[7.0] "The first half dragged a little bit and I felt that Honda isn't used to the big main event pace. However, the final stretch was awesome with some brutal moves. Aoyagi's reign has been great and it has elevated other people, which is what AJPW needs. Excited for what's next."
[10.0] "Ryuki Honda vs. Yuma Aoyagi ist ein verdammt starkes Match. Ryuki Honda bedient sich nur zu Beginn seiner unfairen Aktionen, wofür sich Aoyagi rächt. Dann gehen die beiden allerdings All Out und hauen sich alles um die Ohren was sie zu bieten haben. Die beiden zeigen einige richtig harte Aktionen, richtig stiffe Strikes und dazu einige tolle Nearfalls ****1/4."
[8.0] "2023 - This was great. I have missed a lot of All Japan this year so it's even more of a shock to see Honda put this level of performance in on this stage. The future of this company is in good hands as long as the booking allows it to be. Yuma is a great champion. ****1/4"
[8.0] "Solid title defense by Aoyagi right here. The first half was good but kinda slow and in the second they have beaten the shit out of each others. I think that last Aoyagi's kickout is the best one in terms of timing of the entire year so far, it was damn perfect. ****1/4"
[8.0] "A really strong, physical scrap with the Korakuen faithful united solidly behind the spirited challenger and baying for the upset - which they teased convincingly enough along the heated closing stretch courtesy of some dramatic, roof-raising close calls ***3/4"
[9.0] "A high quality defence of the Triple Crown from Yuma Aoyogi. There early match in the Royal Road first round was very good as well, though very different as they were much faster paced in the match. Although it started out slow, it set the work for the second half to be so good. The crowd were extremely supportive Honda, this was interesting to see as Yuma is a face, while Honda is a heel. Despite that, it helped the match, as it put even more excitement in the match as the near falls became even more important and where well executed. The spots were big, such as the fisherman suplex on the apron, and the amazing lariats from Honda. ****1/4-1/2"
[9.0] "This match started slow but build to a great finish. Ryuki Honda proved to be a worthy challenger. He looked very strong when on offence, especially during that end stretch. The crowd heat grew as this match when on and where living ans dying on the near falls, great main event ****1/4"
[8.0] "A petty good match for the first two thirds that suddenly hits an awesome second gear towards the end. Honda showing that he was far tougher than Yuma imagined was fantastic. He got himself over with the Korakuen crowd who bit hard on a couple of nearfalls and seemed convinced at one point that he was winning. Yuma continues his well executed first TC run and establishes himself firmly as a great secondary main eventer after Miyahara."
[9.0] "This was Honda's coming out party, he showed everyone that he belongs in the main events. But like the person that reviewed the match before me said, this was champion's match to lead and Aoyagi did a great job in making Honda feel like a real threat and him kicking out of The Fool made sure that point was made. Some great near falls near the end elevated this match a lot for me."
[8.0] "Ryuki Honda did a tremendous job following the lead and being impressive every time when he needed to be, but in my view defenses like this show champion's real worth, and Aoyagi here proved that he can portray himself like a champion while carrying a much less experienced opponent to a really good match. Before the bell I was lukewarm on Honda being in the title match, but finishing stretch had my full attention which says a lot. They kicked out of each other's finishers, but it worked for that crowd - those near-falls got biggest reactions (Aoyagi's 2.9 kick-out was timed to perfection) and made this match feel like it mattered instead of being a test-run for Honda in the Main Event spot. ***3/4"
