Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet

[9.0] "This match was a really entertaining and nice match. Did this deserve 4.75? No. Was this a great defense from Takeshita and another great match from Ricochet? Heck yeah. I really enjoyed this match and thought they did a great job in the main event of the Flagship show. [****1/2]"

[7.0] "Dave giving 4.75 stars for it is the reason why I love this fucking old dude. That match was good and I think it would be much better to have THAT two years ago on Full Gear instead of the disappointing match they delivered back them. In the end, it was good, nothing sooo special besides the ending stretch which I think it was the nicest moment of the match. Loved Ricochet's heel tatics also."

[6.0] "**** A good match, good defense from Takeshita although his reign seems to be coming to an end soon, good chemistry, they worked even better than in their first encounter, they managed to deliver a better match although without as much depth or emphasis on anything, good sequences, good intensity, good constant pace, a complete match of less than 15 minutes, good ending, Takeshita finishes Ricochet with an elbow, then the Direct Drive Knee and followed by the Raging Fire to retain, he will probably lose the title to Fletcher and maybe regain it at All In"

[7.0] "Whenever I see 4.75 star from Meltzer I always say "how does it compare to Shawn Michael vs Undertaker that got the same score? ". This was not Shawn Michael vs Undertaker."

[8.0] "Really good match, Ricochet got some great offence in and sustained dominance for most of the match, with Takeshita fighting from behind, which made Ricochet look great. Some of the usual great ricochet repetoire here, and Takeshita sold it real well. Bit of a weird ref spot where he stopped Takeshita attacking Ricochet, but overall the work here was really good. Very enjoyable match."

[7.0] "Very fun match and definitely one of the better Richochet matches I've seen recently. But I also feel like still his style and just the way he operates was a detriment to this great match. (****)"

[7.0] "[3. 50*] Pretty fun match with a little bit of no-selling or "fighting spirit" that took me out of it. There were some gnarly spots, and a great pace throught the match. Ricochet was great at being a slimy heel, and Takeshita put in a solid performance."

[8.0] "This was the best match from the show. Konosuke Takeshita and Ricochet tore it down in this AEW International Title Match. I thought the action in the ring was very solid, and Konosuke Takeshita picked up the win and retained his AEW International Title."

[6.0] "For Takeshita and Ricochet, this is below average, but still a nice defense. I'm not a big fan of the structure this match follows, making Ricochet "dominate" but giving it no substance until Takeshita retains. It does have some good moments, which is expected, but I wish there was a lot more."

[9.0] "Two guys I like very much, fighting it out in a TV main event? I'm here for it! This didn't have quite the same hype as a PPV match where the winner might actually be in doubt, but purely in terms of action this was great. Ricochet the upper midcard heel has been great, though I still wonder if they missed a trick not going harder with him after the Strickland feud was so damn good. Takeshita is finally out of the DCF and absorbing the fan love unfiltered, he played a solid heel but I think he's particularly well suited to have great TV matches with all comers (nice that the INT title actually gets defended again, as well). Funny to recall they had a 2024 match that was very cold, mostly due to Ricochet not finding his feet yet with the heel turn, because this showed great chemistry and I could see them running it back again in the future. Great execution, very exciting, a straightforward crowd pleasing match that pretty much clicked on all fronts."

[6.0] "50/50 booking where you have the best wrestler on your roster go toe-to-toe with a midcarder is boring, and the ref spot + the failed 3-count kickout from Takeshita just ruined this."

[6.0] "Match of the night by a significant margin with a great display of chemistry and athleticism from both men. Ricochet was never taking the belt, but he put in an impressive performance in defeat. With the right booking and stage, I've no doubt that these two are capable of more, but this was highly entertaining regardless with two flawless showings. The crowd showed some life for the first time all night and with good reason."

[6.0] "Enjoyable, but there was more potential for a match between these two. Ricochet wasn't booked very strongly, and even when he landed his big moves, it was hard to see him winning the bout. In-ring quality: 3/5. Stakes: 1.5/2. Justification: 0.5/1. Placement on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 0.25/1. Bonus/penalty: none. Total: 6.25/10. Match watched on MyAEW."

[6.0] "Solid TV title defense for Takeshita. Way too slow for these 2, the "grab a hold" mentality is pretty bad. It doesn't all need to be bombs, but it needs a middle ground that this never had."

[7.0] "7.5 - Two major problems - Paul Turner was being weird; and Takeshita's claps are too bait. He got roundhouse kicked by Ricochet, and did the most obvious clap I've seen him do. Really poor. The rest of the offense between these two is so good though. They deserve to have a high-stakes match in a different spot."

[5.0] "Really not the kind of match that I like, was just a case check dynamite main event with nothing to say"

[9.0] "Konosuke Takeshita vs Ricochet was absolutely stellar. These two went out there and wrestled a blinder that was spell binding with flawless execution the entire way through. Ricochet's best match in months, while Takeshita has continued his top form that really started with the Darby match in May. Excellent closing stretch and the crowd got up for this one as well (****3/4)"

[7.0] "Not a bad match. Surprisingly, Ricochet dominated for most of the bout--which I didn't particularly care for, given the disparity in their standing, but fair enough. Takeshita is fantastic, and I'd love to see more title defenses from him."

[3.0] "I'm sorry, when it comes to assessing a match, it's not just about quality of execution. Yes, both these men are good workers and Takeshita is typically fantastic at fighting from underneath but the match lay out was absolutely terrible imo and I'm especially aggravated because I've noticed this trend with aew, and Takeshita in particular tbh. The guy that's losing the match is inexplicably given 95% of the match regardless of where both men are currently on the hierarchy in an attempt to overcompensate. It's like some childish person wants both men to get over while laying this out but at the end Takeshita just looks ridiculously weak (Schiovane calls out how long it took for him to get offense in) in victory while ricochet still took the L so no one came out of this that much better cause they wanted to please both men. Just put the champ over strong smh. Do a 50:50 or 65:35 not whatever this was. 1.25*"

[8.0] "Look, the only thing I asked for this match before it even started was for it to be better than their Full Gear 2024 match, cause that one wasn't good, and this match was way better than that match. The action was fast pacing and it had really good strikes, sequences and reversals. Takeshita and Ricochet finally had a proper match in a style that their first one should've been in."