Hook vs. Roderick Strong

[2.0] "Yet another forgettable Hook match that didn't do anyone any favors. I don't get the appeal with this dude, he's been the same guy for several years now in every aspect possible without any improvement. This was yet another bland match from him. FTW title overstayed its welcome so good riddance I guess."

[6.0] "It was a solid match that didn't really do anything for anyone involved. Hook won, however didn't really show improvement, and Roddy lost, however that did nothing for him either. Overall felt a bit pointless however the FTW Title is finally done and Hook can move on to other championship divisions. Roddy definitely deserved better in this match though."

[6.0] "Solid match as expected between these two. I thought the wrestling in the match was good but it did very little to help either of the wrestlers involved. I think retiring the title was the right decision as it will allow Hook to focus on other feuds and titles and gather more interest."

[4.0] "[**] Hook's stock is dramatically decreasing. Him getting back the title then subsequently retiring it really shows how shit the division is and the lack of care TK has for not only the title, but the workers.. Roddy is great and has been demoted from a respectable International Title division to this joke. Really boring."

[5.0] "This was alright as a match itself, certainly not under-delivering with the low expectations coming in, but it certainly didn't exceed them either. Low stakes, solid wrestling, but an enjoyable post-match bit with retiring the belt. 5/10."

[5.0] "I'm a big fan of Roderick Strong and I felt Roddy put on a good performance in this match, but I didn't think much of Hook. This match wasn't long and it had a couple of nice spots. I liked the backbreaker that Strong hit Hook with on the end of the steel chair. Matt Taven and Mike Bennett were at ringside in support of Strong and had some involvement in the match, dragging Roddy out of the ring at one point to get him out of danger. Hook got the Tazzmission locked in on Roddy to get the submission victory. If it was anyone else other than Roderick Strong opposite Hook here, the rating I've given wouldn't have been as high as it is, but I can't knock Strong's performance here as he did what he could considering who he was facing."

[5.0] "**1/2 (05/10) Short, and not for its own good! You'd think out of respect to the FTW championship that the final title bout would have tried to go the distance to try and leave a lasting impression to the belt's legacy. Instead, we got Hook retiring the belt and giving it to dad. Tony said in one of the more recent scrums that the FTW title was not supposed to be a joke. He sure didn't give it any legitimacy."

"a plunder match by any other name is just a plunder match... thats what this was. i see flickers of something good with hook but he has a lot of short comings, i desperately want him to be what his dad was and more but i don't know if he has that in him. i hope he does but the longer him being hidden in multiman's or short squashes go on the less i believe"

[4.0] "Hook is not really good, feels at this point that he has to have plunder match because he can't go in the ring. If there is one wrestler that could get something out of Hook its Roderick Strong and he couldn't. Quite boring match."

[5.0] "2.75/5. A fine match with some okay action. Very happy with the post match as its time to throw Hook into some regular singles to let him try to improve because I feel he can't really progress that much if all he wrestles are FTW rules matches."

[5.0] "This is fine, unsurprisingly led by Strong's usual engine and physicality. HOOK is mostly just along for the ride but the plunder elements assist him some too, keeping this afloat without it ever threatening to explode into something significant. The post-match business packs a punch but in ring, not notable in either direction. **1/2"

[4.0] "Hook in my opinion has peaked as a wrestler he needs a lot of development. Now this match was okay but Hook has a lot of glaring holes that need work on like his mic skills, and in - ring ability. You can't do the same moves over and over gotta change it up. Roderick Strong did his job putting over Hook he looked good in this match. Afterwards looks like Roderick Strong turned face. But most importantly the FTW Championship has retired and was brought back to Taz now the old ECW belt is back to retirement."

[6.0] "I really enjoyed this. Roderick Strong is one of the best wrestlers ever and Hook did well as a striker and grappler. It was physical, flush with momentum shifts, and had a strong finish. I have no complaints about this one and enjoyed it more than I have past Hook matches. 3.25 stars, 6.5 out of 10."

[6.0] "Hook hasn't improved all that much to be honest, he should've lost more matches instead of being booked to appear as an upper midcard guy, that's not where he should be at the card at all. Glad the FTW title is no more."

[6.0] "A pretty good match. It's nice to see the FTW title finally get retired. I kept hoping they'd do something interesting with it, but it got used as just a prop without any meaning more often than not."

[6.0] "It was fine. Nothing special but Roderick made Hook look competent. Retiring the FTW title after the match was the right choice as that 'title' long overstayed its welcome in AEW. Now we'll get to see if Hook can hang without being protected by FTW stuff."

[6.0] "Starts off fairly promising. The outside brawl stuff at the beginning was actually really good, but soon the match kinda tapers off and becomes just another fairly solid FTW plunder match. There's some cool chair spots but soon after that the match ends when Hook submits Roddy with the Redrum. After the match, he retires the FTW title which...I mean it's about time. Such a meaningless title which has been overstaying its welcome for about a year. Overall, this was pretty solid but if it was more brawling focused like it was at the beginning, then it would've likely been a lot better. ***"

[7.0] "A really nice back-and-forth slugfest. Strikes, weapon shots, suplexes. No filler here, even if it wasn't the most killer match. The gutbuster onto the chair into the Sick Kick was a really cool nearfall even though they rushed to the finish after. A nice sendoff for the FTW Championship after it was tied up in Jericho's bullshit. ***1/4+"

[5.0] "dont give a damn about anything that happened in this match except for the post match promo. THE FTW TITLE IS RETIRED AND GONE. HALLELUJAH. THANK YOU FINALLY."

[7.0] "Being live in attendance this match was really fun, good pace to it and loved how it ended with both men shaking hands and the FTW title being retired. Fun match."

