Tyler Bate vs. WALTER

[6.0] "God bless the UK crowd cause they loved this lol. There were some fun moments here, the feats of the Big Strong Boy were good, the crowd was heavily invested and Nigel was marking out on commentary but problems were: it went WAYYYY too long, Walter does very boring heat for a LONGGG time, endless rest holds, the kickout at 1 from a powerbomb is stupid. Overall it's a Walter match and I don't like his style very much. This was ok but not my cup of tea"

[10.0] "I think this is one of the most perfect wrestling matches to ever take place. It is pure art and perfection from the opening bell. Believable cut off with Walter power bombing hate and hate taking heat for 25 mins but it doesn't feel it's heat because he's staying alive and fighting still and showing hope. (*****1/2)"

[9.0] "An amazing combat. So technical and flawless. Its clear that the fans in Cardiff gave a great push to an already fantastic combat. The only thing that misses is a better final, it was too sudden and while Bate was over after kicking out from a count of 1, he just gets pinned to three 30 seconds later, a bit anticlamatic in my opinion but an amazing combat nontheless."

[10.0] "Incredible wrestling match, high contender for the best match I ever saw at Europe. Both guys just had a plan to do a 40 minutes match Davi vs Golliah and probably I never saw that style being executed so godly in my entire life. It is a pretty cliche and easy methodologic style to wrestle, you literally can put a fat guy and a skinny one and they will execute the same style and will probably get a good match with, pretty easily. Tyler Bate had the time of his life here, not my favorite match from him but without a doubt his best in ring execution, probably he just got slapped so much he realise that life isn't for him lmao. This is a five stars match for me and it aged well, pretty well, like everything from NXT UK, unlike anything from the normal NXT."

[10.0] "If I was asked the question, "Why do you love wrestling, show me a match." I we had some time to kill, this would be one of the first matches I show. Perfect example of a "fight". Walter and Bate show why they are some of the best competitors and why NXT UK was one of the best weekly wrestling shows of all time. A David v Goliath Masterpiece. *****"

[10.0] "Holy shit. I was pretty much miserable when this ended as I wanted it to go forever. The absolute best 'David vs Goliath' archetype match I have ever seen. The emotion from the crowd and sold by Bate is otherworldly. I have no idea how a man can take so much punishment and still be able to pick up a man that big. Seriously one of the best matches I have ever watched, and I would argue top 3 matches a WWE brand has EVER put out. Such a shame Bate is currently being booked so terribly now when he's capable of doing this. I could praise this match forever. The fact Triple H isn't just making these two wrestle twice a week is baffling. I want this match a million times again. 12/10, 6*. I love this match."

[4.0] "I felt like this match went forever and I almost was out to sleep. I love both of these wrestlers individually. I highly rated them. But this match was just so boring. Yeah there was a moment where Tyler was hulking up and it was nice, but it was at the very end. I don't know why they wasted like 30-35 minutes of the match basically doing nothing. Imagine having a 40 minute match and only doing one or two memorable spots. For the love of god, I don't get why this wasn't good because I really wanted to like this match. I wish these two can face each other on the main roster and redeem themselves. I know 4 is harsh, but this is how I feel about this match."

[9.0] "This was an absolutely incredible match. One of the greatest David vs Goliath matches in WWE history."

[10.0] "Not much else to say other than this match was absolute cinema. The NXT UK version of Roman vs Jey at Clash of Champions 2020, except you had guys that could actually wrestle and the storytelling didn't carry the match."

[10.0] "Holy mother of God. There is very little things someone could do to top the quality of this match, perhaps just having a more complex story behind it, but the way the simplicity of this one makes the match shine from bell to bell is simply beautiful. Everything about this is just perfect. The executions, the brutal moves, the hard bumps, the wonderful and terrifying selling, the complete logic behind the narrative of the match, with Gunther being the near-absolute dominator of the match and Tyler Bate trying to milk out any little chance he created, showing that despite the difference of power and stature, he is more than capable of competing and putting Gunther into serious danger. What I will always love about Gunther is the way he always looks so dominant without his matches turning out to be a squash or a monologue, leaving his opponents enough room for them to put themselves over too and look like they could actually beat him. He is not an invencible god, but a very hard to defeat man and that's way more interesting than the other archetype of wrestler. The limbwork from Gunther through the match was fantastic, the moment he hurt Tyler's back hard with the Powerbombs in the apron and the ring post he started targeting that area, first in a more focused and competitve demeanor, but once Tyler started having more success countering Gunther's attacks he turned into just torture him in a more sadistic and merciless way. The nearfalls added the right drama to the match without feeling forced and the crowd rooting for Tyler and booing Gunther also helped Tyler feel more sympathetic as the underdog face. A match that, despite being so long, never felt dull and boring despite being rather slow paced, specially during the phase of the match where Gunther was more dominant. This was just perfect, this was truly a 5 star match."

