Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin

[9.0] "[4, 5 Stars] I finally saw the first Ladder Match in New Japan Pro Wrestling history. It was cool, but it was sometimes very messy, and I understand why the stipulation isn't used at New Japan."

[8.0] "This is a very very good ladder match. Insanely hard to believe it is the FIRST one of new japans history. Would think during the height of the x division they would have done something along the lines. I personally do not agree with it being one of the best ladder matches of all time like I've heard multiple people say. There are just simply insane bumps in the match that obviously get crazy reactions. I feel like at times the fans weren't fully into it which make sense seeing it was the first one new japan did. I respect the match and the bumps they did in it but to me it just feels like it's a spot match and not much else. Enjoyed the elite coming out at times that was fun. (****1/4)"

[5.0] "I'm definitely not as high on this as others seem to be. To me, it dragged on a little bit too long and had a bit too much outside interference. They probably could have cut 10 or so minutes from this and it would have been fine. I'm not a huge fan of outside shenanigans stealing the focus from the wrestlers actually in the match, yet that's what I felt the ending did."

[10.0] "Probably the best 1v1 ladder match of all time. It was the first in New Japan history so the crowd was quite unsure of the gimmick at first, but boy they were hooked by the end. Omega put on an amazing performance and he is a genius and had a great chemistry with Elgin. Super super fun match, and Kenny had to drop the belt as he was gonna win the G1 a month or so later, and put over Elgin big time. It's funny how things work out because it was supposed to be Tanahashi going over but he had to pull out due to injury, and this elevated Elgin, which led to those great Naito matches. 4.75 stars"

[5.0] "I found this match to get pretty tedious and I found it not deserving of the acclaim. Fortunately, there are a handful of cool spots and bumps spread out throughout the match but it gets tedious in parts and the middle section felt downright glacial. This match feels very Americanized and out of place with the rest of the card. Gimmick matches like this require a lot of cooperation which really deflates the sense of urgency I want in a wrestling match. The psychology didn't make much sense with Red Shoes evicting the Bucks early on just to feature multiple and flagrant heel interference spots that negatively impacted the match, which in retrospect signifies the future New Japan is heading towards."

[9.0] "Don Callis has got to be the best heel commentator of modern times. I like this match for it's combination of humorous interference and hard hits. Match starts off pretty hilariously with Red Shoes searching under the ring for those dastardly Young Bucks, and throwing them out, as they plead and Kenny watches on distraught. Kenny whacking Elgin over the head with all kinds of goofy crap from under the ring was pretty funny too. The following powerbomb off the ladder was nice. There are some brutal strikes and bumps in this, particularly the big bump off the top of the ladder and double table spot where the tables don't break and Kenny just bounces off. Crowd stays invested, and Elgin brute forces his way to victory."

[6.0] "First ladder match in New Japan. Solid match, good use of the ladders but too much bullet club interferences."

[7.0] "This was good, but I feel like the whole reason I love ladder matches so much is the sports, and while there was a couple here Id like to have seen more"

[10.0] "I strongly believe this is one of the best ladder matches I've ever seen. Given how atypical the stipulation is for New Japan, and seeing the duration, 33 minutes, I feared it was a slow and methodical ladder match. But it turned out being exactly what I wanted. It's a ladder match that has everything inside: crazy spots, a mad cheering from the crowd, interference in the final part (I know it bothered some, but in my opinion they helped to increase the emphasis of the match), a fast pace, engaging and never boring. This match had the atmosphere of chaos, but in a good way. Something that here in Italy we often describe as "caciara". And paradoxically I think the generous duration helped make this ladder match so good; I think if they had condensed the duration into 15 or 20 minutes some beautiful spots would have been cut, and I would have been sorry. And honestly I didn't feel the duration at all, despite the match lasting 33 minutes I felt like 10 minutes had gone by. What's more, it's all made even more beautiful by the strong sense of novelty that characterizes the match, given that the special stipulations are very rare in New Japan. Seriously, go out of your way to retrieve this gem and you won't regret it"

[6.0] "Honestly not a very good ladder match. The budget on the ladder could of been better and this whole thing was just a cheap attempt to cater to america and really feels out of place in Japan. They also wrestled for over 33 minutes which sucked. They could of easily done this match in 20 minutes so the whole thing felt out of place and like a waste of time."

