[8.0] "This was an awesome match. After coming a great run in Impact, Jonah comes to New Japan and is once again impressive. He couldn't have wrestled a better opponent than Kazuchika Okada. Okada works well with just about anyone, and he made Jonah look like a million bucks here. Jonah had the size and strength advantage while Okada had to rely on speed and sheer perseverance. What makes it even better was that Jonah actually managed to beat Okada. That to me was a huge endorsement on what they thought of Jonah, to put him over arguably their biggest star. ****1/4"
[7.0] "Let's not kid ourselves here, this only has a reputation because Okada was booked to lose. Jonah's offense is stale, slow, and basic throughout the match, and he only looks conniving because Okada's selling is so elite. The finishing stretch was fun, but 80% of this match is forgettable. Okada practically willed this into be good, so this gets 3.5 Stars for his efforts alone."
[9.0] "JONAH could have been a modern-day Big Van Vader, but decided to go back to WWE. Sadge. Okada sold like a king for him and took some big meaty moves in every corner of the ring. JONAH came to destroy the poster boy and did it pretty well. Okada did a masterful job in terms of carrying the shit and facial expressions. We felt bad for him. JONAH has a cool moveset, though. The way the tension rose as the time was going by was quite something. The final minutes were breathless. Even if with COVID restrictions, the crowd was wild for it. The finish looked fucking strong, yeah. Surely one of the best fights of the 2022's G1 so far. The David vs. Goliath formula, when it's booked well, is always effective."
[8.0] "Ok match, some great actions and a luckly a clean finish. JONAH looked like a monster that slayered the monsters slayer. Despite this match didn't do anything to be remembered this is still a fun bout and one of the biggest highlight in JONAH's/Bronson Reed's carrer so far. ****1/4"
[8.0] "Both guys played their roles well here with Jonah as the monster heel, and Okada as the underdog babyface. Jonah uses his size/power advantage to just completely overwhelm Okada throughout the match. Jonah obviously did a great job with his power spots, and stuff throughout this match but I think Okada is the one who makes this match great. His selling here really makes Jonah look like a monster, and whenever Okada was on offense making a comeback it would always take him an extra shot or two to get him stunned. The finish got a big reaction, as Okada gets hit with two powerbombs, with one being him getting caught off the top rope and then a big splash to put him away for good.****1/4"
[7.0] "I enjoyed this well enough, though like many Okada matches it seems a little overrated to me. You can't deny his success but personally he doesn't click that well with me, for whatever reason. Even so, this was fun, and Jonah's final stretch of offense was great."
[7.0] "The crowd was sporadically making noise, but they lost it in the end when JONAH powerbombed Okada and jumped on him with a splash from the top rope for the three count. I'd start loving Okada alot more as a performer if he has more matches like these. This wasn't Okada formula, it was something different and it was brilliant. JONAH was great as the vicious big man but this was a masterclass from Okada as he made him look like a million bucks. This was a sensational main event and worth watching. The crowd exploding at the end gave me goosebumps, and I can't wait until they are allowed to cheer again."
[9.0] "I think it was one of the most memorable match of this G1 Climax. Of course not the best in ring compared to other pairings, but the last minutes were absolutly awesome with the crowd losing their mind for that shocking JONAH's domination !"
[8.0] "This was a great match, and it's one of those matches that a lot of wrestlers should study because both men played their roles exactly how they needed to. Okada's been playing into the Antonio Inoki tribute act for the 50th anniversary of the company, and this was a very fitting match for what Okada's trying to do. This was the modern Inoki/Vader. JONAH did a very good job making all his monstrous attacks look effective, and Okada was masterful working from underneath. It's just plain wrong to say Okada took the backseat just because he wasn't very offensive. Okada's the reason this match worked so well. His selling was tremendous. He made every attack look painful, even the most basic moves and small details. Okada's a pretty big in his own right, but he bumps incredibly well and realistically. The finishing stretch was amazing. JONAH hit two huge powerbombs and the splash for a huge reaction from the crowd. I can't wait for the rematch. ****"
[7.0] "I think these guys have a better match in them yet. Something was missing for me in the pacing, but the finishing sequence was top notch. Jonah has used his splash sparingly this entire tour and it's paying off as evidenced by the crowd reactions. Great selling by Okada during and after the match as well. The more I think about this match, the more I remember little parts that I liked, but I don't think I was ever truly on board until the ending. Maybe one for a rewatch down the road."
[10.0] "Absolutely fantastic match, with a brilliant finish and a brilliant story throughout. Okada wanting to lift JONAH ended up being beautifully told and it couldn't have been done better. JONAH catching Okada at the end was one hell of a moment."
