[8.0] "Blood & Guts war die versprochene Schlacht, aber man ist mit der Gewalt bei AEW echt drüber. Hier gab es ausschließlich noch Spots mit Reißzwecken, Glas und anderen Gegenständen. Wie soll da noch eine Aktion herausstechen? Gerade Moxley zeigt ein selbstzerstörerisches Verhalten, da muss eigentlich Tony mal ein Machtwort sprechen."
[7.0] "This was another very fun match, but that nail spot was really dumb, I mean why do that? For a big pop? You could've done something better than that. I don't get how Tony lets them do this crap cause if it went wrong, it could've gone worse"
[8.0] "[3.75*] An enjoyable spectacle but nothing near the AITA. Ibushis presence actually made it worse, as much as I hate this fact, and it had less emotion and drama, so the big moves had less meaning. It had not a lot of crazy spots too, and a lot of dead time. I think they just produced it in the wrong way, but the names involved are so good they made it work to a 8/10 level."
[8.0] "Auch wenn ich wirklich kein Fan von Wargames-like Matches bin, die Stipulation ist Schwachsinn an sich, das hier war richtig stark. Da kann man drüber hinwegsehen, dass alles, was passiert bevor alle im Ring sind, aufgrund der Stipulation vollkommen irrelevant ist. Denn zum Ende wurde das Match großartig und das richtige Team gewinnt. Hohe Intensität, brutale Spots und eine gute Matchstory. Trotzdem zieht es sich ein wenig, was aber an der Matchart liegt."
[8.0] "This year's Blood and Guts match overcame my main issue with the 2022 edition in that the match got off to a hot start and didn't need several new entrants to crowd the rings and become compelling. Kenny and Claudio made good use of the 5 minutes given to them at the start, and PAC's animosity toward Kenny kept the energy high. Highlight of the match was PAC stomping Matt Jackson through a table from the top of the cage. From a production side, the camera positioning was much better in this edition than in previous Blood and Guts matches. As far as the large, multi-man matches that AEW has done, this match confirmed to me that I much prefer Anarchy in the Arena to Blood and Guts. There's more chaos that can go on at AitA which can cover up slow spots. In Blood and Guts, everything is exposed. I wasn't a fan of the ending with PAC and Takeshita leaving from a match perspective, but it opens up new angles in a BCC vs Elite feud that was starting to feel stale."
[9.0] "This was the best Blood and Guts match so far, and it came very close to be perfect, everyone performed very well, it's a shame that Bryan Danielson couldn't be there, maybe that was the thing that made this match miss the perfect score rating, nevertheless, it was amazing anyway... very cool spots and well-performed hardcore match style. It was awesome to see Kota Ibushi in AEW as well - {****1/4}"
[8.0] "Enjoyable as all hell from a pure spectacle perspective but I knocked a point off for that finish. Jeez, man, way to kill the energy. Moxley felt like a joke here. He was buried on commentary with jokes about how often he bleeds, and was working an entirely different match than the rest of the performers. I didn't like the fork, I didn't like anything he did, and for awhile he was the only one in the match with color, which felt like a punchline. Ibushi... I don't know. He seemed like he was phoning it in. Did not live up to the hype in the slightest. I can't hate this, since it kept me entertained for nearly an hour, and Claudio/Omega/PAC/Yuta were awesome, but it's a serious mixed bag where the highs and lows are equally so. The finish was both confusing and abrupt, and really sucked the momentum out of the match instead of crescendoing into a climax."
[1.0] "I don't even know what to say about this piece of... wrestling. First of all, it was extremely chaotic, I never understood what the hell was going on there. I remember maybe two spots and Ibushi's entrance, because it was funny when he even took his time while Omega, his best friend and golden lover, was being killed. There was always something going on, but the dull action coupled with the terrible booking and fake drama made this match just garbage. Ibushi's participation was disappointing, but I can say the same about the others, to be honest, and the most disapponting guy here was Takeshita because he's an impressive and cool wrestler, and I can't say anything really bad about him (in contradistinction to Ibushi), but here he was always somewhere else, out of the main action, and I don't remember what he was doing. Towel drama was hilarious because cameramen's work sucked too, I didn't see this, I thought it was a referee stoppage because Yuta was completely destroyed and couldn't continue."
[7.0] "Sooo... It was disappointing. At first I felt warmly nostalgic about AEW's first year, but the longer the game went on, the more its flaws became apparent. The chaotic nature of everything that was happening, poor camera work... Unfortunately, Pac, Takeshita and Ibushi were very lost against the background of BCC and Elite, but I wanted to look at the bottom most of all in these conditions. And in addition to everything, there is also a very clichéd and beggingly boring ending. At least to some extent the situation was saved by Jon Moxley, who brought the ultraviolent element into the match. However, if you remove this segment from the match, there is practically nothing to remember about it. It's still a good match, but I definitely expected more from a bloods and guts match. ***3/4"
[9.0] "A fantastic main event here. I'm a sucker for Blood & Guts/WarGames Matches, so this was very easy for me to enjoy. Takeshita and PAC both leaving the match was a bit odd, as I think maybe just one should have left. Either way, this was an awesome match and I'm glad Golden Elite got the win. Plus, it was really cool to see Ibushi in an AEW ring."
[5.0] "Jon Moxley was the best thing the match had, he was able to bring a certain energy that this lacked for the entire time, but still not enough to make this work as a whole. Things don't really feel like they are going to go to anywhere and despite the good ending this was a disappointing failure."
[9.0] "Not gonna lie, I was expecting Kota Ibushi's killing character, and we did not get that. But the match technically was excellent, with great in ring moments and some important things for the Golden Lovers story, but this wasn't as bold and perfectly structured as I wish it was. The finishing spot it was brilliant but executed in a quite anticlimatic. Rating: 9.00 / 10. Stars: **** 3/4."
"Blood and Guts has never disappointed up to this point and this match was no exception. There was high intensity throughout the entire thing and it really felt like these two stables were out out hurt each other. BCC's allies walking out on them in the ladder section of this match was perfect for the story being told. The ending of the match with Yuta being choked out was perfect. Yuta was the real standout of this match for me as he is a younger talent who really showed what they are capable of in a high intensity environment."
[9.0] "Fantastisches Match.Das war die erwartbare Schlacht, mit allen Vor und Nachteilen.Die 5 und 3 Minuten Intervalle ziehen das Match schon etwas in die Länge, aber trozdem sehr unterhaltsame Geschichte mi brutalen und coolen Spots, das Ende bietet einige Möglichkeiten. ****1/4"
[9.0] "Although I preferred last year's Blood and Guts, I enjoyed this one pleasantly as well. I knew right from the announcement of the participants that it would be structured differently than the aforementioned Blood and Guts from last year, and in fact in my opinion it was missing those really crazy and bloody moments that remain in the memory. But still, as I said, I found it very enjoyable to watch: very engaging once all the participants were in, imaginative spots and the usual, good dose of violence that distinguishes every Blood and Guts. Kota Ibushi's presence was a bit of a wasted opportunity, you could see he still had the rust of his long pause, but overall I really enjoyed this match"
[6.0] "At first, I really liked this match. There were some really cool spots here and there, but, then, there were some outrageous ones as well. Too much milking, waiting around, looking at the crowd while should be looking at the opponent. This kind of match should be all about being serious and violent, and there was enough silliness around to drive my rating down."
[6.0] "This was definitely the worst of the AEW's offering for blood and guts. Definitely not bad, but struggled to reach great for alot of reasons. 1. The length of this match was just far too much when there wasnt enough spots to carry it. 2. The death match spots were fine, but completely underwhelming when you have the BCC in there, I would expect the blood and guts match to truly be their playground and wanted to see them reek havoc. 3. There seemed to be plenty of mistimed moves and kicks/punches that just clearly didn't connect, Ibushi was especially bad for this and his presence really didnt feel all that special."
[9.0] "Very messy, chaotic and brual in a good sense, not everything was perfect but it was very fun and there were lots of cool moments. Moxley stabbing everybody with a fork was wild, the nails table spots were sick and the glass and the thumbtacks were used as well. Ibushi's debut was a great moment but he looked out of place and out of shape, hope he can get back on track. Omega and the Bucks were phenomenal. The rest of the participants were all involved is some cool spots and everybody got their moment to shine. Pac and Takeshita were there just to beat up Omega so when things started to go wrong, they went away which was very cool. Moxley surrending to save Yuta was a great moment, poor Yuta. Cameras were kind off tonight, they missed lots of stuff (including Moxley surrending) but I can understand why. Overall: despite not being perfect it was very fun and it was the right way to close this feud, love wins always. 9/10 - 4.5*/5*"
"I thought this was brutal. Even though Kota Ibushi return was disappointing, everyone else managed to make the match brutal and hardcore and the whole point of this match was to give the rivalry between the BCC and the elite a gruesome conclusion and thats what happened"
[5.0] "There were some spectacular & gruesome highlights here, but overall it was a tedious misfire. You've got a babyface faction that isn't especially likeable & heels no one really hates, so the heat was limited to certain spots & interactions. Ibushi looked awful & Takeshita doesn't cut the mustard as a bad guy at all. Disappointing **1/2"
[6.0] "Visually appealing and the skill level is there, but a bit of a production mess, weak psychology, meh final part of the match, didn't accomplish much. Nobody really shined."
