Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi

[6.0] "I mean, it's wrestled very well. Both Kota & Jay do a fantastic job this match and the interactions between them are great. Jay plays an amazing heel in this match-up and really puts Kota over. However, I do feel as if this match is a great example of a longer match doesn't mean a great match. The pace within the first 15-20 minutes really sucked out my interest in the match-up & while it does get really good towards the final 10 minutes, I was worn out by that point. I feel like if this match was 20-30 minutes I would've enjoyed it much more for the pace it went. I don't mind these longer 40-50 minute matches and I even find myself preferring them, but this just doesn't do it for me. It's too slow of a pace for me and has a lack of entertaining offense. I can completely understand why people love this match though, and I'm not going to sit here and act like either Kota or Jay are bad wrestlers or they did horribly this match, because both are untrue. It's just not my cup of tea at all. I will say the teasing of each other's finishers and Kota's constant reversals out of Blade Runner were really entertaining. Maybe one day I'll come back to this match and enjoy it much more, but it feels like the ultimate ***1/4 match. Pace is too slow for my liking and just had a lot of bloat with the time, when it feels like this should've just been a 25 minute match rather than a nearly 50 minute match."

[10.0] "Seeing this match made me realize how BAD it was the Shota Umino vs Zack Sabre Jr. The lack of emotion that I had watching the WK main event this year I didn't have watching this one to be honest. Thanks to Jay White, he made the match looks interesting from the beginning until the end, with a amazing work as a heel performer, mocking Ibushi and even challenging her, underestimating him, teasing him, it was a beast of heel work. White asking for red shoes to don't make the count out while Ibushi was outside was INCREDIBLE and unique, I don't remember seeing this before. 48 minutes that didn't look like 48 minutes, cause the wrestlers are so fucking good enough to make this interesting at any amount of time. Kota Ibushi in his prime (last year) and Jay White...well, motivated, lol. The kickout from the Bladerunner, which is incredible cause I think it was the first I ever saw and probably the only one, making Kota Ibushi the only wrestler known for kicking out of the Bladerunner AND the One Winged Angel, two of the most protected moves in the modern wrestling, but also why it was so well executed...this match was really insane, even NOT being a five stars match for me, deserves the flowers and praises."

[9.0] "[4.5*] This one was fantastic. I absolutely love this Jay long matches where his major goal is to play the bad guy and put the babyface over. He does the trash-talk, gives a lot to the psychology, has some incredible offense (that Ibushi sold with his life, taking some crazy head bumps) it is awesome to see. I found myself highly entertained throughout the whole bout, and this may have been the best showing of Jay White in a smart-wrestling standpoint. The moment when he pretended to be knocked out just to have the opportunity to do a low-blow is awesome, even the small (7k) Tokyo Dome crowd reacted a lot to it. The ending stretch also had heart-stopping nearfalls but this pandemic crowd really hurt them a little bit. My only issue with the whole match is the fact that White sometimes took a lot of time to do a spot just to end up not doing it. And I know this is heel work, but it annoyed me lmfao. On this Avalanche Sleeper spot he spent a lot of time with Ibushi there, got knocked-off, Gedo interfered, Ibushi took Gedo out, Jay came back and then he just picked Ibushi from there and did nothing. Kota had a better selling on this match than on the G1 Final, but as a whole I found their first meeting better, and perfect. This one was almost it."

[4.0] "I think if this match was 20-25 minutes shorter I would have enjoyed it considerably more, but the early pace really took me out of it, and with the result (Ibushi retaining after winning the title the previous night) never being in question for me, I can't say the late near falls created much suspense. I thought this fell way below the usual standard of a wrestle kingdom main event. This isn't an inconsistent theme among big Jay White matches. The peak of New Japan "long for the sake of long". It's possible for an hour long match to be great, if you move at a good pace and tell a compelling story, but they failed on both accounts, unless you find Gedo interference spots entertaining. I give it a 4, because it's well wrestled at least."

[9.0] "PEAK WRESTLING! Jay White had an all timer heel performance, from the moment the match started up until the press conference. His promo work just hits every time. While the match did drag out a bit, it was a great performance from both White and Ibushi, their selling was so good and the in ring psychology was exceptional. I believe for this one night Jay White was the best wrestler in the world and I wish he could run it back in AEW. Hopefully the direction of his booking takes a positive turn soon."

