I expected this match to go long and it was more of condensed version of their past matches. Probably my favorite one considering it only went 14 or so minutes. Played off their January match well with Suzuki destroying Tanahashi's leg. Tana's comeback was great with him still selling the leg and fighting to overcome. Loved how Suzuki was the one on top for most of the match, but a beautiful full circle with Tanahashi destroying Suzuki's leg with a nasty dragon screw. Great stuff. RIP both their legs. ****1/4

Great stuff. These two have fantastic chemistry together and they told a fun story in the ring. Suzuki destroy's Tanahashi's knee but the Ace just can't be kept down and hits a gorgeous Dragon Screw Leg Whip which only Suzuki can sell as beautifully as he does. They kept it short which means it stayed impactful and tense all throughout. 

****

I agree that the duration of the match was beneficial...mainly because it kept the amount of time Tanahashi blew off Suzuki's absolutely masterful leg locks to a minimum. But, its Tanahashi so that's not a surprise and yeah it sorta-kinda worked. But if you wanna see him get mauled by Suzuki, this is your fight. Recommend this, like ***1/2 range, great chemistry, aforementioned leg locks & beating etc.

One slight complaint I have about this is that I thought Tana went a little too no-selly w/ his comeback that lead to his victory, but his run on the offense wasn't very long, so it didn't take too much away from the match. Overall I liked this even more than their excellent Sapporo title match from January; major key in that was the length - with this only going about 14 minutes, there wasn't any filler. It's that G1 magic, baby. Suzuki was absolutely amazing w/ his work over the knee of Tana, which continued the story of that previous match of theirs perfectly into this one. His strikes were also lovely, that slap exchange where Tana slapped MiSu a couple of times, and MiSu slapped Tana about 320 times was just so great. Tana's big comeback that I already talked about a bit was really good too - that Dragon Screw was BRUTAL. And MiSu sure sold it like DEATH. Great match. ****1/4

Easily my MOTN for Night 1. THe leg work by Suzuki to begin was gripping and pure torture and then Tanahashi sold it well when he regained his base. The fact that the leg work that Suzuki worked so hard to craft ended up being the downfall of Suzuki was great storytelling. Finishing run was exciting and I agree that the time was extremely beneficial to my overall thoughts. ****1/4 

Nowhere near the quality of their match in January, but still a pretty dramatic match for the time they were allotted. Suzuki went right for the kill at the beginning by destroying Tanahashi's leg in brutal fashion. The finish is a little weird as Tanahashi makes a standard comeback to win the match, kind of no selling the damage. Also the first match I have ever heard Suzuki scream in pain in, ***3/4.

Really good match and great sequel to the New Beginning match. I thought Tanahashi's time in the leg submissions went a bit too long and it didn't affect his ability to hit his normal offense, but it wasn't particularly egregious and his selling was still pretty good. Loved how Suzuki tried to blitz him early with slaps and then continued to do so the longer Tanahashi hung in there. The vicious dragon screw was a tremendous turning point and really looked like it almost snapped Suzuki's leg in half. 

Simple exercise in booking to wrestlers' strengths: Suzuki as the sadistic heel and Tanahashi as the resilient, never-say-die babyface. ****

Duh this was great. I could watch Suzuki destroy limbs all day, no problem. Tanahashi's selling is whatever, he's the perpetual ace. Loved all the slaps and palm thrusts to set up the sleeper>piledriver combo from Suzuki, and then of course the real nasty legwhip sold so well by Minoru before Tanahashi hits his stuff to win. Easy MOTN. 

This was great - add my vote in for the length really helping it. It felt very focused, kept a great intensity throughout, and peaked at the right time with that great slap battle leading straight into the finish. These are the kind of matches I want to see in the G1, and that seem to have become rarer in the last few years. Also, Suzuki's sell on that dragon screw near the end was phenomenal.

An excellent sprint playing off their earlier match this year. Suzuki's limb work and aggression was off the charts and Tanahashi played his role well as desperately trying to get out of every hold. Also as others has stated major plus for them going short.

This was probably my favorite match of the first two nights. I appreciated the simplicity, and Suzuki delivered an excellent performance, both with the ferocity of his offense and the way he sold the dragon screw as the turning point. These guys are always good against one another.

On 7/14/2018 at 1:50 PM, Boss Rock said:

I thought Tanahashi's time in the leg submissions went a bit too long

I usually get bored to tears watching the 'wrestler A struggles for a very long time in wrestler B's hold' spot, but I thought this match was a masterclass of doing that spot correctly: Tanahashi constantly selling and trying to escape and Suzuki constantly re-adjusting, re-applying or moving on to a new submission to stop Tanahashi from escaping.

I love that they so strongly incorporated the story from January's match here and did so in such a compact fashion.  No issues at all with the selling or comeback, particularly given the length of the match, although I can see why this would be an issue for some.  Big fan of such a decisive finish, particularly one that's sold so well as that dragon screw looked like hell and Suzuki put it over as incredibly devastating.  Hoping that the work here carries forward to both of their matches throughout the tourney.  This was my favorite match of the night.

****

It didn't help Elgin/EVIL that this came right after. Suzuki showed EVIL how to work a body part and the intensity both guys showed was truly world class. My only gripe was the finish where Tanahashi had to insist on hitting two High Fly Flows after already hitting a Swingblade and that gnarly Dragon Screw that Suzuki sold to perfection. Even if it had have been the one High Fly Flow it wouldn't have broken my suspension of disbelief.

***

Good stuff with callbacks aplenty to their superb match back in January. Suzuki's sell of the inverted dragon screw was everything.