[10.0] "***** Wow. Just, wow. Easily the greatest Iron Man match of all time and the best match both Bryan and MJF have had in AEW so far, and possibly in their careers. I loved MJF getting back to back pins and MJF overall really impressed me in this match. His elbow drop through the table and his brutallity on Danielson was amazing, along with lasting the entire hour plus the sudden death. The storytelling with this 60 minute match being a walk in the park for Bryan and the toughest challenge ever for MJF was magnificent. The best piece of this story being told was when both guys were on the ground, and the camera shows Bryan smiling and laughing, then cuts to MJF crying. Incredible stuff overall."
[10.0] "MOTY, this match was soooooo good, everything about this match was the stuff, better than ospreay vs omega at wk17, prob the best AEW match of all time, actually good selling. i thought the finish was ok. still a great match. truly lived up as the best iron man match. *****"
[10.0] "[5.0*] I spend a year thinking this match was overrated and not everything people said it was, and 3 days ago I rewatched it for the first time. Please, forgive me if I forget some things, the Mania Weekend fucked my schedule and I had a lot of stuff to evaluate here. This is just a classic, Top 5 in AEW history and maybe the best Iron Man Match of all time + the best Main Event in AEW history. I always thought Mox vs Hanger was the best match of the event, and despite being on my Top 5 too, now I think this one is slightly better. This was just 1-hour of smart-wrestling and pure strategy by both men, with MJF starting off mocking Bryan and and treating him like he was nothing (because he was insecure of himself). Bryan entered his game and conquered his mind, winning the 1st fall with the Busaiku Knee. Max knew he was going to lose this way so he risked it all and gave Bryan a low-blow, going 0-2 and pinning him twice to make things equal in 2-2. Genius spot, that the production unfortunately fucked up a little bit by not ringing the bell, letting people confused. The match goes on with a lot of technical exchanges and limb-work, with Bryan targeting Maxs knee and Max targeting Bryans injured shoulder. MJF did an awesome elbow drop from the top rope through the table on the outside + a fucking crazy tombstone on the part of the table that was not broken (my favorite spot of the first 60 min). Max made it 3-2 with his Heatseeker and started to talk trash to Bryans kids, which created a fire inside of him to reach for his 3rd point after a LeBell Lock. Friedman almost won again in a tremendous Avalanche Tombstone for a phenomenal kickout by Bryan, who was playing the underdog perfectly. The match ended in a draw and Schiavone came to say that it must have a winner! On the overtime we got my favorite spot of the match where Bryan did his YES chants for the first time in AEW, hits a Busaiku Knee and Max miraculously kicks out. Holy shit, this match was incredible. Max then outsmarts Bryan by hitting him with the same oxygen tube that he pretended to need before, and Bryan tapped out to the Salt Of The Earth. Bryan had a wife, had kids, and MJF just got dumped. The Triple B was everything he had and he was able to do anything and everything to keep it, and so he did. A fucking classic."
[7.0] "Solid match. Danielson puts in one of his best performances here and the shot of him with his bloodied face beating his elbows into MJF is iconic. Near perfect performance from Danielson, but the problem with this match for me is MJF. I'm just not into him at all, this feels like a total carryjob from Danielson. MJF does put in the effort, but at times he feels like he's trying to hard, his Meltzer line was especially too meta. The ending is cool and unexpected as well, but honestly speaking I think I would have liked this match better if Danielson had won the gold here."
[9.0] "It's now being considered that this may be the best Iron Man match ever, and well, I tend to agree. MJF is the star of this match, working the crowd while playing a masterful heel. He sets the pace too, which may be surprising, but it makes logical sense because he's the champion. Danielson is right at home here too, making sure to never show how tired he is, while MJF is constantly gasping for air and downing bottles of water. Then there's the falls. The first comes after a knee, and then the next three come after a low blow DQ and two consecutive pins. What a great twist. The final fall comes after the time limit has been extended, with Max hitting Bryan with a 02 tank and making Danielson tap to the labelle lock. Another fantastic fall that makes complete logical sense. The match in between is well-paced, never too fast, never too slow. The elbow drop to the outside looked awesome, and MJF with blood pouring down his face is my favorite visual of the year. EDIT: On a rewatch, some of the magic is gone. The criticisms of this match seem much more valid to me now, than they did last year. I don't feel comfortable giving this the full 5 anymore. 4.75 Stars."
[5.0] "It had it's moments but this match didn't feel especially amazing. I thought both men have had better matches in AEW. This ironman match format doesn't work for me very often though. I was real hyped for it coming in but watching it I realized immediately why I have a hard time getting invested in these types of matches. MJF getting two wins with a low blow for example. If this was just a regular main event match for the belt at a ppv a low blow would never have gotten MJF a win on it's own, let alone two. People lose at moments in iron-man matches that they would never normally lose in in kayfabe. I can get that in some situations, like if a wrestler taps early to get out of a move because they know it could make it harder for them to rack up the needed wins later on if their opponent keeps them in the submission for a long amount of time.It breaks my immersion in wrestling as a "real" sport. We all know it's fake but at it's best wrestling makes us forget it and buy into what we are watching, even at it's wackiest."
"A year has elapsed since this match now and I can still say its one of the best matches I've seen in a long time. The pacing, the drama, the camerawork, the commentary and the story here were all fantastic. This truly had a big match feel and Danielson is so good at convincing me that what is happening could go either way that I genuinely thought he was gonna win at one stage. It might be generous to describe it as one of the best matches of all time, but its certainly a classic and one I would happily go back and watch again. MJF is unmissable for me when he is on and it'll be fascinating to see where he goes next and what he does. Great match."
[10.0] "This will forever be remembered as one of the greatest matches of all time, simply incredible! Both wrestlers played their roles brilliantly, with MJF being the guy everybody thought couldn't hang with Bryan for one full hour. That dynamic was very well executed there, and MJF proved that he in fact can out-wrestle the American Dragon in one hour, even if he demonstrated some weaknesses sometimes. This is a special match and so far in history the best Iron Man match of all time. All the falls were creative and amazing, and that ending was simply speechless, there were few times I've experienced so much tension in a finale. That overrun was magnificent, and after that Busaiku Knee I really thought Bryan was winning it, even if the odds were all in MJF's favor. This will forever have a special place in my heart, what an experience - {*****}"
[10.0] "Very rarely do I rerate matches upon a second rewatch but this was a great match. The falls were well more made than the last time and the character work and psychology were great. The wrestling sequences and spots were very well done. MJF and Bryan were equally great and it didn't feel at all like Danielson was carrying the match. This is one of the rare occasions where you could make the argument that someone outshined Bryan Danielson. Very well done match."
[9.0] "A match of the highest level, no matter where you look at it. MJF and Bryan Danielson had a confrontation of an hour and a little more that was crazy, slow? Maybe, but it didn't feel EMPTY, it felt pretty cool."
[9.0] "A marathon match, it was everything you'd expect from a wrestling match. Thoroughly engaging for it's entirety, both wrestlers brought their A-game here. While it's a herculean effort, there are some fundamental flaws in the match that prevent the bout from being a perfect classic. The pinfalls take place in rather quick succession during the middle of the match. It's not well planned, or spread out. They've borrowed elements from classic Iron Man matches of the past, but the execution feels a tad fabricated. MJF pinning Danielson after a low-blow would be okay, but the two quick, successive falls makes it difficult to suspend disbelief. Another indigestible nugget is how they fell to some simple falls but kicked out of massive moves towards the end of the match, or even before, especially when Danielson lands on his head with the pumphandle sitout slam. That should have been an easy pin in an iron man match. Too many false-finishes or huge kick-outs in iron man matches usually don't work well. Now, make no mistake, the in-ring action is on point. This is engaging and even enthralling at times. But the structure is a bit wonky. The part where they curled like an armadillo and rolled around was laughable. It was amidst an intense sequence - not during the start of the match. Makes it very difficult to recalibrate your concentration after such a whimsical display. It is still one stellar marathon match. A much better gimmick might have been 2/3 falls with a 60 min. time limit. They didn't do nearly enough with the iron man gimmick as much as they put on a great wrestling match without it feeling like that was their intent and purpose. Overall, fantastic work by both guys. It's not easy to wrestle for 60 mins. and keep it thoroughly engaging. They did just that."
[10.0] "The best Iron Man match ever, one of the best matches ever. The story of MJF not having the cardio to keep up with Danielson, Bryan loving the pain he's feeling. MJF needs Oxygen to keep competing, then uses the can to cheat the win. The great chain wrestling work at the start, the crowd work from MJF, the Tombstone into the Table shards. So good!"
[10.0] "MJF vs. Danielson ist wahrscheinlich das beste 60 Minute Iron Man Match das ich je gesehen habe, denn das war ein absoluter Klassiker, an den ich mich noch sehr lange erinnern werde. Danielson hat geholfen, MJF auf die nächste Stufe zu hieven. Schon die ersten 25 waren wirklich gut, obwohl natürlich noch sichtlich die Handbremse angezogen wurde. Und dann nahm das Match immer mehr an Fahrt auf und steigert sich dann ins Fantastische. Ich habe keine Ahnung, wie man das besser booken könnte. MJF als Sieger war natürlich die richtige Wahl."
[10.0] "The best Iron Man match I have seen, everything about it from the story telling and ring psychology to the actual wrestling itself was incredibly compelling and thrilling."
[10.0] "An excellent one-hour Iron Man match that I didn't see go by. I loved the first 4 points which follow each other quickly. The moves are great and the audience is into it. MJF is an awesome heel and I really liked the finish. (5*)"
[10.0] "The greatest Iron Man match. My only complaint would be that I actually would have liked them to go even longer after the draw. I think they could have done it, but I guess it's better to leave people wanting more."
[9.0] "Ein Psycho-Thriller getarnt als Wrestling Match. Wie Danielson die Erfahrung und Selbstsicherheit ausstrahlt während MJF seine Unsicherheit mit Arroganz überspielt ganz großes Kino. Hier und da schleichen sich minimale Längen ein, die in einem Iron Man Match nunmal kaum ausbleiben können. Trotzdem ein sensationeller Main Event!"
[10.0] "[5.75*] All this rivalry served for MJF to show all his talent, in the promos, as the hateful heel but also in the ring. MJF had an impeccable performance here, his athleticism was insane to see and he also clearly tried to do different moves and his work was excellent, without a doubt the best match of MJF's career. Bryan and MJF had very intelligent moments during the match, especially MJF who always had a trick, the moment when he does a low blow and gives Bryan a point but gives him two, was brilliant. All the drama that MJF and Bryan sell at the end of the match is perfect, one of the most dramatic matches I've ever seen. Bryan Danielson is the GOAT and this match shows this in different ways, his technique is incredible, his selling is spectacular, he manages to return to being that Underdog face in a way that only he can. The moment Bryan escapes an INSANE submission from MJF, I knew this was going to be an all-time classic. The ending was creative and exciting, both of them lying in the ring, tired and getting up quickly because they discover that there are only 5 minutes left, it's amazing. MJF holding on until the remaining time was very creative and the continuation of the match was very good and exciting, MJF's kickouts, Bryan doing submissions on Max's injured knee and the way he manages to win the match, this is definitely the best work of MJF's career and a testament to why Bryan Danielson is the GOAT."
[10.0] "Not that it's particularly difficult to have a great match with Bryan Danielson, but MJF proved all of the doubters wrong with this match. Phenomenally constructed and wrestled bell to bell."
[10.0] "I want to tell something new in this 2024. I watch this match again, and the psicology in ring was phenomenal. First, MJF looked stressful, anxious and afraid of facing Bryan Danielson, one of the best wrestlers of all time, for one hour. Everyone can see he dropping the title, refusing to do catch wrestling against Bryan for obvious reasons, mocking the crowd to be better, and of course, drinking water while he can. On the other hand, Bryan look pretty normal, acting like is a normal match against a normal champion. In the end, when MJF wins, he scream for the camera the worlds "i'm the best in the world", cause he beat the best wrestler in the world. Definitely the best match in MJF's carrer and maybe the best in Bryan Danielson's carrer either, and my favorite match of my life. So damn god, 5 stars"
[10.0] "When I initially watched this back when it originally aired, I was really not in the mood for a 60 minute match, and I felt that it negatively impacted my enjoyment of this match so much that I chose not to rate it since I didn't believe I could judge it fairly. Rewatching it now in isolated and with my full attention, I'm really glad that I gave it a second chance. Iron Man matches can be really challenging to do well, since the audience goes in knowing when it will end. It's a totally different way of structuring a match, and I thought that MJF and Danielson did an excellent job here. They had an interesting story with MJF trying to prove that he could hang with Danielson (then eventually realising that he wasn't quite there and getting desperate), and there were enough story beats to keep the match engaging and feeling like it was progressing at a reasonable rate. I loved that the first fall took so long to occur since a pet peeve of mine is when matches like this have people winning falls really early in ways that would never usually end a match. Here everything felt earned, and each fall was functional in terms of moving in to a new 'phase' of the story that they were telling. It wasn't all perfect - MJF can be a bit too cheesy for me at times, and I find his knee injury routine to be really overdone and hokey (which I have not been too harsh on in this instance, as this took place before he started overusing this spot and really hamming it up in future matches), but the negatives were not enough to detract from the experience too strongly for me. What impressed me the most was how much the big spots (I really love that tombstone in to the remains of the table) still had an impact on me, and the overtime period still had me fully invested in some really excellent nearfalls. The spot where MJF ties all of Bryan's limbs up in a ZSJ-esque submission is an especially great moment that I almost wish was the finish. I was apprehensive about the finish when watching live, but going back now I thought that it served the story perfectly and was a very appropriate way for MJF to get the win. While I would not agree with anybody who views this as the best match of Bryan Danielson's career (not by a long shot), upon revisiting it I do believe that the match is very deserving of a 10.0 rating."
