[3.0] "bad match, bad stipulation. Who is that? Are you gonna tell us who that is? just skip it when watching. needing 250 characters for this is a joke. If you want hardcore this was too little. if you want a good match, this is also not it. Was the story good enough to carry the match. Spots looked scary, not in the way they were supposed to be. Uranage on the steps was a scary bump on his arm."
[2.0] "What was the stipulation suppose to be? Bad match. Terrible usage of the stipulation, whatever it was meant to be. And to make it worse Apollo won the title. Nothing against Apollo but come on, was there even any necessity for him to win. Zero reasons and where did it lead him to, nowhere."
[4.0] "This was a very boring match with nothing going for it. The whole match was centered around Nigerian Drums which added literally nothing to it, and the in-ring was pretty bad and very short. Overall very lame and had nothing going for it."
[4.0] "Only a tad bit better than their Fastlane match, but it's still a really boring and bad match and the Nigerian Drums added nothing to this match whatsoever."
[4.0] "Pretty bad when a No DQ type match at Mania only has kendo stick shots in it that would see a DQ in a normal match. Apart from that its just a uranage onto stairs and a missed frog splash through a table. Quite simply, just way too short to be good, but even with the little time allocated they couldn't come up with any spots to involve the drums. The interference, it doesn't bother me too much. But it makes it doubly sad when you figure this was Apollo's biggest moment of his career."
[3.0] "[2.0*] I watched this match because I miss seeing Big E in the ring, he will probably never come back. Unfortunately the match was terrible, I really thought they could do good things using the stipulation, but in reality it was a real mess and the time they stood still from one spot to the next bothered me, there was simply no chemistry between them. The match was already not good and Commander Azez's interference at the end made everything worse."
[4.0] "I'm going to try to overlook the fact that there was two African American Men who got put into a "Nigerian Drum Fight, " because knowing Vince McMahon it reeks of racism. The match has a few cool spots and both guys smacking the hell out of each other with the Keno sticks. The ending was awful, with a re-debut of a failed football player (whose first run was a miss) waltzing in that everyone tried to forget. This could've been Apollo's one and only moment in WWE, but they blundered it completely. The match itself was a 2.5 Star affair, nothing great nor awful, but ideologically this thing is a complete failure. I'll go with 2 Stars, but that's generous."
[5.0] "A match that started well but quickly ended with an intervention from Dabba Kato. The 2 wrestlers are very good in this short match of some PG violence. (2*3/4)"
[5.0] "This was a big disappointment here, they couldve done so much more in this stipulation if this wouldve lasted longer. I wasnt against shocking by putting the belt on Apollo but Big E was home, he deserved to deliver a big performance. They failed on that match unfortunately."
[7.0] "Because of the slow pace of the story's development, I had low hopes going into this match. Crews' character transformation was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air, and I had hoped for a tighter knit, more serious layering of the plot, but it didn't materialise. Luckily, the action lived up to the anticipation. The odd name seemed to fit the intensity in the beginning, and it turned into a furious street brawl as they executed perilous moves one after the other. The closing scene was cut short, which might have managed better given what they were trying to accomplish, but it was still acceptable for what they were going for. These men could have put on a fight that would have been a guaranteed heater if they had more time. 3.25 out of 5 stars!"
[3.0] "Looking back, this led to absolutely nothing, making this "debut" one of the worst in Mania history for Azeez. WWE clearly didn't have any idea what this stipulation was supposed to be until the day, with them barely using the drums."
[2.0] "A very short match for a PPV Match, a Wrestlemania match, even worse, for a Title Match. Not even 10 minutes, this was going good but you are really going to give that poor time for this potential and that ending with that absolutely unknown and untalented Azeez ruin it all. This was a terrible decision that could be something a lot bigger than it was. In my opinion, 1.25 Stars of match."
[8.0] "I really enjoyed this one. Good pre-match video, Big E had a killer entrance, it was fast paced, hard-hitting, high action, and didn't overstay it's welcome."