[10.0] "I have been adamant on my "JONAH does nothing for me" stance since he was announced for the G1 earlier this year. His last two tournament matches (this match, and his one vs. Jeff Cobb) have me completely sold on him being a superstar worthy of being in the main event picture, wherever he ends up. Okada fought his heart out throughout this, and he played perfectly into the David v. Goliath story that this match intended on being. Everything worked beautifully for both men, and the result was a joy to watch. The finish had the crowd reacting audibly, and even the announcers were taken aback by that. ****3/4"
[8.0] "Jonah rapresent an atypical opponent for Okada, he not wrestled as the same wreslter he faced during last years. This is the best part of the match"
[7.0] "Oh, for the first time for myself I don't understand from where such a high score is. Honestly, well, it was fun to look at overcoming the trials from Okada and the domination was not boring at all. But for me personally, after Kazuchika came to life, the match didn't get much better. He was still resisting and there was something visible in places, but I was clearly expecting more. It seemed that the match was competent in terms of realism and physics. But the spectacle and the action was in the background. There was no David and Goliath fight here, rather an elite squash ace of the company. In general, it is good, but not super cool as others estimate."
[8.0] "A fantastic performance on how to make super-heavyweights look like killers. Okada spends this match selling so well for JONAH and trying, often to no avail, to find windows of opportunity to defeat the big man. JONAH shows up huge here and makes a case for his best match ever. The way he delivers the last 2 minutes of offense is fantastic and the audience ate it up."
[8.0] "Okada did do that much offensively but he was integral to making this match work as much as I thought it did. This was a very good, modern version of Hogan vs The Giant of the month. Okada had to try to survive the monster that was Jonah, while selling everything from Jonah's size to his offence. Okada bumped around to emphasise the danger Jonah brings. Minor things like how he sold the shoulder blocks or Jonah's attack on the back were superb. Okada felt like a genuine sympathetic figure in a way that he doesn't necessarily come across against someone like Jay White. Jonah had a hand in the match as well. He came in after the underwhelming run in WWE, where he tried to be a run of the mill indie clone which doesn't work when you're the size that Jonah is. Instead, he worked like a big man, which in turn made things like the big splash for the finish all the more special. ****"
[8.0] "This wasn't any sort of an action-packed spotfest yet it was still wonderfully compelling. I'd even consider it one of those 'blueprint' matches with such wonderful psychology that upcoming wrestlers of all sizes should study it in order to see how a truly compelling 'monster vs valiant babyface' match should be worked. Before this match, I thought Jonah was simply 'good' at best, and before this G1 I thought he was actually rather bad. After a match with the best wrestler in the world, I can now see that Jonah has the ability to be really good, even great. Okada did a great job right from the start selling the immense threat posed by Jonah's size-and-power advantage plus his strong confidence. Okada likewise did well selling the story of his struggle to pick Jonah up for his signature offence, again putting over just how great of a threat Jonah was. Unlike in previous performances I've seen of Jonah, here he did a very good job putting energy behind all his monster-style attacks, with Okada likewise bumping very energetically and selling extremely sympathetically to put those attacks over as truly devastating. It can't be understated just how world-class Okada's selling was, since it appropriately made Jonah look like a total world-beater (even after his embarrassing match and resulting loss earlier in the tournament to Yano). I really liked the psychology of how Okada's strategy was to evade at the last second whenever Jonah overcommitted himself to risky attacks, then following up with his signature energetic and athletic moves after Jonah was consequently left open. It felt significant once Okada finally got his comeback, and he looked impressively spry with all his attacks in the process, yet he still put great effort into selling the lasting physical damage caused by Jonah's massive dominance. It was even more impressive and exciting as Okada slowly brought out more of his bigger moves, with the best example being his beautiful tope con hilo to the outside (and he still took time to sell the physical toll hitting such a move took on him after the beating he'd taken). Because of how heavily and for how long he was retrained, it felt like this was going to end up being a generic 'miracle' comeback for Okada as he overcame that and eventually pulled out the win, but despite being able to evenly hang with Jonah and even begin finally hoisting him up for his signature power moves, Jonah simply kept destroying Okada with his massive strikes and power moves, and eventually it was too much for Okada to withstand -- a wonderfully straight-forward and logical story, presented with great performances from both men. Jonah's onslaught at the end starting with his big powerbomb counter to Okada's top-rope dropkick was absolutely awesome, and hearing the crowd come alive in a frenzy of shocked voices made for a great atmosphere as he scored the upset win. ***3/4"
[9.0] "Kazuchika Okada was particularly incredible in this match, especially his selling of the power of JONAH. Jonah, formerly Bronson Reed, did fantastic here himself being the imposing giant against one of the GOATs of wrestling. The ending to this match perhaps is one of the best endings to a match in 2022 entirely. That crowd shot up! ****1/4"
[9.0] "Great match. Okada was outwrestled, Jonah was way too big and too strong for the Rainmaker. His usual moves couldn't cut it and the Rainmaker had to dig deep; Okada showed admirable strength able to lift up the much larger, close to 350 lbs Super heavyweight but the Rainmaker was mostly on the defensive and completely out of his normal comfort zone. Jonah was very impressive showing incredible power and surprising agility, he took Okada's offense head on but rarely felt on the mat. This was a fun match that had the Rainmaker on the defense most of the time and the dynamic between Okada and Jonah was a fresh change of pace that we don't normally see in Okada matches. ****1/2"
[8.0] "Das war echt gut. JONAH spielt seine Rolle als Powerhouse hervorragend und macht Okada punktuell immer wieder platt und sieht am Ende relativ deutlich. Dieses Match hat es sogar geschafft den Fans mehr als nur klatschen zu entlocken, speziell im Finish haben die beiden richtig gute Reaktionen gezogen."
