[9.0] "WrestleMania magic right there. What a genuinely unlikely and enchanting underdog story. Before KofiMania, who would've thought Kofi would not only become world champion, but do so on the grandest stage of them all? It's also an uplifting story about brotherhood with Big E and Xavier accompanying Kofi and showing unconditional support ringside, being part of the biggest moment of his career, and it's beautiful. As for Daniel, I might hate that "New" Daniel Bryan gimmick, but it's still Daniel Bryan (one of the best to ever do it), and it's one of his finest performances ever. Here he gives Kofi the best match of his career without a doubt. His work on Kofi's mid section after that brilliant turning point with Kofi landing on the announce table, is masterful. I love how focused, relentless and vicious he is here; him dissecting Kofi, those kicks, those elbows mid LeBell Lock, those stomps... even his trolling his good, and his selling is on point. Kofi's kicks look like shit honestly, but his selling is pretty good and his fire shines. Him kicking out of the Busaiku Knee, getting viciously stomped for it, coming back with some riveting elbows, stomping Daniel in return and getting the monumental win in emphatic fashion, celebrating with a proper belt alongside Big E, Xavier and his family, is all exhilarating. It might feel like some sort of compensation or an honorary world title for Kofi, but it remains one of the greatest feel-good moments in WrestleMania history. ****1/2"
[10.0] "This was so good. The whole story was absolutely amazing. Kofimania was peak wrestling content. On top of that the actual match absolutely delivered. It was an awesome match with an awesome story. In fact in my opinion this was the only great match on this entire PLE. For 2019, I definitely think the Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano matches were better but this was easily the best main roster match of 2019."
[10.0] "One of the most important matches in WWE History: the crowning of the first Africa-born WWE Champion! Words alone cannot describe the significance of such a moment. Watch the video of Shad (R.I.P.) and MVP reacting to Kofi's victory. This match was a true pinnacle for my fandom, as, after this, I fell off until WrestleMania 40's build-up. Elated doesn't come close to describing how loudly I celebrated Kofi's crowning with those around me. KofiMania was a tremendous storyline with some of the most detailed, intense, thoughtful booking I'd seen in a long, long time. Full of great moments, like the Usos forfeiting the gauntlet at FastLane, Bryan flipping the B+ player insult, it all culminated in a hard-hitting match that had a once-in-a-generation hype surrounding it. It easily exceeded all expectations going in and has immense re-watchability. Kofi put on the performance of a lifetime, and Bryan Danielson (especially heel Danielson) is the GOAT. Kofi has been a solid to incredible worker since I was like nine years old, and I am twenty-five currently. His career is littered with such great matches in the mid-card and tag divisions, yet, the singles push was derailed by a toxic, politicking Randy Orton. To live through all of his career, to have believed they would never give him anything more, the booking committee delivered one of the most heart-warming, cathartic, and invigorating moments in the history of the company. I'll never forget how loud the arena was, how everyone in the back was cheering Kofi on, and how emotional Big E and Woods were during the celebration. Seeing Kofi hoisted in triumph was so vindicating."
[6.0] "Well, isn't this just an ordinary match from the weekly show? The same kind of setup, really. Ordinary moves, typical overbooking, where the good guys win to keep the audience from leaving disappointed. I wouldn't want to downplay the match's rating too much, but I didn't see any 5-star moments here. It's an absolutely average match. Probably, the emotions are more about Kofi's triumph. It's a good event, but it's hard to compare it to legendary matches like Steve Austin vs. The Rock or The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in terms of ring performance."
[9.0] "This was easily the best mach at Wrestlemania 35. The storyline going into this was amazing with Kofi finally getting to hold the WWE Championship after 11 years of hard work. Daniel Bryan played his role very well and Kofi played his role as the underdog excellently. The ending with Woods and Big E holing Kofi up on their shoulders after winning the title was a special moment."
[10.0] "Such a feel good Wrestlemania moment. The match was excellent. Daniel Bryan played such a good heel bastard in this one. Kofi showed out in what was both the match of the night and the match of his career. The last few minutes of the match, from the kick out of the Busaiku Knee all the way to the Trouble in Paradise, was pure poetry. This capped off a great storyline and rivalry in a year where WWE lost their way. I will always have fond memories of this match."
[10.0] "The last minute of this match is genuinely, unironically, cinematic. Right before that, Kofi is delivering some kicks to DB while the crowd chants "YES! " at each one; Bryan's own legacy came back to bite him. Then we get Kofi telling the people to get up; while he starts to turn his vision from the crowd to DB, Xavier Woods starts to slap the mat, but the camera is focused on Kofi. This to me just feels poetic in a way; it's as if Kofi's heart is beating to the sound of "New Day Rocks". Trouble in Paradise, 1, 2, 3. Everyone cheers, including the locker room."
[10.0] "Do you guys know when internet start talking shit about a specific (bad) wrestler called Logan Paul saying "he's not a good wrestler" or even worse, some offense like "He's a ChatGPT wrestler" ? That match clearly show what wrestling is about, and how you do that thing. I'm pretty sure that Logan Paul can hit moves that Kofi Kingston can't, and that's totally fine, because what Kofi bring at the ring during the most part of his career, being at singles, tag and trios matches, Logan Paul will never be able to do anything close. I remember pretty well that PPV and it deeply sucks. 16 matches, took 7 hours, and the card itself was not good. Everybody was tired, you can see from the beggining, the crowd really wasn't engaged with that match, but they made them being engaged to that with a EXCELLENT technical style. I didn't even knew that Kofi had this in his bag (I'll talk about it later.) and he showed for everyone here that he can do a impressive technical style, and there's not a single person better to show that than the greatest wrestler of all time imo Daniel Bryan, who it was at imo as well, with the best gimmick he ever had, that sadly people still don't get until nowasday. They take a lot of bumps, Rowan, Woods and Big E was important keys during that match, Kofi did some moves he is not even acostumized to do, Bryan did some moves he barely use, everything to perform a great match, Bryan did 3 times the Yes! Lock and the Busaiko Knee, which Kofi kickout in a great way. It was a huge important thing to add the wrestlers reaction backstage for that match, made everything looks even bigger, and in the end, when Kofi countered the last attempted of Yes! Lock that Bryan did, he executed the Trouble in Paradise and win that match...well, I can end my rating right now and simply give five stars for that and left with a smile in my face, knowing that I did my rating in the way I wished for. However, there's something serious to talk about that match, that it was a topic about this match. Everyone saw how good Kofi Kingston was here, and well, where this guy was hidden all the time in WWE? Or it was a simple "One Night Wonder" that he did and everything can be explained so easily? Fuck no. Racism is a topic that everyone hates to talk about in pro wrestling, specially in that promotion in specific, but something need to be said. The entire storyline was about Kofi trying to get for the first time in his career a chance for the belt he never had, at the biggest stage that wrestling can put you in front of thousand and thousand of people, from the most casual fan possible into the hardest stan imaginable. He tried for ELEVEN YEARS to be in that point of his career, he FUCKING did it, it was completelly awesome to see the entire storyline between him and The New Day...and what happenned after that? Something change? Kofi did a impressive and well booked run, or even better, the racism at the WWE stop being a problem? Again, fuck no. WWE gave to him the most poor booking decision I ever saw someone give for a champion, and them made him lost to Brock Lesnar in the first SmackDown at FOX for SIX SECONDS. And them Kofi returned to the tag division which is not a downgrade, but it was the proof that nothing changed. At the Men's Royal Rumble this year, do you guys know how much black wrestlers he was in the match? Two. Carmelo Hayes, which was the first guy that was eliminated, and Speed, which is a STREAMER. That need to change, quicker and faster. To end this before I get more political than I'm being, this is a five stars match for me, but no one gets any kind of victory over the things that happen over and over in a business that never showed any type of equality."
