[8.0] "As someone who has followed Kaito for years, this was the match I was most looking forward to. This match wasn't about Kaito proving he's the superior athlete, it was about Ozawa crashing into the main event scene. From the opening minutes, the Budokan crowd made it clear they were behind Ozawa. He stalled, taunted, and even broke out some ridiculous antics, and instead of booing him the building roared in approval. That put Kaito in a weird position, the ace of the company, but suddenly framed as the straight man against Ozawa's wild energy. You could almost see Kaito shrinking while Ozawa grew bigger in real time. The first half with Ozawa's domination, and Kenoh's involvement only underlined how weak Kaito looked. The fans were living and dying with everything Ozawa did, even if Kaito was technically sharper bell-to-bell. That's the kind of moment promotions dream of creating, even if it came at the cost of their ace."
[8.0] "[4.0*] This shit was just wonderful. I have not watched a single NOAH match for the last couple of months, but a friend of mine who knows that I am not that engaged anymore told me I HAD to watch this match, not because of the wrestling itself, but because of the crazy experience. I had no idea what he was talking about because NOAH is regularly a workrate, pure wrestling promotion, but it definitely gave me the excitement that I was lacking for months. He explained the story to me a little bit and basically this guy that I had NEVER heard before (not like Yu Owada that was always there, this dude never was lol) is a psychopath and a stalker who exposes Kaito on social media. This probably would make him the abhorrent heel while Kaito is obviously the babyface victim, but the Budokan crowd decided that Ozawa was their hero and cheered him like crazy LMAO. I did not know what to expect but from the first second on, I knew I was witnessing something special. The first 7 minutes of this bout were the most fun I had with wrestling in a LONG time, probably since Punk vs Drew. The funny thing is: they had not even touched each other at this point. They did not need to. They told a super compelling and rich story with 7 minutes of taunts and funny segments. Ozawa is a fucking master, dude. When he did that fucking break dance, I was convinced that he is the next big thing. Sure, he is a worse wrestler than Kaito, Yota, Anzai and all these dudes, but what he does best is hella more impressive than wrestling moves. Kaito may be the most gifted guy of this generation, but he is a geek. Ozawa is the fucking coolest, he is miles cooler than Kaito and everyone at the Budokan knew that. His style is unorthodox and kinda strange, he is not the smoothest guy around but I think this actually helps his character a lot. His way of wrestling suits his character, 100%. It is easy to buy what he is doing because he is talented at it. You can not teach this shit at Dojos. Narita never learned that. The overbooking stuff was funny and great because it represented all of the madness they were proposing, with my favorite overbooked moment being when the Giant Omos appeared to a huge pop and chants. This shit was so awesome lmao. The nearfalls were pretty great too, there were a couple of very believable ones. Ozawa won with a picture perfect Phoenix Splash for a gigantic pop in the absolutely right decision for this Main Event. Ozawa and his psychotic storyline drew more fans than AJ Styles vs Marufuji, he needed to win. Now I hope the character keeps evolving, I am so interested that I even followed him on Twitter! Perfectly executed storytelling match, it looked more like Dude Love vs Austin than an average NOAH match, which is a pretty great thing. Changes are always risky but they hit the nail with this Ozawa guy, he is the fucking man."
[8.0] "This is how you establish a main eventer in one match. I was surprised that the crowd cheered for OZAWA by the end. He is really carrying this almost rennaisance for NOAH at the moment."
[0.0] "Genuinely, I don't get OZAWA. I don't know how can anybody take a look at this guy and think that him doing Fortnite emotes is something very cool, how looking like a manchild makes him appealing enough for people to actually want him as their world champion. I don't really understand how his style of wrestling where he does the bare minimum is something to be appreaciated by folks but that's the reality. I watched this miserable thing for half an hour and I want my time back"
[8.0] "This match was really good, and man, OZAWA is so good being the bad guy, that he is loved for it! I can only hope his title run will solidify him on the top. (****1/4)."
[5.0] "Seriously? I get people are tired of Kiyomiya as champ but no way in hell is Ozawa better than Kaito. Also did not help that this match was nearly 30 minutes. Some funny stuff happened like the nosepick and the Omos appearance but the pacing was just thrown out the window around halfway in. This makes me want to watch NOAH even less now. 5 points for some cool moves from Kiyomiya as per usual."
