[3.0] "This was terrible, the ending was really bad, and the in ring was way to slow and not interesting, the first couple months of Mox's title reign have been brutal. (1.75*)"
[0.0] "If they were going to do the nonsense that they did why not make it a no DQ match? The ending was just super overbooked and everyone was dying for Moxley to lose here. Some moments made no sense too. The bucks wanting to help hangman by costing swerve makes no fucking sense when they saw hangman hit the deadeye on moxley. The opps coming out was so random too. These kinds of things should not be happening in a main event."
[7.0] "[3.5] Excluding the result, which is obviously a WrestleMania 39 type of booking that will lead to Swerve winning the belt in a Texas Death or something at Double or Nothing, this match was fantastic. Moxley's last PPV match started with one of the worst elbow exchanges ever, but this time they made it right and they did a pretty good technical wrestling. After that, Mox took control and Swerve sold his life for him, even getting a little bit of color. Crowd was chanting for Swerve and Fuck You Moxley, super heated. Than at the second half of the bout was where the madness started, with the turning point being the absolutely insane Swerve Stomp from the Ladder to the Announcers Table. From this point on, you can say whatever you want, but you can not say that you did not feel anything. It felt like a (real) football game, World Cup Final. Hangman page arrived for a gigantic pop, took down the Death Riders with the help of The Opps while the crowd went bananas, until Swerve had that super emotional moment before the final Swerve Stomp (he would NOT have that kind of moment if he was not going to win the belt afterwards). Then, when the match was about to end, THE YOUNG BUCKS returned, which made a lot of sense storytelling-wise and we all watched it coming, costing him the match and helping Moxley."
[6.0] "Again, this crowd was beyond silent, so you could hear Moxley calling the match the whole time and the ref give them info. Maybe it was my feed. Someone even said they had 30 minutes left when they were right in the first contact of the match. I feel this was very similar to Moxley vs Cope from weeks before. The match was solid and Moxley is clearly comfortable going this long with no crowd. It was a grind until the stuff in the end. LET ME MAKE YOU CLIMB THIS LADDER WHILE YOU ARE INJURED. I liked this show and the matches I liked got bad ratings from this site. lol"
[2.0] "This match gets a two and the two points are solely because swerve Strickland stomp through the ladder, even though that was a dumb AF spot. This match for the most part was pretty boring outside of a few run ins and one run in that made hangman look dumb as fuck. This match also signify that John Mox was not a great wrestler at the time. Luckily, he was able to turn his title rain around, but still this match costed us Swerve VS Hangman at All In."
[6.0] "The two start with jiu-jitsu style grappling which I liked but is unusual. Unfortunately the crowd is tired. Swerve looks to be hurt, a few months later he takes time off for his knee, and you can see it here. Swerve goes through the table, taking out Excalibur, and starts bleeding. Marina lets Swerve beat a countout. Moxley beats up Strickland for a while, switching between biting, strikes, throws, and jointlocks. Swerve fights to a powerbomb, but Mox quickly takes control again. Eventually Shafir and Nana get involved and it picks up for a bit. A ladder gets involved and Swerve hits a meteora off it, which was the best thing in the match. The two brawl in the ring, and Moxley hits ref with the chair. Now Page runs down, and hits Moxley with a deadeye as the death riders and the opps get involved. Swerve may have the match won with the stomps, but the Bucks interfere, hitting the EVP trigger on Sweve and Moxley wins. An all right main event with a finish that was disappointing at the time. In hindsight, six months later, the match is underrated but not by a huge amount."