[3.0] "Pointless gimmick match which may as well have just been extreme rules, where ultimately neither man came out looking better as a result and the return of Babetunde as Commander Azzez just left a bad taste in my mouth."
[6.0] "Although the Nigerian Drum Fight stipulation ended up being nothing but a throwaway fancy name, Big E and Apollo were determined to make something out of this nothing undercard bout. They packed a lot of action in 6 mins, with some fun weapon spots here and there to keep the crowd engaged. Babatunde interfering wasn't ideal, but it gave him a good enough exposure on his re-debut. This was a decent sprint brawl all around. [**3/4]"
[3.0] "Just a glorified squash that should have relied more on the two talented wrestlers who easily cld have carried this match rather than some menacing tall dude who can't even properly chokeslam. embarrassing."
[0.0] "This match was an insult to wrestlemania, it just didn't deserve to be in this event. Since this match, the intercontinuous title has lost a lot of prestige at the time of not being defended again in a PPV to date. The match as such was bad, there was no chemistry and it felt repetitive and adenas was a Rematch, but one of those that are not worth repeating. The ending was horrendous, terrible, horrible and even mediocre."
[5.0] "Disappointing imo. I was one of the 5 guys who was excited for this match but it was a 6 minute brawl with not much to it. Stairs spot was cool. Next!"
[5.0] "This drum fight had good spots and the brutality of the kendo and chair shots did depict the enmity between the two individuals . However , it was way too short and anti climatic to deserve a higher score . It is great to see Apollo win and he has a body guard in Babatunde . My favorite spot however was the urinagi by Big E on Apollo sending his back first to the steel steps and his attempt of frog splash missing Big E but connecting with the table . It was a drum fight but I really only remember only one instance where the drum was used . Solid match at best . **1/2"
[6.0] "Felt like this should have been the Backlash match and they should have done a fast paced 4-way in place of this. Good match, bizzare stipulation - since when have kendo sticks been used on drums?"
[5.0] "I didn't knew what to expect, but this was a pretty good match while it lasted. Not the biggest fan of the ending but it was an introduction of a new character to keep building Apollo's gimmick, now that he's a champion. **3/4"
[6.0] "Ein lustiges und schnelles Basic-Match, das seinen Empfang nicht überdauerte. Ich bin froh, dass sie Big E geschützt haben, da ich denke, dass er auf das Hauptereignis zusteuern sollte. Nichts zu wild in diesem, aber es war gut für ein Midcard-Match."
[5.0] "Ein oder zwei nette Spots sind schon dabei, aber für mehr als aufgerundet fünf Punkte wirkt das schlicht zu aufgesetzt und im Finish weder schön, noch originell. Debüt hin oder her."
[5.0] "The majority of this match was a pretty good, intense No DQ match that played pretty well off of their rivalry to this point. I loved the opening with the two wailing on each other with kendo sticks, the stuff with the stairs was good, and the false ending before the interference worked really well. Then there was the ending. I? ll never understand the rationale of doing cheap finishes on the biggest show of the year, especially just to debut someone who appears to be just a lackey for Crews, but better not to question WWE? s decision, as there? s often little reasoning behind them besides what side of the bed Vince McMahon woke up on that morning. **3/4-"
[3.0] "Very short match. The have 1 or 2 cool spots, but the match was very rushed and they really deserved more time to show what they can do. Dabba-Kato costing the match to Big E was unnecessary and the commentators pretending that they never saw Dabba-Kato before was really akward. Anyway, i'm happy that Apollo finally won the title, he deserved it and Big E will be Universal Champion in 1 or 2 years. **"
[4.0] "Die Fehde klickt einfach nicht. Beide Wrestler sind eigentlich talentiert aber die Story und die Art der Matches war nicht gut. So auch hier, was gezeigt wird, war okay und keinesfalls schlecht aber richtig Substanz war auch nicht da."
