HENARE vs. Shingo Takagi

[8.0] "The match was going so well, with the action being top notch but then there had to be a wacky double KO (that we've already seen Henare have once this year with Gabe) and the match went down to a 8. There have been worse match endings don't get me wrong, but whenever a finish isn't that good it'll really sour your match liking, hence my rating going from a potential 10 to an 8."

[7.0] "Really good but a really bad finish. While quite a bit off Cobb vs Ishii given this was just strikes really rather than any wrestling, both men went for it and it came across as a genuine fight. Unfortunately NJPW currently loves dragging feuds out so they had this silly finish just to extend things. At least if you're going to do a double KO have both me out on the mat for ages, HENARE got up within a minute! ***3/4"

[6.0] "[3.0*] When the match was becoming really good, we had this awful double KO ending where the crowd did not react properly so it did not felt epic or anything like that. The construction to the spot was pretty weird and it ruined the vibe of a match that was hitting."

[8.0] "I did not like this one quite as much as their G1 33 match, but it was still really good and stiff. The finish was fine the way it was but I still wish the match itself was a little longer because I was really enjoying it and hoped that the finish might have just been the start to the final finish phase. Hoping to see a rematch down the line."

[5.0] "The usual Openweight affair with heavy strikes and determination from both opponents to go hard and fast from beginning to end. Despite the constant motioning of a "never say die" attitude there wasn't much heart in this one where it felt like they were just going through a check list at times. The finish is the most unique aspect of this match, though not exactly satisfying."

[7.0] "Good match, lots of hard strikes and good spots. HENARE's improvement in the ring never ceases to amaze me. Shingo is almost incapable to have a bad match. (***3/4)."

[6.0] "I liked where this match was going, but the finish completely blindsided me, and not in a good way. You could feel the air get sucked out of the audience in real time when it ended. If the finish was either better delivered or different, I'd rate this higher, but I disliked the finish too much to rate the match higher than this."

[7.0] "Super stiff chunky work that is sold completely by that unsatisfying ending. Stiff work ends in a stiff conclusion, I like that, good stuff. Henare is just as pissed as the crowd."

[5.0] "The double count out finish was interesting. But it happened to be the only interesting thing about this match. I got bored of this style of match eight years ago. I wish Shingo will go back to doing the style of matches he would have against Masaaki Mochizuki instead of this style. No hate to anyone involved but I dont care for it whatsoever. Zzzzz. **1/2"

[8.0] "I found this quite enjoyable, a good showcase by both guys and I think that giving henare so much of an opportunity to work with one of the most respected vets in the industry is going to pay dividends moving forward. This wasn't their best encounter as a result of the story being told but we have seen some satisfying growth in the dynamic and chemistry between the two men. I know the outcome is frustrating for some and it seemed to deflate the crowd a little, but the double KO makes a lot of sense in the context of this rivalry and I think sets up interest for the next match which is happening soon. We have seen what happens when these two get the time and are set up for a classic, so hopefully they will deliver something even better at the next encounter"

[7.0] "A good match, but would've like an actual finish. Or atleast had another 10 minutes before they went to a double KO. But a good match and now for a rematch pretty soon."

[9.0] "This was the most stiff Strong Style Sprint you could have asked for. Every Chop or Chest Kick or Elbow Strick just seemed so stiff. It's a pity this bout ended with a double KO, but since they didn't want to end this feud here probably this was the best choice to make everyone look strong. ****1/2"

[8.0] "Another hard-hitting banger between Henare and Shingo right here, these two are definitely wrestling soulmates who were born to clash and above all destined to offer us some excellent battles together and have done so since the first time they met in a ring. It wasn't their best match, but I really liked what I saw, and unlike some others, I liked the ending. Can't wait to see the rematch this weekend."

[4.0] "Personally, I have always found their rivalry to be among the weakest of the NEVER open weight championship bouts, and this was a pretty weak match even by Shingo vs Henare standards. Never really felt a connection between these two and this match just didn't work for me. Compared to the good NEVER matches, this match just felt so phoned in physically speaking so when the double KO happens, it definitely felt unearned. Both of these guys have had much tougher battles, as this match was pretty damn tame, so not being able to stand up on time just seems dumb and weakens them in my eyes. Well, weakens Shingo at least. Henare always came across as weak to me, so this match didn't really hurt him."

