[4.0] "To be honest, I think opinions are divided on Jake Lee's move where he pretended his left knee--which he severely injured two years ago--was hurting again and pulled off a sneak attack to win. That said, I thought Jake's FBS was executed quite well. Maybe Goto's defense was good. Personally, watching it made me sleepy."
[5.0] "An interesting match from the technical point of view with Goto trying to work on Jake's legs using GTR. Jake quickly uses it to his own advantage, faking an injury and then hitting a surprise FBS. I liked this one but wished it lasted longer."
[7.0] "I'm all here for the Jaker theater. I understand how some may find this match boring and some find Jake recreating his injury scene for the cheap win being a bad taste, but I really liked this bit. Goto is a great opponent for quirky heels like Jake and now that story of the 2024 feud is closed. ***1/2"
[3.0] "Bad. The first half was uninteresting, but not offensive, but they dragged out the injury-work waaaay too long, and having Goto go down to a single shot right after is a massive disservice to him. I don't even mind Jake Lee's antics but this just felt bad."
[7.0] "Jake Lee with some incredible underhanded tactics to win here, I can't claim it was a great technical match but I can't lie that he fully got me with the antics here, I actually thought he was injured. Definitely an entertaining affair, and very well executed. Goto almost got the kickout too, getting the shoulders up at 3.1. Will be interesting to see if that comes back to cost Goto."
"I am still mixed on Jake Lee. Needs more. I laughed pretty hard when Goto entered and it cut to Jake Lee seated in the front row, watching in the crowd like a fan. You obviously can't do that on every tour stop, but it's over with me eternally. Especially with that face paint and a blank expression."
[7.0] "Interesting moves from Jake while getting his gimmick of the glove over. HENARE really helped on the commentary too. And then the leg work and the fakeout injury finish was just wonderful. Way overhated by those that don't get Jake Lee"
[3.0] "I don't even know what to say about this match if I am honest. It was just pretty damn boring for the whole time despite a somewhat solid performance from Goto for most of the match. He tried his hardest to drag something about of Jake Lee. Although it was funny when he shoved his finger in Goto's mouth at one point. Goto targeted Jake's leg for most of the match which led to a terribly done fake leg injury. Then for some unknown reason Lee ends up stealing the win which just pissed me off. Just a pretty no descript match for 10 minutes with a crap finish. (*3/4)"
[4.0] "It's no big deal to have this kind of match every now and then, but there isn't much to take away from it technically. In-ring quality: 0.5/5. Stakes: 0.75/2. Justification: 1/1. Card placement: 1/1. Suspense: 1/1. Bonus/penalty: none. Total: 4.25/10. Match watched on NJPW World."
[5.0] "(Grade:D+/**1/4) The match was pretty by the numbers with Goto dominating Lee targeting his leg which led to a seemingly sparking Jake's Lee injury once again. However, turned out to be a ploy to get a victory over Goto so I've give it bonus on that."
[5.0] "Goto really can carry anyone. He controlled the action throughout and kept a deliberate flow here by targeting Jake Lee's leg. Lee's antics were kept to an absolute minimum and the match benefitted greatly from it. I also kinda loved the finish? I was totally tricked by the time the trainer came out so I got well and truly tricked. Add some fun commentary from HENARE throughout and this was honestly nowhere near as bad as I had feared going in. Fine opening block action here. (**1/2)."
[2.0] "** Bad match. The match wasn't too bad thanks to Goto's dominance and carrying, but the ending was awful. The linework was interesting, but in the end, after a whole minute of selling the damage and playing with stopping the match, Lee decided to hit a Helluva Kick and act like nothing happened, despite having sold the damage leading up to that final minute. It practically made Goto look weak for not being able to damage Lee's knee. Terrible match, possibly the worst of the tournament."
[6.0] "Jake Lee is the slimiest of heels and the maddest of men. I've been a fan of the heel work and that hasn't changed here. The fake injury spot I hesitate on sometimes but I don't think it was too egregious here. Not too much to write home about but the heel work and Goto's great psychology elevated it slightly above average"
[5.0] "Everyone hating on the fake injury here, for me, it was super funny. Well executed? No, fuck no, not even close. But that even made it more funny. The rest of this match was lame."