[7.0] "I honestly think this match is overrated. Dont get me wrong there are way more many worse matches in wrestling history but i just think this ran too long and i could never get behind kingston as a main eventer. I think big e was always more a main eventer more than him"
[9.0] "A match with a great pace, while they did the "basics", the psychology behind it made this fight have great spots. The crowd helped a lot, which is a great credit to the storyline and the wrestlers involved. The last few minutes are incredible. And it's impressive how this is the best match in Kofi's career, but only on any given Sunday for Daniel Bryan"
[10.0] "This was a brilliant match with an awesome feel-good moment with Kofi finally winning the WWE title. Bryan was an excellent heel here and Kingston gave an amazing performance as well, with some great comebacks. *****"
[10.0] "One of the best moments in wrestling history. Who would've ever thought Kofi will eventually win the big one then. What a match aswell. Apart from a small hiccup, the story leading into this match, also good. Daniel Bryan is the goat. He simply can't have a bad match with anyone especially in time ones like this. Awesome."
[10.0] "Moments are important in wrestling & this was one of the best moments in Wrestlemania history, I will never get tired of this match & I am glad Kofi got his moment"
[9.0] "The ultimate payoff, talk about a 'WrestleMania moment' for Kofi here, huh? This catchphrase is generally used for lame moments and is thrown around like a consolation prize for not getting spots, but this one was a rare situation where it fits, and it was beautiful, very emotional to see Kofi celebrating with his kids and stablemates after the match, and everyone knows the story, KofiMania was something very cool, very well done, a loyal superstar and lifelong hard worker, receiving a boost of popularity and getting a lot of recognition from the audience, and Vince managed to capitalize very well on what the fans wanted, he kept screwing Kofi in storyline, and it seemed that no matter how hard he fought, it was never enough, and this made the audience feel agonized about Kofi missing the big spot, but he did it and it was a thrill. The match itself is incredible, very connective and with sequence, there are two or three moments where the move or the reversal is a direct consequence for something that happened previous in the match, Daniel Bryan naturally has a lot of advantage on the mat, and this is worked all the time, but Kofi just shows more heart, and moments like when he no-sold the kicks on the body, and also started to kick Bryan, are just magnificent, the crowd was totally invested and exploded in every single Kofi reversal. This match is simple, there's no ifs, no interference, the message is delivered in its totality, and after Kofi survived the LeBell Lock, he managed to win the match and reinstated the WWE Championship. An unforgettable WrestleMania moment, and extremely meaningful to a lot of people, a beautiful story told all along - {****1/4}"
[10.0] "[4.75*] This match is obviously brilliant in terms of technical wrestling, the construction of the drama, the superb ending stretch and awesome storytelling that absolutely carried the company in early 2019 in one of the best stories I have ever seen, but I think this is one of the cases where it just transcends wrestling. This profound program had a strong touch of reality that just puts it above normal face vs heel dynamics, because when Kofi says that he had to wait 11 fucking years to get his first World Title shot because it was always harder for him, he is not talking about his gimmick at all. It was and it was always going to be fucking harder for him. Racism exists in every facet of the planet, including professional wrestling. Kofi is a warrior and this story was able to make young black kids believe. Kids that are discriminated at school and receive less opportunities. He made this kids believe that dreams can come true. This is honestly a way more powerful story than the YES-Movement and Bryan himself already said a thousand times that Mania 39 was the most meaningful thing he ever did in WWE. So yeah, a perfectly built match with a strong, real, believable story that absolutely delivered in terms of pure workrate. One of the best matches in WWE history."
"The first half of this match is surprisingly dull as if the crowd is just not in it and Bryan carries it but really kicks into overdrive in the second half and concludes with one of the most satisfactory results ever. I, for one, particularly liked the submission maneuvers of the match, not sections that I usually enjoy."
"This match is one of the masterpieces of technical wrestling in the modern era of WWE. Both wrestlers showcased their storytelling and technical abilities."
[7.0] "In terms of storytelling, this match is flawless. This might be the best storytelling of any match in this decade of Wrestlemanias. Even when they get in the ring, they tell a good story with Kofi refusing to give up. The rest of the match, however is...just okay. The start especially is just a slog. A majority of this match is just incredibly slow paced holds and strikes. It ramps up and gets very compelling with submission counters and swaps and fantastic transitions later on, but it undeniably takes a while to get going. This is still an excellent match, and one of the most important storylines in Wrestlemania history, but the match itself doesn't live up to the storyline. And unfortunately, in hindsight, Kofi's whole run gets thrown away with how he loses the title too."
[6.0] "The match just isn't bad. I don't share everyone's enthusiasm. Other than Kingston's win, I can't remember anything from the match at all. There was a very cool storyline leading up to the match, and the result of the match has a lot of emotion, but the match itself is just okay."
[7.0] "It was a good match, but not good enough to have such a Rating. Matches that get higher than 8 often surprise with something. Either with quality, maybe with some unexpected actions or plot twists, but here you get exactly what you expect. And I got it both in 2019 and now after rewatching this match"
[6.0] "It was going to be a good match by Daniel Bryan but the ending ruins it. I didn't care who won but Kofi wins in a super anticlimactic way with a single Trouble in Paradise and with almost no offense in the entire match. Apart from not selling Daniel Bryan's submissions."
[9.0] "If Wrestlemania had been two nights here this would've been the main event of night 1 and the crowd could've left happy. Instead it was right in the middle of the card and because it was so emotional the crowd was nearly dead the rest of the night. I'm so glad these 5-8 hour marathons are over. No match should be JUST STARTING at midnight. That's insane. Anyway, the storyline behind this match was magic as was the match itself. It's everything pro wrestling is meant to be. Having a story and great wrestling is the way it should be. The dumbest comment I've ever seen about wrestling in my life came from Reddit, (where else? ), where the person said "what happens between the ropes doesn't really matter". It does and this match proves it."
[7.0] "This was a rehash of the Yes Movement storyline, and the match isn't as good as I remember as when it first happened. On rewatch it loses a lot of the magic it held when there was so much drama, and high stakes for Kofi to finally break that threshold. It was a great match, but not nearly the instant classic that some seem to remember it being, at least not for me."
"(8.0) Easily the best match on this entire card. Bryan gives Kofi his best non-tag performance outside of his early run and elevates him. It's just a shame no one else did that for Kofi after this win. In retrospective, a very bizarre match for what follows but also the only thing on this entire Mania card worth going out of your way to see."
[9.0] "It may be a little unfair to rate this match so highly, as if you look at it objectively, it's not some exceptionally amazing match, but the context/story elevates it so much. Bryan played the heel role to absolute perfection. It was basically just the perfect match for the story of Kofi, which is why it just hits different"
[10.0] "This was such a phenomenal match and an all timer WrestleMania moment. Kofi played as one of the best babyfaces ever and earth friendly Bryan played such a fantastic heel. We all know how Kofi's WWE Championship run ending up being, particularly in it's ending, but before all that this was just a spectacular way to honour a veteran."
[8.0] "Going in to this one, I had very low expectations. Im not a massive fan of Daniel or Kofi, but they exceeded my expectations here. Really fast, fun, and a great feel good moment with Kofimania ending with Kofis title win. Ignoring the frankly, very bad title reign to follow, seeing him put on a banger with Bryan and celebrate with the New Day and his son was heartwarming. I really liked the creative reversals as well. Hell, even Rowan did a good job in this match. Very good stuff."
