Randy Orton vs. Triple H

[5.0] "Solid match. It's a bit slow and boring at times, with hardly any interesting moments in my opinion, but it's not bad. It's quite polished and has its highlights, though not many."

[6.0] "While this was more like Three Stages of Slog at some points, I'm just glad this feud is over. None of the matches (except at Mania) are terrible, and this is fine too, but Orton and HHH again and again are difficult to sit through, especially in a 20 minute PPV main event."

[4.0] "I could never really get into any of HHH and Orton's matches, especially around this time they're both so boring and them together is incredibly uninteresting. The first two falls are basically pointless and they drag out the third portion, the stretcher match. It's not a totally offensive match but nothing here popped me at all and I could see the finish coming from a mile away, just a very cookie cutter layout that I didn't find appealing."

[4.0] "Making this 3 stages was pointless as the first 2 end in 5 minutes and the rest is a dull, overlong stretcher match with some silly stuff like hidden sledgehammer."

[5.0] "I was skeptical about the Stretcher Match going in, and this only confirmed my doubts. It just doesn't scream "final stage of hell" and there's only so much you can do with it - especially when both guys are already exhausted. The only great Stretcher Match I can recall is Brock vs Big Show, and that worked because it was short and action-packed. Here, the first two falls had some nice ideas, but wrapping them up so quickly meant most of the focus was on the third stage, which I wasn't exactly looking forward to. The work was solid overall, and Orton gave a phenomenal heel performance, but once again, this pairing ends in disappointment."

[5.0] "The booking of this match was shockingly bad. I won't say it ruins the match, because even if it were booked better, the match was only fine anyway, but it dragged it down without question. First, there's no reason why this couldn't have just been a stretcher match. The first two falls really did nothing. You could have had the exact same match almost to the letter without changing anything if it was just a stretcher match. Even if the first two falls DID matter, these are fairly toothless matches to be considered 'hell.' A basic match, a falls count anywhere, and a stretcher match? Not exactly three match types that scream 'brutal' and 'put each other through hell.' It makes me wonder if maybe Triple H was supposed to have more time off, but they called him up early after Batista got hurt and they rushed this along. Then...at the end...Triple H magically pulls a perfectly placed sledgehammer from the stage? Come on. So you're telling me...Triple H had the forethought to predict that he'd need his trademark sledgehammer at that EXACT part of the stage to stash it under? Utter nonsense. Also. Orton hit Triple H earlier with literal padding, and Triple H sold it. Just a little more to shake your head at. The ending with Legacy interfering was remarkably predictable. So both of Triple H's loses were without truly beating him. Outside of the horrible booking, the match was fine. Executed well enough to not be a disappointment, but really nothing special at all outside of maybe the spot where Orton DDT's Triple H from the stretcher to the ramp. I wouldn't say this match should be avoided, but it certainly will not make any compilations of best matches for either of them."

[6.0] "Fall 1 (Traditional): Slow and not the way you want to start a three stages of hell match. It was smart for Triple H to use the chair to get an advantage going into fall 2 but that is all that can be said about this part of the match. 4/10 Fall 2 (Falls Count Anywhere): Basically not existent. I will give higher points because of what Triple H did going into the fall but there is not much to rank here. 7/10 Fall 3 (Stretcher): The only good fall in this entire match until legacy interfered 6.5/10"

[5.0] "Meh. The first two falls were useless as the majority of the time in this match was the stretcher stipulation. Triple H conceding the first fall via dq to win the second fall was pretty stupid booking."

[6.0] "The first match is a Singles match, the second a Falls Count Anywhere match, and the third a Stretcher match. It's not crazy, it doesn't really interest me. The end of the third match is overbooked but it passes. (3*1/4)"

[7.0] "Big match for me, to conclude this rivalry the three stages of hell match is perfect. The single match is good, Orton wins, the second Falls Count Anywhere is less good, Triple H wins. 1-1. Then comes the Stretcher, and here it is very good for me, The Legacy intervenes, Orton wins. The rivalry ends 2009. Best rivalry of 2009."

[6.0] "This was alright, I expected a lot more from a three stages of hell match. If you want to see a brutal match between these two check out the Last Man Standing match from No Mercy 2007, that one lives up to the violence you'd expect."

[7.0] "I had some hope for this, but then the first two falls ended just as it was getting started. HHH's selling of his knee was very consistent, and I did enjoy the stretcher section (which was essentially the whole match). It was reasonably good as a whole, but why book three stages of hell if you're gonna rush the hell out of the first two. Good but had potential to be much, much more. [***1/2]"