[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."
[9.0] "8.5/10 After:, I fully believe if i put this into a video editor and delete 10 minutes of footage and add clips of Walter taunting we have a 10/10. If you ignore the bad this is a perfect match. During: simple build to begin with - strong champion and underdog fighter as Challenger. Great Crowd. Great Clash of British strong style with Walter's Giant style. I like that the crowd switched from cheering Bate to booing Walter after a while. I am unsure if I like the back-damage story, slowed the action down considerably, but it makes sense. Pacing feels off and way too dragged, I think I would prefer Walter hitting more stuff and ragdolling Bate. Wishing for more crowdplay by Walter. 42 minutes? Does it have to be? Walter feels almost week with how much he is out there doing nothing? Tyler Bate suplexing him looked great, tho. Bate Starting to get Offense in - working for me, great counters from both men. Some sections still drag a bit too much. Very much a cool match after 20 minutes, but we must deduct points for that warm-up. Now they pick up the pace and it feels like a real match! Tyler Bate is such a fighter and delivers a selling masterclass. Finish a bit out of nowhere."
[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."
[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."
[9.0] "Ein perfektes 40-Minuten David vs Goliath Meisterwerk! Von Start bis zum Finish, mit allem was zwischen drin war, war das einfach ein Spektakel. Unglaublich gute Crowd, großartige Action, starke in-ring Psychologie und Story. Strong Style ist es einfach. Sehr krasse near falls und die Action außerhalb des Rings, sind einfach brutal (krass). Aufgrund der länge, war alles ab 20 Minuten sowie so einfach alles fesselnd, weil Gefühl zu jeder Zeit das Match hätte zu ende sein können. Ich muss es nochmal sagen, die 40 Minuten waren wirklich so unglaublich gut gefüllt, das ist echt Wahnsinn. (****3/4)"
[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."
[10.0] "Was für eine Schlacht. Hier zeigt Bates das er einer der besten und zähesten Wrestler in der WWE ist. Schade, wie er heute eingesetzt wird, doch mit diesem Match legte er einen Meilenstein hin. Top."
[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."
[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."
[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] "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."
[10.0] "Walter is a wanker. Holy shit this was great. Im not gonna say much about this match. Go watch it. The runtime may deter a lot of people, but if you can watch that shit in Japan, you can watch this too. Just do it. Youll thank yourself. Not the best Walter match (Id place it just above the triple threat from WrestleMania and behind the Ilja matches), but still amazing. 10/10. *****"
[9.0] "I watched it almost for years after it hapenned, I knew the result but a couple of time, they made me doubt. I was like "what if I'm wrong and Walter lost this match? " that how good of a match it was. Maybe it would be a 10/10 if I saw it live, but for me it's a really strong 9."
[3.0] "Cardiff seems like a show full of high expectations (for me included) and undeserved praise. I really like both WALTER and Bate and even their performances were good. The problem was the monotony of repetitive spots, at least half a dozen "oh no Bate is gonna suplex him how could he despite doing it a bunch already" moments punch-punch-punch-CHOPDOWN, and of course the classics: maneuvering around the turnbuckle for 5 minutes despite knowing who's gonna win each exchange and the flurry of pinfall attempts that either fall flat because they're not hitting finishers, or hurt said finishers' credibility. ALSO Bate being destroyed for over half the match but still getting up went past endearing into obnoxious. I get that you want an epic, but just with the last time NXT UK did it, the match was not structured around its length, but stretched to meet it."
[10.0] "With several of the best matches I've only seen AFTER they happen originally, there's a common litmus test I use to see how I rate them. If I know the result going into a match, and that match still has me saying "That was probably NUTS in real time", chances are that It'll be close to five stars. This match is different. I knew the result going in. These two men convinced me that I was under the mandela effect and that Tyler was gonna win. It wasn't just nuts in real time; it was nuts in my time. Literally the greatest David vs Goliath story in wrestling HISTORY, with Tyler Bate and Walter both being inhumane in completely different ways to completely different reactions. As is common with Walter/Gunther, every near fall is incredible since every move feels like the end of the match. My literal only mark against this match WAS against the crowd for not immediately going ballistic when Tyler kicked out of the powerbomb AT ONE, but clearly I was wrong because after rewatching I think the crowd reaction gradually building after the kickout makes it even better. I've said that the early stages of prime NXT were my favorite time to be a wrestling fan, and even though my fever for the business did die down a bit in 2019, clearly I should've gone back just for this match alone. I have two matches that break past 5 stars for me; Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover Dallas and Andrade Cien Almas vs Johnny Gargano at Takeover Philly. Dallas had the unmitigated hype, Philly had infinite wrestling pedigree. This match balanced both, and undoubtedly deserves to be mentioned with those two, and in my opinion above, as moving nostalgia aside, I believe this to be the best match I've ever seen. Beyond Perfect. 10+/10 / *****+"
[10.0] "Amazing. The storytelling and psichology were incredibile here with Bate doing anythinik to try to defeat Walter that here was the grandest son of a bitch I have ever seen; infact Bate did every moves possible but simply Walter was too much in every Sense. Heartbreaking. *****1/4 (5, 25)"
"Best match I've seen in WWE programming and the ultimate David vs Goliath match. The crowd was crazy into it and everytime Bate would lift up the massive Walter I would be on the edge of my seat. Every wrestling fan should watch this match."
[10.0] "GREATEST DAVID vs GOLIATH MATCH IN HISTORY. PERIOD. The build started as a war between two factions with IMPERIUM injuring the members of BSS and as an act of revenge Tyler Bate challenged Gunther for the title. The match is a reflection of this storyline with Gunther slowly, methodically dominating Bate for the first half of the match. The match skyrockets into a whole different level once Bate starts his comeback leading to a drastic increase in pace and intensity. The second half of this match has many incredible spots such as Tyler hitting the Tyler driver 97, Walter falling on top of Tyler when the latter tries to lift him up etc. It is an absolute slugfest with peak storytelling such as Walter hitting the powerbomb that injured BSS members in first place, Tyler using Dunne's moves etc. This match has everything- the heel dominance followed by babyface comebacks, storytelling, typical David v goliath spots, mat wrestling sequences, brutal hitting and mind blowing near falls. A must watch for everyone."
