[7.0] "Don't know what it was but this didn't click that great for me. Obviously it's a Kyle match so it isn't below about a 7, but I just wasn't feeling it. They threw bombs and destroyed each other, but maybe it was just the lack of story going in and during?"
[8.0] "Extremely good first title defence for Fletcher. I wasn't too familiar with Takahashi before this but he won me over here. I would've honestly preferred this to open the show because it would set up such good vibes."
[7.0] "Really great match, fletcher is proving why he's one of the best young stars in the business and Takahashi was amazing as always. Had a blast with this one. (3.75*)"
[8.0] "Really fun stuff here, as expected. Takahashi got a great showing and Fletcher got another strong title defense. Honestly, they should have had this open the show and had Patriarchy vs C&C go afterwards. This was consistently engaging and I had a lot of fun."
[8.0] "I didn't know I needed a 1-on-1 contest from these two, they've got great chemistry and their own individual styles compliment each other. Though I'm bummed to see Kyle's ROH theme go by the wayside, his new one by Hot Mulligan is already warming up to me, and it's doing wonders for his pre-match presence. A non-LIJ Hiromu still feels weird to talk or think about, but his speed and technical ability keeps him in the conversation. Kyle wins a hard hitting contest against a seasoned vet, retains his title whilst simultaneously building up his resume of solid performances."
[9.0] "A fantastic match between both men with really amazing in ring action and psychology between each other, Hiromu played his underdog performance great, and Fletcher continues to show out as always."
[8.0] "Just a classic fun aew match. Relentless pace, hard hitting moves, sweet nearfalls - yes please! Fletcher is outstanding in the ring for his age."
[8.0] "(8.2) What a fantastic match! I unfortunately had kinda low expectations for this one but it blew me away. Both men are extremely talented and had great chemistry, im glad they were given at least 15 to show off their talent. Hiromu's kick at 1 was fantastic and his chaotic energy made it such a fun time. Some of the strikes were brutal too. The final 3rd of the match was fantastic and if they worked like that for another 5 mins or so I could see this being a personal MOTY contender."
[8.0] "Fletcher's aura was great going into this. The match that followed his entrance delivered on expectations. I'm not one to pay much attention to commentary but I enjoyed some of it here especially early on. Takahashi was made to look better than I expected (which was good) and he played the underdog perfectly. The only thing that would've made this better is if the winner weren't predictable. 4.25*"
[7.0] "I was hyped to see Hiromu, one of my favorites, and he delivered. Fletcher impressed me too, he has a real knack for making everything look impactful, especially the way he sends opponents to the mat. The pacing was slower than I expected, and the camera work was a bit distracting at times, but the exchanges were solid and they tried to build a story even without much feud going in. The outcome was never in doubt since it's unlikely AEW would put the TNT belt on Hiromu, but both came out looking good. A strong match, just not the classic I was hoping for."
[8.0] "This was not quite the absolute barn burner that I expected it to be and bigged it up that it would be in my head when it was announced, but it was still pretty good. Some very gnarly bumps, as you would expect from any Hiromu Takahashi match, and Fletcher really does feel super ascendant as a star. I look forward to his World title run probably as soon as next year."
[7.0] "This was a fun but strong fight although there was no suspense at all. 2018 Hiromu against 2025 Fletcher would've been a MOTY without a doubt but unfortunately Hiromu can't go as hard as he could before. Kyle Fletcher is AEW's next star : Charisma, overness, in-ring qualities and an insanely good theme song. I really like his reign being the heel that proves why he calls himself the best in the world."
[9.0] "I understand the argument that there was absolutely no way that Kyle Fletcher would lose this match, so a lot of the suspense wasn't there. If you take that away, though, you have one of the greatest rising stars today facing off against an absolute GOAT. The speed was great, the back and forth was great, and every move was sold. If you take this match purely on what happened in the ring, bell to bell, it was probably the best match on the card."
[7.0] "A good-quality fight despite the lack of suspense. The final minutes were particularly polished, with well-placed near falls that showcased both wrestlers. Fletcher puts such impact into his moves that he doesn't need to get into crazy poses to be remarkable. In-ring quality: 2.5/4. Stakes: 1.5/2. Justification: 0.75/1. Place on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 0.25/1. Bonuses/penalties: none. Total: 7/10. Match seen on-site and then on Fite TV."