[5.0] "A match that could have genuinely worked but failed to do so and becoming for me the biggest disappointer on this card. I was expecting HENARE to win the title or Shingo to retain cleanly due to HENARE's booking but the Double KO felt cheap in some kind of way? The match flow was not that good and the constant no-selling hindered it even more. 5/10"

[5.0] "Just felt soulless. Not anywhere stiff enough to be a big war, no structured well enough to be dramatic, and too much no selling to be considered good. The finish fell flat for a reason. Just watch Henare/Kidd from earlier this year instead of thus one. 2.75 Stars."

[1.0] "I thoroughly did not enjoy this match. It really had basically every element of what I don't like in wrestling in general. Constant no selling (look at how bad ass they are! nothing phases them, wow! ). Repeating kicks and head butts endlessly. Not my cup of tea, selling is probably my absolute favorite element of a wrestling match."

[6.0] "***3/4 Good match, but I expected more because of the history of both and the very strange ending, I don't see the point because when they are going to do the rematch in Soul, FD, another non-title at G1, after G1 maybe"

[8.0] "An inclusive ending is always a little frustrating, but this was one hell of a match up to that point. Aesthetically, this is what I want a NEVER Openweight match to look like, and I assume that this will build to an excellent blowoff match. If we can look back at this as Takagi acting as the last gatekeeper before HENARE moves up to the next echelon of the NJPW heirarchy, it will have been worth it."

[5.0] "This was a bit disappointing, and the end was a bit of a mistake imo - not only booking wise, but coming just as the match seemed to be picking up steam. Never really felt like a classic slugfest, in a way I can't quite put my finger on, and not as good as their previous matches, or Henare-Kidd from earlier in the year."

[8.0] "This was going so good for the majority of the match, an awesome strong style battle with the crowd getting behind Henare. But the finish really took the wind out of the matches sails entirely! I'm still gonna mark it highly based on the action before the finish, it had me really excited!"

[7.0] "Greatly enjoyed this one until the finish happened. It was definitely not the worst way to end the match but unless they're done to perfection double KOs tend to leave me wanting. Everything up until that point was great hard hitting action though."

[8.0] "There was a lot of great striking and some awesome exchanges in this one, as you would expect when these two are put together. By the 14 minute mark, it seemed that this was on pace to be fantastic. Unfortunately, that's exactly when an abrupt double knockout finish happened. It was an anticlimatic way to end this, but all the action leading up to the finish rocked, so it is probably still worth your time to check this one out. I hope these two meet again in the G1 so they can settle the score. ****"

[7.0] "I was pleasantly surprised that they took the double count-out route. It definitely fit the simple story of the match - Henare and Takagi throwing offense at each other until they broke down. They've definitely had better matches, but like the others, this was held up by Takagi's moveset and Henare's movement, and the selling from both of them. This was partly down to Henare only just returning from a nasty injury, so hopefully both men are onto bigger things, and that they'll meet again to settle the score."

[5.0] "I really did not love this match, it just felt like stuff happening for a while without much outcome or story being told. This is a very stereotypical Takagi bout, so if that is your cup of tea you will likely enjoy this, but it definitely was not up to scratch with their Ultimate Triad match which I quite enjoyed. This devolved into a bit of just a spotfest and while there were some really excellent moments they never really grew past two men hitting each other. Then it just ends with a pretty crap double down, a finish which is tough to execute at the best of times. Really this needed a clean win for Takagi I think to continue redemption of the belt, middling match let down by its finish and the worst of the night so far."

[7.0] "HENARE has stiffened up his strikes by a LOT which is really great to see. The match is going really well, but there is one precise moment where the match lost the entirety of its momentum, and that's when they each hit each other with their finishewrs. They do the thing where they hit it, but are too tired to capitalised. It felt entirely unearned by that point in the match and completely killed the flow. Like after a 20 minute slugfest sure, but not after, like, 10. C'mon. The finish was very weak too."