[8.0] "What a great (and brutal) way for Tsuji to keep Japanese fans informed about how his excursion was going. It was supposed to be JONAH against Ishii, but NJPW wanted to keep the hoss fight formula. Thus, Tsuji was a great profile for the last-minute replacement. The fans were pretty happy to see him there, despite Tsuji being a heel at the time. That was a great chance to shine against a stud like Ishii, and Tsuji certainly took it. The lad displayed everything he had in store for the sheer pleasure of the crowd. Other than big strikes, forearms, and other stiff shots, Tsuji put on some fresh and unique sequences in this brutal bout, but what amazed me a lot was the Moonsault Plancha which was done with ease. Especially by a man of his size. These sequences quite surprised Ishii, but the Stone Pitbull was there to teach some lessons, and lessons were taught. Nonetheless, he didn't underestimate his opponent, and thankfully for him, his experience prevailed. Tsuji also referenced some old Ishii's rivals, but the veteran showed the young punk where he belongs : not yet at the top of the card. Ishii is the best worker possible to put anyone over, and it is even better when it's Ishii against the young punks. That was a superb slugfest where both lads showed great fighting spirit. Fantastic showcase for Tsuji at this very moment of his young career."
[6.0] "Pretty decent slugfest full of deadly strikes. Liked Tsuji's unique offence, it is so unexpected, and to me, that is entertaining. Ishii is solid as ever. Good clash of two strikers trading heavy shots."
[9.0] "Probably rating this higher than the rest due to me being here in person. Great atmosphere and a great introduction to Yota. What's not to love about big beefy men slapping meat? Crowd was standing by the end"
[6.0] "The format and pacing of the match was like every other Ishii match where its mostly up to the person hes facing to bring something new to the dynamic. They started off with the same old generic power moves and shoulder tackles and went into very unique and exciting combos. Yota impressed me here with how varied his arsenal was but still I went in expecting a hoss match. In a way it was, but I wasnt expecting it to add another dynamic of Yota adding more than just strong style moves. Even still, with his physique while most of the stuff he does is unreal and demands praise, it does look a bit unnatural at times. As a far as an Ishii match goes, it was very good but once you get tired of the formula, you can only like so much."
[8.0] "A very good, hard hitting match as expected from Ishii. Tsuji kept up, and had tons of unique moves and sequences to throw Ishii off of his game. As Kevin Kelly alluded to after the match, it seems Tsuji has almost fully formed into a world class competitor, one or two more matches like this from him and he will be a new favorite of mine."
[8.0] "First-class wrestling and Tomohiro Ishii once again defends the title of the main workhorse of the generation and of course I am glad that he won and very much look forward to his further victories, he deserved many more victories. Yota Tsuji showed professionalism in the universal genre, he jumped like a Junior and fought like a heavyweight and surprised with new combinations. It turned out very well to show a new fighter to a larger audience and demonstrate the strength of a veteran who is loved all over the world. Like without question!"
[8.0] "I wasn't familiar with Tsuji's work at all but I'm really impressed: he has the look, the charisma, the moves and even got the crowd cheering for him ! I really want to see more of him now and I can't wait for his NJPW return. Props to Ishii for making him looks so good as well."
[9.0] "That was an excellent singles match. Since last seeing Yota Tsuji wrestle for NJPW, he has improved astronomically. The shots that both men landed on each other was brutal, in classic Ishii style. I'd love to see how Tsuji matches with more technical wrestlers, but he's excellent in the power striking style. 9/10"
[8.0] "Tomohiro Ishii versus Yota Tsuji for the first time ever in singles competition! A match that was unexpected, but ended up being a MOTN contender, if not the actual MOTN. Ishii has been having one of the best years of his career in 2022 and is high on my Wrestler of the Year ballot, which is insane considering he will turn 47 in under two months. Tsuji has become one of the most compelling New Japan excursion wrestlers out there, as he has utilized his influences to put together a compelling move set that includes clear homages to the wrestlers he looked up to. That created quite an interesting experience for Ishii, who faced a Young Lion he had beaten up in multi-wrestler matches, memories of battles of yesteryear, and the evolution of a future star all at once. And those stories were told incredibly well throughout this match. Minor details, such as Ishii having a V-Trigger attempt scouted or Tsuji attempting the Young Lion special, aka the Boston Crab. One an example of Ishii knowing how to anticipate the offense that Tsuji attempted through his battles with the likes of Kenny Omega and Naomichi Marufuji, the other a clear display of Ishii getting into Tsuji's head. And, per usual, that led to Ishii bringing the absolute best out of his opponent. Tsuji had to change things up and strike in creative combinations just to gain any form of progress. Referencing old Ishii rivals such as Hirooki Goto, Marufuji, Omega, and Katsuyori Shibata only worked so well. It was when Tsuji began tying in his interesting blend of Lucha Libre and British-style wrestling that he began to close in on victory. Ishii was not underestimating his opponent, however, but instead trying to make them prove that they belonged. Especially as someone who was granted the opportunity that Ishii never was: To be a Young Lion and thus go on excursion. The final few minutes of the match were a superlative display of what makes Ishii one of the best wrestlers on the planet. The ability to internalize pain, psychologically obliterate an opponent, and save your hardest shots for last are why any win over him is a significant moment, no matter how accomplished his opponent may or may not be. We also saw just how far Tsuji has come as he put together a closing stretch that made him look the part of a future pillar of New Japan. In the end, it simply came down to a battle of wills as innovation met grit once more. I could not ask for anything else. 4 stars, 8 out of 10. One heck of a match!"