[9.0] "When this match was over, Chris Charlton called it "one of the most emotionally draining matches I've ever seen, " and I'm inclined to agree. A fantastic, exhausting match with a ton of fire and emotion behind it. I love how Jey White kept bringing Kota Ibushi's dark side out. And maybe the only benefit of the COVID-induced silence from the crowd is we get to hear Jey White constantly yelling, cursing, and trash talking throughout the match..."

[6.0] "This is a great example of length not equalling greatness. Funny because their 30+ minute g1 final in 2019 was excellent, this thing has a nearly 50-minute runtime, and over half of it was unnecessary. I do like the Heel work from White, and Ibushi is always a solid babyface, but the runtime is so offensive I can't safely say this was worth the time. 3.25 Stars."

[10.0] "This is one of my favorite matches of all time. Jay White comes so close to walking out of Wrestle Kingdom as World Champion only to fall short after a brutal 50 minute defense from Kota Ibushi, his first defense just a day after winning it finally."

[9.0] "Masterful display of psychology and emotion, especially by White, who by this point is legitimately the best all-around performer in the company"

[5.0] "For whatever reason this match almost has a runtime of 50 minutes! These two have had great matches in the past, and I love their G1 final match in 2019 a ton but this was a good match that ran way past its time which in turn just made this a decent match. There's some great work here obviously since it's White vs. Ibushi and the best part about these two matches continues to be Ibushi knocking White out with one strike after White had just hit Ibushi with like 2-3 of his own. After 48 long minutes, Ibushi won and I could cut this match off.**3/4"

[9.0] "On the first viewing of this match, I hated it, I thought it was a major downgrade from their match at the G1 CLIMAX 29, however upon rewatching it, my opinion changed drastically. While I do still see this as being inferior to their bout at the G1 CLIMAX 29, that's not to say it was a bad match. It did drag on a bit, that much is true, also the action this time around, while still incredible, wasn't as riveting as it was with their previous encounter. What I will give this match points for, are the spots, as there were more of them this time around, and in my eyes, they exceeded the ones utilized in their prior bout, the Phoenix Splash in particular being my favorite. While I do stand with the opinion that their G1 CLIMAX 29 match is superior, this match is still really great. White continued to be a great heel here, and Ibushi was Ibushi, for better or for worse. A splendid match. Wish Gedo would go away though. ****3/4"

[10.0] "One of the greatest wrestling matches of all time. A pure babyface/heel dynamic where every single part fits and builds a complete picture of the characters: an increasingly desperate and pathetic villain in White, and a fiery hero who has had enough of the bullshit in Ibushi. A long match where somehow not a moment is wasted, and where the performers are confident enough to have extended sections where the babyface is being ground down, while still having some very creative sequences. The secret to great pro-wrestling is great acting, and both men show this here, but Jay White in particular shows a surprising genius for it. The finish is comparatively weak, but everything else about the match is so perfect it almost doesn't matter."

[2.0] "This is where my fatigue with the "New Japan Main Event Formula" really hit its peak. There are some wrestlers or pairs of wrestlers who excel in this but Kota Ibushi and Jay White just wrestled...and kept wrestling and could not keep it interesting. I had no energy left by the time it picked up at the end."