[7.0] "[3.5*] Man... what an overreact. I love AEW, I love Jon Moxley and I love Swerve, and I loved this match, the storytelling, the holds and the technical skills from both guys were insane, the crowd was all in this match, the "Fuck Mox" chants was fantastic and how they deal with that. The Swerve Stomp from the ladder was very good and brutal, the Mox insanities, biting and chocking him, very good as well. The end was overbooked but very good in my opinion, the Hangman stuff, DeathRiders and The Opps, I liked it. The Bucks stuff I simply loved, since the beginning of the story The Elite always allowed the DR do everything, they watched the brutality and leaved because Mox and his crew wanted to send a message, and they are doing this, that's why the crowd absolutely hates him and wants him to lose, wrestling is divided and fun again because the heel is HEEL and everybody wants him to lose, other reigns was "how many stars this match will be? " this is "when this guy will lose because I dispise him and wants to see the title, to celebrate with the face who wins it all" and I really love how this is handled. The angle sets up a huge AITA and Dynamite this month, really excited for this next 90 days!"
[0.0] "These two do not have chemistry. That much was apparent in their Continental Classic match. The feud demanded a wild brawl since the start but good lord they decided to take things slow. Absolutely boring in the start, followed by bullshit by the end and genuinely one of the most infuriating finishes I've ever seen. This is what made me quit AEW for some time. Swerve didn't go down after everything but an EVP trigger followed by a slow crawl by Mox is what beat him ? aight man. God awful boring start and God awful bullshit end, legit worst aew match of the year contender."
[7.0] "The match wasn't that bad. It was better than the match Moxley against Cope last month. The Bucks appearing DOES add a minute amount of intrigue to the ongoing story, but I have to admit I was really hoping like many that they would pivot and do away with the Death Riders saga. All the run ins and overbooked nature of these Death Riders matches is like the worst of WWE's style. AEW was supposed to be different. [EDIT: Ok, I am yet another person here after All In (having just picked up the blu-ray and rewatched the show), and with the benefit of now knowing the larger story, this chapter is far more important and far better than it seemed at the time. My original score was a 6, but I bumped it up to a 7. Hangman interfering and freezing as he sees Hangman and Mox in the ring and how it all played a part in the much larger story is just brilliant. The match was also enjoyable. People just crapped on it at the time because they didn't like the outcome or the Bucks being brought into the mix]"
[8.0] "Here after All In to be that person. Underrated match but an understandable one. People were so tired of Moxley and the Deathriders that this became a "I want Swerve to be Champion" and it's totally understandable. I thought this feud and this match rocked but after a "eh" four way in World's End and a disaster ME in Revolution, nobody cared at this point. And what wrestlers AEW chose to make the save for Moxley? The Bucks, a tag team that a lot of people doesn't care about or even hates, even if they can praise their in ring stuff. So, I'm not gonna blame nobody for this rating and being like "guys this is actually underrated" because yeah, people were tired with all the reasons in the world. If this reign jumped from the 4-way to this, and if AEW used the fact that Hangman was in that 4 way, I think this would have been seen as a great defense from Mox, but that Cope feud was the worst of 2025 in terms of wrestling that, yeah, fair rating considering the context of this match."
[8.0] "Interesting 'chapter of a bigger story' match that did a lot of things right and well, while building up to the finish where one final unexpected twist made all the difference. It all worked for me because I find both Strickland and Hangman to be interesting babyfaces and The Opps (especially Joe, this man just finds a way to save the day for AEW) running in to take out Death Riders happened at the right time. In a way this match served as a test of how actually, genuinely over are chosen babyfaces in front of AEW crowd and I think that their reactions gave plenty of clear answers about that. Hopefully Moxley's approach will lead new wave of fans to think more broadly about match structure as time goes on, because at the end of the day it's all about getting babyfaces over and getting the crowd behind them, maybe they'll decide one day to crave for babyfaces' comebacks while Moxley is working on top, instead of patiently waiting for the finishing stretch."