[8.0] "A fun hard hitting match that made great use of the props and FTW rules. Roderick and Hook bounced off each other really well, and it ending with The Undisputed Kingdom showing genuine respect to Hook despite their villainous ways was a really nice touch The FTW belt has ran it's course, and this was a solid match to retire it with."

[4.0] "This match was much worse than I was expecting, I don't think Hook performed really well here, and considering the stipulation (FTW Rules), it was extremely underwhelming and their choices were bad, the structure was simply awful, and I'm glad the title is retired. Of course it had some nice moments, specially at the beginning, but the match didn't progressed at all, and that post-match angle was very weird, with the Undisputed Kingdom showing respect to Hook, something that I didn't saw it coming at all - {*3/4}"

[6.0] "Hook did look pretty good here as he wasn't spamming suplexes like lazy Lesnar. Some new moves from him and he got to work with a well-rounded wrestler in Roderick Strong who gave him a hard title defense"

[6.0] "I can not remember a single thing about this match but god bless them for finally retiring a belt. Looks like HOOK is leaving the territory too."

[5.0] "5.5 - Fun enough, with two smaller, strong guys who can throw each other around. Some random inclusions of weapons. Was never trying to do too much here."

[4.0] "Tempted to score this higher for the fact that it meant the end of the FTW title which has long overstayed its welcome in AEW. It was at least the right place to give it a send off. The match itself was fine but was the usual match from Hook at this point. Crowd seemed fizzled out from the previous match with nobody believing Roderick had a chance at winning the title here. Roderick is someone who feels like he could be given stronger platforms than he has received despite being protected in wins and losses."

"[4.0] Only real stinker of the Grand Slam. If FTW was to be retired, so be it. I am not gonna dwell in it. Strong makes a strong(yeah pun) opponent, sure. Winning an FTW was going to do nothing for him but this man participated in one of the finest ROH main events just a little while ago. Out of all these people did it really had to be Roddy? The way AEW books Undisputed Kingdom is irredeemable as this match alone showcases them as legit dumbs. Why didn't Hook retire the title right after winning it back from Jericho to f-him up? All these months going back and forth between Jericho and Hook a retirement comes out nowhere with Roddy. Very questionable especially for an unsanctioned title."

[3.0] "[1.5*] I absolutely hate the fact that the wrestling veteran and legend Roderick Strong lost to an overrated young wrestler (who may leave to NXT) in a fucking 3-1 handicap match. They even had him acknowledge Hook and shake his hands while he is 100% a heel. This gave me legit Lesnar vs Cody vibes and I hate that spot in both cases. The match itself was not good and just a waste of time, at least the FTW Title is now retired. I absolutely get Roddy losing to Mark, Swerve and Ospreay, but fucking Hook is way too far for me lmao."

[5.0] "Upon further inspection, is the problem with HOOK that he's too good? Or at least booked so? Because as much as this match felt like an even battle, the ending comes out of nowhere and a gassed up HOOKberg retires the championship that just had its biggest match in a long, long while. Tearjerking post match angle aside, this was okay. HOOK takes some nice bumps, Roddy doesn't near work the magic Joe did earlier this year, and it's much less emotionally driven than a match with an ending like that should be. At least HOOK is strong, but I wish Strong could get booked stronger."

[6.0] "Collar elbow tie up to start, Roddy is trying to do some Judo stuff with Hook, dont think Hook does it well with him, theyre trying to do something that look authentic, nice takedown inside trip by Hook, Roddy gets to the rope out of the redrum. Roddy rolls out and then hook blasts through Taven and Bennett and attacking Roddy, hitting him with strikes on the guardrail, then Roddy sends Hook into the barricade and then misses him with the Kendo stick, Hook hits whole Undisputed Kingdom and hits Roderick Strong with a takedown with the Kendo stick on the guardrail. He hits Mike Bennett with a big bone suplex, hits a lariat on Taven, and then Roddy LAUNCHES Hook into the ring post. Roddy works over Hooks spine for a little while in ring during PIP. Chops him in the corner. I want to like Hook and I think hes fine, but matches like this you can really see how green he is. HIs moves look good but his timing just isnt THAT fluid. It does make him look different and it works because he has such a Judo based moveset so it doesnt hurt that stuff looks sloppy and therefore more real and more painful, since hes going for a shooter style gimmick anyways, but Roddys able to do the same thing more or less in a much smoother way. Roddys one of the greats, but it just kinda shows that its Hook who is the problem here, though Im not off the match or anything. Roddy gets a deep two while were still in PIP, which is a little weird, hes chopping Hook. Hooks selling needs work as he just doesnt look right when taking offense. Some nice suplexes by Hook, a weak couple lariats, a bad knee, but a nice Judo toss. Body shots and a headbutt by Hook, and then another northern lights suplex by Hook, maintains control of the wrist and goes for a key lock. Weird looking lariat reversal by Roddy. Taven throws in the chair to Roddy and he wedges it into the turnbuckle. Hook goes for the redrum but his heads driven into the chair, then hes hit with a couple big moves and Hook still kicks out at two. Roddy sets up two chairs in the ring, Hook gets out, then an arm drag throw onto those chairs by Hook. He tries to get the redeem up but cant, Roddy throws him in a gut buster on the chair, a big flying kick, Hook kicks out again, Roddy lifts him up for the backbreaker but Hook gets him in the redrum, Roddy taps. Match was fine. Hook is still very green even if his Judo moves do look good, it kinda just reminds me of Ronda Rousey. He works such a different style than everyone else in AEW that its a little tough. United Kingdom and Hook shake hands at end of match which is interesting. Match was fine."