Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii

[7.0] "A really good strong style match here. Not even close to Ishii's other matches in the G1 23 tournament but a good Ishii bombfest is always enjoyable. Makabe doesn't always do it for me but he was solid here. Fun and exactly what it needed to be.. ***1/2"

[8.0] "Togi Makabe wrestling with an injured back. Tomohiro Ishii with the mileage of two consecutive all-time classics against Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata. Both men carrying battle scars into what was destined to be a slugfest between two heavy-hitters who would not stop throwing haymakers until the other was incapacitated. And that is exactly what transpired. Makabe used his superior size, strength, and muscularity to overwhelm the smaller opponent. Ishii, however, was relentless in his attacks to the injured back of Makabe. It was a fantastic showing that displayed why Makabe is so highly regarded as a brawler and why the word Pitbull is used so commonly to describe Ishii. By the end of five minutes, it feels like 15 have passed. And I mean that in the best way. And when Makabe drops Ishii directly on his head with a Powerbomb, intention is just as believable as accident. Especially when he immediate follows with a Bridging German Suplex that has the crowd on fire. This escalates at every turn, with both men increasing the level of violence that they are willing to dish out as their attempts at victory continuously fail. And it culminates with the crowd in a frenzy and both men throwing absolute bombs to the end. 4.25 stars, 8.5 out of 10. Tremendous."

[8.0] "This was a highly entertaining scrap, with two heavyset dudes just beating the piss out of each other."

[10.0] "This match was really excellent. I really loved it. There was something about it that just seemed big and the crowd was into it the whole time. Ishii targeted Makabe's back throughout the match. Ishii hit Makabe with repeated really stiff chops which was cool but gained control after a scoop powerslam. Ishii again got control and got a really nice sequence of chops and forearms to Makabe in the corner. It was just really great. Both men went after each other with hard strikes the entire time. Makabe got Ishii up for a powerbomb but dropped him right on his neck which looked kinda sick. Makabe followed up with a nice bridging German suplex for a two. I thought it was really great how Ishii tried to stop Makabe from going to the top rope and reaching and grabbing his legs but kept getting stomped on but he finally got up and hit Makabe with a brain buster. Ishii headbutted Makabe then hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. There was an excellent moment when Ishii stopped a Spider German than got up and hit a nice lariat which kinda reminded me of the ending of Kobashi vs Hansen in 93'. He then got Makabe into a powerbomb position and hit a buckle bomb which got a big pop. I really liked when they were attacking each other, Makabe hitting chops and Ishii slapping. Ishii hit a really nice Dragon suplex for a two count. There were times where both men kicked out after less than a one count which were great. Makabe finally won after hitting a King Kong knee drop."

[7.0] "For sure one of the most surprising matches of the tournament; at one point I was worried about its success, but luckily for Makabe, Ishii kept the ground warm for series of insane shots and counter-attacks. ***1/2"

[8.0] "This was a stiff and brutal war. Both men held no punches and proceeded to beat the crap out of each other. The botched power bomb was a scary moment but they recovered nicely and proceeded to have an almost tournament stealing match. This was phenominal and continues Ishii’s coming out party."