[5.0] "Mizzle Assault Ant wrote on 03.10.2022: [1.0] "Let me be clear, the match clearly drew well and drew acclaim from most, so it did it's job. But from my own perspective this was just an excruciatingly long match, with very lengthy stretches where nothing interesting happened which just obliterated any hope I had of the match having a good flow or popping me. By the end I just dearly wanted it to be over, not to mention absolute overkill with Gedo interfering what felt like a dozen times whenever they ran out of things to do, which was seemingly very often. It's of course possible to fill close to an hour with good stuff but they really, really did not do so here, this was the very definition of a drag for me." SlothFacts wrote on 07.01.2021: [2.0] "This was the longest match in Wrestle Kingdom history, and at no point did I /ever/ buy Jay White winning. Jay was on top virtually the whole match, and just beat on Ibushi. This went on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and then Ibushi hit a few moves and won. By the time Ibushi got the three count, it felt like he hadn't had a single sustained stretch of offense the entire match up to that point. I'm not even saying that's factually true, just that the match went on so long and was so heavily Jay on offense that it certainly /felt that way. / The only match I can think of to compare this to is the Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada title match where Suzuki had Okada in submission holds for what felt like 20 straight minutes, and then lost to a Rainmaker. But I loved that match, because it actually did feel like Suzuki might win, and the closing stretch was tremendously clever. This was none of that, and it was longer. Jay cut an excellent backstage promo after this match that did way more to make me care about him than anything this match did." Celticy wrote on 13.01.2022: [4.0] "I think if this match was 20-25 minutes shorter I would have enjoyed it considerably more, but the early pace really took me out of it, and with the result (Ibushi retaining after winning the title the previous night) never in question for me, I can't say the late near falls created much suspense. I thought this fell way below the usual standard of a wrestle kingdom main event. This isn't an inconsistent theme among big Jay White matches unfortunately, and I think a babyface turn would do a ton to compliment his in ring style.""

[7.0] "Jay's beat down segments are beyond boring and completely drag the match down. At the same time, Jay's performance in this match when being beat up is amazing. He's a great seller, especially his facial expressions. The match was also just really long, but there was some really cool moments in the final section. The reverse Kamigoye was cool to the back of Jay, and I liked Jay's heel tactics especially when he let Ibushi pin him."

[8.0] "A good match, but not nearly as good as their G1 29 bout and the match was too damn long. They aren't Okada and Omega to produce masterpieces in 45+ minutes matches."

[10.0] "I love the G1 2019 match between the two so I was nervous getting into this one thinking it would be just more of the same but no, gladly this match is rather different from the 2019 one, especially due to how much White has grown as a character since then. This match is just full of personality and fun moments by White. The moment when White tries to cheat by using the ropes during a pin and then Ibushi just gets up and kicks him in the head is great. Lots of fun little moments like that in this match, like when White tried to get the fans to cheer for Ibushi and then claiming that nobody supports Ibushi. The storytelling was just fantastic in this match from the domination by White to the comeback for Ibushi. One of the greatest moments of Karma with everything coming back to bite White in the ass and one of the greatest heel performances in NJPW by White. I feel this match would be universally considered better than the 2019 match if it wasn't for the clap crowd."

[10.0] "This was a masterpiece of a professional wrestling match, Jay getting more and more desperate as time goes on, and Kota having to fight through in full strength and pull through, this is peak pro wrestling."

[1.0] "Let me be clear, the match clearly drew well and drew acclaim from most, so it did it's job. But from my own perspective this was just an excruciatingly long match, with very lengthy stretches where nothing interesting happened which just obliterated any hope I had of the match having a good flow or popping me. By the end I just dearly wanted it to be over, not to mention absolute overkill with Gedo interfering what felt like a dozen times whenever they ran out of things to do, which was seemingly very often. It's of course possible to fill close to an hour with good stuff but they really, really did not do so here, this was the very definition of a drag for me."

[10.0] "This is one of the greatest heel vs babyface matches of all time. Jay White and Kota Ibushi went 48 minutes, but it didn't feel longer than 30. The counter exchanges, Ibushi kicking out of the bladerunner, and Ibushi destroying White at the end were all fantastic moments. But Jay White putting Ibushi in the TTO hold was what made this match unforgettable. It was like Jay knew that he would lose if Ibushi didn't tap out. He was practically in tears and actually was begging Ibushi to give up. He looked so desperate that he made me pity him, which is probably the greatest accomplishment attainable for a heel. That moment will stick with me forever. *****"

[5.0] "I didn't want to give the match a bad rating, but god damn it went on forever... Just endless moments of nothingness between average sequences. The last 15 minutes were good but that didn't make the match enjoyable. Oh BTW, Meltzer with the stupid ratings again !"

