Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii

[9.0] "Kenny and Ishii are near perfection here, another fantastic match, however what prevented me from giving this match a perfect score were Ishii's moments of fighting spirit and kickout in 1, which I found very out of place with the match being presented. I even like those moments, but when used in every major match, the impact is significantly reduced, and right after that moment Kenny finishes the action with the One Winged Angel. My favorite moment was the OWA applied by Ishii [****3/4]."

[9.0] "Another fantastic match between Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii, and even better than their previous match from earlier in 2017. Though I will say the result was a little obvious, it didn't particularly ruin my enjoyment. And honestly, though it was 30 minutes long, it didn't really drag much at all. Great physicality from both guys, with Omega working as stiff as Ishii. Great spot with the table, too. I will say, however, just as I was REALLY getting hyped and into it, it seemed to end suddenly. Maybe a slight nitpick there, but whatever. Awesome match, all the same! Kenny Omega was on fire in 2017."

"Perfect. Kenny performance was great. Ishii is so underrated, I hope he win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at least one time."

[9.0] "Damn, that crowd. It elevated the match to the next level. Great stuff, especially that table spot. How does count-out in NJPW work though? Red Shoes didn't bother counting out Ishii and Omega when they were battling in the crowd, but he did when they were laying on the floor after the table spot? Confusing thing, almost took me out of the match"

[10.0] "One of my favorite kenny matches on us soil and another great chapter on the rivalry between omega and ishii. I think this is their longest match with over 34 minutes length but it never felt boring and had awesome moments like ishii bitinh the rope and hiting the OWA on kenny."

[10.0] "Amazing match to end to the IWGP US title tourney and the G1 Special. Personally, I was expecting this match to blow away the ones Kenny and Ishii had earlier in the year, but thinking about it now, I still slightly prefer their Dontaku match. That said, this was also incredible. These two just met up backstage and decided - Strong Style. Super hard hitting match where both guys looked like they were going for the kill with every strike. Admittedly, it did start a little slow, similar to their New Japan Cup match, but once they got on the apron for the table spot things started getting crazy. Ishii biting the ropes to try and stop Kenny from murdering him with a Dragon Suplex was such a great visual. The final minutes was where the match hit its peak and even though the crowd was exhausted, they still brought a ton of energy to the ending stretch. Kenny winning the US title was a well-deserved moment since without him this expansion into the US really wouldn't have been possible in the first place. ****3/4"

[10.0] "Just give the damn belt to Ishii man, he clearly has done a stellar job to make this title feel relevant and never won it. This match was a career-defining moment for both men and they let it all out in the ring. Omega going blow for blow with the hardest hitter in the business was an amazing spectacle. A hot crowd was invested in the great spots and sequences and it never felt at any point that the match was wearing out its welcome. A great story was told and in the end, the right man won... but seriously let Ishii win the title at least once come on bro"

[7.0] "Probably the most overrated of all the Omega vs Ishii matches especially because they story made no sense because it the the US title in a USA show so it was extremely obvious the Japanese guy wasn't going to win so it felt like a strange booking choice that took away from the excitement of the moment. Also like with many NJPW matches, it could of benefited from being shorter."

[9.0] "Excellent. Personally I like their Dontaku match that happened two months prior just a little more. It was hard hitting, physically intense match. The crowd was amazing and bought into everything they did. The match was a bit more slow compared to their Dontaku match but it never drag/felt boring. The match pick up the pace in the finishing stretch and it was a damn good finish. I loved how they tried to beat each other with their opponent's finisher and how Omega actually kickout of the One Winged Angel delivered by Ishii. On a side note, I wished it was Kelly and Callis calling this match; It could have been way better. But still despite the sub par commentary, this was still an amazing match. ****3/4"

[9.0] "One of the best matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling history. One of the best performances of the legendary careers of both Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii. One of the best closing sequences I have ever seen in my life. What a freaking battle! These two only seem to churn out classics and this was no different. Ishii wrestling with a bad arm after the banger he had against Zack Sabre Jr. earlier in the night. Omega again utilizing The Young Bucks to his advantage after his earlier bout with Jay Lethal. Ishii biting the damn ropes, pulling out a OWA, and enduring one of the nastiest table spots imaginable. Omega dishing out some of the best V-Triggers of his career. What more can you ask for' An absolute dream of a match. 4.75 stars, 9.5 out of 10."