[4.0] "Sagt mich ehrlich gesagt überhaupt nicht an das Ding, zumal man sich die Stipulation auch hätte sparen können, da hätte No DQ auch gereicht. Ansonsten gibt es da 2-3 nette Spots, aber da fehlt es mir letztendlich doch an zu vielen Ecken und Kanten. Das Finish kann man so bringen, somit schützt man Big E und Apollo kriegt endlich seinen Titelgewinn - ausreichend ja, mehr nicht."
[5.0] "Too short and bullshit finish. The Spear off the ring apron was insane. A while later there was a crazy Chokeslam on steel steps. Holy smokes I loved it. Basically, everything was great until the finish..."
[6.0] "The match was pretty good, but I was still a little disappointed. I expected it to be more violent, but in the end it was a low level Street Fight. On the other hand, the return of Dabba-Kato to help Apollo Crews, that I did not expect."
[4.0] "Eh, would see it going fairly mediocre before the match, even with "we doing our best with the gimmick and feud". Apollo got a refreshing start over smiling nothing dude, don't mind an odd Nigerian accent, because he is finally looking soild. Too short, like most matches of this night, but they did some nasty stuff like horriyfing stairs spot where Crews landed awkwardly brutal, and boy he sold it like a million of bucks. My biggest complain is bringing this into WCW 2000 territory, when all those props around the ring were just for a visual aesthetic, a weird one. Would be nice if lads had a ladder match, just imaging a Big Ending from the top of a ladder... The ending comes as an abrupt and anticlimatic which sort of ruins Apollo's big win, mere minutes prevented this one from being a really cool contest. I admit that Babatunde's return (or repackaging to be correct) was completely non-sus although it ruined the fun for me, again, i expected it to be a bit longer. 'Tunde came out as a badass, maybe not frightful enough with that ridiculous haircut, shave it off! Laughed my ass off when Cole presented the NIGERIAN DRUM FIGHT match as the first ever (and the last, Michael, the last) like it was a historic stipulation for the books. **"
[7.0] "Fun. I don't mind the silly 1-off gimmick matches if they are simple and fun. I like Apollo with his new character because for once he has motivation instead of just whitemeat babyface with a smile. Apollo looked serious, Big E put him over well. Fun. 6 points."
[5.0] "Not bad at all, decent plunder match. But it was laughable that kendo sticks were used in a NIGERIAN drum match. And no drums were used at all despite there being dozens around the ring. Oh, so they meant they were going to beat each other like a drum? Sure, I guess."
[4.0] "What a ridiculous stipulation. Nigerian drum fight? I though we would only see drums but they only utilize anything but drums. Kendo stick, steel steps, table. Not a fan of this match. What a messed-up match. Only good thing is showing wrestling between the two. All of drums are just display and didn't used as a weapon, hell they even didn't hold them. Glad that the right man won though but a ridiculous match. **1/2"
[6.0] "Waaaaaaaaaay too short to be anything special, but for it's time it was decent. At least this match made me an Apollo Crews fan after being disinterested in the guy for a long time. (***)"
[5.0] "Apollo changing his character to this heel nigerian pride guy was interesting, then they give him a gimmick special championship match but they don't even use the drums elements of the match! You know, kendo sticks are very autoctonus elements of african culture and Nigeria, don't they? Very short match, wasted concept, felt sooo rushed. Makes sence that now Apollo got a security guard or ally in Daba Katto to join him, but this became very common and it bothers me. Hope that Apollo and the bookers make something interesting with this championship run."
[6.0] "this medium heel side of Apollo is much more interesting than the smiling Apollo, it gives much more strength to his character and even goes more in line with his body. A match of this style was a very good choice for both of them, although it could have been a bit more interesting to make it a TLC type or just a Tables match (I don't understand the need to include the drums). In any case, it was a satisfying match, for the rivalry these two have been building. It would have been much better if there had been no interference at the end of the bout. (***1/4)"
[4.0] "What? s a Nigerian drum match you ask? Turns out it? s just a crappy hardcore match. Weapons shots and a screw job finish. We didn? t even get to see anyone get hit with a drum. I guess they needed the deposit back."