[6.0] "This match is so boring, mind you it's not a bad one and it's actually pretty good in a few aspects but man when Jay White is dominating most of the match like he always does it's bad enough but when he's dominating 80% of a 48 MINUTE MATCH I have even more of a problem. God it pisses me of when Jay White matches always have it so that Jay White dominates 80% of the match and kills any momentum or comeback the babyface has and no better is it showcased than here. If you want to watch the good version of Jay White vs Kota Ibushi watch their g1 climax 29 match cause even though the Jay White dominance is still a problem there, at least there's a good story there and there's actually a crowd who can cheer and boo. I don't see any reason you could argue as to how this match is better"

[9.0] "Excellent match. It went really long (longest in the Tokyo Dome) but it never felt like it drag. Jay White deserves special praise as he carried the majority of the match before the final stretch. Slow pacing but the layout was done so well that it never felt boring. The storytelling was superb and I loved Jay's work on Ibushi's mid section. Jay kept control and his counter wrestling was beautifully done. The ending stretch was awesome with an amazing in ring psychology and action. ****3/4"

[8.0] "This was just ridiculously long. Because it was a Tokyo Dome main event, that didn't mean it needed to go super long. But here we go. I thought the match overall was very good in many portions. I love stuff like White's leg work, Kota's strikes and some brutal looking spots. I thought White's performance was quite good. However, Kota's inconsistent selling (no surprise) really pissed me off. He just made all White's works mean nothing. Many moments of the match felt dragged and unnecessary. The pace was really slow for most of the match. The Gedo's interference was just annoying and repetitive. It was just Gedo's wet dream to book super long New Japan main event. Nevertheless, the good still outweighed the bad and the good portions are still enough for me to call this good."

[9.0] "I really did not expect to like this match so much. I thought the other big matches on this show (Hiromu/Ishimori and SANADA/EVIL especially) went too long and I found myself less interested after so much excess. But this - this was stunning. First 10 minutes was unnecessary padding but from there on it was 35 minutes of sheer artistry. Incredible effort over the two days from Kota Ibushi. Masterful heel performance from Jay White here. Had me convinced. Best match of the two days. *****"

[9.0] "There is a lot to love about this match but it gets majorly brought down by 1 issue and that is it's length. I loved Jay in this with his trash talking and him trying everything to win, Kota was great here too. There was nothing really wrong from the wrestlers it was just so long and it drags at points. ****1/2"

[10.0] "The whole wrestling universe clearly have an idea on how Kota Ibushi stands out as one of the best wrestlers in all of pro wrestling irrespective of his body conditioning but Jay White is the real deal in this match! He's one of the underappreciated wrestlers in the past but 2020 saw the resurgence of Switchblade with immense character work and spectacular matches from his side when big things are bound to happen. This is THE best of White's work without a doubt as I fell in love with his villainous antics while Gedo's interference was annoyingly appreciable. The post-match backstage promo from him was another layer of excellence. This was a ride of emotions and exceptional display of the craft called pro wrestling for 48 minutes and 6 seconds and this war really deserves a FULL scale rating without a shadow of doubt!"

[10.0] "Objectively analysed, it had all the elements to be considered a great match. It's an art to be able to express emotion, to be able to tell a story, through a slower way of working. Granted, the first 15-20 minutes aren't very relevant, and the quality comes from the little subtleties in the moves and everything that happens in the ring. I remember this issue being raised in the first Okada/Omega as well. Like I said, the style may not be to everyone's liking, but taken objectively, there are all the elements needed for a good match. Plus it had the minimum of interference from Gedo and this time it made sense, it didn't spoil the match at all. For me, it was the match that made me feel something watching wrestling after many months of losing touch a bit. I like Jay White's style and how he performs as a heel, the way he executes moves and I really think he's the best heel at the moment. He still has some work to do as a character outside of the ring, but once the match starts, he masters the character he plays almost perfectly. Ibushi is God, he can work any style, he proved it in G1, he proved it now and that's been the big story in NJPW for the last year. He fought his opponent's style in G1 matches, showed he could beat them and win the tournament. Now that more obstacles have been added to his path it's to make his victory even more important. It wasn't really necessary, but it worked out well and it also suited the two-day show organization."