[10.0] "This is right up there with the Bryan Danielson VS Takeshi Morishima Fight Without Honor as one of the best David VS Goliath matches of all time. It exceeds all expectations within the first 15 minutes, with WALTER dominating over the smaller Tyler Bate, barely letting him get any offence in. Powerbombs to the ring apron specifically made it look like it was going to be over, but this is Tyler Bate, backed up by HIS people, and he won't let WALTER get the win back easily. Alas, not even a Kobashi-esque Burning Hammer can keep the Austrian Monster down. Tyler has to struggle, and he finally gets the advantage, but he just can't keep it. Even with the powerbomb kickout at one, an amazing moment, it's still not enough. Tyler still can't put WALTER away. I love the callback to how WALTER won the title off of Pete Dunne on the top rope and Tyler denying the big man the chance to put him down like that, and I adore the disappointment the crowd feel when Bate finally loses. A 40 minute match that went by like 20. It's free on YouTube, so you have no excuse not to watch this match. *****, without question."

[10.0] "This might well just be the best wrestling match I have ever seen! Never a better David vs. Goliath bout. This was a 5* match within the first 15 minutes. The build, the true belief, the kick out at one nearly 40 minutes deep into the match. Tyler Bate is incredible here and Walter is a generational talent and expert at his craft. WHAT A MATCHHHHHHH!"

[8.0] "I was very excited to watch this cause I've heard good things about it, but there were points in the match were it was slow, but once it picked up, it got investing. Gunther made Tyler Bate look legit and gave Bate one of his best performances. Like I said, my only real negative was it was slow at certain points in the match."

[10.0] "One of my favorite matches of all time. the crowd, the commentary and of course, the wrestlers themselves complement each other to create a near-perfect underdog match that feels magical, I wish I could watch it for the first time again."

[7.0] "This match was weird. It had everything that you'd want this type of match to have but horrendous pacing kills it for me. It's really long, It should've been 15 minutes shorter. The action had very high highs but also really low lows when there wasn't anything happening. Speaking about positive things, bate's selling was great and walter as usually was great as a bully. *** 3/4"

[9.0] "[4.25*] This match was fucking superb. Literally how you do a David vs Goliath match with perfection. Gunther starts squashing Tyler but with the help of the crowd he is able to overcome it and starts an incredible and thrilling comeback, with a lot of great moves and spots, until the Ring General WALTER destroys him and wins anyways, showing his dominance. 51 minutes that felt like 30, with a very good progression and pacing until the final climax. Both guys did a wonderful job in creating this classic, one of the best matches in NXT history."

[10.0] "A fucking masterpiece. A perfect David vs Goliath. It had it all, great in-ring action, great psychology and an incredible finish, with Tyler Bate holding on until he had no energy left, absurd."

[10.0] "incredible match! perfect David vs Goliath stereotype. the psychology between them inside the ring was absurd, the ending with Bate resisting until he couldn't take it anymore and shocking the crowd, was great"

[10.0] "Such a well done match. It had the crowd popping for spots that you see in every match but the way this was built it made it seem like an insane spot. Also hard hitting ash. *****1/4"

[10.0] "[5.75 Stars] A match just PERFECT! A 10/10, a 20/20, just WOW! AMAZING in-ring, AMAZING crowd, AMAZING Nearfalls! No, really, the match was INCREDIBLE, even the little details like when Bate took Walter to the Burning Hammer and didn't take the fall because he didn't want Kenta Kobashi's legendary hold to be discredited with a simple 2-count. Just Bravo! For me, this is the 2nd best match in WWE history, ahead of HBK vs. Micheals or even Punk vs. Cena from MITB 2011. I remember myself as a youngster at the time being like a madman at every hold that the 2 wrestlers inflicted on each other and at every fall I couldn't believe that the match wasn't over because the suspense was so great. It's one of my favorite matches EVER! (*****, 75)"

[9.0] "I finally got around to watching this match yesterday and am I ever glad I did! I knew what happened going in but it still enthralled me and I found it utterly compelling although maybe just a tad too long, still it is essential viewing"

[4.0] "This match is so weird. There are parts of the match that would cause me to rate it higher, the crazy ass suplex on the ringside near the end or Bate's kickouts near the end. But also like, the length of this match is dreadful, I really felt it, I had to pretty much watch this match 4 times. Near the start and the end Bate feels like a proper babyface but like for most of the match I'm not sure, I wasn't really feeling him. I think WALTER gave him too much offence too because when he started kicking out of all of his stuff it felt really unbelievable (I really could not buy that Driver kickout). I match I want to hate more and a match that I want to like more."

