Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki

[10.0] "Standart of perfection right here. Truly, truly a great match but it's not made for everyone, hard to understand, hard to connect, only because that two sickos look at each other and simply choose to NOT made a SINGLE move based in grappling during the entire match. If you never watched it and somehow end up in my comments first, go watch it knowing that there's not a SINGLE grapple in this match, not a Crossbody, a Powerbomb, Suplex, nothing. Just strikes, kicks, slaps, forearms, punches and submissions, basically if you enjoyed the match that Suzuki had with Danielson at the Rampage, you're gonna enjoy that as well. Yeah, you can notice a factor in common between both matches and it's impressive how Suzuki is great at matches with that style in specific. His puroresu style added with his unique persona in ring made the matches look not only attractive but also entertaining for anyone watching, he's a sociopath heel that mocks and make his opponents tremble in fear while they face him. On the other side...probably there's 100 comments for me in that account saying how good and impressive Kota Ibushi was at his peak as a wrestler in ring. However, this right here is not gonna be about his ring skill when it comes just to execute moves right here and there, it's about the psycologh stuff. He did a perfect job being the face that don't tremble in front of the heel, no matter what he'll put you into a different style that you're not much familiar with, you're gonna handle it and you're gonna beat. And that's why that match exist, to put Kota Ibushi in a higher level than he were before. He beat Minoru Suzuki in the most Suzuki Style possible. We gonna need to praise two things in special in this match:the moment that Suzuki called Ibushi into the ramp and start throwing punches into him and getting back as well AND the moment that Suzuki simply MURDERED Ibushi with a simple forearm smash and start looking at the camera with a devilish serious face. Even being in the pandemic era, the crowd was really, really connected with that match. This right here is gonna NOT be choose by me as a five stars match only because Suzuki had a serious trouble with selling that made some moments looks forced, but nothing that will ruin your experience watching that really good wrestling match."

[6.0] "When I was watching the match for the first time I gave it a 10 and to be honest I don't remember why. Sure, the striking exchanges were great but this match had no business being this slow when it's so short. The grappling too was good, even if it was meaningless. I mean, it's still a pretty good match but yeah rewatching this years later? I'm slightly disappointed. *** 1/2"

[7.0] "This was good but by no means great unless you really love matches that are all about striking. The pacing was fine at first but I kept waiting for it to pick up and it never did. I don't get why Suzuki went off up the ramp and invited Ibushi to join him, that was just confusing and pretty pointless. Nowhere near either of these guys best matches IMO."

[8.0] "[3.75*] This guy name Oswuold kinda defined all my thoughts about this match. I saw the average rating and the WON 5.25* and my expectations went up high, but it was pretty hard for me to connect with anything until when Suzuki called Ibushi to the ramp and sat down there. By this moment on he gained my attention back and the match became excellent. It was an ultimate strike battle, I do not think there were any grapple moves there, it was purely strikes, even the Kamigoye finisher. I loved the Kamigoye reversal into a Single Leg Boston Crab by Suzuki, the psychology was great and you could feel the fighting spirit, I just think the fact that this being ONLY strikes + having a pretty boring beginning made me disconnected with the action a little bit for a couple of minutes. It is still an excellent wrestling match."

[7.0] "Not my favorite style of pro wrestling, but it was a good and fun match featuring two men just beating the ever-loving shit out of each other. Really liked the part where the two are trading blows and slaps while smiling and laughing maniacally, and the fact that Suzuki had a Joker-ass grin on his face when he was pinned was a nice finishing touch..."

