[10.0] "You can't expect anything more from two crazy people and two prophets in Pro Wrestling than a real fight in the ring. A total of 2 moves were made throughout the match, and the rest of the time they were just destroying each other with the heaviest blows. The number of headbutt shots was more than 20, and there were a lot of checks, elbows, and backhands throughout the match. Ishikawa worked on Higuchi's head throughout the match, and he hit Higuchi with the most headbutt shots, and in return, Higuchi only hit backhands to knock Ishikawa down, and since Ishikawa's head was hurting after every headbutt, he was able to create a great ending with this plan."
[8.0] "[4.0*] I admit I had some sort of bad feelings during the headbutt battle because of the Shibata incident, but when I was sure they were doing it on the most safe (lmfao) way possible, I was able to just enjoy the ride. This was so stiff, so intense, the first few minutes were all strikes and then they started with the submissions and grappling moves, with Higuchi doing a tremendous job as the smaller guy, getting the crowd on fire after a powerslam on the giant Ishikawa. The ending came out of nowhere with a move I do not even know the name, and I really like these things, the match ended like a real fight because Ishikawa went down after a huge and strong tackle, and that is it. Phenomenal shoot-style fight that put a lot of people in a complicated position."
[7.0] "Shuji continues his fun 2024 here. If I designed a cheat sheet to deliver a match I will enjoy then having two big tall bastards go out there and lamp each other would be near the top of the list. The headbutts did not really have the sickening thud that I really get a kick out of but they delivered them in spades. The thing that prevents me hitting notebook is that Higuchi has always been a stronger in his work when he is the final boss to be overcome rather than working from slightly underneath as he does here. His strong point is not getting babyface sympathy on him."
[2.0] "I don't get it. I'm not offended by shoot headbutts, if they want to give each other long term damage then that's on them. My problem is that shoot headbutts look weak. Because they're shoot, you can only have about 6-8 inches of a headbutt (otherwise you'd be knocked out). So they look like shit and hurt. Strike exchanges and no selling of exchanges are incredibly boring. It's a trope at this point. In some situations they can add to a match, but an entire match of slaps, weak looking forearms (because neither guy bothers to register to prove how badass they are), bad looking shoot headbutts, and chops is boring. It insults your intelligence. There is no story. Just very bad, boring, dumb wrestling. Immersion - 1/5, this rarely felt like anything other than two performers doing a safer version of power slap. It never felt like a pro wrestling match Execution- 1/5 i guess there were some decent slams. But it doesnt take a lot of skill to throw a weak looking forearma, shoot headbutt someone, or slap someone in the chest. Efficiency - 1/5. This is how I measure how interesting they kept it. Endless strike exchanges with no selling may as well be a rest hold at this point. They arent exciting or interesting. If this were a five minute sprint I might feel differently, but this dragged. Story 1/5 the story was just "grrrr we R badass! " and it wasn't particularly well told and went way too long. Intangibles 2/5 the crowd was sort of into it at times. Higuchi does have a presence about him, so there's that. Overall this is not a good match. The best way I can describe it is a safer version of power slap that went on for way too long. 1/5. And for anyone saying this is "Strong Style", it absolutely isn't. This didn't resemble a real fight at all. Read Chris Charleton's Lion's Pride book and learn all about what Strong Style really means. It's really a marketing term to get over NJPW being the best of the best. But the point is to create realism with a mix of stiff strikes (that actually look good) and catch/greco/judo style grappling. This was absolutely not strong style."
[6.0] "I liked the match but it isn't a MOTY contender for me, which I have seen that it is getting buzz for. This past week has been big on the headbutts for sure and these two took their turn at it. I think this match was on par with Gunther-Sheamus from RAW in that it was two big dudes laying it in."