[10.0] "Historic match, a beautiful story about all what Imperium, represented by Walter, and Brithish Strong Style, represented by Tyler Bate, wanted to demostrate with their visions about how not just NXT UK or WWE, but how wrestling should be. The revolutionaries attacking everyone in their paths for make a change against the heroes of this house, the pillars of this brand. The match is excellent but at the same time is not perfect, what i want to mean with this is that i couldn't miss the realization of 2 errors along the match, first of all, OK almost a hour of match, that doesn't mean anything bad but it assumes a big responsability to make the match worthy to see along all that long time. And in someway they did it but it was a difficult start the way they did it, the domination of Walter was well demostrated but they just took to long with this technical domination after the Powerbombs in the ringside, almost good 10 minutes to start but then almost 10 slow and kinda boring minutes of domination, then the pace gets better while Tyler had his comeback and we have the rest of the match, and the other mistake that i see here is that technically Walter focus a lot along all the match into hurt Tyler's back but at the same time along all the match and at the end of this one, it feels like all that work didn't do anything, OK Tyler is almost always touching his back for demostrate the pain, BUT, anyways, he is capable to lift Walter and not just once but multiple times in so many hard ways. I think i just remember one spot were Tyler couldn't lift him and Walter falls in his back, this is the only time that all this work make a notable negative effect into Tyler. BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE. Let's go with the rest of the match in general, and that's exactly the good of this match, it was excellent. the stroytelling with the Powerbomb Spots that took Tyler out, the smart domination of Walter, the comeback of Tyler, even the spot with the fingers in honor of Pete Dunne, from a technical POV this match was going to be good, Tyler and Walter are amazing performers, they are amazing wrestlers. And the end of the match finish with a Tyler "David" Bate that literally did everything that he could to defeat the Invencible "Goliat" Walter but even after all that it just wasn't enough cause Walter it's just too much Walter and is one of the best to ever do this. Tyler stays in the ring, completly devastated but with the inconditional love of the fans and with Trent Seven and Pete Dunne, The British Strong Style, recomforting him and and thanking him for defending the group and the brand to the end, even in defeat. In my "books", 5.50 Stars of Match. 10/10."
[10.0] "Two of my favorite wrestlers facing each other in an epic for the UK Title, WALTER clearly showing that he is superior and putting Bate in his place, but when babyface starts the reaction everyone is on the edge of their chairs wondering if he really is capable of all that , super hot crowd in UK making everything much cooler and the atmosphere completely insane (*****)"
[10.0] "This is a classic match and it is so good with both men going back and forth and the crowd being awesome this is a instant classic match and so good. *****"
[9.0] "It's hard to find fault with this match. There is some burying of the referee, especially near the end when a hold is applied while the wrestlers are in the ropes. There's a lot of playing around on the turnbuckle but they get off of there pretty quickly most of the time. There are a lot of kickouts, including a one count near the finish which philosophically I'm against but it it popped the crowd and worked well to kick off what would be the last babyface comeback of a match that has lots of babyface comebacks. There's also a canadian destroyer but at least they build to it well. Lots of those on this show it seems. Unfortunately the match does *seem* long, but at the finish I didn't feel like it was too long. The match felt like a big deal, the crowd was truly behind the babyface, and were emotionally invested in the story. Love those UK crowds, although the constant singing can be distracting. That's my only gripes, there's so much great about this match. It's slow but the pace feels right. In fact, the pace is among the best in any wrestling match I've ever seen. It doesn't seem like a match with any impressive spots, but there are many holy shit moments, including a sleeper german suplex on the apron which to me was kind of an "eat your heart out flippy guys" moment. Also worth highlighting is Walter's bumping and selling in this match. It's incredible. Bate of course is half the equation here but there is something else about Walter that makes him a step above. Both guys execute some scary shit quite well here so this really is a tour-de-force type match defining what the pinnacle of euopean wrestling was at the time. If you've got the time, this is worth the ride. It's stiff as fuck, the audience are great, there are very little credibility-reducing moments, there are several truly impressive moments, and it feels like you are watching a historic match. I prefer Ilya/Walter I to this but I think this had a better angle working through it. Europeans or NXT UK fans might hold this in a higher regard. Last thing I'll say- Tyler Bate was 22 years old when this match happened. This has to be the best match by someone under 25, ever."
"My match of the decade. WALTER and Bate pull off the David vs. Goliath trope so well. I watched this match with a friend and we were both on the edge of our seats, completely hooked by this match. Very few matches have got such a reaction out of me during my time as a fan."
[10.0] "A fantastic match pitting David vs Goliath. The question throughout this match was, "How is Tyler Bate going to win without hitting his finisher? " Since WALTER is so large, it would be seemingly impossible for Bate to hit the Tyler Driver '97. The flow and atmosphere of the match are top-tier. After it being countered multiple times before, Bate finally hits his finisher, but WALTER kicks out. After giving it his all, it was still not enough. After some more beating, a nasty sleeper suplex on the apron, and a splash (the same move that WALTER used to beat Pete Dunne at NXT TakeOver: New York) it seemed like Bate was done. But he kicked out. WALTER hit another sleeper suplex. He kicks out again. WALTER hits him with his powerbomb, the move that has ended many. Bate kicks outs at 1. The reaction of the crowd at this moment gives me chills. They start out shocked, almost unable to cheer. But, as Bate slowly begins to rise to his feet, so does the crowd's applause. Bate, however, can barely stand. After a vicious lariat, the match is over. This match is pure excellence of in-ring storytelling."
[10.0] "What a fight. What an absolute fight. For 42 minutes, these men tore the house down in Cardiff. One of the best David vs Goliath matches of all-time. WALTER was such a brutal beast, not just overpowering him, but striking him down too. Bate gave his absolute best to knock the big man down, showing true heart and determination as the crowd cheered him on. A true clinic in wrestling."