[5.0] "Grundsätzlich muss ich sagen: An sich war das kein schlechter Sprint mit einer gewissen Intensität und definitiv besser als ihr letztes Match. Ich muss halt sagen, dass ich es komisch finde, wenn bei einem Nigerian Drum Match keine Drums als Waffe eingesetzt werden ist mir schleierhaft. Über den Eingriff vom ehemaligen Babatunde am Ende kann man definieren aber für einen Heel ergibt das Sinn und dadurch schadet die Niederlage Big E auch nicht so sehr. Insgesamt war das in meinen Augen ein solides Match, welches 5 Punkte verdient."
[7.0] "This was a yet another extremely good sprint on this card. Let's goo! Pure intensity right from the get go with the kendo stick duel; both guys showed so much charisma throughout & the whole thing just ruled. Big E's big Spear spot was awesome, as was that Uranage. A really good use of the stipulation, even if no drums were harmed. Weapons stuff in WWE can be very hit or miss, but I thought the way E & Apollo implemented them into this match, it was very much a hit. The interference ending probably isn't something you'd expect or want in a Mania match, but I thought even that was well done, especially the initial moment it happened out of nowhere, so it didn't suck much juices at all from the really good match they had imo."
[6.0] "Es gab ein paar gute Spots in dem Match, leider war das Ende Mist und es ging auch zu kurz. Ich finde das Match hätte durchaus sehr gut werden können (***)."
[6.0] "The match was a Nigerian Drum match, I was expecting to see the drums get used as weapons, I was a little disappointed. Other than that, the match had some cool spots but it was a little short. The ending was surprising, and protected Big E, I hope for a future Universal Championship feud."
[6.0] "I liked the match despite it being their seemingly 300th match against each other in recent months, both guys worked there ass off out there and beat the crap out of each other, but the interference finish brought it down a notch, and due to this I presume this means that their feud will continue on (**3/4)"
[5.0] "I really don't know how to feel about this match. The concept was wasted I felt, and these two can't create a compelling in-ring performance for me. I think that's because I know going into each match of theirs that it'll be well below 10 minutes, and seemingly stacked with high octane spots to make up for the lack of in-ring chemistry. I feel I'm being too generous on the score but these two are great athletes and the match wasn't a complete write-off, there's just no reason to see it again."
[5.0] "Auch hier war mir das zu kurz. Match war okay, nur mit mehr Zeit hätte man mehr rausholen können. Ein paar nette Spots, Kendo Stick Shots, Tische etc(**1/2)."
[6.0] "It was okay for the short length it had. Crews and Big E were good here, the first exchange with kendo stick was very good, it was brutal even if the stipulation is not really well used. The final interference is interesting. ***"
[4.0] "This was very disappointing to me, after their match at Fastlane I predicted they would do great at Wrestlemaina. Unfortunately the 'Nigerian Drum Fight' (ok... ) didn't really deliver, there were some cool spots but it mostly devolved into hitting each other with kendo sticks. Then it just ended with some big guy (Dabba-Kato) showing up dressed up as a military general or something and Apollo won, poor Big E. Not too impressive, I expected more out of this."
[7.0] "This match was going amazing, brutality, intensity, Big E and Apollo were destroying each other, but then the match simply finished with an interference. So, the match was good, but very short."
[5.0] "One of the rare feuds that will go beyond WrestleMania, with Dabba-Kato returning under the new guise of Commander Azeez to help Apollo Crews win the IC Title in a fairly disappointing bout. Three times in just over a year that giant heaters have been introduced for guys, and two of them just got titles. WWE is still a big person territory."
[5.0] "Ein bisschen Thema verfehlt, weil der Gong (der nicht so ganz Nigerianisch ist) war so die einzige genutzte Trommel. Sonst grundsolides Tisch und Kendostick Match. War okay, aber hat mich nicht geflasht."
