[5.0] "What happened? I'm a fan of this particular pairing but this was just so dull. The match had no heat and it just felt like they were clearing off a checklist of moves to do. Ueno is one of my favorite wrestler in DDT overall and he's pretty consistent with his performances but I just didn't care. With all the hype Takeshita has gotten since his AEW debut, he's yet to have a proper great match in the States as of yet. A soulless performance by both men and the crowd not being super pumped didn't help as neither got the appropriate reactions they were looking for."
[8.0] "This is such a great showcase for DDT. The stars of today that will also be their starts of tomorrow are showing out when the lights are brightest. I can't wait to see how their futures divulge but there was so much lore packed into this. The use of the ranas, dropkicks to the head, Takeshitalines and other signature moves put the best in the world on the map once again. Takeshita forever."
[8.0] "Ein klasse Main Event zwischen den beiden Stablemates. Man merkt sofort, dass sich beide gut kennen und eine gute Chemie haben. Gutes Match, bei dem es relativ schnell in die großen Moves übergeht."
[5.0] "It was ok but both seemed to just be going through the motions for most of it. The match dragged because of this and i've seen both do much better"
[7.0] "Der Main Event war für mich das beste Match der Show. Die beiden kennen sich natürlich sehr gut, dementsprechend gab es hier sehr gute Chemie, tolle Spots und hier wurde auch super die Spannung bis zum Finish aufgebaut. 7/10 Brote"
[6.0] "Lazy match. Physically heavy, but the brains didn't seem to be involved, everything is so ordinary and soulless. Bryan-Nigel spot pleased me, but this is the only thing that made this match stand out in a good way (***)."
[6.0] "To me, this was another example of a match where guys are just doing shit. Are they spectacular? Absolutely. There were some very impressive moves in this match. However, when it came to doing something between moves, there was not much substance to it."
[9.0] "Takeshita is best when his offense is the focus and Ueno is best when he gets to bump & sell for a bigger dude for most of a match and boy was this exactly those things. Very much a DDT main event in structure, but very well-paced and compact compared to some, with some really excellent offense from both guys. Ueno's way of making you think the soul got knocked out of him makes his comebacks something that need to be seen to be believed, when he gets that fire again it's magic. Takeshita's mediocre selling rears its head during some of this, which hurts it overall. Still one of the best matches of Mania weekend to this point. ****1/4"
[10.0] "I'm not familiar with Yuki's game but I'd heard good things. I knew he has amazing chemistry with Takeshita so I was expecting a lot. This match was so good that I was invested enough to have had a major gasp thinking Yuki's neck was about to break, but it was a backflip that he landed. Everything was crisp and they built up the heat throughout like a good main event does. By the end it looked like a fight to the death. This will be on people's top matches of the weekend list, maybe on the very top."
[10.0] "Another certified banger from the Japanese phenomenon. Jaw-dropping spots, and a great story of a friendly competition turned a little too intense. Takeshita is truly something special"
[8.0] "Ich fand das Match zwar jetzt nicht überragend oder sehr gut aber das war natürlich schon ein wirklich gutes Match und für mich auch definitiv das MOTN. Das war halt auch ein Match, was DDT in meinen Augen gut repräsentiert hat. Ich halte 8 Punkte für angemessen."
[7.0] "This was undoubtably very good but I am just not sure why I did not quite love it as much as everyone else. I would go ***3/4. Not entirely sure why I have seen comments that Takeshita should go NOAH or NJPW when even commentary pointed out he signed with AEW to help promote DDT."
[8.0] "Takeshita vs. Ueno? Or Okada Part 2 vs. Ibushi Part 2? That IS NOT a derogatory statement - these guys could be the future of Japanese pro wrestling! Give these guys MOTN HANDS DOWN. They both looked solid - hard hitting, really good selling - excellent Strong Style Match. Takeshita needs to leave AEW and sign with NJPW or NOAH full time! The finish to this one was WILD!"
[9.0] "Great match between Takeshita and Ueno right here in what is clearly my favorite match of this very stacked Thursday all shows combined without the slightest hesitation and that's quite a statement to make, but both of them are so damn good in the ring and they have a phenomenal chemistry so the content was just fantastic. I didn't expect to like it so much but it was stellar, I'd like to see Takeshita in a GCW ring a lot more often."
[8.0] "Flip switched when they started. This was the high-octane top level of DDT that needed to be showcased. Even in defeat, Ueno proved he is carrying the torch back in Japan."
[8.0] "Sehr gutes Match beider Wrestler, Konosuke Takeshita hat 2023 ohnehin jeder auf dem Schirm, bei Yuki Ueno sollte das eigentlich genau so seib. Tolle Sequenzen im Ring, starke Schlussphase."
[9.0] "Really fantastic from both guys. They threw everything at eachother here and really put on a show worthy of their history. My only gripe is I wish it got more time. Felt like it just kicked into third gear when it started to near the end and I know how good these two can be in that gear for longer periods of time. Either way, amazing work from both Ueno and Takeshita"
[8.0] "One of the better matches of the entire night. Both guys came out to show what the core of DDT is all about. The two sauna boys have done it many times, and this was just another great match between the two."
[8.0] "A really good main event. Takeshita is amazing and Yuki Ueno had no problem keeping up. I loved the finish with the combo suplexes. I enjoyed them playing up the friendship between these two throughout the match. Really good outting."