[9.0] "Let's start with saying this match was amazing, one of the best WWE matches of 2019, but two things stop me from giving this match a perfect score: the first problem is the lenght. I think 40+ minutes were a bit too much, with 25/30 minutes it would have been much better. The second problem was the crowd. I love when the crowd is hot during a match, but this crowd started yelling some very annoying chants which have annoyed me. I'm sorry because the match is great, but I have these two problems"
[10.0] "The big guy/little guy formula was worked to perfection in this amazing match. The crowd was on fire here and in total support of Bate-- who played the underdog spectacularly and never gave up until WALTER stomped out that last little bit of fire. WALTER dominated Bate with brutal move after move, but none of it felt like filler-- especially with how Bate sold the offense and fired up time and time again. The storytelling in this match was nuanced and calculated, and it made a long match feel super meaningful the entire way through."
[10.0] "Hands down the best NXT UK match, and one of the best matches in general. Best David vs Goliath match in wrestling. Everything about this match was great, the spots, the near falls, the crowd rallying behind Tyler the whole time. This had that big fight feel that I love. Even in defeat, Tyler looked like a hero. Amazing stuff from these two. *****"
[10.0] "An amazing david vs goliath match that centers around Tyler Bate and his constant showcase of strength and heart in this match which includes slugfests, striking, athleticism, and more. While the match did feel slow at times it serves a purpose as when you're not seeing Tyler Bate absolutely go ham on Walter whether that'd be constantly using his sheer power to his advantage or just absolutely wailing on him, he's getting beaten and beaten down in an incredible display of the heelish brutality and dominance. However even despite the sheer disadvantage Tyler has been faced with he never gives up and at random points in the match he will remind you of that, he will remind you why this a david vs goliath match and not a one-sided battle despite all the struggles he has to endure due to Walter and this display of sheer determination is what solidifies Tyler's performance in this match as one of the best babyface showings of all times as well as in turn making Walter have one of the best heel showings ever as well"
"10/10 - rate when able. An absolute clinic, two world class athletes telling a timeless story with a hot crowd. Told an engaging story whilst putting on an athletic spectacle and never losing sight of portraying a struggle."
[10.0] "Instant classic. Better than walter vs iljia for me. Wrestling peaked during this match. What a babyface tyler bate is with his facials and honestly what an athlete he is. For walter there arent many things to say he will do big things if they dont ruin his career with bad booking. Matches like this makes me feel proud for beiing a wrestling fan"
[10.0] "10/10, an instant classic. Utilised old school wrestling psychology mixed with modern day athleticism to tell a fantastic David vs Goliath story."
[10.0] "Tipically, these types of matches are far from my favorite type but the story told here of Tyler Bate continuously getting back on his feet after taking copious amounts of punishment from WALTER was so good I found myself completely hooked to the match. I had watched this before and thought it was awesome but never really seen it as a classic but after this watch I can definitely say it's a classic. I don't have it as high as some people, there's some Takeover matches I like more but I'd say this is a Top 10 WWE match of all time without question. *****"
[10.0] "A complete old school throwback to the olden days of the past, with a simple yet ridiculously effective David v. Goliath formula. The crowd was dying for all the false finishes in there, and although the chance of Bate winning is ever so slightly slim, you just HAD to believe there's a possibility of him winning somehow due to all the heart and determination shown by him. As for the overly long length this got - don't worry for one bit, as it casually flew by like nothing and they spent every single second in the most effective and efficient way possible. Honestly, one of the top 10 greatest wrestling bouts I've seen in my entire fandom. Just an utter classic here. [*****]"
"[10.0] "I'm a really huge fan of WALTER and for me it's one of the top three matches of his reign. Not sure that it's better than his matches with Dragunov, but emotions from this match were more powerful for me. This crowd was simply perfect, their songs were amazing. I felt that the timing of this match was ideal. A lot of feats of strength by Tyler Bate, really powerful moves by WALTER as usual and so unexpected ending (like always in WALTER matches). The domination of WALTER wasn't tedious for me, I was in shock after so many powerful moves by 79 kg guy to 134 kg monster. One of the Top 100 matches after the streak for me."
[10.0] "Wer das PROGRESS World Title Match bei Welcome Wembley gesehen hat wird sich auch hier wunderbar unterhalten fühlen. Das hier hat sogar von der Matchzeit und der Qualität das andere nochmal überboten. Es ging hier klar um einen anderen Titel aber es war die selbe Paarung. Was für ein Titel Match (****3/4)."
[10.0] "I considered WALTER one of the best heavyweights in the world before he came to WWE, but I didn't expect him to look so good here. The Austrian looks straight out of the 90s era of AJPW, he's a heel who doesn't need to cheat to get booed, he just needs to destroy his opponent for minutes on end. That formula worked even better in this case because Bate was much smaller than WALTER. The difference in stature helped both of them get bigger reactions from the crowd, you couldn't help but boo WALTER when you saw what he was doing to Bate and you had to support him every time he tried to get back into the match. Basically Bate wasn't just fighting for himself, he was fighting for British Strong Style and from one point of view the whole British side of the brand. Incidentally, during the match he also had references to his stable mates. As simple as it was, so good was the finisher, the execution of the maneuver equally as good as the way Bate sold it. It looked like Walter simply decapitated him. If the main event at the previous TakeOver had seemed far too long for what it offered, this one was over 40 minutes long, but at no point did it seem overlong. It should also be appreciated that even though the two are part of a stable, I didn't have any interference throughout the match. That's how it's supposed to be."
[10.0] "What can be said about this match that hasn't already been said? An absolutely astonishing war that sees Bate pulls out some astonishing feats of strength on such a larger opponent that need to be seen to be believed. WALTER does what WALTER does and does it to absolute perfection. Just do yourself a favor and don't read any of the spoilers and just watch it. 10/10. A classic that future generations will look back upon."