[8.0] "Sometimes you watch a match and it's just an immediately compelling, star-making performance. I have watched basically zero NOAH up until this point, so this was my first time seeing OZAWA, and my first time seeing Kiyomiya not in a NJPW ring really. And it ruled. OZAWA looks like an absolute charismatic psycho and I'm hooked on him getting the big title win shock."
[9.0] "OZAWA looks like a real star and career rival for Kaito. Two NOAH dojo guys had their spotlight to begin their long rivalry. I happy for both of them and this match made me believe in NOAH that they gonna survive this dark time they got right now and will rise again"
[6.0] "I liked that Ozawa's character work and really enjoyed some moments of the match but why people rated it so high I don't understand. I didn't like the story so much and really Kaito's path and career is really passed that step and that story of match if it happened in 22 or 21 I would have accepted actually I didn't like that they didn't work on fans reactions very well and Kaito's low blow in the end didn't deliver for me. the match took too long and still it really need more time and the end wasn't that special for huge moment like this and about wrestling action it was just fine. (***) actually I didn't hate that match but nah and I have to respect that this more American type match than Japanese one"
[7.0] "This match's structure could use some work, but despite that, OZAWA absolutely smashed it out of the park and hit a home run here. He exuded star power and showed a great understanding of wrestling for a rookie. I don't think this match was quite a classic in terms of in ring action, but it was certainly a fantastic performance."
"Expect to have fun! I don't follow Noah closely, but I bought into the hype and checked out this match and I had a blast. The commentators did a good job of summarizing the story between both men, so even if you don't know their background you'll be able to follow the storytelling. OZAWA is very athletic, has a great personality and a whole lot of confidence, and had the crowd support on this night. I thought they played well into this, with Kiyomiya justifiably heeling it up by the end of the match, without really sacrificing his morals. The way OZAWA does the Phoenix Splash is insane, he was booked incrediblly strong here, and I'll be keeping an eye on what comes next for these two. With a potential face turn and reunion down the line, their future is looking bright right now!"
[9.0] "A Star is Born, in NOAH. Loved every bit of it. And the crowd milking it all in was there best part. Ozawa has IT. Too much of IT but it's good. Kaito was the perfect dance partner aswell. Too all the new fans who watched the show must have felt that too. Star making performance by Ozawa. Now all we need is to feed him with all kinds of babyfaces"
[8.0] "Damn, before I say anything, I think it's important that I say that I'm currently not a fan of NOAH's product, as it simply feels too 'Russo-like' for me, with the 'Monday Magic' randomness and the complicated black-hole that is 'Team2000X' making everything just seem to 'car-crash' like with not much else properly drawing me in. But that being said, after this match I now think Taishi Ozawa is the shit, and obviously, he stole the show here, but I'll go into that more later. But firstly, I want to say that I liked this matches story quite a lot, Ozawa seemingly joining 'All Rebellion' just to stab Kaito Kiyomiya in the back is definitely interesting, and he's been presented actually surprisingly well given how NOAH's booking has been recently. I guess it just comes to how much I like 'Iago-like' characters, with people like peak Jay White and classic Tomasso Ciampa being prime examples, as these evil, tactical wankers having their vile plans turning out successfully is always seems new and exciting. Overall, I also like just how much of a comical shit-bag Taishi Ozawa's been specifically, such as when he's just been randomly posting private Kaito-stuff online just to stick to him, it really works wonders and is so much edgier than what I expected. Additionally, I also really like what happens in the match itself, the NOAH crowd favouring the charismatic cult-leader like figure that is Ozawa over the honourable baby-face champion was really refreshing, especially how Kaito's probably the only great thing NOAH has had for a while now, meaning that the shift in crowd support properly felt impactful. Accordingly, I also liked how this relates to Kaito himself, as his past year has been amazing since he's dug himself out of the Okada-sized hole that was his 2023, so this properly mature version of Kaito getting cucked so royally is fantastic. It really makes me sympathise with Kaito and again it shows that how big of a culture shock Taishi Ozawa could be, especially when he's booed relentlessly when he hits Ozawa with a late low-blow, as it's unfair and just goes to show how popular the challenger was. Nonetheless, there's