[5.0] "Although I enjoyed the early physicality, I felt that the match, while full of impressive moves and spots, lacked a clear structure. However, my main issue lies with the ending, which I found not only underwhelming but also downright stupid."
[6.0] "Super elletric multiman match. Gabe and Andrade had some in ring action that will happen again a month later, we had some decent slobberknocker quick vibes and well, the obvious MVP's, Hiromu, Finlay and the surprising returned Jake Lee. His slow style is pretty strange, also, quite fun. If you blink both eyes, you lose something, it was pretty solid."
"[8.5] I really enjoyed this match. I had seen many of these performers before, and it was awesome to see everyone get an important story moment. Whether ti was the unaffiliated goofyness with the war dogs, or the aura that Jake Lee came out with, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone had a chance to shine, and it had a good big fight feel. The only disappointment was the lack of stakes and real star power for the United Empire team."
[6.0] "I really liked the physicality early on, especially from Gabe Kidd, HENARE, and Takagi. It dragged for me in the closing stages, and I thought the finish was underwhelming."
[7.0] "Seeing Andrade again after his WWE exit was genuinely refreshing, even if he felt like a guy who showed up late, did something cool, then vanished into the couch cushions. The Jake Lee reveal got a real reaction out of me. Action was nonstop, Finlay and Hiromu were ridiculous in the best way and the whole thing flew by, even if the finish felt like it tripped over its own feet a bit."
[5.0] "[2.5*] Very decent undercard match. I legitimately popped very hard for Jake Lee's super return because I think he's just the funniest wrestler ever. I was only interested about Andrade and The King Of Slow Style if I'm being honest. Finish was so funny with that 1% effort pinfall by the NOAHTaker."
[7.0] "To be honest, I didn't expect much from this match, its main intrigue was the unveiling of the secret fifth participant, but I was very pleased. A simple very fun non-stop action where everyone has a moment to prove themselves. 7 points."
[6.0] "It was an ok match, didn't think too much about it. I thought Callum Newman looked alright in this match and Andrade is always amazing in this match. Jake Lee was a disappointing surprise which is sad because I actually like Jake Lee stemming back to his days in All Japan. It will be interesting to see where this version of United Empire goes, but yeah this was a miss for me."
[5.0] "[2.25*] That was really pretty decent solid undercard for WrestleKingdom 20! I liked some of the spots/booking ideas; really fascinating to watch all of those creative things going together unsurprisingly well. Hiromu & Finlay are so good as a tag team. Andrade El Idolo's is back to Njpw! That's a really good thing (it should be); he didn't do much here though But he did what he should've done for the minutes he got, regardless of anything; that was really better than I expected in terms of the overall booking."
[6.0] "There was a lot going on here, but i enjoyed it for the most part. The spots were cool and Andrade was the mvp for me and i'm so happy he's back in New Japan. (3.25*)"
[7.0] "United Empire vs Unaffiliated War Dogs was a fun time with the dynamic between Hiromu Takahashi & David Finlay being the highlight. Jake Lee being X was a choice that I know most fans don't like, but made sense with his War Dogs association prior to injury. Andrade should have got the pin here though (***1/2)."
[7.0] "Jake Lee is back after 1 year injury ! I'm so happy, this New version of United Empire seems really good, with Andrade now I expect a lot of things."
[6.0] "This multi-man tag is a chaotic, high-energy showcase of New Japan's mid-card and heavyweight talent, and while it's a bit of a "souped-up scrambler, " it mostly works in service of introducing Jake Lee in a meaningful way. The pacing is relentless, with Andrade and Gabe Kidd kicking things off with fast, crisp strikes and high-flying spots before the bigger men; Shingo, HENARE, and Drilla; take over, trading corner lariats, vertical suplexes, and power moves that keep the crowd engaged. The sheer volume of offense is impressive, and the variety, from moonsaults to Gore and Busaiku Bombs, makes it feel like a showcase of everything each wrestler brings to the table. That said, the finish is slightly underwhelming. Jake Lee's Face Break shot landing for the pin is effective in giving him a big return moment, but the rest of the match doesn't really build to a compelling climax beyond the standard "everyone beats everyone until Lee lands the finisher." The one-in-one-out formula is functional, though it leaves several wrestlers underutilized at points, making parts of the match feel like filler between the bigger moments. Overall, it's a fun, action-packed opener that achieves its main goal: giving Jake Lee a strong, memorable reintroduction while letting the roster show off a lot of exciting offense. It's not a classic, but it hits the right beats for what it sets out to do. **3/4"
[6.0] "Really hot start with a Kidd-Andrade combination which could have made for a fantastic singles match in itself. Henare, Takagi and Drilla's exchanges carried some great intensity in to the rest of the contest. Despite the fact that the teams felt like somewhat forced combinations, that didn't take away from a superb wrestling contest. The dynamics were worked well, everyone got their moments in, and the backstory gave this a real grit and meaning. Jake Lee's involvement was minimal and the finish felt a bit weak, but perhaps I'm too hasty to judge. Andrade also felt like a bit of an afterthought, unfortunately."