[10.0] "Daniel Bryan proving, once again, that he is the world's greatest wrestler. A year ago, Bryan had returned as the biggest face in the industry, and no-one would have blamed him for phoning it in. But instead, he turned in one of the greatest despicable heel runs at all time, to the point where I, a complete mark for Bryan, was firmly on Team Kofimania. Match of the night, and one of the best matches of the year from the WWE. Kofi deserved this win so much. What happened afterwards, he deserved so much better, but I won't let that cloud my judgment of my spectacular match."
[10.0] "Everything kofi has to overcome in the story and then in the match its just a masterpiece and a rare rare thing at this point in wwe i love this moment and this match theres nothing bad to say about the match at all so hard to not give 5 stars. 4 3/4 stars"
[7.0] "[4.0*] Historic match that marked the end of Kofimania, one of the storylines that most involved and excited the WWE audience. The action in the ring was good, I love seeing matches where Bryan is in the situation of being the heel, and generating negative reactions from the crowd, he knows exactly what to do to make another wrestler over. It wasn't one of the matches that I was most excited about watching, I liked some counters and some nearfalls at the end, but it bothered me a little how Kofi and Bryan's styles didn't match up very well, there was a lack of chemistry in some moments. The end was a great moment, Kofi Kingston after years of being put in different situations and all doing a good job, deserved a world title run more than anyone. Very beautiful and moving moment."
[8.0] "I had the privilege of seeing this moment in person and while the match isnt as good as i remember, the moment is better than i remember. Bryan and Kofi are such good workers and while they put on a good match, this didn't connect with me the way ive seen it connect with other people, although this match is a very important moment in WWE history which i will always appreciate. I loved cheering for Kofi in person, holding my breath for each near fall and finally seeing him win the big one after watching him on television for so many years is something that is very heartwarming. Not to mention that this situation happened 5 years prior, but this time on Bryans side makes it all the more special"
[9.0] "Very good match, I didn't have such a memory of it. The crowd is so hot for Kofi. Everyone holds their breath during the near falls. The post-match is for me one of the best moments in the history of wrestling, it will always give me chills. (4*1/2)"
[7.0] "The Moment & Kofi Winning at Wrestlemania was Fantastic even the coldest of Hearts would've felt something. As a Match however I don't think this is all that. All they had to do was essentially a Repeat of the Last 10 Minutes of the Elimination Chamber Match but this time Kofi pulling it off. Instead however Kofi gets very little Offense and while he shows great Resilience & Tenacity to Survive Bryan's Great Grappling & Submission work. I felt Bryan came off a little Weak & Kofi got the Win too easily for my liking. Still obviously the Match of the Night for Wrestlemania 35 & caps of a Great Run for Daniel Bryan's 4th WWE Championship Reign."
[5.0] "Unlike others, this match doesn't really move me. I don't like the story, as it's just a recycle of Bryan's story from years ago. It was a cheap way to garner fan support, and while Kofi was well deserving of a big-time title win, having him do it with leftovers kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth too. The match itself isn't even good either, as it just feels like a TV match with an extra near-fall or two. The crowd was into it, and the celebration after Kofi wins is great, but again, when you look back this whole thing feels a little cheap to me. 2.75 Stars."
[9.0] "An absolute classic of a match that capped off one of the best storylines in wrestling history. Kofimania was something you simply had to be there for to properly experience, as it swept up fans from every walk of life as one of the most loyal wrestlers in WWE history fought the previous choice for being its most underappreciated for the top prize in the company. Daniel Bryan was absolutely masterful throughout this feud, turning the same words that he heard during the build to his own WrestleMania moment back on Kingston. And the societal elements at play elevated it to an entirely different level. The finish ranks among the best moments in my lifetime as a wrestling fan, and the match was downright phenomenal building up to it. An incredible match and moment that I feel blessed to have been able to witness as it happened. 4.75 stars, 9.5 out of 10. All-time stuff."
[9.0] "My only problem with this match is how obvious Kofi's victory was, but it was his moment to shine and both he and Bryan did an amazing job. Bryan is a master storyteller and his heel title reign was incredible. Amazing match for a mid WrestleMania."
"The last WrestleMania I watched live was WrestleMania 35, and I didn't regret it for a second mostly because of this fight. Kofi Kingston fulfills that dream and flips the bowl on Daniel Bryan, who was in his position exactly five years earlier. A wonderful, well-crafted fight with two of the finest wrestlers in the history of the organization."
[10.0] "This match! This was a perfect dance between Kofi and Bryan! The match itself delivered perfectly for the moment in which it represented. All of the build to this match and the performance by both wrestlers was a beautiful back and forth that beautifully told the story of the struggle of 11 years of fighting and hard work to achieve Kofi's dream! KOFIMANIA!"
[10.0] "One of the great WWE matches of the 2010s. One of the best matches of 2019. There were a lot of expectations going into the match, and they delivered on all fronts. The story doesn't need to be explained, one of the most organic and genuine stories the WWE have told in a long while. A lot of it mirrored Daniel Bryan's ascension to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 2014, which only adds to the value of the story, as he is now the villain, the entity he loathed to dethrone in 2014. It wasn't too predictable - some fans speculated that Kofi is simply a filler defence for Bryan at Mania as SmackDown had no other big stars to compete. However, that wasn't the case, as Kofi prevailed in a fantastic match. Some really great spots, and a riveting final stretch. Although Kofi's stomp botch part way through the match prevents the match from being PERFECT, the moment is enough for it to be a ten in my book. Matches like these is what WWE does best."
[10.0] "This match was phenomenal, and the moment was perfect. I wasn't there to watch the match unfold live, although I saw all the build up to the match and everything was good. Everyone loves Kofi, however not everyone thought of him as a serious contender for a major championship, KofiMania itself wasn't booked as well but that moment was spectacular. The match (in-ring ability) was also great."
[9.0] "what a moment. everything was perfect. the buildup. the promos. natural babyface reactions for Kofi. KofiMania was very reminscent of the Yes Movement back in 2013/14. Bryan was ironically on the other side this time. it was a feel good ending. the run ended up being poorly booked but the moment itself was beautiful. [****3/4]"
[10.0] "Kofi and Bryan gave us a glimpse of what they could do in 15 minutes at EC so they gave us an even better match at the biggest stage in wrestling. Kofi and Bryan were going back and forth to start things off up until Kofi went midsection first into the table, then we proceeded to get some great work on Kofi's midsection from Bryan. Kofi's little glimpse of offense in this match before getting cut off by Bryan in the smoothest way possible was just fantastic. Kofi's work wasnt on Bryans level in this match but his connection with the crowd helped him to keep up with Bryans performance. The running knee was a great near fall in this, and Kofi powering out of the Labell Lock and then hitting the Trouble of Paradise for the win. Kofi winning the title was such a great moment.****3/4"
[10.0] "I'll say this up front, the energy of this match is fantastic. Thankfully this match came in the first half of what would turn out to be a gruelingly long show, seven hours(! ) in total with the pre show, so the enormous crowd was not yet tired and cranky. Folks seemed genuinely 100% behind Kofi in this one, which is impressive in and of itself considering the enduring popularity of Bryan. I'm a fan of Kofi and he did really well here, but I do have to give tons of credit to Bryan who showed once again just how incredible he is as he worked through this one, playing the perfect heel while brutalizing Kofi with strikes and holds at every opportunity. This is probably Bryan's greatest performance of his post injury run in WWE before leaving for AEW, and he definitely made the most of it. Love that he got a chance to play both face and heel in world title matches at Mania, truly one of the best ever when you see just how well he did it. All in all the match completely rules, one of the best of the year, credit to all involved."