[0.0] "Very long, at this point with me at least AEW has worn out it's welcome with these insane spot crazy matches especially when you take it out of the context of it just being one match and not tied to a television show that need continuity week to week. The entrances felt really stupid in a middle of a match like this, the bed of nails? really I don't know this just wasn't for me in anyway"
[8.0] "Good main event, It's a little underwhelming but it's still good. So many stories being told in one fight it was great. It felt a little long and never culminated. Kota Ibushi seemed a little rusty but it's KOTA IBUSHI IN AEW, the hype is insane. Can't wait to see the following between Page, Omega and Ibushi too. The finish with Moxley surrendering because Yuta is being hanged by the Golden Elite is really cool and meaningful."
[9.0] "KOTA KOTA KOTA KOTA. Anyway a really good gruesome match, I think it missed Danielson and I feel like the story of it, weirdly didn't feel as big as last years story wise."
[6.0] "Das Match blieb deutlich hinter den Erwartungen zurück. Die Chemie hat nicht wirklich gepasst und es wirkte nicht wie ein Höhepunkt einer sehr langen Fehde."
[1.0] "I hated this. Multi-man cage matches somehow always brings out the worst AEW has to offer. These extremely choreographed and scripted spots galore don't fit in a match like this. Shouldn't this be a brawl between two factions that hate each other and not a circus performance? The quadruple superplexes, Ibushi breaking up 4 submissions in a row with no urgency, people just standing around and waiting to be hit without doing anything against it, plus the booking was horrendous too. Pac leaving early for no reason, meaningless violence, not because it makes sense, but because it should "look cool" and the babyfaces winning a 5 on 3 by murdering Wheeler Yuta."
[6.0] "Honestly better than expected and thankfully not a total chaotic mess like last year's BnG or like AinA earlier this year. There was actually some good stuff with the in-ring action and the weapons/props/cage usages here, and the hot crowd made for a great atmosphere, though there were also some typically cheesy and unrealistic moments that held the match back -- they just weren't as overpowering as they usually are for Dynamite. The various 1-v-1, 1-v-2, 2-v-2, etc. pairings throughout the match ranged from alright to good, usually featuring basic but solid work. Pac and Claudio did some nice beatdown work once they were in together, and Page got a hot run-in once it was his turn to enter. Moxley introducing the fork and a bucket of glass shards was briefly pretty cool because it immediately made the match more dangerous, though I did think the glass-bumps were underwhelming, especially as the amount of glass diminished more and more, making each consecutive spot less impressive. Unsurprisingly, the match became pretty overkill once Nick and Matt were in, with the various multi-man spots then becoming more complex but also featuring more annoying cooperation and somewhat sloppy chemistry. Their more spotfest-y stuff they did was mostly nothing we haven't seen before but still fun enough just for the action of it all. Their constant mirror/stereo spots did become quite excessive and difficult to take seriously, though, especially when they did the moronic "big face-off into a wannabe rabid brawl" spot, but I did still enjoy quite a few other things. For one, the nailboard looked pretty great and made for some nasty-looking bumps, and the various wrestlers' bumps into the cage walls usually looked pretty good, especially when they collided with both the cage and then the ropes upon their descent. Ibushi doing a slow, dramatic, soak-it-in entrance while his best friend, Omega, was in such dire need against the BCC was pretty funny, but I get the point of him wanting to make that special entrance. Him taking out so many of the BCC with his strikes before having that stare-down and face-off with Moxley was a very cool visual, especially with Moxley stamping Omega's fingers into the nailboard while giving Ibushi the double fingers in the process. Matt and Yuta definitely wasn't the most interesting pairing to have fighting outside the cage, but they were aided by their brawl moving to the interesting area of the cage roof, and I ended up genuinely a bit petrified watching them hit moves close to the edge, even if they weren't actually *that* close, so that definitely worked. Pac and the BCC busting up over miscommunication was annoyingly predictable, and made for a very anticlimactic finish as Pac just plain walked out to completely cost BCC (sans Takeshita, who likewise bailed) the match as they were then left open for a big gang-up. Despite the various issues I had, I did still think this was quite good. ***1/4"
[6.0] "This was fine. I think the introduction of a bunch of crazy weapons is a bit much for a double ring/cage but I get that it's probably better for modern audiences."
[7.0] "Considering the level of talent involved, this was underwhelming. Personally, I don't think any of these factions matches has come close to topping the first Stadium Stampede."
[8.0] "This was a very good match but I did come away still feeling underwhelmed. There's no denying that there was really good moments and spots in this match, and all 10 men truly put their body on the line for our entertainment. That being said, the heat from this feud has dissipated for me and Anarchy in the Arena felt like the blow off match for me. I think the format of this match needs to be redone for it to work and flow well. The lack of pinfalls meant there didn't feel like any swings in momentum in the match oir any chance it could end soon. It felt like it was trundling to get to a certain time limit. Plus each man coming out one by one just meant the first 30 mins or so was waiting for everybody to get in the rings. I'd personally like to see it start as a straight 5v5, with pinfalls allowed. You could maybe add an elimination element to the format. I just think something needs to be adjusted for this match to be taken to the 10/10 that it could be"
[7.0] "This had its moments but it ultimately felt too long and too disconnected for me to get too invested. Ibushi looked pretty poor in all honesty but seeing him team with Omega was a cool moment."
[7.0] "It was not quite as strong as last year's Blood and Guts. Bad production misses spots and you don't want to hold that against what is happening between the ropes it did hurt the finish to have Moxley throwing in the towel to save Yuta be missed and to awkwardly have the commentary team get informed over their headsets. The match lost clarity once it reached the Match Beyond, Ibushi did not look great."
[8.0] "Probably the best BnG in AEW. It's either this or last year's, but they still could use some work on getting this match down. Also the production actively took away from the match throughout but especially the ending."
[9.0] "Brilliant, chaotic fun, but a shame about the last couple of minutes which took the steam out of it a bit sadly. It was very long but I was engaged throughout and everyone was having a great time. Moxley brought his usual mad man, death match style antics to it which added some spice and everyone seemed to want to put on a show. The 2 BCC guys leaving and then the ref calling a stop to the match was a bit deflating as it was MOTY level to that point for me. Ibushi wasn't the peak NJPW Ibushi we know and love but hopefully it's the start of more from him. ****1/2"
[9.0] "There were so many fantastic spots in this, the storytelling was great, and it was super well paced. There were, however, some noticeable issues that harmed the match, like Ibushi clearly still being hurt and unable to move well, resulting in a lot of his strikes not connecting. While I loved that PAC and Takeshita proved to be unreliable allies to the BCC, the finish did come somewhat abruptly. Still a worthy end to a terrific feud between BCC and the Elite. ****1/4"
[7.0] "I thought this was a decent match. Credit to those involved for taking some pretty crazy and painful looking spots, not least being thrown on to a bed of nails or whatever it was! On the whole the singles matches during this feud such as Moxley v Omega in the cage, Omega v Yuta, and Moxley v Hangman TDM I enjoyed a lot more than the big ten man matches like the B&G match or the Anarchy in the Arena matches. It'll be good to see those in the two factions move on to new feuds now, preferably with more of them being tag or singles matches rather than big 10-man affairs etc."
[5.0] "Pretty much what you'd expect except not as good. The whole thing just lacked oomph. Sloppy spots and bad camerawork littered this clusterfest. You expect more from these guys. Hopefully everyone involved can move on now to some more personal issues."
[6.0] "Personally, I'm kind of let down by this match. Let's address the first thing that doesn't fall on the performers at all. The production was dogshit. Spots were completely missed by the truck. What is the issue with having a 2 camera view? There was clearly too much to be caught by just one shot. I digress, let's get to the performances. While there were some wild spots in this, I didn't really feel the connection to the match. I didn't draw any emotion from this match besides "OW! " In terms of story, again it just felt like these guys were wrestling for the sake of wrestling. Do these teams hate each other? Sure, but I didn't feel that way while watching this. Look, I'm not a diehard AEW guy. I'm not a diehard any promotion kind of guy. I love wrestling in all forms. Was this fun? Sure! But do I think it was an 8/10? I'm gonna have to say no on that front."
[6.0] "This match didn't play to the strengths of anyone in this match except for Jon Moxley. Kota Ibushi, who is typically excellent, just looked rusty here. Way too crowded and way too much going on. I thought all the gimmicks detracted from the match and a 5 v. 5 match would have been much better."