[10.0] "My favourite ever WWE match and one of my favourite matches of all time in any promotion, Alot of modern matches will try to emulate what AJPW did in the 90s but without context and the proper storytelling. Both Tyler Bate & WALTER understood what made those matches special and told an amazing story with them teasing Bate being able to pull of a powermove and then finally doing it but before Bate can get the advantage WALTERs side advantages always come back to bite him, My favourite moment which shows this is when WALTER falls on top of Bate and he is unable to get the big guy off him and if not for the size advantage my have been able to make the cover. The kick out at 1 was done perfectly and not in a silly way without meaning as it was one last shot of adrenaline where Bate put everything he had into that kick out which then Fired up the crowd only to be hit by a nasty Lariat which turned him inside out causing him to lose the match and suck the air out the room. Perfect match where the crowd was an amazing cherry on top with the singing and the reaction to the finish."
[9.0] "Walter zeigt mal wieder was für ein absoluter Ausnahme-Wrestler er ist und hat mit Tyler Bate gegenüber einen Worker, der hier wohl ebenfalls die beste Leistung seiner Karriere zeigt. Das Match war ziemlich lang, aber sie schafften es immer wieder neue unterhaltsame Aspekte mit einzubringen und zeigten durchgehend ein flottes Match. Der letzte Abschnitt des Matches war dann natürlich ziemlich episch und ich hatte keine Ahnung, wie das letztendlich ausgehen würde. Das Selling war hierbei von beiden hervorragend. Für mich das Match des Jahres in der WWE noch vor den Gargano vs. Cole Klassikern. Absolut fantastisch. **** 1/2 (1)"
[9.0] "An epic in every sense of the word with 90's AJPW levels of physicality and brutality. They managed to avoid a lot of the trappings that you will find in your typical Johnny Gargano or Adam Cole NXT Takeover main event, but this still could have benefitted from losing a minute or two here and there. The middle section where WALTER worked over Bate went on a touch too long as did the final finishing stretch. WALTER is a master of making himself seem bigger than he already is and Bate was fantastic as the plucky underdog."
[10.0] "A 40-minute long epic that deserves all the praise it gets. Bate was brilliant in this match and WALTER was amazing as usual but they just worked so well in building up the match slowly to an awesome ending. The crowd was crazy all throughout the match and fully behind Tyler. There were so many great moments but the kick-out at 1 after the power-bomb was absolutely amazing and probably my favorite part of the match. Just a perfect wrestling match. *****"
[10.0] "There's a lot of hyperbole around this match, but not so much that I don't think it's deserving of a perfect score, even if part of me feels like it only just scrapes one. A wonderful twist on the classic David vs. Goliath story, with Bate coming in as the much smaller of the two men, but on surprisingly equal footing to WALTER in terms of raw strength, leaving his disadvantages much more in the area of reach, and how much sheer mass he has to throw around and absorb punishment with. Builds at a perfect pace, being a rare 40+ minute match that hardly ever drags, and though it borders on feeling repetitive at times with how often they go back to the well of showing off Tyler's strength, it never quite becomes an issue. I can't say I have no gripes at all with the match, as the story of Tyler's hurt back isn't used quite as effectively as it could've been, and the kick-out-at-one powerbomb spot, while fantastic, felt like it suffered slightly from diminishing returns by coming right after a kick-out from the splash. These minor imperfections aren't enough to take away from the match's genuine brilliance, just enough that I feel some need to dispute how over-the-top some of the praise and narrative around it gets at times. Still one of the greatest matches to ever take place in the UK, and one of a select few very special matches that near single-handedly justify NXT UK's existence."
[7.0] "I'm not as convinced by this match as everyone else is. WALTER puts on a gorgeous performance, and Bate's underdog fire is prevalent even before the match started. Bate takes obvious inspiration from King's Road wrestling, but he does not have the size or experience to make it work like they did in All-Japan. I'm not a fan of smarky crowds either, and the live crowd for this match was more focused on getting themselves over than cheering on Bate. A bloated, overly-long piece of work that would be much better if not for the length and watered-down Burning Hammer towards the end. Bate is best in smaller doses, not everybody can make a 40-plus minute match excellent."
[10.0] "This was an incredible piece of wrestling, a masterpiece that I don't even want to call wrestling, but art. It's the kind of match that even if it lasts forty-two minutes, I'll never get tired of it and I'll be able to watch it several times a year without any problem, no matter how long it is. It's rare that a match has invested me as much emotionally as this one, everything is absolutely perfect and must-see. WALTER and Bate are two totally opposite athletes, they have no similarities and are completely different, but they managed to give us one of the best matches in the history of this business for me. A match that perfectly represents modern wrestling, but with an ounce of intelligence, a perfect writing and an execution to show to all wrestling schools. That's how you book a main event, that's how you create stars, that's how you give prestige to the title who's on the line. It was a risky gamble to give this match so much time because it wasn't necessarily sure they would click that much but in the end it was the best decision that was made since the existence of NXT UK, because it's a match that has been the talk of the town, will continue to be the talk of the town and will put a lot of eyes on the british product who's sorely needed. I've also rarely seen a crowd so invested, so loud for Tyler Bate, Bate who for me put on the best underdog performance ever, he's just the perfect babyface. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand, all his comebacks were epic, all the moves he managed to pull off with his superhuman strength were just as epic, and the same goes for the nearfalls. WALTER was a fantastic heel, doing a vicious job on many parts of Bate's body and playing with the emotions of the crowd, Bate's performance is heroic and deserves all the praises in the world but same for the performance of the champion. This was a pure wrestling clinic, a match I recommend to everyone and I feel really bad for those who didn't enjoy it. Perfect stuff, for real."