[2.0] "I hope Moxley's current run ends soon rather than later. His current style just doesnt work for me. The boring mma style just doesnt fit him. This match started with Mox and Swerve working a grappling match. Mox just spiked Willow on her head and this is how the match starts? Where's the intensity? , we just saw it on Wednesday when Swerve stood up from the spot on the broken glass. Okay the match is boring and slow, but at least Swerve is winning the title right? No, the Bucks come back with their uninspired boring evp gimmick from 6 months ago and attack Swerve. 1 evp trigger and Mox pins Swerve off of that? Really the same man who brushed of a busaiku knee from Danielson at last years All In. So you have an arena begging to see a new champ, and you have the perfect moment to crown Swerve as the world champ once again, only a year off his historic win yet you don't. Tony decides to continue with the same storyline that is clearly not working. This is all ignoring the stupid bloodline rules match they're having at the same time. The same boring Deathriders match where they all come out and try and cost the challenger. The Hangman run-in made sense and worked fine, but you waste that moment of Hangman helping Swerve on the Bucks? A truly horrible and boring main event. 1/5"
[8.0] "Incredible match. This is the best I've seen Mox in ages. The only reason I'm not giving it a 9 is because of the ending with the Bucks. I honestly don't get how this was boring like other people are saying. It was half hardcore match, half ground based technical wrestling, both of which were done really effectively."
[6.0] "Overall, it was a pretty good match until the end. I think modern wrestling urgently needs to rethink the way they do ref bumps. It was more than clear to Paul Turner what Mox did, and he should have disqualified him the moment he came back to himself."
[9.0] "I could not imagine legitimately hating this match as its everything I've been wanting from Moxley's heel run so far. His reign has been bogged down by weak opponents but Swerve is one of the best wrestlers in AEW and I felt he was just such a compelling babyface here. Loved Moxley's heel offense, the blood and the spot from the ladder. This also very much benefited from Swerve being a believable winner, such that Moxley understands that to actually get the crowd to hate you you need to take away the things they'd come to expect from world title main events. The deflating finishing stretch is the point, and it will be all the more cathartic when his cheating is eventually thwarted and the title is taken off him."
[7.0] "Happy to be in the minority. I think people tend to see technical jiu-jitsu and think "Boring! " and interfering run-ins and think "House of Torture! " But it helps that all of that stuff, ridiculous as it is, is fun. Watching Moxley in 2025 is a baffling, enlightening experience. We'll probably look back on it with intrigue and fascination."
[2.0] "This was the expected Jon Moxley special with a specially shitty finish as the shitty strawberry on the shit cake. Moxley's work was shit as usual which expectedly dragged down Swerve's performance despite some decent spots from the latter. There is no world in which the finish makes any sense and the fact that Moxley took more punishment than Swerve (from the interferences) and still won makes me sick."
[8.0] "The only thing that could be bad is the finish and that Swerve didn't kicked out of the bte it would be great and very awesome moment even if Swerve would lose at the end but otherwise the match was very awesome and great in so many ways the performance was really amazing"
[8.0] "I do get why people at the time were pissed off at this, I'll even say that the finish sucked, cause I also hate the Young Bucks, I get that seeing the sight of them made everyone want to give this a zero because of that balding Nick Jackson. The match however beforehand was fucking awesome. Mox has gotta be the most decisive heel we've seen in a long time, and I am here for it. He's not a tongue in cheek bad guy that you love to hate, you straight up hate this guy, that's so awesome. This was just a great hard hitting match, these guys beat the hell out of each other with strong elbows & fists, And there really cool spots as well. I can see the gripe of this going a bit long, and I can't really think of any parts I would cut. I don't like the Bloodline style ending with all the interference and lore, and get why people like me would hate that. Although I don't understand if someone who usually loves that stuff would hate it here, it feels almost the exact same. But yeah ending aside, this a slow burn goodin', I just don't wanna see the Bucks. Four Stars out of Five."