where my massive praises for this match ends, because whilst this match definitely isn't bad, I've simply seen much better recently. It's mainly just too slow in my opinion, with too much time spent on pointless outside faction brawling that it kind off took me out of it a little. Taishi's psychology is great tho, as he oftently seems mentally so far ahead of Kaito, who seems off his game as Ozawa dominates for long periods and Kaito's never really to establish long advantages over his opponent. It just didn't seem like NOAH's biggest match of the year, as it lacked that urgency at times and nothing ever felt world-ending apart from the matches conclusion, but I guess it leaves room for possible rematches down the road. Nonetheless, Ozawa winning was the right decision, as Kaito is nearing the point of being over-pushed and Ozawa is definitely on something. 'Team 2000X' does make this more complicated though, as I can never take people like Yoshi-Tatsu seriously and it's unescapable how much Daga sucks and Omos is Omos. I guess I just hoped that Taishi Ozawa was surrounded by better partners at the end of the day, as it seems like 'Team2000X' is much more likely to bring him down rather than amplify him. Ultimately, I don't want this to de-emphasize Ozawa though, but I guess we'll wait and see, given NOAH's booking recently, I'm not betting everything on him being some new saviour right at this moment."
[4.0] "This one just didn't make any sense to me at any point. OZAWA is clearly miscast as a heel or simply doesn't know how to be one, getting incredibly over with the crowd with his charismatic attempts to stall the early stages of the match, and his moveset being deliberately flashy and high pace, high risk, it's just all wrong. The crowd want to cheer the guy and he's giving them every reason to, so why even pretend to be the heel, why bother with the cheating and the heel stablemates interfering? My guess is they didn't expect the crowd to be so openly hostile to be the babyface champion in Kiyomiya, but OZAWA is not giving them any real reason to boo him. To contrast, Kaito's responses to these openly mocking taunts and confident cocky gestures of the challenger is to do absolutely nothing to try and stop him, not bother to fire up at all really and simply accept that he is a geek there to be ping-ponged and mocked. The crowd are right to boo him because he's the top guy of the company taking a complete mockery from the young challenger who is more exciting than he is and showing absolutely nothing in return, it's embarrassing to watch. At least Kaito's destruction vs. Okada was against a great wrestler, and both were able to fire up on each other and make it feel like they wanted to beat the shit out of each other throughout. This match feels like OZAWA just wants to clown around and Kaito just cannot be arsed and it doesn't make for a good match. And yes, I don't care for OZAWA very much from this sample of him. Clearly a competent wrestler in pulling off his stuff and charismatic, but the weird troll gimmick does nothing for me as a heel, would not really do a whole lot more for me if he was allowed to naturally connect to the crowd as a face, and because of my issues with his casting I didn't get to connect much with his work. I'll be the low end on this one compared to everyone else I assume, and that's fine. I can see why someone would like this match, but for me it failed to hit any of the points it wanted to, and the crowd actively refusing to engage with what they were being told is a perfect example of that. Probably about **1/4."
[9.0] "A star is born in one night! That's what this match was, and it was an awesome match. Kaito and Ozawa tore the house down in Budokan and this has the makings to be a rivalry for years to come like Okada and Naito. I thought it was a decent show but this main event really made it a good show. I'd go out of your way to watch this one as Ozawa put on a performance that is going to be memorable in NOAH for some time, he is already a front runner for most improved in my book, even though it's one day, but I don't know how many performances we're going to see from rookies that are this good! Ozawa was an amazing heel that got super over with the crowd like Naito, his win has me intrigued in NOAH at the moment and seeing where things go with him and his reign. Also love the inclusion of Omos into their faction making them seem unstoppable. Awesome awesome match, it didn't drag one bit for me as the outside interference all made sense into the story being told. 4.75 stars for me."
[7.0] "I was looking forward to this match, but it didn't turn out to be as good as I was hearing about. Glad for Ozawa to win here, but man this thing dragged a bit and did not need to go half hour. 20-25 minutes would've been good enough. People are getting tired of Kaito and they let NOAH and Kaito know. Hopefully Ozawa can get better matches in him, because he did look really impressive here."