[10.0] "This is my runner-up match of 2019, and it quickly became one of my favorite matches ever. The pacing is exquisite. Everything has meaning and purpose. Nothing is ever rushed or seems out of place. I'm new to this style of wrestling, but if it gives us matches like this, I'm all in. *****+"
[10.0] "The villainous brutality of WALTER versus the relentless perseverance of Tyler Bate creates one of the most breathtaking Professional Wrestling matches of All-Time. A sensational, epic narrative is built in this match; WALTER's continuous, bestial domination of Bate is so enthralling to witness. He just mauls Bate. WALTER delivers and incredibly realistic performance. His strikes, his throws, WALTER executes his offence with a violent edge to every single maneuver. Tyler Bate gets slaughtered in this contest, but when Bate gets control of the match and is able to fight against WALTER's pressure, he delivers an almost mythological performance. Every time Bate preservers he forms an incredible connection with the crowd, they cheer for everything Bate does. The unreal offence by Bate is perfect for the David vs. Goliath story that the match tells. He deconstructs WALTER in a believable fashion; he really wears WALTER down with everything he has. This match is constantly exciting, despite the 42 minute run time, the contest is entertaining and gratifying throughout. The crowd and the atmosphere is incredible. A epic spectacle, this match is perfection."
[10.0] "That was a fabulous match and a war between WALTER, incredible powerhouse and monstruous wrestler with a big impact. His chops on Bate, incredible babyface here in the UK, were monstruous. One of my 2019 favorite matches, an incredible contest between two differents but so completable athletes. *****1/2"
[10.0] "In terms of storytelling, this is the greatest NXT match since Gargano/Almas in my opinion. The crowd cheered the natural babyface Tyler Bate, and booed the monster heel WALTER. They started out slow with WALTER overpowering Bate with his size and Bate using his quickness to his advantage. Things kicked into second gear when WALTER hit Bate with two powerbombs. Once onto the apron, and again viciously into the ring post. This David/Goliath story was very well executed. WALTER worked on top brutalizing Bate with chops and targeted his back, and Bate had to work his way up from underneath. I think my only criticism would be some of the "Bate is strong" spots. WALTER's work on Bate's back was excellent and Bate's real-time selling was great but complex in the long run. Bate would sell the damage of his back even while running the ropes which i really liked. But his power moves should've been toned down to fit the story. Despite some questionable selling Bate's comebacks were outstanding because of his desperation, acting like they would be his last opportunity. Loved how Bate referenced BSS with a Burning Hammer and a finger snap. All the big spots were just fantastic. The Tyler Driver, the Super Exploder Suplex, the Sunset Flip. All of them were great. They built toward the climax and it was somehow believable that WALTER had to go overkill in order to beat Bate. Bate's kickout at one was awesome. I thought the Lariat finish was a very fresh choice to end the match. They went for an epic and it worked. *****"
[10.0] "This match is a masterpiece and one of the greatest matches of all time. This is the perfect example of being put over in defeat, Tyler Bate has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of."
[8.0] "Didn't like this one as much as I'd hoped I would. Other than a few nice spots, it felt overly long, which wasn't helped by the crowd who seemed intent on getting themselves over first and foremost. I'm going to sound like a buzzkill but that kind of constant chanting blurs the lines between each act of the match and makes the whole thing feel like it's in act one for 40 minutes. Other than that, the match was good but not great for me. Trim the forced epic stuff and cut the match by about 10 minutes and I think this would have been much better. Maybe also a little less "Bate is very strong" moments because they happened so often that the size difference was practically forgotten about. Also, I think if you're not going to use a Burning Hammer for a head drop, don't even bother. The gimped verison of that move looks very weak and only serves to cheapen the move overall."
[10.0] "Holy crap that match was a spectacle! Both of these men were so good especially Bate with his fiery resilience. WALTERs chops are absolutely nasty. These two put on a classic that will be marveled for years to come. Love these long matches that don? t seemed rushed like many WWE matches today. *****1/2"
[9.0] "The good storyline provides the good match. The perfect structure of the fight gave us one of the most dramatical match of all time. I do believe they could show us a better, but that, what we had seen, is the phenomenal."
[7.0] "I have very mixed feelings about this one... First of all, Bate's back was injured right? Bate was holding his back every chance he gets, and this was the only thing that commentators' were talking about. I waited for entire 40 minutes match to see where this injury part is going to have any impact, and sadly it didn't. They told the story of back injury from the very beginning of the match and it didn't go anywhere. Bate was holding his back every chance he gets, implying it hurts, but he didn't have any problems lifting and throwing 135kg giant man for like hundreds of times. Well, he failed in some of them but it's only because WALTER countered them. Bate's back never failed him. If you're going for a injury storyline in your match, there should be a big moment that your injured body part gives up when you're about to hit your move. And it should affect the progress of the match. If your injury doesn't going to have any impact on your match, then going for a injury storyline from the very beginning is pretty much pointless. Match was good but I expected some crazy shit when I saw 5*+ rating. I think ****1/2 is fair enough."
[9.0] "This was an unbelievable match, with one very large asterisk: It was insanely long! I applaud both men's endurance, and I love that they finished the match with a lariat spot, but Bate's kickouts got obnoxious. He kicked out of the big splash (which, remember, beat Pete Dunne), kicked out of the powerbomb at 1 directly after that, it was just too much. Nix the splash spot and shave like five minutes off this son of a gun, and then my friends you have a 10/10 match."
[9.0] "Das ist ein verdammt gutes Brett und mich persönlich stört auch die Länge dieser Begegnung nicht. Der Underdog haut sich immer wieder rein und WALTER konntert genauso häufig deftig wie fies. Das macht dann echt Spaß, zumal der Österreicher auch immer wieder geschickt mit dem Gaspedal spielt, bedingungslos das Tempo rausnimmt, und so auch mit den Restholds den Eindruck vermittelt, dass die Partie einer klaren und seriösen Struktur unterliegt. Bate hingegen feiert sich einfach nur cool ab, überrascht mit Technik, Kraft und einem Selling, das ohnehin über jeden Zweifel erhaben ist. Einzig, man möchte ihm nicht so recht abnehmen, dass hier heute was für ihn zu holen ist. Ansonsten eines der besten Matches des Jahres aus WWE-Feder, das kann man auch Ende August bereits konstatieren."
