Adam Page vs. MJF

[5.0] "Very interesting match. The majority of the match, (about 70%) is amazing and very well wrestled. Some fun comedic spots, a good amount of intriguing action and other than an odd table spot that kinda just makes the entire stipulation useless, it's great. And then you hit the last part....uhhhhh, it's alright? No actually it's worse than that tbh, it's a very rigid watch. The 'MJF'-isms as I call them, ensue; and it's pretty annoying as they are usually. First there's an awkward ref bump, but then he immediately gets up to count and they do some dumbass foot on the rope, to make it even worse, Mark Briscoe does a run-in? But he doesn't even make it halfway down the ramp before getting stopped by security....thats the worst of these spots imo, but all of them are extremely stupid and unneeded. Like the Avalanche OWA in the Kenny match; it's just unnecessary."

[4.0] "The compliments are deserved for most of the first part of the match. Even tough with the extremely annoying and kinda stale MJF leaving the ring, the match actually got pretty interesting... till the ref bump. From there, everything just became an exaggerated circus of MJF doing all the cheating possible; the foot on the rope spot was utterly terrible, why did the ref count to three? Why did Briscoe came out, only for them not let him even get close to the ring? The pinky ring spots also sucked ass, all that baiting shit was pretty boring and the ending was as generic as you can get. As the disappointment with pretty much the entire last part of the match overshadowed the good but not memorable part, to call it adequate is fair."

[10.0] "The match of the night, a rivalry that is cooking to something better, MJF and Hangman Adam Page knowing no mercy for the other and giving a great show, a great rivalry with level in ring, brutality, a spit of Adam to Maxwell (was that really necessary? ) and in the end showing this is getting started to something higher. 10/10 [*****]"

[10.0] "MJF vs Hangman didn't click like it should have. The match dragged at points, with MJF taking too long with his usual slow, smug control and Hangman trying to speed things up, but it never fully clicked. The flow felt off, making comebacks and near falls lose impact. MJF's usual arrogance came off flat, and Hangman's high-energy moves weren't highlighted properly. The crowd wasn't fully invested, and the ending felt rushed, leaving the story half-told. It had flashes of good moments, but overall it felt disjointed and underwhelming for what could've been a big match."

[7.0] "I was really enjoy this one until the finish that lowered it for me a little bit, I'd like to see Hangman & MJF it back with a clean finish. (3.5*)"

[6.0] "I was enjoying this. Despite not really telling much of a story in the ring the two men are pretty well rounded characters at this point that the matches tells itself in a way. If the goal was just to go out and put on a good well worked match then that had that down pat for the most part. Unfortunately for me the match just got overbooked in the end. A table spot, a low blow, a contract shot and a false finish. You can have one of these, maybe even two but having all in such close proximity and not really earning it really bogged the match down for me. It kind of reminded me of MJF's match with Jay White at Full Gear 2023, just too much."

[5.0] "A great match heavily derailed by the usual MJF nonsense that I despise. Why can't his matches just be normal man. It's very frustrating to always have to watch this and that's me being generous too.."

[9.0] "Great World Title Match here. A bit surprising, though, that MJF didn't execute his Casino Gauntlet contract after losing. I was really thinking that he'd lose, attack Page after the match, and use the contract to win the belt. Aside from that expectation, though, this was really, really good. Great in-ring action combined with well-done drama."

[8.0] "Borderline 8/9. Energetic slugfest delivers as the lead in to the main event. Even with the slight overbooking the match is still very good bell to bell. Both these guys give it everything when they get the time and the chance to do it. Is it the best contest from either Hangman or MJF? No, but the bout was satisfactory and then some. For what its worth there is a LOT of blood in this one but the back story behind the bout certainly helped the crimson masks tell the story."

