Maika vs. Saya Iida

[6.0] "**** A good match--the best of the night up to that point--featuring excellent chemistry. Maika and Saya delivered a thoroughly well-rounded bout in just 12 minutes, creating the illusion of a longer contest while employing a more measured, deliberate style. There were strong sequences and intensity, with a pace that built steadily; the match escalated effectively, using that intensity as its foundation. Both Maika and Saya really shone here. Perhaps if Maika had fully followed through on her early attempt to target Saya's arm, the match would have been even better, though I understand that time constraints made a complete limb-work strategy difficult given everything else they accomplished. It had a great finish, too: Saya withstood everything Maika threw at her, until Maika finally used a Michinoku Driver II to secure the victory."

[8.0] "Superb match a little bit spoiled by selling on both ends in the finish, which is why I can't give a 9. But watching Saya being presented like this was a pure joy. Maika highlighting their differences by damaging Iida's primary left hand and Saya's usage of damaged hand anyways - top-tier storytelling."

"This was excellent, hard hitting, fast paced, one of Saya IIda's best performances, her selling was incredible, the glazed looks she has in her eyes, how her body just goes limp when falling to the canvas like she's really dead. Even her kicking out of her own brainbuster at one was badass. It took 4 Michinoku Drivers (3 regular and a hammerlock one) to end Saya IIDa's five Star journey. Really good match here ****1/4"

[8.0] "muscle Saya had the "never give up" attitutude and push Maika to the limit. i love how she's emproved so much"

[7.0] "This was pretty great. Two hosses going at it, power for power. I think this is probably the best either woman has looked in singles competition. I still think Saya Iida could use a little more explosivity especially if she wants to get over this powerhouse style. She's got the look but Maika looked far more dominant than her and thus Iida resembled more of a striker which to be fair she looked really good as. I bit too many near falls in the end for my liking but this was a really good competitive match"

[9.0] "Another great match/showing from Saya on the night and Maika was fantastic in the ring, she made Saya looked incredible. This was physical at times. The strikes, sequences, counters, and maneuvers were all great. Saya just delivered a fucking brutal sounding chop to Maika, sure the others were brutal during the exchange, but the first one, my god, that sounded like a gun going off"

[7.0] "Extremely physical match with some massive move exchanges, but some of the kickouts made the finishing act feel a little disjointed."

[8.0] "I really like Iida, especially in giant killer mode, but I wish she'd pay more attention to her tendency towards on/off selling. As a smashmouth battle, this had Korakuen rocking like it rarely does these days and while the kickouts back & forth did get a bit OTT, the occasion just about warranted them ****"

[9.0] "Match très technique. MAIKA à été obliger d'utiliser 4 finisher pendant le match est saya ida quel abnégation."

[6.0] "I don't know quite how to feel about this match, I think the amount of kickouts from Saya Iida was absurd and frankly silly but the match overall was good, Maika impressed me as always and i hope she wins the tournament. 6"

[9.0] "It is always nice to see Maika going back to her technical roots with the armbar, especially after AZM had already weakened it. Beside this it is mostly a great fight where Iida shows her unbreakable spirit, but her body is not so much against Maika's fresh power."

[8.0] "This was a terrific match. Largely a slugfest between two hosses, with some fun, explosive back-and-forth bombs being thrown at each other. There was also some tidy work over the arm from Maika here as well. I really loved Saya Iida's performance, in particular, the night she had as a babyface. She fought with such grit and the willingness to never give up. Her previous match of the night was a sprint full of fireworks, but in this one, things were slowed down and you really got to see her fight from underneath. She showed tons of fire in her comeback, the crowd was with her every step of the way, and I personally would have pulled the trigger with her winning, but nonetheless, this was an excellent match. ****1/4"

[9.0] "It was so close for Saya Iida, i'm a huge fan of Maika also, but her perfomance was so great, this match was so stiff. They managed to have such a good match, with this intensity, it was so pleasant. Saya Iida even had some crazy kickouts, I really believed in her, let's start the Saya Iida Revolution."

[9.0] "Crazy match with both women just beating the living hell out of each other, the amount of "it's for sure over" moments was absolutely outstanding, literally any move could have ended this at any time. STARDOM does powerhouse vs powerhouse matches perfectly especially when these two are involved. Maika moves on to the semi finals and i'm curious if she'll be able to get to the finals cause it looks like she's not stopping unless she wins the whole thing. ****, 5"

[8.0] "Great hoss fight. Right from the get go, they start doing the shoulder blocks, and Maika's size lets her tank more of the hits from Iida, and sends her down first. This entire match is just them trading bombs back and forth and it was fantastic. The chops from Iida were insanely loud, and Maika's forearms were fantastic. Saya looked like a massive trooper in this one, especially in that closing stretch, surving a whole bunch of michinoku drivers, brainbusters, huge discus lariats, and just continuing to kick out over and over and over again. The result here felt really up in the air, Iida's fighting spirit was awesome as she tried to stay in the match, but Maika felt so dominant that either one could have taken it. Brilliant match and I'm sad to see Saya go out, but damn if this wasn't a great performance from Maika to send her through to the next round."

[9.0] "Heartbreaking. An intense battle with both going at high level with great intensity. There were times I've not been very high on Maika, but she's proven herself again in this tournament."

[10.0] "Meat wars of a match, Maika tried to kimura Saya's lariat arm early to spare herself but halfway through she's got a bright red chest from the gunshot chops and the eventually recovered arm ripping lariats. I loved the Rina Yamashita Iida match and this felt like a continuation of that match but with more moves that targeted someone's neck and gahlee do I love me a real Michinoku Driver II and a real Brainbuster."

"Crazy good match with great hitting from both competitors, Saya Iida was sounding like a shotgun out there. Lost my mind on some near falls."

[8.0] "Iida always throws herself full force, full of fire. Maika attempts to ground that, put that fire out. When Iida attempts it again, Maika wins the exchange because of the work done over her arm. Iida will never back down from a challenge, but her body can fight against her. That is why Maika baits her into so many striking duels. She knows (or hopes) she'll eventually come out on top, and the pain will have to be worth it. It took a LOT, but she was right. Great stuff."

[10.0] "It is undoubtedly for me the best match of this tournament, a simply EXTRAORDINARY match, once again Saya Iida is DINGUE, Maika some said she was overrated but she proved that she was one of the best on the roster"