[10.0] "Great match, and very specific to this time and place I feel. What I liked more than the hardcore stuff, which was very good for what it was, is both guys did a great job selling how exhausted they were from the tournament, but still were willing to give each other hell, Foley bleeding everything and still coming on, Funk throwing those violent punches right into the head of Foley, just great stuff."
[10.0] "One of the most iconic deathmatches of all time. This is the match that inspired the likes of Nick Gage to become a wrestler. This is the match where Foley too the exploding barbed wire spot for the first time. Such a good match"
[7.0] "A few really good spots, but most of the time was used for preventing from taking a bump on a barbed wire and typical wrestling stuff which both guys were presenting on a daily basis, however demanding nature of the tournament is some kind of explanation. Main explosion was kinda disappoining."
[8.0] "pretty solid. no structure, just two hardcore legends slugging it out. that does help and damper the match but I watched it being talked over by mick foley narrating his book that covers this in a. section and that helped a lot. felt very cool"
[5.0] "Funk is a legend and I love Foley but this just didn't work for me. Maybe it's just cause times have changed and this style hasn't aged well but it just felt kindof structureless and meandering, I know they got hurt real bad in this match but it just didn't feel like much because they were both so tired and just flopped down and then moved on very fast to the next bump. The finish also didn't help, with the explosion not working and the big ladder spot just get kicked out of and then Terry reverses the next ladder spot and somehow is down for the 3 after that? I guess IWA just isn't my style."
[9.0] "As somebody who grew up watching Mick Foley and hearing about how fabled Death Matches in Japan, this match has an almost mythical quality for me. It is truly insane. Ugly and brutal - a cacophony of violence. The match certainly is not without flaw. The exploding ring does not work correctly (Funk smartly gets up and simply shrugs afterwards), the finish is a mess as Foley just wants to end the match since both are seriously hurt, and even the brief interference feels odd and out of place. Despite this, the match is so unyielding violent and barbaric that I can't help but love it. It has an atmosphere unlike anything in wrestling today. It feels seedy, like something you aren't supposed to see, and so much in the match going wrong just adds to the low budget exploitation movie feel that this has. It's not a technical marvel by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a bloody spectacle and a fitting way to crown the 'King of the Death Match'."
[8.0] "The success of an event like this heavily relied on the finals and the big stip heavily delivering. They are unlucky with explosions as the ring explosion is very weak and gets boos from the fans and the crazy Cactus Jack ladder bump into a barbwire board was supposed to set an explosion which would make it a legendary spot. Match is very good and feels monumental enough but these little things, Tiger Singh run in and confusing finish made it so it didn't actually reach a next level."
[9.0] "an absolute massacre but in every sense of the word. not necessarily the cleanest match and finish was rough but considering it 40k people going nuts with these guys busting there ass after going this long in a deathmatch tournament and the supreme selling was the standout of all of it. Maybe not as good as the Onita vs Funk match but a damn spectale nonetheless"
[8.0] "The most famous match in this rivalry not much so because of the match quality, but because it is in a stadium over nearly 40k fans who are they to see several guys kill each other in brutal matches. Both guys wrestle this completely fucked up after a long night of spilled blood, but somehow they managed to put on a final brutal and entertaining match even if the finish was unintentionally dusty. The only bad part is the ring "explosion". Better than sparklers, but still a massive letdown."
[7.0] "A classic from the tape trading era but it does fall short in several ways. The exploding ring is so bad that Funk has no choice but to no-sell it and the ending is pretty bad as well. I would say it's also not much of a wrestling match but you can buy that both guys went through something to reach the end. If I had bought this on PPV or had been there live and expecting to see an exploding ring, I'm not sure I would have thought this match satisfactory, especially as a main event tournament final at Kawasaki Stadium to crown the king of the deathmatch."
[9.0] "Despite a slightly botched finish this match was incredible. Terry is bleeding heavily almost immediately and Mick bumps like a maniac until he has a full crimson mask. Despite the messed up finish Mick decides to make things even crazier takes an insane bump and both men feel like they barely make it out alive."
[10.0] "Legendary, even if you are not a fan of deatmatches. Terry is a God of wrestling, doing everything so well, and Mick is just a pure professional."
[9.0] "This match is of legend in Hardcore/Deathmatch wrestling. Although looking back it wasn't too crazy or that spectacular it is still good. It's shorter than I remember but still delivers in the 12 minutes it was given. In 12 minutes these two murder each other"