[10.0] "I actually put off watching this for like 3 months after it happened because I saw it went 48 minutes and not everyone can go that long. When I finally watched it I regretted waiting for so long because I loved it. Don't get me wrong it could've been like 15 minutes shorter but I didn't feel the length at all. They have wonderful chemistry as we already knew from their G1 29 final which is even better than this. Awesome match, top 10 this year for me (currently) *****"

[9.0] "The best match between Kota Ibushi and Jay White, the crucial moments of this match were great, for a moment I tought that White is going to win the bout"

"This is the by far the most criminally underrated match of 2021. This was a roller-coaster ride, and classic of epic proportions, and is one of the top 3 matches of the year easily. One of the best WK main events ever Jay White and kota Ibushi painted art. (*****)"

[9.0] "It runs a bit long, and it isn't as good as their G1 Climax match, but this is still very, very good. Ibushi is insane, the stuff he pulls off in this match truly defies logic, and Jay is such a great bad guy, the perfect foil for Ibushi in my opinion. The visual of Jay clinging onto the belts after he lost, and them getting stripped away from his hands is probably the best way to say that NJPW's camera work is unmatched. It's an emotional moment when Ibushi wins, unfortunately there isn't a massive pop due to COVID, but he gets the best reaction he possibly could. Jay white's post match promo is one of the best I've ever seen, truly incredible stuff, it's well worth a watch, it shows why he's one of the best in the business."

[10.0] "Wrestle Kingdom 15 represented an escape from the madness that had consumed our lives over the course of the previous year. It was a unique environment that inevitably divided fans, as even the live crowds were unable to react in the way they wanted to. Throw in the fact that it was the longest main event in Wrestle Kingdom history and this has inevitably created a wide variety of ratings. In saying that, this is a match that had me hooked from beginning to end. Watching it live made the near hour of wrestling pass without second thought, as I was captivated by every strike, submission, counter, and high-flying attempt. Kota Ibushi sought to prove that he was the best in the world, while Jay White attempted to put the finishing touches on his rise back to the top of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Only this time, White had the proof that his critics had been wrong all along. It was nothing short of incredible in the vacuum within which it must be evaluated. It was a statement, as much as it was a great wrestling match. It existed in an environment that we all hope will never be replicated. And it was absolutely incredible to witness. A five-star match that ranks 10 out of 10 for me."

[9.0] "Amazing main event between Ibushi and White. They stole the show for me. Storytelling and everything was good. One of the best match of White's career. (****1/2)"

[10.0] "This was a masterclass of a contest. The drama was so high. The stages of the match and how they were sequenced were great, White's gorgeous domination, but Ibushi slowly persevered in increidble fashion. The wrestling was so great and so well executed. There were consistently epic moments in the contest, the match just kept on building towards the epic finale. Flawless - 10/10."

[9.0] "The longest main event in Wrestle Kingdom history. Now this was a great match, but it's not perfect by any means. There was a little bloating in the body of the match where Ibushi made an initial comeback before White cut him off. Nothing that took away from the whole match because there was more than enough to keep this up there as a classic match. Jay White took Ibushi to the absolute limit, doing literally anything he can do to beat Ibushi. He neutralised Ibushi early in the match, being aware of his surroundings, using space to protect himself as well as trapping Ibushi into a false sense of security before then targeting Ibushi's body - first his ribs then his legs. His deliberate pacing made for a slow and steady match with not much fast paced sequences unlike Okada v Ospreay but it was entirely compelling to watch. Ibushi complimented that perfectly as well. Ibushi was relentless in not giving up to White despite all of what he was doing. He kept on pushing and pushing White to the brink before finally winning and cementing himself as the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion. Not much else to say. Great match that pushed both wrestlers to their limits while combining the spirit of both. ****1/4"

[10.0] "Obviously this match did not need to go nearly 50 minutes and there are only so many big moves you can kick out of before you are unable to suspend your disbelief. That all being said, this could be the MOTY when it's all said and done. This was a terrific and cathartic conclusion to Jay's year of tormenting Ibushi with the latter finally getting his revenge."

[6.0] "This could have been a GREAT 20-25 minute match but instead it was a 48 minute insanely long and slow match. While there were some really nice and brutal looking spots, the resting and crawling killed the match for me. There was a moment, just before Jay White hit Ibushi with a low blow where I felt absolutely nothing had happened for 10 minutes. The japanese crowd acting like obedient submissive individuals who couldn't scream and properly live the match was another bad point but at least we didn't have teenage girls screaming "IBUSHIIII" during 48 long minutes."