[6.0] "Felt quite anticlimactic on the night, as the match I was most excited for on the undercard. Failed for me to really build any sense of jeopardy, but also failed to leave its mark as an in-ring display. Maybe I put my expectations too high as the only true crossover match on the card, but this I found easily forgettable"
[8.0] "I expected more from the two, but this is still really good for what it's worth. Hiromu can still go, even while being a lot chunkier recently, and Fletcher is the future face of not just the promotion, but of wrestling. He has that factor that is going to carry him well, and he's so damn good at everything. When he's wrestling, you can't take your eyes off of him for one second. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Best match of the night, besides the main event and exactly what this show is meant to be about. Hiromu is so bloody great and people don't talk about him enough. He's one of the best JR heavyweight of all time, and a fantastic underdog when he faces a heavyweight like Fletcher here. Really great match, Fletcher doing all he can to put Hiromu away. But Takahashi won't quit and keeps coming back for more. Some great near falls from both, a couple of times I was surprised to see Hiromu survive. 4.5*"
[7.0] "These two guys are really good at kick outs so they just let them do a bunch of kick outs. Some good action and spots here, nothing crazy with the story."
[7.0] "This was solid and delivered what I thought it would be. Never got to the next level but it's hard for Fletcher to have a bad match at this point."
[8.0] "Slow start but when it picked up it was amazing and i loved it. Fletcher keeps shining and Hiromu shows why he is the greatest junior Heavyweight ever period"
[8.0] "15 minutes between Nick Wayne and Takahashi could have never gone wrong, great encounters and entertaining throughout, just a 'lil short. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Fletcher is great, Hiromu is great, this match was great. They knocked it out of the park with the story of Hiromu being the underdog, not as physically strong or big as Fletcher, but still putting up a hell of a fight and Fletcher dominating a majority of the match, leading to Hiromu to nearly win a few times. The DDT spot on the apron was nasty, and both men did a great job together."
[7.0] "This was a really solid match, Takahashi's first in AEW. These two had good chemistry, and even though the winner was never in doubt there were a few believable near fall attempts near the end. Kyle Fletcher also continues to impress -- I bet he will have a really strong run as TNT champion. ***1/2"
[6.0] "Fletcher does not relent (unlike with Ishii) and does his type of match. Against the considerably smaller Takahashi, that means a dominating performance deliberately paced. Not that much flashiness and definitely not flashiness without meanness. The comeback from Hiromu feels like a rush of energy in comparison and much more satisfying for it."
[9.0] "Kyle Fletcher is the best male wrestler in the world. Matches like this prove that. Him and Hiromu showed a ton of chemistry and put together something great."
[6.0] "***3/4 a good match, it didn't quite deliver, but it could have been better, good pace, they were going very well but during the final minutes for some reason they dropped the revolutions too much, good sequences, good chemistry, they worked well but I didn't feel like there was anything more, interesting ending although somewhat cold like the public even stopped making noise in the final minutes with Fletcher's two enzugiris and when he goes for the Brainbuster, Hiromu reverses in a small-package from which Fletcher kicks himself and lifts Hiromu to now apply the Brainbuster and retain"
[7.0] "Never got truly invested in this, I think we all knew Fletcher was winning so there was no real jeopardy, but the near falls were strong enough to keep me engaged throughout. Takahashi looked so happy to be there and nobody stooges like Fletcher right now."
[8.0] "What a match this was one of the few on the card that felt like we had actually opened the Forbidden door. Kyle Fletcher has saved the TNT belt and turned it into a belt worth wrestling for again which is just great to see he was once again in his bag for this match hitting some great moves the spinning suplex off the middle rope was one of the stand out spots in the match for me. Kyle once again worked the crowd so well he really is on of the best heels about right now. Takahashi was great in this match and i was glad he got to shine in this match. He had two really excellent moments that being the posionrana on the apron and countering Kyle's attempt at a last ride into a crazy destroyer. The part of the match were they traded suplex's was also great fun to watch. The they did well to have some good near falls that had the crowd biting but in the end it was what most of us thought and it came with the running corner kicks and the big brainbuster for the 3 count and a Win for The Protostar. Overall a really great hard hitting well structed match with some great moments the first real good match of the night and another great title defence for Kyle would of loved this getting 5 more minutes though. (****1/4)"
[8.0] "Hiromu Takahashi did great working with Fletcher. I just wish it felt like the stakes were higher, with the title no doubt staying with Fletcher."
[8.0] "Buttery smooth as one would expect from two of wrestling's most talented in ring guys. The finish wasn't really in doubt, which maybe limits its ceiling, but everything they did worked and there were some great moments."
[8.0] "An impressive performance from Hiromu at this stage of his career, Fletcher is an impeccable bumper and the near falls were perfect. Both guys did some incredible looking moves and gave us a true PPV match for a tv title."
