Shingo Takagi vs. Shota Umino

[5.0] "**1/2, A worse version of Takeshita/Shingo, which by itself already ground my gears pretty well. Just completely lifeless and soulless, devoid of anything interesting other than decent strikes and exchanges every now and then (Shota's lariat sucks). Just an imitation of a style long dissipated. A miracle ZSJ got a good match out of Shota at this point."

[8.0] "Exceptional storytelling. This one took the crowd along for the ride. Shingo Takagi was clearly the fan favourite but the rumble when Shota Umino kicked out of the Pumping Bomber showed how invested everyone was in both men. SINGLES RECORD: Shingo Takagi 3-2"

[8.0] "Told the story of shingo finally getting his first win great here. Wish that last pumping bomber wasn't kicked out of but still this match was hot and had emotion to it. (****1/4)"

[7.0] "A solid match here, I liked Umino working the leg throughout and his selling has been really good this tournament. Shingo looked awesome here and the chemistry was really good."

[8.0] "Decent match with great chemistry between these two. Umino is starting to redeem himself slowly but surely and this match and his match vs ZSJ in this G1 prove it"

[5.0] "Shota Umino really needs an identity. He has the body. His move set sucks though and doesn't fit his size. I'd love to see him do more suplexes and slams. Once when in the corner I even heard Shingo tell him what to do. No way that should be happening at this point. Shingo did his best to make something of this match."

[8.0] "Very good carry job here from Shingo who is still pumping out top performances even at this stage of his career."

[4.0] "Shingo Takagi vs Shota Umino is such a nothing match. The length makes it so much worse. Maybe Zack Sabre Jr is just a master at wrestling cuz he got a good match outta Shota Umino. Nothing he does here does anything for me. Shingo Takagi has slowed down a lot too. This is like one of the worst examples of the outdated NJPW epic style which just doesn't work with these new guys, especially between a bad wrestler like Shota and a formulaic slowed down wrestler like 2025 Shingo"

[5.0] "I hope I'm not becoming a Shota hater but my goodness. His personality is empty, especially opposite Takagi coming off his Takeshita match. I don't like him doing limb targeting, especially when all the young babyfaces are now doing it. And he slapped his leg on a spot where Takagi ate the strike. It was a weird moment, and probably not his fault, but I hated it."

[7.0] "A very strong showing yet again from Shota Umino, and while this did fall slightly short of their last encounter they still delivered a really good match here filled with stiff brawling and big power moves. Shingo secured the win with a Burning Dragon after a really spirited affair which did not quite hit the level of a puro epic but it was still very good."

[8.0] "Very good match. It could have also been the main event tonight. Strong offense by both wrestlers. Love Shingo Takagi."

[8.0] "Definitely one of the better matches so far. It's nice to see Shingo Takagi get a win here, and these guys killed it going back and forth the last 5-10 minutes. A good match overall and really enjoyable to watch."

[7.0] "(Grade:C+/***1/4) Umino & Takagi got good chemistry with one another, definitely my 2nd favorite match of their with their New Japan Cup being my favorite. Umino has definitely shown NJPW as a whole he's ready to be the ace of the company and even with a defeat continues to show grit and Shingo Takagi is a legend in his own right, still wondering if he'll ever make it to the finals and win the whole thing? time will tell."

[8.0] "Good chemistry with these two. Umino came off far more credible as a tough guy here than he normally does, probably in large part due to the excellent Shingo who sold his leg work excellently. This didn't have the typical dramatic closing stretch we normally see from great G1 matches, but it was still very good as a whole. ****"

[8.0] "My favorite of their matches together so far. Shota has come a long way since January, and Shingo was great as always. Loved this match!"

[6.0] "**** a good match, very good chemistry, good sequences, an interesting rhythm that was what affected the match because they were going at an intermediate pace, during the first 15 minutes that were practically the construction of the match it felt not very intense for a medium-slow pace, they increased the intensity very well but it took a long time and they started with an intensity below what was expected, good ending, something unexpected was that Umino did not kick-out the Burning Dragon that Takagi may start using as a secondary finisher to vary the Last Of The Dragon"

[8.0] "A proper slobber knocker of a match with both man twatting each other. Shingo showing he is still the best in the world at this style he also sold his leg so well during the whole match which added another level of drama especially when it stopped him making a cover and he was a great face in this match as he powered through a big beating. This is the type of match this pisses me of with Shota as he shows he can deliver a really good match but he is still inconsistent i liked him as the heel in this match and hopefully he becomes a bigger one as if the fans dont want to cheer him i am sure they will boo him. Overall i feel they could of cut a couple minutes from the match and it would of been better as it was a bit sloppy at the start and it took a while to get going which is why i cant go above a high 8. It was nice for Shingo to actually pick up his first in ring win of this years G1 as well. (****1/4)"

[6.0] "Good and at times great work throughout at a technical level, but another case where Shota's lack of real intensity and contrived presentation keeps the whole thing in second hear."

[4.0] "Another match that did nothing for me. Its physically impossible for me to care about anything Umino does. Shingo puts in a decent performance here with some good leg selling but everything Shota does in this match just does not connect with me at all and it brings the match down as a result. There's some big move trading sequences and a dual kickout at one spot for some reason but it all just feels so soulless. Shingo wins here so at least there's that. Solid stuff from him here but for the most part, this was yet another lifeless Shitter Umino match. **"

[9.0] "The best of the Umino/Takagi matches, the beginning was a bit sloppy but later they delivered some really hard shots and power moves. Finally Takagi won to attempt a comeback middle tournament. ****1/2"

[7.0] "This is something of the middle stage for their NJC and Dontaku matches. It was at times just as dull as Cup bout, but still displayed some great brawling as in their May fight. I hope their future singles not gonna aim for slower temp, because I really don't like how these two handle it. ***1/2"

[9.0] "There are times when Umino looks like shit, but when he's placed against the right opponent, then he looks absolutely amazing, which was here. Shingo and Umino beat the shit out of each other with lariats, forearms and anything else. Umino's dragon screws looked great, as did Shingo's leg selling. Everything was really good in the match and I loved this. Undoubtedly my favorite match between these guys."

[8.0] "Very fun match, shingo sells his leg crazy and is an amazing babyface in this match, the offense was crisp and shingo finally getting a win was amazing as a finish"

[8.0] "I really enjoyed this match. The selling, the tension were good, Some heavy looking strikes from both performers and the ending was really good, with Shingo finally getting his first legitimate win in the tournament. Shota still has a long way to go but i can see that he's trying to get to the form he once had."

[6.0] "There's a lot to like about this, but it didn't quite connect with me. First of all, Takagi is in great form here. Just really lovely, best he's looked in over a year. Umino does a little bit of leg work at the beginning of the match, which is cool to see him mix it up a bit, and Takagi sells it for the rest of the match, which is especially notable because it was quite minor leg work. Takagi's strikes are also particularly good in this match, while Umino's elbows are shit as usual. They go into big match move trading back and forth, and like, it's all cool, but it feels a little soulless and did nothing to emotionally resonate with me."