[9.0] "Kazuchika Okada's money has always been in his selling, but this one was a true masterclass in showing you the result throughout the fight. Yes, at times he had JONAH stopped with the dropkick. He went through his classic rotation, but there's was noticeable added pain to everything he did. Okada tapped into his fire, fighting from underneath and making you believe that JONAH was just another monster for him to slay. But the succession of moves towards the end where Okada whiffed on the diving dropkick, got duffed with a power bomb, then another, and finally ate the Frog Splash was played up perfectly. It felt like the final 3 in an NBA Final to sink the game 1 minute out. Okada is truly the best at giving you a real time reaction and did a lot to make JONAH here. Who's to tell if this will end up in a victory stateside for Okada heading into Wrestle Kingdom season, but on this night, JONAH felt like he arrived. ****3/4"
[7.0] "The surprise result and crowd reaction was admittedly awesome, but the match itself wasn't enough for me to go any higher. I just think JONAH is far too slow and his moveset doesn't wow me to the degree of a Jeff Cobb for example. Make no mistake about it, this match was all about the genius of Okada. ***3/4"
[8.0] "It started off slower than I liked but once Okada hit a big dive I didn't see coming at all it got great. He has been kind of meh this tournament but it's like he was determined to get JONAH over as a monster and he did just that. Sold all his offence like death itself and that finish was perfect. Absolutely one of my favorite finishes to a match all year and the crowd did not see it coming one bit. Great stuff from these 2. ****1/4"
[7.0] "This was a great performance by Okada. JONAH moves a little too slow for my liking and makes some of the spots awkward as Okada has to wait for him to catch up. JONAH beating Okada but losing to Yano is interesting booking, and admittedly not something I agree with, but the match itself was good. It does have me curious to see how far JONAH's push will go."
[7.0] "more than a good match, it was a pretty emotional one. Most than the first half was pretty flat, even boring, the struggles and moves from JONAH didn't connected with the crowd, until they realized it was a probability for JONAH to beat the rainmaker. The final 7-8 minutes were brilliant, with an Okada almost recovered, but destroyed by all JONAH's force. Again, not a good match, but more than a satisfactory one. [***1/2]"
[8.0] "Okada and JONAH worked really well together. Okada did some incredible moves including a dive over the ropes to the outside, as well as the quick elbow that all flowed really well. That finish was absolutely outstanding. Okada took 2 nasty powerbombs and that dive from JONAH. Great stuff. 8/10"
[6.0] "6.5 - Very good but very simple. Okada did everything to make JONAH seem monstrous. The simplest things like a headlock or shoulder tackle were hefty. JONAH has some good moves and strikes, they just didn't pack much into such a long bout."
[8.0] "This was great, and it's the second best match of tournament so far. I'm really impressed by JONAH, he has the potential to be a star in NJPW. **** 1/2"
[9.0] "Blueprint of what a big man vs fighting babyface match should be. Okada's selling performance is tremendous, and everything Jonah hit him with felt like it hurt. One of my favourite matches in the G1 this year."
