[8.0] "[3.75*] The most surprising match of the night. Although I was trusting Shingo to make a decent match, this was actually AWESOME to see. A very welcome surprise in the middle of the undercard which helped to make this event a very good show. This being good alongside the 3 biggest matches added so much to this WK and I think people will never forget it. The guys nailed it and the Styles Clash was my favorite part. Simply amazing."
[9.0] "We go from the weakest match on the card, to one of its strongest, in my opinion. These two made great use of their time and put on such a fun match. I wasn't expecting Tonga to win back the title here, but I can't really complain too much when the match is this good."
[9.0] "Intense, fast paced, great action and all around slobber knocked of a match. Much better than their previous 2 matches and I loved the explosive spots in the match. Both men highly delivered although I don't get why they put the title on Tama when he left 3 months later."
[7.0] "It took me a second to get into it but Shingo and Tama make for quite a good match filled with phenomenal emotion and great action, all paced very well, with a phenomenal finish, making the build all the worthwhile."
[8.0] "This was the most pleasant surprise of the ppv... I had hopes on it, but didn't expected it was gonna be this good, what an awesome match. This was a proper title match, with excellent moves and a lot of thrill and sequences. It must be one of the finest performances by Tama Tonga and Shingo Takagi was awesome as usual. The match had some flaws, not every move was perfectly executed and some movements were slow, but the concept and story were incredibly good - {****}"
[7.0] "Almost certainly Tama Tonga's best match of his career, and another great performance from Shingo. This was full of the stuff of a typical NEVER bout, with the stiff strikes and fighting spirit spots throughout. Tonga broke out a Styles Clash and Shingo even hit a gun stun at one point too. I bit on one or two of the near falls and was genuinely surprised at how much I liked this one. I think the crowd was in the same boat too, as they were hot near the end. 3.5+ Stars."
[8.0] "I'll fully admit that despite being one of my favourites, Tama Tonga isn't gonna set the world on fire with his in-ring work. That being said, he and Shingo had amazing chemistry in this match and both men put in the work for a great title match that feels just that much more impressive to me when you take into account Tama Tonga's usual singles output. As an added bonus, this ended up being a wonderful sort of swan song for one of NJPW's more dependable foreign mainstays."
[8.0] "Good match. Fast paced action, very physical match, Shingo is one of the absolute best in the world right now but Tonga also deserves a lot of credit for this match. This was a much needed reprieve after that HOT match, both men here showed honour and gave us a very competitive contest. ****"
[8.0] "Great chemistry between the two. Never really had any hopes for Tama when he was in a Tag Team, but him being a Babyface in a singles run really warmed me up to him. They already had some good matches in the past, this one might be my favorite, good stuff!"
[8.0] "After the match I watched before I did not have high hopes, but I will say I was pleasantly surprised to watch. There was a lot of big matches on this card and this match had me as enjoyed as those other matches."
[8.0] "Shingo usually puts on great matches, and this was no different. A really fun match from start to finish, and a good showing for both men. ****1/4"
[8.0] "Really good match. Obviously, Shingo always tears the house down, but you never know what you are going to get from Tama. The match started out slow but turned into a very hard-hitting match like NEVER matched should be."
[9.0] "Amazing brutal match. The title change was so unnecessary. Nice back and forth with many counters. I hope Shingo gets a strong 2024 in NJPW. ****1/2"
[5.0] "This wasn't bad but I couldn't get into it the same way others did. I do like Shingo Takagi but Tama Tonga has never appealed as a singles guy and this didn't really change my mind at all. Hard hitting to a certain extent which is fine but I just didn't feel a strong investment."
[8.0] "My bar was set low because of the string of matches Tama had so far, which was not his fault in the first place. When he set his sights on Shingo, there was a minimum deposit for expecting a rock-solid match in return. However, that wasn't the case here, as both men understood the undervalue and fought an uphill battle. Tama has come a long way to where he is, and this match & the victory is a well-earned feather in his cap. 4 out of 5 stars!"
