Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Oleg Boltin

[7.0] "Two solid tournament matches in a row. Not all that surprised about Boltin beating Tanahashi, considering their relationship to and history with one another. At this stage, it doesn't hurt Tanahashi to lose more matches, and this was a nice accomplishment for Boltin. Sure, he's already beat Tanahashi before, but beating him twice is cool, as well. Especially in the G1."

[7.0] "Oleg really makes Tanahashi work to pull off each and every move. The ace gives a good performance in this circumstances. The more clumsy aspects of his performance feel more like the struggle of trying to win after being rolled over by a truck than anything else. He doesn't even get to work that much on Boltin's leg, that's how little control he's able to get."

[7.0] "Good match! Even with Tana's age he is able to follow the tought style Boltin add into his matches. Overall, good stuff."

[7.0] "This was a pretty good match, Oleg looked good, and Hiroshi Tanahashi was doing alright as well considering his age. 3.25/5"

[8.0] "A sweet G1 match. Crowd was with Tana, urgency to see him get another big win here on his final road, but Boltin was just TOO STRONG. The big fella played his role perfectly, Tanahashi can still deliver even if he's lost a step, and the finishing sequence was fantastic. Really really enjoyable stuff, Tanahashi and Boltin been great in this G1 so far. ****"

[6.0] "One of my favourite things about this retirement run from Hiroshi Tanahashi is his willingness to pass the torch. That's the sign of a true legend. He helped make Boltin Oleg look great here. He's on his way. SINGLES RECORD: Boltin Oleg 2-0"

[6.0] "Both of these guys have been having a really good tournament so far and this whole year Oleg has shocked me a lot. The size and strength being on the side of Oleg was severely put over here which was great. ***1/4"

[7.0] "(Grade:C+/***1/4) Quite found this one thrilling, Hiroshi Tanahashi looked great despite them knee turning on him at times and Oleg tossing around Tanahashi and utilizing his immense strength to even the odds. Him catching Tanahashi into the Kamikaze was a nice finish!"

[7.0] "A really really good match, Boltin looked excellent in this match all of his power moves were great as he dominated Tana for most of the match and another performance to so how great he was really liked the finish with him catching Tana and lifting him up to them hit the kamikaze hopefully. I thought Tana looked good in this match with Boltin's style meaning he could conserve his energy to use towards the finish of the match and my god this man can still bring out the emotions from every one watching as i thought when he went up for the High fly flow he was going to win the match. Overall a good match and it is nice to see Tana putting over young stars Like Newman and Blotin and this match made Boltin look a million bucks. (***3/4)"

[8.0] "Another certified Boltin Banger. Tana puts in a great performance here but Oleg is the true star of the show, showing off some absolutely insane strength, especially towards the end when he catches Tana out of the sky and hits a Kamikaze for the win. This was a short match but it utilised its time fairly well and both guys managed to put in great performances. Tana continues to rule despite his limitations and Boltin just fails to miss. He's seriously one of the MVPs of the tournament for me. ****"

[6.0] "A very solid showing from Oleg and a real sign that Tanahashi is not quite done yet. Oleg continues to thrive when working simpler bouts and this was no exception, nothing too fancy or crazy here (aside from catching a High Fly Flow into a Kamikaze), but it was all incredibly technically sound. Oleg picked up the win via Kamikaze and this was very good, but did feel a bit simple."

[6.0] "A surprisingly good match. I'm still worried when Tanahashi enters the ring, given the main event of first night, but he seems to keep up the pace in the tournament; Great victory for Oleg Boltin."

[6.0] "Great win for Oleg Boltin. Overall, a very hard-fought match, marked by the crowd's support for Tanahashi--as expected. I especially really liked the power-lift spots on Tanahashi, and there was a move--maybe a senton? --but either way, a bump from the top rope by Tanahashi that landed right on top of Oleg... god, that looked painfully brutal."

[6.0] "A fine match where Tana didn't seem to do a whole lot but made Boltin Oleg look like a beast. I did really like Tanahashi barley kicking out of the Landslide and the Kamikaze finish was great as always with Tana selling the impact like death."

[6.0] "This was solid, and another impressive showing from Boltin, who has improved a ton over the last year. Tana looked a little beat up, but he still gave a great effort and made Boltin look like a million bucks."