[9.0] "Aside from the Cage Match, this was my match of the night at Forbidden Door. I love the way they told the story of MJF pulling out all the stops to try and win the title. He used weapons, he tried to cheat, he tried to get Hangman to DQ himself, he really gave it everything he had. MJF is great at pushing babyfaces to their limits, he did the same thing to Will Ospreay and it worked wonders for that match too."

[10.0] "Exceeded even my already high expectations as one of the best matches this year. I really thought MJF had it won 3 times and the stipulation of having the title change hands in the event of countout or disqualification gave it a unique and exciting feel with MJF and Hangman constantly scrambling to skirt the rules without a loss. Great satisfying finish and special shoutout to Bryce Remsberg working perfectly with the 2 competitors to make this special."

[8.0] "Was the match overbooked? Yes. Did Bryce look like an idiot? Yes. But was it still a very good and intense world championship match? Yes. I wasn't sure who was going to win this, and you could smell the disdain both men had for each other. Hangman believing MJF is a gutless insecure coward and MJF deep down envious that the fans will never love him like they do Hangman."

[3.0] "I just don't get how it is possible to write these amazing huge stories like Timeless Toni match with Mariah May or Hangman winning the title from Moxley. And then have bullAbrahantes matches like this. The Abrahantes started even before the match started. MJF got his way with the stipulations by threatening to murder someone. Dumb for so many reasons. Beyond committing a crime (This wasn't a match (where committing crimes is legal) it was a promo), did he pass this through Khan first before just making matches with stipulations. When did he get that power? And then the match starts and the clusterAbrahantes starts too. If Hangman gets DQ'ed he loses the belt but dead-eyeing your opponent through a table is not a DQ. Weird. Then MJF almost break's Adam Page's neck by piledriving him on the already broken table (I guess since Hangman did it then this isn't DQ worthy). This was incredibly stupid and dangerous. From there we have them rolling around the ring playing roly-poly and 2 counts like they are children on the playground. What's next, oh ya. For some reason the ref went Spinal Tap and let the count out go to 11. Like what the Abrahantes? Now here's the dumbest part yet. MJF pulls out his diamond ring and gives it to Hangman to try and trick him into hitting him with it and getting DQ'ed. Good thing he is smart enough to know that since Dead-eyeing MJF through a table not cause a DQ then this shouldn't either. No I'm joking for some reason the table not a DQ but using a ring is. Not finished yet. We still have to have the Dusty finish but done terribly. Then to finishes it off MJF does the same stupid thing he does every time, have 1 weapon taken away so I can use another. I believe Bryce is the name of the ref. This match made him look like he was mentally challenged. This sucked worse than Abrahantes."

[9.0] "(8.8) Honestly a surprisingly fantastic match. They really started off strong and it only got better as time went on, I liked the table spot a lot and didn't hate MJF's shenaningans although it got a bit much by the end, the bryce incident was the only bad part of the entire bout and is the main reason I haven't rated it higher. I could smell the blood in person too which considering the amount they bled was very surprising. 100% a sleeper hit and much better on rewatch too."

[6.0] "[3.0*] I think this was just a mix of good ideas with bad execution. For example, I loved the spot where they emulated the Max vs Briscoe match and Mark coming in made perfect sense, the problem was only Bryce. The "workrate" part of the match until the overbooked ending stretch was just fantastic too. Like, it was damn great. They have great chemistry, they bled, they beat the hell out of each other. It had nice sequences, nearfalls and all these stuff. EDIT: Yeah, I'm lowering my rating because this just agered poorly for me. The things that stood out during this week were the awful Bryce job, the nonsense roll-up sequence and that absurd cutter where MJF pulled Hangman off the ropes. I think they just tried to do so many matches into one it ended up being a mess. I'll still give it a good rating because at first I really liked it, but yeah, it just didn't age very well."

[8.0] "This match was kinda ridiculous and overbooked towards the end but it was enjoyable enough to accept the shenanigans for me. Great storytelling and ring work in play here. Despite the stipulation, they drew blood and implemented weapons (which I was hoping they would avoid). The table & chair spots could've been done on the announce table/ramp and steel steps. the 3 count & rope break spot weren't the most logical but the Briscoe tie in & same ref from the dynamite match were enough for me to accept it. This was enjoyable enough to earn 4.25* despite its flaws."