"probably the best macth of 2023 alongside Cody Rhodes vs Roman reigns at wrestlemania, even though it wasnt the best story leading up to the macth which AEW are really known for being one dimensional only focusing on matches to get the from meltzer not storylines or character development, MJF is an exception , MJF has the full package , being alongside cm punk today having the best promos , and his charisma he proved he could hang for an hour with the greatest technical wrestler Daniel Bryan who also had great charisma back in WWE , , this was a masterclass the pace was great the antics of MJF interactions with the crowd were hilarious this macth had everything for all types of fans classic"
[10.0] "Perhaps the greatest Iron Man Match of all time. Seeing my favorite stipulation get this level of justice was excellent. This was the match that finally "sold" me on MJF. He proved that he can wrestle anyone's style and hang with the GOAT. There will never be a more perfect pro wrestler than Bryan Danielson but I hesitate to classify this as a "carry job." MJF was great as well. Danielson showed he was built for this while MJF needed oxygen was hilarious but brilliant. From the very beginning, everything in this match mattered and had a purpose. It felt like both guys were trying to win right from the start and that feeling never went away. An hour long match that felt like 20 minutes and ended too soon. Perfection. I knew there was absolutely no way Danielson was going to dethrone the Champ this early in his reign but they got me. A masterclass of endurance and one of the greatest matches in AEW's young history where the loser proves that winning isn't everything."
[10.0] "At the time of leaving this comment its the greatest Ironman match to date. The story going in of Bryans love and respect of wrestling vs MJFs abuse of wrestling to gain fame and fortune was great tv and a good long build to the title match. The match itself is a masterclass. MJF plays the ultimate heel, Bryan the ultimate babyface. The psychology makes perfect sense for each wrestler and their approach, MJFs retro chad jock heelishness is out in full force (that poor kid in the front row) and it only endears the crowd more to Bryan who is a master of the fundamentals of pro wrestling. The Ironman feels long but not an hour which is perhaps the best praise that can be given. The pace stays engaging while not trivialising the clock and the final moments become nailbiting as the clock counts down."
[10.0] "For a long time, I've wanted to see such an Iron Man match. In many ways, this match encapsulates the best of what wrestling has to offer. No downtime, every move had a purpose, and the tension was maintained until the last second of the encounter. I hesitate to use the term "carried" when it really isn't warranted; Bryan, more elegantly put, assisted MJF, but his performance was by no means subpar."
[10.0] "The pinnacle of professional wrestling. Perfect, just like the match the first match between Danielson and Hangman and probably a bit better. Everything was perfect: selling, the limb work, the pacing, the big spots, the counter game, the nearfalls, just everything. It starts slow but then it picks up and never stops. Roll-up combinations, diving elbow drop on the table, tombstone after tombstone and busaiku knee after busaiku knee. MJF crying and Danielson laughing during a figure four is a poetic imagine. Struggle, blood, sweat, tears and pure glorious pro wrestling. Some of the fatest 60 minutes of my life, never got bored once. The ending had on of the edge of my seat and the sudden death with Danielson doing the "yes" one more time before hitting MJF with a busaiku knee really made me believe he was going to win altough I knew he wasn't. One of the biggest reactions that I've ever had for a wrestling match in my life. Danielson is the best wrestler of all time and MJF is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now and a tremendous heel.10/10 - 5*/5*"
[10.0] "The best match that AEW has ever put on, in my opinion. I'm typically not a fan of Iron Man matches (due to how boring they can get to fill the 1 hour timespan), but this was absolutely incredible."
[7.0] "The match attempted to overcome the problems with the famous HBK-Bret Hart ironman where it was uneventful by filling the 60 minutes with pins and storytelling attempts to convey how exhausting it is. Still, it is very much elongated and only picked up at the end of the match which is scattered with shenanigans. The match landed in a weird spot where it isn't a pure wrestling contest, neither was it a blood feud blowoff. The ending was so layers on layers that when Danielson taped out, it sucked the air out of me. Excellent watching live, an rather underwhelming delivery looking back at it."
[4.0] "So first of all, the feud that led to this match was poor. I'm not talking about Bryan "running the gauntlet" and picking up wins on TV every week because that was great, but it was great as a series of great matches and not great as a story being told, because the story is identical to most every other MJF heel feud where he made people run through a gauntlet to get to him. MJF's character motivation in the weeks after those matches and leading up to the match was strange too, which is something Bryan even pointed out in his promo on I believe the go-home Dynamite which was by far the best promo in the whole feud, as he seemed to just flip-flop between reasons to hate Bryan and would tell utterly stupid stories like the shit about crashing a car with a girl he liked in it and blaming her. The first couple interactions and the first sequence where Bryan is getting in MJF's head and outwrestling him causing frustration is very entertaining stuff. The following sequence of mirror moves and a double kip-up, slightly less good. MJF then goes into the crowd to taunt the audience a bit, throws some liquid at a child for some reason, and makes a joke about not winning the Bryan Danielson award which was at least humorous. Then a lot of nothing really happens, the only thing of note being MJF getting sunset flip powerbombed off the second rope and being the first one to attack afterwards for some reason. Bryan gets his shoulder worked over sort of, and then MJF does a moonsault or something to the outside and tweaks his knee on the landing. Bryan sells his better than MJF who basically isn't affected by the tweak for several minutes following, but i'm not in love with Bryan's sell either. There's a series of roll-ups and pin reversals where Bryce counts multiple falls where a shoulder is very clearly not down, then Bryan scores the first fall with a busaiku knee nearing the thirty minute mark. That's thirty minutes to the first fall and nothing really happened. Immediately following this, MJF lands a low blow and gets two successive pinfalls from it to even things, which I think is pretty bloody ridiculous and honestly feels like an attempt to course correct from the first half an hour of no real story beats to the match. MJF soon after misses a heatseaker and sells the knee again so I make that 9 minutes between initial injury and actual selling. The sheer gulf between the two as talents becomes far more noticable from this point on as Bryan begins to zero in on the knee. Bryan's limbwork and control is far more memorable and compelling, MJF yelling "I hate you" in Bryan's face and throwing slaps is poor where Bryan's response to smirk, lean back and leather Max is great, MJF's "oh god" cries in selling are poor where Bryan's response of "come on Max, suck it up" and kicking the crap out of him is wonderful. Big elbow through the outside table and Bryan still breaks the count, so MJF decides the best idea is to tombstone Bryan on the rest of the table and then roll away screaming holding his knee. His selling is so poor because it's literally either not there or overdone to a near-pathetic degree, it's just infuriating that he can't seem to find a middle ground on it. MJF draws ahead with a heatseeker, throws some more water at people and then starts doing mid-match promo bollocks for no real reason. Bryan is bleeding a little from the tombstone through the table but not hugely, MJF gets hit with a diving headbutt and springs a fucking gusher out of nowhere and he's selling like he's actually dying, then taps to even the scores. Of course this naturally means that he gets his own submission seconds later. After a pair of strikes knock each other down, Max is blubbering and Danielson has the biggest grin on his face, followed by a call for five minutes left that makes them both fire up and throw strikes viciously, and I think it's the first bit that really really worked on a level that would garner this top rating. Mostly that's because of Bryan's reaction and the way he holds his hurt arm close to him while throwing with his other. That is one of the only moments where they even imply this idea that Bryan is more natural in the deep water of long matches while Max is a coward and not used to it, because other than that and commentary vaguely pointing it out, you'd have no clue as MJF is at multiple points very deep into the match and totally in control of things. We get to the very end where Bryan has MJF in a boston crab and the time expires before MJF can tap, and then as the fucking bell is ringing he decides to tap anyway for literally no reason other than to add some unneeded and unbelievable level of "drama" which is an element of MJF matches that have since plagued them throughout. We get to sudden death, with Bryce being a little too overacted for my tastes and MJF kicking out of a busaiku knee 62 minutes into the match when just two minutes ago he'd been receiving oxygen and barely moving. There's this gimmick of Max having all his gimmicks stripped from him, all his cheating failing to work, and that would be a great plotpoint if it didn't end after MJF just cheats anyway. It saps the whole point of having MJF's ring and belt taken away, they literally just become padding. Danielson then taps to the lebell lock in a really flat way that feels like they missed the crescendo by quite the distance. I love Bryan Danielson and he does a hell of a lot right here, but ultimately he can't make a fundamentally weaker wrestler work to his level. This match proves to me why I don't like MJF; his fundamental idea of match structuring is really weak and pointless to me, his selling and offence and mid-match acting are not believable or investable traits to me, and ultimately the biggest sin of this match is the nothing. It's boring, and a boring 65 minutes is very felt. 4.5/10 (sorry Bryan)."
[5.0] "Max can gloat all he want about this being "the best iron man match". It isn't. Bryan does a herculean effort to inject heart into this match but MJF is just so fundamentally flawed as a wrestler that it's really hard to invest in what he does. Doesn't help that a lot of this match felt like it was stalling for time because they clearly do not have the material to go 60 minutes. Quite unfortunate and the start of the rot that MJF would bring towards AEW in this match. His wrestling philosophy has the right intent but a incredibly wrong in execution."
"The match between Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Bryan Danielson was adequate for what it was but it is not a match that I find myself desiring to return to. It was longer than it needed to be and reminded me of nxt at times which isn't my cup of tea.."
[10.0] "This is one of the best matches in the history of AEW. Every single fall felt like its own separate match, except for MJF getting himself disqualified to catch up with Danielson which is really smart. The match had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, especially the last five minutes of the match."
[6.0] "Good build-up and fight, however, it was not something I will return to with incredible euphoria. Obviously MJF and Danielson did a fantastic job, but I missed more dynamic action here. The big job here was the ways in which they gained points, MJF's action in reference to Adam Cole's fight with Gargano worked out well. Just a good fight where you could feel the Iron Man Match."
[10.0] "What an unbelievable match had me at the edge of the seat for everything and the last 5 min were one of my favorite watching wrestling moments ever"
[6.0] "This match is being hailed as almost the best in history, but I don't share that at all. The time was stretched as artificially as possible. Very strange pins. It's as if the rules were changed for this match. Weird kickouts. Are you serious, pin twice after low blow, yet kickouts after the crowning moves at the end? I'm not impressed with this match."
[10.0] "Best Iron Man match ever? Probably. This was an absolute EPIC. MJF was the dirtbag heel, using every trick in the book to try and maintain an advantage over the American Dragon. Even MJF taking constant water breaks plays into the story here, I would go 5.5 stars here, (*****1/2)"
[7.0] "Main event was good but not fantastic, maybe a 3.75 star rating, 7/10 match. A lot of the match was showboating, MJF drinking and throwing water, and the first 4 pin falls/DQ were kinda meh, but then no DQ for using a table or the eye poke in front of the ref with 4 minutes to go? MJF's blade job was badly timed, as Danielson's Diving Headbutt landed on MJF's shoulder, not his head, so it looked silly and was done badly. The last 10 minutes of the match were a slugfest as expected in an Iron Man match, but this does mean that about 30/60 minutes were showboating, water antics and sluggish back and fourth chops/punches, would have liked to have seen more actual wrestling in a 60 minute Iron Man match personally."
[10.0] "I don't usually like hour long matches but this was amazing top to bottom. Brilliantly pace, while it was a more slower pace match due to the 60 min, it never dragged; The action was excellent and the dynamic between these two was fun. It was also a bit unexpected that Max dictated the pace, Bryan had the experience so I expected him to set the pace. Loved Max's work on the arm, I think he is quite underated in this department as he hasn't gotten a lot of credit for his limb work yet, Bryan also worked extensively on Max's leg and they both sold superbly. The drama was great, the crowd was great, commentary was great, everything clicked. There are a few things I didn't like though; The bloodwork was so predictable as was the time limit draw, If they wanted to be clever, they should have avoided the trope of doing a sudden death rules after a time limit and instead ended the match on Iron man Rules via a 10 min extension; Also the way they drew blood was clumsy, it was the only careless spot in the 60 min match and while a few clumsy spots can be easily overlooked in a 60 min epic, this was a very significant spot and it was a rather done a bit clumsily. Still despite my qualms, in the end of it all, I do believe this to be an amazing match imo is the best Iron match I have seen. *****"
[10.0] "60 minute Ironman match and its a pretty amazing match. Best MJF match of his career so far which is no surprise because hes in there with the GOAT. They told a really great story of how gruelling an Ironman match can be especially when you are already hurt (Bryans shoulder) or someone picks apart your limbs (Maxs knee). MJF did a notably stupid thing when he threw a drink over a child which brought him and AEW some bad press for a while, but the kid needs to learn how to work really. First fall came after 25 minutes and felt like the end of a normal singles main event with Bryan hitting the Busaiko Knee to go 1-0 up. That panicked MJF who immediately hit a low blow (2-0 Bryan), pinned him (2-1) and pinned him again to level it at 2-2. It was a flash flurry of pins but it actually made sense in the Ironman story so it worked. The next fall came as MJF ramped his violence up with a Tombstone on a broken table and a DDT in the ring for 3-2. This gave us the best part of the match - cocky Max trying to survive against Bryans consistent attacks as the clock ticked down. Superb drama with submissions and Max having to tap to the Regal Stretch was a good way to nod back to how this feud started. Bryan managed to lock in his Yes Lock but Max held on to the end before tapping meaning it ended as a draw. BUT WAIT. Tony Khan says no and we go to sudden death obviously. If it ended there, this is five stars but then a STUPID finish drags it down. MJF uses an oxygen tank (which the referee clearly saw) to nail Bryan and make him tap to the Yes Lock to retain. Ridiculous booking that undone all the good work they put in to get this match stip over. The majority of the match saw logical falls, good pacing, great drama and awesome storytelling. Then the finish happens. So annoyed by it as the rest of the match was AMAZING. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Cinema. That was straight-up cinema. Perhaps there have been better pure wrestling matches, and some may have even transpired in 2023. But as far as combining pure professional wrestling with the artistic side of this sadistic sport we all love, I cannot count too many matches better than what Bryan Danielson and MJF produced at Revolution 2023. An absolute clinic in pacing, endurance, resilience, resourcefulness, and drama. A never-ending story of ego and determination intersecting in the most crucial of moments. And a truly phenomenal wrestling match with moments I hope to never forget. The Diving Elbow Drop from MJF would do Shawn Michaels proud, which becomes even more powerful of a story element when one considers that the AEW World Champion had been mocking the connection between Danielson and HBK throughout the match. The Busaiku Knee sequences were among the best of a career that has been, in many eyes, defined by the use of that move. And the finish was as stunning as any I can remember witnessing. By the end of 60 minutes, my nose was running and my eyes were filled with tears as I was reminded again of why I love professional wrestling. The way it makes you feel, the way it makes you believe, and the way you can, at times, even see yourself in the wrestlers who are digging deep for that last shred of hope when there doesn't seem to be any. And, after spending his AEW tenure all but pretending it didn't happen, Danielson embracing The Yes! Movement once more all but shattered me. I have had the privilege to watch this man since the early 2000s in Ring of Honor, and this match was perhaps the best possible example of why The American Dragon is as valid a GOAT candidate as anyone. A master of the craft in every way. 5 stars, 10 out of 10. A classic for the ages."