[9.0] "Rehashes their incredible Dontaku match in some ways, but their was an added bonus of a roaring crowd who all wanted to see Omega win. The first major NJPW US tour ended on such a feel good moment, awesome match ****3/4."

[9.0] "It was a great clash of styles, with both guys in their usual roles. However, the story had even more layers, with Omega trying to stand toe to toe with the hardest hitter in NJPW, how they worked around the table and an awesome finishing sequence. The fighting outside the ring was good, and the stamina of both wrestlers was top-notch, given that they were in their third match in two days. The crowd was behind Omega from the beginning, and they were hot with his usual offense, but Ishii was able to win them over. The after-match promo was one of the best I? ve ever seen. Definitely one of my favourites."

[8.0] "It's true that Ishii has great chemistry with just about anyone, but I think Omega might be my favourite opponent of his. There's something about omega's intense, uber explosive approach that melds to perfection with Ishii's strong style bombfest matches. This was great. Though it was unnecessarily long, the hot crowd and the constant well executed spots made the latter part breeze by. A great sense of drama, hard strikes throughout, Omega's dive which was one of his best ever and who could forget the robe biting sequence, truly an iconic spot in Ishii's career. (* * * *)"

[8.0] "Better than their NJ Cup match, but certainly nowhere near their Dontaku match. This was ultimately great, but I had a few issues. Firstly, having already had 2 matches in the prior 4 months, this lacked freshness, especially since it copied a lot of the moves and structure from their first 2 meetings. Secondly, it was longgggg -- the longest of their 3 matches, and it really dragged in points, or at least it was only 'very good' for long periods and not 'incredible' for long enough periods. I could have done without the opening crowd brawl, since it was too messy and low-effort to allow for any interesting interactions. It was only once they returned to the ring that the match could finally take meaningful shape, as they then started trading big, sharp strikes and showing a lot of contempt for each other, all of which gave the match a fittingly dramatic tone. Despite the first half copying a lot from their previous 2 matches (which was especially unnecessary because the 2nd match perfected a lot of the flawed interactions of their 1st match), the 2nd half featured enough unique moments that allowed the match to stand out from them. However, despite the few innovations, the match still felt a bit too slow for too long, and their various exchanges felt rather detached from one another -- a similar issue with their first match. For contrast, their Dontaku match was already great at the 15-minute mark and amazing at the 20-minute mark, but here, both guys were still building up momentum at the 20-minute mark, and it was only at the 25-minute mark that the match got truly great (and even then, the big-move-vs-big-move structure felt quite generic), and then only the very final minute featured anything I could consider incredible or amazing, but that obviously came far too late. This was still a great match; I just think their formula was done far better in their Dontaku match, hence why my comment comes off as quite negative. ****"

[10.0] "This is the first NJPW match that I've watched live, and it was worth it. Tomohiro Ishii and Kenny Omega had an magnificent chemistry between them, and this is their second best match, behind their match at G1 28. ****3/4"

[10.0] "The third match of their 2017 trilogy, Omega and Ishii not only kept up their high standard of match quality, but added new spots, including the crazy but delightfully Ishii move of biting on the top rope to avoid being German suplexed through a table."

[9.0] "My personal favorite of the matches between these two, I felt genuinely invested in this match and there was real emotion involved here. (Not like their wasn't in the other matches mind you) Seeing Ishii bite down on the rope to avoid the dragon suplex was a brilliant spot and it really helped to communicate the desperation. Overall, a brilliant, exciting and thoroughly entertaining encounter between two of the best in the world, a must watch for wrestling fans!"

[9.0] "Yet another terrific match between Ishii and Omega, no surprise at all here. The two just beat the living hell out of each other in front of a red hot Long Beach crowd, with some breath-taking offense being executed by both men. The Dragon Suplex spot, including Ishii BITING THE GODDAMN TOP ROPE to prevent it, was simply incredible. Ishii in general was just amazing with his selling and comebacks; his persistence was so badass that he turned a crowd solidly behind Omega to supporting him pretty strongly as well. As expected, the finishing stretch was intense with both men throwing some crazy bombs, including stealing each other's finishers. Kenny had to pretty much throw his entire arsenal at the Pitbull before the OWA finally put him down for three. Only criticism was that I felt the match went too long, I think 25 minutes would have been the perfect length to be in the 4. 75-5* range. Still one of the best matches all year, and the best Omega/Ishii encounter imo. **** 1/2"