[10.0] "Bit below their AEW Revolution (2025) match just by a tiny bit, and the stipulation of title change can happen via count out or DQ led to a lot of overbooking, but this was still a real fantastic match between both men with fantastic in ring work and psychology, there was al it of drama to be had, and the crowd was red hot."

[6.0] "In my opinion, their match at Revolution earlier this year was way better. This one here wasn't that good and finish made it feels even more flat and disappointing... Adam Page is always good and can save any match from being horrible so thanks to him."

[6.0] ""This doesn't work for me brother". Not bad but it's just a MJF-esque match, too overbooked for me. The storyline isn't strong enough to make this overbooking necessary, I've already expressed numerous times why I don't like overbooking in nowadays wrestling. Page vs Moxley at All In was a powerful story which needed overbooking to create something epic, this match didn't. And the booking choice to make MJF retain his contract even though this match happens really bothers me. Overall, I can't say it's bad but it's just not for me."

[8.0] "This was a solid main-event level match with crisp strikes, believable counters, and high stakes. Page and MJF have natural chemistry, the former as the grounded hero, the latter as the scheming heel, and it shows in how the match flows. MJF is in peak physical shape right now, and Page remains steady and impactful. The overbooking hurts the last stretch. The false finishes, ref bump, foot on the rope, and Briscoe cameo piled up and strained logic. Subtle comedy and nearfalls helped keep tension, but the finish could have been cleaner. That said, it proves AEW can still build stars from within. As a MJF fan, I felt his momentum dipped slightly in 2024/25, but he looked prime here. Page delivered as always, though crowd hype felt a bit inflated compared to my own excitement. Great wrestling and storytelling, slightly dragged down by overbooking and referee logic."

[8.0] "Just an absolute barn-burner of a match. I mean, it's true, isn't it, that Hangman has been the main character of AEW pretty much since its inception, and MJF the main villain, so of course they have great chemistry together, and great matches. Old school, snug, violent, with some gimmicky stuff at the end, but it's earned, and it means we can come back to this well for whenever MJF does decide to finally execute the contract. This is definitely a feud that AEW can come back to again and again, especially if they keep delivering work like this."

"It was really good action, but I hated all the ref involvement and the RUELS. Ref counted 3 - that ends the match regardless. It's happened in kayfabe before. Ref calls 3 , match ends. Still overall a good match. Id give is 3 quarters without that bit. Also useless run-in. ****1/2"

[6.0] "I don't know, that was just kind of stupid. Good main event style match, though I thought it was pretty boring at times. Anyways, the ref counts the three and then... passes out and doesn't ring the bell. But he is miraculously okay and spry with MJF tries to take Hangman's foot off the rope? Like come you were dead two seconds ago."

[6.0] "A good match, but a few spots were done wrong, in my opinion: when the ref counted 3, that should have been a victory for MJF, it doesn't matter the foot on the rope, because he noticed it after. Also when the ref stopped MJF from punching Page with the ring, there was no way he could see that and react like that. These 2 spots kinda "broke" this match for me. But it was still good enough and MJF is as entertaining as always."

[10.0] "I LOVE this match. I understand the logic behind the complaints around the referee calls and Briscoe run-in, but having been in this arena for the match, I've never been so invested in an outcome. We were PISSED when MJF seemed to have won and the ref undoing the decision was the loudest pop of the night. One of the most enjoyable matches I have ever seen, filled with incredible spots like the table stuff and true drama. Crowd could not have been better. The added stakes of the title changing hands by count-out or DQ add so much drama and room for character work, which is fully capitalised on."

[8.0] "Really good match with great back and forth stuff, but a little bit of unnecessary overbooked stuff. Briscoe coming out and the ref stuff wasn't my favorite, but the match was great nonetheless."