[7.0] "I'd say it is the same as the Revolution match, the rating got bombed due to the disappointing ending, and I can understand that. But the match itself is very good, I liked the Grappling at the start, looked very smooth. Some spots were awesome like the House Call from the ladder throught the announce table, the Hangman run-in. Overall a very nice match [***3/4]"
[8.0] "I wanted Swerve to win but also this caused Anarchy in the Arena so cannot hate it too much. And thought the return of the Bucks was cool, and up until that point it was actually a very good quality match. Also any match with Marina Shafir anywhere near it brings me great joy."
[7.0] "***1/4 (6.5/10) Ah, and here we are! (hand palming over face) Ughhh. I can't do it. Simon Miller thought this was great, so did you know who, and I will admit that there were incredible moments throughout. But... Yeah, no, forget it. If I were you I'd turn it off after the triple threat match. That honestly should have been the main-event. Once again, Mox f**ks up the main-event scene that used to be the company's shining light."
[9.0] "Look, I'm questioning that finish as much as everybody else. But I hope none of yall were rating Cody vs. Roman at Mania 39 a 1 cause you were upset about the finish at the time. Lol. This was a legit GREAT match... Up to the lights out. Swerve and Mox both went insanely hard, and didnt fall into the samw resthold hell that Copeland and Moxley did last month. Tons of top notch spots in that and some great nearfalls, especially towards the end when the interferences started coming in. It was actually lively stuff, with Nana and Shafir's back and forth, the good tease of who Hanger was going to go for, and the Opps coming in to even the numbers. I was SERIOUSLY biting at the end... And then the lights out stuff. And the Young Bucks, annnnd now I'm questioning a bit. Cause like... Hey, I remember the post Private Party match thing where they shredded documents. I remember BCC saying they respected the Elite after B&G... Buuut I remember the Elite stuff last year fizzling our due to injury and poor booking... So I'm aprehensive here to say the least. But I'll definitely give it a bit, see if it works for me. I think AEW were able to go from 3 months of boring ass Mox/Cope feud to a fairly short but compelling Mox/Swerve feud. And tveres still ingredients to do a top notch story here with Hangwr and Swerve staying in orbit. But I'm worried... I can easily see myself revisiting this in a few months time, and either knocking it up an extra point because the storyline turned out satisfactory... Or, if they screw the pooch here, when they could have stuck the landing on this reign when everybody is mad and tired. Then I mighr knock it all the way down to a 3 or 4. EDIT: Coming back a month later and... Yeah, the storyline since Dynasty has been top notch stuff. And since being unsure of it was my only real big gripe with the match, I feel completely comfortable upping this rating."
[7.0] "I think this was a good match. I really enjoyed the action between Swerve Strickland and Jon Moxley. One of the criticisms I would have is that this should have been a stipulation match so that they could do the hardcore spots without the complication of the rules and taking out the referee."
[7.0] "This match is clearly being marked because of the finish and the people who are butt-hurt over Mox being the champ. I'd have gone Swerve but can totally understand why they're saved Mox losing for All In. He's drawing well on TV, YouTube, social media and attendance wise."
[7.0] "Yes Mox and the storyline is really bad but the match is OK+. It feels good to see Swerve challenged again for the AEW World Title, he held the match ! Yes Mox and the storyline is really bad but the match is OK+. It feels good to see Swerve challenged again for the AEW World Title, he held the match !"
[8.0] "This was a really good match. I understand why people are upset -- most wanted to see Swerve win and were frustrated by the result -- but regardless of the outcome, we can't ignore how good this match was. There were a lot of cool spots, and my favorite was when they broke the announcers table. This is just another chapter in the AEW vs. Death Riders saga, and while I know most people aren't enjoying this storyline, I'm absolutely loving it."