[10.0] "Best or tied for best match of the entire year so far, just simply amazing. The longest main event in Tokyo Dome history, and yet I was never bored, it was so compelling and the storytelling was so good it was never boring. Everything just kept building, with the interference, then the finishes, then the near falls, before finally a Kamigoye to the back of the head and then one last epic Kamigoye to conclude this all time classic. *****1/2"

[9.0] "I enjoyed this match when I first watched it. The ending was a great moment but I think it was too long and too slow paced, especially for the first 15 minutes. Having a 45+ minute match without crowd noise felt somewhat awkward but was still an excellent technical match. I totally get why people rate this higher, but I think it went too long. Still, hats off to both. ****3/4."

[10.0] "Another epic Jay White vs Kota Ibushi match since their finals G1 on 2019. Well-delivered. I like the seriousness of Jay White and his desperation on winning the belt. And men, Ibushi's dark mode activated when Jay White poking him until he got rekted by one blow. An emotional ending nonetheless, much like Naito's win on last year's WK. By that I give them *****. Well deserved!"

[7.0] "I avoided reviewing this when I first watched it, primarily because there was so much to talk about. I thought It'd be best if I let my overall thoughts on it develop for some time so that I could do justice to it. Now though, I can finally say that this match was pretty damn good. However, it still pales in comparison to their G1 Final. The first half was my favorite part because it had clear and logical storytelling, with Jay using the same strategy that won him the briefcase i. e. target Ibushi's mid-section and work towards the rope-assisted Backslide (not a Jackknife pin, I apologize) pin - absolutely loved Ibushi just wrecking Jay when he did eventually do it. After that though came the match's second act, and boy did it bring things to a screeching halt. I understood the story they were telling with White getting more and more desperate, but by that point, the match had already been half an hour long. Without the crowd reaction, it was definitely going to drag from that point but they still decided to go for another 18 minutes and it completely shit on all the amazing work that they did in the first half. It's become woefully apparent that NJPW can't seem to understand that their "epic" style match doesn't work without a proper crowd. I do, however, really love the pairing of Ibushi/White, and so I was able to enjoy it a little bit more than I would a 48-minute SANADA/Evil match. (***1/2)"

[10.0] "Best match between the two the story was so perfect and both men sold so well. The Kamigoye to the back of the head was awesome and i'm glad Ibushi won. Jay will get his time but Ibushi is top of the mountain for now"

[10.0] "This was the longest main event in Wrestle Kingdom history, and despite not being the best it's still an all-time classic for me. The major critique of this match is the length. 48 minutes is a bit much and it's not the fastest paced match ever. It doesn't have the crazy run-on sequences like an Okada WK match but this was masterfully worked. Despite being so long, i thought it was paced wonderfully. White gave the performance of his career so far and he's the reason why this was a classic match. His heel work was tremendous. He trashed talked, cheated and used every trick in the book to become champion. I loved his work early on as he viciously targeted Ibushi's ribs and dominated him on the mat. Every strike, kick or power move he did looked brutal and everything made sense. That's what made the 48 minute run-time fly by. White had little wasted motion as everything he did had a purpose or some type of psychology behind it. Another thing i loved was his work over Ibushi's leg. It was brilliant because it told the story of White pushing Ibushi to the limit. Ibushi's performance was great as well. All of his comebacks had fire, passion and desperation. He's the perfect babyface. His selling was great at times, but just like his G1 29 performance he didn't sell perfectly. This didn't take much away from the match because it's the only flaw i could give. The interference with Gedo doesn't always work, but here it did. It added so much more drama and it was one more obstacle Ibushi had to overcome. The Phoenix Splash spot was amazing and it was elevated by Gedo pulling the ref out. The callbacks to their other matches was awesome too. Ibushi going full killer mode was epic like always. I loved the twist with White baiting Ibushi into killer mode to gain the upper hand again. The final 10 minutes were filled with drama and uncertainty. They had me believing Ibushi could lose the belts in only 24 hours after winning them. White catching the V-Trigger and hitting another deadly suplex variation was incredible. Ibushi had to go overkill and push White to his limit. Hitting several more knee strikes to finally become God. It was a masterclass of storytelling, drama, psychology and heel work. Even during the pandemic NJPW leaves me breathless. (*****+)"

[5.0] "This match was awfully long, and it just felt like they decided to have it going for 48 minutes just for the sake of having the longest Wrestle Kingdom main event of all time. I thought that most of the match was unremarkable & pretty much uninteresting. For a long time it was just Jay White doing his shenanigans like he always does, and I mean he's great at that but it's not my cup of tea and not what I'd expect from a Wrestle Kingdom main event. Some sequences were very good though, which is why I won't give it a rating below 5, but still I was disappointed and I truly think it could've been much better."

