Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata

[9.0] "Legit might be my pick for the most underrated match from both dudes career. This shit is a HARD hitting match. The kicks and strikes are freaking so intense man. There absolute beats and this match is so much fun. (****1/2)"

[9.0] "Just two hard-hitting beasts doing what they do best. The kicks thrown in this match had me feeling like I was the one being hit. / Incredible 9/10 / No SOTM for this match cuz there wasn't like a single sequence that stood out imo."

[6.0] "This was as good as their first match from earlier in the year, but in some ways that is disappointing as I thought their first match was itself disappointing. This match, like the first one, was good, but I expected it to be so much better, especially when Shibata had a great match with Satoshi Kojima. It was a good, stiff, hard-hitting match, but good is about it, and for these two, I expected to see much better."

[8.0] "I really felt invested in Nagata as a babyface and the two having to beat the holy hell out of each other for the victory. Nagata was great as was Shibata and was a good match considering the types of matches the NEVER belt entails. (****)"

[7.0] "A very good strong style match. Nagata hated Shibata because Shibata had disrespected him and his friends (Nakanishi, Kojima, and Tenzan), while Shibata hated Nagata because he had previously beaten him. This hatred was very clear in the match. Each man displayed a very stiff offence and wanted to not only prove their strength to be superior than the other's but also wanted to inflict as much pain as possible onto the other. This resulted in both men working over the other’s arm, as if both were trying to prove that they could even target a limb better than the other could. The match ends very emotionally with Shibata respectfully bowing to Nagata and Nagata and the other ‘NJPW dads’ all showing their own respect back towards Shibata, showing how Shibata has developed through this program with Nagata. ***3/4"

[7.0] "A very good good hard hitting match between 2 of the best in New Japan. Shibata has to be one of the best workers going. He has such a great grasp of timing and pacing. Nagata played his role as the veteran very well making this a really enjoyable encounter. They have had better matches, but this was very good (***1/2)."

[9.0] "This was AWESOME! What a war! Yuji Nagata give his best performance in years and showed his still has a lot left in the tank (although he was a bit slow). I think this was a bigger moment for Shibata than WK10, time to move him up the card. I wouldn't mind Shibata taking the G1 this year."

[9.0] "The story of this match is what adds another layer on top of what is nakedly a great one on one slugfest. Shibata went on a rage trip disrespecting legends, specially Nagata. Then at Dontaku last month, his arrogance cost him the title to the veteran Nagata. Here we see a much more disciplined, much less ego-driven, much more focused and slightly humbled Katsuyori Shibata. After one of the typical stiff slugfest bouts you knew you were going to get, Shibata's youth and brutality overwhelms Nagata. Shibata earns back his title, and post match bows down to Nagata giving him the respect he deserves. Great stuff."

[9.0] "This was just fantastic and so much fun to watch. I honestly enjoyed watching these two beat the crap out of each other and made it worth while. A really good story told as well and post-match summed that up pretty well. (****1/4)"

[8.0] "Even though "The King of Strong Style" isn't with the company anymore, the strong style is still well represented in New Japan. Just watch this match as Shibata & Nagata beat each other up with stiff strikes in what was a very well paced, intense, hard hitting bout. ***3/4"

[8.0] "Really good stiff war between these guys. Strong style matches like these are really weird for me to grade. While I enjoy the matches plenty, I rarely think it's anything spectacular. Still I respect what these guys give and definitely made for an entertaining bout. It was a good way to start the main event matches and now hopefully Shibata can move on to the Heavyweight title soon. ***3/4"