[10.0] "Junge, Junge! Deren Match in Wembley für PROGRESS war gut, lebte von der Face/Heel-Dynamik, den physischen Unterschieden, den Gimmicks und der Crowd. Das Match in Cardiff hat das alles noch getoppt. Der Big Strong Boi ist auch ein widerstandsfähiger Boi und WALTER rücksichtsloser denn je. Schön aufgebaut und von der Crowd unterstützt wir das eine Underdog-Story mit all den passenden Umständen. Die Crowd feiert es ab, WALTER gibt Raum zum Atmen, nur um in den nächsten Gang zu schalten und Bate kämpft aufopferungsvoll um den Title, den er als Erster gehalten hat. Das funktioniert von Sequenz zu Sequenz besser. Es sind nicht die ganz großen Spots, aber die stetige Steigerung der Moves und Comebacks, die einen hier ins Match ziehen. Nearfalls werden packender und hatte ich es im Vorwege ausgeschlossen, dass WALTER abschenkt, schaffen mindestens zwei Sequenzen das Gegenteil. Kurz vor dem Overkill zieht WALTER dann durch und das mit einem sehr passenden Finish, welches auch hier stark von Bate mitgetragen wird. Irres Ding und auch für mich persönlich ein MOTYC. (*****)"
[8.0] "Good match, but couldnt get into it as much as everyone else seemed to. The biggest problem is that they dont play into the David-Goliath dynamic particularly well. Bate bodyslams Walter like 5 minutes into the match which kills the narrative tension of what youd imagine would be one of the biggest moments of the final act of the match. Its almost like if Luke blew up the death-star 30 minutes into the movie instead of at the end. The other problem is that Bate doesnt sell the back injury throughout the match well and Walter doesnt have much physical presence and isnt that good of a seller so its not as interesting as say a Brock style monster match is."
[8.0] "8. 75/10 : Waw, I am happy. I am happy because I was missing some awesome wrestling and this Takeover gave me exactly what I needed. I am happy cause I just watched a wrestling match and I was all invested in it, all excited and genuinely captivated. While the match did not come without its flaws, some pretty glaring, it would be foolish to fail to enjoy it. Both men displayed amazing ability to be stars, we already knew they could wrestle, but this was a star-making match. Amazing spots, crazy red-hot crowd, excellent storytelling, Bate & Walter just properly put NXT UK on the map."
[10.0] "I loved this. Is was brutal, it was crazy, did I mention it was brutal? Well that said, it was f'n brutal. It went long. Very long. This is what modern wrestling is. There is not much selling these days. And for the most part, it really doesnt matter anymore because time has changed and wrestling has changed so much. I would give this easily ******1/4 on the Five-Star Scale. Yes, I broke the scale. Sue me. I love brutal intense matches."
[10.0] "Quite a fantastic match! I could nitpick small things but why bother? WALTER is probably the best in the world right now, and Bate had an awesome performance as well. I really liked how simple the ending was, WALTER wouldn't let up and Bate just didn't have anything left."
[10.0] "Boy oh boy where do I even begin with this? Absolutely brilliant David vs goliath match which had the crowd on fire for the whole 43 minutes. Every spot felt like it served a purpose and just wasn't some pointless spot to get a pop from the crowd. I usually find myself bored during any 30+ minute match but this one held my attention with the story and drama. I LOVED the finish and thought it was brilliant. (*****! )"
[6.0] "This sure was long as shit. And not in a good way. It felt like they went 42 minutes just for the sake of it, as it didn't add anything to the struggle or urgency of the match. Both guys sure had some great moments in their roles -- WALTER with a few AWESOME monster moments & Tyler with some nice fiery, explosive comeback moves, but overall the work by the two wasn't nowhere near good enough to warrant it going so long, in my eyes anyway. Not bad, but much like their PROGRESS match, pretty disappointing."
[10.0] "Top notch storytelling from everyone involved. Bate sold his back throughout the match, but it was still believable for me when he lifted Walter because he sold it like he was running on adrenaline and willpower alone, and even then, still didn't get Walter all the way up, which helped the kickout make sense. The crowd was the cherry on top with the "Please Don't Take me Home" chant and consistent LOUD pops, and Tyler kicking out of Walter's powerbomb at one was my favorite moment of the weekend. ***** match all the way, for me."
[10.0] "About as good as it gets, really. This is the platonic ideal of wrestling in 2019. It was 45 minutes but felt like 10 because both athletes were expert storytellers and expert audience manipulators, they kept the tension taught and razor sharp for the entire match. The booking of the match was superb, the rare WWE event where the whitebread babyface is over and the monster heel is booed, but both styles contrasted each other and added to the narrative of a David and Goliath epic. It was paced well so the spots and the splashes had actual weight and oomph to them, rather than being spammed witlessly and deadeningly. It felt like you were watching a legitimate athletic contest between two expert sportsmen at the top of their field. There was no need to suspend disbelief because the work was so good, so rich and so believable that it was immersive and you could fucking believe in it. More of this, please."
[10.0] "Some of the best storytelling I've seen in wrestling. Tyler Bate looked like a megastar here and wowed the crowd as he continued to prove that he could do it and lift the giant in WALTER. The two demolished each other in a physical match and it got to the point where any move could end the match and WALTER surprised us all by winning with a fantastic looking clothesline to Bate. A match of the year contender."
