[4.0] "The ending sucks anyways but man Okada really just did not seem to like this one didn't he? Felt a bit weird that he didn't go for swerves leg and how he just did not care one bit here. Disappointing for me."
[7.0] "Pretty good. Unfortunately, that's about all I can say about this. This was one of my most anticipated matches for the show when it was announced, and it was a bit underwhelming. As a match on its own, it's good stuff. Definitely better than average. However, with the caliber of the two guys involved, as well as seeing how much time they ended up getting, I was expecting something greater."
[6.0] "C;mon. How is it possible that David Finley is having better, more entertaining matches than Okada. Okada was suppose to be great for decades but he stopped giving two Abrahantes ;) a few years ago."
[4.0] "The entire story of this match was built around Swerve Strickland's injured leg and knee, yet Okada strangely ignored that and only targeted his neck instead. It killed the psychology for me, which really hurt the match overall. Not good--4/10."
[7.0] "(7.3) While I 100% preferred this as a match to the womens 4 way for example I definitely left this feeling worse. Super disappointing imo as I had crazy high hopes for this one. The match was entertaining and warmed up in the 2nd half for sure, the ending kinda came right when it was really getting good though. At the end of the day if both men were given twice as much time I think this could have lived up to my expectations."
[8.0] "There's the first great match on the show. A big reason is that they told a story with Swerve selling the knee injury and trying to overcome it throughout the match. A lot of AEW matches feature people wanting to do move after move without selling properly. These guys know what they are doing and told a story by selling big moves. Swerve nearly got the win a few times, but Okada was able to counter him and Okada was relentless in finishing off Swerve for the win. ***3/4"
[7.0] "Minimal build means there's going to be a ceiling on this. I prefer this Okada theme tho. Not too many notes on this. Good match with a typical weakened limb angle and another predictable winner. Effective post match angle with Wardlow getting intended heat off the Nana attack & joining Don Callis. 3.5*"
[9.0] "An amazing match between both men with really great and hard hitting in ring work and psychology between each other, Swerve was great despite working while hurt, and Okada stayed dominant in victory."
[7.0] "This was a good match, but also a clear reflection of where both men are at in 2025. Swerve has hit his prime, faster, sharper, and with a big-match aura, while Okada feels like he's past his. Don't get me wrong, Okada is still an elite talent, but his AEW run hasn't come close to his NJPW peak, and his work here felt a little flat by comparison. Their chemistry was uneven, with the pacing leaning more toward Okada's slow style while Swerve tried to push things faster, which led to some awkward moments. That said, the match was still PPV-worthy, and Swerve put in a strong performance. Okada hitting the Rainmaker clean was a solid finish, and the post-match write-off of Swerve plus Wardlow's return set up the next direction. Overall, good, a testament to Swerve's prime and Okada's lingering reputation rather than his actual output."
[8.0] "These guys are both so damn good, and it still feels like they were holding something back here. This also just exemplifies why I desperately want Swerve in a G1 one day, even though I know it's probably never going to happen. Now give me more."
[7.0] "Good match but a little underwhelming when we know how good both guys can be. I don't think it'll be the last one between the two in the next years, just wait and see."
[7.0] "A good match between the two men. The best moment of the match was when Okada sent a swerve outside and landed on his feet. The finish was protected and when Okada placed the rainmaker it was over. After the match, Wardlow joined the family and I think that it's starting to become too many members."
[7.0] "The names lined up could have justified high expectations and therefore a bit of disappointment given the content. But even if Okada seemed a little reserved, I found the match perfectly acceptable, and the fact that Swerve sold his knee made this sort of glass ceiling in the pace of the match more believable. And it was potentially the first act of a future long rivalry. In-ring quality: 2/4. Stakes: 1.75/2. Justification: 1/1. Place on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 0.5/1. Bonuses/penalties: none. Total: 7.25/10. Match seen on-site and then on Fite TV."