"I watched this back again last night and I still loved everything about this match. The pacing was great, the storytelling was excellent, with MJF both proving how good a wrestler he is but also how his self doubt and arrogance are his weakness and which almost cost him the match. Loads of little details throughout the match were cool and easy to forget with it being an hour long, such as MJF getting desperate at one stage and trying things he wouldn't normally risk, a couple of the bumps Danielson took here were impressive like the piledriver through the broken table, and the fact that blood was used in a way that made sense. My favourite moments were MJF battling not to tap while the clock ticked down behind him to the 60-minute mark and some of the other camera work, like the submission holds viewed from above. Also want to mention Taz's commentary which added a real sports style feel to the match."
[9.0] "Massively surprised to see this match with such a high rating. The whole point of this match was for Bryan to get an awesome match out of MJF. Bryan was the key, and MJF was the focus. The match was worked extremely well with excellent pacing, I loved the ways the falls were executed, for the most part. Had it been a singles match, Bryan would be World Champion. I love that. However, I hated the low blow for two falls thing, shouldn't be allowed, it's just such a stupid advantage given to MJF. The piledriver through the table, from the top rope to Danielson and we know how his neck is, I loved the submissions, strikes, dives, such an incredibly wrestled match, thanks primary to whose officially entered GOAT territory imo with this match, Bryan Danielson. Another thing I didn't like was the finish, I mean after seeing MJF win with a tank, all that makes sense is another match for Danielson, he got screwed over. Danielson also hit a running knee of the apron and it looked like he landed on Maxwell's shoulder. Another gripe, Danielson is simply out of Maxwell's league. Some people have it, some don't. It doesn't matter how hard MJF tries, how many impressive moves and great matches he pulls off, MJF is simply not meant to be a top guy in any promotion, he just doesn't have it, he's meant to be a manager, not a wrestler. He's not someone who I want to see performing in the main event for the top championship. He's not an elite performer in the ring and that's not something he can ever change. He betrayed AEW with the pipe bomb and it seems he truly feels like he's the best in the world, but that's just not the case. He's not meant for wrestling, and this match proved that. ****1/4"
[8.0] "This was a great sixty minute Iron Man match. Keeping the crowd engaged for the entire duration of the bout was a masterclass in match pacing. Any doubts of MJF's ability to wrestle should have gone long ago (especially after the Full Gear Darby match), but this match killed off any last remaining shreds of doubt. The final stretch is thrilling, top tier wrestling melodrama, both men play their characters perfectly. MJF's comments about the Bryan Danielson Award and the Meltzer Star Scale early in the match were hilarious. With that being said, I cannot give this a ten due to MJF throwing tequila on a kid, a fairly slow and uneventful middle act, and the booking of the falls. I would've much preferred Bryan to go ahead and force MJF to prove himself through the chase. However, this is still one of the best matches of the year I've seen so far."
[10.0] "Although this is the first Ironman Match I have watched, I am convinced that it is one of the best. Two of the brightest stars in AEW bringing everything to bear against one another and going into OVERTIME? ! The fact that MJF needed to utilize nefarious methods to put The American Dragon away is a testament to the indomitable will of Bryan Danielson. Danielson did not even need to sell for MJF, but he did multiple times, and the match is better for the effort. Five and a half stars, easy."
[5.0] "Still is a Bryan Danielson match and is one that goes a little bit over an hour so obviously there are some good bits here and there, but I can't help but think that the whole thing feels entirely wrong. My big issue here is with MJF, this man is supposed to be a coward, someone who keeps running away from the lessons he so desperately needs to be taught, yet here he wrestles on par with Bryan who has through the whole build to this match been billed as the best wrestler of all time. Max does his thing with the water to communicate this idea but once he is doing his thing inside the ring the idea is immediately gone and is is nonexistent even on the finish of the match."
[10.0] "One of the best matches of the year, one of the greatest matches of all time. The main thing that detracts from this match is MJF doing such lazy, un-interesting things like messing with kids in the crowd. That's so cheap. He's so much more creative and talented than that hack non-sense. And this match proves that, outside of that one incident. This is one of the greatest matches of all time. The crescendo especially is one of the most memorable moments in wrestling history, with MJF crying and Bryan laughing. It reminds me a lot of the crescendo of Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley - Bryan is getting exactly what he wanted, and even if his career is in it's exit phase he is getting to paint some of his most important work - and Maxwell is just entering a period where he is getting exactly what he wants, and damn. It's a heavy burden. Which also informs Bryan's laughing - he knows exactly what Maxwell is feeling, albeit only knowing those feelings from walking a very different path."
"[9.6] The main critique I have on this match is that the timing on the finish was a little bit off, I wanted to really like it but there was something that just made me almost settle down the finish, but it wasn't too much of a big deal. Also, it was not very smooth or stiff, and they were moving pretty slow for most of the start, making it look a little bit on the fake side, though I do consider that they need to preserve their energy. Aside from that, the only thing stopping this from being the impossible perfect 10 is that it wasn't in a giant stadium and the competitors don't exactly look like Hollywood superstars, which is completely out of their control, but so are these two factors for most matches, making the perfect 10 merely impossible. This was an emotional match that had an incredible babyface/heel dynamic, both guys sold very well and there were great false finishes. The world championship was on the line and so was a lot of reputation. There was also the fact that MJF was the most hated wrestler in AEW and Danielson is a certified fan favorite. The crowd was into this match the entire time and that really added to the emotion and those false finishes. Danielson is obviously loved by the fans and MJF's entrance with the mask added onto everything. Therefore, I give this my personal rating of 9.6 - a legitimate contender for one of the greatest matches of the modern era."
[7.0] "It was decent enough without ever feeling like it wasn't wrestling for wrestling's sake. I didn't need a showcase of MJF proving he can have a 5 * match with Bryan Danielson. Will give credit where credit was due, the finishing stretch was fantastic, well laid out and you bit on every nearfall."
[10.0] "Won't go into insane detail as that would be 5, 000 words, but showed this to family and everyone was entertained. Loved it live, and loved it the 2nd and third time."
[10.0] "Storytelling at it's finest. Incredible match and even more than facing CM Punk, a career making match for MJF with Danielson the perfect guy to put him over."
[10.0] "Fantastic storytelling. I loved that moment at the end of the 60 minutes when they got a shot of MJF trapped in a submission hold with the clock counting down behind him and he just managed to hold on. i also loved the fact that MJF was forced to risk moves he wouldn't usually try as he was getting desperate. The way that Danielson matches can sometimes almost make you forget its not real is incredible. I can't really think of anything i'd improve in this match so it has to get full marks!"
[6.0] "A very elongated TV match put on a PPV show, I love Danielson but this year, he's been very underwhelming whether it be this match or the big match with Okada (granted he was injured for a 1/3 of the match). MJF's reign isn't connecting with me and that may be because I don't like his character, its the same bloke I saw in MLW so there's been little to no evolution. The character now has devolved and that's apparent in this match as he'll resort to the same tactics that he's always used and it was only backfired in his match with Cole recently. AEW are too protective of both hence the shenanigans leading to a couple falls. It was a 4* match but Danielson's had farrr better long matches particularly one with Aries that reached a 75 minute mark. Underwhelming that a match with the build it had, the then opposing morals and the aforementioned comment of it was just a really long yet good TV match put on a PPV."
[10.0] "Is genuinely the greatest iron man match ever, it kept you engaged for the full hour and the sudden death. MJF and Bryan's performance's where fantastic and they showed why they are 2 of the best wrestlers in the world currently."
[4.0] "I don't know man, I just don't see this as the match other people do, it was just AEW's version of the bad Gargano/Ciampa matches. So many too cute by half sequences, and the last 10 minutes had me actively groaning multiple times. I wish I liked this, but I thought it stunk, and is the most disappointed I've been in a match in a while."
[10.0] "What a Match! Bryan und MJF liefern sich wirklich eine Schlacht bis zum bitteren Ende, die Maxwell letztlich für sich entscheidet. Bryan zeigt, dass er aktuell der vielleicht beste Wrestler des Planeten ist und MJF beweist, dass er einem Mann auf diesem Level ebenbürtig ist und ein Großer werden wird. Da war alles dabei. Definitiv ein MOTY-Kandidat und mein persönliches Lieblingsmatch. Einfach nur WOW!"
[10.0] "Easily MOTY. Best AEW match Ive ever seen. Best iron man match Ive ever seen as well. This was phenomenal. Not quite 5.75. But its still pretty damn good. Almost everything about it. Theres a clear face and a clear heel. The heel is someone you hate because hes a good heel. The face is someone you love because hes a good face. The storytelling was amazing. The injuries of both men were major factors in this match. So was the blood, but it wouldve been more meaningful if we hadnt seen Moxley do it almost every week. Not to mention how he had a death match earlier this same night. Anyways, the in ring action was great as usual from these guys. They worked hard. Yeah there was a slow pace, but what do you expect, it was a fucking iron man match. As with most iron man matches, there is a solid chunk that wouldve been just as great as a 30-45 minute match. My biggest issue has got to be the sudden death overtime. They shouldve had the draw that wouldve led to a rematch down the line. Also, why have Danielson tap to his own submission if you arent gonna capitalize on it as much as you should have. Overall, excellent match. The runtime may deter a lot of viewers, but trust me, this didnt feel any bit over 40 minutes tops. Give it a shot. 10/10. *****"
[10.0] "One of the best matches AEW has ever hosted, and one of the best matches I've ever seen in my life. Two masters of the craft putting together a 65-minute battle that never lost my interest or wasted my time. Everything mattered, from MJF's multiple water breaks setting up the finish, to the work on the shoulder that MJF had set up for the past month, to Danielson finally leading the Yes chants after 18 months of never joining in. This was professional wrestling at its absolute finest. *****"
[10.0] "Rewatched this for the 3rd time yesterday, and it was even better than the first two watches. The build to this match was predictable, but not bad by any means, and once the bell rang, it was poetry from bell to (final) bell. The match itself was paced perfectly, and MJF's character shined as bright as Danielson's in ring work expertice. Bryce Remsburg as referree was excellent as well. No question one of the, if not the, best match in AEW's history. WON nailed it with this, *****3/4."
[10.0] "I was live for this match and it was an incredible experience. Just as good on video. I wonder if this will end up being MJF's best match because he was fantastic. Great drama, big moves, great heat, and a clever finish. *****"
[10.0] "Eines der intensivsten Matches aller Zeiten. Extrem taktisch und klug von beiden geführt, jeder Move hatte eine eigene Story. Für mich klar Match of the Year 2023 und in den TOP 10 Matches ever. *****+"
[5.0] "An exciting closing stretch, but overall a mediocre match. Big MJF matches feel more like a series of segments rather than a match, and this was the worst offender. It depresses me that this amateur dramatics style melodrama is becoming the vogue thing in major US wrestling, and will likely be held up by future generations as the standard of greatness. I just want wrestling."
[9.0] "A great match. The build was a bit hit and miss and I was a bit concerned that MJF couldn't make an Iron Man match work and it would have to be a top tier carry job from Danielson for it to be good. But MJF stepped up big here and it was an excellent match that flew by. Great pacing and it culminated really well with a brilliant final stretch. I'm not sure it needed to be 4:3, they could have gone with less falls and the announcement of overtime wasn't done well but nevertheless it still ranks as one of AEW's best ever matches."