[3.0] "This was actually the first time I almost closed a match in the middle of it, not because of the quality or the pace, there wasn't too much of a pace to be honest, but because of the strike that I probably dislike the most in professional wrestling, the headbutt, and I can tolerate one or two, I think it's a valid resource, it's understandable to use in a match, but a whole match of this is too much, I really cringed to a point my head started to twinge, and I'm not generally a sensible guy, but this strike makes me really uncomfortable, I don't know exactly why, but it is what is is. I know the match had some kind of value and this is only a particular experience, I respect and understand all the people that had a great time watching this, I just didn't. Too many headbutts, and I'm not even entering on the merit if it was safe or not, the problem was the amount, couldn't enjoy at all, and then it had a horrible kickout at 1 after some sequence, very few positive things here, wasn't amused by the other type of action too, only stiff strikes, slaps and things like that can't be enough in a match - {*1/4}"
[6.0] "The headbutt at the beginning really soured the whole opening of what ended up being a pretty fun and thrilling hoss fight. Ishikawa and Higuchi have been circling each other some time, and with good reason: they are two stiff and tough hosses made to try and one-up each other. What's weird here is that it's rare to see Higuchi working as the near-hopeless Babyface to a stronger man, but we've had two matches like that for Higuchi between this and Yukio Naya... and, it's not even close, the Naya match was better. Every time this match started going somewhere special, Higuchi and Ishikawa looked each other in the eyes, smiled, and said to each other "we've got them invested. Let's ruin it with a concussion attempt." Higuchi gets a brutal and fantastic win at the end that felt both right for the tournament and for these two in their own story. It's just so frustrating to know that I've seen some of my favorite matches in wrestling from both of these guys but they weren't able to quite put it together here."
[7.0] "This ended up being a good strong style match but I couldn't help but think of how they've had so much better and more creative strong style matches, even with each other. But still, you're not going to get a bad match between these two. Stiff moves, big bombs, nasty headbutts, it's a good time. ***3/4"
[8.0] "Good Strong Style Fest but not the best or the most exaggerated you can find. Anyway, the strikes were all executed well and the Headbutts spot was just so sick I loved it but I'm glad no one got hurt. There is still some fat at times but not too much luckly. ****"
[8.0] "Really liked this for Shuji forcing Higuchi into a place he would think impossible, fighting from underneath against a big bruiser that can potentially harm him with a headbutt. Him getting tossed around or felled by the big man felt major, and it made his second wind feel a little more earned than it would've been. The headbutt exchange sequence was maybe a little much, but the Fire Thunder out of the sumo rush and the slap exchange got me right back in. Simple finish but it got the crowd to pop for it anyway. ***3/4"
[9.0] "Fantastic fucking match man, Shuji Ishikawa deserves all the praise for the run he is on this year and big gooch matches him. This match is stiff as hell, a war of attrition that felt like a grounded fight and a big bomb battle all in one. Are shoot headbutts something that should probably still be in wrestling? No but its not my god damn job to police these wrestler. If you take off points for headbutts i am to believe you are an absolute incompetent coward who will get nowhere in life."
[7.0] "I liked this match a lot, but I really just did not like the trading headbutts spot, especially with the poor camerawork that made them look kinda bad. If that spot wasn't in the match or if the camera work was good enough to make them look more impactful, I'd definitely rate this match higher, but it just bothered me too much to ignore and it hurt the match as a whole for me."
[8.0] "Great hard-hitting match right here, nothing to say it was everything I'd hoped it would be with stiff sequences and two guys beating the crap out of each other to go and get that next round in the tournament. Kazusada Higuchi is perhaps the best wrestler in DDT, and every time I see him he impresses me enormously."
[8.0] "[4.5*] Real graps, that was so stiff, Higuchi and Ishikawa fought from start to finish and spared no effort to win the match and finish off the other. Ishikawa dominated the entire beginning of the match and adopted a strategy of not letting Higuchi react to his attacks. The chops and punches were so loud and forceful, the brutality they had in their attack was impressive. They had a personal headbutt duel at the end, simply trying to destroy each other's heads, perhaps the most insane moment of the entire match, perhaps because after that they had a wonderful exchange of slaps that can also be considered the most insane moment of the match. match. Higuchi's victory was sensational, what an incredible match, one of the most brutal of the year so far."