[8.0] "This is quite a low rating, because I did really enjoy this one and I thought Okada and Swerve had nice chemistry. Swerve did appear slightly shaken up, but I think that's the knowledge that he's getting surgery done after this match, and wanted to have a good performance before he takes a break. I thought he did great, and Okada on AEW PPV's is always a bag of tricks. Fun contest. ****1/4"
[7.0] "Pretty good match, but could have been better with who is involved. Okada and Swerve do mesh pretty well, but it felt like something was missing here."
[7.0] "I think this match was hurt by everyone knowing that Swerve needed some time off. There wasn't a lot of urgency with this match and Okada did not bring his A game here whatsoever. With that being said, still a solid match and nothing bad in the match. Will miss Swerve during his time off."
[8.0] "Excellent match. Okada has been in peak form lately and he continues here. These two will not be capable of putting on a sub-par match. The only thing I didn't love about it is that they went a bit too heavy on the "working Swerve's knee injury" angle. Those spots and matches that feature them heavily get boring for me nearly without exception. Swerve is going to have that meniscus repaired and will be taking time off following this, but the angle grounded Swerve a little more than I'd like (more than the actual injury I would guess). Another match where the outcome was not going to be in doubt (since I knew about Swerve's knee), but it didn't take away from the entertainment factor."
[9.0] "I don't get why this is so underrated. Swerve and Okada had great chemistry and worked a slower more methodical match with the final five minutes being all out mayhem and fast pace action. I thought this was excellent and it helps this title to be cemented as a top prize in AEW"
[6.0] "***3/4 good match, but I expected something much better, good chemistry, they understood each other and gave good reversals, although it was not an instant click, good sequences, Swerve's house calls were very good and the exchanges of movements too, very good selling by Swerve to his knee injury, but Okada practically did not care and did not even work or focused a little on taking advantage of Swerve's damage, which made him look a little bad for not looking for ways to take advantage of Swerve's injury during the match, interesting pace although somewhat slow at the start, very good ending was the best of the match with those dropkicks and reversals of the House Call, ending everything with a RainMaker and Okada after the match hurts Swerve's knee more"
[8.0] "Swerve's wrist control was genuinely awesome, it wasn't as good as it could have been been longer but for a 16 minutes match they plaid a lot of great sequences and an hot final stretch. Surprised by the clear finish. ****1/4"
[5.0] "I'm gonna be brutally honest here, this match sucked. The story of Swerve's knee being hurt played a big part in the story, but Swerve lacked in selling it in some parts, which nagged the match for me. Not only that, the pacing felt weird at times, and they don't have the greatest chemistry together. It wasn't bad, but it was decent, which is fine when it's not billed as a huge title match between two of AEW's top stars."
[7.0] "Swerve/Okada sounds like a potential MOTY contender but this one never came close to reaching that level. As a match, it was definitely good, and I enjoyed the attacking of Swerve's knee especially, but it did feel like it underdelivered a bit. I think the rather weak build also didn't help here. ***1/2"
[7.0] "Not anything special but I thought it was on the better side for Okada's AEW career thus far. Lots of #storytelling and such a little over the top but fine to good more than fair to fine"
[6.0] "I was a little disappointed by this match but I think it was primarily due to swerve's injury. I wish the knee spots look a bit more natural, but I appreciate the psychology that swerve brought to the match. I would like to see this match booked again when swerve returns because I believe they are capable of more."
[7.0] "The story of the match was quite obviously hampered by irl events, that being Swerve needing time off, because the whole match was essentially "Swerve isn't ready for Okada" and he obviously wasn't because he was injured. This did a great job of telling the story it was trying to tell, and the tension of when Okada was gonna hit the rainmaker gripped my section of the arena. Not the best match but it wasn't trying to be."
[7.0] "There is nothing particularly wrong with this match, I just didn't feel anything while watching it. I hope Swerve takes a well deserved break after this."