[10.0] "This is, for me at least, the best wrestling match of 2023 without question. Everything about this match is complete and utter perfection. The pacing is brilliant, as the match manages to be engaging across its gargantuan 65 minute run time. The action in this match is incredible too, which was to be expected considering you have Bryan Danielson in the ring, but MJF more than holds his own, being his typical heel self but also being a really fucking good wrestler at the same time. All of this peaks in the final 20 minutes, when the 2 men just go into absolute overdrive, and just create pure magic. Tombstones through tables, tombstones off the top rope, incredible near falls, bucket loads of blood, and the final 5 minutes of sudden death, which is just art. Words can't even describe how good the final 5 minutes are, and words can barely even describe how good this whole entire match is. The best match of the year for me, and I highly doubt anything will top this. *****1/2"
[9.0] "I went into this match expecting a carry-job from Bryan, making up for what MJF might hypothetically lack in stamina for what would be an hour-long match, but to my surprise it turns out that MJF only needed a LITTLE carrying to begin with and after 15 minutes had elapsed it was an evenly-paced match. Friedman needed to psyche himself up a bit before some segments, such as the hot topic moment with a kid in the front row and a bottle of water/tequila. (no further opinions needed on that, by the way) Despite the time wasting moments, MJF held himself to a much higher standard of WRESTLING than usual and i admire that very much, because it felt like he needed to reaffirm that he was more than a Grade B worker with Grade """"A"""" microphone talents. The last few months of his title reign have left him detracted as a character, as his reasons for acting more and more vicious have been quite shallow. The only way he could get back on track was by going the distance here and by gum he did. However i do not need t give him props for it. That's what he's supposed to do anyway he doesn't need a trophy for doing his job. I am only half joking about this last bit. [4.5]"
[5.0] "Has to be viewed for the entire match, not just the ending stretch. Last 15 minutes of this match - WOW! But there were 40 minutes before that that frankly underwhelmed me. Match started slow, too much mugging for the camera to pad the time. suffered from a middle that failed to keep me engaged, with some pretty debatable sequences. then caught fire at the end and was awesome. Don't know if the Danielson headbutt was real, but MJF had a huge knot, and if it was that was idiotic given the history of concussions at play there."
[6.0] "60 Minuten Matches sind immer schwierig, es braucht schon sehr viel um auf so eine lange Dauer zu unterhalten. Ich finde beide haben es okay gemacht, aber mehr auch nicht. Es gab zu viele Pausen und auch nicht wirklich besondere Moves. Die wirklich spannende Schlussphase rettet noch das Match, aber auf die ganze Dauer hat es mich doch schon oft gelangweilt. Schade, da ich glaube wenn es ein 30 Minuten Iron Man Match mit den wichtigsten Stellen aus diesem Match gegeben hätte, dann wäre es richtig gut geworden."
[10.0] "This was perfect and easily one of the best matches in AEW's history. Both MJF and Bryan gave incredible performances here and despite being a little slow at times, it never dragged. The psychology in this was perfect. *****"
[4.0] "It... does its job I guess. The actual wrestling parts are fine but... MJF is easily the worst part of AEW in 2023. Overbooked corniness from a guy who I feel isn't ready for any of this type of work. The extended stalling kills any kind of promise of a 60 minute bomber (which I feel that MJF could be capable of, but his character right now is so abysmal that it wouldn't happen). Among the worst PPV iron man matches in history."
[10.0] "This was yet another incredible match on this show. MJF proved again he's one of the most complete performers going today, several great technical reversals, super great spots, crazy nearfalls which made you believe Bryan was actually going to do it. Edit: I rewatched it today and it's the 3rd best match this year for me. Drama off the charts. *****"
[10.0] "Experiencing this match live on my TV was absolutely ethereal, a one of a kind experience. The first half of this match is MJF trying his usual shtick, but its clear that it wont cut it. From there they go insane, this match goes by so fast. Not a moment of wasted action, consistent and amazing. The finishing sequence is dramatic in the best way possible, MJF kicking out of the flying knee gets me every time. MJF has truly made his stay with this match"
[10.0] "Awesome, that Is what this match Is. It was perfect and probably the best 60min. iron match ever. MJF was a fucking hell, he was terrifying in this version here and Daniel became easily the face. The match was perfect: no boring Moments and also the sell was more than OK. Striking, spots and "fight Forever" what can I want more? *****3/4 (11, 5)"
[1.0] "This match is not dramatic enough to be enthralling, not energetic enough to be exiting, and not exciting enough to be entertaining - this match is not enough. A total snooze this contest is. It is not entertaining to see Danielson & MJF lying around supposedly exhausted. This faux exhaustion makes me feel exhausted. There is simply very little entertainment and excitement, and the little amount that is here is not enough. It is almost absolutely boring. I hated the draw finish and the cheating finish by MJF. The draw would have been fine, but the unrealistic drama & nonsense the match becomes with medical personnel entering the ring, is no fun. I detest that finish. And cheating is no fun for professional wrestling in such a artificial & predictable manner. I understand the story, the idea of this match but it does not entertain me."
[6.0] "A match of two halves for me. The good - the ending 15 minute stretch was phenomenal. Super hot, brutal, and emotional. Good storytelling with the shoulder and knee. That pump handle drop was BRUTAL, as was the headbutt. Also didn't really know who would win, which is always a plus. Great false finishes. The faces from MJF during this elevated the whole match. The negative - The extended roll up sequence made me laugh - not sure if that was the point? I do enjoy long matches, but this match unfortunately suffered from its baked in timer, with too much posturing and dicking around early on. I complained about this with the Roman/Sami match - I'm not a fan of extended stalling and time eating from the heel during a PPV main event. Ten minutes shouldn't pass before anything of substance happens. Had this match been condensed from a 60 down to a 30 minute match, the whole match would have been phenomenal."
[10.0] "Excellent match. I can stuggle with hour + long matches but this one had me hooked from the start and never let off. Getting the pacing right is actually an incredibly hard thing to achieve and these two (especially bryan) made it look easy. I usually don't like the overtime tropo in iron man matches, but for this one I can forgive it because of the insane near falls in the end. I came into it knowing MJF would win, but they actually made me believe Bryan had it."
[10.0] "As someone who hasn't watched enough AEW to be saying this, this is the best AEW match I've ever seen and a top 10 (maybe 5) match I've seen PERIOD. Iron Man might just be one of the most difficult stipulations to make work in wrestling, and saying that these two made it work is a gross understatement. I think that the stipulation enhanced the story perfectly here, as it gave context for MJF's villainous exploits and water breaks to avoid Bryan's relentless style, as well as making the whole DQ for two falls thing make sense. Now onto the match itself. Max isn't known for his mat pedigree, but he more than held his own against Bryan, who turned in another outstanding performance in this one. They were able to perfectly ratchet up the tension when they needed to, and had a PHENOMENAL closing stretch. I do think the whole "Tony Khan makes it sudden death because he's super cool and awesome" thing felt super forced, but it did end up bringing the oxygen tank into the equation, which was a great story beat. Maybe make it so that there's like a 2-3 minute intermission before sudden death so that something like that can happen? Regardless, there isn't enough good to be said about this match. Hard to see any other matches come as close to MOTY as this. 10/10 / *****"
[5.0] "People calling this Bryan's best match are TRIPPING. This was a fairly solid match, but the transitions between story beats were so obvious. Max's water breaks did not add anything to this match. I honestly think MJF is good, but not the main event level good. Plus the ending was incredibly predictable"
[10.0] "It's the best match of the year till now. Bryan is always awesome. His workrate and psychology makes this match mpre awesome. Mjf Isn't a wrestler who's wrestling style can be appreciated by casuals. But his ground stuffs are lovely. He can show his psycholpgy much well. Dude played a heavy storytelling. Perhaps I could rate it more than five, as it was that much interesting. I havens commented that long in any match. So you can understand how good it actually was. (*****)"
[10.0] "A FUCKING MASTERPIECE! Danielson proved why he's one of the best wrestlers in the world and put's up an amazing resilient babyface performance! Likewise MJF, proves that he can mostly certainly hang with the best performers and puts up an amazing dastardly heel performance. Simply put, it was an hour of wrestling bliss, and is definitely among Danielson's greatest matches and most likely be MJF's greatest match."
[8.0] "A good match and one of the better Iron Man matches if not the best. That said, MJF's antics like complaining about losing a star and the over the top extra ten minutes, it just wasn't satisfying to me."
[8.0] "Good match, mjf getting 2 pins from a low blow the only odd point as i think he could be had a more impactful move, Ike the tombstone he did from the top rope"
[10.0] "One of the polarizing stipulations in the game just got worked on a whole different level. Sensational clash in all aspects! A massive slow burn followed by a quick succession of falls that increased the hype and that was THE moment! From there, my eyes were glued to the action as MJF went to the place where he didnt go before in his career & Bryans experience in this atmosphere speaks for itself. Im proud of both men for orchestrating a masterclass of wrestling. The sudden death is simply a chefs kiss touch because I never wanted a draw to end this battle. MJFs stock just skyrocketed it it wasnt before, while Bryan has proved one more darn time that hes the GOAT of all the GOATs in the league. 5 out of 5 stars!"
[10.0] "I can't even begin to describe how good this match was. Absolutely everything about these two in the ring together spoke on numerous levels of depths that allowed their journeys to converge. The career greatness that looms behind Danielson and the career greatness that awaits ahead of MJF. This is pure poetry in motion between past and future. Remarkable."
[10.0] "My expectations were high but holy shit! What else can I say? This is no-brainer an epic. I'm just beyond satisfied by this, love you Daniel & Maxwell, you absolutely deserve all the praise in the world."
[10.0] "Hard to believe this was 60+ minutes. It held my interest the entire time. Every beat in the match was perfect. I don't know if I've seen a better Ironman match ever, and it's the best match of the year?"
[10.0] "This was pure magic. A hard-hitting classic that was entertaining the whole way. Danielson & MJF proved that they are the best wrestlers in the damn planet. *****"
[6.0] "Not my cup of tea. Initially, I did not even want to rate it so as not to spoil the rating, but this match already has so many positive reviews that my review is unlikely to change anything. Besides, I want to be honest with myself. It wasn't as bad as I expected, but still pretty boring. A whole hour of wrestling is a perversion that not everyone will be able to withstand. There were interesting moments, but the ending was predictable. It's time to introduce a rule according to which extra time is assigned if there is no result, and not to build drama around this announcement for another five minutes after an already long match. What happened during the extra time was really exciting and had its consequences, but the hour-long prelude that preceded this frankly tired me. ***"
[10.0] "Normally I hate hour long Iron Man matches. Normally any match that goes an hour or longer is filled with way to much filler just to reach the run time. I didn't get taht from this match. Instead it was a wonderful match with everything feeling like it needed to be there"
[8.0] "Bryan Danielson once again cementing it for everyone watching that he is the greatest wrestler of all time. For anyone who has followed Bryan Danielsons career, there was little doubt he would be able to deliver. The two competitors wisely worked around the unique stipulation. Fans understood they were in for a long match, and the wrestlers built around it accordingly. There was no early fall, instead both guys exhausted each other before scoring their first pinfalls. From there it was a nervy battle, cascading over the remaining 30 minutes as each wrestler tried to figure out a way to give themselves an insurmountable lead. The crowd may have been quieter at times, but they never lost them and they were loud and standing for all of the key moments. There were so many smart things in this match. Out of all of them, I loved Bryce Remsburg catching that MJF still had the diamond ring on his finger while in the submission hold, because that was the kind of thing a smark like me could see, and figured it would be the finish. Instead it was a clear red herring, which took the match towards a different, unknown conclusion. The best thing I can say about the match is I came in relatively indifferent to who I wanted to win, but Danielsons performance was so tremendous, I was pining for him to win the title and was disappointed when MJF retained. But that was all due to the great work, and it got the desired reaction from myself."
[10.0] "One hour (and five minutes, more or less) went by so easily. The drama, the work put on, blood, sweat and tears as well as the insanity of both men's performances... just fucking phenomenal. Surely the bout that showcased MJF as a great fighter, the man displayed a pretty interesting arsenal. The man is a passionate. The man isn't just a talker. Danielson's selling was stellar as well, poor guy got fucked up by Friedamn, the champ enjoying his path of destruction. And for sure, when Danielson put on his comeback, the crowd went completely nuts. I had a feeling that people maybe not understood MJF's antics when he sent a low-blow to the Dragon, but he just showed he's pure evil. I'm maybe a big dicksucker with MJF, but I like how he's putting some cool and interesting details during his bouts. The sudden death was predictable, according to me, but it was at the moment it went surely and completely insane. It was breathtaking, and it's rare to have that kind of breathtaking moments. And again, the science of the detail was fucking cool. What a fucking great bout. Man, I love pro-wrestling, and it was also the moments (others bouts balanced that well), that that I can love even if it lasts a long time (that's what she said)."
"10.0 Perfect psychology, exciting moves, and simply riveting. Easily the best AEW match of the year, and my favorite Iron Man match currently. MJF is quickly cementing his legend."
[10.0] "An instant classic iron man match. It will go down as one of my favourites of all time. I loved the booking and structuring of the match too. The ending is probably my only complaint which is completely minor as it still made sense. 12/10."
