Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

[9.0] "Here they took the Shibata vs Ishii formula and made it practically perfect, my favorite match between them (better than G1 23, sorry), this one seems more brutal, it has its moments of fighting spirit, but in a more realistic way, and Shibata's backfist (HOLY SHIT) left me speechless. I believe this is my favorite Shibata match (debatable with the match vs Okada) [****3/4]."

[10.0] "The three best words to describe this match are: Brutal, Stiff and Badass. This was brilliant, a true "strong-style" match with two of the best guys who can do it. This wasn't better than some of their other matches together, i felt this one was far too short and should have been given more time so that it could possibly rival the other matches, but it was still amazing to watch and had me on the edge of my seat halfway through. It was two guys just beating the ever living shit out of one another for under 20 minutes, all for out entertainment, what more could you possibly want?"

[10.0] "I dunno, for me this wasn't much worse than their legendary 2013 match. I was actually sweating by the end of this one. Whatever you have to say, you get stuff in a Tomohiro Ishii match you get nowhere else. He and Katsuyori Shibata work SO damn well together. Out of this world stiff, and amazing sequences. Not a dull moment for me. There was one point Shibata had him in a submission, and the crowd were going crazy (as they were for most of this match), and Ishii somehow put his foot on the rope at the EXACT perfect moment. Little details like that, plus the selling. The storytelling, too. Just two crazy bastards, who love hurting each other and want to prove who's the toughest. This is up there with Ishii and Shibata's individual best matches. I absolutely loved it."

[10.0] "This match ruled! Rewatching this match reminded me of the great chemistry between Shibata and Ishii. They used to beat the hell out of each other every time they fought in the ring. NEVER title matches during this period offered a different element to these big shows. *****"

[9.0] "Any time Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata get in the ring together it is magic. They just hit so, so, so hard and here they just allowed one another to do suplexes/brainbusters to see which can hurt the other more so they can't stand. Absurd violence that is beautiful, ending with a rocking slap fight. ****1/2"

[9.0] "The matches that these two are having don't even have the feel/look of a wrestling match due to how hard they are hitting each other. Whenever a slap, lariat, forearm, or kick was being thrown at any point of the match, you could hear the sound of it, and sweat would fly off of their bodies due to how hard they were hitting each other. Then at the end, we got some very fighting spirit between both of them and at the end which was very good. Shibata would get Ishii to pass out to the sleeper but then hits the PK for good measure afterward to win. ****1/2"

[7.0] "Definitely the weakest of their singles matches so far and overall a huge disappointment. Still in "very good" territory just by nature, however they didn't add anything new to the mix, while also never being as engaging as every other singles they've had. It just felt like things didn't come together for the most part. Their "fighting spirit" exchanges were already getting a bit overzealous but the exchange of vertical suplexes is by far the most lame example of the bunch. That really rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like they only started to really kick into that higher gear just as the match came to a finish. Of course you still have all the nasty striking, no selling and one-counts like you would expect, but by this point it just feels redundant - especially since every other match did it better. (3.5*)"

[9.0] "I do like their 2013 outing a little bit more, but this is still an amazing match. I can watch Shibata and Ishii kick each other's ass for the rest of my life."

[10.0] "Somehow topped their Wrestle Kingdom 10 match from the month prior. Felt like a more dynamic match. Ishii and Shibata know how to make pro-wrestling look about as "real" as you can get without losing the basic aspects of a pro-wrestling match or simply shooting. Ishii's selling, especially the sleeper hold towards the end while he was spitting out blood, was outstanding."