[8.0] "8. 65/10 : Awesome NJPW epic delivered by Kenny Omega and Tomohiro. I LOVE Kenny's style and his wrestling ability is objectively ranked as one of the greatest in the world. He can adapt to any style and make any wrestler adapt to his and look like a million bucks. So when he stepped in the ring with the one-style specialist Tomohiro (Japanese strong style that is), he delivered what surely is one of the best NJPW matches of 2017. Great watch with amazing sequences."

[7.0] "Some really good moments in this. I really liked Ishii holding onto the rope with his teeth though. The table spot itself was also impressive. Ishii countering the One Winged Angel into a DDT was very cool, but I do really dislike Ishii still throwing so many headbutts though, especially so soon after Shibata. Overall good but overhyped in my eyes, and too damn long to fully hold my interest, a lot of it felt like filler. Commentary wasn't too good either, Josh Barnett saying "it was a work" had me puking a bit in my mouth."

[9.0] "Really great, especially the finish. I feel like a good 5-10 minutes could have been shaved off of this match and it may have been better but this was still great. The wrist-clutch on the OWA was fantastic and both performers worked brilliantly in this match. I felt the crowd could have been a little better but it didn't really hinder the match. I'm not sure whether this match or the Dontaku match was better, I'm leaning to the Dontaku one because I loved the crowd in it which really added but obviously this was for the gold in an important tournament. (****1/2)"

[6.0] "Kenny Omega -vs- Tomohiro Ishii – (IWGP US Title Tournament – Final) [***] Not the epic I was expecting based off the hype. Omega looks sloppy as a result of being banged-up and the pace was clearly set to go long, but not really doing much different than they would in a 15-min match. No doubt a good match with some real nice blows connecting. But Omega was so tired (wrong kind of tired) for this to become the massive impact he wanted it to be."

[9.0] "Due to this being their third match in two days, they didn't need to rush through the final's presentation as the audience should buy each man's surging exhaution levels. And so they had their most assured, and least spectacular, encounter. As I find Ishii a more complete package, this tilting of the pace to a speed in which he probably would favor, made me enjoy the battle more knowing all too well that he was going to lose. Most resonating w/ me about the entire package is Kenny's mastering of how to conduct one's mic-time. Better than currently anyone that I can think of, he blends the pomp of pro-wrestling drama of the shoot and work, and this enables him to come-off as an alpha male. It's this personality, and not his wacky side, that attracts me to him. **** 1/4 8. 5"

[10.0] "Amazing match, Omega hit countless knee strikes and threw everything at Ishii who kept coming back like a cyborg. Loads of believable near falls, stealing each others finishes and great selling. I'm surprised Melzer gave this the same rating as Omega/Elgin the might before as this was much better. *****"

[8.0] "I wish I could rate it higher, because everything from the table spot on is awesome. But the first 6-10 minutes are just boring as hell. Like, feels like local promotion kinda shit. And I love Omega, so it has nothing to do with my distaste for the competitors. But everything else is fucking awesome. The table spot IS rad, the counters and finishers and the ending are just awesome as hell. I just wish the first 1/3 of the match was worth a damn, and we'd easily be in ****1/2 and possibly ***** range. But this somehow gets itself to ****, despite the terrible beginning."

[9.0] "This was a great war, but I felt that the finish was a bit more telegraphed because it just doesn't make any marketing sense for Ishii to win. It doesn't even make booking sense for that to happen. This was still fantastic. ****3/4"

[10.0] "This was just tremendously done, both guys have had excellent matches before, and their chemistry was just as good as ever. Pacing was done well, everything looked violent and on point, and they had plenty of great spots. I think the 2nd half is where this shined, especially the table spot and kick out at one, both where Ishii looked every bit like the greater warrior ever. Ishii just continues to kill it as does Omega, I don’t think Ishii had a bad match the whole tournament, much less a match under four stars (for me anyway). ****3/4"