[8.0] "This match was highly enjoyable with both Wrestlers putting in an excellent amount of effort, the false finishes and kick outs were incredibly exhilarating and Kofi was a massively deserving champion."
[6.0] "As for me, the match is overrated, it's certainly excellent and everything in this spirit but it was greatly overrated, but I'm glad that Kofi Kingston became the WWE CHAMPION then!"
[10.0] "Brilliant match from a brilliant storyline. My match of the year for 2019. Some moments were a bit sloppy, but they get overshadowed by how great everything else is. The story throughout the match was chefs kiss aswell."
[9.0] "To be frank, I didn't even like the match that much but it doesn't matter 'cause the whole storyline around it was brilliantly crafted. When Kofi got the three-count I just lost my mind. I was so happy to see him get the world title. Awesome stuff."
[10.0] "One my favourite match of all Time. I know it is a very personal take and it does not have objectively the best in-ring in the history, even if it stills really good. But the story is made for me and affects directly the heart of the child I was who was fan of this funny wrestler and his strange jamaïcain gimmick. So this match has waken up a forgotten childhood dream in me and I wish to everyone to have a feeling like that one day. 5*"
[9.0] "Not a masterpiece or an all-time classic, but still a great and remarkable match with feel-good moments for Kofi, who has contributed a lot to WWE. Both men worked well and created good dramas and made the audience pay attention to their performances. Bryan did great job as a heel (he was so great at being heel at that time with the new Daniel Bryan gimmick). Kofi was great as a title chaser and he did everything to win the highest prize of WWE. Kudos to both men."
[9.0] "Amazing story coming in and the action did not disappoint. After Rollins winning earlier in the night and Lynch being set up to win the main event, many thought WWE wouldn't give us 3 babyface winners on the one show which helped with the near falls. Kingston deserved his big moment and was a fantastic match overall."
[10.0] "This is one of my favorite matches ever. They told a fantastic story throughout and Bryan was a fantastic heel, putting a stop to all of Kofi's comebacks and slowing the pace back down to work over Kingston some more. The running knee false finish really got me, and Kofi winning the title was such a beautiful and meaningful moment. Fantastic. [****3/4]"
[9.0] "I kinda wished it had some more nearfalls to favor the drama, but oh god, what a fantastic and emotional moment, the best match of the show and and Wrestlemania classic already, ****1/2."
[10.0] "This was an absolutely amazing match from start to finish, with tons of crazy false finishes down the line. The storyline leading up to this was perfect. Bryan did such godly heel work here during this program, and it's no doubt he made Kofi's victory even more special than it was. Unquestionably the WWE main roster match of the year, and one that got many people marked out like a little kid when Kofi won. [****3/4]"
[8.0] "I'd say this match is about a 7 from a technical perspective, but the emotional buildup and aftermath knock it up to an 8 for me, Kofimania, baby!"
[9.0] "The best main roster WWE match this year. Bryan's character work is brilliant as a heel, and in the ring he showed why he's still one of the best wrestlers in the world. There are not enough words to praise the work Bryan does both in character and in the ring, he was the perfect opponent for Kofi here. It's hard to be credible as a babyface underdog when you're up against a smaller or similar wrestler, but through Bryan's aggression and the fans' unwavering support for Kofi Kingston, this was possible. Storytelling on point, Kofi held his own acceptably, it wasn't bad, but it could have been better. I'm also glad the other characters didn't interfere in the ring. Too bad they gave spoilers when they showed it was a title outside the ring."
[8.0] "Mit riesigem Abstand das beste Match an diesem Abend. Die Story rundum das Match war im Vorfeld großartig aufgebaut worden und das Publikum wollte am Ende einfach nur Kofi Kingston gewinnen sehen. Daher hatte das Match eine tolle Emotionalität und war durchgehend großartig. Während des Matches hatte man das Gefuhl, als würde Kofi nochmal einen Schritt nach Vorne machen und hatte am Ende sogar einige intensivere Momente, die seinen Willen zum Sieg wunderbar demonstrierten. Das Finish selbst war vielleicht etwas unkreativ, aber ein absolut starker Moment und für mich das große Highlight dieser Wrestlemania. Klassische WWE Dramaturgie. **** 1/4 (7)"
[8.0] ""It is obvious that at such a pitch, it no longer matters whether the passion is genuine or not. What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself. There is no more a problem of truth in wrestling than in the theatre. In both, what is expected is the intelligible representation of moral situations which are usually private... This exhaustion of the content by the form, is the very principle of triumphant classical art. Wrestling is an immediate pantomime, infinitely more efficient than the dramatic pantomime, for the wrestler's gesture needs no anecdote, no decor, in short no transference in order to appear true" - Roland Barthes, The World of Wrestling. ****1/4"
[9.0] "A truly fantastic match. Bryan's character work is really something else; I absolutely adored him as a babyface and now I utterly revile him as a heel and it's not just anyone who can pull that off. Given the workers involved in this match the technicality and athleticism on display was always going to be top notch but they also managed to tell a very engaging story. The only reason I'm not giving this a 10/10 is because the ending seemed a bit anticlimactic in the sense that I'd have expected it would have taken a bigger knockout shot from Kofi to put away Bryan."
[10.0] "This is a pure beauty of a match between Bryan and Kofi here, one of my favorite matches of all time and easily one of the best matches in WrestleMania history, an all-time classic with so much meaning for Kofi Kingston and the end of a legendary rivalry. I still think Kofi Mania is the best thing WWE has produced in recent years and this match is the pinnacle of the whole story perfectly written from start to finish. Many want to belittle this match by saying that he's only popular because of the result and while I can believe that the match would have been perceived in a different way if Kofi had not won, that's not how it works folks, I know that in modern wrestling we are not used to seeing perfectly told storytelling like in this match but this is indeed a WrestleMania classic. The living proof that now we don't need a hundred nearfalls and Canadian Destroyer every five minutes to tell stories, there's nothing better than simplicity when it's well executed in a big context like this one and well told like their entire feud. Their final in the Chamber two months earlier was already incredible, and this match proved their strong chemistry. Everything in the execution as well as the writing was perfect to lead up to Kofi's big moment, Bryan did an amazing heel job throughout the match with some nasty strikes & submissions, and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. He was supposed to highlight a fighting babyface who had never touched a world title and believed in his dreams, in fact the New Daniel Bryan highlighted 2014's Daniel Bryan here and that's something magnificent. Kofi was a touching babyface who did a simple but effective job with great comebacks and great selling. The end of the match was legendary, I expected Bryan to kicked out of the Trouble In Paradise but no, Kofi did it, and Byron Saxton made it clear with a legendary call. This match is the beauty of wrestling, and Kofi's moment still gives me chills over two years later, brilliant stuff."
[9.0] "I loved this match. It was excellent, with some great psychology. Both Kofi and Bryan played their roles perfectly. Kofi winning was very emotional and it was great Wrestlemania moment."
[8.0] "Story und Psychologie passen hier wirklich sehr gut - Bryan spielt den Heel wieder perfekt und Kofi hat die Crowd völlig hinter sich. Das ist dann technisch auch auf gutem Niveau, bietet gegen Ende hin ein paar nette Spots und Comebacks und hat auch eine dicke Packung an Spannung dabei. Und durch den Sieg von Kofi, hat man zudem noch einen deftigen Feel Good Moment, glückwunsch! Ist mein klares MOTN dieser Mania, das kann man sich gerne mal anschauen."