[9.0] "A short but sweet match that - while eclipsed by the three last matches - did an excellent job in breaking the show from good to really good. Tonga and Shingo worked with their time and had what could've been an ultra classic with some more minutes, but did exactly what it needed to on the night. 8.5/10 / ****1/4"
[8.0] "Fantastic. Shingo Takagi is one of the best wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. Not only does he consistently step up in big spots, but his combination of longevity, versatility, and physical prowess is on the level of almost anyone I can think of. This was yet another example of that. Tama Tonga came to play in this one, welcoming the physicality more and more as the bout went on. It ultimately became a great example of what makes the NEVER Openweight Championship special. The fact that Tonga channeled the legends who paved the way for him with a Bloody Sunday, Gun Stun, and Styles Clash was a beautiful story detail, as was the use of the Jay Driller in a tribute to a formal rival. Takagi is amazing and Tonga showed how much he has improved. 4.25 stars, 8.5 out of 10."
[8.0] "I was skeptical about this as I think most of the fanbase was given we'd already seen this match recently. However, Tama Tonga really came out with a point to prove and put in a great performance. Of course Shingo did too but we always come to expect that of him. Very pleased with how this turned out given the trepidation. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Not much more inspiring than a guy people have written off as a middling for many years putting in the work and delivering big in his biggest spotlight. Tama Tonga beating Shingo for a singles belt is something only an excellent match can pull off, and was this excellent? Not quite, but it was really great and had an awesome finish. The momentum very consistently shifted from Shingo to Tama as time went on, and that final flurry of Bullet Club alumni offense was a perfect ending. Feel-good match. ****+"
[9.0] "This was the match of the night for me. It needed a few more minutes at the end but, with their card placement, that wasn't going to happen. These guys put on a very physical match and represented the NEVER championship very well. The more I see Takagi, the more I appreciate his ability to adapt to his opponent's style and have a great performance. Both men should wear this one proudly."
[8.0] "Honestly, hand over heart, I did not expect Tama Tonga to go this hard. He's definitely been improving over the last year or so, but man he completely matched Shingo's energy here and it was awesome to see. Shingo and Tama clobbered the fuck out of each other from the get go, and never once relented from bell to bell. Easy watch and certainly going to become a cult classic match over the years."
[8.0] "This was a really great surprise and maybe it shouldn't have been, I don't know. You often get a problem with big shows like Wrestle Kingdom and WrestleMania where you cram as many big matches onto the show as you feasible can but it results in a bunch of 10-12 minute matches that never feel as fulfilling as they would be with a singular spotlight on them instead. That's not to say the a 10-minute midcard match can't be incredibly valuable, but when you have a major feud or story that gets blown off in such a fashion, without the wrestlers adjusting accordingly, you get what feels like a piece of what should have been a longer match. I feel that's where a lot of the Wrestle Kingdom card disappointed in that there were a number of "fine" matches but they were matches that had exceptional long-form versions done before. The NEVER title is perfect for a spot like this, however, as it's typically the crash-bang-boom high intensity match that works well in that shorter time range. Historically, we've had some really excellent NEVER Tokyo Dome matches too. On paper though, this is a match that didn't excite me. They brought it big time though and kudos to Tama Tonga for being a hundred times more exciting than I've found him to be in 90% of his singles matches I've ever watched him in. This was a hard-hitting, high impact thrill ride that got the crowd into it big time and felt like the first real "This is the Tokyo Dome, let's go! " match of the night. It's another memorable match for Shingo, 20 years into a career full of bangers, but this was all about Tama. I loved all the Bullet Club move call backs and fast-paced counters. You don't need to know a story to be invested in this one. It's high octane, fun pro wrestling at it's best that gets over from the action itself bell-to-bell."
[9.0] "Easily the best match of Tama Tonga's career, he pulled out all the stops here and showed how hard he can really go. A far cry from his pretty abysmal match last year with Karl Anderson. Props should also go to Shingo who was his usual awesome self here."
[8.0] "A fast paced hard hitting match that will surely miss with a blink of an eye. Shingo Takagi is always excellent in his matches but Tama Tonga here is a different story. Tama Tonga has vastly improved, and this match is obviously an upgrade from his atrocious match against Karl Anderson at last year's Wrestle Kingdom. The Made in Japan to Gun Stun is a cool counter. Takagi's over confidence on this match took a toll into losing and thus making Tama Tonga the underdog. Overall, a great match to watch. ****1/4"
[8.0] "That match had no real reason for being there, it didn't have any exciting backstory, it wasn't part of some epic rivalry or whatever but at the end of the day I guess they did a good job and showed some of the old stuff we could expect for a NEVER Openweight title match. Shingo works well with anyone and Tama Tonga improved a lot these last few years so he delivered as well. Nothing else to say really. Well, it did feel like a "thank you" victory for Tama Tonga since he'll leave soon. Which is a strange choice but I guess they wanted to reward him for his loyalty."