[9.0] "Great match. Was slightly concerned after Tsuji was announced to be Ishii's opponent after seeing a couple of his RevPro matches, but never doubt Ishii's ability to have an incredible fight with anyone. Tsuji looked really good and both men had the audience on their feet for the last 5 minutes. MOTN."
[9.0] "Best Tsuji match I've seen. He's gonna be a great call up to the NJPW roster very soon. They pushed that he needs more time in RevPro but it's just a matter of time. This is how you book him though. Against Ishii who I think can do no wrong.The stone pitbull always comes through!"
[9.0] "I have not watched basically any of Yota Tsuji's RevPro work but I think I can safely say that this is the best match of his career. This was great, I think the first 12 or so minutes were pretty good but the last 5 minutes made it great. Awesome back and forth and fighting spirit that made Tsuji look strong in defeat. He has a cool moveset for someone who is kind of a big man. Ishii great as always. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Ishii does almost the same stuff every time, but just like with Ric Flair, it is nearly impossible to get sick of it. This was probably Tsuji's best performance so far, although Ishii did a lot to make him look even better than he was. ****1/2"
[9.0] "Awesome match between Ishii and Tsuji that had no reason to be that good and definitely exceeded everyone's expectations because no one could have expected anything as tremendous as this, a match that wasn't even planned in the first place since it was supposed to be JONAH vs Ishii and I was terribly excited to see it so I was super disappointed and I didn't expected much from Tsuji. Tsuji is surely a good worker but I never understand the hype around him, he's often average and his excursion to RevPro isn't that good but here I was shocked, he overperformed and had the best match of his whole career, he was really unrecognizable. Ishii does miracles we know but Tsuji deserves credit, you don't make a good match alone and he was phenomenal in the role of the guy with the big fighting spirit. He challenged Ishii and stood up to him, they both gave us phenomenal back-and-forth action with so much intensity and the crowd was loud for it. Definitely the best match of this Royal Quest behind FTR vs Aussie Open, big recommendation."
[9.0] "Like the Okada match, a greatest hits compilation for Ishii, but this one was competitive, and nasty AF. I was completely unfamiliar with Yota Tsuji before this match, by the end of it, I was very enthusiastic to see him on NJPW programming once his excursion is finished. He and Shota will be absolute stars. That moonsault plancha over the ropes popped me so hard. It's your Ishii usual of forearm exchanges, wars of chops, tests of running tackles, etc etc. You know, slappin meat. It doesn't really matter how Ishii tropey this match was, because the crowd was explosive by the final sequences. This was Tsuji's chance for a big moment when the opportunity arose due to JONAH's absence, well he more than seized it. Sensational. I'm really excited to watch this one back."
[9.0] "An unexpected banger of a match. I expect Ishii to be good, but Tsuji more than rose to the occasion as well, showing off impressive versatility with an array of power moves, strikes, and even a moonsault plancha over the top rope to the outside! They started off fairly slow, but built steadily to a dramatic conclusion. By the final three count we were all on our feet in the crowd. Not sure how it'll come across on tape, but it was an absolute blast live."
[9.0] "Match of a career for Yota Tsuji, who had fantastic chemistry with Ishii. Ishii's also felt fresh in this match with some variety in his power through spots. Great near falls which got the audience multiple times as they didn't expect Yota to kick out or to get so close to victory. Crowd was all on their feet by the last couple minutes of the match."
[7.0] "I really love Ishii, but even though the match was fun to watch, I found it uninventive: Ishii just used his usual tricks. The game is therefore really worth watching, but it is not exceptional in my eyes. I was a bit disappointed."
[10.0] "Best Tsuji match I have seen by far, he went to war with Ishii and delivered a match far better than I thought when I knew it was these 2 against each other"
[8.0] "Banger. These two went at it in classic Ishii style but Tsuji really kept up his end of the deal. Tsuji looks well placed to be at that NEVER title level right out the gate to me, mixing beautifully a blend of hoss style, big impact moves with some high flying, athletic work too. The crowd were on their feet by the end. ****1/4"
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