[9.0] "Far and away the match of the night. In fact, this was the only match that really felt WrestleMania worthy. The question was: could Kofi deliver on the big stage and finally win the title. They teased many times that Kofi wouldn't have enough as Bryan came close to victory on several occasions, but in the end, WWE did the right thing and gave Kofi the sentimental victory. Awesome match and great storytelling. ****1/2"
[9.0] "Great match with the right man winning. Kofi had been with the company for so long but never reached the top. Bryan was in that same situation a couple of years ago but now his role is reversed and he is the final boss for Kofi to defeat. The action was compelling with good call backs to their elimination chamber clash. although Becky winning in the main was a good moment, I really think this should have gone on last. No one in the company was more deserving of this win than Kofi (except maybe Cesaro) and it was an incredible moment to see all of his hardcore payoff with a great match against one of the greatest wrestlers of all time in Daniel Bryan. ****1/2"
[10.0] "The highlight of a mostly very good WrestleMania. Kofi Kingston is such a tremendous babyface and Daniel Bryan is one of the all time best workers. Just a fantastic and enrapturing match, one of the happiest outcomes in wrestling history."
[10.0] "The most emotional match I? ve lived my entire life so far as pro-wrestling fan! Everything which had been involved in this story was unreal, Daniel Bryan as heel has done an incredible job to elevate his opponent given he? d gone through this too. Finally Kofi had his world title in a magical match, we were all standing for the KofiMania till the end without losing hope and the moment ruled it & should have headlined the show! Both created one of the best story ever in history and from 2019 !"
[9.0] "I loved this match when I saw it live and recently watched it again. A perfectly booked match for a fantastic feud. Very emotional match, worth all the praise it's gotten. This is what a Wrestlemania match should be. ****1/2"
[8.0] "A really good match that should have main evented the show. The in ring work was really good with a very methodical pace and Bryan dominating most of the match. The decade long journey of Kofi was told beautifully in this match with Kofi having to dig deep down against the Champion. There were a bit of sloppy executions but overall I thought they did really good. This was simple, beautiful and told in a way that had the fans and crowd invested in a storyline that was not even in the plan. Funny how the best thing in WrestleMania 35 happened because of a mistake. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Gutes Match und tolle Story... Kofi Kingston? s Geschichte war die Feel good story des Jahres 2019. Sein Sieg hier hat die Crowd förmlich zu explodieren gebracht"
[9.0] "This was the best WWE Championship match at a Wrestlemania in a long, long time. Maybe even in general. The in-ring was good, if not great, but the real cream comes from the storytelling and the storyline building up to this. This was beyond amazing. It was my second match of the year of 2019. I absolutely loved it. Daniel Bryan's title reign was my favorite since the 2017 Okada title reign. He was on a whole other level. ****½"
[9.0] "The emotion on this night was unbelievable. At that year's Royal Rumble I would've never even thought that Kofi Kingston would be challenging for the WWE Championship. Through all the gauntlet matches and the ability for his partners to stick with him and FIGHT FOR HIM... Man that's good stuff. Can't forget the GOAT either Daniel Bryan, who was on his A-game that night. But it wasn't enough and i was glad. Kofi will make it back to the top of the mountain - Mark my words ****3/4"
[7.0] "Moment was good and everything, great story, but the match was lacking something, not a great technical bout, also the match they had on sd on the gauntlet before chamber was way better"
[8.0] "It's quite unique that the last man before this rivalry who had this kind of hype leading into the championship match was Daniel Bryan himself. In 2014 he was in the role of an underdog, battling with everyone & everything that stood in front of him to get the desired gold but now, he was the one standing on the way of a veteran who never came close to winning the championship at the biggest stage. It was so much enjoyable to see Bryan in the role of a cocky champion, ready to break the dream of his opponent, the same dream that made him go through a lot of pain years ago. Bryan was terrific at everything he did, not only he controled the match, he also made sure to control the whole audience. He exactly knew when to get the crowd cheer up & when to kill them of by cutting Kofi's comebacks. He was damn good on the offence, he ruled at selling, he was THE MAESTRO that night, however it was simply not enough to put the match into the same tier as some of all time great championship matches but that doesn't mean that this match wasn't great. However this had some problems, at least for me. First of all, i simply got uncomfortable watching Kofi's goofy offence seconds after Bryan's magic. It was either Bryan being so good or Kofi not being up to par. Second of all, i think that finishing stretch wasn't build as we are used to seeing in big matches, i was left with a feeling that it absolutely came from nowhere & that took some points of the match. I think this one was great but an over hyped match. It got the big reputation mostly because of the result not because of in ring quality."
[10.0] "I just don't understand how anyone couldn't consider this one of the best Mania matches of all time. It was damn near perfect. And what kept it from being perfect, ironically, was it's biggest strength. This was not a finisher fest at all. Two finishers the whole match. Only one was kicked out of. This was perfectly paced and built up, all psychological match with a wild hot crowd. It's only flaw, imo, despite being a non finisher heavy match, was not having Bryan kickout of Trouble in Paradise once to give you that one last shred of doubt. Nonetheless, it was still perfect for the story and the timing of the submission usage was perfect. This was nice and hard hitting and rough around the edges which made it better. Hardly felt like the usual WWE match. And it all culminates with one of the most satisfying wins ever Easily one of my favorite WrestleMania matches *****"
[5.0] "Although it was cool seeing Kofi win the title, the match was slow and dragged on and on. Daniel Bryan always bores me while everyone loves him. Not saying he isn? t good, but everything? s so slow. The only decent part of the match was the finish. ***1/2"
[5.0] "Auf der einen Seite ist Daniel Bryan ein Weltklasse Wrestler. Auf der anderen ist Kofi Kingston, ein Clown mit schlechten Wrestling. Besonders im Vergleich mit Bryan wird Kofi wie ein Schauspieler der einen Wrestler spielt. Alles was er macht wirkt Fake."
[9.0] "Bryan war genau der richtige Gegner, um Kofis Story hier zu diesem positivne Abschluss zu bringen. Er trägt das Match gut und bietet Kofi viel Platz zum Glänzen. Die Comebacks sitzen und die false finishes erfüllen den Zweck. Starke Dramatik von guter Action aufgebaut. MOTN!"
[8.0] "8. 35/10 - #3 Best of WM35 Weekend : This match. How much can you really say before realizing nothing could summarize what this match represented. This is why wrestling exists, this is what makes wrestling the best, storylines like this are why wrestling is so goddamn addictive. Now I know, I sound like I wanna give this match an 11 not an 8 like I did, so why not? Well, this is a rating of the match, not the entire story. As a wrestling match, this was a great bout but one that left a lot to be desired considering the storyline, with my biggest grievance being the finish. This match could have used 2 to 5 more minutes. A couple more finishers, a few nearfalls, false finishes. For how regularly WWE does that, it was very surprising to see this match end after one Trouble in Paradise. I wanted this to be a harder victory, I wanted some teasing before the finish. Nonetheless, what happened happened and the result is exactly what it should have been. An amazing story that started by accident, a last-minute replacement, ended up being a historic forever-memorable Wrestlemania moment. This is why I'm still a fan after 11 years. Wrestling fucking rocks."
[9.0] "The Kofi storyline came out of nowhere and hooked its teeth in me in a way a WWE story hasn't in years. I was screaming and reacting to every move, absolutely terrified WWE were going to drop the ball and have Bryan come out on top (the fact I thought this when he was doing the best work of his entire WWE career is a testament to my investment in Kofi). A tremendous match with a feel-good finish and my favorite match of the year so far."