[9.0] "Just two freaks beating each other up. I love the standing knee that Ibushi hits near the end and Suzuki's counter to the first Kamigoye attempt is fantastic. Also, Suzuki just grinning at the end even in defeat, that's the love of the game"

[10.0] "This was flawlessly executed all the way through. I loved the opening 5 minutes of Pancrasse-esque wrestling. But the other side of the match was them just battering each other and refusing to go down. It was amazing on both sides. Suzuki baited Ibushi into exchanging strikes on the ramp and he just unloaded some disgustingly stiff elbow strikes. Suzuki continues his beatdown until Ibushi catches him with a dropkick. Suzuki then refuses to go down to Ibushi's stiff kicks which was another great sequence. Ibushi tries to bully Suzuki but he gets dropped by another disgusting elbow strike. Suzuki hits more nasty elbows until Ibushi catches him with a roundhouse but Suzuki returns the favor with one more elbow for a double knockdown. The final 3 minutes are just excellent. Suzuki slaps the shit out of Ibushi and attempts the piledriver. Ibushi reverses it but gets caught in a boston crab. Ibushi gets back up to one foot and hits him with a step-up knee strike. He follows that with a standing Kamigoye and then one more with the exposed knee for the win. What made all of this so special was psycho charisma and selling of both guys. It was masterful work and one of the most memorable NJPW matches in recent memory. *****"

[8.0] "I had high expectations on this but unfortunately they were pretty too much. The first minutes literally killed the flow and after that they didn't have a lot of time left so despite they saved it they weren't able to pull up a Classic and it was pretty impossible. And yes, 5, 25* is too much in my opinion. ****1/4"

[7.0] "This was a good match. But I don't see any reason why this is regarded as one of the best. First off, I don't understand why they started that slow even when they didn't plan to go long. The pacing didn't make sense. And then there was this moment where Minoru Suzuki went up to the ramp and invited Ibushi to fight there. It didn't lead to anything either. There was no reason for them to be up there if you were not using the environment. After they came to the ring, it was just the usual back-and-forth you see in Suzuki matches. Again, it wasn't bad. But there was nothing that I haven't seen before. ****1/2"

[7.0] "I liked this match a lot more the first time I saw it. Upon rewatching, the shoot style is still novel because you don't often see it go this far in New Japan, but the pacing and the strike exchanges leave a little to be desired. You had the palm strike exchanges and the trading of Achilles holds - which were all reminiscent of early Pancrase - but you didn't get the same drama you'd get from a knockdown in early Pancrase because the exchanges here were all pro wrestling style, with guys getting back up to scream and strike again. That stuff can sometimes get in the way for me and it did to some degree in this match."

[9.0] "a fantastic MMA shoot style match. 15 minutes of straight psycho behaviour. what Suzuki does best. [****3/4]"

[9.0] "I've been growing a little tired of Suzuki's quirks as of late, but this match absolutely delivered. It's not his best match, but it is the best match he has had in a long while, and that could almost be said for Ibushi as well. They start things off with competitive strikes and mat wrestling before things get intense. Maybe my favorite moment in this show involved Ibushi coming in for a strike only to be murdered. Lots of forearm strikes, which generally has been growing off of me but this was fantastic in the execution. The only problem I have has to be how little of a threat I consider the once ferocious Minoru Suzuki to be. The laughing is borderline self parody at this point, buuuut I was way too into this match to even be bothered. **** 3/4"

[9.0] "This is fantastic. Just some incredible technical work mixed with psycho behavior from both Suzuki and Ibushi. ****3/4"

[10.0] "This is MMA shoot style done to perfection basically. Everyone does fighting spirit or no sell spots but they don't do it quite like Suzuki. This is far from my prefered style but I loved this match. Not quite the full 5* but ****3/4"

[10.0] "I don't often go in for the New Japan style, it's just not my thing, but I figured it'd be hard to go wrong with these two. And I was right! This was fantastic stuff. Nobody can pull off the badass who wants to test himself against what another man can inflict like Minoru Suzuki, and Ibushi, well he's just damn fun to watch always."

[9.0] "Awesome match. You must watch it! Minoru Suzuki's forearms are INSANE. The style of these great wrestlers inspired a amazing match. My rating: ****1/4"

[9.0] "This was one of my favorite matches of the tournament. Two minutes of Pancrase to start. Suzuki finding ways to bait Murder Ibushi and vice versa. The slap fight. The standing Kamigoye. Suzuki smiled while getting pinned and iced! What a great, unique match."