[9.0] "This match rocks holy hell. This is my first OZAWA match and man he made a believer out of me. The character mind and talent you have to have to put on an engaging first 10 mins while basically only taunt spamming and messing with kaitos head is genuinely insane, when he started the breakdance i told my tv NOAH needs to belt him up and i didnt have to wait long. I havent seen a character this engaging in Japan for a while, not to say Japan lacks characters, but OZAWA seems like a guy who could carry himself in the WWE which is seriously saying something considering most guys who go from Japan to WWE struggle bc theyre mostly workrate guys. OZAWAs movement and sequences were hard hitting and his entire act was suuuper over with the crowd, the phoenix splash was ergonomically perfect. Kaito held up his end of the bargain too, never trying to take away from how over OZAWA is, which is a compliment that should be taken note of. This match made me an OZAWA truther and is gonna make me continue to follow NOAH, more than i did last year, which is exactly what you want from your 2 top guys so bravo gentlemen"
[7.0] "NOAH giving OZAWA the Okada-back-from-excursion treatment makes sense - he's brimming with the kind of star power & unique charisma New Japan would kill for in their homegrown youngsters right now. Match had its moments, but was too long and the heel faction bs is a total misfire - the fans love OZAWA and aren't about to boo his nefarious side ***3/4"
[6.0] "Decent match here, nothing I was going nuts for OZAWA feels like a fresh face, his wrestling didn't amaze me but I appreciate that he is bringing character to his work. Kiyomiya was fine as usual, competent but kind of dry. Match felt too long but that's the puro standard style so it was expected."
[6.0] "Boring first 15 minutes and it doesn't really pick up later on. There were glimpses of a great match here. When OZAWA was actually wrestling, he looked awesome, but unfortunately, he spent most of the match doing wacky facial expressions which is something I have no use for. I guess his shtick is over with the crowd, so can't fault NOAH for pushing him, but it couldn't be further away from what I enjoy about puro."
[8.0] "Just like that NOAH makes a new top guy and injects a lot of life into the promotion. OZAWA has a ton of charisma that turns the crowd against the ace Kiyomiya and shitbags his way through the match in a way that works here, but can very easily get long in the tooth in future matches if he doesn't develop his style at all. Great atmosphere throughout that keeps the crowd engaged, with a finishing stretch that has a lot of drama without needing the insane finisher reversal sequences to build. ****"
[9.0] "This match made my week. I haven't been watching NOAH for awhile so I was so surprised when I turned on this show and there were so many young wrestlers in big positions. None more so than Ozawa. Just looking at his promotional photo he seemed special. He really has, "the gift." It's so nice and exciting seeing NOAH's main event depart from the, "Brother, brother, " crowd to quote Kevin Kelly. And I mean don't get me wrong. I love all the classic NOAH wrestlers. And I love the GHC Heavyweight Title cycle of, "Guy wins, defends against Suigira, Marufuji, Shiozaki, Kaito, Kenoh, Saito, Kitamiya, Inamura, Kaito, " etc etc. I really do love that. But it's just nice seeing NOAH feel fresh and different. And man Ozawa has the gift. This match was outstanding. It was so much fun. Ozawa is so much fun. And Kaito couldn't be a more perfect rival for him. The pre match video was outstanding. The match was outstanding. This match made my week and I can't wait to watch more of Ozawa's work."
[8.0] "A close second for my favorite match of the night. This was my first exposure to OZAWA, and he's made me a fan. He's proven to be a good in-ring wrestler, which is the most important aspect for me, personally. However, his character/heel work was just great. The man was breakdancing, picking his nose and wiping it on Kiyomiya, and hitting a Fortnite emote (Flippin' Sexy) in the middle of the match. Absolutely vile work and I loved it. The pace got a little slow for me in certain spots and not everything was executed as well as it could have been, which is why I didn't rate this higher. However, this was still one of the strongest matches on the show and OZAWA alone has made me want to watch NOAH more."