[6.0] "The injury fake was very obviously a work but the crowd seemed to buy and honestly I thought it was entertaining. I respect that Jake Lee was able to beat Hirooki Goto as well, Could've asked for a little more from this though"
[4.0] "This match really isn't that bad but it drags quite a bit with relatively one-toned brawling in and out of the ring, largely in the direction of Goto. Good finish but you could have cut three or four minutes off of this and you wouldn't have lost anything. **1/4."
[3.0] "The rubber glove returns and Goto gets his mouth fingerbanged. An issue I always have when someone is down or pretending to be injured for this long, is that, in a real sport, you'd stop the match. Not much in this except for a confirmation that the Lee/Takeshita story with the face paint stopped at the end of that match and we'll be getting the "Silent Jester" Jake Lee for the rest of the G1."
[4.0] "Goto vs Lee was very forgettable, as it did not have much action up until Lee faked the injury and then won the match. A bit of a nothing match, but there was good enough action from Goto with the German Suplex and GTR to the knee. Lee wins with the Facebreak shot after faking an injury to the knee. Rating: **"
[3.0] "Very sluggish. Jake Lee does some of the unbelievably slow offense, there's no pace or interest in actually winning the match. Goto goes from beating the world champion to losing to Jake Lee. lol."
[5.0] "Match was kinda whatever for the most part, not necessarily bad but didn't do much. However, I thought the finish here was pretty great and worked without making Goto look like a fool (he only lost because the referee was fooled and tried to hold him back)"
[0.0] "Just a DUD. I've been a Jake Lee defender, (being an AJPW and NOAH fan) and I've liked him against Shingo and Takeshita this year, but this match stunk of poo. Goto barely showed up, and when it comes to it, some guys fan't do injury angles, because you believe they went and did it again. Lee, and injury prone as all hell man, should not do it even if it fits the character."
[3.0] "Crap match where pretty much nothing happens for 10 minutes and the finish sucks. Jake Lee continues to be pretty much unwatchable. I guess Goto vaguely put some effort in here. *3/4"
[6.0] "Jake Lee is thankfully not wearing blackface this time around. I guess somebody said something to him. Goto was obviously half-assing it and the match was shaping up to be the below average fare we've come to expect from Jake Lee... but then the finish happens. Credit where it's due, that was a very good bit of work by Jake Lee. Easily the best 30 consecutive seconds of his entire NJPW run."
[4.0] "I did quite enjoy watching Goto break Jake Lee down here, he was relatively vicious and systematic in his offence which was fun to see. Jake Lee continues his weird character work and I just cannot tell if he can make it work, it is very hit or miss overall. Lee gets the upset win with a surprise FBS in a move which would have worked more in his Smart Bastard phase than this ridiculousness. A fine watch but also somewhat odd in its pacing, having the face just dominate until a surprise comeback from the heel is not typically a recipe for success."
[4.0] "Another totally nothing Lee match. Slow, corny and just not a whole lot to get excited about. The upset win got the crowd making noise which saved this from scoring even lower. **"
[3.0] "Very bad match against for Jake Lee, I miss my old Jake Lee so much, it's to painful to watch this version, i'm not surprised by the loss of Hirooki Goto, he has to lost so matches, even this kind of match."
[6.0] "i know that jake lee isn't the most popular but i don't find this match bad it was cool for me, great heel work froom Jake Lee and Hirooki Goto is always great, the G1 Climax is his tournament he's so good"
[0.0] "Bad. The only word that can describe this match. Look, it had some signs of alright action, but those moments were quickly forgotten about with painfully slow moments, a very long injury angle, and that fucking quick finish. I have no idea what that glove shit was Jake did, but it was stupid as fuck. Back to the injury angle, I knew immediately he was faking an injury, but my lord why was it so freaking long? The match was bad already, but that segment made the match so much worse. Plus, Jake just showing he lied and hit a boot on Goto from the corner and match was just over after that, god that pissed me off."
[4.0] "A middling nothing match, an interminably long fake injury angle, and then an out of nowhere finish. I mean, yeah, it makes complete sense within the characters so I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy watching it."
[4.0] "I mean, yeah, kind of what I expected. Interesting to do this fake injury angle in the venue Jake Lee got legit hurt, but it seemed to go on forever."
[2.0] "Awful stuff. Slow brawl on the outside before Goto got some decent looking offense in the ring. Then they do a screwy finish with Goto feigning an injury. Tbf the spot was well executed but the entire thing was lame and lazy. 0.75* for Goto's offense and the execution of the fake injury."
0x
0x
0x
3x
4x
22x
37x
46x
18x
0x
2x