[7.0] "They had exactly the kind of hard-hitting match you would expect from Ibushi and Suzuki, Some parts of the match really worked like who doesn't love hearing Suzuki murder someone but other parts just seemed a little too over the top character wise ie; Suzuki smiling after being hit with Kamigoye and being pinned ***Ÿ"

[7.0] "It's pretty cool, I liked the general vibe of the match but the pacing never really got going. Minoru Suzuki very jokerfied here"

[10.0] "This was a MMA inspired match done to perfection, Suzuki and Ibushi fight and beat the crap out of each other, each strike looks painful, the technical wrestling shoot wrestling strong style wrestling mix here incredible, Suzuki loves and you could see it here wanting to fight outside, smiling as he strikes Ibushi, smiling as Ibushi beats him"

[10.0] "Absolutely masterful. A great match, they laid down the basics with the mat wrestling before advancing to the well structured shoot fest. This match flowed expertly and there were so many variables used. I think this match was a career high for both and a bonified classic. It is a must watch. I love this because it wasnt overdone, there were not any false finishes and selling was on point. And i know that Ibushi matches have a tendency to be overworked. It was flawless in execution, just a perfect match. Oh and that forearm by Suzuki, you will know the one Im talking about when you see it. *****1/2"

[8.0] "7. 9/10: I try everything to rationalize macho contests, or whatever you wanna call them, but theyre just so unconvincing and divesting. There is no denying how wince-inducing those strikes were. There was NOTHING on them, pure strikes. As real as real gets. And for that I applaud and recognize. But i cant call a match of mostly that a great match or a great watch. Always love me some Ibushi though."

[9.0] "Hard-hitting, 15 minute banger. Suzuki is the best wrestler 50 plus right now in my opinion. KOTA IBUSHI"

[10.0] "It was an incredible match between Kota Ibushi and Minoru Suzuki. Japanese Puroresu with good technique. Too bad Suzuki. But the match is just incredible, so from me 5*"

[9.0] "This was a slugfest of a match. It was very brutal, hard hitting and stiff match; It was more of a kickboxing match than a wrestling match. There is something really brutal and scary in Suzuki's forearm strikes, even the sound is louder than anyone else's. The pace was slow and very methodical that built up to an amazing finishing sequence. The selling and drama were incredible; Suzuki who would switch between laughing maniacally to serious and Ibushi who went Terminator on Suzuki only for Suzuki to smash his face in. The whole layout of the match was great and really well executed. The most scariest thing was Suzuki was still smiling when Ibushi pinned him. ****3/4"

[10.0] "The King vs The next Big thimg. No words to describe other than awesome. Could argue that this is the best match of the tournament. Definitely a top 3"

[10.0] "The best match of the night and I cannot put in words how great this fight was. It began with MMA and transferred into boxing, grappling and even insane brawl outside the ring. One of the heaviest elbows and kicks I have ever seen. One of Minoru's elbows vere so powerful, I though Ibushi is dead. 10/10."

[8.0] "This was very unique than what I have seen in recent years . The match started very uniquely as Suzuki's attention was Ibushi's leg and his game plan was to inflict damage on it. When Ibushi started to get the better of him , Suzuki resorted to tricking Ibushi psychologically. That is phenomenal. The concept is just astonishing. When Ibushi came to the outside on the invitation of his opponent. The hard hitting war initiated and Ibushi brought the fight in the strong zone of Suzuki . Suzuki as expected got the better of Ibushi in that area of brawling. Suzuki was concerned with winning so he went back into the ring unlike Ibushi who came out to the outside on his invitation as he did not want the match to end like that. The hard hitting part was magnificent and Ibushi's striking was one of a kind as well like always. It was a great match and in the end Ibushi earned the pinfall victory. Remarkably worked match. The content was bit lesser than what i would have expected but still one of a kind match. ****1/4."

[9.0] "One of the best brawls in recent memory. Nothing flashy about it, just straight-up brutality & violence and that's what Minoru Suzuki does best."