[8.0] "A very good mix of overbooking, acting, and, above all, very high-quality wrestling. The criticisms are understandable, but it's also for this type of match that I appreciate MJF. A good title defense and a match to watch again with pleasure. In-ring quality: 2.5/4. Stakes: 2/2. Justification: 1/1. Place on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 0.75/1. Bonuses/penalties: none. Total: 8.25/10. Match seen on-site and then on Fite TV."

[7.0] "Both guys worked very hard, so it's a shame the finish was an over convoluted, overbooked mess, which unfortunately has to effect the score. This was a 4-star+ match that was dragged down badly by the finish."

[6.0] "Very solid. The overbooked finish kinda ruined it for me. The ref stuff was completely non sensical. The Briscoe interference did nothing. Sad because it was trending really great for me the first half."

[9.0] "Almost 5. I really can't give it 5, because of the blatant botch regarding Hangman's feet being on the rope but the ref still counting three and just not even acknowledging it, and the errant interference afterwards that damn near fucked up the pace before the match. Everything before that? Was golden. Hangman and MJF took their appetizer that they gave us at Revolution earlier in the year, and expanded on everything to make a great main-event esque match. This actually reminded me a lot of the PPV matches Hangman had in his first reign as champion, and so far, it has been very good. MJF is still one of the best heels in wrestling, and easily the best story-driven wrestler in my eyes, and it makes total sense he was in the ring with the same guy that can easily challenge for that position too. I don't know where this MJF and Mark Briscoe feud is heading, but hopefully we can wrap a bow on it soon, as it's drawn its course in my eyes, and did take away from this match. Regardless, excellent. ****3/4"

[9.0] "I saw a lot of people not liking this match online on Twitter/X. But I don't get it. I really liked it when I watched it live, and I liked it more on rewatch. MJF is a very polarising wrestler, but I do genuinely like MJF melodramas. It was very overbooked, but I really enjoyed it. The Deadeye, through the table, was sick. The Tombstone on the broken table by MJF was awesome too. The blood added to my enjoyment of the match, and my fellow Brits in the crowd were electric throughout, which added points to this match too. Really enjoyed it, just like I enjoyed MJF vs Adam Cole in Wembley. But I get why people wouldn't like the match at Wembley or this match but I did."

[8.0] "[3.5] MJF is a very polarizing guy; some love him, others hate him. There's no middle ground. I'm in the love-him side, even though I can see some issues. The first part of the match was fantastic; the crowd was white hot for Hangman and booed Max a lot, and they were putting on a very good match. But then came the final part that took some points for me. Briscoe's interference, the callback to the pin with Hangman's leg on the rope, and the contract drama were all very good ideas, and well executed by both guys, but Bryce Remsburg's execution was a disaster. After that, a great sequence and a satisfying finish. Much worse than their match at Revolution, although it was good match, I like it."

[8.0] "A very good match for the most part, solid win for Hangman and he should stay champion for a while. I wasn't a fan of the rules change going into this, felt like they stacked the deck in MJF's favour, which made the result more obvious to me. For 20-25 minutes this was great, but the last 10 minutes it lost me. MJF's usual resorting to low blows, the diamond ring and cheating any way he can is just old. We've seen him win clean and is a great wrestler, so it's disappointing he's still doing this 5 years in. The ref's weird 3 count and pass out spot, Briscoe came down and didn't really add anything before he was removed by security. The whole time Bryce was out and Hangman's foot stayed on the rope. Before the Ref got up and saw it, it was dumb. Eventually Hangman hit MJF with his contract, hits the buckshot and wins. It would've been higher, maybe a 4.5+. But the overbooked ending lowers it down to a 4 for me. Now we've got another match between them coming, due to the contract MJF still has."