[9.0] "Amazing match. From the returns of Henare, Andrade and Lee to the still ongoing tension between UE and WD. It helped reestablish UE as a heel faction, especially with WD potentially loosing a big portin this can provit NJPW a lot"
[4.0] "A 5v5 match with little at stake and rather disappointing in the ring. Many participants had very little screen time. The match really felt like it was just there to put names on the card and launch Jake Lee's push without much extra effort. In-ring quality: 0.75/4. Stakes: 0.25/2. Justification: 0.5/1. Placement on the card: 0.75/1. Suspense: 1/1. Bonus/penalty: insufficient for a match at the Tokyo Dome -0.25. Total: 4/10. Match watched on NJPW World."
[5.0] "***1/2 Interesting match, interesting chemistry, some good sequences, interesting intensity, good, consistent pace from start to finish, everyone had their moments, normal ending, somewhat unexpected the way it ended with Hiromu getting destroyed by Jake Lee, and I feel they could have crafted a better ending. This new United Empire catches my attention, although the fact that Jake Lee is going to fight for the world title and not Newman or Andrade lowers my expectations that this faction is really being revived, since Lee hasn't had good matches in NJPW."
[6.0] "Jake Lee is so laughably boring and mediocre. Him being the mystery partner was a wet fart. Luckily everyone else had their working shoes on, this was a fun, chaotic match."
[5.0] "Lee is back to "awkwardly tall weirdo with no charisma" mode. His music is dreary, you don't want to look at him, the work is boring. Meh. On the other hand, there are things in the UE that are working and did work here - there's just wasn't much coherent holding it all together here."
[6.0] "It's an okay match that ultimately feels like a throwaway, which is a very unfortunate downgrade from what Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, Callum Newman and others were doing earlier in the year. I just don't see the true appeal behind Jake Lee, to be honest, so his return was nothing more than a slight reaction for me. Just a bit of an eye raise and "Oh, it's Jake Lee". But hey, the match itself is fine."
[5.0] "Shingo, Drilla, Takahashi, all doing this? Not that this was terrible or anything, but all those guys could and perhaps should be wrestling in something more important? Jake Lee can get some nuclear heat looking like that and winning like that. I genuinely hated Jake Lee when he got the pin on Hiromu like that. Why didn't Akira wrestle? United Empire was outnumbered. If he was gonna reveal himself as the 5th man anyway why not do that before the match?"
[7.0] "This had a pretty good collection of talent, so I wanted some hard hitting action and drama. I don't know who Jake Lee is, so it didn't add anything for me. However, I was very excited to see Andrade back in action. Andrade-Kidd start off and are pretty good. Henara-Shingo go next and are better. Callum Newman might be the standout of the match, with his speed and quickness. During his second stint in the ring, he's got a good sequence against Maloney. Then we get Finlay using his teammate Takahashi as a weapon, throwing him around, and out of the ring, as a projectile. Jake Lee gets the W, pinning Hiromu after two running boots to the face knock him out. Overall, there was enough talent and good action that we could have gotten 10 more minutes and I would have been entertained. Probably a 6.5, but I'll round up since the few real highlights were very good."
[7.0] "I had a lot of fun watching this match, both teams had something interesting to show, and it felt like a very important match for the progression of New Japan's stories, and that's because we had the returns of Jake Lee, a pleasant surprise, and Henare also had his return match after a long time away. Andrade appearing was awesome, he started the match fighting with Gabe Kidd, and everyone had their turns, so we could watch a little bit from everybody. Usually those 5v5 matches look filler, but this one had a pretty fun dynamic, and it was easy to watch. Akira also returned after the match, so it was a match filled with many returns - {***1/4}"
[3.0] "This match kinda sucked I'm not gonna lie. While it had the usual ingredients of what I would like... Big multi man cluster faction warfare but Andrade didn't do much of note and Jake Lee being the mystery guy was as much of a let down as you can get in 2025. Not to mention the action wasn't too spectacular."