[8.0] "As a transition to the next set of feuds for these men, this worked great. As a Blood & Guts match this was just alright. There wasn't much flow to the violence here, even though each individual spot was worked well; stuff like the obligatory spots on top of the cage felt really regimented and inorganic. You can tell Mox has been working with FREEDOMS dudes lately and was excited for the Abdullah DSotR episode with his choice of spots here. Kenny taking the bed of nails shirtless was a crazy visual. Sad thing is the camera work was really bad here; spots missed, strikes that didn't land caught perfectly, and the finish not communicated. The Golden Elite working together as a 5-man unit of true friends while the BCC's two hired guns in PAC & Takeshita both bailed in the final minutes was a perfect idea, but the brilliant part of the finish was Moxley verbally giving up for Yuta's safety; showing that the BCC aren't heartless and at bare minimum care for one another after the walk-outs was an incredible idea, and it's SUCH a shame the cameras didn't catch it. Kota was there; him doing a back bump into tacks AFTER the match was over was the best thing about his presence here after the initial pop. ***3/4+"
[9.0] "Absolutely incredible Blood and Guts and in my opinion the best one AEW has ever done. The line-up of talent in this match was insane so it shouldn't be a surprise how great this turned out. It was everything that B&G should be. Plenty of violence, blood and brutal weapon spots. The bed of nails was one of the most cringe inducing things I've ever seen in a match and I have no idea how Kenny and Mox didn't die after being slammed onto it. And of course we finally got to see KOTA IBUSHI in AEW and the Golden Lovers reunite! I can't describe how much it meant seeing them together again. Kota didn't seem to be at 100%, but given the rough times he's had recently and with him only having two matches in the last two years, I think it's understandable that he was a little rusty. Despite that, one of my favorite moments of the match was him coming in like a terminator and destroying BCC so he can get to Mox and save his Golden Lover. Like a scene straight out of an anime, love it. There was a lot of great storytelling like that in this match. BCC forming their team's bond through hate led to them losing to The Golden Elite, whose bonds are built with love and friendship. Some might say it's corny, but at times you just need the good guys to win in the end. Mox giving up to save Yuta was also a great story-driven finish and might lead to a collision between him and Bryan. Overall, this match was an amazing ending to the Elite vs. BCC feud that's been the highlight of AEW this year and I can't wait to see where everyone goes from here, especially the Golden Lovers. ****1/2"
[4.0] "after the last collision I was all excited for this Dynamite and this match especially but it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, the beginning was just too slow for me, then I was hyped for Ibushi but he was meh and finally the end was just disapointing for me"
[8.0] "I've really had fun watching it but I haven't enjoyed as much as possible because of that camera work. How can a big company have such a horrible camera work in such an important match? Despite that I've really liked the match and the storytelling but to be honest I've also missed some violence. **** 1/4"
[9.0] "Das Blood & Guts Match hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Es gab Brutalität und gutes storytelling. Das finish mit PAC und Takeshita macht durchaus Sinn. Das Moxley für Yuta aufgegeben hat fandicb persönlich auch gut. Insgesamt ein Unterhaltsamtes Match und ein würdiges Finish für die Fehde. Ich finde das Match hätte an manchen Stellen etwas kürzer gehen können, das wäre jedoch meine einzige Kritik (**** 1/2)."
[8.0] "So, I'm actually 100% for the finish of this match, as well as both PAC and Takeshita leaving, since both had story merit to them and were honestly really in-line with the theme of the match (The Elite showing unity in past friendships, while the BCC are held together by glue, duct tape, and past grudges). HOWEVER...there's one big reason this cannot get a 10 for me: the camera work. This is a nationally televised company, and I understand there's a lot happening...but for god's sake, when you see a big spot is about to happen, PUT THE CAMERA ON THE GODDANG SPOT! Don't cut to someone's reaction to the spot, or cut to a different place, just show the big move and continue on AFTER that is given its due! This happened multiple times in the match and really pissed me off to no end while watching it, hence why despite this being AEW's best Blood & Guts match of their existence so far, it cannot be given anywhere above an 8."
[7.0] "Solid match with great moments, but a lot of downtime that sucked the air out of it for a bit during the time of Nick Jackson's entrance. Kota wasn't featured as much, which makes sense since he's the new guy in the feud and isn't as invested in this rivalry as everyone else. Also, when the BCC has every Elite member in a submission, Kota was just walking up and staring someone down before kicking them, that was pretty weird, and he didn't save Kenny at first even though he is his "Lover" and was in the most dangerous submission out of those being done, the Brutalizer. Nail table spots were great, raining thumbtacks were excellent, and that PAC table spot would have been insane if caught on camera correctly. But a lot of this match just didn't hit. Yuta getting choked out was meh, the bell kinda just rang and the announce team made it sound like he just got hung when it wasn't that crazy. If you blinked you could have easily missed most of the thumbtack shoe spot. Also PAC leaving was kinda anticlimactic, he took one uppercut that didn't look like it hurt him, and went ballistic. I guess it is in his character that he has anger issues basically, but it could've been like a miscommunication that led to a tack bump or something. Moxley bleeding was fucking hardcore though, wish there was more on some of the other members. Most of this is me nitpicking but I swear I enjoyed it."
[8.0] "This was fun and pretty good, but this wasn't the 92 wargames match or anything here. Moxley brought great intensity to this and made this feel heated with the shit he was pulling out and trying to do to his opponent. Takeshita also was good in this with all of his highlighted spots in the match as well. The Bucks had some cool looking spots but for this kind of thing I wish they would've held back on some of that stuff for this kind of match. The best spot was probably the Pac table spot was sick. Unfortunately though Ibushi looked pretty bad and everything he did was awful outside of getting people to cheer him. The finish was great with them choking Yuta to death, and forcing Moxley to tap.***3/4"
[10.0] "You can see the euphoria and joy of the Massachusetts public, charming; Moxley's character is unique and truly magnificent, that entry with the fork was pure entertainment; beautiful entrance performance by Nick Jackson, riotous action; the detail of the fakir's bed was very crazy, Castagnoli's face literally represents everyone's face after seeing Kenny Omega lying on the nails; There are already two times that the cameramen do not focus how Moxley blood is drawn, it seems that it is literally the custom, it is not known in the transmission when the bleeding wound is made; excellent that shower of tacks from Matt Jackson; I didn't quite understand that segment of attacks between Konosuke and Ibushi, clearly botched; beautiful sequences of superplexes and that aerial double foot stomp from PAC; the withdrawal of euphoric PAC with Claudio was apotiosic; Well, they already notified me that his human side of Moxley saved Yuta and that's why I finished the match; This kind of matches has no fault, it's incredible and bloody to watch, it's damn crazy, there are errors, there are botches, there are errors with the cameras, other things, but even so, this match is enjoyable, an example of hardcore wrestling, that ending with the Kansas song, gives it its touch."
[5.0] "I've had fun with some of the Blood and Guts matches before, but this one didn't really do it for me. It just felt like a mess, and I wasn't engaged in the Elite v. BCC storyline throughout all of it. Hopefully they can all just go their separate ways and do something else now, because I think all the talent involved are great, but this wasn't it."
[9.0] "Some of the comments here are absolutely ridiculous we can easily see who's here in good faith and who is just here to be a hater. Regardless this was a great brawl a great wargames and I never felt bored in this 50+ minutes, but the finish was kinda botched so I can't give it 10. The idea of Moxley surrendering to protect Wheeler is very good but the production was bad they completely missed it, I wasn't a fan of PAC and Takeshita leaving the match either."
[9.0] "Very fun event overall, but the production work throughout was ass, cutting away from big spots, missing spots. All the guys involved looked great except Ibushi. The Bucks excel in this kind of violent free for all, and Kenny and Claudio made great "anchors" for their team. PAC flipping the BCC the bird and bailing makes perfect sense, and after him Takeshita. Some very nice storytelling throughout the whole match with all the various relationships at play. Culminates in Moxley having to surrender to save Yuta, who the BCC has traumatized into believing that he should rather die than surrender. Great shit, but fuck that production crew."
[4.0] "Better than I expected but still only ok at best. An average level brawl. The story was ok but nothing that had me on the edge of the seat throughout the entire match. No one or no spot really stuck out. The stuff on top of the structure felt tacked on and pointless. Ultimately though it wasn't as nonsensical as I was expecting like the last wwe war games I watched which felt overly contrived. **"
[3.0] "No selling, lots of botches, so much over-the-top unrealistic spots, you literally see how wrestlers get into their positions and look lost, like extras in Uwe Boll movies. The match was very long, boring, with just a couple of good moments. I'm so tired of Young Bucks's shtick, Moxley's bleeding and botched rushed finishes. The only one who was pleasant to watch here was Claudio, but even that pales in comparison by the awful performance of Ibushi, who was the most hard to watch, and I'm a big fan of him... just sad..."
[8.0] "Blood & Guts very competent, nothing to take your breath away, but you can enjoy it, I found all the stuff with PAC very out of place in the middle of the action and even a little silly (****1/4)"
[9.0] "Violence and blood and brutality and blah blah blah. The real thing that makes these matches is creativity, and I think this match has five of the most creative minds in the industry, and Mox was chief among them."