[4.0] "I have loved these two together in every match of theirs that I've seen thus far, but this one ended that streak. There really is nothing _wrong_ with it & there's actually a bunch of good, cool stuff in there at times, but it's just SO damn long. Unnecessary long. Holy hell how long. It's almost a cliche to say at this point, but the 48-minute runtime felt like it was at least 3 hours, because of how uncompelling & uninteresting the work was for the absolute vast majority of it. At least we'll always have the G1 Finals 2019."

[10.0] "As much as this was Ibushi's coronation, I'd argue that this was even more powerful as a culmination for Jay White. Ever since White returned from excursion as the Switchblade, you could see what he was going for even when the matches didn't quite pay off. But slowly he got better and better in the ring while remaining true to the character, and he's been one of the company's brightest spots since 2019. I loved Jay's attitude here compared to the arc of the major IWGP contenders over the last decade. Tanahashi has fought for the belt as proof of his status as New Japan's savior and the man who helped turn the company around. Okada has used the belt to prove he's the best in the world and the future of the company/wrestling. Naito has the most personal story of a redemption arc, but even that is saddled with the fourth-wall breaking baggage of overcoming his bad face gimmick and the audience turning on him. Then we had Omega making his reign all about his "vision" of wrestling and now Ibushi wanting nothing less than to become god. Jay doesn't have time for this crap, doesn't care about philosophy or star ratings. He just wants to WIN because the belt has enough prestige on its own and the person who holds it is the champ. The end. As such, he takes every shortcut possible, but in the process he shows off what a cunning, capable worker he is. People say Jay wrestles one kind of match, and that's not entirely wrong, but that work in question is so different from the current NJ main event style. Instead of the usual feeling out, pointless limb work, submission teases and finisher spam, we get a guy who completely controls the flow from the start, thwarting all of Ibushi's attempts to build momentum until he finally unleashes Murder Kota and works from underneath to desperately counter Ibushi's onslaught. Everything here had meaning and played into the story, and Ibushi looked like a beast while still working what has to be the safest big match of his career. This paid off their 2020 story, made Ibushi look like the best wrestler in the world, elevated White to the best heel in the world (complete with one of the best promos you'll ever hear) and just generally seemed to put New Japan back at the top of the pile after their holding pattern 2020. Wrestle Kingdom main events have set the bar for wrestling every year all the way back to 2015 but this may well be the best one ever."

[7.0] "I'm sure if this happened in front of an audience that could make noise I would have enjoyed it more, but much like to the two recent Noah main events, this felt every second of its length to me. There were still some highlights though, and Ibushi entering 'that place' will never get old to me, but overall this was the weakest Wrestle Kingdom main event I have seen in the six years I've been following the company."

[10.0] "I absolutely loved this match. While the match was definitely long, it didn't feel that way for me. The in-ring work by both men were splendid, especially Jay's heel work throughout the match! And of course, the finishing stretch was absolutely amazing, but what more do you expect in a NJPW main-event match? Imo, this is Jay's best match and the best match these two had against one another, better than even their G1 29 Finals match. As of right now this is my pick for match of the year, and I feel that this would be even more well-regarded if the crowd were allowed to make some noise aside from just clapping."

[10.0] "Whilst I can understand complaints that this was too long, it went by in a flash for me. After not being particularly impressed with Ibushi the night before and having never seen a Jay White match prior, my expectations were low but they knocked it out of the park. White's heel work in this match was exceptional and he played his role to perfection, his style feels utterly unique in today's wrestling environment. The match was gripping and exciting throughout with excellent storytelling. My only minor complaint is that there were occasions where Ibushi would just not register the moves facially or no-sell which takes away from the match. Between that and the one British announcer calling him God repeatedly, it was hard to invest in Ibushi as a sympathetic babyface, although White's heel work more than made up for it."