[8.0] "2 things that definitely hold this match down is it being plagued with commercials and not having a crowd. With that being this was still a great match not only as Bryan's last outing in wwe but in general. Both guys worked very well especially Daniel's technical offense and not to mention Roman who seemed to put forward an extra effort to sell the submissions that were thrown his way. I thought the ending stretch of each guy going all out against one another was well done and Roman getting the submission win over Bryan was big. In the end this match was a win-win situation as it helped solidify Reigns even more as a champion and would lead Danielson to AEW."
[8.0] "A pretty good match plagued with commercials. This being Daniel Bryan's last WWE match I was excited for it but disappointed by the amount of match I was actually able to see. A few things would happen, commercial, a few more things would happen commercial. I don't blame the wrestlers it just did take me out of it as I didn't have enough time to get into it. [****1/4]"
[7.0] "Pretty good TV match; it was nice and long. You get to see all of both guy's normal stuff. Some compelling submission work, especially near the end."
[10.0] "The match was very good a perfect send off for DB and a great assertion of Roman Reigns till then flawless run . The match is a 4 , 25 stars it's really good but I mostly remember it for the match which introduce us to Head of The Table one of the best theme ever"
[7.0] "Plain and simple: this is overrated. People have primed themselves because this is Bryan's last match in WWE, and a performance where Reigns bothered to try. But that doesn't make this great. The action is fine, of course Bryan is levels above Roman in terms of the little things. And of course the thunder dome crowd is a downside, and I find Cole and McAfee to be annoying throughout, and the ending just kind of happens. Tapping out Bryan should feel like a big deal on its own, but it just wasn't. The match lacked the drama and substance it should've had, and is living off the idea of "Bryan's last match, " but not only has Bryan gone on to do much better things, this whole match feels more like a "thank god he lost" situation in hindsight. I'm not denying that this match feels unique out of Romans run with the title, but I'd by lying if I said this was anything more than just good. 3.5 Stars."
[8.0] "A very solid match unfortunately interspersed with ads. From memory I have a bit favorite their match at FastLane 2015. Reigns is dominant almost throughout and when Bryan manages to counter he doesn't keep the advantage for very long. (4*1/4)"
[8.0] "[4.25*] Reigns and Bryan have been opponents several times but this is for me the best match between them, the chemistry was very high and the exchanges between the two were very good. This was Bryan's last match for WWE, he managed to end his run in an incredible way. The submission battle was impressive and the way Roman submitted Bryan was truly badass, it's a rare title defense from Roman that doesn't end with overbooking or interference, just wrestling."
[8.0] "One of the best Roman's defences and one of the best of his single matches. Solid action in the ring the technique of Daniel Bryan is incredible and mixed with the power of Reigns and all of this with the good storytelling makes a good one match"
[9.0] "I would have given this a 10 if it had a crowd, but this might just be my favourite WWE match of the no-crowd era. Just amazing stuff, Roman was an unstoppable God just daring Bryan to try and slay him, and Bryan was, as always, remarkable as the underdog you wanted so badly to win. What a perfect send-off for Bryan too, it really showed how selfless of a performer he is. Awesome."
[8.0] "This had a very different feel than their Fastlane match. Excluding that excellent bit of submission trading during the finishing stretch, the technical wrestling was put on the backseat here. Bryan rushes Reigns as soon as this begins and the overall match just has a more meat-and-potatoes feel to it, with plenty of big bombs being thrown. Reigns does most of the bomb-throwing and Bryan sells them well by turning himself inside out more than once. This is missing more of those small wrinkles or touches that made their Fastlane match a classic, but it is still a good match that's veering on becoming a bonafide MOTYC. Roman's control segment wasn't anything to write home about, but his brilliant facial expressions and body language stopped it from feeling too vanilla, I never felt that Bryan was going to win this. The spot where hits his flying knee felt too telegraphed and I didn't believe for one second that Bryan was getting the pin there, but Bryan's look of shock and awe certainly added to the match. There are more trinkets of Bryan being the best sprinkled throughout, with that spear to small package spot looking absolutely flawless and Bryan makes every submission feel like a struggle. Reigns gets his arm worked over, and is forced to switch arms to lock in the guillotine and finally put Bryan's WWE career to rest. Like I said previously, this wasn't as good as their Fastlane match, but it was a perfect way to write Bryan out of the WWE."