[5.0] "I really like Shuji Ishikawa and I sometimes like Kazusada Higuchi, so I figured I would like this pretty well. Sadly, they went the one route that was sure to turn me away from this match, they went with "Ode To Shibata's Brain Damage" style. The very first move is a stiff skull to skull headbutt that would have had Benoit himself say woah, take it easy there guys. Of course they quadrupled down on those damn headbutts, there was good stuff as well so I can't fully go against the match but I was turned off by the style they decided to go with. They could have had just as good a banger without those moves."
[7.0] "This match was very good. You got what you can expect from these two. Stiff chops, slaps, a lot of bombs. I think I would have enjoyed the match more if it had happened in a bigger venue with a better camera work. Still, it is worth to see it, the best shuji match I have seen for a while. ****"
[8.0] "This match was brutal from the first minute, they were insane with all those headbutts! Shuji Ishikawa proves once again that regardless of his age, he is still extremely good at what he sets out to do in the ring, while Kazusada Higuchi is one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world. Don't wait for a technical class, here there will be just two men putting their heads to the test for more than 15 minutes just for the love of the sport and for a small but lively crowd. Ishikawa dominated the match well, allowing Higuchi to perform an excellent sell from the first headbutt, which seemed to disfigure him, he seemed completely lost only to minutes later demonstrate why he is an Iron head of DDT by hitting his head on the ringpost and slowly turn to Ishikawa, demonstrating just in that look how difficult it would be to take him down. Kazusada's growth during the match, starting to prove himself more and more against Shuji until his ultimate victory is great. It's violent, the chops are loud, they get the crowd really involved and it definitely became one of my favorites of the DDT year. Higuchi deserves to win the tournament and head back towards a second reign as DDT main champion. [4.0*]"
[8.0] "I'm amazed that guys at this level of puro are still able to make a living. With crowds this size, someone's losing (or laundering) a lot of yen. This was, of course, a no-frills, monstrous battle featuring two of the best when it comes to knocking seven bells out of you, but still showing vulnerability. The unprotected headbutts were a hard watch, but the finisher was something else ****"
[10.0] "I love both wrestlers, Ishikawa and Higuchi were so stiff in this match i love. They have the same style of strong style so i was so hype about the match. And I don't have been disapointed at all. All the headbutts were great, the suplex, the chops. I Hope Higuchi is going to win the King of DDT 2024 and face Yuki Ueno for the KO-D Openweight Title !"
[8.0] "This was some real fucking wrestling. If you've ever wanted to see 2 guys put holes in eachother's brains for 15 minutes, then look no further than this match. This started off pretty tame, but it didnt take long for the violence to ensue. Ishikawa nails Higuchi with a nasty headbutt before continuing to punish him on the outside. He drives Higuchi's head into the ring post, but Higuchi no sells it and just slowly tilts his head and looks at Ishikawa before hitting him with this heavy chop. Ishikawa quickly regains control and for most of the match basically just kills Higuchi, looking like an absolute monster whilst doing so. Higuchi eventually comes back though after getting the better of Ishikawa in one of the most grim sequences I've ever seen, which sees both guys just take turns headbutting eachother for realsies. He then survives a brutal onslaught of lariats, before he just straight up runs into Ishikawa at full force about 4 times to get the win. Pure CTE-core wrestling. Is it a bit uncomfortable to watch at times? Yes. But is it also dope as fuck? Absolutely. Loved this match. ****"
[9.0] "The men with a lot of weight showed a brutal match, with noisy punches and beautiful throws. It is important to keep the intrigue and balance of an equal duel. I am glad, I will definitely write it down in my favorite matches of the month. In some places, the fight even hit me in the heart. Shuji Ishikawa pressed with weight and competently threw the opponent. Kazusada Higuchi relied on his fortitude and endurance with a storm of strike attacks. A tournament match, so to speak, according to the textbook. Respect to each participant and active fans. The draw is expected at the end of the show."
[8.0] "8.5 - Match of the tournament so far. Ishikawa regained some of the aura he lost in his first round match. As a Shibata fan, I'll never be comfortable watching the CTE Olympics that is Higuchi vs Ishikawa. All I can do is trust they know their bodies, and their thick skulls allow them to be relatively unscathed. Felt very competitive down the stretch, as Ishikawa turned on his final boss mode and really looked like he'd win. The late kickouts were great to watch, and I was fully behind Higuchi by the end."
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