[6.0] "Wow, very difficult match to rate and a total roller-coaster, this was a main thing about the match, a lot of different stuff happened, it was like they were trying to wrestle 50 different matches in 1, and that's hard to make it work, you can feel tired pretty easily, and during many moments you can feel that the match has 'lost it', but overall I think it was a decent experience, the crowd was on fire, and this definitely had good moments and interesting concepts. The match started with a great pace, they were going slow, and I immediately knew the match was going to be long, because of the way they were wrestling, not in a rush. Both guys were working the crowd, and then things escalated with the table breaking spot on the outside, which was the first time match 'lost it' to me, but it's ok, AEW don't have many countouts and DQ's so it's too much to ask for any logic here... MJF's piledriver on the broken table was insane at least. After they returned, a cool moment with MJF busted open and the epic feeling of the match reaching its climax, that was fantastic, but right after they went for the lame roll-up sequence and kinda killed the vibe. The ending was a hot mess, it had a lot of Bryce Remsburg, more than it should've, he was a protagonist of the ending stretch lol, and Hangman survived a lot of stuff as well, probably more than he should've, but the match ended with a great strike by Hangman with the contract, and he retained the title. This match definitely makes you feel, they've had poor selections and tried to wrestle totally different styles inside one match, it was very weird, but considering the soulless aspect of the show, it was nice to have a trailblazer for once - {**3/4}"

[6.0] "I liked the action in this for the first 25 minutes, but the ending totally took my out of this. The stipulation totally took over and Bryce looked incredibly dumb and I just tuned out entirely. If they just continued what they had been doing for the first part of the match, I'd think of this more highly."

[7.0] "A very good match with a lot of big moments, but too many low points. The start was very slow, the match felt very long, and the constant cheating by MJF, who no one thought would win, was not good, definitely with the contract BS that is happening. I hate that gimmick."

[6.0] "The match was generally fine but idk. I am finding something lacking with the max push, it feels like its spinning its wheels a bit. Theres just alot of the same shit with him. The last like 15 minutes were incredibly overbooked and could have been massively cut back. And frankly and this is more me holding the booking against the match rather than the match itself but jebaiting max's contract is fucking stupid and makes Hangman look like a moron for following through on a promise made under duress when Max got out of the same situation no problem. And now if we go back to this feud and we will despite my desires if Max loses again he looks like an absolute melon. Its a mostly solid match with an over booked finish and horse shit booking."

[8.0] "Great match. I didn't mind the overbooking because it DIDN'T affect the outcome at all. Briscoe came out but never got to the ring nor did he lay hands on MJF. And, while I thought having Ref Bryce Remsberg count 3, not call for the bell, then come to and note Hangman's leg on the rope was STUPID - it didn't change the correct outcome. Hangman's foot was on the rope, so the pin shouldn't have counted. And it didn't. Yes they could have done a less stupid ref angle, but the rest was good enough that I can't knock my rating down to a 7. AEW generally stays away from that kind of booking and I hope they continue to make it a rarity."

[9.0] "First 25 minutes were amazing and if the match would have ended there it would have been one of the best aew matches ever. Last 5-6 minutes were overbooked as fuck but it still was a banger match"

[7.0] "****1/4 Very good match, but it could have been better, great chemistry as they had already shown in their Revolution match, very good pace but somewhat slow at times although they managed to rebound and increase it, great intensity it was a very intense match, great sequences, duration somewhat lengthened by unnecessary things and that ruined part of the match, like the moment when MJF "wins" the match despite Hangman having his foot on the rope and the referee not seeing it but the latter for some reason does not count the third slap and collapses, then the appearance that was useless of Mark Briscoe and practically did not contribute, the Dead Eye from the ring to the table that was not very useful, the stipulation being almost irrelevant for most of the match, very good ending with Hangman attacking MJF with the contract box, followed by a Dead Eye and finishing everything off with a Buckshoot Lariat to retain the title, match affected by unnecessary overbooking"

