[7.0] "Good match with a bad and huge mistake when it comes to lenght, my god. The build for this match actually was good enough to be under ten minutes, not fucking sixteen just to put Yota over in his loss. The last minutes was pure torture, I was begging for it end. The strikes was all nice, impressive tournament by Taichi. Amazing wrestler and performer."
[7.0] "The closing moments of this match were electric. As a fan favourite of G1 Climax this year, it's great to see Taichi putting on performances like these. SINGLES RECORD: Taichi 2-0"
[8.0] "This was great. They built the match well, made the fans invest into it. Then they started the final stage with hot sequences, big strikes, moves trading with great dramas. They made me invest into their fight and I loved several last minutes."
[8.0] "This was a pretty banging match. Very simple and aesthetically pleasing. The early work with Tsuji controlling Taichi was some of his more engaging wrestling yet, and then this quickly went into a match built around hot sequences, strong striking and great high spots. Neither overcomplicated things, keeping counters simple and solid which works in their favour. The crowd was loving every second of it, adding to the drama and intensity of the sequences. Great match. ****"
[9.0] "What a match! Yota Tsuji really shines during that G1 Climax! He is my favorite so that's normal that I want him to win but Taichi deserved it too. It could easily have been the main event."
[8.0] "A really good matchup and I've become a big fan of both these guys. Tsuji is probably my favorite to win the G1 but Taichi is also incredible. I'd love to see both these guys win to be honest I can realistically see Tsuji winning though."
[7.0] "(Grade:C+/***1/4) A very hard-fought matchup. I've become very fond of Taichi which I wasn't expecting given how much little I knew about him yet he's come around to me and Yota Tsuji has a nice variety of moves that flow well against Taichi"
[6.0] "Quite a good match. It began with a Tsuji control period, where he got to impress as he arrogantly dominated Taichi and kept cutting him off, while Taichi got to show off his strong babyface-selling and then further impressed with his fire-ups and his explosive comeback offence. The match pretty quickly moved into 50/50 territory, beginning with a bunch of strike trades that looked good but featured too many obvious thigh slaps for me to truly appreciate, and then they moved into their pure 'rapid big-move and near-fall trading' segment which would last until the finish. I still liked their high energy levels and strong chemistry on display, especially when it came to Taichi's sudden big counters, since they were always impressively impactful. While Tsuji has some really creative and varied offence, he sometimes clearly doesn't get the best impact with them, like his curb stomps or even his pretty mediocre Spear (both the 'sudden-short-range' version and the full finisher version), so I think he was pretty clearly upstaged by Taichi's efforts. That's not too great an indictment of Tsuji though, given Taichi is just one of those guys with naturally great fire and a genuine crowd-connection, which is what helped carry the match through its more mindlessly structured 50/50 parts. ***1/4"
[10.0] "Absolutely incredible, the match starts with a heavy tsuji offence leaving Taichi on the outside , but the longer the match goes the more you can feel how desperate Taichi is to get the two points and defy the odds and beat tsuji , who many view as a future ace . The kickouts really got me quite a few times , and there was some awesome strikes and exchanges in the final 10 mins . One of the best matches of the tournament in my opinion no doubt , and one of the best matches this year"
[9.0] "So much fun. Taichi has been having an incredible G1 run. I loved the story of this continuing the theme of Taichi fighting for his whole generation to show they still have it and Tsuji trying to show the bee generation is up. Very hard hitting, eveeyone of Taichis kicks and strikes seem super impactful and Tsuji sold some of them really well. The crowd adores Taichi which helps make everyone of his matches get to that next level with the crowd chanting his name and leading to desperation from his opponents. The final stretch was great and Black mephisto put Tsuji away."
[7.0] "Taichi has been my mvp for this G1. Bro is 45 and still delivering great matches. As for Yota this is the perfect time for him to rise to the top on New Japan"
[8.0] "This was sick. Super hard hitting as expected with both guys beating the hell out of each other and taking it in turns nailing massive bombs. There's some dope sequences towards the back end of this, like Yota countering a Taichi lariat into a gene blaster or the sick ending which sees Taichi counter a top rope stomp from Tsuji into a superkick before hitting a Black Mephisto for the win. This maybe could've done with a bit more time to allow things to breathe a little more but regardless this match is still great. ****"
[10.0] "I loved this hard-hitting match. Particularly Taichi channeling his roots as Kawada's trainee with palpable emotion, while Tsuji has built up his stock as always dangerous, one false move and you fall to the Gene Blaster kind of guy and that made for a nail-biting finishing sequence."