[6.0] "I don't really know how to feel about this match. I thought OZAWA showed some real promise with really explosive in-ring work and the fact he's already as over as he is with the audience is pretty insane. But I also think the match makes Kaito, the ace of the promotion, look like a total geek and puts a big stain on his reputation. I'm not really into the meme/ironic side of professional wrestling at all, so OZAWA's gimmick isn't the type of thing I'm into and he's just too much on the trolling side to me here. If it played into the way he worked a match more than just being to pop the crowd maybe I'd be okay with it but here it just feels wrong while Kaito is trying to wrestle a serious match and looks weak because of it. I don't have an issue with NOAH putting the belt on what is basically an unknown at this point, I think that shows boldness and confidence, but I just found it to be really damaging to Kiyomiya."
[9.0] "Honestly, this match absolutely blew me away. I had never seen OZAWA wrestle before this and just thought this would be a quick and easy defense for Kiyomiya, but this was ANYTHING but. The crowd completely turned against Kiyomiya and were very much behind OZAWA. I personally think Kiyomiya is great and would have loved to see him go on a Okada like run, but this was so much fun. An incredible match with a whole lot of intrigue and memorable moments. OZAWA as champ alongside the dominant TEAM 2000X will be a whole lot of fun to watch, and I can't wait to see what happens next."
[9.0] ""I followed the storyline through NOAH's social media and thought this would be just another defense for Kaito... Boy, was I wrong. OZAWA really showed what he's capable of--his character and his in-ring work were on point. The fans were so into him that they booed Kaito, the company's ace, for the whole match. The action in the ring was solid too, and I was on the edge of my seat by the end. OZAWA won, and now I'm super curious about how his reign will go. Also, his Phoenix Splash is great."
[9.0] "I'm going four and a half stars on this and will reassess later on in the year. This could have made OZAWA a name in NOAH and pro wrestling with this match, perhaps some odd pacing at times and the interference might turn some off. I'm more worried about him facing Kenoh after he got convincingly beat by grumpy, old KENTA. But OZAWA had the crowd vocally behind him, something NOAH typically bungles unless they are over 50."
[7.0] "There's a lot to talk about here, but I think the focus should be that OZAWA looks like an extremely promising pro wrestling for NOAH. He has so much charisma and is clearly very gifted in the ring, and has a connection with the audience. There were moments here where he and Kiyomiya really put on a great match, and I think they are capable of having some classics together in the future. That being said I do think there was a little too many extracurriculars, I actually really liked the ref bump with Kiyomiya hitting the low blow but it felt a little tired after seeing so much interreference earlier. I don't know if I can say this is a truly great match, but it was very good overall and its made me more interested in NOAH's 2025 as a whole, so that's a win. 3.75 stars"
[8.0] "So this was exciting...OZAWA's return match. And he got an good look and theme. He is the perfect heel and suits well in TEAM2000X. The beginning was annoying and the typical heel stuff but more extented. Then Kaito hitted a hard elbow and it began. OZAWA is too good to be heel (in ring skills; lol). He is awesome and I really looking forward to more of his matches. His next match will be against Kenoh in non title match. Must see. Picture perfect Pheonix Splash and good last 10 minutes. ****1/4 OZAWA is a guy I was/am so hyped for a new character like I wasn't in a longer time."
[9.0] "OZAWA came out of this looking like a megastar. Great build-up, that never became boring, and the match overall was worth of the main event spot. It was fun to see the crown turning on Kiyomiya to support the heel, after OZAWA 'exposed' him on social media. Well worth your time, as it was the first great match of the year. ****1/2"
[9.0] "Ozawa's popularity with the NOAH crowd is undeniable--the fans chanted his name throughout the entire match while showering Kiyomiya with boos. The bout began at a deliberate pace, with Ozawa mocking Kiyomiya by darting in and out of the ring, refusing to engage seriously. When this failed to provoke Kiyomiya, Ozawa escalated his antics, employing outside interference and moments of actual wrestling to unsettle his opponent. Beneath Ozawa's Joker-like antics lay a deep-seated hatred for Kiyomiya, an undercurrent that defined the match's tension. As the match progressed, Kiyomiya's frustration grew. Ozawa's mind games pushed him to the brink, culminating in Kiyomiya delivering a low blow when the referee was incapacitated. The final ten minutes were the highlight: both competitors traded stiff forearm strikes and Shining Wizards, ramping up the intensity. A breathtaking moment saw Ozawa execute a devastating powerbomb off the top rope, which Kiyomiya barely managed to survive. In a pivotal turn, Omos appeared at ringside, distracting Kiyomiya just long enough for Ozawa to capitalize. Seizing the moment, Ozawa delivered an absolutely flawless Phoenix Splash to secure the victory. Now crowned champion, Ozawa is poised to hold the title for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Kiyomiya seems destined for a darker path, his simmering hatred for Ozawa likely to drive a dramatic heel turn. A gripping match with incredible storytelling and high-stakes drama--easily worth 4.5 stars."