[9.0] "Great battle. But I'm a bit disappointed about the ending. I'm happy for MJF win, but Danielson tapping out after that subbmision doesn't make sense in my opinion. MJF should change the subbmision to something more painful or put more pressure and then Danielson tapping out would make sense"
[10.0] "Although the construction of the match was not as high as I would have liked with both performers, they delivered an instant classic Iron Man. Great performances and chemistry, with a nice storytelling through the match. Danielson showed (again) why he is one of the best in the history and MJF showed why he is one of the best right now in professional wrestling. *****"
[10.0] "One of the better instinctual indicators of match quality is how slow/fast it feels to pass by relative to it's length, and the 60+ minutes of this one breezed away. Even in the first 20-30 minutes where there wasn't a fall scored the match never loses it's pacing and the viewer's interest, and starts to pick up in speed toward the end of the first half. But it's the second half which really cements this among the great bouts of wrestling, with incredible drama and storytelling. Both competitors play their parts exceedingly well, with Bryan shining as the valiant babyface, and MJF being the squeaky, conniving yet still credible match to the challenger. Dragon bringing back the Yes chants and hitting MJF with the bosaiku knee in the OT made me believe just for a second that he was actually winning. I was a bit reluctant about him losing via a tap out, but Bryan's explanation via his promo on the next Dynamite made it appropriate. Fantastic match. (10/10)"
[10.0] "Some comments and ratings are preposterous, of course it's long it's a one hour iron man match, of course it's slow paced wtf do you expected, a one hour sprint ? If you got bored during this match YOU are the problem not their work, the 10 thousands people in the arena never were bored with this match, they never lost the crowd and even better they peaked at the right moments ------------ This was a MASTERPIECE by MJF and Danielson, the work and and the execution is great but what makes this match legendary (and for many people the best iron man match ever) is the construction of the match and the pacing, every single move matters and they all got time to breath, every offense every strike every submission and every counter makes sense. This match could have taken place in any era and it would have been praised, this was 1 hour and 7 minutes of american pro wrestling at his best"
[10.0] "To put it from the perspective of a fan, following this 65-minute epic that was the main event, I went to bed with so much goddamn adrenaline from this match. MAN WHAT A SHOWCASE OF WRESTLING! The crowd's chant at the end of the match defined how special this bout was. And not only was it a showcase of how magical pro wrestling can be, but also the megastar-in-the-making in MJF. He's must-see when he has a mic and promo time, sure, but this performance adds an incredible layer to his character; he proved (with flying colors) that he can hang with the "best wrestler in the world". The technique, the spots, and the character development made this an instant MOTY contender. Even the psychological warfare, both internally and externally, of MJF claiming to himself and the rest of the world that he is the "best" during the match added to the brilliant story that was this main event. *****1/2"
[10.0] "An instant classic. I didn't expect such a wonderful match, let alone it being probably one of the best matches AEW produced. The story was wonderful, MJF as already known, has a weak knee, which was targeted by Danielson the whole match and Danielson was weak in the shoulder because of MJF's shenanigans the weeks prior. With both having these weak spots, we were in the stalemate, yet MF held the upper hand for a good portion of the match. A fitting move by Maxwell to get DQ'd only to score additional 2 falls right after. While Danielson loved to toy with Max in the beggining, now he had to take it seriously. And who is the best to play the underdog? Of course it's our American Dragon, who from what seems to be the lowest he could've been the match, climbed back, getting the score even once again. The battle for the last fall was the highlight of the match. Both went great lenghts, but it was just not enough. It's a draw. Probably the only thing I would've improved in this match is having the sudden death go right after the time limit, withoutthe whole announcement. Yet, I understand that wrestlers needed at least a little break too. As the match continued, Danielson was just so close to victory, yet Maxwell after finally stopping to panic, hit Bryan with a cylinder and locked him into a Lebel lock. Dirty finish? Yes, it is, but it's just so fitting for Maxwell. In conclusion, we just had a 65 minute technical and storytelling masterclass. MJF's reign just became so much better."
[10.0] "Danielson vs MJF was arguably the greatest professional wrestling match of the modern era. Its the quintessential standard of what professional wrestling can and should be. If a casual fan would like to get into pro wrestling, THIS should be match that is referred to. This iron man match was perfectly flawless, and it will go down as the greatest iron man match of all time. I love that no one got a pin fall until 25 mins into this match. MJF and Danielson with every move and movement of their body told a story within the ring with great intensity. Every wrestling hold, the every cool down spot, every high spot on this match was performed and sold masterfully. They never bored the crowd or lost them in this entire match, that alone is what makes this so special. MJF played a perfect heel, using heel tactics when it was needed and necessary, not for the crowd or because it was a heel thing to do. Danielson played the babyface role perfectly as well to the point you wanted him to become champion so badly at certain parts of this match. Every pin fall in this match told a greater story after each one was done and going into sudden match was the bow on top. Theres never a dull moment in this match, Danielson and MJF keeps your attention with their top tier wrestling psychology in the ring that you cant even look away. MJF making Danielson TAP OUT to Danielsons own submission finisher, solidified MJFs championship reign and elevated it to a completely new level. The blood, the selling, and the wrestling was all done masterfully and even trying to put it into word form, how brilliant and amazing it was, doesnt do the match justice. If you havent watched the match, I urge you to take 70 mins out of your day and go watch the modern day perfect iron man masterpiece, 2023s match of the year, the greatest professional wrestling match in the history of the sport that is MJF vs Bryan Danielson. You WILL NOT be disappointed."
"I didn't like MJF's blade job near the end of the match, as it was unnecessary and illogically done. Bryan hits him with a flying headbutt to his sternum, and he gushes a 9.5 on the Muta Scale? Ridiculous. But not as ridiculous as Tony Khan watching the match from the back, restarting it so it doesn't end in a draw, then allowing MJF to hit Danielson with the oxygen tank the secure the win. It was so blatant that it hurt the finish, and honestly, the finish is all I take issue with here. The rest of the match was so well-paced and smartly done. I can't give this a perfect score, but I am way closer to a 10/10 than I am a 9/10 on this. Probably a 9.75/10, if I had to get specific."
[10.0] "I knew that the storyline dictated that MJF had to win. But throughout the match, especially when they were in sudden death, I was actually starting to believe that Danielson would win the championship. Its sorta a lost art to convince the audience that the guy who obviously has to lose might actually steal the win."
[10.0] "A massive achievement in storytelling and no doubt, the best iron man match of all time. Incredible performances by both guys, the chemistry was off the charts and they did a brilliant job keeping the crowd fully invested. The five extra minutes was great booking and it made it even more shocking when MJF won by submission."
[10.0] "CLASSIC. The first AEW's one hour match I wasn't the biggest fan, but this one was awesome, I don't like the Iron Man stipulation, but in this case it worked perfectly, MJF used all his tricks to beat the best wrestler in the world (maybe of history), Bryan even in his 40-something years continues to deliver banger after banger like his golden ROH days, I dare say that this could be the best match of his career (in wrestling, because for emotion nothing beats the main event from WM XXX), MJF gave a historic performance and even the cheats used by him sounded smart and didn't seem like overbooking, even with those falls unnecessarily close to each other the match remained amazing and is a strong candidate for MOTY (*****)"
"Instant classic. This is a defining moment where MJF has snuffed any doubts the audience had in his ability to put together compelling matches and has proven he can hang with one of the best in the wrestling world."
[10.0] "Probably the best iron match of all time, arguably MOTY and shout for best AEW match of all time. A good story with MJF being envy of what Danielson has and wanting to destroy him. Danielson, despite being a face, was the kayfabe favourite as he'd had gone 60+ minutes plus numerous times before while MJF never had a singles match longer than 38 minutes, which created an interesting face vs heel dynamic with MJF having to cheat and take multiple water breaks. The moves and spots didn't feel to spaced out and felt hard hitting. MJF getting dq then 2 quick falls was a great heel moment and clever. Blood added to the intensity and made every move feel hard hitting. Schiavone being happy that MJF would have to continue the match into sudden death was great. I genuinely though Danielson was going to win out. Once again MJF beats the 'can't wrestle' allegations and puts on a great display. 11/10 an above perfect match."
[10.0] "Just like Mox Vs Hangman, this is also one of the greatest matches to ever take place on American soil. THE greatest 60 Minute Iron Man Match of all time. MJFs best match ever and another one for Bryans case for Greatest Wrestler EVER. Edge of my seat, heart beating out my chest on every submission and every near-fall. Every wrestler coming up needs to study Bryan Danielson and how he makes the viewer FEEL. Wrestling is beautiful. What a emotional rollercoaster this was. 5.5 stars"
[10.0] "A true masterpiece that should be shown 1000 years from now. The technical brilliance in the beginning. All the little set-pieces up to the final moments. The pace was great, and ramped up as the match went. Everything made sense and was believable. This is the type of match that shortens your career but IMO is worth it. Have matches like this then retire before age 45. Love this match"
[4.0] "The first 30 minutes of this match was tragic, I get the heel work had to work for something like this but it felt like it dragged. I got a glimpse of hope after the first pinfall but when MJF lowblowed Danielson and pinned him twice I feel right back out of it. But the last 15 I liked. The blade job on MJF could've been better (lol) but the final stretch was pretty decent but predictable ending with MJF tapping after the 60 minutes were up. And the overtime I had hope Danielson had the win but after MJF teased using the belt I knew he was gonna cheat somehow which also took me out the match. All in all I can see why people really like this match but I didn't like this match at all. I don't think it's the classic people praise it as nor do I believe it's the best iron man match ever. I think this would've been a lot better if it was condensed into 30 minutes but that's just me."
[10.0] "Ich kriege immer noch eine Gänsehaut wenn ich an dieses Match denke. Eins der besten das ich sah. Eigentlich hasse ich lange Matches aber dieses ist einzigartig. Dies ist der Grund warum ich Wrestling gucke. Und warum AEW den besten Wrestling produzieren."
"One of the best matches I have ever seen. 60 Minutes of pure wrestling. Absolutely wonderful to watch. Having no break in between falls really helped with MJFs cheating too."
[10.0] "Not much I can say aside from I believe this to be one of the greatest matches of all time. It was 60+ minutes of top tier wrestling, both men at the peak of their game and on top of that it was a star solidifying performance from MJF. Just phenomenal all around, from the technical wrestling to the selling of injuries to the pinfalls, back and forth brawling and closing moments. Everything was done simply to perfection. And yeah, MJF may have cheated to win, but it didn't take anything away from the match itself. Him making Danielson submit to the Lubell Lock was wild as well. Just impeccable stuff. *****"
[10.0] "An almost perfect match just because Bryan tapped but that's me being a Bryan Fanboy, but this match just shown the world once again that Bryan is THE GOAT and that MJF is more than a promo guy"
[10.0] "A massive slap in the face of any remaining doubters of MJF's wrestling ability; this was obviously amazing. However; I need to mention that the 'no clock stop' rule after gaining a fall was very stupid as was MJF getting two falls from a low-blow without the aid of a finisher, roll-up or flash pin. This really took me out of the moment for a bit and I am surprised that this did not bother more people."
[10.0] "Es sin duda, una de las mejores Iron Man Match que he visto jamás, siendo una de las más completas con su intensidad, brutalidad, storytelling, spots, falsos finales y un ritmo frenético que hace que el tiempo pase volando. Una obra maestra moderna."
[6.0] "This dragged a lot and while it was good it has been extremely overhyped. The MJF water/tequila? spot is fucked up in hindsight but at the time of the match it popped me"
[9.0] "A very good match. Very good. The first 25 minutes were meandering and boring, but once they got to 2-2 things picked up and ruled. They actually, ya know, wrestled. ****1/4"
[5.0] "This was GOOD but this wasnt great. MJF finds ways to take what can be a total hit and use his character to completely detract from them. If you need a half hour to set up the last half hour, you've wasted too much time. This seemed to be a showcase for AEW to prove MJF can wrestle and hour. Rule base of AEW is very inconsistent. Tony can restart a match at a tie, but we all see the air canister attack and he does nothing. Why not have Bryce restart the match so the idea that the guys in the back controlling this arent party to that? I think people will look back in a few years and realize they loved it in the moment but it set up some stupid ideas."
[7.0] "Too long, they didn't manage time at some points, but they really tried hard. I respect Danielson a lot, and MJF above all, the guy was up to the task"
[10.0] "This is an actual masterpiece that will go down in history as not only one of the best iron man matches of all time, but also one of the best matches of all time."
[10.0] ""Masterpiece" is the proper word to descibe this match. Great stamina of both wrestlers, logical sequence of the match, great storytelling, unexpected way to score pinfall and unexpected ending all tributed to have this fantastic match. This is probably MJF's best match so far. "The American Dragon" proved once again why he is one of the best wrestlers in history of pro wrestling. This is probably the best Iron Man match I've ever seen: *****1/4"
[10.0] "Das war wahrscheinlich das beste Iron Man Match aller Zeiten, jedenfalls das ich gesehen habe. Großartige Matchstory, fantastisches Wrestling. Das alles auf 60 Minuten, es war sensationell vom Anfang bis zum Ende. MOTYC! 10/10 Brote"
[10.0] "Perfektes Match.Was war das für ein Brett.Keine Sekunde langweilig mit einer brillianten Story und MJF hat gezeigt das er auch wrestlerisch grandios ist.Zudem eine überragende Schlussphase.Besser geht es nicht. *****"
[10.0] "This match was very compelling. They pulled it off and kept the audience (me) glued to every move & counter that was made. Did not feel like 60 min and that's a compliment to how they paced this match. Bravo!"
[10.0] "An all-time classic. The best Iron Man match I've ever seen. The intensity from the opening bell to the submission at the end was unbelievable. MJF staked a claim as an all-time great at a very young age and Danielson added to his very long legacy of greatness. Having Schiavonne be the deliverer of the overtime announcement was great, he played the part perfectly. The psychology was incredible, the storytelling was next level, and the action was always strong. You can't ask for more in a PPV main event."
[9.0] "I cannot give this match a 10/10 because I predicted the finish before the match even started. A great match, but to me, it was obvious how it was going to end."
[10.0] "This was pure magic. I cannot believe that 60 minutes just flew by, this almost never happens. This legitimizes MJF as an elite in-ring worker, this guy will be in the GOAT conversation when all is set and done. Dragon is already there, the fact that he wrestles at this level for so many years almost continuously is absolutely incredible. *****"
[3.0] "Damn, that was long. Too long! Wasn't worth it. Also, Bryan didn't win? Why? MJF can hang with Danielson but everyone who's any good can. Wake me up when Kingston has the strap."