[3.0] "Didnt do anything for me. A pretty odd story buildup to a match that would cater to something closer to a GCW crowd. Not all bad but the production truck missed a few important spots and had a close up of somebody gigging lol."
[3.0] "Sorry but I have trouble with the Bucks being brawlers. Match was okay at best, it was more of a death match cage than a true WarGames style of match. Ibushi was rusty. 50+ minutes filled with bad brawling was too much. The PAC spot was great. We also miss the finish with Moxley throwing the towel !"
[8.0] "I prefer last year's B&G match. While it worked narratively, and the violence was on point with what you can expect from many of the performes involved, I think it never hit the break point it needed, same with AOTA. Ibushi was a little rusty, which is understandable considering he's currently dealing with injuries, but at the same time he looked lost in many instances, odd. Now, nothing of this is really terrible and I would rate this higher if it wasn't for the awful camera work. I get it, working with two rings is hard and you're gonna miss a lot of stuff, same with multiman matches. However, this year's edition had problems absent in 2022: missed spots, interactions between Omega and Ibushi, sloppy cuts and, most importantly, they missed the damn finish. I went to sleep kinda mad with the match becuase I thought it stopped due to ref stoppage in the same vein of the awful HIAC 2019. I had to go into the internet to know that, in fact, Mox surrendered to save Yuta from the hanging. It would've been a beautiful closing moment after the abandonment BCC suffered, but many of us missed it because of that. I'm not a fan of how AEW have been doing their camera work lately (it wasn't stellar on the fantastic FTR vs. BC Gold match, missed many spots and recorder unwanted interactions of wrestlers coordinating spots), so much so that Moxley's blading has become a constant talking point in the community, almost always with bad intentions. However, I think last night's was the worst instance of it, and we need course correction. Such sloppy production shouldn't happen in the second biggest promotion on the US, backed not only by billionaires, but also by a multi million media juggernaut. Take this as a 7.5."
[5.0] "Meh. Way too long. Like 7 or 8 out of these 10 aren't very well suited to a War Games style match. Ibushi's appearance was very disappointing - he didn't do much at all. Some good spots but I preferred both previous Blood & Guts matches to this one."
[10.0] "While I slightly prefer last year's edition for greater blood and more engaging/varied story beats, I did think ultimately the latest shot at War Games was a huge winner for AEW. Super violent and full of big stars, it felt like it was paced very well and there was a strong sense of everyone beating the living hell out of each other, just as it should be. A lot of memorable moments, Ibushi's hot debut, the bed of nails, PAC's big table spot between the rings, Moxley stomping Omega's hand into the nails while giving a bloody thumbs up, actually basically everything Moxley did, the rain of tacks from the ceiling (where did he get that bag from though? ). There have been better War Games matches through history but even so I'd slot this in my top 25 for the year, with MVP award going to Mox but also acknowledgment to Claudio, PAC, Ibushi, etc."
[7.0] "It was a good match. Matt, Nick, Kenny, Pac and moxley performed really good. There were also many amazing spots, one where pac stomped onto the table, the thumbtacks spot and the final sequence where all the members of the elite took turns to knock yuta. Another great moment was the introduction of Kota ibushi but sadly it was all there was good about him and his performance in the ring was just okay and also I don't blame him for that because I think he might not have Fully recovered from the injury. And also it felt just sad to see him suffering in the ring he missed some spots but the bucklebomb was good. Also I wanted to see more of takeshita as he has so much potential and still young and full of energy, his lariats were amazing and that's about it. Kenny delivered as always. Nick and Matt had also some great moments like their entry and superkick bucklebomb with ibushi and the suplex spot on top and the thumbtacks one. Pac and Claudio had some heat and hangman was also underutilised. Overall it was a decent match According to the stipulation but it could have delivered more as there were the best talents in the world but still good in my opinion"
[4.0] "Maybe I'm just miserable but this match didn't do anything for me. The Blood & Guts concept is pretty flawed because nothing was important until Ibushi came in, it was pretty slow and the promise of the most violent acts in AEW history came in the form of a really cool bed of nails but nothing else. Ibushi looked slow, Takeshita and PAC leaving was pretty underwhelming albeit funny on PAC's part and the Elite are so unlikable as babyfaces I found myself actively sighing at Nick Jackson's hot-tag esque run through BCC after they were murdering dudes. Once Hangman and the Bucks did a Dead-eye/IndyTaker double spot as just a random spot, I just didn't care. Enough cool spots and Mox being Mox to save it from being totally awful - **"
[8.0] "Just like Anarchy in the Arena, this match did not hold a candle to its previous instalment. This was a fun match dont get me wrong, but it was missing a great final stretch to take it to the next level."
[7.0] "Not sure how to properly rate this... On one hand, it was mostly entertaining and certainly lived up to the "Blood & Guts" moniker, but it was also at least ten minutes too long (if not 20) and had a rather uninspired performance from Kota Ibushi. There were also numerous production issues with the camera cutting away mid-move, not to mention completely botching the ending where we had no idea Mox gave up for his team. I liked the 5-on-3 ending though. Hopefully everyone can just move on now from this feud. ***1/2"
[8.0] "I think this might be the best Blood and Guts AEW have done - felt like less downtime between spots and it felt somehow more chaotic and coherant, storywise, at the same time. But the production was bad, particularly missing Moxley throwing in the towel for Yuta, which is a massive development for that faction. Also, Ibushi looked... off? IDK. But those issues aside, a lot of fun."
[9.0] "A very good Blood & Guts that left us with an incredible fight but with a somewhat strange development due to what happened with the BCC since both PAC and Takeshita left and that leaves me with the doubt of whether this faction will break up little by little or what will happen. However, that ending left everyone watching it on TV confused, that's for sure."
[8.0] "Violent and sadistic, as expected. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, with both PAC and Takeshita leaving the heel team to basically die on their feet. I don't know how Mox is still standing. Claudio was the MVP of the match, working the whole time and building the angle with PAC from the second they were in the ring together. Ibushi was strangely subdued and there was no real anticipation with him and Kenny, but maybe that will come another time. Overall very dramatic and entertaining, but I cannot shake the feeling that the ending/winner didn't matter to me. It's time for the feud to end, which is strange, since we have not gotten any of the promising matches out of it that could have happened: Kenny/Claudio, Hangman/Claudio, Kenny/Danielson, Bucks in a straight tag match, nothing. So the match was good, as were their other fights, but there was also a lot of potential wasted I believe."
[9.0] "The only thing that keeps this from being a 10/10 is poor Ibushi. I dont know what's going on with the poor guy, I know he's had a bad injury and has only wrestled like 3 times in the last 2 years, but if he wasnt ready they shouldnt have pushed him. I know people have been chomping at the bit but the poor guy looked really tired and bothered out there. For this to be his insanely overly anticipated AEW debut for him only to stumble around the place and miss half his moves and only have one good spot... that just sucks for him. I know how amazing he is. I know he's as good as anyone else, but his career might be in trouble if he's still struggling for so long and is sitll injured. It sucks, hope he gets better soon."
[6.0] "If this match existed to make me a fan of Kota Ibushi, I wasn't convinced. He looked slow, bored and confused. Nick Jackson was good, the best one out of the Elite. BCC carried the match, which makes me confused. Only Mox (OF COURSE) and Yuta (probably for the ending) got color, which was eh. I expected more from Takeshita and Omega"
[8.0] "A great match that was somewhat let down by its production issues and a couple of subpar moments, I expected a bit more considering all the talent involved but I can't say I'm disappointed. 4.25*"
[7.0] "It was a great match and some of the spots were pretty good but their were a good amount of botches as well. Pac leaving didn't make much sense and it was the match length that was way too long as well. They could've booked a lot of matches and just made the blood and guts match 30-40 minutes."
[10.0] "Words to describe this match: violent, insane, wild, brutal, twists and turns and an amazing cap on a promotion spanning feud. All 10 are amazing performers. There were peaks and lulls and swings and chaos and missed spots and missed camera action. Never hit the pure peaks of Anarchy In the Arena but that is almost impossible to do. Great match and an all time classic. ****3/4 and ***** on vibes."
[8.0] "Great match but one minor thing that bothered me. If you are going to attack multiple guys with a fork, going as far as raking it across their foreheads, they should bleed. If they do not want to bleed, that is fine, just do not do the spot!"
[5.0] "I have my issues with the modern interpretation of blood and guts, but the biggest thing that holds all of these matches from being great is the runtime. The bookers take the idea that the match doesn't start until all men are in the cage way too literally. The best War Games matches have had the last guy enter the cage, then go directly into a finishing stretch. In the modern versions however, the matches go for at least another 20 minutes, making the first part of the match essentially useless and feel like filler, rather than a grueling build to a finish. This match had the same problems for me. Unmemorable spot fest is not what I want to see from B&G. I will give the guys credit for doing all the crazy stuff, but at the end of the day, that is not what B&G/Wargames is and I can never get into the matches beyond a surface level enjoyment of the carnage."