[10.0] "These two are the best wrestlers that WWE signed from the UK scene back when NXT UK was a thing. The storytelling and ring phycology was great. These guys made the UK title mean something. The fighting spirit of Tyler Bate was good but wasn't enough for the dominant force of WALTER/Gunter. The pacing and chemistry was great even tho it was a long match. This match was a masterpiece. Their performance in this match was very great."

"Absolutely Incredible match between these two elite wrestlers, David and Goliath type shit, WALTER is god"

[10.0] "Walter/Gunther is so incredible wrestler, but it takes two to dance, and Tyler did an A+ too. 40 minutes of intense wrestling goes by without a hitch. Special kudos to the crowd, they're very cool"

[9.0] "Probably the strongest 9 in all of my reviews. One of the best NXT matches in history, that's for sure. British crowd always elevates the importance of top matches, especially when a homelander is a part of it. Structually it works really well here, but long periods of lack of smoothness and maybe a little bit of exagguration to make it over 40 minutes poses this match far behind 2 bouts vs Dragunov in my eyes."

[9.0] "An incredibly impressive match that conceptually, almost seems doomed to fail. This is a big man little man match that goes over 40 minutes, doing so while hardly ever shying away from its natural dynamic. It's an unusual outline in that sense and at times, you can see why it's uncommon, encountering occasional repetitiveness along with some bloat. However, none of those things stop this from being a smash hit, led by two performances great enough to overcome the play call's challenges. Bate is immaculate here, somehow outperforming WALTER with an astonishing babyface performance that ties the whole match together. That's not to understate WALTER's showing either, of course, operating with his usual greatness as the in-ring heel. The finish is wonderful also, with Bate's defiance being just that, not even opening the door for any last-ditch offence. It's over, he's just forcing WALTER to earn the finish. ****1/2"

[10.0] "[5.0*] The millionth example of David versus Goliath in professional wrestling, but still one of the best of all time, the fight begins with Walter beating Tyler Bate and lasts almost twenty minutes of fight, and in the meantime Walter has been destroying Bate with chops and submissions, but the blonde wouldn't give up on anything, until the moment they both go to the apron and in a beautiful display of strength, Tyler hits a beautiful exploding suplex out of the ring. At this moment we see the beginning of Bate's beautiful reaction, which begins to demonstrate that he could be the one who will dethrone the general of terror that was Walter, the more time passed, the more the crowd became more excited and with that the perfect atmosphere was created. building, in two moments of the match, Tyler uses movements characteristic of his friends Pete Dunne and Trent Seven who weeks ago had suffered at the hands of Imperium. And more and more the crowd and those watching from home began to believe that Bate was going to win because he was already crushing Walter, lifting them on his shoulders even with so much weight, and then the real emotion began because it was a false finish from there and from here. But like every fairy tale... at one point, Walter created a sequence of finishers and ended Tyler Bate's beautiful story of redemption, to the anguish of everyone there."

[8.0] "Well, this one is hard for me to take seriously. WALTER is supposed to be that dominant big guy, while Tyler Bate is the significantly undersized underdog here, so to see WALTER struggle that much, let alone need 42 damn minutes to get rid of a midget (with all due respect), felt like a joke. The match drags unnecessarily and makes WALTER look much weaker than he is supposed to, and that's a shame. Because the dynamic between the two is great, there's some amazing spots and sequences, the reckless beating WALTER hands Tyler is great, Tyler's impressive strength is on full display here and his babyface fire is awesome (albeit a bit far-fetched). I though they could have accomplish a more believable match had it been 25/30 minutes, because 42 minutes is simply unreasonable for such a match-up. It has its moments (plenty of them), but as a whole, I find this quite irrational. Definitely not bad at all, but certainly overrated as far as i'm concerned. [ = 8.0/10 ] ****"