[10.0] "Der zweite MOTYC des Abends, was nochmal die krasse Qualität der Show untermauert. Es ist ein Iron Man Match, welches mindestens 60 Minuten geht. Dementsprechend gibt es auch Phasen mit Leerlauf, in denen nicht so viel passiert. Für mich ist dann immer wichtig, dass die Dinge, welche am Anfang passieren später eine Bedeutung haben und dass man mich wieder in das Match reinholen kann. Beides haben MFJ und Danielson geschafft. Ersteres durch das Selling des Knies und den Falls. Letzteres durch unglaubliche Dramatik und Spannung. Was hier in den letzten 10 Minuten, sowie in der Overtime passierte, war einfach Weltklasse. Ähnlich ging es auch den Fans in der Halle, die Danielson am Ende zum Sieg peitschen wollen, bis dieser am Ende im Lebell Lock aufgibt. Richtig stark."
[9.0] "Incredible match, Danielson is still the GOAT and MJF can in fact wrestle, I wish he did it more often. The draw and the extension of the match was a little predictable, which is why I didn't rate it a perfect ten. It's more a consequence of the stipulation and not the quality of the wrestling though."
[7.0] "A solid match that doesn't justify its length, so much of the first 50 minutes is full of dead air and stalling with both guys clearly trying to fill time just for the sake of it. The last 10 minutes and overtime would've been fantastic had the match not already bored me for the past 50."
[9.0] "The stipulation of the Iron Man Match is often a joke, but the rendering is up to the rivalry. MJF is still an excellent heel and Bryan Danielson continues to prove that he is one of the best wrestlers of all time, if not the best. Great main event"
[10.0] "This could legitimately be the best match I've ever seen. The first 20 minutes of so I though maybe this would be closer to a 9/10. But afterwords I was glued to my tv set! Bryan Danielson's selling near the end was absolutely amazing. The sudden death portion of it is what pushes this to a GOAT contender for me, like it was already an easy 10/10 without it, but holy shit was it incredible. I really bought that Bryan Danielson would win, and though it is sad that MJF retained over my favorite wrestler, this match was something absolutely special. I'd rate this 11/10 if it was possible, but I'll settle for a perfect 10."
[10.0] "Best iron man match ever, best aew ppv main event ever, one of the best matches in company history. Lots to say about this match. It starts pretty slow obviously, and its really unfortunate San Fran couldnt get the youre gonna get your fucking head kicked in chant right. that gripe aside, it started to pick up when they had the first mat exchange. Bryan clearly outclasses MJF here, even if he is no slouch himself. After that, MJF tries to out athlete Bryan which he also cant seem to do. Then at the 15 minute mark it really picks up with hard stiff shots, and after some well worked attempts, bryan pins mjf clean as a whistle near the halfway mark. Now MJF knows he cant keep up with bryan stamina wise, and hes already down 1-0, so he has to do something drastic, he hits a low blow putting him down 2-0, but the low blow allowed him to be able to pin bryan twice in a row, evening the score. Very smart move, not only one that makes sense because MJF is a heel, but in the confines of the match. This is where the match hits a new gear. Bryan becomes workhorse bryan and mjf is doing everything in his power to keep up, talking to bryan while hes down, trying to seem in control. bryan hits max with a hard drop kick on the outside, looked like he crushed him. MJF gets desperate and goes to the top rope and hits a crazy ass elbow drop from the top through a table on the floor, destroying bryan. mjf rolls bryan in the ring, hits the heat seeker, and goes up 3-2 with about 20 minutes left. Puts him on top but was kind of a last gasp effort. Bryan was able to shift the momentum back with some strong kicks, he then hits a diving headbutt, and max starts bleeding HARD. Like he is gushing everywhere, and bryan forces him to tap to the regal stretch to knot things up at 3. the last 10 minutes are insane back and forth desperation attempts by both men. mjf does a zsj impression and gets bryan in a double arm bar with a leg capture, bryan counters with a single leg crab that he holds for the final 2 minutes until the bell rings and it ends 3-3. obviously it wasnt ending in a draw so they announce its sudden death overtime. then bryan hits a poisonrana and the busaiku knee and it was the moment i bought it completely. He had fought through everything, MJF was completely finished. the crowd was nuclear, and bryan laid all the way into that knee. it was a match beforehand that i was so sure mjf was winning but i still bit so hard, and he kicked out. MJF then actually pretty cleverly hits bryan with the oxygen tank, they hid that well, and forced him to tap with his own finisher the yes lock. all timer match, and the perfect way to fill 60 (+5) minutes of time. felt like a roh main event in the best way possible. *****+"
[10.0] "Credit to Danielson, but this felt like MJFs masterpiece. The hour flew by and they kept a pace that not many in wrestlings history can. To entertain and keep a crowd engaged and bloodthirsty 70 minutes into a match is an incredible feat in modern times. An instant classic & AEWs best match of all time."
[10.0] "I mean, what is there to say? This may be the greatest match I've ever seen. A love letter to professional wrestling in its purest form. Chain grappling, pacing, crowdwork, limb psychology, glorious nearfalls, dangerous bumps, table spots, blood--lots and lots of blood, tight holds, hard strikes, hot crowd, great night. Five full fucking stars. *****"
[9.0] "I'll make it clear outright that I don't like matches that are long for the sake of being long. I knew that this match was going to have some filler in it and that it was going to disappoint me somewhat. But damn if this didn't surprise me. There was a dip in quality in between the first and last 20 minutes, but a lot of this match was very competitive, with even the breaks in between being used to either get the crowd behind Danielson or getting Heat on MJF. They both sold their asses off for their respective injuries. Every bit of this felt like a legit fight between two people who genuinely hate each other, and I applaud them for that. The ending may be seen by some as bullshit, but it fits MJF perfectly, and I never saw it coming. Those 20 minutes in the middle are the only thing stopping me from giving this a 10."
[10.0] "Perhaps the best main event in AEW PPV history. MJF showed he was able to hang with one of the best technical wrestlers ever in a match with perfect pacing and psychology. The only thing that could have made this match better was another hour."
[10.0] "When this match was announced I say multiple people saying that MJF was not going to be able to keep up with Danielson in this kind of match. I was shocked when I read those comments because I have seen MJF deliver on multiple ocassions on a very high level, is not about liking the guy or not but is undeniable that he is a really talented wrestler. Last night not only he proved a lot of people wrong but he put on a show with Danielson to the point that without a doubt that match is going to be a really serious contender for MOTY and not only that but without question the match they created is one of the best iron man matches in history. Danielson is arguibly on of the best wrestlers in history but also MJF is a generational wrestler. As I always say if you like wrestling watch this match, you are not going to be dissapointed."
[10.0] "This kind of slots into a lot of my personal biases, priority technical wrestling, I love a long match, I love multiple falls so I knew I was gonna enjoy it but damn. Ive been up and down on the build for this match but the payoff was incredible. Storytelling weaves all the way through, character work never forgotten amidst the increasing exhaustion and desperation. Shame about the the thing with the kids and the drink, that was a step too far from MJF and I hope the kids okay but thats honestly the only issue I can think of amidst 60 minutes if wrestling perfection. Absolutely loved it."
[8.0] "8.5 - As with any match this long, they crammed in a lot of good stuff - the technical, striking, and submission back and forths; the shoulder and knee selling; the late drama. But also left so much room for bad stuff - overpowered low blows; inconsistent refereeing; MJF taunt spamming; a miscommunication on one of Bryan's knees; lots of water breaks. Deducted a full point for MJF's Meltzer comment at the start. He just can't leave it alone - he's a top-tier mega-heel who for some reason also needs to be the smartest mark."
[10.0] "This had all the makings of a classic, and it more than delivered. I wasn't sold on the sudden death finish but they played it perfectly and honestly I don't have any complaints. *****"
[7.0] "The recency bias is strong with this one. The sudden death part of the match was excellent, however that was only a fraction of the entire match. It is tough to fill 60+ minutes and I feel that large portions of the match just werent very compelling. A lot of it felt like an afterthought on the way to the final 10 minutes, which isnt indicative of a great match."
[10.0] "I expected nothing from MJF, so much that I was ready to give up on AEW because of his lackluster reign, and he shut me up. What a match, what a storytelling, what a performance by both athletes. One of AEW's best, and that's saying a lot."
[10.0] "On a night with two fantastic matches preceding them, Bryan Danielson and MJF had one of the greatest matches of all time. And it's not even like this 65 minute classic was fantastic right out of the gate - the "high speed" scramble sequence between the two at the start of the match was anything but high speed, and there were a few small awkward moments where the transitions didn't look quite right. But Danielson and MJF just kept building the story, and as they did, it was as if they both progressively became more and more flawless. The closest match I can compare this to is Jay White vs Kota Ibushi from Wrestle Kingdom, except this time Jay White won. Just like that match, this had the perfect pairing of a pure, hated heel and a pure, beloved babyface. Not only was this BY FAR the best performance of MJF's career, but this was also Bryan Danielson's greatest match. Considering the career he has had, that is truly remarkable. *****1/4"
[6.0] "The majority of the match felt bloated and lacked genuine drama, although the sudden death was great it still felt like a pale imitation of WrestleMania 12."
[10.0] "Was soll ich sagen: Das ist mein MOTN bislang. Das war wirklich von der Strukturierung und dem Storytelling, der Charakterentwicklung, den Rückbezügen und dann vor Allem auch der Dramatik gegen Ende ein absolutes Meisterwerk in meinen Augen und ich gebe sie nicht oft aber hier sind die 10 Punkte in meinen Augen verdient."
[7.0] "Schwer bekömmlicher Main Event. Die 60 Minuten zogen sich gerade in der ersten halben Stunde doch extrem. Das Unentschieden nach 60 Minuten war extrem vorhersehbar und Spannung kam dadurch leider nicht auf. Den Sudden Death hätte es dann auch nicht mehr gebraucht. Das Finish hätte man auch im normalen Match einbauen können."
[8.0] "What a war. MJF gave everything he has to demonstrate that he is the deserving AEW World Champion and Danielson made him a great favor by tapping at the Lebell Lock. Wonderful wrestling war between two of the best AEW Athletes now active on the roster!"
[10.0] "PERFECT! Just pefect, everything is on his right place, it's a legacy for Danielson and MJF and the longess of the match isn't for nothing at all a problem"
[5.0] "My main issue with this match is that it's full of empty symbolic gestures to convey that this is a Great Wrestling Match to pop the crowd without actually delivering a great match with compelling segments that utilises all the creative possibilities of the Iron Man match. The sequence where they are doing rollups on one another is awful, as is the earlier sections where they try to do quick reversals. There is no sense of struggle, the matwork is poor, the action itself is empty. It's like a matwork version of Hogan putting his ear to the crowd, it's an empty gesture to invite crowd response and make them chant "This is wrestling" when nothing is actually happening. This happened throughout the match and the only thing it achieves is undermining the story coming in. This is supposed to be Danielson's home turf in terms of match type, he should have the edge technically as well as in terms of experience, with MJF a desperate heel gaining the edge through underhanded tactics. Commentary try and push this over the course of the match, but it's not how the match is laid out at all. Danielson does not get to shine on the mat and distinguish himself in any meaningful way. The crazy rating for this match also ignores how badly done the DQ and subsequent two pins on Danielson were done. The crowd were confused, there were technical glitches with showing the score, and commentary took too long to figure it all out. It completely fell flat. And those three pins are core to the whole narrative. Honestly don't think this is special."
[8.0] "Incredible that they got such great crowd reaction following the bucks/hob and the texas death match, each that pushed the limits of how far a wrestler can go, before they two then have to wrestle for 60 minutes. You could convince me that they guys in the earlier matches were working to sabotage this match. But it didn't matter and these guys got a great reaction to this match. Props to them for having such a great 60 min+ match. I'm a little lower in my rating than others here because this match was worked like a technical showcase, but didn't have the quality of reversals and varied technique that other top wrestlers have. Beyond that, they'd abandon the technical wrestling and do a wild high spot any time the match was going to pivot in story being told. Bret and Shawn didn't have to do that. Also, Max throwing liquor in a kid's eye for heat. Not good heat."
[10.0] "An amazing epic match. Very well paced, excellent wrestling and storytelling, the crowd reaction in the final minutes was astounding. Both men put everything into this and it was worth it."
[7.0] "Firstly, I like to say that I thought the match was good. I thought aspects of both of their performances were also really good but both really let me down in some parts of the match, doing things that these two should normally excel in. I think they tried to be a little too clever in parts and it hurt the match at times. Secondly, the stipulation heavily relies on its nearfalls and how effective they were; basically being a case of good falls = good match and this had a mixture of both, which links to my first point. And thirdly, the last 20 minutes of the match - the last 15 of the normal time plus the overtime - were genuinely great and filled with drama and great wrestling, even if there was one spot that made me think Bryan isnt the genius that everyone thinks he is. Now onto MJF. Bryan Danielson was good through but he wasnt the star performer. MJF was, for better and for worse. His performance ranged from a really smarmy, hateable heel that you wanted to see beaten to someone distracting, a little obnoxious. At one point, his selling seemed like an imitation of Neymar diving and feigning a leg injury. The screams and rolling around is hard to take seriously and believe. And this is moments after he tried to kill Danielson with a jumping tombstone, hurting his own knee in the process. Plus I couldnt begin to tell you how much I hated the sequence where Bryan and MJF decided to tumble around. It was designed purposefully to show that MJF can wrestle when thats not what good grappling is - there is no drama, no struggle, anything. Shame on Bryan too for that sequence. What made it even worse is the sequence late in the match where they were fighting from the Fujiwara Armbar to the LeBell Lock to a crazy looking hold where MJF has both arms tied up and Bryan has to make the rare rope break, as Taz rightfully points out. This is a 60 minute match where everything is designed and laid out in certain segments and in parts so it's hard not to pick the match apart like this. To conclude, I didnt hate this. I definitely didnt. I enjoyed the good wrestling and disliked the bad wrestling. Its as simple as that. ***1/2"
[10.0] "Maaaaaaaaan. This match got me so good. All overanalyzing & thinking be damned; this match brought emotions in me that I didn't know wrestling matches still could. Bryan Danielson is the greatest professional wrestler of all-time & MJF gave an amazing, true-to-character performance that definitely helped boost this incredible match into that incredible level it was at. The best kind of art is the art that genuinely brings emotions out of you; makes you think, moves you. This clicked all those boxes for me & more. Danielson vs. MJF, forever."