[8.0] "Mein erstes Blood & Guts Match und ich wusste nicht was ich mir genau darunter vorstellen kann. Ich fand es war ein extremes und grundlegend gutes Match. Es wurde später als es chaotisch wurde wrestlerisch nicht mehr so viel gezeigt und man hat sich auf Schläge ind extreme Spots reduziert. Es hat mir gefallen doch ich habe mir persönlich mehr erhofft. ****"
[7.0] "How to say... The match is good only the rhythm is really boring. Ibushi was a loser in the game, he didnt know what to do and I feel like it spoils his return. Afterwards, we have to take into account the fact that he hasnt taken up wrestling for a while. A rather strange ending, the referee rings the bell without any real reason I find. PAC and Takeshita who are running away from the match remains quite logical especially for this first one which takes revenge from Moxley. Now that its finally over, see what happens to the Black Pool Combat Club."
[10.0] "Epitome of a classic, violent and full of emotions and even psichology; who gives this match less then 6 out of ten and/or call it "INDIE DISFRAZADA" doesn't know what he is talking about. The Young Bucks did theyr spots, Moxley put in glass (it's strange that one of the Bucks and not him put the thumbtacks in, anyway the way he did it was just brilliant) and a death board I don't know how is named and Omega did his tag finishers with bot Page and Ibushi. Then, in the end PAC and Takeshita quitted so only the "original" BCC stablemate were in the ring and this match turned into a 5 vs 3 handicap match in the last minutes. Just heartbreaking, funny and hardcore from start to finish; better then FTR/BC Gold II(that Is 5*/5*) and second best match of AEW so far, only Ospreay vs Omega II (6, 5*/5*) is better in my opinion. *****"
[7.0] "Like the other Blood and Guts matches, this was awesome, but this was a different Blood and Guts match from the last two. While the other ones (last year especially) focussed on insane spots and violence, this one told a bit more of a story. There was still violence, (thumbtacks, the bed of nails etc.) but the focus was on BCC using hate to win, which led to their team disintegrating, the Elites friendship being what helped them win, as well as Moxley throwing in the towel for Yuta to prevent further damage. All that said, Im glad this feud is over so everyone can move on, Im curious to see what the BCC do after this and if Ibushi makes more appearances."
[1.0] "Garbage all around. This looked like a worst of GCW than AEW. The lone bright spot was Omega. Terrible ring work. People 100% missing moves and the cameras catching it. Ill take Jay/Juice vs FTR for 58 minutes over whatever the hell this match was suppose to be. And the people on here blindly giving 9.0/10s...fit the AEW cult dubbalo steroetype. Any other promotion would be dragged for how bad this match and this show was. NJPW, WWE, Impact... but for some reason people are so scared to accurately discuss AEW."
[5.0] "I think this one may be the worst out of the three. There were a lot of good moments in this match, mostly thanks to Mox really trying to make things work, but besides that, the Elite really didn't meet with the same intensity and violence the BCC had. In addition, a lot of the modern takes of WarGames seem to miss the mark for why the original WCW ones were so good. The Elite didn't really come across as incredibly great faces in this match, with Omega (and at times, Ibushi). They got hit with unbelievable amounts of offense to the face and *none* of them ran the blade. Which is hilarious. In addition, the finish was much more face-ish for the BCC. Not only did the people involved leave them, but Wheeler Yuta got quite literally hung. This match, like the feud, was pretty bloated, and missed the mark for a greater emotional intrigue. Matt Menard and Angelo Parker had better performances than maybe 80% of the people in this match this year. Ibushi's inclusion didn't reach the hype that you would expect from a man of that sort of talent. This match was incredibly messy, if AEW goes to more PPVs, this is one of the matches that should be on it. Constant p+p and bad camera cuts severely hurt the match. I don't think anyone but Takeshita, and maybe Yuta came out of this feud looking better. Hangman is essentially back to square one, Omega is stuck with two hinderances in Matt and Nick Jackson. On the other hand, there's a lot of interest to see where the BCC go from here."
[8.0] "i had really high expectations for this match and it sorta kinda didnt deliver, ibushi seems pretty rusty and out of shape and overall didnt seem to care about what he was doing but having him in the match at all is a plus. Just wish there were more huge spots especially with all those crazy mfs in there."
[9.0] "I thought this match was great with some fantastic moments and spots I really like the way that both teams worked together and I thought the ending of the match was great the thing keeping this from being a 10 is that it is a tad long and there was way too many commercial. I think aew should have a commercial free during matches like this it would make it so much better other than that this match was great. ****1/2"
"This was fine, it was a cluttered mess that just was very paint by numbers. You could see the story they wanted to tell was not what the crowd and i think most of the audience wanted overall. Production failed the match by just seemly being sloppy enough and almost out of the loop. The memorable moments where quality and top notch, but just not part of the larger picture."
[4.0] "Frustrating, poorly paced, a mess of a production. Another Blood & Guts Im mixed on, but I would probably put last years over this due to just how much tangible hatred and visible carnage there was. Started off on a wrong note with the opening stages feeling completely heatless, until Moxley came in and things seemed to pick up since hes the only guy who seems to understand what the stipulation should entail. After this it continued flip flopping from tedious to watch to a cool spot happening back to tedium. Ibushi looked rough, even if it was sweet just to see him. I dont think the bloated, clunky nature of the match suited him all too well. The Young Bucks really annoyed me in a way they rarely do, why are you getting your shit in whilst your mates are getting pummelled? The ending sequence made the BCC look more heroic than The Elite. For how long this was, there was a whole lot of dead air that made up most of it. Even so, Moxley brought enough energy to make this watchable for moments."
"This was not as good as it was hyped up to be. This is my first AEW Blood and Guts that Ive seen live all the way through and no matter how I look at it, I cant see it for anything other than physical theater. From the moment Moxley entered the match, the pacing fell completely apart. You know its bad when the crowd are chanting for tables and then for fire once they were forced to improv the table spot (albeit PAC thought of a cool spot quick). Thats all the match was, cool spot, go here, cool spot, repeat. I still think PAC and Takeshita should be a unit together and be the BCCs last feud because they looked so good in this match, everyone else except Claudio looked like a geek and even he desperately needs something new to get back on game. Its also kinda weird this is the culmination of the feud because adding Ibushi and PAC clouded what the story was actually about (which is nothing). It feels like it should end properly at a pay-per-view but I think theyve just overkilled themselves when they started. Ibushi is not a big deal, nobody knew who he was and his connection with Omega is never explained beyond they teamed in a comedy promotion in Japan. No proper build, no *real* hype for him just stuck him in the match and he kinda stunk. All this leads to a crowded, drawn-out, spot fest that got boring half-way through and felt 10x longer than any recent 1-hour match in AEW. 3.0/10"
[9.0] "Hier habe ich wieder mein Match of the Night und das war wie mal von einem Blood And Guts Match erwartet. Blutig und lang. Ich habe echt gedacht das der Blackpool Combat Club gewinnt. Mein Match Rating ist hier (****1/2)."
[8.0] "Great match let down by some horrible production. Some of the spots were missed due to this. Match was fantastic although maybe a tad bit too long but Kenny showed again why he's one of the greats and although Ibushi looked rusty, he played his part well."
[9.0] "Great main event right here which was undoubtedly the best Blood & Guts so far, given that I hadn't been a fan of the first two at all even though I know the second is appreciated, but I hadn't been into it. But here, without Jericho and his cronies, it was immediately much more relevant and interesting, with a bunch of great spots. Kota Ibushi's debut was great for the moment, his performance much less so, and that's my only disappointment of the match. But it was still very cool to see him, and to see all these guys beating the crap out of each other, I never got bored. Interesting angle around PAC to justify the Death Before Dishonor match, and we'll see how Takeshita justifies his own exclusion."
[6.0] "I usually like this type of match This never really felt like a fight, that and it dragged on 10 or 15 minutes too long. A few cool spots but pretty average."
[2.0] "Somehow a group of very talented wrestlers managed to make the culmination of their "epic" feud (if you can call it that) look like the physical manifestation of a childrens imaginary backyard playtime. Almost entirely devoid of psychology and logic, this match decided to lean on a breakneck pace and idiotically unsafe, unoriginal, and unimpressive weapons spots instead. The first five to ten minutes of the match were reasonably entertaining, but the moment that Moxley entered the proceedings, it became a deathmatch spotfest that any backyard fed could have produced. Noth teams were constantly making decisions that favored "cool" over actual logic or reason, and the match as a whole made very little sense. To top it all off, Kota Ibushi looked utterly unimpressive and uninvested in his AEW debut to an almost worrying extent. An hour of my life I will never get back"
[6.0] "There was enough here that I enjoyed to still give it a positive rating but there were a lot of issues. While I wouldn't call the match boring, the primary problem for me is just that it was far too long. You could have cut out half the match and lost nothing of substance. Ibushi sadly looked very poor. He was slow, had no energy, missed pretty much every strike he threw, and I don't even know what that spot with Takeshita was supposed to be. Several of the spots were too goofy for me (everything on top of the cage seemed dumb and pointless, and can we please stop this obligatory spot where everybody lines up and faces off near the end of the match? ). The stuff with PAC and Claudio didn't really work for me either. I thought the highlight was PAC's table spot (shame about the initial camera work). I think both WWE and AEW they really need to start doing some serious editing with these modern War Games matches because they do not need anywhere near as much time as they get and it is always to the detriment of the match."