[8.0] "This match might have been the biggest let down of the night for me the first time i have ever seen an Okada singles match in person and i wasn't expecting Toyko Dome Okada but i was still expecting him to give a shit but he only does that if your name is Ospreay, Omega, White, Ibushi and Tanahashi if your name isn't one of those you need an all time performance to have a good match (Speedball for example). But i will say he half asses it better than anyone else because he is that good all of the stuff he does is great but there is something missing he does still have crazy aura though. Thank god Swerve carried this match with all he could on his one knee and made this a watchable match with his great catalogue of spots he has. He is such a nerd though as he gets to every meme two months late but i still love him. The match started to get good towards the end as Okada locks in for the finish but the finish came out of nowhere and the match could of done with 5 more minutes as it was starting to go up the gears. Overall a calm little 8 out of 10 but it is the shame as it really was the floor for this match and it could of been so great as i was expecting so much more. The post match angle with the writing off of Swerve and the return of Wardlow and his showdown with Takeshita was cool (the match probably wont be but oh well) and i wonder how Don is paying for all these guys to be in his family. (****)"
[9.0] "A slow-burn, story-rich epic that proved wrestling is at its best when veterans use their wisdom to craft a compelling narrative, turning physical limitations into dramatic strengths."
[6.0] "I am a huge Swerve Strickland fan as well as an Okada fan. So this match really didn't deliver for me what I expected however with Swerve's injury I feel like this was a great way to set up a future match and have them run it back."
[8.0] "The news of Swerve's knee problems also dent this one's ceiling - seemed unlikely he would dethrone Kazu. However, the wrestling was bloody excellent - hard to believe Swerve has been working with an injury for so long, and Okada remains unmatched when he wants to be. Finish was fun, and old fashioned Okada stuff, building around him trying to hit his death turn around Rainmaker. Could've down without the post match, which kinda sucked the wind out of the house. Still, that's not the lads' fault!"
[8.0] "Very good performance from an injured Swerve Strickland, his house call kicks especially were perfectly timed and looked great. Okada is like an invincible final boss, I love the fact there's no interference allowed for this unified title defenses now. The fans treated Swerve like a star with some cool chants. Great finish sequence into the Rainmaker for a clean win. Lots happening in the after match with the Wardlow return to join the Don Callis Familly. Takeshita has to turn soon."
[7.0] "It felt rushed, I don't know why but a lot more could have been done. Even the finish with Wardlow felt very WWE honestly, I'm not really into those big return moments (and to be fair, I'm not a Wardlow fan either). I'd much rather see more actual in-ring work. Still, it was an enjoyable match that deserved more time. Hopefully we'll get a rematch soon, or better yet, a long feud, because I'm sure it could deliver some spectacular matches. A shame..."
[7.0] "knowing how legendary Okada is and how good Swerve can deliver, i was a bit disappointed but still appreciated the match, but it didn't feel any more special than the last Okada's matches, i wish we could've seen more.."
[6.0] "I still wonder what people find in Okada at AEW. I mean, all these words about good matches. I don't think Okada or Strickland are lazy or screwed up somewhere, it's just that Okada got tired of these monotonous matches back in NJPW, and in America most of his big matches are exactly the same, only shorter, with useless targeting and a feeling of emptiness after watching, because where did they put my 20 minutes of life or something like that? It's just not very interesting to me and it's extremely gray, it seems to me that the abundance of explosive wrestlers who are pitted against Okada is not good for him. It's just that no one wants to adjust to anyone, and most of his matches are playing two different songs in turn. Oh, well, it's standard for this show, no heat in the match or passion, everything is terribly ordinary, as if there was no hostility."
[7.0] "I don't think Okada and Swerve will ever have a fantastic chemistry, they have a better match with many other opponents but this was a good match, just lacked any suspense as the build was really mediocre. I don't really care about Wardlow in big 2025 but I thought his return looked good and will give it time to see how he actually fits in the don callis family vortex. They just be letting anybody in these days. Overall a good match with a good post match angle."