[9.0] "Unlike some more recent broadways, these two start with some pretty uptempo chain wrestling in the beginning, almost as if to tell us that this isn't gonna be slow like we might think. We all know BD could put together a convincing, exciting iron man, but we weren't sure if mjf could keep up. Well, he kept up. Almost every moment is memorable; of particular note are the elbow to the outside and the tombstone pile driver that BD blades in while he's picked up for the move. Speaking of blading, mjf gets pretty heavy color for this. Ruined of course by that grabastic dipshit Jon Moxley's match earlier in the evening. This also has lots of creative technical wrestling as well as brutal looking impacts, usually from the ring to the guardrail. Plenty of heel-ish fuckery from mjf including the only dq fall I've ever seen in a match like this, and the finish. This was the match to see if mjf could rise to the challenge of being great in the ring, and he did it. I don't think I can give this a 10 but it's pretty close. At no point does it drag, feel slow, any of that. This is definitely one to come back to and revisit years later."
[10.0] "I love everything about this. I love MJF mostly lasting through the regulation time cleanly; in the whole first 50+ minutes, he uses exactly one dirty tactic and it's one that he actively chooses to sacrifice something for. I love Danielson not falling to all the usual played out heel tricks. I love MJF taking water breaks (seriously, why is this not a standard thing for long matches? ). I love the flawless execution of the oldschool Iron Man match formula, which is an excellent formula and I absolutely WILL be a snobby elitist in this one instance against people who think the match is somehow "boring". I love MJF's delightful variety of campy outbursts and faces, especially the excellent face he makes before smacking Danielson with a metal canister. I love Bryce screaming at MJF to "go right ahead" and DQ himself by hitting Danielson with the belt because if "you use it, you lose it." This match is essentially flawless: a collision of a generational heel who has pushed his character to the limit and who maybe nobody else will ever be as simultaneously beloved and hated as, a face who has defied fate so many times to not only still be unbelievably over but also unbelievably good even this far into his career and after this many setbacks, and some of the most masterful technical wrestling in the history of this sport. I knew this match would be great but every single person involved went above and beyond to make it not great, not excellent, not incredible, not a classic, but a career, company, and era defining masterpiece."
[10.0] "One of the best fights ever in AEW, even if it lasted 60 minutes it was crazy and especially the performance of both of them during the whole fight."
[10.0] "Astonishing performance from both men. MJF showed just how well he can wrestle, and we all know Danielson is one of the best in the world. They kept the interest for the whole hour, unlike many Iron Man matches, they had a good number of falls, and the character work from both men was outstanding. Best match of the show, a MOTY contender, and surely in the conversation for best AEW match and best Iron Man match of all time. Deserves over 5*."
[10.0] "One of the greatest matches I have ever seen. Tremendous drama and otherworldly performances - both through athletic feats and in-ring storytelling - from both MJF and Danielson. A superb match."
[9.0] "I cannot gives this a 10 this is because the beginning of the match was very boring and felt dragged out when things started to go it was really good the only complaint is I am not a fan of long matches like this and if it drags a little it hurts and this dragged for the first 20 minutes I can see why everyone like it so much I just think it is a little overrated. It was very predictable especially the ending and them going to overtime just a little to much for me still a great match. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Wow. I expected this to be great but they really blew away even my expectations. There's no doubt MJF wrestled the match of his career thus far and even Danielson, legend that he is, excelled to one of his best ever showings. The 60 minutes flew by and the crowd was rabid even after sitting through an already long show. With very few bells and whistles, just one impeccably built table spot and a killer blade job by MJF, they captivated the fans for over an hour with pure classic wrestling, both in the arena and at home. Hard to imagine a match quite this happening at another time and place really, that's the magic AEW is able to capture sometimes. Perfect work on all sides, just an amazing match."
"I know MJF was gonna show the world how great of a wrestler he really is and not just a promo guy. Hes gonna be the top guy for as long as he decides to stay in the business. This match was outstanding. So many ups and downs along with amazing story telling made the hour+ fly by. Bryan Danielson did was he does best and MJF did an amazing job showing he can run with the best in the world but still work in his heel antics. This is a top 5 match all time for sure. Definitely best AEW match Ive seen. The restart was a great idea nobody wanted to see the match legitimately end in a draw. Hopefully MJF has long reign ahead of him full of matches like this."
[10.0] "It was phenomenal from start to bottom, the fact that time just went by without people noticing, getting a this is awesome match even by the later stages of the match, the draw that drew the people to chant "bullshit", it hitted all dots."
[10.0] "This was exceptional, and easily the best iron man match that I've seen outside of Angle/Lesnar. Mjf and Bryan both worked this stipulation really well, and there was not even a fall until around the 25th-minute mark when Bryan hit the knee on MJF. Loved how MJF scored initially low-blowed Danielson which got him disqualified, but he immediately got 2 falls afterward to tie it up back at 2-2. Both men had good limb targeting with MJF smartly targeting Bryan's injured shoulder that he had heading into the match, and Bryan going after MJFs arm which I thought both men sold really well. This match from when MJF got color off the diving headbutt was even better. They have some great back-and-forth action with great drama at the end of the original interval with Bryan having a Boston crab locked in on MJF for the final minute, while MJF desperately tries to hold on so he doesn't lose the title. Restarts in matches are typically lame but this match was so damn good I'll let it pass here. During the sudden death fall, they had some really good near falls, and Bryan even had a couple that made me think he was gonna win the title. MJF would win after a shot with the oxygen tank, and this caused Bryan to pass out to the labell lock.*****"
[10.0] "Probably the best Iron Man match in the history of wrestling. Drama and crowd connection throughout, this breezed by up to the 45 minute mark, and had my heart beating loudly for the final 10 minutes. AEW has set a precedent of sending Iron Man matches to overtime and this hit that note so well. Those complaining about the finish miss that MJF needs to cheat, if he just beats the best wrestler ever in a straight wrestling match there is nothing left to do with him. This way they had him cheat but still gave him a satisfying win. Easy 10/10 and top 2 MOTY"
[9.0] "Frankly was a masterpiece until an arbitrary post-regulation OT that Tony Khan "wouldn't allow to happen." How about making the rules in case of a draw clear before the match starts, instead of trying to pop the crowd with a pace/tension destroying announcement? Regardless, this match was incredible. MJF targeting Danielson's shoulder while taking punishment on his left knee. The progression in the intensity of the selling signalling that MJF was nearing the end of his endurance by the 60 minute mark; only to be barely saved by the bell."
[9.0] "Really good, showed that MJF can deliver on a close to the top the level, which is needed in a good AEW World Champion. It never dragged and flew by, and the peaks were so exciting."
[9.0] "Knowing that a match is going 60 minutes in advance at times can be a buzzkill. I somewhat had that feeling going into this one and quickly changed my thoughts. This match was paced so so so well. Several falls, which I like... too many Ironman Matches go the distance with 0 falls/subs. The oxygen tank shot to the head was the icing on the cake."
[10.0] "Bryan Danielson is the best wrestler to ever live. That said, this wasn't his match until later on into it. The first 20-25 minutes of this were every other MJF PPV match: stalling outside the ring/barricade, jumping jacks after one successful move, chain wrestling sequence with double kip up, long rolling small package near fall sequence, Max tweaking his own knee with his knee powerbomb and tombstone (he does this EVERY TIME). I was really getting worried about this one until they began to build to the first fall, but that's when it really started to turn around. Bryan being up a point shatters the facade Max set up of being better so he eats a DQ to get two cheap falls and tie it which was a great move; I also really enjoyed his multiple water breaks. From the halfway point they started to work a Danielson match with MJF highlights which was a MUCH better match, with incredible yet simple big spots that shifted momentum, a quality use of blood, and some of the most incredible near falls in a long time. There's nobody that can make you believe like Danielson. I will say that the tie with Max tapping after wasn't really needed if they cut out like 6 or 7 minutes of the opening section, which would've let them keep the flow, but the false finishes in sudden death were even more insane (Max tapping AFTER the rope break as a trick is so brilliant). The finish was so incredibly heartbreaking in the best way, too power through all that only to realize you're at your limit hurts more than just passing out. 20+ minutes of a ***1/2 match I've seen before followed by ~40 minutes of a slam dunk *****+ classic from the GOAT. Hard to give an exact score, but worth a 10 on here for sure. ****3/4+"
[10.0] "I love MJF and Bryan Danielson but making a 60 min match interesting just felt like a tall order, especially when you could kinda predict the result with high certainty. I thought I'd enjoy the match but not be thrilled with it. Happy to say I was wrong, and these two put on an incredible match that told an interesting in ring story and made both wrestlers look like a million bucks."
[6.0] "Sorry, but I don't think this match was that great. A couple of cool spots to keep things interesting, but a 60-minute ironman match did not suit MJF, and probably didn't suit Danielson either. You are probably doing it wrong if you feel compelled to fill in a 60-minute match with the occasional highspot to keep the crowd interested. I hate it when ironman matches go to overtime...you had 60 minutes to tell a story before that! Don't go for the copout. Maybe I don't really like MJF, but this wasn't that good. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Amazing outstanding but not the best aew match since the bucks and omega/page , lucha bros vs Young bucks steel cage , omega vs Danielson , Bryan vs hangman were all better it was quite slow at points felt bit dead at times but was great through out I don't like the blend parts. It still is amazing just not the best."
[10.0] "while i can't give it a full ***** bc i have a few personal flaws with it, i think im this is probably one of if not the best iron man match ever. i was on the edge of my seat for the last like 40 minutes and the tension in this match was heavy. props to mjf to as i really didnt think he could go the hour yet here he is now. overall amazing match ****.75 EDIT: after a rewatch all of my issues (mainly with how the pacing shifts) are completely gone and i have absolutely no more complaints, great match by both men as stated and i hope aew does more iron man matches in the future. *****"
[10.0] "Possibly the best Iron Man match in the history of the business. Brilliantly paced, physical, dramatic. Two fantastic performers and the crowd was all over it."
[10.0] "Wow just Wow! This match had everything! In 60 + 5 minutes, MJF showed the world he is the most complete package of skills in all of wrestling! . Also Bryan Danielson was perfect every step of the way in this! Be it in promos or matches, MJF takes us on such wild and fantastic rollercoasters, this being his best so far."
[10.0] "Instant classic. The pacing of this match was remarkable and made the last 10-15 minutes incredible. Both Bryan and MJF gave generational performances with so much variety."
[10.0] "This match was more than a masterpiece, It was like a training class for young wrestlers to learn how to wrestle, how to sell, how to be a good storyteller, It was definitely one of the best in the history of this industry, From minute 1 to 65, they showed classic wrestling."
[9.0] "The match itself was great, but the result was unacceptable to me. I believe the only way to save this AEW World Champion was Bryan winning this title. So, I can only give this match a 9."
[10.0] "Very good fight, I don't like MJF but I must admit that this was a great match, it started slowly but it is understandable given the length of the match, however it is not boring at any time reaching the climax in the last minutes, very good"
[10.0] "What can I say that hasn't already been said? No one is harder on AEW, it's booking and the way matches are produced than me - but THIS was a masterpiece and an obvious MOTY contender. The selling is what got me. MJF selling the knee, Danielson selling the arm....and how both attacked each others injuries. They put on a show. The crowd was perfect too....silent at some points, rowdy at others. Also, MJF being busted wide open off a diving headbutt was epic. That is how you use blood in a dramatic match. I was not a huge fan of the overtime, but it cannot takeaway from what was an instant classic and match that will be talked about for years. TK and his gang should look at this and realize not every match has to be over the top and silly....when you do PRO WRESTLING right, PRO WRESTLING works. And this was PRO WRESTLING through and through. MJF and Bryan Danielson deserve all the accolades they get from this one. Final thought - you know it's a good match when 1 hour feels like 20 minutes. EXCELLENT!"
[9.0] "Obviously they had to save energy, but the first 15 minutes were super slow and boring. Fortunately, the match got better from there. It was flawless, every move and every spot was perfectly executed, the in-ring psychology and storytelling were excellent, and MJF heel work was as great as usual. MJF actually looked amazing, perhaps the best he has looked in his entire career. And there's nothing but praise about Danielson. A fantastic match, a classic, but not mind-blowing enough to be a 10"
[9.0] "Bryan Danielson is the best babyface of his generation, and this is just another feather in his cap. That said, this match isnt without flaw. The first 10 minutes of MJF shitcannery really set the pace off, though it did give us that moment with pouring water on some kid. Nice. There were some real creative ways to get falls in this match, and overall, I think the structure was as best as it could possibly be. This match type isnt for everyone. The Max control segments really lacked urgency, pretty much up until the 30 minute mark. I felt like the story of the match, that MJF couldnt hang with Danielson, was fine, but couldve been executed a bit better with Danielson in control. Once the 30 minute mark hit, this match became a different beast, and it slowly but surely became excellent. Perhaps thats by design, considering this is a 60 minute match after all. The final 10 minutes and OT was brilliant. Danielson makes you believe, no matter what. MJFs desperation as things slowly but surely started going the other way was well done. MJF is a premiere bleeder, and man did he get color in this match. And the finish really worked! It aint perfect, but for what it is, its pretty great. MOTY contender? Maybe. Its a long year and it isnt even at #1, for me. Despite that, a career moment for MJF, and just another Sunday for AmDrag."