[7.0] "I actually enjoyed this match very much, unfortunately it was very short, I mean, it's Wrestlemania, give the Intercontinental title some time, but they did a good job with the time they had. The downsides were the finish, I found it a bit lame and overdone honestly and they didn't use the drums. C'mon now."
[7.0] "Kurzweiliges und hart geführtes Match mit einer eigenwilligen Stipulation, die aber nicht so recht aufgespielt wurde, da es eher ein ? normales? hardcore Match war. Es war ein schönes Hin und Her mit einem plötzlichen Ende durch den Eingriff des Unbekannten. Da gibt es nicht viel zu meckern. 5 Minuten mehr, vielleicht..."
[4.0] "Das Match war nichts halbes und nichts ganzes. Dazu viel kurz und auch irgendwie zu belanglos. Für einen Street Fight auch nicht konsequent genug. Wäre was für eine Weekly Show gewesen."
[3.0] "Zur Kurz, zu Belanglos und Matchstipulation ohne Sinn. Wozu standen da jetzt diese Trommeln und Bongos rum? Zur Zierde? Im Prinzip ein normales No DQ Match, aber da es anscheinend zwischen zwei farbigen Menschen stattfand, musste man dem ganzen ein rassistischen Unterton geben."
[4.0] "This was a pretty lame plunder match but it was never bad and thankfully brief. Big E being protected in his loss is good as he can maybe begin his build to Roman for next year."
[6.0] "If you didn't know, this was a modified street fight. There were Nigerian drums around the ring. For some reason, I didn't see much use of the Nigerian drums. There were more use of kendo sticks than the drums. The match itself was alright, however. Apollo as the intercontinental champion feels like a good move."
[5.0] "After the last match ended awkwardly, I was desperate to see a rematch because the fire they had in the previous encounter made me believe that these guys have something together. This match wasn't it. Aside from a few (admittedly brutal) spots, this was a lot more of an angle to showcase Apollo and his new character. And honestly, the angle was kind of intriguing. But this angle felt at home in the middle of smackdown, not ruining a hyped match at WrestleMania."
[6.0] "Leider etwas zu kurz. Aber ich mochte die aggresive Gangweise, die zahlreichen Waffen und das Hin und Her. Dazu ein sehr überraschendes Finnish. *** 1/4"
[3.0] "A drum match with no drums, because WWE superstars can only use kendo sticks, ring steps and chairs when they do hardcore matches. Just bad and forgettable."
[7.0] "This was good but again, Big E and Apollo never get enough time in their matches. I don't like that Apollo won but I get that he would have lost all credibility had he lost again. Big E should have had a more varied reign, but it is what it is."
[6.0] "These two went at it hard, hard-hitting and they did what they could for the short time they had. Just needed more time and they could have got to a good level because Apollo was selling his ass off and Big E looked like a star but they didn't get any time and were hampered by a ridiculous stipulation that added a stigma to the whole thing. If these two were just allowed to work then it would have been great but shamefully I can't rate it any higher."
[6.0] "This was a really brutal, hard hitting match with some big spots, that could have done with an extra 5-10 minutes to really build up the big spots, and a much better finish without Daba-Kato, as excited as I am for their new partnership."
[6.0] "Give this like 5-10 more minutes and this would have been a lot higher. Ending was confusing as can be, but at least the right man won, and at least Big E was protected enough to where he could still potentially topple the Tribal Chief."
[6.0] "Dabba-Kato/Azez nimmt dann die Rolle ein, die perfekt für Omos gewesen wäre. Bis dahin haben es sich die Herren ganz okay gegeben. Haben die No Holds Barred-Umstände konsequent genutzt, aber das Wrestling kam über "ordentlich" nicht hinaus."
[5.0] "Again they could show a great match, using all the instruments. In fact, they showed a good match, but the ending ruined everything. Again... Daba Kota is certainly not bad, but legitimately Apollo was never able to win Big I."