[10.0] "Finishing off a great tournament and probably the best Kenny/Ishii match to date. You could tell the crowd was pretty tired by this point, but they still had the energy to let it all out for one final match. The crowd was actually pretty split, maybe 60/40 in Kenny's favor which is cool to see how over Ishii got in America. This match is mostly a combination of both previous matches between the two, the first half being a build up of brawling and trying to gain an edge similar to their first match in the NJC, and the second half being an all out war of hard hitting moves and sequences. I really liked the selling from both men, Kenny had a funny leg from his match with Lethal, and Ishii's arm was still nagging him after his match with Zack. Kenny's leg had been building to a spot where he was actually distracting the ref so the Bucks at ringside could set up a table on the outside. That table led to a very sick spot with Kenny trying to Dragon Suplex Ishii through the table, but Ishii held onto the ropes with his freaking bare teeth, but eventually Kenny got the Suplex on him in a very clean crash. The rest of the match after the table spot is insane with each guy trading many strikes, elbows, knees, and even stealing each others finishers as a callback to their Dontaku match. Eventually the ending came with Kenny sealing the deal with a OWA on a reluctant to give up Ishii. Perfect match and perfect ending to a great start in NJPW's expansion, *****."

[4.0] "Sorry, but I dind't like this match. It felt like a 50 minute match. Kenny Omega and Ishii went 110% the entire match. Sometimes I thought "please, end the match". They tried to make a Super Epic match, but they failed."

[10.0] "Definitely the best match of this fantastic trilogy, despite its length. In fact, the length being over 30 minutes instead of a little shorter is the main issue here; the story and pacing here were top notch, with escalation that for the most part was excellent (although the table spot happened a bit too early in the match if I were to nitpick). Omega & Ishii have the most unique and exciting chemistry, with Kenny's intense and high-speed bursts of energy contrasting with Ishii's consistent power moves and wall-like fortitude. Moments of Ishii showing fire and contempt for Omega like stealing the OWA and biting the ropes while in a full-nelson to prevent the suplex were fucking fantastic, and the crowd went wild for them. Another phenomenal singles match in both men's catalogs. ****3/4"

[10.0] "(*****) Incredible ! You can not even say they had any matches that night , looked so fresh. Very intelligent and tense. Loved the moment when Omega tried to suplex Ishii over the table and he tried with everything he could to hold on the ropes even with the teeth, very smart moment. Top 10 matches till now in 2017 for sure."

[10.0] "Incredible match that managed to top their amazing previous two matches. This one built off of the priory while also incorporating new things. These guys just have a natural chemistry. The match flowed so well it honestly didn't feel like 30 minutes. They paced temselves so well that very minute was intriguing. Add in a super hot crowd and you have one of the. Way matches of the year *****"

[9.0] "Memorable, historic, great match with United States Heavyweight Championship on the line. Many time fierce fight of two warriors and deserved win of Kenny "Cleaner'' fucking Omega.. On the beginning match slowly turned up, but later... Spot with table, neirfalls and fantastic emotions. It was freaking good. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This is the best match these two have had together as of now. The fans, which were admittedly much better then I'd had expected from a different audience, were hot as hell for just about everything Omega and Ishii did and by this point they knew each other really well. A far cry from their first match (which was still excellent of course). The table spot's gonna end up being talked about for a long time (the story of Ishii doing everything he can to avoid being driven into the table, including using his teeth, is just plain wonderful), but I though the match had a hell of a lot going for it overall. It certainly featured their best barricade spot, which became a big counter fest (something this match was in general). Ishii's selling of his arm really put over the damage Zack Sabre Jr. did in their prior match and added a hell of a lot to this match. Its one of my top three or four favorite matches of the year thus far. ***** down the line."

[8.0] "There were some parts where they lost me, as I felt like the match could've been much better had they cut it a bit shorter, but it still was goddamn awesome. Omega was great, but it was Ishii who was the star of the match in my eyes - his selling was absolutely perfect; he continued to sell the damage ZSJ had done to him & then he sold the damage Omega had done to his neck. Brilliant stuff - definitely could've been ****+ had it been trimmed a bit. ***3/4"

[10.0] "This was an awesome main event. The crowd was hot for both Ishii and Omega and this added to the match too match. Some of the spots were jawbreaking such as dragon suplex through the table with Ishii holding on for dear life with his jaws, that was a great display of fighting spirit. The last 4 minutes were insane with both men hitting each other's finishers for nearfalls. Another Omega-Ishii Classic(****3/4)"