[1.0] "I'm sorry I gave a very last chance to this storyline of the Deathriders, I thought it was impossible to fail with MONSIEUR Swerve Strickland. But YES Jon Moxley managed to do it. It hurts me a lot to talk like that about Jon Moxley who is one of the guys who made this promotion successful. But today this storyline of the Deathriders is hurting Moxley's legacy in addition to restricting it, which is the case with Claudio and PAC but especially with All Elite. The main event scene (the most important) in 2025 is going to be completely ruined when we have never had so many people performing so well, all for what? To make Darby Allin win who, despite his talent, needs a great fighter and a great story for him and his reign to be installed at the top and for the public to follow. But with this storyline that MORE MORE is now associated with that of the New Elite, already a failure last year, Darby and his reign are already doomed. AEW had the opportunity to change course with Swerve Strickland and go on a program with Hangman. But no, Tony Khan has this flaw of not having adapted and remained fixed on his basic idea. It's a shame because there is still a lot to waste from this pivotal year. Hoping I'm wrong."
[8.0] "You're stuck in a really terrible death loop where aew fans simply hate the result of moxley winning so these matches on cage match are being viciously underrated. From Bell to bell, the crowd was really into this. There were high level reversals, tons of stiff strikes, and compelling near falls. It was a good match. The rating on here is terrible because people didn't like the result."
[4.0] "Yeah it was mid. The match really dragged for way too long and they chose the wrong winner. I really hate these kind of overbooking, and in any promotion it bothers me. It's really rare for me to enjoy overbooked matches. The first 20 minutes were correct but it started to become bad. I understand they did it to advance Swerve and Page story, and to make the Bucks return but it's such a pain in the a** this Moxley title run. Really when some people say AEW is in a downfall, it becomes hard to counter-argument. Until late 2024, AEW World Championship picture was the only thing we could rely on whatever the problem was with the company, but I have the feeling that the International Championship is taking its place. Such a shame to make Moxley's run continue. Overall, everything I hate with wrestling today was at the end of this match."
[4.0] "[2.25*] Another AEW PPV. Another Jon Moxley main event. And another moment completely thrown in the trash. Look--this match had all the ingredients to be something special. Swerve was the hottest act in the company, fresh off months of momentum, fan engagement through the roof, and the perfect setup for a title coronation. Jon Moxley, for better or worse, still carries name value. The build was hot--Intense promos, heated stare-downs, blood, violence, tension, and a clear story: two guys who wanted to hurt each other. It was supposed to be a fight. Instead... they started with grappling. Legit, these dudes opened with shoot-style mat work like we weren't just watching glass spots and chaos on TV two weeks ago. The crowd was absolutely dead. Silent. You could feel the disconnect instantly. What should've been a heated brawl kicked off like an NXT UK undercard match. And that awkward energy never really went away. The match just dragged. Thirty-one minutes of slow pacing, clunky transitions, and emotionless action. Moxley looked out of it--half of his offense had zero snap, like he was working on 15% battery. And Swerve, who's usually electric, got dragged down into the same sluggish rhythm. It was like whatever creative rot is infecting Moxley right now is contagious. The only highlights? A dope table stomp from Swerve, and Marina Shafir catching a cutter like she owed someone money. And just when it looked like things might finally pick up? We got that ending. Swerve hits the Stomp. The crowd is ready. You can feel it building to the title change. Then... the lights go out. When they come back on? The Young Bucks return, hit Swerve with an EVP Trigger, and Moxley pins him after a good 30 seconds of lying there. Are you kidding me? Swerve loses via more interference. Moxley retains again. And the worst part? The AEW World Title wasn't