John Cena vs. Triple H

[9.0] "I'm almost shocked at how much I loved this, not really a Triple H guy, certainly not in 2008, post his second quad surgery but damn, this works for me.. on par with their WrestleMania match.. there's no extra bullshit here, the story is its a dream match and worked face/face basically except there's a point where Trips sells his leg and Cena being smart attacks it. A rare thing for Cena to be using heel tactics so it felt fresh. I also loved how Trips would fight out of the STFU, knowing if he got into it long he would probably tap, just like the mania match. I don't know, maybe these two had incredible chemistry and I missed it somehow live. Awesome stuff."

[8.0] "A textbook WWE main event style match with two of the greatest of all time. Not only did Triple H get his win back, but he did so cleanly, a rarity for Cena in those days."

[7.0] "A little similar to their WrestleMania match, although here Cena fully acknowledged the reaction he was getting and was working like a heel after Triple H started selling his leg. They worked the injury very well with Hunter trying to avoid the STFU at all costs and had some nice spots with him countering Cena's Five Knuckle Shuffle. They left big moves for the last, got a couple of decent false finishes and the crowd was really loud in the final minutes - overall a really solid main event."

[8.0] "Solid as hell! This match proved that HHH could still go at a main event level near the end of his full time run, and that Cena could have good matches just as he was reaching his apex of mediocrity. An unsung classic of both mens careers to be sure."

[8.0] "This was incredibly crafted in the grand scope view point. This was a big match, it felt big and they wrestled big. They established several things throughout the match, such as them being equals with different strengths - Cenas being brawling and Triple H being the technical wrestler - as well as that Cenas confidence can get the best of him, and he pays the price several times. The smaller details that fell flat were Triple H begins to work Cenas back and it doesnt really go anywhere. And while Triple H did a wondrous job at selling the leg, there was a broader focus for Cena to apply the STF than working it, which is against my preference. This was really good overall. The punch exchange felt gimmicky but everything else worked a treat for me. I think this established what it was meant to be in a competent and well done manner. ***3/4"

[8.0] "This is a damn good match with some great leg work from Cena and decent storytelling. This is a weird Triple H title run in general but this is one of the better matches in it. Had a really good big fight feel to it too. While it's not as good as their WrestleMania 22 bout, it is better then the match they had on Raw a few years later. Check it out if you're curious. It's also included in the Cena Showcase mode for 2k23"

[6.0] "The match was fine but nothing special. Neither Cena or Triple H are elite in ring performers, they usually need someone else of that calibre to get them to the next level. Very typical WWE main event style match where they both hit a couple big moves at the end. I will give props to Triple H for consistent selling however."

[7.0] "This was a pretty solid title match. Triple H sold Cena's legwork well and I liked the story of Triple H taking advantage of Cena's cockiness to win."

[8.0] "These two always deliver when it counts. Triple H and John Cena face off, with callbacks to their WrestleMania 22 match. There's some great psychology here with Triple H's knee, and some great storytelling with Cena getting too cocky with the Five Knuckle Shuffles. In some ways, this might be better than their Mania 22 match, but I'd say it's on par at least. Great drama and great match."

[7.0] "This is slightly worse than the Wm22 me these two had. I appreciated some of the callbacks from that previous match as well. However, there's some really dull moments in this match that almost put me to sleep. They thankfully picked it up towards the end.***1/2"

[5.0] "Here, the story speaks louder than any work rate on display. Two men who've already been established as main-event caliber facing off for the WWE championship in a singles match that's more or less expected in the late 2000's. Triple H tries to outwrestle the challenger through standard manoeuvres before Cena gives him a taste of his own medicine. Momentum shifts back and forth throughout the match, but it isn't until the middle where the general pace picks up from the dull, calculated wrestling that simply doesn't hold up. Triple H attacks the back with some heavy knees and elbows to a downed Cena, quickly able to regain control the few times he's countered. He hits his patented Spinebuster and tries ending the match early, but gets whipped into the corner for his troubles and winds up hilariously overselling. Now it's Cena turn to work from above, targeting the injured knee with chop blocks and even slamming it against the ring post. While the selling of Triple H's back work fades from the match, Cena's tenacity when going for his STFU submission brings some much-needed interest to the second act. In turn, there's some subtle instances of Triple H preventing the face lock whilst maintaining his exhaustion. It's the best part of the match as far as I'm concerned, however it ends up being far too short and followed by the traditional WWE-style third act: both keep trying for their finishers in between long periods of rest until one of them finally snags the victory. I appreciate the callbacks to their clash at Wrestlemania 22, but not nearly enough to forgive most of the plodding segments and downright silly selling on Cena's behalf. It's even worse when factoring in how commentary kept pushing this as one of the all-time great matches, a complete farce when watching it today. **3/4"

[8.0] "Brilliant face vs face match. Basically Superman vs Thor going at it to see who's the best. Love the taunting at the start to callback to the Wrestlemania 22 match. Tons of psychology since it's an HHH match and the transition to technical work to slugfest brawling is typical for a match like this but it's still entertaining. Absolutely love the ending with HHH reversing John's horrible STF into a Crossface then Cena lifting him up from that and giving the FU for HHH to kick out. Stellar near fall. Glad HHH won too as it was unpredictable given that Edge won earlier. Great main event ****"

[8.0] "Impressive main event, John Cena vs Triple H here reminds me of their Wrestlemania match, it's intense and with some great final minutes full of counters. It has many exciting moments, great conclusion and the injury to the knee seems legit. Great work from them. ****"

[8.0] "This was very good in my opinion. Way better than their Mania 22 match. Love how cena targeted hhh's left leg after hhh fall outside the ring. His selling was good, too. Good little story in the match was told and the finish was nice when hhh countered the STF into his own and scored the win. Very nice main event."

[7.0] "This was a good match and lightyears ahead of their WM 22 encounter which was awful. This however was much better as the story was told well and psychology was on point to which was appreciated and loved Cena's work on HHH's injured leg. Dramatic finish as expect and definitely a good match IMO. (***)"

[6.0] "Cena attacking HHH's leg, after HHH injured it was GREAT. Really loved that. HHH sold it really well, too, which was appreciated. That was only a pretty small part of the match though, and while I thought it was awesome, that small part of awesomeness wasn't enough for me to call this match "good", because there were lots of dull action in it, too. A pretty good one. **3/4"