[5.0] "Some of the best wrestlers in the world but it was just boring. Heaps of crazy moments but it just didn't seem to have any flow or rhythm to it. I also wasn't really feeling he commentary. I'm sure this would have been a lot better as a survivor series style elimination tag match. Or even just being elimination in general. Too much of a clusterfuck for me. Sucks cause I was really excited at the beginning especially when I saw it was Claudio vs Kenny to start off."
[8.0] "A lot of good stuff here, lots of brutality and violence. Did think Ibushis involvement was rather disappointing I thought, he seemed rusty. I also thought the finish was a bit off the mark and abrupt. Good overall for sure though."
[6.0] "Well, this wasn't great. 50 minutes for a match like this, seems excessive. Finish kinda sucked too. Actually we didn't even get to see how it ended. We only found later that Moxley surrendered, while we were watching a close-up of Yuta getting strangled. Maybe it's not easy to shoot a finish like this but it was really flat. And Ibushi looked TERRIBLE here. I get that he's 41 now and I knew he wouldn't be at his best but he was so much worse than I expected. To be honest, I've never been a fan of War Games/Blood and Guts matches. There were couple of really good ones in the past but this format just doesn't work for me."
[10.0] "The match had a few flaws towards the end but I'll be damned if this wasn't the craziest match I've ever seen. Yes Ibushi was rusty and the finish was somewhat rushed but these guys went all out. This had a little bit of everything and is certainly the best Blood And Guts match to date."
[5.0] "Match was not boring for sure but one of the worst examples of War Games type of matches I've seen. At last week's Dynamite I thought PAC was a great fit to this match seeing that the BCC vs ELITE feud was getting stale and the guy had a history with the ELITE and it seemed as this makes sense. But then they fucked it up by giving him and Claudio a nonsense argue all through the match. The worst thing was the best performer of the match 'till that point walking away after Callis thought The ELITE was winning. Most stupid part is BCC was more dominant up until that point. Bucks trying to combine their spotfest style and brawling didn't looked cool at all. And Ibushi... I hate big stars debuting in tag matches particularly more crowded ones like this one. Overselling Ibushi's first few shots looked lacky and after that he disappeared at majority of the match. I can only give credit to Omega's dynamizm, a few Moxley's spots and Takeshita's great performance until PAC's departure (I have to note Takeshita was the MVP second time in a row in a BCC vs ELITE feud lol). And hated making Yuta the whipping boy entirety of the match."
[8.0] "I was pretty sadisfied by this one. It was long, too long and drawned out but the story was good and the action was compelling with some pretty exciting spots (even though I expected more of them). I think that in some instances they over did the extreme stuff (like glass, thumbtacks...) and that the final stretch, when they were all in the ring, could have been a little shorter. Talking about Ibushi, I was mainly disappointed by his performance, nothing significant. But overall I'd say that it gets a solid 4 stars."
[7.0] "Blood & Guts ist immer gerne zu sehen, dieses hier gefiel mir sehr gut, aber war wahrscheinlich das Schwächste bisher. Ich fand Omega und Double C als erste Wrestler beider Teams super und ein Singles Match wäre ein absoluter Traum. Mit der Zeit wird es immer brutaler, es kommen immer mehr Wrestler rein und man verliert so langsam den Überblick. Dennoch gab es unfassbar brutale Momente und Spots, die man teilweise nicht sehen konnte aufgrund der schlechten Kameraarbeit. Ibushi hat definitiv etwas zugelegt und die fast jetzt schon 2 Jahre die er nicht im Ring stand sind auch deutlich erkennbar. Fand das Ende mit PAC und Takeshita gut umgesetzt und man merkt, dass dem BCC Danielson abgegangen ist. War ein gutes Match, etwas chaotisch, aber das gehört zur Stipulation wahrscheinlich dazu(***1/2)."
[10.0] "This edition of B&G seems to be a bit polarizing but I loved it personally. Moxley was a beast here and held nothing back. It was great to see PAC in action again and same with Ibushi but he definitely seemed out of it and maybe a bit out of shape, and I say this as a massive Ibushi mark. I would love to see some singles matches for him in AEW. The bed of nails spots were brutal, plus the PAC stomp. and I enjoyed the ingenuity of dropping the tacks from the top of the cage. I think this was a very successful iteration of B&G and I am wondering what comes next. It seems like it should have been the blow off but there are still some loose ends. Kenny vs Takeshita being the main one that comes to mind. My only real complaint is about some of the camera work, most notably missing the Mox surrender for Yuta. It felt like the match ended very abruptly. Also thought everyone couldve gotten some color especially after the Mox fork spots."
[5.0] "At first I wanted to give it a 7, but then the last 5 minutes of the match happened, including the ending, and I realized that they missed the chance to convert a long, exhausting and brutal match into something really memorable, and in fact there is nothing here except gif moments and spots, half of which were missed operators (but we have seen enough of cage angles). The conflict between Castagnoli and Pac is terrible, the fact that he was given a central role leaves me perplexed. Takeshita quit the match when he realized his team was losing, lol. The babyfaces, being in the majority, brutally beat Yuta and strangled him with a chain. Kota Ibushi showed one of the strangest performances in his career, I don't even want to comment on it. A disappointing match, but still somewhere not a bad (**1/2)."
"2023 - Really hard to rate this. Absolutely love Jon Moxley in this, always felt like he was trying to inflict as much damage as possible, Kenny was amazing too. Wheeler Yuta climbing up top was a waste of time, Kota Ibushi clearly not being ready after such a big deal made about the reveal was incredibly disappointing and the finish was flat."
[10.0] "This is a thematic masterpiece. Storyline wise, they completely played the long game instead of making this the blow off and tbh its better that way! they stold the story of fighting with and for your friends will overcome being bonded by hate towards a common enemy. It truly felt like BCC got karma for being blinded by wanting to take out the Elite so much that they sided with ostensibly like minded people who werent loyal to them, they just had common interests with separate ideas of how to accomplish those interests. The Elite never proved they were better, especially in this setting which makes sense, cuz theyre just not. BCC was like 70% of the offense of the match, in complete control but Claudio's ego (cough MOX, Eddie warned you cough) cost them. There are so many open threads coming out of this match: Elite never beat the full BCC with Danielson, that match is still available whenever they want. Mox did end up surrendering for one of the men he actually cared for most, probably his closest teammate in the BCC. Mox also trusted two outsiders with their own interests instead of Eddie, and prior to this match Mox asked Eddie to call him. What now? Claudio also was costing Mox and the BCC with his disagreement with Pac, they'll wrestle and I'm sure Eddie has thoughts about Mox losing because of it. Kenny and the Callis Family are on the Horizon. This is a masterful intersection of plot points that took place in this storytelling oriented match, that will spin off into multiple roads for all men involved. Bravo."
[10.0] "Even though Ibushi had an average showing, timing of blading was quite random and the lack of blading of certain participants after being stabbed with a fork several times, the match was incredible. I'm not going to complain about Omega, PAC and Castagnoli killing the time before Moxley's arrival, because it was pretty understandable. I have to appreciate the guts of these men. Tons of action, tons of weapon spots, just the MOTY contender as far as I'm concerned."
[6.0] "I was very hyped before watching the match, expecting a big and epic conclusion for this storyline between BCC and the Elite. There were some really good things and others that were bad. Unfortunately, Ibushi's return was disappointing, as he didn't bring much to the match and missed several things that should have been basic for him. The camera angle choices were questionable, resulting in a messy overall presentation and not helping with the clarity of the action. Some big spots felt lackluster to me. However, the story around PAC and Takeshita was very interesting. The match seemed to be more focused on setting up other storylines rather than providing a satisfying conclusion to the one they had been telling for weeks. It's a shame, I won't remember it as a memorable match."