[9.0] "Great send-off to Daniel Bryan's historic run in WWE, quality PPV match on a weekly show, perhaps my favorite Roman defense based on wrestling alone (for storytelling there are better ones) (****1/2)"
[6.0] "This was massively overrated. There weren't any truly great moments here but the action was solid enough. Bryan's a good babyface as always and worked over Roman's arm. Roman's selling was spotty although he sold all of Bryan's holds well. I didn't really like the way they used their finishers but that's a common WWE thing. The finish with Roman just switching on a submission and winning was simple and effective. ***"
[9.0] "If this was Bryans last match in a WWE ring what a way to go out. Instead of trying to get in Reigns head like the fastlane match the moment the bell rings he brings the fight right to Roman. Bryan would attack Roman's left arm in order to take away the superman punch and Guillotine. Reigns as usual in all of his matches with Bryan would use his power to escape Bryans techinal offense. Both men would kick out of each other finshers in this which would create a tense ending in this. Bryan would hold on to Reigns left arm for dear life knowing that he softeneted it up all match long, but Reigns would smartly switch the arm he uses for the Guillotine to put things to an end.****1/2"
[8.0] "Very good match. It had a great pacing and never drag. I didn't like that we had to go through two commercials but I can live with that. Very smart wrestling and great utilisation of Bryan's technical ability against Roman's more straightforward power. I thought that the ending was very clever and I appreciate the clean finish. Commentary was great mostly although there were a few hiccups and inaccuracies. Pat was great. It would have been more awesome if we had a crowd. ****1/4"
[9.0] "A great TV match to say good bye to Daniel Bryan. First of all, Heyman's pre-match promo was fantastic (as always). The match itself was excellent, without a doubt, one of the best TV matches of 2021. Reigns showed his dominance as the top heel champ while Bryan did everything to save his career. The arm work was good. Reigns selling was good as well. The dramas were well-built. The ending really emphasized Reigns' dominance as he got out of Bryan's submission then made him pass out."
[6.0] "I was lenient and decided to rate this match despite it just failing my usual requirement of only rating matches where at least 66.6% of it has aired, simply because it was so highly rated and also because it was Bryan's last WWE match (hopefully ever). The constant ad breaks were a real drag, since they'd always come right when the action was just picking up, so maybe I would have been a tiny bit higher on this if I saw the full 27 minutes. There was a great start with Bryan immediately showing heaps of energy as he constantly flew at Roman and wore him down with his grappling and limb-targeting. Roman played a good powerhouse, capable of bringing the match back into his favour with only a handful of immensely impactful attacks. Bryan remained impressive with his stiff strikes and strong babyface-selling, but Roman's aggression and power advantage remained too much for him to ever get the same momentum that he had at the start. I liked how Bryan started utilising his speed, in-ring awareness, and grappling prowess to evade and counter Roman's bigger attacks, which helped put him back on even ground. As solid -- and even really good at times -- as the action was, it certainly never reached anything near what I'd consider to be deserving of a ****+ or 8.50+ CM rating. The stipulation just never felt significant because of the fake crowd and the dubbed-in crowd sounds, so there was never any tangible sense of tension or drama as to whether Bryan might actually win the title or whether he might suffer the ultimate (kayfabe) punishment of having to leave WWE. The work was still good, but more so at the level of a normal TV match rather than of a Title-vs-Career main-event. ***1/4"
[10.0] "Bryan has had this great chemistry with Roman since the Hell No/Shield feud and here is its final culmination. This is such a fantastic championship match; they give Bryan everything here to show that he's fighting for his life and putting it all on the line while giving the audience reason to believe he can win. The sidestep of the barricade spear, the submission attempts, the Spear kickout, the escape of the Guillotine. The story was simple but so effective with Bryan going after the right arm that Roman uses for his Superman Punch and Guillotine and which is strained by the Yes/Lebell Lock, and Roman doing his best to just power through Bryan's technical offense. Roman's repetoire gets a bit exposed at times since he kind of repeats things, but he sells the arm well throughout and the finish of swapping the side for the Guillotine was perfect. Given the clean finish and high stakes this is definitely their best match, although the in-ring at Fast Lane was as good if not a bit better at times. A perfect goodbye for Bryan in WWE, putting over a younger guy in a match that's a highlight in their title reign and career. ****1/2+"
[9.0] "Great match. Roman finally got a clean win and Bryan looked good too. Pretty Hard Hitting and didn't start off slow like their match at Fastlane"
[10.0] "Daniel Bryan's last WWE match? I'll believe it when I see him pop up somewhere else, but it's possible. If this was his goodbye, it was a hell of a fantastic performance. I never tire of how well Bryan can make just about everything look great. At one point he was doing simple knee drops and they just looked killer, brilliant stuff. I also must say this run of Roman really suits him well, I don't think I ever hated the guy but I was ambivalent to him, and the bits I've seen of his recent work seems to be really his best."