[10.0] "I am struggling to put into words the emotions I experienced watching this match. The best way I can put it is that I started this match over and watched it all the way through again because I was actively realizing how much I was overlooking in this genuine masterpiece of a story. Or should I say, another masterpiece in one of the greatest rivalries in the history of professional wrestling. Katsuyori Shibata and Tomohiro Ishii blend sport and art as well as anyone ever have. In this one, an underlying tone exists to set the stage for everything else we see. Boredom. After years of warfare, Shibata has grown bored of his rivalry with Ishii and the path they so often travel to a finish. He knows exactly what exchanges they will have and exactly how they will turn out. At this point, he is willing to literally give himself up to the signature offense of Ishii just to feel like this is still a challenge. It eerily resembles the story of Shibata leaving professional wrestling entirely during the 2000s. Leave it to Ishii to remind Shibata that there is absolutely nothing quite like professional wrestling. Ishii obliges at every step of the way and plays the game that Shibata has initiated. He knows he is being mocked. He knows Shibata has grown bored. He knows that, much as the New Japan Dojo passed on Ishii, a member of that very generation of Musketeers is now viewing The Stone Pitbull as inadequate. And thus we see one of the most violent matches of their brutal careers. Every strike has a little bit extra on it. Every Suplex cracks a little bit more of their respective fighting spirit. Every sequence tests just how far they are willing to go to not only win, but mask the pain they are experiencing. And suddenly, Shibata is bored no more. He does not just try to win. He tries to humiliate Ishii by forcing him to tap out. Over and over, Shibata obsesses over the idea of ending this rivalry once and for all. Not because of boredom, but because he does not know how much more punishment he can take. Ishii is not his inferior, but his equal in every way. Perhaps even his superior when it comes to the Strong Style game. So Shibata must adapt, search for answers, and admit defeat in the battle of fighting spirit in order to survive as champion. And if that story is not compelling, I do not know what is. 5 stars, 10 out of 10. A match where even all-time brutality is but a fraction of the appeal."

[9.0] "Here these two beasts have a match that you pretty much expect them to have. Lots of toughness on display."

[10.0] "Another brutal chapter in their rivalry that blew me away with just how hard these two men hit each other. The spot where Shibata caught Ishii's kick and turned it into an armbar was truly awe-inspiring. 4. 75/5"

[10.0] "What the hell that i just saw, really amazing. I have never get tired of watching these two guys beating the hell out of each other, ***** stars from me"

[9.0] "Like their WK match, this wasn't the lightning fast sprint that we got back in 2013 with these two, but the slower build up to the finishing stretch worked here and what we got was pretty damn incredible. This is their second best match and almost as enjoyable as their iconic G1 bout ****3/4."

[10.0] "What an absolute war and imo their next best behind G1 23. This comes right after the WK10 classic and they manage to top it by upping the showmanship and then upping the intensity. The first half is what happens in all their matches, the strike and move trade off, but this time they take it even further, trading suplex's as well. However, unlike most trade offs, someone tends to get an upperhand rather quickly in the ones here. As we get to the back end of this match the strikes get so hard and the fighting spirit of both can't keep up with the other. Then we get the amazing end sequence of exchanges and strikes, the brutal arm submission, and then some more brutal strikes. These guys came across as absolute warriors and it's performances like these that ultimately had fans craving Shibata higher up the card ****3/4"

[9.0] "I loved this match when I first watched it 4 years ago, and while I no longer have to same connection with it, I definitely still think it's an amazing match. It was yet another case of Shibata and Ishii beating the holy hell out of each other. Many times, due to both wrestlers' great selling, I forgot I was even watching a pro-wrestling match and actually worried that one of them had been seriously injured. I could just watch these two smash away at each other forever. Their passion and desire to not just win the belt but to also prove they were stronger than the other was beautiful. This was quite similar to their WK10 match, which held my enjoyment back quite a bit on a rewatch, but it wasn't so similar to the point that it felt like a cheap copy, since there were still plenty of tweaked spots and completely new exchanges that made the match fresh enough to be appreciated in its own right. ****1/2"

[8.0] "This was similar to their Dome match the month before, but not quite as good, possibly because it was so similar and felt like something of a retread."

[7.0] "7. 2/10 : Once you watch their G1 match, which in my opinion is the best one, you feel like you have seen it all. Not to take away from the war these two warriors just had, it's just I didn't feel like it was anything but a longer encore of their previous match."

[10.0] "An incredible, super stiff war between two excellent wrestlers. The opening sequences are excellent, the middle section is full of life, and the ending sequences are astonishing in their brutality. Excellent work. *****."