[10.0] "Possibly the greatest World Title match in American PPV history. Definitely the greatest Iron Man match in American wrestling history. Unreal performance from both men and told an incredibly story within the body of the match that culminated in a perfect finish. Danielson's best AEW match."
[10.0] "Already one of the best and one of my favorite matches of all time. These two literally tore the house down, Bryan still showing how amazing he is in the ring and MJF showcasing he can legit go in the ring. ***** 1/2"
[5.0] "I feel like the last 10 minutes is what everyone's hyped about with this match but if you look at it as a whole package, it kinda disappoints. I love Bryan Danielson but this felt like one his weakest matches on an AEW PPV much like the Miro one. This match just felt ungodly long, I was so tired of MJF's heel shtick at the start, it felt like nothing happened in the first twenty minutes, a lot of MJF working the shoulder which felt like it took forever, not really a lot of Bryan working the leg in that time, it doesn't happen until even after MJF moonsaults to the outside and tweaks his knee. Like he does maybe 10 minutes after that spot happens when MJF lands on his knee from another move. There were some fohead drops throughout but I wasn't all that invested when they happened, they kinda came out of nowhere without any buildup. When they announced 5 minutes remaining, that's when the crowd perked up, probably because they realized they can finally go home. And then it went to a time limit draw, which is fine. It makes MJF look like Bryan's equal and even though he didn't beat him it gives him respect- nah are you for real? Tony Khan pulls that Kenny Omega/PAC bullshit from the last Iron Man Match and now we go to overtime. This booking feels so stale after Shawn & Bret at Mania, it's probably great for the crowd but I was so tired after watching this, I wanted the match to be over and done with. Surprisingly MJF made Bryan tap out to the Labelle Lock, after hitting him in the head with an oxygen tank. I don't like this. I get that it's fitting for MJF's character and he was cheating throughout but I don't find that entertaining, I find it monotonous and uninteresting. Much like this match. However there were some fun moments but it just felt too long."
[10.0] "I was half right. After Omega vs Ospreay, I was convinced that only Danielson vs Omega 2 would have a shot at beating it for MOTY. Well, Danielson was involved in this one but with a very different dance partner. MJF is a legend in the making and Im not even sure that he isnt one already. The work in this was flawless and the drama, psychology and sheer emotion it made me feel were out of this world. Incredible."
[10.0] "There was a lot going against this match: Very uneven promos from MJF in the build, Bryan's public admission he doesn't want to be champion and his reputation for just wanting to put people over leaving little doubt to the winner, but most of all, being a 1 hour match in the main event of an overloaded PPV (though scaled back by AEW standards). And it turns out none of that really mattered. If any wrestler going to make this work it was Danielson but it turns out MJF is more than capable as well."
[10.0] "67 minutes of greatness here. Danielson proving that hes the best in the world currently and MJF proving all of his doubters wrong. Not a dull moment from this match at all and a very good sudden death with great nearfalls and a fantastic finish."
[10.0] "Dieses Match wird sicher bei vielen Top Rankings im Jahr 2023 dabei sein. Ich kann mir von Meltzer da auch eine Bewertung über (*****) vorstellen. Ich gebe (*****) es hat einfach alles gepasst. MJF war hier wieder so ein Heel wie man ihn nur hassen kann. Bryan mein MVP trotz seiner wieder Schulterverletzung hielt er durch wie als Beispiel 2006 gegen Colt."
[10.0] "Well done. Mentalities of MJF and Danielson's characters were clashed in a very clever way. Good spot with going from 1-0 to 2-2, whole match also showed that Max can be legimitate fighting champion with pure in-ring determination. Alongside Omega vs. Ospreay best match of the year so far."
[10.0] "The perfect match, it made sense the whole time with the emphasis on each competitor targeting each other's weak points (MJF's knee and Danielson's shoulder) to create intense physical moments, the submissions were done perfectly as was every other part of this classic. This goes right into that top tier of matches alongside the likes of Taker v Michaels at WM25, Dragunov v Walter, and Angle v Michaels and solidifies Danielson's argument for being on the mount rushmore of pro wrestling while serving as MJF's true coming out party in terms of technical wrestling."
"The best match that AEW has brought us, and the best iron-man match that I have ever seen, MJF and Danielson are trudly in the same level as Omega or Okada"
[7.0] "An unforgettable 25 minute match stretched out to a just-better-than-okay 60 minute match. A couple of good high spots in the first 45 minutes, but mostly dull padding out. Completely carried by its final 20 minutes and OT. 3.75 stars."
[10.0] "Forget okada and Omega. Forget misawa and kawada. Forget anything Hart, Michaels or flair. This is the best match I've seen. Couldn't sit down. It was perfect."
[10.0] "Love how Danielson got the visual win like five different times. MJF's facial expressions were HOF worthy. Each Danielson Dropkick fucking decapitated Max, and the submission and matt work was excellent."
[10.0] "What a war. This has got to be the best match in AEW history, and if it weren't for the shoddy build for the first month or so, this would doubtless go down as one of the best feuds in modern American wrestling. Instead, what we got was an okay build capped off with an incredible iron man match. This is the best iron man match I have ever seen, which isn't saying much considering iron man matches are shit most of the time, but credit is due here. MJF and BD beat the fuck out of each other for a lot of this match, and the booking and pacing was equally as good as the bell-to-bell action. North American wrestling is gonna be hard-pressed to beat this match this year, with pretty much the competition for MOTY so far being exclusively Japanese. Cannot wait to see where MJF goes next."
[10.0] "First of all, I'm not a fan of 60 minutes matches because in most of them, the first half tends to be weirdly paced and, .mostly, slow; just as in Omega/Okada's absolute classics, this is not the case here. If Omega v/s Ospreay hasn't happened a few months ago, this match would definitely be considered match of the year, with little possibility of being dethroned (hell, to some, that's most likely the case). Everything worked perfectly and each wrestler played their role exceedingly well: Danielson started as the cocky/though veteran of Iron Man matches, while MJF played his heel shenanigans. But as time went on, the lines concerning the quality and power of each wrestler began to blur. MJF started hitting harder and harder, while Danielson worked as a terrific underdog, even though he have more than 20 years of experience in his back. All of this contributed to the godly pacing of the match, where no one felt like the minor player. While the first 30 minutes of the match were good, the last half is where we enter the legendary territory; every move was important, calculated and hard hitting; both guys were taken to the limit and it truly felt that no one could win. Here we had some of the nastiest spots of the night (outside the terrific Texas Deathmatch), and every dip of blood was a testaments of the pressure put on each worker. As we reach the 10 minute mark, everything feels more and more desperate, reaching a final highlight in a beautiful and oppressive submission hold, that ends in the best way possible with both men looking stellar. Then we have the sudden death: probably the best moment of the night. MJF tried everything he could to cheat his way out, but he couldn't until he got out of the ring, and even that helped little as Danielson looked like he was going to pass out until the last possible moment. Then MJF went to win in the most definite victory of his career. If it wasn't clear, I loved this match and should be seen by everyone that loves this sport. Even though before this MJF and Danielson didn't had a true history between them, what little they had made wonders for this moment. Danielson, once again, was on the verge of greatness and close to the prize everyone on AEW desires; MJF needed to prove that he could wrestle, that he was more than a Great Value-glorified Miz, as his harshest critics tend to imply. I hope from this moment on, the discourse about Maxwell only being able to talk and nothing else will die. Both men gave us one of the best match of all time, being able to maintain a consistent pacing, high stakes, hot public, terrific wrestling ability and, more importantly, making the AEW world title feel like the most important prize of all of professional wrestling during 67 minutes. Highest praise to everyone involved."
[10.0] "This was the best Iron Man Match of all time and possibly AEW's best match of all time too. Danielson once again shows he may be the GOAT and MJF put in one of the greatest heel performances of all time. I thought nothing could surpass Omega vs Ospreay but I believe this match die. Incredible 10/10 5+Stars"
[8.0] "Very good match but something felt a little off for me. Possibly the fact that the current AEW product is not what I want to see because it's so directionless. However, I wasn't emotionally invested in the match and even though I can see why so many people like it, I just can't love this one."
[10.0] "To clarify, this is just a step behind of Ospreay/Omega as my match of the year, but this was an all-timer, one of the greatest American matches ever."
[10.0] "Legitimately maybe my favourite AEW match ever. I went in thinking, "This will be good, but I think the crowd will be too worn out". 60 minute iron man matches often drag and overstay their welcome, but this was all action from bell to bell and never boring. All time great heel performance from MJF. One for the ages."
[10.0] "It was great from start to finish, there was so much technique and emotional intrigue that it was wow, I loved the way Bryan Danielson sold his hand and MJF his leg it was epic. The final was very powerful and it even seemed to me that Bryan would still win the Title, but it turned out to be an intriguing deception) I want to note that many thought that CM Punk would return after the match and stuff like that.."
[9.0] "This was a really good iron man match. It was paced really well and the hour just flew by. Crowd were clearly into the match throughout the whole thing as well. Lack of a rest period between falls was a good idea helped them tell the story they were going for."
[10.0] "Really had a perfect sense of pacing and escalation where the first handful of falls happened in the perfect spot and the last 15 minutes of regulation juiced every ounce of drama out of each minute. I've seen a handful of people complain about MJF selling and occasionally wrestling like a babyface but I think it makes perfect sense character wise considering in kayfabe his heel persona is a affectation and really he's always putting the maximum effort into winning his matches. The restart was executed to perfection with Schiavone's glee at getting to fuck on MJF really sweetening it. I don't think the oxygen tank spot was executed as well as it could be but that's a minor complaint when the match was nailing the big emotional beats it was."
[7.0] "This was very good but it's received some insanely high praise. I do think it was paced really well and featured many good exchanges/spots with convincing 'in-between' work that made it engaging the whole way, but it was only ever very briefly 'great'. Danielson impressed early on with his technical dominance and natural arrogance, but MJF sometimes overdid his own heel work. Together they had some pretty dorky and cheesy mirror spots too, which always briefly made the match feel quite exhibition-y. Theyd be even more dorky and stupid later on when rapidly trading pins as if in a comedy dance. I enjoyed MJF targeting Danielsons pre-injured shoulder and Danielson similarly targeting MJF's (annoyingly always targeted) leg, since both worked the other's limb over in a variety of good ways while selling really well for the other in both real time and the long term. I did think both could've been a bit more consistent in their limb-targeting, but that was a minor issue. Something I REALLY did hate, though, was how -- excluding the ONE instance with MJF -- neither guy did the intelligent thing of immediately going for multiple falls after earning an initial fall, despite how that'd easily rack up points. You cant even excuse that with convenient 'exhaustion or 'pain' suddenly kicking in, since neither guy ever showed it was genuinely debilitating exhaustion/pain, PLUS surely they could catch their breath and recover while simply LYING OVER their opponent for another pin? Finally, surely they'd both be very motivated for the long-term gain of extra points despite that short-term pain from any exhaustion/pain, right? I mean, they both showed that when willing themselves to survive the other's submissions for 30+ seconds, but then they couldn't take the pain of going for another pin or even applying another submission despite that being *far less* strenuous/painful? So yeah, that annoyed me a lot. Danielson's technical work remained really good, and I really enjoyed MJF upping his intensity and aggression. They both had some good and even very good 'big' spots in the final 1/3rd, but none of them were truly spectacular, and they again got quite corny and mindless with their mirror sequences and 50/50 big-move trades towards the end (that forced 'dual collapse' spot followed by their rapid little punches was so cheesy lmao). Danielson locking in that modified Boston Crab in the final minute was cool, but it was ridiculous that cowardly and cheap MJF could willingly survive that pain for a full 60+ seconds after his leg had already been so badly destroyed. Tony restarting the match after the draw was plain ridiculous. Imagine any other sport's commission suddenly doing that after a perfectly legal result like a draw. They also then totally overbooked that over-time period with near falls and MJF's shenanigans, but I'll admit that Danielson got a few genuinely convincing near falls that had me second-guessing whether he might win. ***3/4"
[10.0] "I think this was as good as any Iron Man matches can be. Iron Man matches have the inherent problem that you know how long the match goes beforehand, so the workers have to work really hard to make the first 55+ minutes dramatic and entertaining enough for the crowd to come alive at the end. Luckily, with Bryan Danielson in the match, there was a vast knowledge of exactly how to do that for such a long time and MJF benefitted from that experience and also worked his butt off. In the end they extended the match with a dramatic sudden death overtime, which had the crowd in the palm of their hands. MJF's facial expressions and little things throughout his presentation are so damn spot on, he really works his character well. And Danielson just had to be himself as the wrestling god he is."
[10.0] "If I could break the scale for this, I would. This was probably AEW's greatest main event matchup ever. Bryan Danielson is the GOAT (obviously), and MJF played his role to perfection as the slimy heel he is. Absolute masterful work from both men, and the spots were booked to perfection with the story. *****"
[10.0] "One of the greatest American main events ever. A perfectly paced match that built throughout. The way they structured their falls was wonderful with the 3 falls in about 10 seconds spot being a particular highlight. But mainly this match shines through the contrast of it's performer. The great modern heel off the last few years against one of the most impactful babyfaces of all time, but of course, it's not that simple. Max had I think his career best performance, going through a whole range of different promotions and Dbry proves once again that he is the GOAT."