[6.0] "Decent thanks to Shingo Takagi, but really average overall. Shingo carried Tama to a good match in the G1, and miracles don't happen twice. Some real heatless back and forth brawling, and the finishing run and 'exciting' kickouts stunk. Glad to hear Tama Tonga is leaving NJPW, we'll all be better off without him."
[8.0] "What a great match. I am happy to see Shingo on this card in a match like this. I hope he moves up to face Naito after a few wins to build himself back up. I love these NEVER Openweight matches, they just deliver hard hitting fun"
[6.0] "Tama Tonga is in absolutely incredible shape. Shingo looks good but I wasn't crazy about his move-set in this one and it kinda bothers me to see Made In Japan kicked out of. No glaring mistakes here but the match felt very formulaic and predictable to me."
[6.0] "It was alright. The match follows the standard big match New Japan formula and technically speaking there were no major mistakes, but I felt that Tama was overshadowed by Takagi charisma-wise. Takagis overall energy and facial expressions always got a reaction from the crowd whereas Tamas attempts to rally support felt a bit half-hearted in comparison. Also it didnt help that it was a face vs face match where the crowd was heavily favouring Takagi."
[8.0] "Great match, way better that I antecipated. Maybe Tama's best singles match ever, while Shingo was awesome as usual. Strange decision to have Tama's winning there, since it looks like he's leaving NJPW soon. Gedo's weird decisions kept flowing in 2024. (****)."
[7.0] "Where was this Tama Tonga throughout all of his years in New Japan? This was a shot in the arm for this card which up until this point was quite boring."
[9.0] "Not sure how I feel about Tama winning, and even weirder how he looked so much healthier and stronger here than he did just a year ago with Karl Anderson. Rumors is he's leaving which sounds crazy and even weirder that he would win Not sure what the plan is, he never once went for the world belt did he, that seems like a huge missed opportunity for Tama in his very very long New japan career"
[9.0] "Best Tama Tonga match I've ever watched, and Shingo is just an all time great. A worthy match in the lineage of excellent WK Never Title matches."
[7.0] "I can't see how this can be viewed as anything other than just a pretty good match unless you've never seen a big Never Title match over the last 5 years. Shingo is probably more versatile than Ishii, and he's definitely more intense and harder hitting than him, but he can likewise fall into the same sort of tropey fighting spirit 'strong style' matches, which meant that I was never going to be a massive fan of this. It was still fun because seeing Shingo work at a fast pace while going for his signature strikes and power moves will probably never be anything less than good, but basically everything he did here was the exact stuff seen in most of his other matches, though without him even doing one notably unique spot or sequence to make his performance here feel distinct from any other. Tama wasn't someone who needed to be carried here, since he held up his own end of the work with the intense strikes and the moderately fast pace he brought, and I did feel that his few slick counters (including his sick Gun Stun counter out of the Made in Japan/Last of the Dragon) allowed him to stand out as a unique opponent and not just appear like a generic 'Shingo opponent' that anyone could've played. It's a shame, though, that Tama clearly still isn't that over with fans, despite his various pushes over the last 5 or so years. The cheers he received always felt more out of respect or politeness rather than because any of the fans there were actually rallying behind him, and that did make his attempted babyface appeals feel hollow. Regardless, this match was about action, and both guys did well pacing their various trades and building up more intensity as the introduced bigger moves and more convincing near falls. It wasn't that creative, as I mentioned, but it was still pretty fun, with the best moments being when Tama would take flip bumps off of Shingo's massive lariats. They had the standard, cheesy tropes that no longer work for me due to overexposure, like the consecutive 1-count kickouts and the move-steals, plus the usual NJPW issues of attempting to make us bite on near falls from signature moves that we KNOW never put even mid-carders away (sorry, Shingo, but the Made in Japan is f*cking dead, or at least in dire need of life support), but I at least appreciated how these 2 had a history together to justify some of these attempted 'epic' moments, which is a lot better than when these sorts of tropes confusingly occur between brand new opponents. Tama's various Bullet Club leader tributes were cool, but it's not like we haven't seen them all before in recent years, so it unfortunately didn't really feel that special. It continued being fun as they worked at a fast pace hitting each other with big moves, but there still wasn't anything too noteworthy about any of it to push the match up higher. ***1/4"
[9.0] "Amazing match. Tamas gun stun reversal early on was a thing of beauty. These two just went back and forth battering each other, giving us a great match. Cannot complain here, nice seeing Tama win the belt, want to see more of this from him."
