finishing stretch made this a decent match. Jake Lee's work was so boring and dull and half of his offense looked unimpactful and some mistimed like his moonsault."

[9.0] "For me the match is super cool with Jake Lee being better match after match since his return. This is huge."

[6.0] "It's back to square one with Jake Lee, his performances again became uninspiring and paint-by-numbers. Irie did a (surprisingly) great job making Lee look good, but there's only so much he could do. ***"

[7.0] "I enjoyed this match quite a bit, but a few clunky spots and too much of Jake Lee's stalling tactics kept it from being great to me. I know the latter is part of his character, but it does not add anything to his matches for me."

[8.0] "Good match between Jake Lee and Shigehiro Irie, very entertaing to watch and good history told in the ring"

[8.0] "Really fun match here, both play their characters and roles very well. Jake is great as a bully against smaller opponents and Irie is able to keep the match at a faster pace than Jake can lapse into when he's in control. The underdog Irie constantly flipping things around whenever Jake began to gloat was really entertaining."

[7.0] "It's a good match, mostly thanks to Irie who brought the fire and intensity. He tried to pick up the pace so many times but Jake just wouldn't do it. He would hit him with like a knee and just stand around for 10 seconds. I've only been watching AJPW for a little while but this has happened in like every Jake Lee match I've watched. Not really a fan so far. Irie though, good powerhouse. The spot where he went for that running headbutt and Jake knee'd him was probably the best part of the match. ***1/4"