[6.0] "Overhype as it is. Absolute mediocre performance from both wrestlers. Low speed and lack of interesting stuff. Bryan is great wrestler, but Kofi is simply not"
[6.0] "Hier fehlt mir vermutlich die "emotionale Beziehung" um das Match so hoch bewerten zu können, ich fand es aber, den Titelgewinn von Kofi Kingston mal ausgeblendet, auch wrestlerisch nicht so stark, dass ich das Match als sehr empfehlenswert betiteln würde."
[9.0] "Pretty great match. This match was pretty great from start to finish barring a long five minutes where the match completely lost me in boredom but they got back on track. Bryan showed why he is the best in WWE and he might just re-earned the best in the world title from me again. He was fantastic. His grappling early on with him going for the ribs and squeezing the life out of him then transitioning into kicks and strikes. I did think Kofi could've sold the ribs better too but I wouldn't say he did an awful job of doing it either. Another thing this match had was a unique way to build drama with Bryan locking on a deep lebell lock with Kofi constantly scrambling, trying to offload some shots. It's simple, yet highly effective. They saved the big moves, which was appreciated, and it thus felt so special when Kofi kicked out of the knee. I can keep going on about things I enjoyed about this match, fantastic match w/ a satisfying payoff. ****1/4"
[8.0] "This match tells their story in a great way, and the crowd booing D-Bry all the time was spectacular, proving that Kofi really was their favorite at the moment and played an amazing underdog character. The only thing that I dislike about this, is that WWE were repeating the same storyline they were doing with Becky Lynch... and that they did with Daniel Bryan in 2014... and CM Punk... an-Ok, you got it. But still, this is the MOTN in my opinion, I wanted Bryan to retain, but I was happy that Kofi became WWE Champion, I hope he becomes a Hall of Famer in the future. ****1/2"
[9.0] "Dieses Match war das emotionale und das wrestlerische Highlight dieser Wrestlemania. Das war einfach die perfekte Heel vs Facestory mit zwei Leuten, die es dann auch handwerklich einfach klasse umgesetzt haben. Allein der Aufbau des Matches und der erzeuge Spannungsbogen war schon klasse, dann vor Allem auch die Konter und die sehr emotionale und spannende Schlussphase die schließlich in diesem Feel Good Moment kulminierte, auch mit dem Booking drum herum das New Day eben nicht turnte sondern einfach alle gefeiert haben. Für mich zwar nicht eines der besten Matches aller Zeiten weil mir da dann vielleicht noch etwas mehr gefehlt hat an krassen Spots, Storyelementen oder Rückbezügen - die es hier ja in der Art auch gar nicht geben konnte - aber dennoch sehr gut und deswegen 9 Punkte Wert."
[7.0] "The best match at WrestleMania. Wasn't the best match of the weekend but definately up there with the best. Great technical match with a hot crowd. And finally Kofi got what he deserved. Huge pop for that. ****"
[9.0] "Bryan was instrumental in making this match as special as it was. The counter wrestling built up so much tension and while the spot of Kofi kicking Bryan in the head repeatedly was dumb, the moment where we get to finally see Kofi accomplish his dream of 11 years. Was truly a special moment"
[9.0] "Irgendwie simpel gestrickt, in dieser Form aber richtig gut gemacht. Die Rollen sind klar verteilt, die Ausgangssituation ist klar und die beiden wrestlen ein starkes Champion vs. Underdog Match, an dessen Ende Kofi erstmalig Champion wird. Gute Story und gutes Wrestling (MOTN), was von den Fans zurecht gefeiert wird."
[9.0] "Supremely well worked match that encapsulated the feud beautifully. The potency of the imagery in the final stretch can't be overstated. The persistence of Bryan, emblematic of his opponents doubters, trying to drag down Kofi made it all the more satisfying when the face not only resisted but then literally put his boot them with the stomps whilst standing tall. The clean as a whistle win helped make this such a special moment. The crowd were massively invested and the emotional intensity burned them out for the rest of the show but it was worth it for this."
[9.0] "Ein sehr gutes Match mit viel hin und her. Es war spannend und hatte viele gute Momente und Spots. Ich habe ein bisschen einen big Spot vermisst, was man nicht jede Woche bei Smckdown sehen kann. Irgendwas außergewöhnliches. Aber Match war gut und ich gönne es Kofi **** 1/2."
[5.0] "This match was ok, but shocked at all the people giving this a 10. Kofi making history was special, but not much else about the match was. Didn't think it was either wrestlers best in ring work and the match never pulled me in the way a great match should."
[10.0] "Der einzige Moment an diesem Abend, an dem die typische "Mania-Magie" und echtes Gänsehautfeeling entstand.... verpackt in einem großartigen Match, welches alles hatte, was man an Pro-Wrestling lieben kann und was es meiner Meinung nach haben sollte: Eine packende Geschichte, Emotionen, Drama, Spannung, ein hassenswerter Bösewicht, ein gefeierter, wenn auch untypischer Held und ein toller Feel-Good-Moment zum Schluß.... war es ein All-Time-Klassiker? Vermutlich nicht, aber auch ohne das mäßige drumherum auf dieser Bühne, ist es alleinstehend eines der besten Wrestlemania-Matches der jüngeren Vergangenheit und die perfekte Heldengeschichte, wie man sie in ihrer emotionalen Wucht zuletzt bei der WM fünf Jahre zuvor erlebt hat... ironischerweise mit dem damaligen Protagonisten als Antagonisten.... ich ziehe meinen Hut hier ganz besonders vor Bryan.... der Mann hat hier gezeigt warum er mittlerweile der beste und wichtigste Wrestler der WWE ist (sogar noch vor Styles)... er ist ein Virtuose, ein Künstler, ein Pro Wrestling Gott.... er führt ein tolles, psychologisch starkes Match, ist ein brillanter Heel der den Hass aller Fans auf sich vereint und lässt seinen Gegner hervorragend aussehen.... jener ist hier natürlich auch bockstark und liefert während seines großen Momentes auch gehörig ab... aber fast besser noch als das Gesamtprodukt Match, ist hier die Reaktionen des Publikums, was so dermaßen into dem Ganzen ist, dass ich immer noch Gänsehaut verspüre wenn ich an das Ding denke. Stark, von vorne bis hinten... danke Bryan, danke Kofi, danke an alle Beteiligten für eine knappe halbe Stunde wahrer Magie."
[10.0] "Best match of the show. Crowd definitely peaked here and it showed after this match. The beginning was a little slow but it definitely picked up as it went on. Bryan's expressions were also on point during the later stages of the match, he looked absolutely sadistic. Loved when Kofi traded kicks with Bryan and hated when Bryan beautifully countered into the labell lock only for production to cut away. Besides the production, this was probably the best mania match in a while. Kofi winning was icing on the cake. ****1/2"
[6.0] "Kann die hohen Bewertungen nicht nachvollziehen. War sicherlich kein langweiliges Match und besser als viele andere Matches von WM aber niemals in der Region wo Meltzer es sieht."
[10.0] "10/10. Daniel Bryan used his technician style over Kofi to keep him quiet, but all the people cheering just gave Kofi more energy to overcome Daniel Bryan's offense to do use his crazy athleticism to attack him. If we talk about ring action i'll say the match was 8/10 'cause the in-ring action felt like a PPV main-event rather than a Wrestlemania event. But what really matters here is the old school storytelling through the match and how the people was into the feud, supporting Kofi all the way. + ****3/4"
[10.0] "Fantastic match. Excellent storytelling. Bryan's heel work was first class. Quite possibly the biggest WrestleMania moment in YEARS. The emotion in the win was amazing. ****3/4."