even the focus anymore. It became a background prop in a convoluted mess of Death Rider and Elite drama. That's insane. We had a clear, emotional story in front of us--Swerve vs. Hangman at All In, Hangman overcoming his demons in Texas--and AEW fumbled the bag for the second year in a row, chasing a faction war nobody wants. I can't remember the last time a match ending made me this genuinely upset. Maybe Fiend vs. Rollins in the red-lit Hell in a Cell disaster. And I say this as someone who loves Jon Moxley. This dude helped build AEW. He's one of my all-time favorites. But this Death Riders storyline? It's killing his legacy. It's dragging everyone down--Claudio, PAC, and now even Swerve. The booking is actively hurting the product. Every main event he's in lately is overbooked, heatless, and completely misaligned with what fans actually want. Swerve deserved better. The fans deserved better. AEW had the perfect story--Swerve wins, Hangman wins the Owen, they face off in the Cowboy State. Instead, we're potentially getting Swerve and Hangman as a tag team at All In? Are you serious? Like, sure, we want them to eventually stop fighting and maybe team up down the line. But not at All In. Not like this. This was supposed to be their final war. Their final chapter. And they're gonna be teammates? I was ready to book flights for All In. Hotel, tickets, all of it. And now I'm seriously considering watching from home. The only reason I'm still going is because Omega vs. Okada V is on the horizon, and I refuse to miss that live. But everything else on this card now? Doubt creeping in heavy. You could've gone the simple route: Swerve wins. Hangman wins the Owen. Texas Death Match at All In. Boom. Done. Instead, we're clinging to faint hopes--maybe Hangman wins the Owen and runs it back with Mox. Maybe Ospreay wins the Owen and headlines Forbidden Door in London as World Champ. Maybe. It's exhausting. The crowd knew it. Social media knew it. We all knew it. The match was already mid at best, but the finish turned it into a very frustrating main event. It was a full-blown creative fumble. One of the biggest in AEW history."
[5.0] "The Death Riders are generally unbareable at this point and Moxley's title reign has become more staler than food being left out of the fridge for a few weeks. Their were some moments here and there but damn the overbooked endings and the return of the Young Bucks which I could care LESS about. [**3/4]"
[6.0] "Mox/Cope at Revolution (previous PPV) was bad and SLOW. I figured with hindsight and Swerve being involved, this would be MUCH better and faster. It was better, and even good, but not great. It started slow and had me saying "oh no, not this again". However, it does pick up and the crowd is invested. Unfortunately, the ending is as overbooked as standard WWE garbage. Mox accidentally giving a cutter to Marina Shafir mid-match is pretty great. She entered the ring with the briefcase and ended up using it on Nana when he came in to stop her. Swerve Stomp off the top of a large ladder and thru the Spanish announce table was a great spot. But, again, this all gets interference heavy and overbooked soon enough. First, we get a ref bump. Then, we get Hangman coming to the ring and a moment of indecision about who he's going to take out (this is a very good spot). Pac and the Death Riders come down to prevent him from interfering (even tho all signs would point to him taking out Swerve, however...). He gets free, clears house and then gives Mox a Deadeye. The Opps come down to neutralize the D.R.'s, so we're back to Swerve and Mox only. He lands a Swerve stomp, but there's no ref yet. Lights go out and when they come on the Young Bucks (for some reason) deliver an EVP Trigger to him, Shafir pushes the ref back in, and Mox covers for the win. Crowd boos as soon as the Bucks took out Swerve, knowing we're in for more Death Riders. Long story short: Tony Khan should have pivoted away from this story two months ago."
[7.0] "I refuse to rate good matches low because of a bad finish. This was good. It was full of cool spots, Swerve looked like a huge star and Mox wrestled one of his better matches. Loved the table spot. Yes, the finish was awful from a booking standpoint and The Bucks have immeasurable levels of go away heat, but it was a cool surprise as well!"