[10.0] "Honestly one of my favorite ladder matches of all time. Just incredible pacing, this match never stops moving but the spots never feel forced. Pretty brutal action but ever spot feels naturally got into, while still being fairly innovative. Just a tremendous example of a great ladder match and a perfect marquee one for NJPW to start with. Omega had an HBK like performance here that shot him up to looking like a true top star, that would be solidified with the G1 run that follows. But this match also solidified Elgin as a huge fan favorite. Just amazing work that got so many different things over along with being one of the best worked ladder matches ever ****3/4"

[10.0] "Kenny Omega and Michael Elgin went out there and showed how a modern ladder match should look like. Excellent stuff."

[10.0] "Excellent match. I have watched many ladder matches (though it's been a while), and I feel like this is one of the best, if not the best, singles ladder matches; definitely on par with Generico vs Steen matches. They mostly used ladders as weapons, and did all the classics (knocking everyone down with it, ladder bump on the corner, ladder in the face in the corner, throwing ladder on oncoming opponent), but also mixed it with bigger bumps onto ladders, which looked great. That's not to say that they didn't use them for height (that top rope sunset flip over a short ladder was amazing, and there were also a couple powerbombs or suplexes), but they're not high flyers like Jeff Hardy or Ricochet (no legdrop or big dive off of a ladder). However this match showcased Omega's athleticism (something I have been taking for granted I think, holy cow he's good); he took some big bumps (Elgin too), and his selling was great. I could have done with the powerbomb on the tables, which as this point was unnecessary. It was a very good showcase of what you can do on a singles ladder match, and I feel like part of it was to show the Japanese how you do it - which was awesome, as you had a rather quiet (worried? ) crowd that reacted with murmurs and 'oooooh' to any dangerous spot. On the other hand, one can criticize this match for being cold (no home stretch to speak of, but it's hard to pull off with such a tiring match as singles ladder) and lacking psychology (no hate or heat, no gradual breakdown of their body); it's not the way I decided to look at it. I see it as the greatest hits of a singles ladder match, a match that didn't make me wince or scared for them, in which I saw amazing athleticism and some really big bumps that still force awe and respect. I love ladder matches, and this was very cool."

[0.0] "This match featured everything that I despise about New Japan. This was a numbing stunt show, a match completely devoid of any semblance of psychology or storytelling. We also had constant outside interference, we had babyfaces that were made to look like complete idiots, and we had a total and utter lack of meaning to anything that happened. It was everything that is wrong about New Japan, and you had to endure it for over thirty excruciating minutes."

[7.0] "A good match, no question. But too much interfence, that did't make logical sense. If there had been some logic behind the timing of the interfence it would have been much better"

[9.0] "Great ladder match. Had physical back-and-forth action throughout and some really amazing spots. As per usual, Kenny sold his ass off and bumped around to get the crowd behinf Big Mike. Speaking of Mike, that Powerbomb he took through the ladder was NASTY. Hats off to the big man for that one, wow. Also really loved when Kenny pulled out a Slingblade to generate some heat from the crowd, clever move. Again, I wasn't a fan of the Bullet Club interfefence, but the spot where Elgin ripped off the hancuffs was great as well as the finish dumping Kenny out into the horde of bodies. Just a great physical war between these two. **** 1/2"

[9.0] "(**** 1/2) Wow , I was really impressed , probably one of the best ladder matches I ever seen. The interferences especially in the ending of the match , wasn't to my taste and stole the spotlight from what was important , but anyways , very good."

[10.0] "I preferred it to the Michaels vs Ramon Wrestlemania X ladder match on so many levels. Omega using the slingblade, the number of amazing ladder spots, the run-ins were amazing with Ricochet's dive being inhuman and the crowd was so behind Elgin it was great. (****3/4)"

[9.0] "This match was kind of weird for both men. Kenny was barely getting the crowd support around this time and Elgin was a relatively newcomer to the main event scene so the crowd was a bit quiet on who to cheer for. As for the match itself it was very entertaining for the very first ladder match in NJPW. I would've rather seen Tana and Kenny go at it but the spots between Elgin and Kenny were great anyways. My only complaint was the amount of interference for both men, I mean it just looks ridiculous when the final pose for Elgin is him holding hands with Captain New Japan and Yoshitatsu of all people, ****1/2."

[9.0] "Great ladder match, would have rated it a 10 but the interference got a little too messy for my taste. Putting that aside though, this was a bit of a coming out for both these guys, they put on a really impressive match here."