[9.0] "Bestes Match von Wrestlemania 35 technisch und auch von den Emotionen. Es steht zwar persönlich für mich deutlich hinter Garganos Titelgewinn bei TakeOver aber trotzdem habe ich mit Kingston mitgefiebert und das obwohl ich Daniel Bryan Fan bin und das dank seiner Weltklasse Matches gerade die alten als Bryan Danielson auch immer sein werde. Sein Run als Champion war auch echt super aber trotzdem hat es Kofi geschafft das ich am Ende richtig mit ihm mitgefiebert habe. Und er hat es auch verdient sich endlich seinen Traum zu erfüllen nach 11 Jahren. Es war zwar kein Klassiker für die Ewigkeit aber gerade mit der Feier danach die Emotion pur war auf jeden Fall von dieser Mania das Highlight war"
[9.0] "Was für ein Match hier Daniel Bryan und Kofi Kingston abgeliefert haben. Nach den super Aufbau den man hier im Vorhinein hatte, haben die Beiden auf gar keinen Fall enttäuscht. Man hatte hier eine fantastsiche Face-Heel-Dynamik zwischen den Beiden, mit Kofi der absolut bejubelt und Bryan, der ausgebuht wurde. Zwar ging hier eine der besten World-Title Regentschaften der letzten Jahre zu Ende, aber Kofis Gewinn war eine der größten und schönsten Feel-Good-Moments der letzten Jahre. ****1/2"
[8.0] "Sicherlich das qualitative Highlight dieser launigenAbhandlung einer Wrestlemania. Natürlich wirkt Kofi telegrafiert, aber Verlauf und Story sind echt nett, Bryan ein würdiger Widerpart und das Match schmeckt einfach. Kein Overpacing, keine Sinnfrei-Spots und dazu das Damoklesschwert einer würdigen Psychologie in Abhandlung und leichtem Overbooking. Gute Partie."
[10.0] "Das MotN, war glücklicherweise auch genau das Match, was in den letzten Wochen den besten Aufbau genossen hat. Kofimania hatte durchweg gutes Timing. Die Geschichte um den ständig unten gehaltenen Kofi, der sich dann durch fordernde Matches kämpft, unterstützt von Freunden und irgendwann auch dem ganze Lockerroom, war einfach herzerwärmend schön. Fast zu schön um wahr zu sein, hätte man denken können. Daher waren die Nearfalls und Hope-Spots im Match auch so dramatisch. (Es sei denn, man hat zuvor den offensichtlichen Spoiler in Form eines verhüllten WWE-Titels schon bemerkt, der da natürlich nur Sinn macht, wenn Kofi gewinnt ;)) Passend dazu nimmt Bryan nun vollends die Heel-Rolle ein. Und es macht genau so viel Spaß ihn heute zu hassen wie es vor fünf Jahren Spaß gemacht hat, ihn anzufeuern. Das Match war der Knaller und das ganz ohne bescheuerte Spots. Klaissch gutes Storytelling par excellence."
[9.0] ""10" lol what a joke. I loved the match but 10 is for much more special matches, and putting moments into it is unfair. Matches was a great championship match thought"
[10.0] "Everything about this match was done well. Bryan was so good here, and Kofi played his part. The lead up and the match was perfect and Kofi got the moment he kept having taken away from him, making Kofi's win ever so sweet."
[10.0] "Finally after all these years a great WWE championship match in Wrestlemania, Daniel Bryan is undoubtedly the best wrestler in the World every single match of him is awesome, and Kofi is spetacular he's the perfect underdog with a great selling."
[10.0] "One of the most emotional stories coming to an amazing conclusion. One of the rare instances in WWE where both the story and the match quality were both equally amazing. Bryan continuing his PPV hot streak and Kofi with one of if not the best performance of his career. What an ending to the story, the RIGHT ending (looking at you WM 19) and one of the best crowd reactions of the modern era. Absolutely phenomenal. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Ein Absoluter WrestleMania Moment! Unglaublich Kofi ist nach 11 Jahren an der Spitze angekommen Sowas von verdient! Das Match war der Beweis das Kofi nicht wegen sein Hype dort steht wo er jetzt ist, sondern weil er ein Herausragender Worker ist der mit Daniel Bryan den perfekten Gegner gegenüberstehen hatte MoTN ****1/2"
[10.0] "Best match of the show and a great psychology. It's the match we deserved for Wrestlemania and it's really entertaining. Maybe it's not a 5-star match but it has nice action and one of the best performances of both Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan. A lot of near falls and a great ending, this is really exciting and I'll probably rewatch it a couple of times more. ****1/2"
[10.0] "As a match this was great, but as a moment, it was awesome. Both the guys played their roles with perfection. Kofi just put up the performance of his life. What an emotional moment this was. ****1/2"
[7.0] "This was a pretty good match but as someone not particularly invested in the storyline itself, it wasn't the all-time classic that everyone is making it out to be. I absolutely loved this type of storyline when they did it with Eddie Guerrero, but to me Kofi is nowhere near that level of worker. This match is all about the backstory and when you take that away, the match itself was just good, not great."
[10.0] "I got to see this match live and it was absolutely insane. All I've ever wanted since I was a kid was to see Kofi get a chance and good damn he delivered. The story, the action and the crowd all came together to make something magical. One of my favorite wrestling moments ever ****3/4"
[10.0] "This match had the best build of any match on the card and thusly had the best crowd support. I was little worried that with all of the hype it wouldn? t live up or with all of the guys on the outside that it would end in a schlocky finish. It did not and it delivered one of the most unlikely stories of the year, that just 6 weeks before would have been so out of left field that it would get panned. This match was about Kofi and his decade+ in the company but it is moreso the story of Daniel Bryan: the great rise of the indie darling to world title status and now his dastardly heel turn. Bryan has been on the greatest run of his 20 year career in these past 6 months and he was the true star of this match. It showed in his selling how much he was trying to put Kofi over. This was not a carry job, even though Kofi (a great worker) is still not on Bryan? s level but that didn? t matter, this was his day, an underdog story with so much natural connection to Bryan? s journey that WWE didn? t have to over complicate it like they did in the main event. This match both celebrates Kofi Kingston and proves that Bryan is still the best in the business after all these years. ***** MOTY"
[10.0] "MATCH OF THE NIGHT! This was an absolute masterpiece. This whole storyline and match reminded me why I love wrestling. Fantastic story and a great match with Kofi not giving up or squandering this long overdue opportunity. Kofi can now comfortably be called one of the greats. (****3/4)"
[9.0] "Gut, jetzt habe ich einiges kritisiert wegen den Guideeintrag hier wird mal gelobt. Denn das hier gehört in den Guide. Was für ein großartiges Match (****1/2). Würde WM damit enden wäre es für Kofi sein absoluter WM Moment gewesen aber auch so war es hier. Kofi ist auch schon sehr lange in der WWE, hat viele Titel gewonnen nun auch das ganz große Gold und ist somit Triple Crown Champion, Herzlichen Glückwunsch."
[10.0] "Hier hat man den Fans gegeben was sie wollten und die Wrestler delivern auf allen Ebenen. Ein emotionales, technisch toll geführtes Match mit dem richtigen Sieger. Und durch dieses Match geht Kofi als der erste schwarze WWE Champion in die Geschichtsbücher ein. Eine absolut runde Sache."