[9.0] "Was für eine Schlacht haben sich die beiden hier gegeben! ? Unglaubliches Match von den beiden hier! Obwohl das Match vielleicht 5-10 Minuten zu lange ging war das hier ein Klassiker mit richtig gutem Storytelling. Einer der besten David vs Goliath Matches überhaupt. Wo man WALTER hatte, der zerstörerische Heel der einfach nur zerstückeln will. Und Bate der egal was WALTER ihm entgegen geworfen hatte immer aufgestanden ist und weitergekämpft hat. Das Match fing direkt mal mit einer Powerbomb gegen den Ringpost an die sehr Schmerzhaft aussah, die wahrscheinlich gebotched war aber es hat mich trotzdem mitgerissen. Vor allem die Spots wo Bate WALTER Salmen konnte waren krass, oder wo Bate kurz vor dem Win war aber WALTER ausgekickt ist. Das Match endete dann etwas abstrakt indem Bate aus dem Big Body Splash auskickt aber nicht aufgibt und nach einer Powerbomb sogar bei 1 ausklickt, und dann WALTER eine Lariat zeigt, und so das Match endet. Das ist vielleicht auch mein einziger Kritikpunkt am ganzen Match. Aber ansonsten ganz ganz großes Kino mit zwei Weltklasse Wrestlern die hier ihre Bestleistung gezeigt haben. ****1/2"
[7.0] "A pretty good match, but of course it gets wildly high ratings, considering it has 2 of the biggest darlings in the non-main-roster WWE scene. I enjoyed the story of Bate's speed and agility up against Walter's immense size and power. That made the opening period quite exciting, but then things sadly died down as Walter established control with some bland rest holds and some pitiful clubbing blows. Bate's selling was very strong here at least, and it genuinely felt like he was trying his best to avoid all of Walter's bigger attacks. Bate's first big comeback had lots of energy and felt quite endearing because of how desperately scrappy his attacks were, as if he knew he might not get another change for control, and thus had to jump at this opportunity. This actually led to Walter? s control work becoming more interesting, as his holds became more painful looking and his strikes finally started having decent impact, since in storyline he realised it would take more to keep Bate down. I? ve never been a fan of Walter? s selling, and I thought he looked his usual overly theatrical self here. I kind of zoned out watching the forced ? epic? exchanges between these 2, especially after a Burning Hammer of all things. Watching Bate run through a series of his signature moves and finishers while getting a bunch of near falls was admittedly pretty fun, and the backstory of Walter made it believable that he could survive so much. It was pretty formulaic how then it was simply Walter? s turn to hit a bunch of moves for various near falls before getting the win. The match lasted 42 minutes, and I don't think it was paced well enough to come across as the 'epic' they were hoping for. ***1/4"
[7.0] "I didn't get this match. It felt like they were forcing a 90s AJPW epic for a modern audience without the uniqueness nor storytelling that made those matches a product of their time. It was a decent match, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't go very high on it. It probably went too long as well, which is probably why it felt forced. The Burning Hammer spot really felt odd to me in this regard. ****."
[10.0] "Awesome match, with unbelievable storytelling. You had to have followed all the angle starting with the birth of Imperium and the demise of BSS some months ago to fully appreciate how great they were in telling you their story: they hinted at a new Bate injury, in the same way Walter injured him at Download festival, and they mentioned Dunne and Seven, fallen brothers at the hands of Imperium. The matching between the two was just perfect: Walter was incredibly sadistic in its brutal domination, while Bate is possibly the best babyface around the world as of now. His comebacks were always perfect and they calibrated them in a way to build the right climax towards the final 10 minutes that were out of this world in terms of drama and emotions. Bate threw everything he had at the campion, and more, but in the end, Walter sick offensive gained him the win. That Lariat was fuckin' sick, as the exploder on the apron or the inital powerbombs outside the ring. I love this style of wrestling, so different from the high speed bouts that seems to be norm as of today. This was incredible and a full ***** to me."
[10.0] "The crown prince to the emperor of Wrestling matches that is Omega vs. Okada IV. An absolute and near-perfect demonstration of Tyler Bate's unrelenting willpower and WALTER's sheer invincibility."
[10.0] ""Perhaps it was the eighth wonder of the world. This unshakable classic wrestling in all its manifestation. An incredible tough, sometimes even very cruel match was demonstrated to us. Again one of the best chapters of the clash between David and Goliath. I really liked how they gave the audience the high stamina of Tyler Bate, it seemed that in some moments everything was the final point, but no, Tyler continued to fight over and over again. It seems to me that this match strongly advanced Tyler Bate as a wrestler and half of the merits in this are just Walter? s bestial grasp, it looked very impressive, he went out just to kill his opponent on the spot. Here, without reservation ***** star. ""
[10.0] "Yeah this match definitely lived up. It started slow but with the hot crowd and built up babyface Bate well. I can't believe this went 40+ minutes. I knew it was going pretty long but I didn't realize how. much time had went by. The last 20 minutes really are something to behold and perfect pro wrestling. I'm not a fan at all of finishers constantly being kicked out of, but they did it as perfectly as they could've here with each one having such a great build. Bate firing up and the fighting spirit was perfect. When he took off the tape and went boxing on WALTER it made for an incredible moment. And ending it on just a brutal lariat was an epic end to an epic match *****"
[7.0] "A nice little match, but nothing extraordinary here. I think the story was that Bate is strong? Well, we all know that. I just missed that juice that would make this match an instant classic. However, I think this match fell victim to a great wrestling weekend with a lot of very good matches to compare to."
[8.0] "I just had to watch this match after hearing lots of praise, it was very enjoyable but it was a little flawed in my opinion. After 5 minutes bate received a powerbomb to the ring post, Walter then got in the ring straight away for a count out victory and Bate was out there for over a minute! The follow 10 minutes Tyler Bate spent struggling to get to his feet and Walter waited around a long time between attacks. Bate spent the entire match holding his back in pain but not too much pain as he proceeded to throw Walter around about a dozen times with little consequence to his sore back, also it could have been about 15 minutes shorter. However it was a very good match and the UK crowd as usual were on fire. Well worth a look."
[8.0] "Loved both guys and the match but it? s not without its criticism. For one, the match felt way too long. It was a great 20 minute match that went 40. So it felt bloated and admittedly a little dry in parts. The early work was good and simple. It played off the set up well (thank you, video package). Bate sold fairly well but I really didn? t like him doing the ? strong boi? spots that he does. It wasn? t the match for it and it didn? t respect the back work or the weight difference nearly as I liked but I wouldn? t say he no sold it completely. I would just want a little less power moves from Bate. Especially early on. Maybe one or two here to make it matter more. The ending wasn? t great either. Went on way past its peak. The rest was a well worked match had two very good performance. Bate worked the underdog role well and WALTER fit the big man monster well too. Even if it got marred down by the forced epicness of every Takeover main event trope. ***3/4"
[9.0] "This was an excellent match that told a great story, in front of a red hot crowd. The commentary was hard to take at times, because Nigel McGuinness started out doing the dated heel schtick before going into a Maura Ranallo-lite act."