[8.0] "This rivalry has meant so much to me this year; I've wanted to see Reigns vs. Bryan since 2018 and had almost convinced myself that I wasn't going to get it after Edge's Rumble victory. AND THEN.... The Fastlane match b/w the two is my MOTY so far, and while this encounter couldn't quite live up to its level, I still love it so much. In a change to their previous bouts which were slow, detail-oriented epics, this one is more of a crowd pleaser, with fast paced action, nearfalls, counters, and big spots. However, there's still a hefty dose of psychology and storytelling that you'd expect from an all-time great like Bryan; he targets Roman's left arm, employing the same strategy that tapped Reigns out but smartly switches to the right once he gets an opening. The finish is just fantastic too, with Bryan able to fight out of Roman's submission because of the arm work but Reigns, in an awesome display of psychology, simply switches to the other arm to get a heart breaking victory. Gonna be hard to top this as the WWE TV MOTY. ****1/4"
[8.0] "On a re-watch, I like this even better than the WrestleMania main event. This match has even higher stakes than the WrestleMania match, and it more than proved that Roman Reigns is the best thing going in wrestling. Reigns sells wonderfully against Bryan, giving so much in a performance that also proved him as the most dominant force on SmackDown, able to demolish even the best American wrestler of all time. Both men get in great offense, and it went just as long as it needed to for a marquee TV main event. If this really is Bryan's last match on SmackDown, what a way to go out. ****1/2."
[9.0] "4. 25 Stars - Damn good match as always between these 2. If this is Bryans swan song from WWE this damn good way of doing it. I'm loving these finishes of roman matches. Really have put him as a star and match worked really well to make you really buy into bryan trying to win"
[9.0] "This was easily the best tv match for the main roster since Bryan/Styles this past June. Both men went at it and the story that was told was beautiful. Reigns going after Bryan's neck considering its past was a genius move. All around fantastic match, 4. 75 stars."
[9.0] "This was easily the best match on WWE television in some time and a great follow up to their match at Fastlane and Mania. Reigns and Bryan have always been great together and I'm fairly sure this was their best one-on-one match."
[9.0] "Due to the high rating, this was, outside of Mania, one of the handful of main roster matches I've seen this year. It was fantastic as expected. Bryan showed tons of fire and nearly got the job done on a variety of occasions, Roman powered through and the match was shockingly clean. The result was, sadly, what it needed to be. But that doesn't take away from it at all. ****1/2"
[9.0] "One of the best matches of SmackDown in years. Daniel Bryan fighting for his future in the blue brand against the top heel of the company. He couldn't beat Reigns, so it will be interesting to know what's going on with him on the following weeks. ****1/2"
[10.0] "This match was fantastic, even with the commercial breaks. They had a lot of time, and used it really great, with a good pace, intentisity and psychology. Bryan's underdog performance will always be amazing, but he complements so well with this version of Roman who brings brutality every single match. I loved that it had no interferences too, that made it so much better for me. ****1/2"
[9.0] "This was a really strong match harmed by the extensive ad breaks. It was really annoying due to you were really just getting into it and then the break hit. Still as a standalone match this was as good as I expected it to be."
[7.0] "What a DAMN match. Thankful it was a clean end. Reigns needs more clean dominant wins like that. It's just more engaging and a better story of dominance than constant Jey interference. Sadly, the ads ruined it for me.."
[9.0] "Would probably go to 10 if this weren't so many commercials, or at least picture-in-picture. Still the action that was shown was great, as expected from these two."
[3.0] "A 27 min match where not even half was seen due to commercials immediately brings it down. The other issue is the arena setting along with both horrible camera work and commentary make it impossible to enjoy. Every single Reigns match falls into the wwe formula never diverting, never changing, and now complete with Reigns basically booked the same as Evil in njpw, this cant be recommended at all."
[10.0] "It's got to be the most intense clash they had to have and my favorite one honestly ! I just loved the pace and the energy all along the bout it was damn physical and competitive they just beat the hell out of each other ! I loved when Bryan totally locked down Reigns' arm again a terrific maneuver from the best techniker on the planet ! An' it's safe to say as I've been using to that Roman had another killer matchup since he came back he's been reaching his apex of his career !"
[6.0] "I didn't think this was gonna be overrated. But this is massively overrated. The only very good point of it is that finally, Reigns wins a match alone. But except that, it contains too many nonsenses like for example the Running Knee or the Spear used like random moves even if they are finishers ... ***"
[8.0] "It was a very good match. Not slow paced but the whole 27 minutes filled with action. Reigns wins clean which is important. Wherever Bryan goes next he will make the place better (****)"
[8.0] "A great match filled with a believably intensity between every move these two made. Roman again comes accross as a monster whilst Bryan furious submission locks looked to be bringing Roman down. No idea what they're planning to do with Bryan now but hopefully the bare minimum is an NXT run against the talents there."