[10.0] "What can I even say? This was a masterful display of professional wrestling by the greatest who has ever done it. I don't want to say it was a carryjob, as Kofi definitely brought the goods & his whole story + connection with the fans added a TON, but this really was Daniel Bryan's masterpiece through & through. Everything from his facial expressions, selling, perfect timing of the cutoffs, to his vicious attack on the mid-section -- EVERYTHING he did was just about perfect. One of the greatest single match performances ever anywhere by anyone & one of the greatest matches I've had the pleasure of watching. *****"
[8.0] "Gutes Match und vermutlich das MOTN. Ich habe mir das ganze zwar noch krasser vorgestellt, aber dennoch war es stark und gerade Kofi zeigt hier alles, was er kann. Bryan spielt seine Heel Rolle perfekt und sie haben die Story so gut rüber gebracht, dass du wirklich nicht geglaubt hast, dass Kofi es noch schaffen kann. Auch New Day und Erick Rowan haben hier gar nicht gestört und einen guten Beitrag zur Matchstory geleistet. Am Ende gibt es aber sein Comeback und er zeigt den Trouble in Paradise und gewinnt tatsächlich als ultimativer Underdog gegen den ehemaligen ultimativen Underdog das Match und es gibt einen absoluten Feelgood Moment am Ende. Er hat es wirklich verdient mal den Titel zu halten."
[9.0] "Rein wrestlerisch war das zwar nichts überwältigend, aber von den Emotionen her war das was ganz besonderes. Die Crowd stand voll und ganz hinter Kofi und Bryan spielte den Heel wiedermal überragend. Von der Matchlänge her fand ich war das perfekt, kein Overkill und kein unnötiges Movegespamme, das hätte hier einfach nicht gepasst. Für mich wurde das Match so gut ausgeführt wie möglich, daher auch verdient MOTN und ebenfalls ein Wrestlemania-Klassiker(****1/2)."
[2.0] "Kofi wurde als Babyface im Vorfeld bereits versenkt und Bryan ausbuhen möchte sowieso niemand. Dennoch war die Stimmung zu Beginn nicht schlecht. Meine ist dann vor dem TV allerdings rasch einem massiven Desinteresse gewichen. Denn man ist bereits über zwei Stunden in der Show und langsam kommt der Punkt, an dem die Aufmerksamkeit wirklich von der Show erzeugt werden muss. Und da haben Bryan und Kofi zum falschen Zeitpunkt das falsche Match geliefert. Viel viel zu lang, viel zu viele Holds und Submissions, sehr wenig spektakuläres in den ersten zwei Dritteln. Das kann man nur dann machen, wenn die Crowd voll in der Story drin ist - das war sie hier nicht. Hinzukommt noch ein lasches Ende. Das war aus meiner Sicht definitiv ein Lowlight der Show und das darf ein WWE-Titel Match bei WrestleMania nicht sein. Daher die Wertung "mangelhaft"."
[6.0] "Although this was a good match, it didn't do anything for me until the final few minutes. It wasn't like Daniel or Kofi did anything wrong, because they didn't, but nothing that either Bryan or Kingston did really connected. I put it down to the fact that Kofi is a midcarder and simply isn't main event material."
[7.0] "Even with the big push, Kofi comes off as maybe a tiny bit better of a wrestler than The Miz. If anything, Daniel Bryan deserves the credit for making Kofi look like a star. Unless New Day turns on Kofi, who do you have him feud with now. The match was a solid B. All 4 Men's matches on TakeOver Friday was better. ***1/2 arrancar's comments below sum it up extremely well."
[7.0] "Cool story of Kofi finally being crowned after 10+ years in the making, but tbh this match as an actual match was good, not great. It's a shame because I was actually moved by the kayfabe and real-life blurred storyline of Kofi's struggle to become champ, but Kofi didn't come off as the absolute amazing babyface that was required here. The majority of the great moments in this match were due to Bryan, whose arrogant yet intelligent and intense heel approach was very intriguing. He constantly outsmarted and outwrestled Kofi, and I enjoyed his targeting of Kofi's abdomen/back. Kofi's own performance was mediocre. His few high spots were good, but, just like at Elimination Chamber, so many of his individual spots were poorly executed, and his general offence is so uninspired. Kofi's power-up moments didn't have the emotion I was hoping for, but I did enjoy the extra touch of Big E and Woods shouting support for him as he tried to withstand Bryan's attacks. I wasn't a fan of Bryan essentially no-selling Kofi's SOS just to roll through to the Labelle Lock, and I was annoyed at how the Rowan vs Big E & Woods sequence happened despite it being telegraphed from moment this match was announced. Kofi surviving the running knee was lame, since it's WWE (where nobody's finisher matters) and it's Wrestlemania, so I knew to expect such a 'big' near-fall moment. The 3rd Labelle Lock sequence was very good, with Kofi providing some nice teased tap outs and showing desperation to escape while Bryan was adamant on maintaining the hold. The finish was anti-climactic, with Kofi returning Bryan's stomps and then hitting his Trouble in Paradise for the 3-count, all without any proper build-up or big atmosphere to accompany it all. I'm pretty confident the the only reason this match is being so highly praised right now is because people are happy Kofi is champ, regardless of his actual performance. Still a good match, but nothing special. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Bryan/Kofi was great, simple storyline but one that always works, Bryan of course is by far the better wrestler but Kofi does bring his A-game and he does deserve at least one significant title run in his career, nice feel good stuff here. Not as all-time classic as the circle jerk we're having here would have you believe but people are so happy about the outcome of this match. Pretty good in-ring stuff, great heat. (****1/4)."
[9.0] "Great fucking match ! They really took us on a rollercoaster, and it is a beautiful WrestleMania moment ! But let's be honest, Kofi is just a transitionnal champion to go to Saudi Arabia, because Bryan will nor go there, but I truly think Bryan needs to get the title back in the May PPV"
[10.0] "I'll admit that I've been away from wrestling for a while and was mostly out of the loop, but Bryan being champion again caught my attention, especially as a heel, and Kofi chasing him for it brought me even further in. I watched the promos, I followed the storyline, and I made sure to find time to watch this match in particular, because I love both of these guys' careers. They absolutely killed it here. Bryan's dismissal of a man who was in the same spot he once was is portrayed so well in his work; just wearing Kofi down and targeting his injuries so viciously. His heel work hasn't skipped a beat. Kofi on the other hand, a guy I've always been a big fan of and considered underrated as a singles wrestler, still managed to surprise me. His babyface fire in this was incredible, especially during the strike exchanges. By god he laid in those elbows. New Day and Rowan played their roles well at ringside, the match had perfect pacing, there were no forced "epic" moments, and the crowd was electric. Everything about this felt organic and that's what makes it feel so special. The crowd giving Kofi their YES energy, Bryan mocking them only to receive NOs, and then Kofi once again getting even stronger YES chants later on gave this match so much more atmosphere it would have if the feud didn't work. The finish was simple, concise, and definitive, and gave Kofi a feel-good moment. An absolute masterclass in payoff, Kofi earned that victory in every single sense. Hell of a match to get back into wrestling with. ****3/4+"
[9.0] "This is the best WrestleMania match in like years. This was a brilliant back and forth with Bryan intricately countering Kofi at every turn which made for some great hot comebacks from Kofi. I'm glad this ended up also being the MOTN, ****1/2."
[10.0] "I don't go by star ratings but in this case it seserves 5*. A hot crowd, spectacular match and emotional finish. The crowd only really recovered during the main event due to this match alone. Haven't been this emotionally invested in a while either, it was masterful. Go out of your way to see this please."
