LogFAQs > #944951405

Sasaki vs Takayama was the only one of three matches here that I haven't watched before so I was looking forward to this. The match was exactly what I expected it to be big meaty men slapping meat. I always have a soft spot for Takayama and he delivered here. Simple yet effective. 4 Stars

Shibata vs Ibushi was a showcase for action packed match. This was during the transition to heavyweight for Ibushi which had some success as he won New Japan Cup that year but failed to win the match when it mattered with his loss to Nakamura in Wrestlekingdom and AJ Styles with the IWGP title shot he earned from the cup. While Ibushi had something to prove. Shibata was trying to maintain the pecking order. Even during the fast-paced match, you can clearly see that Shibata was toying with Ibushi while Ibushi was trying his hardest to win the match. My only criticism of this match was that I felt the finish was too abrupt. I thought they could teasing the finish a bit more. I was surprised with the finish the first time I watched it and I was still surprised this time watching. I think it deserved a 4.5.

Ishii vs Tanahashi was amazing!! Most of the time, I wouldn't take crowd reaction into match rating but I have to in this case. The crowd was hot from the start. Obviously, Tanahashi read the crowd perfectly and played the crowd to perfection. The reason I always like a sliding scale between face-heel instead of clean-cut face-heel was shown in this match and Tanahashi thrived in it. He played cocky heel to the beloved Ishii and he gave so much for Ishii that the crowd actually believed that the upset could very-well happened in this match without any doubt. I know that by the nature of G1, an upset can easily happens but this match exemplified it. Ishii is known today for his ability for great match but he was made here. Tanahashi managed to create a new star in 15 minutes and Ishii deservingly grabbed the chance and run with it. 4.75 stars. When I feel down with wrestling, this is one of the match that I will watch to make me fall in love with it again.