[3.0] "Just an incredibly boring match & they need to take the damn title off of Moxley i don't know who wants too see this reign continue every ppv main event is awful"
[5.0] "This was much better than Mox/Cope but it was still a little bit of a slog to get through, and of course the ending left a sour taste in my mouth. Everything seems to be building to All In though, so I'll trust the process. Mox finally losing will feel amazing, and Swerve will be fine even in defeat. **1/2"
[8.0] "This match wasn't bad by any mean, it wasn't the MOTN and they could have done better as they were given more than half an hour but the finished product was enjoyable. The clean part was quite stiff and brutal and also featured a good ladder spot, then a lot of people came in and the ending felt absolutely cold but I wish they at least have TK has solid plan to take the belt away from Mox. ****1/4"
[6.0] "One of the most mid matches I have ever seen. I hate using the word but the aura that swerve has during his enterance is too much. Solid grappling at the start and good high spots (That ladder spot especially) But I think it went on too Slowly. They should've done more in between spots. My main problem is mox winning, swerve held the company on his back during the 100 or so days he was champ. He deserves a longer reign and this was the perfect opportunity to have done so. Overall It's a whatever match but the omega/Speedball/Ricochet match before this was wayyy better. 5.8/10"
[8.0] "Outstanding match with two outstanding performances that is clearly being knocked down because the result wasn't what people wanted. Swerve would have been an amazing pick to dethrone Moxley and it was clear that the large majority of the fans wanted to see it happen, but this performance only created more of a connection to see him back on top. This is the best he's been as a babyface in the company. His selling was impeccable and he worked a proper classic babyface style perfectly. And there's a legion of difference between Mox against Cope and Mox against Swerve. Mox's performance here was tight, physical, controlled, dominant on the mat and persistently violent whenever he saw an opportunity to capitalise on. This was a classic American world title match. Yes, the interferences became a bit much and I didn't like the Young Bucks finish much either. But I refuse to accept the narrative that this Moxley reign is one of the worst of all time, because besides the Cope match, everything has been at least decent (and two matches have been phenomenal) and I want to see who can dethrone him (likely at Texas.) I would not have guessed how long it was until I saw Cagematch. It's not like Swerve lost in a Naito/Okada 2018 situation, where the booking for the winner was so obvious that not doing it was criminal. He is guaranteed to hold that championship again. I think this match is highly underappreciated at the moment due to spur of the moment hyperbole and disappointment, and I hope people go back to it in years to come and recognise it for the outstanding championship match between two heavyweights that it is."
[3.0] "Honestly, this match, even without the bad ending, was bad. This did not need to be a thirty minute match. Jon Moxley's wrestling (when not hardcore) is not what it used to be, and he controlled most of the match, which meant an eternity of biting and rest holds, all with an uninterested crowd. The spots were cool, but the reffing made the match not make sense. Why were we counting out Swerve, only to allow all of those out-of-ring spots and the constant biting? And yeah, the ending sucked and was the biggest eye-roll ever. Not fun, and even when you look from a purely technical standpoint, it was mostly a slow, long burn in the most dreadful way possible."
[8.0] "I really enjoyed this match and I feel like it is overhated. Swerve pushing Marina into the cutter was cool and Hangman's involvement was great. The swerve stomp from the ladder through the table was awesome. At the end I was convinced Swerve was winning but honestly didn't mind Bucks getting involved bc I am very intrigued to see where they go with this."
[7.0] "Moxley needed a title defense that actually reminded people that Moxley can wrestle, and this was exactly that. Good match, crowd was into it despite how long the show had been. Bloodli- I mean deathrider interference angles are certainly becoming a tired trope in Moxley matches, but I think that they worked in this case because of how worked up everyone was about Swerve winning. Hangman is an incredible actor, and watching the gears turn in his head setting up for the Buckshot was a great spot. Just when you think Tony Khan made the right choice, the Young Bucks come in and ruin it. Hangman teaming with Swerve against the Young Bucks seems to be move for All-In, I just hope they can build on the angle better than what they did on the Dynamite following Dynasty so Swerve doesn't feel like a fourth wheel. Overall I did enjoy the match and I reserve giving this a much lower score for Moxley retaining like I did with Revolution because this was simply a much better match and a much better story. Copeland vs. Moxley (with Christian Cage cashing in) was an insult to the sport of professional wrestling, this however was a simply good match and good story."