[9.0] "TYLER TYLER BATE, TYLER BATE, TYLER TYLER BATE, NANANANANA. This match was awesome, a methodical slow burn David vs Goliath super dramatic encounter between Walter and Tyler Bate, at only 22-years old here, which is impressive. The match was quite long, and my rating can be considered lower than usual because I thought they've purposely slowed down the pace, specially at the beginning, only to drag the match, without necessarily telling a deep story or smart angles, and that happened with Walter in front of the control segments, doing rest holds and stuff like that, demolishing Bate in a way that he's the best in the world doing, but also making a lot of minutes of the match rough to watch. Obviously harms the match for me, but I prefer this style than a lot of stuff it was done at NXT during that time, I think this match had a lot of old-school elements, but I don't consider to be equal with the King's Road classics like many people do. It was a match made by struggle, with a brilliant underdog performance by Bate, in which the crowd helped a lot, they were fully supporting him and the environment was extremely special. With stiff moves and a huge heart, Bate made everyone believe he could win the match, it remembered me of that film, Real Steel, where at the final battle, the tiny underdog Atom fights Zeus, the dominant monster, and he ultimately lost, but because of his strong will and passion we all embrace his cause and root for him. The only thing that differs this from other slow burn classics, is that, right here you literally can feel the tiredness, you get tired with them, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but on the all-timer classics, you feel the tiredness and it makes you even more excited and adrenalized. Nevertheless, a fantastic bout - {****1/4}"

[10.0] "The perfect David vs Goliath match that you can show to anyone, wrestling fan or not, and they would understand. Tyler Bate shows that he is one of the best under 30 wrestlers in the world, and WALTER shows that he could be one of the best of all time. Just an absolutely perfect match, the spot where WALTER flips Tyler and pins him but Tyler pushes him up with his own strength and delivers the Tyler Driver 97 is one of the best moments in an NXT match ever I would say."

[10.0] "My first WALTER match and one of the greatest wrestling matches I've ever seen. This was special. The crowd was amazing which very much added to it. These two play their dynamics extremely well. That kick-out at 1 by Bate near the end of this 40 minute match was awesome. This match made me fall in love with WALTER/Gunther and is a match watch. [*****1/4]"

[10.0] "This is another of the best matches I've ever seen, the storyline was delicious, the match maybe a little too long but totally worth It, the selling and how they knew each other was really good, the kick outs, the emotions from the crowd specially the chants of Tyler Bate I really enjoyed them, and in general I give this match a well deserved over 5 stars rating, 10/10 [*****3/4]"

[10.0] "Man I love this match I just rewatched it again after it got put on WWE Vault just a masterclass both Walter and Bate playing their strengths and parts perfectly Walter is so menacing and Bate the underdog 2019 was a bad year for WWE so bad I remember I pretty much stopped watching wrestling altogether for the most part but for some reason I decided to watch this match and it reignited my love for professional wrestling."

[8.0] "When I think of hard hitting matches this bout comes to mind. Bate and Gunther have such a good chemistry and this match was so good. The emotion that went into this was impressive and it really shows how great NXT UK could be when given the chance on a bigger stage."

[10.0] "This was a really good match. It was very long with Walter dominating Tyler, and Tylers comebacks had a ton of energy in them and the kicking out at one spot was amazing. The match did not feel as long as it was."

[9.0] "Both of these guys are so special. Tyler Bate delivers the best performance of his career, and Walter continues his dominance."

[10.0] "One of my favorite all time WWE matches. I think its even better than both Ilja/Walter matches. Bate is such a natural face."

[10.0] "This was an absolute classic. Bate plays the face to perfection and WALTER/Gunther is such a top tier heel. Bate really had the audience behind him too, and some of those near-falls were crazy believable."

[10.0] "Phwoar that WALTER guy was good wasn't he? I'm glad we got WWE production value alongside his wrestling acumen for a bit before he leaned out and had the shitty name change. Tyler and WALTER pump in all-timer performances but the best performance of the lot comes from the Cardiff crowd that stayed loud and proud in their support of Bate, making the match a returnable classic."