[6.0] "Personally I see this as a match I didn't expect to be much of anything. But in the end I enjoyed it as a car crash multi man match. Jake Lee being the guy that is the mystery partner is so fucking lame. They so badly want him to be a headliner and he will fail just like umino did. He doesn't add anything in my opinion and is just insanely boring. Him getting the pin is garbage and to me ruined a pretty solid match. (***1/4)"
[7.0] "I was hoping this match would be at least be a decent watch as it had a lot of guys i really like in it and i will say it was good enough that i was not disappointed and was probably the best it could of been. This match peaked for me in the opening with the stretches between Gabe and Andrade and Henare and Shingo both just 4 sicks guys taking lumps out of each other for a lot of it which was really cool loved seeing Andrade wrestle again because fuck me he is so good. Callum Newman looked decent when he was in the ring and had some nice moments with Finlay. Finlay and Takahashi using each other as weapons was fucking great best comedy spot of the year so far especially Finlay taking everyone out by throwing Takahashi onto them all then Taka doing the same to Finlay with a superplex. Will say this is the most i have enjoyed watch Drilla (other then the G1 match with ZSJ) he had some really good stuff his counter to hit Newman with the Drilla Killer was fucking sick. I will say fair play to GoK for doing about 40 seconds of work and still getting paid (get your bag mate). The finish was so meh to me i don't care for Jake Lee and he also ain't too good so don't see why he gets the pin as i can't be asked to see him get another push. But i guess the finish means no of the war dogs are resigning. Overall a pretty fun match with some great stuff Gabe/Andrade. Shingo & Drilla/Henare, Newman/Drilla & Finlay and the Takahashi Finlay comedy. But it was let down by a pretty weak as piss finish for me but i still had a good time so swings and roundabouts, it is also cool that UE look somewhat of a threat again. (***3/4)"
[5.0] "Kind of a throwaway match for having so many different wrestlers and storylines involved. I guess the primary point of the match was to get Jake Lee over as a *potential* headliner name, and while he looked good here, I don't exactly think he showed off anything that screamed "main event at the Toyko Dome." Some decent moments here and there, but for the most part this was just a big, bloated mess that didn't allow anybody to shine and show off their best material. It wasn't bad, per se, but it definitely isn't worth going out of your way to see, either."
[7.0] "A lot of fun. Spiritually, this was the ranbo match this year, not the actual ranbo. Seeing a Jake Lee push is disappointing though, time may pass but he will forever be ass."
[7.0] "I enjoyed this. It was my first time seeing the alliance of War Dogs and The Artists Formerly Known As LIJ, I knew what to expect from Drilla and Shingo from their matches in the early part of 2025, but I didn't know what to expect from Finlay and Hiromu. I really enjoyed them using eachother as weapons because I'm a simple man. It was good to see Henare back as his smashmouth style is one I really enjoy seeing. Only major gripe was the finish, I don't really care who it is, I don't want to see a pin like that win a match. Jake Lee has such a quiet charisma to him though and it's good to have him back, too. EDIT: after watching the rest of the show, at least the pin is potentially serving a purpose, to show the power of that boot in the lead up to an IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge."
[5.0] "Got to love Japanese wrestling's bizarre status for Jake Lee who has zero aura. Kidd vs Andrade was fun and stiff but the rest of thos was just there."
[7.0] "This was one of my more anticipated matches of Wrestle Kingdom and it delivered, really exciting and hard hitting action which got UE over as a strong reformed faction. It did not have the same impact as the previous UE vs. War Dogs cage match, but it got the crowd invested and delivered a good match. Jake Lee got the win with the FBS on Hiromu, solidifying his position upon his return to action, this was a lot of fun. Worth a watch."
[7.0] "Three and three quarter stars, a good ten man tag that re-established United Empire as threats. I knew as soon as their partner was revealed as Jake Lee that there would be whining."
[7.0] "Another strong chapter in the United Empire vs. War Dogs book, with the new defection of Jake Lee making his return. Overall, the match was fun and teased a lot of great future matches. The fulfilment of the David/Hiromu love/hate relationship was stellar, the small teases of future matches between HENARE/Shingo, Andrade/Gabe and Finlay/Newman were all class. A strong 7, for a strong and now full strength (again) United Empire."
[5.0] "Only thing interesting was andrade's loophole getting into the NJPW ring and Jake lee. This match was medicore korakuen hall level stuff. I don't know what the management was thinking placing this match into the Tokyo dome card. Well cool return tho."
[4.0] "A bland and uninspiring match packed to the brim with some of the least engaging and boring wrestlers in New Japan right now. How do you top it off? With insipid "surprise" reveals of more wrestlers that nobody cares about. Even Jake Lee looked bored out of his mind."
