Lio Rush vs. Michael Oku

[7.0] "(Grade:C+/***3/4) Very good back & forth with some highlighting spots such as Rush hitting four suicide dive with the last one sending Oku & Rush way in the back rows. I'm iffy on how I feel about Oku he did well here but he's size throws me off especially him being a world champion around this point. Rush looked good here as well."

[10.0] "Now this was quite the athletic battle. That kind of match can be hit or miss for me depending on a lot of factors, but this one worked extremely well for me. Athletics are impressive and can do a lot to enhance a match, but they can't make a match alone. Three things helped this stand out further. First, many of the big attacks were not just flashy but also looked extremely effective. I'm thinking in particular of Lio hitting a tope so hard that both guys flew into about the 8th row, that's just awesome. Second, I felt there was a nice sense of escalation about the match, they paced it out really well and it flowed well instead of just being a barrage of stuff happening. Third, they did include an aspect of storytelling as psychology developed around Lio having an injured back and Oku targeting it. The selling was not perfect, but it was much better than average for your typical "athletics first" match, and even played directly into the finish as Oku hit a (great looking) frog splash to Lio's back to finish him off. Really fun stuff here."

[9.0] "I just wanted a good Indy Bombfest and despite this surely was it the first ten minutes really dragged. Anyway after that they started getting their shit in and the match became way more enjoyable. The Frog Splash to the back of Lio Rush came a bit anticlimactically too. ****1/2"

[7.0] "[4.0*] Incredible match, without a doubt the best that Lio Rush and Michael Oku played in this sequence of matches on wXw. The match had a fast pace and incredible moves from both men, Oku led the match and even though he was the more experienced Rush he had to follow Oku's pace and intensity. The ending was excellent, I liked some submissions that Rush and Oku did but the best spot was Oku's incredible frog splash to win the match."

[9.0] "J'ai adoré ce match, bien rythmé, des contres trés impressionants et intelligents. Il y avait une trés bonne alchimie entre les deux lutteurs."