[5.0] "***1/4 normal match, interesting and constant pace better than it seems, some interesting sequences but almost only from Oleg because Tana was limiting himself to reversing and making signature moves, normal ending. Oleg finishes the match with a Kamikaze, he almost beat Tana who couldn't do much."

[7.0] "Tana's barely mobile but he still puts everything he has into all of his matches. I can't help but respect him for that. This was more of Tana getting his shit in and Boltin getting the big win. Boltin showed a lot of respect after the pin."

[6.0] "Very solid match but I just couldn't really get into it. Another great finish and Boltin Oleg is really proving himself to be quite the powerhouse. Would love to see him steamroll someone like Hartley Jackson someday. Decent match."

[6.0] "I wasn't into this one, they did some decent moves but Tana was a lot to drag for Boltin who didn't do a bad job nevertheless. ***"

[7.0] "Perfectly cromulent work by contemporary Tanahashi standards, with Oleg's power/grapple style keeping him from having to move too much. The structure, counters, and finish were all pretty predictable but absolutely drew the crowd in, and Oleg's physical charisma continues to come through."

[7.0] "Tana looked alright here, but Boltin my man, he continues to grow on me. Ever since his match against Takeshita at the New Beginning, he's been rising in terms of how much I like him. They delivered a better match tonight then last year, which isn't too surprising, but it was a nice watch."

[4.0] "Tanahshi might be a legend but he is slow pace doesn't give me anything to care about , nothiing to rember from this match besides that oleg bolti carried it and hopefully so ."

[7.0] "Another good match, and Tanahasbi looks pretty good here despite his physical condition. Each match I see of Boltin Oleg, I begin to like him more. Oleg kept catching Tanahashi mid air and hitting his moves on him. The same thing happens in the finish, which I think is a thick way to end the match. For a moment I thought Tanahashi would get the victory."

[7.0] "I really liked this match. Tanahashi was the star of this one, really impressed with how good he makes those sling blades look at his age. Oleg looked great here, and I think they worked Tanahashi's susceptibility to being caught when he goes to the top rope really well with this one. Classic example of a match where one side just has a bad matchup with the other from a moves perspective. Really looking forward to seeing more of Oleg this tournament, but I would like him to play more into his physical strength."

[8.0] "Really good match. The crowd was behind Tanahashi, who is still performing at an absolutely unbelievable level despite his physical condition. Oleg showed off his strength in this one. Tanahashi's retirement tour continues to deliver bangers. For a guy wrestling for just over 2 years, Boltin is doing really well this year."

[8.0] "One hell of a match and I didn't expect it to be that good. The crowd was really into Tanahashi, rooted for him and he had a great performance. Meanwhile Boltin looked lkike a monster. The HFF that gets caught by Boltin into the Kamikaze to win the match with a fantastic finish"

[8.0] "I really enjoyed seeing Oleg Boltin flex his muscles here, doing some awesome powerhouse moves on Tanahashi (who is not a small man). Repeatedly deadlifting Tanahashi and catching him during the High Fly Flow was so cool. Probably the best match of the G1 so far."

[8.0] "Great stuff from Boltin & Tanahashi once again. For a man as broken down as Tanahashi it's remarkable the amount of good and even great matches he's been having on this final run. Boltin meanwhile has all the hallmarks of a top guy for me, loving his G1 so far. ****"

[7.0] "Tanahashi keeps putting on great performances even though his knees are mashed potatoes. This match was slower going for the first half, but it was all done to build up to the great fiery second half. Tana's babyface energy just makes you wanna root for him and the crowd was super hot for him by the end. Oleg had a great showing too, him catching Tana mid-air was an awesome finish. ***1/4"

[8.0] "Oleg Boltin continues to impress with every match he's in & Tanahashi is great at making people stars. Special shoutout to the finish as Oleg catching Tanahashi in mid air during a high fly flow attempt into a rolling senton for the win was awesome."

[8.0] "This was as amazing as expected. Hiroshi Tanahashi is completely broken down but the mind and spirit remains supreme. With the correct opponent, he can absolutely deliver an exciting match even with his limitations. This match was one of those. Boltin Oleg is tremendous and he fit well with Tana."

[6.0] "This is yet another Ace match in his finishing stretch where I am not into the thing until the final 4-5 minutes. The end is well built almost every time. Tanahashi could win or this could be one where he shows his old age. Every time. Like Nagata does."