Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

[9.0] "If you like Ishii/Shibata matches, you'll like this one as well. Not as dramatic as their most famous match from a few months before in the G1 Climax, but this one might be a little more hard hitting. It goes almost 16 minutes, which feels long for these guys, but still very much feels like it's in sprint mode. Interesting part of the match is when they take turns either splashing or kicking each other in the corner. That was a unique display of their consistent theme of one-upmanship. There was also a great display of drama (and cardio) near the end of the bout where they would each throw bombs at one another followed by a one count. Great stuff here."

[8.0] "A very underrated, hidden gem-type of match. Ishii and Shibata will always be a banger, no matter what, and this was no different. The stiff chops, kicks, holds, both of them trading kicks and lariats like it was nothing. The start was slow, granted it did pick up the pace throughout, and the pacing itself felt a bit off at times, but it didn't make this match any less enjoyable or unwatchable. Just a really stiff match between two guys who have a long history with one another."

[8.0] "I was unsure of this match at first. I thought in the first 1/3rd that both wrestlers were lacking energy and creativity, but after a long turnbuckle exchange which saw both men daring one another to unleash an attack as hard as they could this match found its rhythm. They hit hard and the selling was really good. Of course they were fighting through the pain but it was exactly that. You felt the pain they were in. The exhaustion was written on their faces and body language. The finish had Shibata's signature headbutt spot, a knee, ushigoroshi and a PK for the win. This might be their weakest match together which speaks to the quality of their rivalry. ****1/4"

[10.0] "This is a really underrated match in the many Shibata and Ishii have had against each other. It is extremely hard hitting as always. Ishii and Shibata trade turns giving each other their best corner/turnbuckle attacks, which I honestly enjoyed a ton; it worked very well for both of their characters. The action never seems to stop and Ishii's face literally had the bottom of Shibata's boot marked into his face. Not to mention, Ishii was bleeding from his mouth, which is not a rare occurrence in his matches to be fair. (5*****)"

[7.0] "This match had a very fast start like their last match, but this one clearly doesn't have the same fire or intensity as their last match clearly. I still thought this was good, but it felt like they wanted to work this like their last match but add on some time, but this obviously lacked the fire of their last match.***1/2"

[3.0] "Sometimes you try to do a different spin on a classic story and it just doesn't work. It was about one-upmanship and pride, but double-downs came at the wrong time and they were not built up very well. Sequences that had some juice in them didn't last long, which in the end made it feel like this match never got into a higher gear."

[9.0] "I loved this almost as much as their legendary first singles encounter. Katsuyori Shibata, a man of immeasurable pride, was desperate to prove he was better than Tomohiro Ishii. Invert that for Ishii and you have the beginning of the added layers of their G1 classic. This time around, Shibata was desperate to avenge his previous loss? but Ishii no longer feared his power. Massive mistake. Everything in this match was about raising the bar for pain tolerance and fighting spirit from their first bout. And they did exactly that. An absolute BATTLE that had me gasping for air. I understand why some moments were divisive, but it was all about continuity, the story, and the disturbing beauty of psychological warfare. 4. 5 stars, 9 out of 10."

[8.0] "This was a good follow up to the G-1 match however while still being captivated by the action in the ring, I felt that there was something missing that the G-1 match had. What that was was something to really fight for besides the the fact that they had a classic match a few months prior. Could I recommend this to somebody or watch this again especially with my causal wrestling fan friends? Yes. But knowing that there was no stakes takes some of the fire out of me. ****"

[8.0] "A great match and a nice sequel to G1 23, however it doesn't live up to that ones quality. Expected, as G1 23 is an all time classic. This one is a bit slower at the start and turns the "your move, my move" trade off up a notch. But it never quite gets the same vibe as the G1 23 one. Still, it remains a great match ****"

[1.0] "The first half of this match is such bullshit. It felt like I was watching the worst PWG type match but with corner strikes. Ishii telling Shibata to run and hit a kick was baffling, it was silly and felt so self absorbing. Both guys seemed to be just running through their 50/50 spots with no build or reason at all. That sucked. Thankfully, both guys realised they are in Ryogoku and began having a competitive match where both looked like they were trying to win. It was too late though. Wow, this stunk bad. *1/4"

[9.0] "Shibata vs. Ishii is usually a great match and this one was no exception as they delivered an excellent brawl. I could have done without the headbutt spots, which they do every time out, but this was an otherwise awesome outing."

[9.0] "Not as explosive as their G1 match, but then again, there aren't many matches out there that are. I liked the pacing in this one a lot - it was great that in their 2nd match they changed it up a little bit & had a more slow paced matches that built & built as it went on. Thought both guys, in particular Ishii, did some really neat selling there & of course the offense of both looked as great as ever. The 2nd chapter of the Shibata vs. Ishii rivalry was a very enjoyable one - a great match. ****"

[8.0] "A very good match but probably the worst out of the Shibata/Ishii matches including their 2013 G1 match, their WK10 match, and their New Beginning in Osaka match. Compared to those other 3 matches these two wrestlers had (all of which were some of the best matches I've ever seen) this match saw both wrestlers lacking a bit of energy, and as such they weren't able to properly create as much match tension since they couldn't execute moves as properly as they should have. This match was still great with a lot of memorable moments however, as it still captured that strong style idea of fighting spirit and told the narrative of two absolute fighters being unwilling to give in to the other and doing their best to prove they themselves were the strongest. ****"

[7.0] "I gave this match *** 3/4. This was nothing special to me, and was quite repetitive of their previous match but this was not as fun."

[9.0] "Their previous encounter was fast paced and intense and with the white-hot crowd, it made for a Wrestlemania-esque spectacle. This match had almost too much hype to live up to and while it suffered a bit as a result, this was still one hell of a war. However, with the slower pace, there was a bit more storytelling in this one and I greatly enjoyed that aspect of it. An awesome match that fell just a little bit short of it's predecessor."

[9.0] "Very fun, intense and fast paced match. I enjoyed a little more than their G1 Climax match but not as great, nevertheless one of the best matches on the show, the crowd was extremely hot for this match"