[2019-04-20-NJPW-Sengoku Lord in Nagoya] Kota Ibushi vs Zack Sabre Jr

[paul sosnowski]

Kota Ibushi defends the IWGP Intercontinental Title.   Talk about it here

[Tenese Sarwieh]

An awesome affair between two professionals with different styles that mesh well so perfectly. Sabre working over the neck with every hold he could imagine and Ibushi going full dick to fend him off was a joyful sight to see.

[SmartMark15]

Loved Sabre working over the neck. It was fascinating how both men used their legs to their advantage. Sabre constantly grabbing a scissor hold on the neck and pulling Ibushi and every which way to twist him about was fun. Meanwhile Ibushi relying on his kicks and strikes to knock Sabre down a peg made for great transitions. I particularly enjoyed Sabre thinking he can bully Ibushi only for Ibushi to channel fighting spirit and beat the piss out of Sabre. One of my favorite moments was Ibushi distracting Red Shoes so he could kick the shit out of Sabre in the corner. That's some straight up William Regal goodness.

****1/4

[nivvad]

What you see is what you get with New Japan, and this match was no exception. It had the 30 minute trope of course, but thankfully it didn't drag like it usually does. That was probably because there wasn't any pointless grappling or holds as this was all action. I could've done without Zack wasting his Zack Driver, but it's a minor gripe with an otherwise perfectly satisfying match, ****1/2.

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Zack's attack on the neck was pretty solid, and I enjoyed how it came to play in the late stages of the match - in particular I really loved how he countered Ibushi's deadlift suplex attempt into a guillotine. Another standout moment was Ibushi catching Zack's leg, only for Zack to SLAP him, which lead to Ibushi calmly putting down Zack's leg and smacking him down. With that being said, I thought this wasn't nowhere near as good as their previous meetings though - just missing some of the energy & that competitive spark that they usually have. **3/4