[5.0] "This match is a tale of two halves, with the first half being really great and building to a nice closer...and then a second half that goes way overboard with shenanigans that aren't very good. Thought it was incredibly overdone and would've been better if the last few minutes were cut"

[10.0] "This is an incredibly relative match, do you like melodramatic epic? If no, there is little possibility you 'll like this bout; otherwise, that's certain a broadway to enjoy. Great action at the beginning, nasty Tombstones Pilerdrivers and then a genuinely enjoyable dose of overbooking which even though was a lot felt unpredictable and kept me at the edge of my seat through it. Love MJF epics and Hangman is great at that too, MOTYC. *****"

[6.0] "There are points of this match which was good and entertaining and I understand what the story they were going for between Max and Hangman to mirror each other however I don't feel it is was executed well and Max is a better when doing other heel things than that in particular. The finish felt like two finishes put together and they should have just picked one of them and it seriously undermined the entire match and my enjoyment personally."

[5.0] "I didn't liked that one, nothing here was interesting and the action felt flat all over the place I just couldn't enjoy even that I tried to, it's not a bad match but not that good for my taste. **1/2"

[10.0] "5 stars - The first match of the night that actually got the well deserved "This is Awesome" chant and a strong 15-seconds of standing ovation from the crowd. Initially, I wasn't a big fan of MJF getting another title shot at a PPV, but as with any other Adam Page PPV matches, he had yet another classic. Amazing gmatch, amazing moves, amazing near-falls, and as sa fan of Adam Page, MJF literally made me scared a lot of time he was actually going to lose the title. Overall, an amazing match worth to be the match of AEW in 2025."

[7.0] "This was well on its way to being a really good match and then a late swerve turned it into an incredibly shit one. Can't fault the work, but the booking was am-dram ass ***1/4"

[8.0] "This definitely felt like a main event match with some extended shenanigans and lots of close near falls, but it didn't hit the classic level they were clearly trying for thanks to it being soooo overbooked. MJF didn't have a real chance here so I'm not sure why they had to go through with the ref bump, foot on the rope bit, etc. The wrestling was great, but this definitely could have had some trimmed off the top. ****"

[6.0] "A very strange match. I liked most of it until the ref bump. MJF is the most confusing guy in the business for me, and I wasn't moved that much by hangman this match either. I enjoyed their last match, so I wasn't sure why they needed to overbook this match as much as they did."

[3.0] "Hangman smashing that stupid contract on MJF's skull for the win is a glorious moment, but by God, there has to be a better way to get there. Not in a way that makes the finish more exciting, but in a way that has you constantly asking why is this match still going on and what is even the point of all of this. A half an hour, for no good reason. MJF still combines the cheap heel tactics with the cool wrestling style to try to have the best of both worlds in an approach that serves nobody but himself (and produces dreadful matches). You put him on a 20 plus minute match and he is channel changing material (especially in USA soil).The worst part about it is that his style permeates the match construction and makes the whole thing boring, full of heat seeking moments that feel like nobody is having a fight and undermine your babyfaces. It's very annoying to write about him and his matches, because they can be good. But he gets in his own way so much. The bullshit Dusty Finish (which wasn't even the finish, so what's the point of it) is somehow even worse than what you come to expect with the weird and forced stipulation that MJF added in an awful angle that made everyone look bad. Keep that man from the main event scene, have him go to Hollywood , do whatever you want; but don't have him cold off even more Hangman's, Briscoe's and even Ricochet's momentum"

[3.0] "MJF has been in World title matches in two of AEW's first three big trips to the UK. On both of those occasions, he's laid an absolute egg. This was nowhere near as bad as the Adam Cole debacle from two years ago but his theatre school mannerisms and bad storytelling instincts once again prevailed in a big spot. The go-home angle for this match was bad and it completely threw off the psychology of the match for the live viewer and the TV spectator. They managed to overcome a lot of that with excellent in-ring work but then blew it with a flat-out bad, cumbersome and poorly executed finishing stretch."