[10.0] "These two never fail to impress. Counting their G1 and Wrestle Kingdom matches up to this point, I'd say this match was the best one of the lot, and I LOVED both of the other two. Some callbacks were so good and the fighting spirit stuff was great, some people may not like it but I felt it worked wonders here. Incredible follow up to their Wrestle Kingdom match. (****3/4)"

[10.0] "What a War! . These two just beat the crap out of each other. Way better than their Wk10 match bcoz the crowd was more hot and commentary was better here. How can anyone give it a 5 or 6 or 8, are u guys serious or just trolls. This match was the stiffest i have ever seen between these two and i think it is better than their G1 23 match. Just amazing(****3/4)"

[9.0] "Definitely one of the weaker matches between the two, but that's saying a lot when it's still a damn good match. This one was very different from the previous encounters between the two because of how slower paced it was. The crowd was pretty hot for both men again, more so Shibata this time around, but Ishii also had his fans noticeable as well. The match started off slow with Shibata challenging Ishii to come at him, so they traded a few spots here and there. The second third of this match was probably the slowest with each man gaining and taking momentum from eachother with their devastating strikes and kicks. Towards the end though is when things really pick up to the feeling that the Dome match had where things moved quickly but better paced. In the end not my favorite of these two, but still a damn great match, ****1/2."

[10.0] "Melhor combate da NJPW que eu já vi. Shibata e Ishii se espancando foi INCRIVEL! Momentos em que Shibata tentava fazer submissão e Ishii tocava na corda foram ótimos de assistir. Ótima dinamica entre os dois workers."

[8.0] "While I enjoyed their previus matches more so, this one just flew by and was very, very hard hitting. Also told a great story of Ishii needing his title back, and their was less brutal, cringy spots, but was still just as hard hitting. **** stars."

[9.0] "IMO better than Wrestle kingdom 10 excellent match two angry mother fuckers beating the shit out of each other wow ****3/4"

[7.0] "I gave this match *** 1/2 stars out of 5. This is by far my favorite Shibata vs Ishii match. There were a couple of very fluid counters from Shibata that went from a strike (by Ishii) to a submission move. Very good stuff."

[6.0] "The second part of the match was really great when both try to avoid damage and counter moves. The thing is, it's like they did their best in the first half to make it unimportant. All those back & forth contest made the moves feel harmless. After you've taken the kind of beating they took at the 10min mark, one more one less doesn't really matter. I found it pretty cool the first time (G1 2013) because it made sense they wanted to see who is the master of this style (which is NOT strong style! cf: Inoki, Gotch, shoot wrestling... do your homework! ) and they kept it short and focus. After these losses, Ishii should now try to create something new to expect beating Shibata, (like dodging? ) it would be much more exciting."

[4.0] "I will give 4 points for the incredible effort but this style is just not for me, honestly it makes me uncomfortable. It's like they are having a contest to see how many concussions and internal injuries they can risk in one match. Maybe they are just "working" me and they are in actuality playing it very safe, but I feel we will look back on these matches the same way we look at unprotected chair shots to the head, or the dangerous head-drops from late 90s AJPW. The mentality of always pushing the envelope of what a human body can endure is exciting but also very dangerous when pushed too far, and I can't help but feel these guys are going over the limit when they are slamming shots into each other's throats or cracking their heads together. Plus, for god's sake, the point of a wrestling match should be to WIN, and these guys are just blatantly letting each other hit moves! I know it's supposed to be about "pride" or something, but just try to show me any real scenario where that happens. It totally takes me out of the match. If anything I'm starting to think a 4 is generous, spamming stiff and dangerous hits should not be the only requirement of a classic, and don't talk to me about selling either because if the pain is 100% real then it's not really selling anymore, it's just being in intense pain for the pleasure of others."

[10.0] "This was a bit better than the Dome match IMO. Shibata's attack felt more diverse here and that really had my interest in this match and Ishii was just really good at selling here as well. The crowd was WAY better than the Dome match and overall had a better presentation than the Dome match which was a plus for me. (****1/2)"

[8.0] "These 2 had a MOTYC at Wrestle Kingdom 10, and while the re-match was not as good, and not a MOTYC, it was still REALLY good. ***3/4"