[7.0] "That is, they merge Jeff, although last year, he calmly destroyed the Academy, and now he is in a generally incomprehensible place. And I don't understand at all why and for what to promote JONAH. He is the most incomprehensible performer, but at the same time, he calmly defeats Kazuchika"
[8.0] "It was nice to finally see something from NJPW that felt a bit different. Jonah is a good fit for New Japan and brings something different to the table. While I don't quite see it as the 'master class' that some are claiming it to be, I do believe that it was a very solid match. Loved the finish, too."
[10.0] "This match was JONAH's coming out party in NJPW. It was the 2022 version of Big Van Vader vs. Antonio Inoki. Vader was the monster heel who became a made man overnight by defeating the Living Legend & God-like figure, Antonio Inoki. That was what JONAH accomplished in this match. He was even able to hang tick for tack in a long winded epic match against one of the masters of that style of match (the other masters of this style of match are Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega, & Hiroshi Tanahashi, even Will Ospreay is starting to work his way into that category, along with "Switchblade" Jay White). This is not the last time that these 2 will face each other. I do expect them to clash again at a soon coming PPV, even Wrestle Kingdom 2023 would be great for me. Congratulations to JONAH, who also ended Okada's 2022 G1 Climax A Block undefeated streak. This was a MOTYC. Rating for this match: ****3/4"
[9.0] "What a match. Much better than I expected. Classic Puroresu match where the native ace takes on a gaijin "monster" heel and the quality of the in-ring work did not disappoint. Okada has the upper hand at first, but JONAH slowly wears him down and begins to utilize his power and strength. This match was also very well-structured with a good finishing stretch. ****1/2"
[10.0] "This is really a testament to how good Kazuchika Okada is. He's a guy well over 6ft tall who can bump and rag doll like someone significantly smaller. He put everything into putting JONAH over. JONAH held up his end as the monster. One of my favourite matches in this style I can remember."
[7.0] "seeing such a high rating in the match between these two, I was interested. Expected much more. I wanted a dynamic and tough match, but got a boring, slow and not interesting match. I do not agree with the previous commentators and the rating in general. I would put 3.5 stars."
[10.0] "Fabulous! Basically, this is the Antonio Inoki vs Vader from this generation, a true Goliath vs David match! JONAH looked strong all of the fucking time here, and Kazuchika Okada knew exactly how to shine his opponent up, selling everything perfectly and making sure that the crowd was really buying the Top Dog. Tremendous psychology and character work from both men here, and the in-ring action was also magnific, they mixed up their styles very well and delivered this majestic match. This is not the best match of the tournament only because of Shingo Takagi vs Will Ospreay, but boy oh boy, this was WONDERFUL! ****3/4"
[9.0] "This match was really very entertaining and very well conducted, with an exceptional dramatic construction and a lot of emotion. Jonah delivers an excellent performance, and the fight between the Japanese hero and the foreign beast takes on epic proportions, despite some tiny technical approximations from the beast. But that was a fantastic game! ****1/4"
[10.0] "One of the best matches of the year. Definitely the best NJPW match of the year so far. Never expected JONAH to inspire Okada to give his best performance in a long time. Amazing selling and facial expressions and overall awesome match. JONAH looks like a superstar and serious threat thanks to how much Okada put on for him. The first truly fresh feeling match in this year's tournament. Not a five star match, but close. ****3/4"
[8.0] "What a match! JONAH really clicking with NJPW and this match has really put him on the map. Okada made him look like a monster as only Okada can, can't wait to see where JONAH goes from here."
[9.0] "That wasn't fast match in the beginning, but last 10 minutes was great. JONAH usually is not a good wrestler. In this match, he showed real world class and proved that he can get it. So, 4.25 for this one"
[9.0] "What a fucking match. Okada and JONAH literally tore the house down with a finishing sequence so exciting that the crowd just forgot all restrictions and screamed in awe. Okada took the back seat here and let his rival take the spotlight, and JONAH responded accordingly, with a solid performance, living up to the stage he was in. This match was so good, for moments I was thinking I wouldn't mind if JONAH has a run as the top dog in NJPW, title included."
[9.0] "I was going back and forth wether to rate this as an 8 or a 9 but I've settled for the 9 because this was a masterclass of a performance by Okada. He made JONAH look like as much of a threat as Vader and I don't have to tell you that JONAH is *definitely* not as much of a threat as Big Van fucking Vader. Truly couldn't have been worked better and that's why Okada is one of the greatest ever. The last 5 minutes are phenomenal and the crowd was the loudest I've seen for NJPW this year, especially in the last few seconds where JONAH hit the 2 powerbombs and the big splash for the win. A tremendous success and without a shadow of a doubt the best match of JONAH's career. ****1/4"