[9.0] "I wouldn? t be surprised to find out if Suzuki has killed somebody. He is able to balance being sadistic, yet so damn funny at the same time. Ibushi was great here going into psycho killer mode as well. This has some similarities to Ibushi/Ishii with the constant striking and slapping, but I think this match showcased these abilities even better. When they would switch from laughing in each other? s faces to straight up looking like they were gonna kill each other was absolute amazing. I don? t know if this was the best match of the tournament so far, since I haven? t watched Shingo/Okada and Ibushi/Ishii was great in its own right, but it is definitely in contention. ****3/4"

[9.0] "Thankfully, my worst scenario for this match did not happen as both of them focused on striking instead of limb work. I am never tired of Kota's striking or Misu's loud forearm. Love the last spot when Misu countered Kota's kamagoye to the boston crab. The only missing thing here was loud reaction from crowd. Other than that, this ruled."

[7.0] "They beat the crap out of one another & smiled about it. Extremely enjoyable match. Some nice new ideas to the usual match type, but the highlights of the thing indeed were them just battering each other relentlessly & refusing to go down for another. Good shit. I didn't care for ALL of the forearm trading, because it's such a tired _thing_ in the grand scheme of things, but for the most part, these two were SO nasty with 'em, I couldn't help but to like what I was seeing."

[9.0] "Fantastic, one of the best of the tournament. Suzuki makes people work his style and it makes his matches must see because they are unlike the other tournament match ups. Suzuki was the star of the show here, tons of memorable stuff leading up to and within the finishing sequence. Wasn't a fan of the unprotected headbutt, but the camera angle may have made it look worse than it was. The huge smile on Suzuki's face as he took the pin was great character work. Can't gush enough, this is maybe my favorite match of the tournament."

[9.0] "You know this stuff when kids decide to determine who is more badass so they punch each other in the abs or something like that until one won't give up, so that match is literally this kinda game but instead of kids we have 2 psychopaths right here. MiSu and Ibushi are perfect opponents, their storytelling, chemistry and stiff strikes created one the most memorable matches of this year. ****1/2"

[9.0] "This was just magnific and insanely good. Ibushi being violent and a edgy lord is always majestic and I really love this part of him, I wish we see more of it. The strike exchange was nuts and you could see that both of them were having a lot of fun, and they're not wrong. That's what I want to watch on the G1, two guys murdering each other. ****1/2"

[8.0] "Great story in this match with the no selling at one point perfectly executed with a manierism by Suzuki over the top quality for this sport! There was psychology, technique, violence... definetly a great match!"

[8.0] "Very good match that brought out a more violent edge in Ibushi. The match began like a quasi-shoot style match honestly in their offence and stances. Their approach was very analytical and wouldn't be crazy to be seen in a Kiyoshi Tamura match but they went back to the typical style as the match progressed. Both sides of the match worked for me though. Suzuki attacking the leg with Ibushi pushing through with hard strikes against the one guy on the roster that could out-equip him in that regard made for a great story. ***3/4"

[9.0] "Really intense match: after Ishii, Kota confirms himself as a wrestler capable of touching different styles and being very convincing and credible even in the strong style. I loved the first five minutes: both very focused, Bloodsports style; a start so different from the strong style battles seen in recent days. Then, as the pace picks up, they both hit harder and harder, resulting in a truly exciting match."

[9.0] "A smart fight between a young god and an old king, which became for me one of my favorite matches on this G1. My rating for the match: 4. 5 stars"

[10.0] "One of my favorite G1 matches of the year, and of the past several years to be honest. What didn't this match have? It started with a couple minutes of Pancrase style, followed by Suzuki baiting Ibushi, and then things picked up even more. We had Suzuki challenging Ibushi to kick his chest in, both guys beating the hell out of each other with punches, a slap fight and more. The fact that they got all that into a 17-minute match is incredible. Ratings wise, it's a ****1/2. From a personal enjoyment scale, it's a 10/10. Watch this match, then watch it again."

[9.0] "Ibushi adapted fully to Suzuki's style in this one, resulting in a match that was refreshingly different. Just the opening couple minutes were very Pancrasse-esque and instantly captivated me. Very very enjoyable match."