[9.0] "Unsurprisingly great. Beautiful armwork-story with Bryan first starting out working the left arm, but naturally switching the focus to the right arm once opportunity presented itself when he countered Reigns' Superman Punch attempt w/ that kick to it. Bryan's work over the arm is obviously awesome, and Reigns' selling is rock-solid. Love the way the story played out in the end; the whole finishing stretch is so great with Reigns looking to put a blunt end to things, but Bryan just goddamn HOLDS ON to that arm with everything he got left, because he knows it's HIS. Then Reigns wisely simply switches it & ends it all. Simple, wonderful stuff that plays up to both of their characters perfectly. Overall it's probably not as amazing as their Fastlane match(es), but it's definitely great. They're a fantastic pairing."
[10.0] "This will be hard to top for the best WWE TV match of 2021, maybe even the best WWE match overall of 2021. No bullshit, no weapons, no outside interference, a pure fight between the champion Roman Reigns looking to assert his dominance, and the challenger Daniel Bryan looking to stay on SmackDown and finally topple the Head of the Table. Incredible pro wrestling drama, Bryan wore down Reigns' right arm and put him through agony, but Reigns was too powerful and put Bryan out with his left arm. What is next for Bryan? Maybe he needs to EVOLVE..."
[10.0] "It's been a long time since we saw such a good match during smackdown The match was excellent maybe even the best of the career of roman reigns"
[10.0] "What a match. Holy smokes. Easily the best main roster match on free TV all year. I'd watch this match again and again and not get sick of it."
"8. 5/10 is my rating for this match. It was a great match, even though this match was so similar to previous matches they faced each other. I hope Daniel Bryan is going to move to NXT after that."
[7.0] "Definitely better than their last singles match at Fastlane, fixing the slow paced of the long control segment Roman Reigns had there and having a more dynamic play on this one. The story here is good with Bryan going for the arm to set up the Yes Lock and Roman having a few good solutions to scape from it and finish the match with the good arm, however there is just too many factors playing against it to connect with me in a deeper level. This being a TV match took any doubt that I could had about who was winning, put this on a PPV stage and you cut that and the commercials away. The last thing might be just a thing with me but a lot of their offense doesn't really hit to me, a lot of times things just seem very predictable, actually might be a WWE thing but is hard to engage in a match like this."
[10.0] "About as good of a TV match as you? re going to get. The only problem was the commercials, but that still was only a small stain on what was otherwise a masterpiece."
[10.0] "This was another awesome match between Reigns and Bryan, they keep giving us perfections like this every time they meet. I don't know if it was on the same level as their two Fastlane bouts, but one thing is for sure, it was amazing, as usual between them. I absolutely LOVED Bryan's work on Reigns' arm, he targeted him from the start of the match and didn't let go until the last second. Reigns' selling was perfect too, a little inconsistent at times just to set up some spots but he always reminded us of that shoulder injury, and that was an important detail in the finish. Their matches always work because beyond the very good wrestling they offer us, they always tell a real story with Bryan being the fighting good guy and Reigns the vicious bad guy without mercy, nothing extraordinary and yet it works so well with these two guys. Reigns' title reign is fantastic but I've heard people say they're tired of Jey Uso's many interventions, which I can understand, but you can't say that about this match. There were no interventions from Jey, Cesaro, Edge, Rollins or anyone else, and that may have also played into my overall appreciation of this match because it was just Reigns and Bryan doing tremendous things together and no need for fireworks to surround it all. These two understand each other like no one else, they have a chemistry like you rarely see and will always deliver matches of this caliber, in fact this was definitely one of the best matches in SmackDown history. This was also another great match to add to Reigns' catalog as he's giving us one of the most qualitative runs in the history of this company. Amazing and brilliant stuff right here."
[9.0] "About the best television match you could get that's broken up by commercials. Liked it even more than the AJ match Bryan had last year on Smackdown. Reigns' selling throughout was excellent."
[9.0] "what a match this was, Bryan was going at it in his final match on Smackdown. The in ring psychology in this match was top notch and the chemistry between Bryan & Roman was awesome no doubt about it. I'm so glad that this match ended with a clean finish rather than a screwy finish with Jey or Cesaro interrupting in the middle of the match. The problem with this match itself was the commercial, if wwe did the picture in picture rather than commercial, i would give it a 10."
[9.0] "This match would've fit right in at the main event of a great PPV. Daniel Bryan is able to hide Roman's weaknesses (workrate) masterfully, while also accentuating his many strengths. Their chemistry is unreal to the benefit of both guys. The stakes, and the lack of Jey Uso, were both huge benefits to this match as well. As much as I love Jey, the interference is almost expected at this point, so that really was a breath of fresh air. I can't give it a perfect score, as I did have a few issues, but none involved the stellar action in the ring. Firstly, I felt that the number of commercials harmed the flow of the match, so that was a letdown. Secondly, as great as the action was, I didn't feel the result was often in question. These situational issues did hurt, but in terms of in-ring, it was near perfect."
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