[8.0] "Just a brilliant match between two of my favourite workers in NJPW currently, displaying perfectly why the G1 is so damn fun, getting to see these great singles bouts which have not been done to death is really cool. Taichi does everything here to overcome the younger force that is Tsuji, he uses his wiles, his strength and his sheer fighting spirit to overcome the Gene Blast, and while it looks for a long time like Tsuji cannot be bested by the Holy Emporer, Taichi brings a brutal barrage of offence and a Black Mephisto to get the win. A brilliant G1 match and while I could have done with another 5 minutes for the ending to really build up, I am just left hoping this is not the last encounter between these two."
[9.0] "Now this was amazing. Incredibly hard hitting and hatred, can't belive this is the first time they get at it since Tsuji became and heavyweight. Can't wait to see a longer rematch, perhaps when Tsuji wins the title. ****1/2"
[8.0] "As expected these two delivered. There's a bit more in the tank I think but they still delivered bombs and high impact strikes just like you'd hope. The closing stretch was of course very good. ****"
[8.0] "A really good match with great chemistry and the best of the night so far although i was not a fan of them brawling on the outside to open up the match. Taichi once again looked great throughout with lots of stiff blows, chops and big suplexs. He bought a really intensity to the match and has been one of the wrestler of the tournament. Yota was great as always and i want him to be in the final vs Takeshita he had some great knee strikes during this match as well lots of stiff strikes. The best little sequnce of the match was the short range Gene Blaster out of nowhere by Yota when Taichi was going to hit a lariat. The finish was good with Yota looking for the stomp from the top rope and Taichi countering with a superkick then hitting a back frop for a two count before hitting Black Mephisto for the 3 and the big 2 points. Overall a really great match between the two men who both deserve to make it out the block. (****1/4)"
[7.0] "****1/4 Very good match, Taichi is being the best of block A, very good sequences, mainly the Gene Blaster pulled out of nowhere by Yota when Taichi was going to apply a lariat, very good rhythm, they started with a brawl outside the ring, then they returned to the ring lowering the rhythm but increasing the intensity, with blows, chops and suplexes, it was an intense match with both giving it their all, very good chemistry, and a very good ending with Yota looking for the Stomp from the third being received by a superkick from Taichi, to then apply another Dangerous Back Drop from which Yota would kick-out and then Taichi finishes the match with a Black Mephisto, hopefully Taichi manages to pass, he should pass, Yota and Finlay"
[8.0] "I quite liked this one. Just two big guys (by NJPW standards) throwing big bombs. Would've went 9 if not for the early part where they brawled outside. Taichi is lowkey the MVP of this G1 so far. Give the man his flowers."
[7.0] "in my opinion, this match was kind of slow and sometimes boring in certain moments, but the crowd was really good and they had pretty cool spots, and a great finish. I rate it a 7 because its not really my style, but i can understand why some people rate it higher"
[9.0] "This was awesome. I've been heavily waiting for these two to finally lock up, and holy shit this was awesome. Taichi has been a great addition to this years G1, and Tsuji is already world champion material. I'd love to see these two have another go round, maybe even with Tsuji/Shingo challenging Ishii/Taichi for the tag titles at some point."
[9.0] "One of the most anticipated matches of Block A and it did not disappoint. Tsuji and Taichi have really great chemistry, they put on a great show and got the loudest crowd reaction of the entire show. If they had more time, it could have been a true masterpiece. I really want to see a rematch in the future. Taichi is still one of the most underrated wrestlers in NJPW and it is very sad that he was able to get a place in the tournament only because of Goto's injury. Rating: ****1/2 (4.5)"
"This was sleeping pills in wrestling form. People are going to leave glowing reviews here and all I can say is that I am so far in the opposite direction that you can find me there, waiting for you. There were maybe 3 stretches in this one where one or both of the men are standing and doing absolutely nothing. Epic crowd reaction? Soaking in the moment? No. Not really. Just standing around, staring."
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