[10.0] "One of the absolutle greatest matches of all time in my opinion maybe my favourite interpretation of david vs goliath in wrestling. WALTER is fantasticly brutal and makes for a scary and dominating goliath. While Tyler Bate's suprising strengh and crowd support makes him the perfect david"

[10.0] "One of the best matches i ever seen, a perfect executed david vs goliath, a very well done mix up of technical and hard hitting wrestling, every move was well delivered from top to bottom, the crowd made it felt like a football Derby, surelly it had everything, 10/10"

[9.0] "I'm not a big fan of this match because, apart from its writing and execution which are brilliant, there is nothing really exceptional. Basic holds that bring out the European side of this type of wrestling. It works very well, the public loves it and chants throughout the match. I liked it, I had a good time watching it even if the last minutes seemed long, but I'm not the biggest fan of this type of wrestling. Bate spent a long time resisting his opponent's holds and managed to free himself and regain the advantage several times in very good manners. (4*1/2)"

[7.0] "I agree with the other comment on here about this being a "forced epic". The pacing of this match did it no favors. Walter and Tyler Bate are both talented workers but I had a hard time getting into the "big man vs small man" style match here when it becomes obvious that Bate is just going to endure everything. Yoshihiro Takayama's match with Takashi Sugiura does this dynamic so much better and in about half the time. The burning hammer kick out also did not help my enjoyment of this at all, if you're going to use that move at all (which I don't think anyone should), at least have it be a match ender"

[10.0] "I meannnn come on, if you don't understand the 10 rating, you didn't watch the match, please change that :)"

[10.0] "The quintessential David vs Goliath match, and the performance of a lifetime from Tyler Bate. The way this match effortlessly swings from sequence to sequence is like watching a fantastic film. From WALTER's complete domination of Bate in the early stages, to the attempted and failed comebacks leading to a rousing series of nearfalls for Bate, bridged into WALTER's savagery in the final stretch, climaxing at the single greatest 1 count kickout of all time to give the people hope that maybe "David" can pull off the upset... only for Goliath to crush his dreams and the spirits of everyone watching. Yet all the people can do is applaud having watched two masters of the craft put on their own masterpiece for over 40 minutes... its just fucking beauteous. If WWE truly understands what they have in this pairing, the next time we see Bate and WALTER run it back will be in the main event of WrestleMania. Cause watching this match feels like I'm watching the biggest match of all time, every single time."

[10.0] "An odyssey of professional wrestling warfare. I love this so much! The style is perfect, dominant WALTER versus a hearty Bate is a perfect clash. It makes every moment impactful and meaningful because of the style. It makes sense for Bate to fight back, and it makes sense for WATLER to brutally beatdown Bate. This is perfect in every sense. The offence is magical, rough from WALTER, heroic from Bate. WALTER is a mean, authoritarian ruffian in this clash and he pummels Bate immensely. Bate's comebacks are like something out of a fairy-tale, the way he musters strength to power through adversity is palpable and electrifying. The pace could be a bit quicker at times, but that would just be nit-picky of me, because this is honestly flawless. Everything is executed gorgeously, and there is no limit to this contest, it just goes and goes and goes. Until the stupendous finale of a simplistic lariat ending the contest is one of the most enthralling match finishes & overall contests I have ever witnessed. Amazingly exciting and energetically engrossing. If I could rate this an 11, I would, because this is unlike anything I have ever seen before. There is no comparisons to this contest. There is just this match, and everything else."

[10.0] "One of the best match in WWE history and probably the best match in NXT UK. This was a Goliath Vs David match. WALTER is absolutely brutal and ruthless in this match. In about 5 mins, WALTER powerbombs Bate right on the steel post outside and it changes the entire landscape of the match. Bate is wrestling this match in borrowed time after that brutal powerbomb. The pacing is slow and methodical and it really highlights the dominance of the Ring General. The work was absolutely A+ and above. Bate plays homages to his mentors and his friends - Dunne and Seven. The crowd is red hot and behind Bate, the hero against WALTER, the villain. The only problem is WALTER doesn't give a shit about Tyler Bate and the crowd and he does what he does best; Beat the living shit out of whoever is standing across him. *****"

[10.0] "Better that walter's other wwe matches imo. This had the scale and structure of a proper epic, with walter as the invincible villain and tyler as the babyface trying to overcome him. Walter's been dong good in the main roster (though he would be even better out of wwe entirely), but tyler's just an afterthought and thats a shame. He has so much potential, I hope things turn around for him. Also, Nigel McGuinness is such a good commentator! He elevates this match even more, he just rules."

[10.0] "Just awesome. This is simply an outstanding David versus Goliath clash, and both men play their roles incredibly. Bate has the Cardiff crowd behind him during every second of this match, and WALTER continues to play the final boss heel perfectly. The storytelling here is great as well and only adds to the fantastic action throughout. I absolutely love this match."