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Hikaru Sato vs. Keita Yano

Match

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Average rating based on the displayed comments: 9.25
LIGERISM wrote on 30.07.2024:
[9.0] "Two of the best technical wrestlers in the world. Also two of the most underrated wrestlers in the world. Total masterclass in how to combine technical wrestling and storytelling."
jomshom wrote on 14.07.2023:
[10.0] "A modern Keita Yano masterclass. Yano's run in Tenryu Project has been sort of a redemption period for him, stripping away the wilder aspects of his indies work and focusing more on the incredible wrestler underneath the joker make-up. Sato has been his main dance partner for the last few years, both as a rival and as a tag team partner, and this was Yano's third attempt at beating his longtime friend, finally taking place for Tenryu Project's top gold. Both guys treat this like a fight to the death early on, with lots of hesitation and every landed strike feeling like a near-killshot. Yano's in prime selling form in this match, putting in some of his best work from underneath as he scratches and claws for any opportunity to escape Sato's striking onslaught and cinch in a tight enough hold for the win. Sato, for his part, plays the role of dominant champ really well, meeting Yano on the mat and ruling any standing situation with some of the hardest strikes he's ever thrown. Speaking of those strikes, Yano and Sato have always had an Ikeda/Ishikawa kind of relationship, fully willing to throw no-pull punches and kicks at each other for the love of the game, and both men committed to destroying each other here. Sato's kicks were of course the highlight, but Yano got to return fire on a few occasions, including one point where he just started to throw the most violent stomach punches he could before scrambling on top of Sato's limp body for a desperation cover. The match's escalation was perfectly done, and the mad dash for victory with only a minute left truly felt like two men going for anything to end the war. This is almost definitely the 2022 match of the year, just a masterfully done match from two of the best in the world."
tommyyy1714 wrote on 15.06.2023:
[9.0] "Going into this with some backstory made this match truly beautiful. Keita Yano coming so close to being the #1 guy in Tenryu Project and just the story within this match gripped me. Yano starts weary and cautious and gets hit with a mean gut kick early on that crumples him. He takes another later on and Sato is firmly in control with Yano's selling being some of the best I've ever seen. His limp stance while throwing really loose strikes makes you think he could just collapse and never get back up again at any point. I won't lie and say I was gripped for the near 30 minute runtime as some of it was a little slow but there were always moments to grab me back in, like the fantastic mat work or Yano's brief moments of hope. The final 3 are phenomenal though, Yano gets a wrist-clutch from the floor and tries to take down Sato's leg and Sato's desperation to get the rope but only just failing before being taken down is wonderful. Yano's leglock looked like it could've got him the win but with the 3 minute time call he released and went for a legroll clutch which got kicked out of and countered into a rear naked choke transitioned to an armbar. Yano refuses to tap so Sato releases into a La Magistral for the win and Yano's reaction is pure heartbreak. Even after the bell he refuses to believe he lost and goes for a cover on Sato after the bell only to be told he's already lost. At that point all the pain sets in and he tells people at ringside to help him. A masterclass performance from Yano and Sato here, truly amazing stuff - ****3/4"
CFOS wrote on 05.10.2022:
[9.0] "Awesome technical match. Hikaru's work on the left arm of Keita was truly awesome and Keita's selling was even better and very smart. These 2 also exchanged crazy strikes like with the kicks of Hikaru, punches of Keita and a crazy series of shoot headbutt was cherry on the top. Great last minutes with the fujiwara armbar of Hikaru and Keita refused to tap. (****1/4)"