[2.0] "I could write for days about how much I hated this match. My rating is so far away from the average that I'm going to have to use the full 3, 000 words. Let's start with everything I liked. I liked most of what the bucks did. They were fast, they looked like they had a sense of urgency, they treated the match like it was blood and guts. However, neither of them ever got color just like most of the rest of the participants in this match. I liked Yuta climbing down from the cage because well, that's what a sensible person would do when they almost just got thrown off the cage. I liked the story of how the BCC sold themselves to the devil (Don Callis and in general just being heels) in order to get Takeshita and Pac and then when they needed them most, they both just quit on them. However, heres where the good things end. I get Callis taking Takeshita out of the match but it makes no sense how the same Pac who just fought so hard for the BCC would just walk out on them after just an argument that seemed to be calming down. Moving on, the match played horribly around the advertisements. The cage spot could have been built so much more if we actually got to watch the people climb and what led up to that in full screen. Also, how did they leave the cage without the bolt cutters like what Pac did? I want to go back to the beginning of the match now. Omega and Claudio were bad. Everything was clunky. I might be nitpicking here but I especially hated the time where Omega sent Claudio into the other ring and Claudio looks completely fine but just sits there and waits for Omega to come and start beating him up again. Looking back, I actually think Pac walking to the ring instead of having urgency was part of the story where he got mad at Claudio. I didn't think of that while watching which could have been my fault but the commentators sure didn't help. Additionally, I thought given the history between Pac and Omega that Pac would be much angrier. Instead he beat up Omega a little bit and then yelled at the crowd. This kind of thing happened many other times throughout the match and I hated it each and every time. Only memorable thing Hangman did was climb the cage for no reason only to get caught by Claudio who he somehow kicks off with this measly little dink. Remember, Claudio is being pushed as the "strongest" guy. You're telling me that little dink really sent him staggering? I actually loved Moxley's outfit and aura in this match. It gave me Freddy Krueger vibes. But usually when Freddy Krueger stabs someone they bleed. The only person who seemed to bleed here was Freddy! Then Nick Jackson came in and we already went over that. Before I reach 3000 characters there was one more thing I really wanted to talk about. That was when Ibushi came in and pretty much buried Yuta. They built Yuta going out as this big match up only for Yuta to get destroyed. And Ibushi wasn't even that strong throughout the rest of the match."
[4.0] "Blood and Guts has been better on paper than in practice every year and this may have been the worst one The only thing I liked was the finish, but the cameras missed Moxley surrendering so its more like I liked the idea of the finish What happened to Kota Ibushi? The explosiveness, the pinpoint strikes, the lightning speed, it was all just gone. Bro threw some of the worst punches and kicks Ive possibly ever seen in a major wrestling company. He was a foot away. I think this was the worst possible way to book him for his first match, B&G matches are always a cluster fuck and not only does he need to shed away some of his ring rust, the nature of this match doesn't give him time to do that so he looked very messy in an already messy match. I know they wanted Ibushi's first match to be in a big spectacle match like this but I wish they did it in a less cluster fuck kind of match. He just really made me wish Kingston was in this match. There was SO MUCH dead time, the majority of the guys would end up in the same ring constantly just throwing strikes at random Claudio accidentally hitting Pac did not seem like enough reason to get Pac to leave. Didnt mind the storyline but at least do something more interesting and believable."
[10.0] "What an insane match, the wrestling, the violence, the star power, I wasn't a big fan of the PAC walkout but I guess they had to find a finish so that everyone can move on, but other than that I don't really have much to say, it was one of the funnest match I watched this year, it was a great time, BCC's violence jelled well with the Elite's hyper wrestling and credit for everyone cause they all took bumps on the glass and thumbtacks, the nail bed was a bit radical for me but I guess it was different A top 10 match of the year"
[10.0] "Very fulfilling story told in the end of love triumphs hate. The BCC relies on ringers who are bonded by hate have their group fractured at any small conflicts while the golden elite have finally come back together from love to persevere against the brutal BCC. The BCC were always fundamentally opposed to the elite as they believed they didn't have the heart or the fighting spirit to do this type of match and the core of the BCC end up respecting the fight they see. This is also shown on the elite side as they always believed their way was right and friendship and love before all which makes it very fulfilling to see the top member of the BCC in Moxley surrender to save Yuta and for Claudio to come quickly to his aid after to show the love and friendship between the core members of the BCC. On top of this there was brutal spots throughout and loads of fun spots. Biggest critique is that the cameras felt off throughout the match. (****.75)"
[6.0] "This was a pretty big letdown for me. I had huge expectations because I thought the Elite boys would bring something fresh to a match that (across NXT, WWE and especially AEW) has always failed to really live up to its legend. A lot of the weapon stuff just came off as cartoony. I'm no purist for how War Games is supposed to be, but these teams (or variations of) have already done the big weapon stuff in Anarchy in the Arena. Worse than that though is Takeshita, Page and especially Ibushi brought almost nothing to the table here for whatever reason. Ibushi in particular looked well below form. On the positive side, I'm glad they didn't do a stunt from the top of the cage, and I liked the ending a lot despite the production completely failing to get the story through in the moment."
[4.0] "What a letdown. Easily the worst of the three Blood and Guts matches, and that is saying something given the first one. Things were rather enjoyable with the first four entrants (and man, would not Omega/Claudio be fantastic? ) but went massively downhill when the Utensil King Jon Moxley entered the fray, stabbing everyone in sight with a fork and yet no blood. Big moves onto broken glass, and no blood. Yet, every time the camera went to Mox he was bleeding from a new spot! Also bladejob caught on TV again. We were given no reason on TV to care about Ibushi coming into this match and he did nothing to change that, which is a shame given he is one of my favorite wrestlers. He looked out of place and a bit out of shape, and for what he means to the Elite (and especially Kenny) in storyline, this was such a disappointing first use of him in AEW."
[10.0] "When I woke up this morning, I put on my Kenny Omega shirt in honor of one of my favorite wrestlers. I was super excited for this match and I was not let down. A gloriously violent match, an amazing hardcore match that manages to mostly avoid getting silly like a lot of hardcore matches (that bed of nails did wander into silly territory though). Aside from the Bloodline, the feud between the Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite is one of the best feuds in recent wrestling (and this had the Bloodline beat in terms of match quality)."
[6.0] "It was a decent match made worse by the weight of expectations for one, and diminishing returns for another. Commentary has now buried Moxley and his propensity to bleed twice (Taz said that Moxley only bleeds on days ending in Y, and Excalibur previously said a strong breeze would make him bleed). Mox has been hugely hurt by these diminishing returns, and if he insists on bleeding so much, he might need some time away altogether for the audience to recalibrate. I think I saw Ibushi once before, other than a highlight reel of neck bumps. He did not impress me. His strikes either were too slow or had too much distance. Not to marginalize everyone and their work, because they worked hard, had a big match, anchored a big show, etc., but this was a bit of a letdown. Having said that, Claudio and PAC are now on a collision course, so that will be a banger. Also, what is up with a Red Cross ad when people are bleeding superfluously?"
[9.0] "First time a Blood and Guts / Wargames match has ever really clicked for me. This gave a reason for this match's existence - Creative spots between two rings, the entrances one by one making it ADHD proof, and of course, BLOOD AND GUTS! Broken glass, bed of nails, and the fork were making me cringe in the best way. Also, what the hell is up with this crowd chanting WE WANT TABLES during a match like this? Like, ok, sure, but do you see everything else that's happening in here? A great showcase of Kota Ibushi as well, but that seems to be a bit of a controversial take. (I'm not super familiar with his work)"
[9.0] "An absolute treat of a match given to us on free tv! Was very happy that an hour was given for the entire match, was plenty of time and could have went on for much longer. Whether this is the blow off or not Id be happy either way. Build to this match was near perfection and i much enjoyed the inclusion of PAC. Could have built him joining BCC up a bit more but was a welcoming return for him. Wasnt the strongest blood & guts match theyve ever had but was incredible all the way through nonetheless. Seemed like a lackluster debut for Kota but still was amazing to see him in an AEW ring and he had a couple of spots that made up for the slow start he had in the match but wouldve liked to see a bit more action from him. Hangman & Omegas brief teamwork left me more excited to see if that leads anywhere in the near future rather than the golden lovers but hopefully that develops into a triple threat of some sorts down the line. Plenty of stories to be built off of this match & still blown away we get this type of gold on weekly TV."
[8.0] "There was a lot to like here, and a couple issues that kept this from reaching perfect score. Liked - A strong opening segment with Kenny and Claudio, the two most heavy hitting wrestlers on either team. Some creative and shocking spots: PAC stomping one of the Bucks through the table, Matt dropping down the tacks for the double slams was cool, the bed of nails looked gnarly. Kenny of course, as the current big babyface, takes the hardest ass kicking in several different spots until he's inevitably saved by the debuting Kota Ibushi. And I really liked the ending with Hanger and the Bucks choking out Yuta. The numbers game was always with the BCC, but once the numbers ran out, the bond between the Elite gives them the win. Dislikes - Kota did not look good tonight. Whatever that spot was with Takeshita was a sloppy mess, and he was missing kicks and just generally looked lost. The camera work was a miss tonight - missed Moxley tapping out on behalf of Yuta, too many big spots filmed at a distance, repeatedly cut away from Kenny and Kota instead of letting their in-ring reunion have a single highlighted moment. Ending thought - lot of story potential coming out of this. Pac has made an enemy of Claudio. The Hung Bucks were wearing Dark Order colors. Takeshita and Kenny have a score to settle over Don Callis."