[2.0] "I do not even know what to say anymore. Getting a really mid match out of Swerve in a PPV main event requires a special kind of commitment. Unluckily, anything with Death Riders involvement is able to accomplish such a feat. Although I was pretty sure it was not going to happen, I prayed for Swerve to win and end this terrible run. Of course, we get interferences and then we get the Young Bucks? Get out. Please, I can not take these main events anymore and I just want this to end."
[1.0] "What in gods name, did I just watch? First of all, they really were trying to put each other in arm bars? Really? Yeah that will make the fans go nuts, oh wait, they didn't, they were dead silent during that whole thing, not a single peep. I just don't understand what the fuck Moxley is doing these days, I mean this storyline isn't working and it's affecting his matches, this storyline is turning him into a bad wrestler, I mean half of his moves looked like complete shit and just felt like he isn't trying, and Swerve didn't even do good, whatever Moxley has, it's contagious. 31 minutes of pure nothing and slow pace of what is supposed to be wrestling. The only 2 good thing about this match was that table spot and Marina Shafir getting her shit rocked, that's literally it and the only reason this get's a 1 and not a 0, nothing else was good about this shit."
[0.0] "Another PPV, another dreadful Jon Moxley main event. I genuinely think a conversation needs to be had at this point as to whether he's still got good instincts anymore because, just like the Edge match at Revolution, this was worked in completely the wrong way for the story they'd told coming in and the tone of the show by this point. These two have some heated promo segments on TV and a great pull-apart on the go-home show, and then they start with mat work? Get lost with that. We then get the usual shemozzle finish, albeit this time with the Hangman Page melodrama and the Young Bucks rather than the typical Castagnoli/PAC/Yuta version. The worst part of all of that though, was that him retaining his title became a subplot, and therefore by proxy the World Championship is a subplot. That's not how it should ever be."
[7.0] "This is by far the best Moxley has looked since his first title defense against OC. He and Swerve set a deliberate and grueling tone from the start that Mox very much appears to dictate, dominating much of the early match, which very much worked with the narrative coming in. Swerve is absolutely phenomenal, between the selling, the insane offensive displays (obviously the ladder spot a highlight), and the psychological work, the match was unfortunately also a strong reminded of how much better his reign was. Nonetheless, it was a pretty captivating match, with some satisfactory over-booking at the end to remind you that it's a Death Riders match (and was a better-executed DR interference), though I would've appreciated a little extra beatdown from Mox at the end (literally just one Paradigm Shift) so it didn't just feel entirely dependant on the Bucks."
[5.0] "So, this match had some highs and lows for me. This is absolutely the main event I wanted. And it's absolutely the match I paid to see. I would have preferred a clean finish, one way or the other. I loved the Young Bucks and Hangman angles. I think that's all smart and a good direction overall. It's just that I would have preferred to see that on television rather than a pay per view main event. And I get that the long term direction is for Moxley to lose at Texas show. That's cool. I guess I'm just not the biggest fan of Super Bowl style booking, where everything has to lead into one big show. It kind of lessens the importance of everything else and in some ways isn't quite as sports oriented as one might think. Great teams and athletes lose all the time. Every game or match matters in competitive sports, so it might be nice for that to be a bit more true in wrestling. But this match still had some good highs. There was incredible drama towards the end with Swerve. I love how over he is. He should have the title. I would have loved this match if he had just won. There are ways to get your Osprey Moxley Texas main event with Swerve winning the title at Dynasty. But either way. I liked this match for what it was, even though I wished it were creatively different."
[3.0] "Confused and messy, this fell a long way short of its presumed potential. It felt like four different matches clumsily crunched together, escalating without any real rhyme or reason. Those differing looks don't exclusively produce misses, but any positives are undercut by the match's final act, which goes off the rails entirely in desperate pursuit of main event drama. That's particularly damning considering the runtime, consistently failing to hook Philly beforehand. It's a bizarre match, managing to feel totally flat while also leaping around chaotically. *1/2"
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