[7.0] "A key moment in the lead-up to Wrestlemania. A chaotic spectacular that is a first taste of how the WWF became one of the hottest spectacles in the world. The in-ring action comes pretty short compared to the chaos, but even in those few minutes one can see some great heel work from Piper. Just an overall fun experience even if not a great match on its own."
[6.0] ""23 thousand plus greeting the heavyweight champion of the world" ~ Mene Gene. The crowd is going absolute bananas for this one from the start. Celebrities in the stands, ringside, and inside the ring. This event was huge and setup Wrestlemania for the the next 40 plus years. The match is a a crazy brawl from start to finish, the best way to describe the match is a beautiful chaos. Spot of the Match: Eye of the Tiger still playing and Piper and Hogan start throwing haymakers before the bell."
[6.0] "Electric crowd thanks to Roddy Piper who I should say carry the main event by his aura alone. Disappointing to not see more of the match because of the all out brawl at the end which serves as the setup for the very first Wrestlemania. Maybe the very first WWE match with the Vince McMahon "input" (meaning the entrances, the music, the guests etc...)"
[8.0] "I thought this had good action, an extremely hot crowd and a dumb finish. Like wouldn't Rowdy Piper want to finish the match to get a shot at the title? Still good wild 80s fun."
[7.0] "This is the famous 'War to Settle the Score' match, and it's a huge angle that settled the first WrestleMania main event, between Hogan and Mr. T, against Piper and Orndorff. This entire thing that aired on MTV was straight up fantastic, the crowd was on fire and super electric, and it was super chaotic, Hogan and Piper started the match brawling like crazy, and every time that Piper was in control the crowd acted desperate, they were even throwing things into the ring, a really special environment. This is a great match, but it's more of an angle to set-up another match than anything else, and there's nothing wrong with that, it ruled, Hogan had Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper and Lou Albano with him, while Piper had Orndorff and Bob Orton. After the ref bump everything went down, and the chaos became even bigger, this is one of the best set-ups ever, I can see why the product was so popular - {***1/2}"
[7.0] "A short, chaotic match meant more as a spectacle of pro wrestling to the virgin MTV audience, since it was to be broadcast for The War to Settle the Score special on MTV. For television, the match was meant to be preceded by about a half hour of hype from rock stars and pop culture icons, which helped sell it as a big deal. With that in mind, the match itself accomplishes its intended purpose, and builds to WrestleMania. Hogan and Piper do just enough in the ring to satisfy the crowd, but leave plenty on the table for their feud. After a ref bump, Piper and Orndorff double team Hogan until Cyndi Lauper distracts them on the ring apron. Piper is about to attack her when Mr. T jumps to her defense. Hogan recovers and joins Mr. T as NY security rushes the ring and separates all wrestlers. Everything is presented as real, with security acting how they should have acted if this were all a shoot. Give credit where it is due! Yes the ring work itself is limited but the real sports presentation is sublime, reminiscent of a big boxing match of the era. Almost worthy of an 8 from me, but there were a few miscues during the fight between Hogan and Piper that hurt it. Still this is historically significant to any pro wrestling fan, and builds to WrestleMania. It's worth watching."
[6.0] "I get that people have always wanted this match to headline WrestleMania I, but after seeing the build that this match (which is pretty much an angle to set up the tag) worked on, McMahon totally made the right call. This was on MTV and with the stars and the big title match here I'm sure this drove even more eyes to the product and got people amped for the tag match. I'm adding an extra point for the well done build here since the match itself, as I mentioned, isn't much of a match."
[6.0] "Right off the bat, this feels like a big time match up. Always loved when Piper had a live band for his entrance. After starting off hot, it devolves into a very basic match. It's a shame that this turns into a angle rather then a match as these two never had that big one on one match for the title. That being said, this was a really good and historically important angle which set up the main event for the 1st Wrestlemania. I enjoyed it for what it was."
[4.0] "Spiced with finest overbooking, but really extremely limited resources at best, this match sets the table for the very first Wrestlemania the following month. Released individually and broadcast separately on MTV as 'War to settle the Score', it reaches a whole new target audience and significantly increases the buy rate and thus the payday for the upcoming big event. So this match has achieved its goal, but on its own this match is absolutely no feast for the eyes."
[6.0] "A time when the WWF was riding a new wave of popularity, moving into the Rock'n'Wrestling era. The match was shown on MTV, which was a big deal at the time, bringing more attention to the product of Vince Jr. The match got off to an active start, with both men facing off in the opening seconds in an evenly matched bout from which the champion emerged victorious. The match then followed the usual pattern of Hogan's matches from those years. Roddy pounded Hogan, even catching Hogan with a slipper hold before Hogan began to get his traditional second wind. After straightening up Orton, Hulk did a clothesline and atomic drop before the ref was attacked, allowing first Paul Orndorff and then Mr. T to interfere in the match. The long-awaited "Hulk-Up" and the intervention of police and officials put a stop to the mad mess that had formed. Not as expectedly good as the in-ring action, but on the other hand it was a continuation of the big storyline leading up to the first Wrestlemania, and the significance of the event itself keeps me from giving it a lower rating."
[7.0] "This was billed as "The War to Settle the Score" when it aired on MTV in 1985. The truth is this match did more to fan the flames of this feud than it did anything resembling "settling" the score. Hogan and Piper go at it ferociously with mostly punches and kicks, but it isn't long before Piper gets disqualified. Piper was so good at being a heel, which baffles me that he turned face a year later and remained a babyface for most of the rest of his career. He was great either way and I was always invested in his matches. Everything in this match was believable. Hogan and Piper looked like they really hated each other. Chaos erupts when Paul Orndorff returns to the ring and attacks Hogan as soon as the ref goes down. Cyndi Lauper gets up on the apron to scold Piper and Orndorff and they begin to go towards her when Mr. T gets up out of his seat to defend her, only to get attacked himself before Hogan gets back to his feet. From there, the "police" get involved as Hogan and Mr. T try to get to Piper, Orndorff, & Orton, but the heels run away to fight another day. This was one of the biggest angles in wrestling history and I can't help but overrate it just a little because of the setup for Wrestlemania."
