[9.0] "I don't know if this is an indictment of his reign or a real testament to what can be done on TV, but I think this was Big E's best match as champion. This was a perfectly paced big man big match for the big title that, frankly, was better than any encounter Lashley or he had in their somewhat long-winded feud. I feel like both men ha something to prove, considering how both were red hot Vince projects that were confusing cooled far sooner than they should've. Lashley is a great heat magnet here, partially with his established presence in the main event and the absolute manhandling he gives E thorough the beginning of the match. Lashley put on his bumping boots here, shocking flipping all the way over the turnbuckle early, something that is just ridiculous to see for a man his size. The repeated hope spots for a Big Ending was great, particularly Bobby's counter of it into a top rope dragon sleeper. New Day v. Judgement Day scrambling on the outside feels like a payoff that probably should've happened at some other time in their feud, but Kofi's big cage spot to neutralize the Hurt Business still works here in hindsight. In a better world, this is how Big E actually wins the championship. The only real reason I don't give this a 10 is because I think the "Stay down! " attempt just didn't work in this match, mostly because Lashley really didn't seem like he was in any hurry to get out, and his attempted climb in the last half just seemed silly, even if it did setup the incredible finish."
[6.0] "Natürlich muss sich hier der neuer Champion behaupten, wenngleich die Interferences mit Alexander & Benjamin auf der einen und New Day auf der anderen Seite einige Fragezeichen aufwerfen. Lashley und Biggy machen das seriös bis deftig, dabei nicht zwingend hochwertig, haben aber mit dem Bookend vom Seil ein anständiges Finish parat."
[7.0] "A rustic structure and composition but it functioned well in my opinion. It started off well with a limping Big E but was ready to fight and defend the title like a true champion. Big E was at a disadvantage but would level it by using the relentless steel structure to his advantage slamming Lashley's face onto it repeatedly. I did feel that it lacked ample content required for a good steel cage match Yes, there was emotion but it didn't elevate the match by much. There were a lot of interferences for the purpose of creating suspense which is understandable and the slow climb on the cage helped build that drama factor too. Not a lot to give but Big E's successful defense was a feel-good moment nonetheless. Some of the moves I really liked in this match were Lashley's dragon sleeper using the ropes as extra support and Big E's big ending from the top rope. ***3/4"
[7.0] "Ich bin echt kein Freund von diesen Tür-Escape-Teases, die immer in Zeitlupe ablaufen. Macht's mit Dringlichkeit oder streicht die Tür als Option. Das war hier ein Spot zu viel und damit kann ich auch keine glatt gute Note geben. Triggert mich echt zu sehr. Die Action darüber hinaus war gut und hat abgeliefert. Würdiges Main Event und schön, dass Beide 2021 dieses Kaliber nun haben."
[7.0] "This was a good steel cage match in terms of storytelling and emotion. The crowd was very into this, but the ring work was pretty basic and I think they can do way better. Still, a very solid and entertaining match. ***1/2"
[6.0] "A good steel cage match, but nothing more to me. The match was not very interesting, obviously Lashley did a good job but the cage limited his offense too much to me. I'm also not a fan of the ending, and obviously I don't like the result. ***1/4"
[8.0] "Very Good main event. It was much better than the opening with a faster pace and was more action oriented. The interference also worked and I especially liked Woods shoving the steel door at Lashley's face. Lashley tried to get as many advantages as he could but in the end, he got drop with A Big Ending from the 2nd Rope and it seems WWE is going to close to Chapter on Lashley Vs Big E. Post match Drew comes out and we get a new Challenger for The WWE Championship. ****"
[8.0] "Was a pretty good match. Typical issues of WWE cage matches with the whole nonsense of escaping vs walking out the door but it didn't detract too much from the action. Definitely felt worthy of the cage and fit nicely in the story."
[8.0] "Another really good stuff in this show and it wasn't even the best match of the night so that's how good this episode was, it was as good as the ones from the previous week despite what those who never watch WWE love to claim, this match between Big E and Lashley was a hundred times better than the average opener they offered at the very beginning of this same show. I said they wouldn't be able to do great things together without a stipulation and that proved to be true, here they got one and it was really good from the first minute to the last. It's these kind of matches that we want to see on the main event of Monday Night Raw every week, it's these kind of big collisions that made us love the Attitude Era back in the day and I hope it continues to do so. Kofi's jump from the top of the cage and the Big Ending from the second rope were the two best moments of this match."
[8.0] "After about 8-9 minutes of BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPING MEAT in the opener, we got this to cap off the night, and as an addendum to that match (and on its own merits) I think this worked great. The cage match started well with E refusing to back down after the pre-match attack and had some great physicality as well as a perfect tease of the Super Big Ending reversed into a nasty assisted Dragon Sleeper that paid off for the finish of the real Super Big Ending. New Day neutralizing the Hurt Business run-in was great since Kofi & Woods were on fire during it, and E refusing to let Bobby walk out on him was cool too. They did their damndest to put E over here in spite of all the rushed shit he's gone through since being given the title, and I think they succeeded. On the whole, I'm honestly leaning towards **** on this, since the Cage match undoes the issues with the opener, and the opener had some great simple hossfight stuff that makes up for the cage match starting with the face already beat down. So yeah, ****"
[9.0] "This match was freakin awesome! one of the best Lashley & Big E match in their career! The steel cage was used really well and the new day vs hurt business exchange in this match went really well"
[8.0] "The steel cage restart to the WWE Title match was really good, handling the chaos involving The New Day and the reunited Hurt Business well, and it gave Big E the big fair win he needed to get his title run on the right track."
[7.0] "Great slugfest. Just two big men duking it out for the top prize. Never a dull moment, constant hard-hitting action. Obviously the finish was pretty lame, but THB reuniting is best for business. Good match, hampered a bit by a poor finish. [***1/4] Edit: It seems that my rating for both of their matches meshed together, so I suppose I should talk about the main event as well. It was pretty good. Lashley slowly walking towards the door constantly was a bit weird, but otherwise this was good. [***1/2]"