[8.0] "i love Kyle so much, he's getting better and better every time you see him on screen, i absolutely adore Hiromu, although i kinda wanted to see more from both of them? and felt like their chemistry wasn't the best too, but this was a genuinely astonishing match and Kyle's a future legend"
[7.0] "A well-organized and well-played fight that doesn't have any excitement or heat. Kyle and Hiromu showed an understandable match filled with some impressive moves, but they couldn't make it all make any sense or demonstrate the incredible chemistry that defies your imagination. It's not a bad match, considering the completely random purpose of the match, but few people will remember that such a fight ever happened."
[8.0] "A really good match honestly, one of my only complaints is that the was really no risk of Fletcher losing the strap here. That is the problem with the cross promotion title matches as it's pretty clear the champion will retain. Overall though a good match with some impressive stuff."
[7.0] "Physically impressive match. Very grueling. The pacing could have been better but I guess for the type of match this is the pacing that works. Glad Hiromu got to shine cause I feared he was there to be fed to Kyle. That poisonrana on the apron is an insane spot and given the quality, they managed to keep us guessing for a sec or two. Kyle looked impressive, which was the idea, but Hiromu managed to shine as well, rightfully so. Bryan at commentary should be normalize from now on. He is so damn good at it. Pair him with Don, lol."
[7.0] "[3.5*] Man... Kyle Fletcher never ceases to impress me! I've always been a fan of his work, since the Aussie Open days, but I confess I never thought he'd be this successful in a solo career, and I'm so glad that I was wrong. Hiromu Takahashi has always been one of my favorite fighters in New Japan, especially for his great matches in the junior division, and what did they do? A perfect Junior Heavyweight match, reminding me from one of the division's best years. Despite not being a junior, Fletcher has the speed and charisma that have always been the division's standout, but he doesn't depend on that, because he's become a complete guy. His connection with the crowd is incredible, he knows how to time his power moments and creates a fantastic atmosphere in the arena. A very good defense of a very promising reign."
[7.0] "A bit of a slow burner but this was quite good. Kyle controls the first half before Hiromu starts fighting back and makes a typically explosive Hiromu comeback. Neither guy really did anything out of the ordinary here but they both gelled well and had a pretty entertaining match as a result. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Really didn't know how these guys would gel and the slower start made me a bit skeptical but this match built to an amazing back and forth of stiff strikes and speed and an insane amount of power from Kyle Fletcher. The Protostar maintained control throughout most of the match but as soon as Hiromu Takahashi was able to showcase his durability, his comeback was ten times more effective. So many great spots, the avalanche back suplex, the ddt on the apron and those tombstone reversals to name a few. This match was fantastic"
"This was definitely the match of the night, it excels in my opinion due to it's simplicity. There aren't any major instances of interference or cheating, just two incredibly good wrestlers putting on a good show that ends with one of them winning cleanly. Very cool stuff, I would love to see more of this type of thing from AEW."
"Kyle Fletcher again showing that he's the future ace of AEW, while Hiromu got to show off what made him so special once upon a time. Hiromu refusing to go down and laughing maniacally was a nice character moment"
[8.0] "Good stuff. Fletcher really is growing into being a top guy in every way. Hiromu meanwhile while not what he once was can absolutely still go at a high level when he wants to, and he did here. It never quite got to top gear, but it was definitely enjoyable and made both guys come out looking good. ****"
[7.0] "7.5 - Very good match with Kyle Fletcher showing why he's elite-adjacent. But I've sort of forgotten what makes Hiromu special. His sunset flip over the apron was incredible, but aside from that he mostly took punishment."
[7.0] "This was a really good and intense match, definitely different to what I expected with a slower pace being taken, but incredibly enjoyable throughout with some great spots. Fletcher got the win with a Brainbuster onto Takahashi and while this did feel a bit paint by numbers at points, overall it was very enjoyable and well executed."
[8.0] "First of all, I loved the first few minutes where we didn't get a single camera cut, loved it! Second, what a great showing from both these dudes! Hiromu is a wonderful talent that can really go and he wants to and Kyle is just on fire right now. They did some pretty good nearfalls that I thought they were done for sure. Great job by both, a lot of cool moments and insane bumps. Bryan Danielson being on the announce table for this one made everything better."
[7.0] "A fun match for what it was. No real background, no deeper story. It was obvious Fletcher was going to win, so the near falls added a bit of suspense and made things more enjoyable, even if they were a little overused. In this case, it worked fine."
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