[9.0] "This was long and overbooked, but it was also entertaining, athletic and had a match that the NJPW crowd ate up, Big Mike got his crowning achievement, but I did worry about Kenny's future a bit after this."

[7.0] "This was so great, so different, but so great. The NJPW crowd was so into this, more than I thought, which made this into the spectacle it deserved to be. Omega was really good in this match and struck a perfect balance between storytelling and insane spots. Whilst I didn't enjoy this as much as others evidently, it was still a historically significant match (***3/4)."

[10.0] "I was a bit skeptical about this when I first viewed this but after a rewatch I have to say it was AWESOME! Some amazing psychology used in this one and making this a story instead a crash course ladder match was even better. I was totally fine with the interference as it helped the energy and the drama in this match and this match just made Elgin look like Elgin look like a million bucks as well. Well worth the watch honestly. (****1/2)"

[7.0] "I gave this match *** 1/2 stars out of 5. It was a really well done homage to American wrestling spots. They almost did everything you could possibly imagine (spot wise)."

[8.0] "A bit too Americanised, with all the interference, for my liking but this was still a good ladder match. Shocked Elgin won when he was just the replacement but I feel good for him. This was an amazing performance from Omega though and I normally can't stand him."

[10.0] "There are some SICK SICK SICK spots in this match. Granted, that it has a lot of overbooking, a lot of run ins and chaotic stuff happening throughout, but it does not take away from the experience. Two guys just throwing everything at each other. This was awesome."

[10.0] "The first ever Ladder Match in NJPW history was very good. Omega as good worker and Elgin as power wrestler created match of the night. Many spots, actions and interventions form Bullet Club and Rico/Sydal. My star rating is ****3/4."

[10.0] "Considering how this is the first Ladder match that New Japan has ever had (New Japan don't care for gimmick matches much), and the first Ladder match that both Kenny Omega and Michael Elgin have ever done - it was incredible. Lots of excellent spots from both men and a lot of fun. Easily 1 of the best matches of the year."

[8.0] "Good match, but the end was bad, too long time more 30 minutes? any part of match bored me i think that they could do better in less time"

[10.0] "The build up to this was fantastic, even with Tana being injured and his buddy Big Mike stepping in for him. It started off like a run of the mill ladder match in America, but they ramped up the action halfway through and lead to a big finish. You cannot say enough good things about Kenny Omega here, but Michael Elgin kept up with him and took some big risks as well. The run-ins could've hurt this, but they did so much cool stuff that it was welcome. If anybody want a star before they were made into one by participating in this match."

[10.0] "Absolutely great ladder match and one of the best ever. Elgin using his power to destroy Omega with ladders was great and Omega his selling and bumping around was even better. Thought a ladder match in Japan sounded strange, but it absolutely worked here. Amazing match. ****1/2"

[8.0] "A really fun ladder match, if pretty standard in structure and quite long, although it feels shorter than 30+minutes watching it. Kenny really worked his ass off here, and Big Mike did some great stuff too. A bit silly at times with the interference and spots like Elgin breaking the cuffs, but I like that kind of shit so it's fine. What really blew me away was the crowd and how it crazy for even the most basic ladder spots. The first match of its kind in NJPW's history, and it certainly impressed. ****1/4"

[10.0] "Dave Meltzer compared Kenny Omega's performance in this to Shawn Michaels' performance at WrestleMania 10 vs. Razor Ramon, and I honestly gotta agree with him. Omega was absolutely great here; his selling & bumping = amazing. Elgin was solid too, he was the big, "young grizzly" going against the big heel, and he did really well in that role. An absolutely great match, one of the best matches of the year, and one that really took me by surprise. When I hear that Kenny Omega & Michael Elgin went over 30 minutes in a gimmick match, I'd expect a DUD, but what I got instead was a classic. As of June 25th, 2016 this is my favorite match that both Kenny Omega & Michael Elgin have had. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This was just awesome. MOTN and MOTYC in my book. People may get on this bc it's not a typical NJPW thing but it was damn near perfect. This match had every spot well crafted and we'll timed. Never an excess of anything. At 33 minutes this is never boring and moves along so well. The best ladder match psychology since Jericho vs HBK, maybe Punk vs Hardy. This was far from a ladder match spotfest. One of the most psychological ladder matches ever and therefore one of the best ever. ****3/4"