[9.0] "My first main event and first match with these wrestlers that I have watched. The crowd is very very very very cool. Awesome match, a great end to the evening. The appearance of Colossus Omos was fun."
[9.0] "Incredible main event for the NOAH New Year show, when I've learned that Kaito lost to this OZAWA guy, I was shocked, maybe thinking it's a dumb or wrong decision, but nothing like actually watch the match and realize that OZAWA is a freaking monster, the stuff that he did here was truly impressive, a breakout performance, he went from a total unknown, with 1 vote on Cagematch, to the GHC Heavyweight Champion, and the entire Budokan was chanting his name and rooting for him. This star-making performance for OZAWA was awesome, he turned on Kaito, his 'mentor', calling him an abusive coach, and challenged him for a match at New Year, where NOAH absolutely made the right choice on trusting him and creating a new star, this was great, the amount of deep psychology that OZAWA puts in this match is fantastic, he's a showman, he's a brilliant mix of crazy, dangerous and smart, he can be funny and also look nasty, it's a very complex character and he walks pretty well into a thin line to make it work. This 30-minutes of action flew by because of how interesting the match was, OZAWA is very unpredictable and he played mind games with Kaito the entire time, the ending stretch was excellent, with Omos appearing and having his name chanted, and Kaito also showed heart to resist some moves, including a shining wizard, but OZAWA completely dominated there and won the match. A new star is born - {****1/4}"
[8.0] "Overbooked? Overstuffed? Perhaps, but thoroughly entertaining throughout, and both promotion and performers did exactly what they needed to do in order to establish OZAWA as an instant star. Whole lot of smoke and mirrors of course, but that beautiful Phoenix Splash on the finish proved that it's not all sizzle and troll-style heeling with OZAWA. Best of all, a defeat this total and shocking should prompt Kiyomiya to do some soul-searching and rebuilding, and hopefully develop a more organic presentation free of Misawa and Muto cosplay."
[6.0] "OZAWA's gimmick seems like a troll. A devil, a thorn in the side of Kaito Kiyomiya. From what I gathered from the commentary, OZAWA even doxed Kiyomiya! OZAWA, at least from the opening bell, seemed to mirror the gimmick in his work too. He stalled, but in a teasing mocking way, rather than a Larry Zybyzsko method. And more interestingly, the fans seemed to chant OZAWA over Kiyomiya. I never felt like the Budokan Hall crowd were partly smarky, but OZAWA, on first impression, seems to have a nice touch of personality to his wrestling. The more serious Kiyomiya got frustrated and would chase OZAWA, who responded with breakdancing skills. I like the trolling aspect of the gimmick. I wasn't too impressed by his wrestling however. He seemed a step slow and a little lackadaisical in the transition from doing the character work to a basic move. OZAWA's goons, including Yoshitatsu, attacked Kiyomiya as the ref got distracted. OZAWA continued the assault with a weapon of his, and took his time taking him around the ringside area, throwing him in the barricades. OZAWA begins working the neck with a cravate, taking Kiyomiya to the floor continuously going at a slow but intended pace, with Kiyomiya getting in quick flurries in response. Kiyomiya's comebacks aren't too hot though. I like that he punched OZAWA, as that's not the norm. The fans didn't give him a great response either, favouring OZAWA, which didn't help. This segways into third act with the strike exchange of doom, and even as they speed up and escalate into uppercuts and kicks, neither can seem to get the best of the other. This segment concludes with OZAWA hitting a spinning heel kick and Kiyomiya replying with a shining wizard. Did Kiyomiya win? Technically but I still lean to a stalemate. Kiyomiya is in control as he looks for the finish, but gets caught with a pop up flatliner by OZAWA. OZAWA chants as he shows off his athleticism, landing on his feet for a moonsault before