Callum Newman vs. Ryohei Oiwa

[7.0] "Solid stuff between these two. This was one of those matches where it could have gone either way and I would've been happy with the result. Despite the fact that I like both of them, I don't see either of them winning the whole tournament this time around."

[4.0] "** Newman sucked to me at this point in the tourney (severely overcompensating with his selling here), and Oiwa wasn't yet at the level to be able to elevate something like this into something more than just plain uninteresting G1 opener, never once captured me,"

[5.0] "Callum Newman is putting on one of the weirdest selling performances I've ever seen. Something about how he collapses in one match and a match latter, after enduring more punishment, is mostly fine just feels so wrong and misguided. Even in this match alone, he's selling is so inconsistent. Oiwa does good work targeting the knee while keeping it interesting, but I just can't get behind Callum's performance. They also miss the opportunity to end it on the high point of the chaos theory."

[7.0] "Have really enjoyed both Oiwa's combo of power and submission work AND been a fan of Callum's selling of the knee to limit him in this G1 so far, and this match was a lovely little combination of both on display! Not spectacular, felt like these guys were holding a little something back here in the midcard, but really enjoyable wrestling. Look forward to these guys having a bigger match further down the line, I think they could do something really special in a bigger circumstance. *** 1/2"

[6.0] "6.5 - I love Oiwa's classic blend of power and agility. It really shines through in matches with more mobile guys like Newman. Enjoyed the very clean, quick finish."

[6.0] "Oiwa is so good so far in this tournament he's been one of my favorite parts so far. The mix of styles in this match didn't do it justice in my opinion but it isn't awful at all loved the work on the arm by oiwa. ***"

[6.0] "A decent match although it didn't really hit any major high points. All the same, I'm very big on Ryohei Oiwa and his future in New Japan. SINGLES RECORD: Ryohei Oiwa 1-0"

[6.0] "(Grade:C/***) Started off right off the gate, two young stars facing off against one another. Callum whilst still working a knee injury could still perform at an exceedingly good rate blending high-flying and striking. Oiwa did good bringing the power advantage busting off a nice chaos theory. I expected Newman get the victory but nice to see Oiwa advantage with a win."

[6.0] "Surprisingly decent. This whole match was built around Callums leg and he sold it surprisingly well. Its not a perfect sell job by any means, but it was certainly a step up from some of his other past selling performances. There's some back and forth at the end before Oiwa wins with a lariat. Pretty solid overall, but probably the weakest block match of the night. ***"

[7.0] "A really solid match between these two. With both using there strengths to their advantage Newman with the speed and agility and Oiwa with the size and power. Nice to see Callum continue to sell his knee injury in every match he has had so far and how it is limiting is power on his kicks. I am really becoming a fan of Oiwa his style is so good to watch like him targetting the knee of Callum and the finsihin sequence with the multipe suplexs then the Grip was nice. Overall a really solid match between two up and coming guys and they fit a lot of good stuff into a short match length and the crowd were into it. (***1/2)"

[7.0] "A very solid match from these two, up there with the best performances of Newman, he finally feels like his own character and not just a copy of others. Oiwa excelled targeting the leg of Newman (which was sold very well), but both men felt like credible threats throughout. Oiwa picked up the win with The Grip, and this was really solid, not quite anything special but a very engaging watch for sure."

[7.0] "A good match, with the great length and pace. It was refreshing after all the tag action and made a good transition towards the singles bouts. Sad for Newman but he was really under Oiwa in this match. Good victory for him."

[7.0] "A fun showing from both guys, a pretty classic speed vs strength type of match. I liked Oiwas limb work and his german suplexes were great. Newman sold really well which he's been getting better and better at."

[7.0] "I like both of these guys, and it was fun to see them match up for the first time. Callum has grown on me a lot since his match with Goto, and Oiwa looked awesome as per usual. Good match to start the tournament portion of the show."

[5.0] "***1/4 normal match, interesting pace, normal chemistry, some interesting sequences but not much, it was normal, fulfilling but simple, without complications, a simple limbwork by Oiwa to Newman's legs and a normal selling by him, and with a normal ending, Oiwa finishes Newman with a tremendous Rolling Lariat"

[7.0] "I was pretty invested in it and enjoyed the really fast pace. Oiwa looks to be primed for a nice run"

[6.0] "Decent for what it was, I thought that the ending was slightly weird but other than that it was fine. ***1/4"

[6.0] "Pretty meh match, I don't really get what Callum Newman's deal is and I'm slowly understanding more of Ryohei Oiwa's style. Didn't feel like much happened until the finishing stretch where Oiwa just started dominating and hitting some incredible suplexes before The Grip. Wasn't that exciting for me otherwise."

[7.0] "Fun sprint of a match that did a good job of showing the contrast of both men's size in their move sets. Oiwa was slower but more powerful, whilst Newman was quicker but but lacked Oiwa's power. There wasn't much to it, but it was quite fun to watch."

[7.0] "Bit of an odd choice to have Newman start slow and heelish given the rest of the structure of the match. They managed to pack a micro-sized "epic" main event structure into 10 minutes. Maybe not quite as dogged and grimy a showing from Oiwa as in his previous matches but still a positive showing for someone I really want to see go all out in this tourney."

[8.0] "Awesome match! Newman targets Oiwas arm for the majority of the match , but can't be as effective as his knee is masterfully targeted by oiwa , who has an expertise in limb work as he is a protege of Zack sabre jr , the crowd really came to life in the finishing stretch"

[5.0] "Basic match, nothing bad, Newman continues to sell his leg and actually does it quite well, but I still can't get emotionally involved with it."

[7.0] "A pretty good opening match between two up and coming talents. It's a speed vs power battle, and both of these guys showed what they can do. I liked this match and also the finishing sequence. Watching these guys in the G1 is making me become fans of them both."

[7.0] "Two young guys to kick off A Block Night and I was very interested how they would do as these are the kind of matches that they need to deliver it and not against the "consistent" names. I thought this was a very competent match with good action and good work from both. Thumbs up"

[7.0] "I was really into this actually. Two young guys with bright futures ahead of them. Oiwa worked Callum's knee pretty well. The match had the right intensity, the hits were hard and everything culminated well. I'm a bit of a sucker for ordinary finishing moves, so I feel like this match was made for me."

[7.0] "Very solid match here. Callum sold the leg work well and showed some good fire and resilience, while Oiwa did some really nice looking leg work. Both guys felt like they had a point to prove and put on a performance I'd very much be up for running back higher up the card. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Really enjoyed this one. Had that classic G1 undercard match feel where two young guys are trying to prove themselves. The match revolved around Callum's knee injury history and he sold it very well throughout the match, just like in the Tanahashi match a few days ago. Oiwa picked up the win after some great strikes and a nice finishing sequence. ***1/2"

[6.0] "Decent G1 match with two upcoming stars. It was built around the clashing styles of both men and more specifically on if Callum Newman could battle through a bad knee to combat Ryohei Oiwa's great powerhouse offence. While nothing stellar the match sufficed as a lower card G1 match."

[6.0] "This was good. Seems like Callum Newman is going to sell the leg the whole tournament. He's doing pretty good so far. I haven't been a fan of his but he's working towards changing that. Ryohei Oiwa is tremendous as always. Good match overall. Nothing mind blowing but nothing bad either"