[10.0] "Simply awesome! This match is near perfect, both men did an excellent job here and managed to keep the crowd on fire for 42 minutes straight! The closing stretch is the best part of this match, it looked like Tyler would get his moment and win, but WALTER made him eat shit with the Lariat. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Alright, I expected a great match out of these two excellent wrestlers, but they blew my expectations out of the park. So much emotion showed by Tyler Bate the whole match. That stare-down at the start got the crowd excited and they were pumped up for 42 minutes, and those 42 minutes showcased some of the greatest wrestling by WALTER and Tyler Bate. The powerbomb into the steel post was unbelievably brutal, I could not tell if it was intentional or botched, but still could have been a career ending moment for Bate. Now that he was able to wrestle for another half hour after that spot, WITHOUT BOTCHING A DAMN THING, was other worldly toughness. Walter dominating for the first half made Tyler's comebacks look beautiful. b i g s t r o n g b o i is so talented for a guy of his age. This was certainly an instant classic. *****"
"This match was an epic battle. This solidified Tyler Bate as one of the most promising young talents in professional wrestling today. WALTER looked every bit as the beast as he is booked to be. This is my pick the best match of the year. *****+"
[10.0] "Classic. Absolutely incredible match. The classic David vs Goliath story. WALTER's brutal chops vs Bate's resiliency. Just a total war. Both guys brought their A+ games. Bate looked fantastic in defeat and WALTER looks like a beast. *****"
[10.0] "WOW! Normally not a fan of matches this long that aren't spotfests, but this one blew me away. Tyler Bate is a STAR and WALTER is such a good heel. Match of the weekend."
[10.0] "This may go down as my favourite match of the year. I wasn? t sure initially about the idea of having Bate as the challenger to WALTERs crown. It felt like a repeat of last years PROGRESS run just this time on WWE soil. Perhaps I was just being cynical. Walter and Bate had a classic match that in my opinion will be the best match that will be produced under the WWE banner all year. The storytelling in this was flawless. WALTER is who he is and he has a style that works for him and is also appealing to the fans. While he is a fantastic professional wrestler, it is usually up to the opponent to somehow make their matches unique and stand out. Bate sold his back like a seasoned pro. I thought he was legitimately injured after the ring post bump. The rest of it was just beautiful professional wrestling. It felt very natural. In my opinion it didn? t seem forced or deliberate. Seriously, just watch it. ***** easily"
[9.0] "Natürlich ist das eh von dem beiden episch über diese Zeit aufgebaut. Es beginnt mit Walters Dominanz, die man mit Zwischenphasen von Bate etwas unterbricht bevor Walter dann aber weiter draufgeht, besonders auch auf die Schulter, welche später auch noch mal relevant werden sollte. Dann kämpft sich Bate zurück und dann entwickelt sich natürlich ein richtig gutes Match mit vielen Kontern, ineinander geworkten Moves und Kickouts und gleichzeitig natürlich technischer Expertise wie bei dem Legwork bei Walter. Zudem muss man sagen, dass es sich nicht solange anfühlt wie es ist. Ein wirklich sehr gutes Match, dem in meinen Augen aber doch ein kleines bisschen zu den 10 Punkten fehlt. Die Dominierungsphase von Walter hat dueser zwar gut gestaltet, hätte aber trotzdem nicht so lange sein müssen, dann wäre das Gesamtmatch auch kompakter gewesen. Ich finde das man auch beim Storytelling, besonders beim Bodywork gegen Walter, noch tiefer hätte gegen können. Aber das ist wirklich auch ein bisschen Erbsenzählerei. Ein sehr gutes Match, welches 9 Punkte verdient."
[9.0] "Was für ein 42-minütiger kolossaler Brocken Main Event. Das ist für Wrestling Feinschmecker und Liebhaber von methodischem Storytelling in Kombination mit brutaler & rücksichtsloser Konsequenz. WALTER erweist sich als der perfekte Goliat und Tyler Bate's Work from Underneath war so gut nicht seit dem UK Turnierfinale gegen Pete Dunne vor zweieinhalb Jahren. Es ist ein ME den man in der Form äußerst selten sieht. Es ist ein langes Match, welches aber in Struktur keinem NJPW 50/50 IWGP Titelmatch ähnelt. Ganz im Gegenteil, WALTER & Bate erzählen die Geschichte rund, aber eben auch so wie man es von beiden erwarten würde. Die Spots werden größer, aber die Psychologie bleibt intim. Es gibt kaum Gigantomanie, nicht einmal wenn Bate zu monströsen Kraftakten greift und den Champion in der Luft hält. Das ist in der ganzen Dreiviertelstunde nicht immer vollkommen sauber (was vielleicht der einzige große Kritikpunkt ist weshalb ich dieses Match unter Dunne/WALTER sehe), aber die Finishing Stretch wirkt so brutal mitreißend und clever erzählt, dass ich hier wirklich meinen Hut ziehen möchte. Großartiges Titelmatch (****½+)."
[10.0] "Normally I'm one who would rather not have overly long matches for the sake of it, but Bate and WALTER are good enough to make every second count. WALTER dominated Bate with brutal looking punishment for a good stretch, but none of it felt like filler work. Plenty of kick outs as expected of a TakeOver main event, but at the same time this didn't feel as soulless as most TakeOver "epics". I'm not a regular watcher of NXT UK nor will I become one, but I can easily say this is the best WWE match this year."
[10.0] "This match was practically flawless. Part old school stuff and part modern wrestling . Storytelling and psychology was great definitely a match of the year candidate"
[10.0] "This was an amazing match! Tyler Bate showed amazing resiliency, while WALTER seemingly had an answer to everything that Tyler did. Stellar end for a great TakeOver."
[10.0] "Holy fucking shit, it was better than Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano 2 out of 3 falls match, and it already says alot. Match of the year. 12/10."