hitting a standing SSP for a two count. Despite the crowd investment, there isn't much palpable tension in the nearfalls, particularly on OZAWA's side. Instead, I felt the drama was most apparent when Kiyomiya was cutting off OZAWA's momentum. Although the top rope powerbomb was an awesome spot and got a great reaction from the crowd and commentating team. A phoenix splash missed allows for a restart in the momentum game. Both struggle to their feet, with OZAWA just making it up first. Kiyomiya starts throwing shining wizards but OZAWA survives three consecutive hits. More follow and OZAWA collapses on the floor. Kiyomiya senses his chance for the win but OZAWA drags the ref into his path and low blows Kiyomiya. Kiyomiya responds with his own, which was an awesome touch. Another shining wizard seems to knock OZAWA out. But the ref is down. And then, in another big moment in the match, Omos makes his way down to the ring, giving OZAWA a chance to recover. A low blow (another one) and a shining wizard only gets a two count, another strong false finish. OZAWA keeps plugging away though, eventually hitting a 450 splash for the win and wins the GHC Heavyweight championship in his first match back! And his first try, which is more note-worthy. A bold booking choice by the NOAH booking time. One of many interesting title changes. I hope it works out for them this time. On first impressions, OZAWA comes across as a fun, but not great wrestler. I wasn't too impressed with the bells and whistles of his work. I thought his character work was amusing and added something different to the match. But perhaps it was a little too comedic? The crowd dug him though, and there is time to work out the kinks of how far to go. Ideally, he would be given that time without the pressure of drawing and being in main events though. I think he is suited to being Kiyomiya's annoying little cousin though. I felt their contrast provided a decent story based match, even if I felt the wrestling wasn't really all that great. 29 minutes was a little long as well, but I didn't think it was paced terribly either. This was well crafted and interesting at the very least. ***"
[10.0] "OZWA is truly the savior of NOAH. His performances are exceptionally captivating. Debuting just 2 years and 4 months ago, he returned from his overseas excursion only to suffer an injury, leaving him without a single match until now. Yet, in the main event at Budokan, his explosive actions left everyone exhilarated. He took control of the match, utilized his villainous allies and even the referee, and established himself as a completely new type of champion. As NOAH approaches its 25th anniversary, OZWA represents a wrestler archetype that the promotion has never seen in its history. With Kaito, Inamura, and OZWA leading the way, the dawn of a new era for NOAH's Ark has finally arrived."
[9.0] "It takes courage to present a double main event with matches featuring rookies. Sasaki delivered a solid performance, but the real standout of the night was Ozawa. Despite being an incredibly annoying heel, his mannerisms and attitude made him captivating. Kiyomiya needed a rival, and it seems he's finally found one. I can't wait to see their upcoming battles."
[10.0] "A star making moment for OZAWA with the crowd loving him. This should be a wake up call for Kiyomiya who, keeps improving, but still lacks his own identity while OZAWA oozes charisma. The guy hams it up like crazy and it works. Kaito needed a younger rival and The New Year Shock might be the best decision NOAH has made in a while. The main event scene feels so much fresher now after being stale for years. OZAWA and Omos brought life to a faction that felt DOA."
[8.0] "Too much outside interference at the beginning for my taste, but I believe a lot of it to have been character-building for Ozawa. In the end, though, this was a fascinating New Year's main event. I've liked NOAH this past year, but this match and result have 100 percent boosted my excitement for future shows. Ozawa played his character really well here and delivered from an in-ring standpoint with bouncy athleticism."