[6.0] "Disappointed. Feel like I've said that nearly every Okada AEW pov match since the day he's signed on full time. It's just hasn't been working man. Maybe it's his heel run maybe it's his stale title run. Maybe it's just him not having what he once had when he was on top of new Japan. Whatever it is it is disappointing. I understand not every top star in wrestling is going to have great chemistry with eachother. And maybe these dudes are one of those occasions because it just didn't work from the bell honestly. There were moments but honestly not very many man. Just a boring match. Selling was inconsistent on the body part as well. Wardlow returning post match was honestly sick just to see him back but I've learned when he returns not to get my hopes up because we all know AEW can't book that man. I also don't understand why he debuted after Okada won clean as well as after Okada already beat down swerve post match to take him out for a bit of time and then as commentary put it "is this the backup plan Don was talking about" MF WHAT? He just beat the dude and then beat him again post match tf does he need wardlow for. Should've just had him return in this feud buildup which was non existent just to throw some more at swerve. Weird ass post match. (***1/4)"
[4.0] "Typical Okada match nowadays. Pretty boring. But the external factors is super exciting for me. Wardlow back in AEW as part of Don's family. Right now that faction is tough as anything. The amount of talents is incredible. With that said, I am salivating on the idea that one day we might get Okada vs Takesoup. That day would be glorious."
[6.0] "[2.5] I confess I was disappointed, but I understand why. I have mixed feelings about this match, and I'll explain more, but let's take it one step at a time. I know we won't see Tokyo Dome Okada every night, nor against every wrestler, but I was hoping Swerve could be a guy to bring that, but that didn't happen. Their styles didn't mesh well, and the match felt a bit flat. My main issue was quite similar to the G1 final, which was the inconsistent selling of the knee. Given the news this week, Okada attacked Strickland's knee the entire match, but Swerve didn't sell it the entire match! He only sold when it was necessary for the spot, but he always exploded for the big moves, which took me a bit away from the match. Their chemistry wasn't very good as well. Although I thought it was good, Okada controlled the pace well, but some of Swerve's matches don't win me over, mainly due to the inconsistent selling. Let's see what they do with Okada's reign, very happy for Wardlow's return and his addition to the family."
[6.0] "This was fairly solid. Some good action in this as well as a good heel performance from Okada. Swerve's leg selling wasn't the best here but it didn't detract from the match too much. Pretty good overall, but far from being one of the best on this card. ***"
[8.0] "Great match, but Strickland's selling is pretty bad. He only sells it when it's relevant for a spot. The neck work also felt kind of meaningless, but overall it was a really well done and nicely paced Okada match."
"This match just didn't do it for me, though I think it's more a matter of personal preference more than anything else. Both Swerve and Okada are fantastic, but much like the match with Toni Storm and Athena later in the card, it just felt like it never got going."
[6.0] "At the end of the match, the atmosphere kinda started to be exciting, with that big fight feel. But nothing happened. This match wasn't bad, and obviously it's Swerve and Okada so they can create decent stuff in the ring, but this was disapointing. Swerve felt a bit off and underperforming. And damn, I'm starting to get sick of Okada. I was ok with the goofy character, but most of his matches are extremely bland nowadays. Even against Swerve, nothing happens."
[6.0] "Don't think it lived up to the hype. I liked they were going for a different approach by targeting the knee, but it came kinda confusing with the selling. Some cool moments but not that impressive of a match considering the talent involved."
[7.0] "Undoubtedly good but I was hoping for more from guys of this caliber. Unfortunately Okada's heel gimmick has limited him in terms of showing that he can still put on MOTY level matches. Nevertheless, what was here was still very good, it just ended a bit abruptly to get into the really high scores. ***3/4"
[9.0] "[4, 5 Stars] I really enjoyed it, it was a bit short but I found a big Swerve and a big Okada again, which made me happy, hoping that it'll become a habit for Kazuchika again. (****, 5)."
[7.0] "Thought this was very good, although still a touch under my expectations. Would be very interested in them running this back when Swerve returns. 3.75 stars"
[7.0] "A good match but you kinda expect a bit more from these two. Swerve is hurt though and Okada's effort levels in AEW remain questionable. I would give it three and three quarters stars, it got close to being really good."
[4.0] "What happened to Okada? Really? He went from being one of New Japans best wrestlers to not giving it 100% in AEW. Swerve was fine here, but he had to go down to the level Okada was at during this match. OK, some moments were good, but most of the time, it was just meh. Also Wardlow retiring was a shocking moment, but what ruined it was him alining himself with the Don Callis Family."
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