[9.0] "Mann das war einfach richtig geil und eine super Performance von allen. Tamas wohl bestes Singles Match in seiner Karriere und er hatte zwar einen guten Tanzpartner, aber auch er hat hier alles rausgehauen und gezeigt. War ein recht kurzes Match, aber dafür vollgestopft mit unfassbar geilen Aktionen und einem sehr schnellen Pacing. War das erste richtig gute Match des Abends und eine tolle Überraschung(****1/2)."
[9.0] "Best Tama Tonga match ever potentially. He did barely any crowd or character work, just focused entirely on his in-ring work. The transitions and action was clean for about 95% of it. I respect anyone who does that epic bump on the Pumping Bomber. Some good late kickouts."
[9.0] "This was the best match at Wrestle Kingdom 18. I really wasn't excited for this match and it just blew me away. Great storytelling, working the crowd, and you really didn't know at some points who would win. The ending was very emotional after and the press conference told us why. Highly recommend this match."
[8.0] "Es ist als wenn die beiden gesagt hätten "jetzt zeigen wir es allen". Das war ein richtig gutes Never Title Match, bei dem Shingo und Tama von der ersten Sekunde an Vollgas geben."
[9.0] "Tama Tonga is so criminally underrated and over hated by the IWC that I can imagine a lot of people will surmise that Shingo carried this match which absolutely wasn't the case. Shingo had an absolute classic at the dome a couple of years back against Cobb and whilst this didn't reach those heights for me, this was very good especially considering the limited time given."
[8.0] "This match was great but almost too quick. Both guys looked good and this title still reigns as my favorite in all of New Japan. Liked the call backs to older Shingo matches."
[8.0] "Exactly what it needed to be at this point on the card - sprinty, hard-hitting and urgent with a bunch of exciting near falls that popped the Dome into life ****"
[9.0] "Sleeper match of the night. Felt very lukewarm going into this match but they saved their best for last and delivered a brilliant 13 minute match. Short and sweet, crowd ate it up and that Stun Gun counter was amazing."
[8.0] "Surprisingly entertaining sleeper match. They wasted no moment and made the best out of their 13 minutes. Tama bringing out the tributes to AJ and Karl are nice and I like the fast-paced action from both."
[9.0] "The fact that this was 13 minutes is nuts. These two were able to squeeze a hell of an epic match into that time, with Shingo looking as great as always with his explosiviness. However, Tama is the one who impressed by a ton here, matching Shingo move for move and I loved him bringing out all of the moves of his former Bullet Club brethern. This was easily the best match I've ever seen from the guy, and this was absolutely stellar from bell to bell. The time limit made so much difference here, given their last match dragged compared to this one. ****1/2"
[9.0] "I didn't expect much from this match, but I was very surprised and happy with what was presented, without a doubt this was the match of the night and it ended up raising the crowd in less than 15 minutes, it even reminded me of the golden days of the NEVER title with Ishii, Shibata and Goto, best match of Tama's career by the way (****3/4)"
[9.0] "MOTN. They turned up the crowd from the get-go and delivered more in 13 minutes than what the main and the co-main put out in 25+. This is exactly what a sprint should be and what the NEVER open weight embodies. Of course, people would rate it low because nobody is allowed to love Tama Tonga but this is THE perfect match on the card."
[8.0] "Many people didn't expect much from this match, but knowing Takagi, he can bring a great match from everyone. Not to downplay Tama, of course, he worked to his best too. They found their rhythm and played it to the best, showcasing us the amazing stiff strikes, sequences and spots, like that great stun-fun reversal. Tama catches Never Openweight title at WK once again. I hope that this leads Takagi into the World title scene once again."
[5.0] "Most of all in wrestling, I love individuality. I can't deny the strengths of the match with all my desire: the work with the crowd was phenomenal, Shingo was able to turn the audience on at any moment, and the audience liked the final. But looking at it, I understood that any wrestler could have been in Tama Tonga's place, and NOTHING would have changed, he didn't give the match anything as a unique performer, and this has long been my main problem in matches with his participation. In addition, I'm disappointed with what has been going on for many years around the NEVER championship, which was once my favorite title in NJPW, and how everything came to the point that from grueling matches in the most brutal style, we came to PWG-style fights, where spot follows spot. References also seemed superfluous to me, in this regard, it's just a better version of the match between Hiromu and Fantasmo (**1/2)."