[7.0] "On one hand, this is a fascinating piece of business go because NOAH put absolutely everything in this particular match - it wouldn't work without Kiyomiya, it wouldn't work on 'just another show' or even sold-out Korakuen, it needed to happen here, and it was OZAWA's first official match in almost three months. On the other, this is a great setup for a generational rivalry between these two - Kiyomiya needed a proper rival as a babyface, but I guess he'll need to turn heel which most likely will freshen up him as well. There's certainly potential that can and should be untapped, but you can't really trust NOAH of all promotions to pull it off. The match itself was more about making fans react, speak and think about what just happened instead of making it a 'who is the strongest' type of a match. I think it worked, I think there is a way to build up a very hot rematch, I just want to see it actually happen because I anticipate some kind of a ridicilous fuck up from NOAH. Hopefully not this time."
[9.0] "This main event should be remembered for completely elevating Ozawa. This is pro wrestling at its best, when you take a risk on a rookie in one of your biggest shows of the year, people don't know what you're thinking, and then it completely pays off. Ozawa was amazing, the crowd turned on Kaito and Ozawa even showed off how good of a wrestler he is with a perfect Phoenix Splash as the finish. This isn't your technical masterpiece, or stiff 90s AJPW match, but it is a great lesson to all bookers on what can happen if you take your chance on a charismatic rookie. AJPW did something similar with Yuma Anzai who is absolutely amazing and we'll see whether NJPW's risk with Umino pays off. I was so captivated by Ozawa I can't rate this anything lower than a 9 even if the action wasn't all there."
[9.0] "The first 15 minutes of this match was extremely boring, but kaito getting his chain snatched by a rookie in the main event is crazy, he has to go somewhere else this was crazy, ozawa is crazy good for a newbie and I completely understand why they gave him this spot"
[10.0] "The main event was a masterpiece. You could say it's one of the best matches of the year right now! At first, ozawa played a psychological game with Kiyomiya a and wouldn't come to the ring and hit him, but then he would lie down or dance in front of him in the ring, completely relaxed. This made Kiyomiya angry, and ozawa then took the match seriously. The two wrestlers were literally targeting each other with every power they had and every move they knew, and neither of them was going to give up, which made every moment of the match a beautiful sequence. The ending of the match was a masterpiece. Omos came and distracted Kiyomiya, and ozawa hit a 450 splash to become the new GHC Heavyweight Champion."
[8.0] "The atmosphere in this bout was crazy, it really felt like a main event which I was sceptical of going in. Ozawa definitely played up the heelwork almost too much, but he played the line well. This will definitely be divisive considering the large amounts of outside interference, it almost reminded me of SUWA and his antics in the 2000s, but I was broadly on board. The middle of the bout slowed a bit too much with a lot of downtime but it was still very engaging. The crowd chanted for Ozawa which was just crazy over Kiyomiya. I enjoyed Ozawa and his character work but things did just get a bit too slow for me. Ozawa pretty shockingly got the win with a Phoenix Splash to crown a new champion and I am really unsure how to feel about this matchup, I loved parts but it was far too slow for long stretches. Worth a watch for the sheer spectacle, but not one of the best main events I have seen."
[9.0] "Let me say, this being the first wrestling show I watched in the new year made me happy. One of goals is to watch more wrestling outside of the big 2 and tap in with more wrestlers that catch my eye from other promotions. I was familiar with Kaito because of his match with Okada (which I liked quite a bit) so as I'm watching this match, I was shocked at what transpired. I had no knowledge of Ozawa like that and the fact he came in and just snatched Kaito's chain like this was nuts. Ozawa pulled out some vile tactics (picking his nose and wiping it on Kaito, stalling for time to make Kaito angry during the early parts of the match, hitting him with a low blow, along with the other character work he was doing), and he still was getting cheered for it. Reminded me of big dog Roman during his early push when the fans rejected it. The backstory for the build to this match is crazy too. Ozawa essentially exposed Kaito for not being the guy that he portrays to be and from the looks of it, people were either tired of his push and wanted something new, or saw right through the bs Kaito be doing.This match was incredible too. Smartly worked match from Ozawa that led to an insane finish with some crazy near falls before he won the match. I was moved, and I'll be looking out for his matches going forward. Will be interesting to see what Kaito does next after this, he might gotta leave or at least go on an excursion elsewhere or something. 9/10 incredible match. Go out of your way to watch this if you haven't yet"
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