[6.0] "This match was alright. The crowd was going crazy for Hiromu. I know Japan is super traditionalist about Junior Heavyweights only being slotted so high, but with the lack of star power at the top of the card, it's hard to believe moving Hiromu up wouldn't be more successful than what they're doing now. Instead, they had Jake Lee pin him out of all the guys on his team. Bad finish."
[3.0] "As an actual match in itself this was gash. Was it announced anywhere that the bout was to be competed under tornado rules? Because I don't think I saw one legal tag in the last half of the match. The pin fall was certainly made by an illegal Jake Lee. On a more positive note it does seem that United Empire have some actual direction now and I am intrigued to see where they will take this heel turn."
[6.0] "Pretty flat, I mean the action was quite good most of the time, Andrade and Kidd was interesting, Andrade looked so good during the short amount of time we saw him. The interactions between Takahashi and Finlay were really fun and creative. The rest was ok, the action was good like I said but nothing tremendous and the match didn't felt exciting or special."
[6.0] "Pretty interesting. It was a whole lot better before the last couple of better minutes happened. The last of it just seemed so immensely underwhelming. The dives where everybody is conveniently meshed together also takes me out. I thought many of the short one-on-one interactions seemed cool and intense though. Gabe Kidd did bring a lot of heat and intensity to this. I do wish there were more or any interactions of Andrade with Shingo or Takahashi. But you get what you can. All-in-all, a fun 5v5, but nothing more. Could've been more. [**.75]"
[7.0] "While Jake Lee being considered a bigger surprise than Andrade is hilarious, this match was pretty fun. HENARE vs Shingo & Drilla was consistently good here, Andrade is obviously great, but the highlights were Finlay & Hiromu using each other's bodies as weapons increasing in intensity with time (the powerbomb to the outside kicked ass). Without that last bit this would've been a lot more forgettable I think. ***1/4"
[6.0] "[3.25 stars] A fine match. Nothing great but it was well paced and the action was nice and speedy so that you were never bored. Despite the great rivalry between the two factions it didn't feel like there was much story here or much at stake, but the action inside the ring was good enough. Jake Lee being the mystery man is objectively hilarious though."
[6.0] "Andrade and Kidd were both strong in the early phase, then Andrade was never really seen again. The spots between Finlay and Takahashi were fun - throwing each other into their opponents, but overall, the match felt flat - especially given the nature of so many wrestlers around the ring, ready to jump up and tag in. A lot of non-entities in this one, and had no feelings towards Jake Lee coming back."
[7.0] "Thoughts I noted during the match: I want more Henare, I hope he's in the G1 this year. Drilla reminds me so much of Tama Tonga. Jake Lee being the surprise member of UE was kind of a great sleeper pick and fits his arc really well, the shot of them standing united on the stage went really hard. Finlay and Hiromu are really fun together I hope they can keep this up. Callum and Drilla have great chemistry. This was a really fun multi man tag, they had their working boots on. I usually hate these spot fest multimans but it fits for the people in this match and it was put together nicely. Andrade did basically nothing though which was quite a shame."
[7.0] "Like 15 minutes of entrances and returns (Jake Lee) felt like this match was never going to happen, but once it did, it was just a hugely entertaining spot-fest. The wrestling was on-point here, with the BCWD/Unaffiliated having a decent amount of team chemistry adding to the quality of the match. As an introduction for a new United Empire, this was a quality contest. Seems almost like a turnover of the major heel faction within NJPW, as the BCWD seem to be the outs as a major faction. But some huge spots and quality wrestling here made for this to be a entertaining mid-card match. Really enjoyed the returns of Henare, Jake Lee, and Andrade."
[6.0] "Andrade good. Takahashi good. Takagi good. Finlay good. Newman shit. Maloney shit. Kidd corny. That's basically how I can sum up this match the best. I don't care about Jake Lee all that much he's just kind of there to be honest. Good match with some overdone bits here and there."
[6.0] "A solid effort. The re-debut of Andrade in NJPW and Jake Lee making his return. I really liked some of the stuff with David Finlay & Hiromu here, I thought it was quite a bit of fun. The finish was a little abrupt as I thought these guys could have easily gotten a few more minutes out of this but what we saw was pretty good. ***1/4."
[3.0] "A pretty dreadful trudge through the worst of the foreign influence in japanese wrestling. This was a lot of boring britwres nonsense with all style and no substance. The post match stuff with AKIRA was also pretty crap. I am being generous with a 3.0."
[7.0] "Did the job that it was designed to do and id probably say surpassed expectations to a certain extent. Great to see Jake back though I know him winning here will upset a lot of people but thats wrestling isnt it. Everyone looked good here and no real solid complaints from me"
0x
1x
23x
162x
101x
34x
2x
3x
0x
0x
0x