[8.0] "[4.5*] This match was much better than anyone expected, Tama and Takagi had incredible chemistry, from the first minute the rhythm and pacing of this match were incredible. Tama Tonga did a beautiful reverse of Takagi's finisher, turning it into a cutter. And the end of this match was spectacular with both kickout each other's finisher and the emotion of this match going to another level."
[9.0] "These are the types of patches I love. Sprints that are insane and straight bombs. Reminiscent of Shibata and Ishii, but of course not as good. Tama Tonga in a surprise swan song of his New Japan time went off, and Shingo should be built back up for the World Title. ****1/4"
[9.0] "And here we get a solid contender for the Sprint of the year. They didn't do anything but toring the house down with strickes, bombs, some callbacks to other wrestlers (both Bloody Sunday and Styles Clash helped this encounter reaching this level) and an hell of a final stretch. Both delivered an awesome performance and the best match out of the big four. ****1/2"
[6.0] "A totally above average match. This one was pushing on greatness, but a couple of missed spots bring it a bit back down to earth. In particular were a few attempts at finishers that one of Takagi or Tonga would miss. Overall, though, one of Tonga's better matches in his career. 3/5"
[7.0] "Den Tama Tonga Hatern wurde gezeigt, was er so drauf hat. Ja, Takagi war natürlich wesentlich besser, aber die Finishphase konnte beide gut in Szene setzen."
[6.0] "I did not feel this one at all. I have no interest in Tama Tonga anymore, he can be good, rarely great, NEVER excellent. SHINGO Takagi is one of my favourites in New Japan - he carried the company in 2021, and is still great when given the chance. Despite this, and a few minor highlights this was nothing special, it tried to be with the big Made in Japan kickout, but that felt unearned and actually diminished the match for me. **3/4"
[8.0] "Shingo Takagi being the best wrestler on the planet and Tama Tonga proving himself to be an actual great singles wrestler. Fun stuff. A lot of false finishes which actually got me so that was great to see. And Shingo Takagi doing A Hurricanrana which was the coolest thing ever. Tonga said he is leaving New Japan soon. I wish the best of feature for him where ever he goes after this. One thing I have to complain about is the placement of Takagi on the card. He should be a main eventer and the fact that he isn't is just sad.****.1/4.8.5/10. Rounded 8 for Cagematch."
[9.0] "First excellent match of the year for New Japan. Takagi vs Tama is always an interesting matchup, as Tama's athleticism plays well off Takagi's explosive offense. The Styles Clash towards the end of the match was a great touch, and it got the fans into the closing minute. Despite the great matches that this pairing has had, most Tama Tonga matches are limited by a lack of emotion on his part, and that was also the case here. It is what has kept Tama from the main event scene, and it is what kept this from being fantastic. ****1/4"
[8.0] "I have not been on board with this whole Tama Tonga singles run, I find it seriously baffling, and I remain not on board with it, but this was a hell of a match. At least until he seemed to drop Shingo right on his fucking head at the end. Still, Shingo belongs in the main event, so hopefully he can make his way back there after this. By Takagi standards it was pretty middling, but it's surely the best match that Tama has ever had. Great pace, great counters, and the crowd whipped into an absolute frenzy on account of it. If this is not New Japan at its best, it's still them doing what nobody else can do to quite the same degree."
[10.0] "YO. INCREDIBLE MATCH. The two guys went to war. Typicall Takagi match. He hits hard, he sell well, he is one of the most underrated in the world. Tama Tonga also showed that he can hang with the top guys. I would like to see him go with Ospreay and Okada for some time. It should be a step for him to get higher in the division. Coming back to the match, everything was well done, a near perfection. All the false finishes, the power moves and the emotion given by them. It was my second favorite match of the night after Ospreay/Moxley/Finlay."
[10.0] "WHAT A MATCH, it was the fight of a lifetime for Tama, and another fight typical of Shingo, amazing pace, amazing counters, everything was amazing here, but again I have one question. Why did Shingo lose this fight, Tama Tonga is now in his last month in NJPW, and I still don't understand why he gets such a push, he doesn't stand out at all to me. I hope that at least Shingo will win the NJPW Cup and go after Naito, or better yet, let him take the belt away, because he deserves it like no one else."