[8.0] "Insanely brutal from start to finish. Claudio Castagnoli and Kenny Omega starting things off reminded me of how much of a dream match that is. Especially at this stage of their careers. Going right to PAC was a great story touch based on the history The Bastard has with Omega and the story that seems to be developing between he and Castagnoli. Bringing in Adam Page to flash back to the days of he and Omega holding tag team gold was simply awesome. And then Jon Moxley showed up and this match took one heck of a turn. The violence that these 10 wrestlers cooked up needs to be seen to be believed. Omega eating a Shotgun Dropkick into that board of spikes, and then being Scoop Slammed onto it shortly thereafter, was bonkers. Kota Ibushi returning the favor for his Golden Lover by kicking Moxley onto that same board and then crushing him with a Moonsault onto it was mindblowing. I am thoroughly convinced that Moxley had a dent in his back after that. All of this and I nearly forgot the shards of glass. Throw in a number of incredible sequences from the unfathomably smooth Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson and Wheeler Yuta defying death atop the structure, and the emotion of Kota Ibushi debuting in AEW, and this was a great experience. We even got to see Konosuke Takeshita in the ring with some of the biggest names in the company and look completely in his element. The finish was certainly surprising, but the stories were intriguing. PAC leaving BCC behind because his tolerance for them was limited off the bat, and Takeshita walking out because Don Callis sensed the impending doom. Nice touches. Throw in PAC pulling out one of the best spots I have ever seen with the Double Foot Stomp, and this was one of the best TV matches of the year. 4.25 stars, 8.5 out of 10."
[9.0] "I mean this was just pure violence. right choice for the order of the entrants as everyone got their licks in. some highlights include multiple suplexes on the glass and tacks, pac SWINGING OFF THE CAGE INTO A FOOT STOMP. Ibushi definitely wasnt perfect but its just great seeing him back. plus the moonsault onto the nail boards was sick. honestly if this match had a good camera crew it would be basically perfect but they missed a lot of crucial spots including the ending which is thought was genuinely a fantastic one. great way to end the feud. oh and i also believed that they were gonna throw yuta off the cage for a second and that would have been the greatest moment in wrestling history. outstanding match"
[9.0] "This was obviously going to be sick and it was. Half the time I was just cringing at the wild things they were doing, the broken glass, the thumbtacks, the bed of nails! The match was a little chaotic which I think lowered its quality, I did like Pac leaving though, fits his character and it was kind of iconic. Takeshita leaving also made sense, but it honestly was a shame he didn't get to shine a little more in this match. I think I missed some goods spots during the picture in picture commercials, but that's the cost of having this match on weekly tv. Overall, this was a fitting ending to the feud between the BCC and Elite and I'm excited to see what they move on to."
[7.0] "Out of the three Blood and Guts matches this one was second best. The BCC/Eddie & PnP vs JAS one improved on a lot of the first B&G match but this one didn't do as much personally. While there were crazy things like the glass and bed of nails, there were surprisingly few people bleeding compared to the previous two even from guys who normally blade like Omega, Bucks, & Hangman, with Mox obviously bleeding a lot and Yuta only really bleeding during the finish of the match. There doesn't need to be a crazy bump off the cage in everyone of these and I liked that Yuta turned away from that. I feel like a feud that started with Hangman and Mox trying to hurt each other that Hangman really didn't have that much that he did in this match compared to the Three Elite who felt like the main characters of the match. Ibushi's big debut was very underwhelming. I don't know if his big injury really took it out of him or just the fact he hasnt wrestled in months has some rust, but he didn't look good here compared to what he's put out the rest of his career. The other biggest issue I have is that AEW's production was terrible and seems to always be a bit terrible in these kind of matches. Camera cutting away from guys doing moves to other ring shots or guys outside while missing a big spot, Yuta putting a Buck through a chair or for some reason having to show one of the Bucks climbing down the cage by himself instead of focusing on the action in the ring."
[10.0] "An iconic WarGames or Blood and Guts match. The action was spectacular throughout and thankfully didn't even rely on "Murder Ibushi" or "jumping off the cage" spots to tell a story. BCC was a fake team, Danielson was gone, they had to get mercenaries of PAC and Takeshita. The Elite, as many issues as they had come together for a common goal. It was definitely an ending to maximize the angle of a team of friends vs a team randomly put together with different goals bonded by hate It really hit when Mox surrendered for Yuta, two of the guys on Team BCC that actually have a bond (a bond of blood but still a bond) Also successfully completely leaves the door open for a real fully formed BCC with Danielson vs The Elite because The Elite didn't really beat the full BCC and an obvious Claudio vs PAC match at the ROH show. Oh and PAC's stomp through the table was fucking sick too, I liked that a lot. BTW EDDIE WOULD NOT HAVE BETRAYED YOU MOX, YOU TRUSTED RANDOM MFS. If you learn anything from this match, it's fighting for and with your friends"
[10.0] "Easy five stars for me. First, I will say that I don't really like the ending. PAC and Takeshita leaving felt rushed and a little weird, but that still doesn't detract from the match overall. This was so insanely brutal and crazy. With spots like the raining thumbtacks, and the bed of needles, absolutely crazy. I really liked how every man was able to shine and have great moments individually. Kenny, Moxley, and the Young Bucks were my MVPs in this match. I loved this so much and, to me, this is the best Blood and Guts match in AEW history, so far. (*****)"
[10.0] "This Blood & Guts for me was the best of all, it mixed very well a good fight with a great storytelling, from the arrival of Ibushi to save his Lover until PAC and Takeshita abandoned the fight, showing that despite the BCC being stronger , they lacked the unity and power of friendship that the Elite have. It was also a great way to end one of the best rivalries in AEW history, which contained several twists, several fantastic matches and opens up for more stories to come (such as Claudio vs. PAC and Moxley vs. Eddie). 10/10 (*****)"
[6.0] "This shit was mid as fuck. So underwhelming and I didnt even have high expectations beforehand. Most of this shit looked so fucking phony. Its not even far fetched to say that the people who looked the best here were Kenny, Claudio, & Takeshita. Hangman just kinda got tossed to the side for most of it. Both Jacksons hit an unnecessary amount of super kicks. Theyve helped kill that move as anything meaningful like it used to be with Shawn Michaels. I dont even know what the fuck Yuta was doing. Two teams enter Blood & Guts in order to be contained in a blood feud, so what does he do? He leaves the damn cage. What the fuck! ? As for Moxley, he did a clear blade job in view of the camera. Its not even like someone was in the way to conceal it. I dont even know what busted Yuta open. The thumbtack boot was dumb just like it was last time. Ibushi was so underwhelming too. This match was partially built around his debut and reunion with the Elite, yet he looked terrible here. The man let himself go and had way less muscle. His strikes barely connected and they looked extremely weak when he was doing the ground and pound with Mox. I could go on and on, but I dont want to talk about this waste of 50 minutes any longer. Im only giving it *** at best. This is only because of that great table spot with PAC and one of the Jacksons. That was easily the best part of the entire match."
[8.0] "A solid blood and guts match that was in parts fun and brutal. Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega were both massive mvps of this match as they both put their bodies through hell and high-water to make this match work. Ibushi's debut was also done very well; an obvious choice to enter last throughout the match (I just wish that they did something with the idea of the advantage like the forbidden door match last year instead of just hamfisting it in with a coin flip). The action afterwards was fantastic still and there were great character moments for both Takeshita and PAC in that span that really helped this match. 8/10"
[10.0] "The best Blood and Guts AEW have put on. With the restrictions of ad breaks and production issues aside, this was an amazing match full of brilliant storytelling. BCC trusting in mercs to get the job done, then being abandoned on the battlefield, as their golden boy gets tortured was a great ending. Not only was the storytelling great though, they really lived up to the name Blood and Guts with some of the weapons and spots. Seeing Ibushi back with Kenny and The Elite too, was a really special moment, and this is the type of match that will go down in AEW history."
[8.0] "When Ibushi came out and started walking to the ring with No Urgency and knocking out each member of the BCC with a single punch to get to Mox, I realized this match was an all-timer. The bed of nails man..... OMG! Kenny why do you agree to do this stuff man? ! When Ibushi kicked Mox and he fell on said bed of nails and then proceeded to do a moonsault on said bed of nails I was so happy. The spot where Nick went to the top and started suplexing Yuta and faked us out with dropping the thumbtacks from the ceiling was so clever! Ibushi looked kinda rough out there. Seemed like he was gassing and he's missed some spots but it's fine because he made up for it by straight up kicking mox in the face with a front kick lol, he's such a king for doing that. Match ending may be controversial but it makes sense that 5 unified friends beat a team of 3 close friends and 2 hired goons, can never trust people like that. I guess the real blood and guts were all the friends we made along the way! good match."
[9.0] "This was probably the best Blood And Guts/WarGames match All Elite Wrestling has ran. It was a physical bloody war, and all 10 men took some heavy bumps for our enjoyment. But I do think these matches in AEW just have a few things holding them back from hitting the level of WarGames 91 & 92. For starters the commercial breaks kill all the suspense and flow, which is an easy fix considering Tony Khan has tweeted several times he can get ad-free episodes whenever he wants. Secondly, I think the whole leaving the cage stuff, it really goes against the match type. These are, we hate each other so much we're trapping ourselves within the most brutal match possible and we won't leave until it ends. Then issues exclusive to this match, PAC & Takeshita both surrendered but the match kept going, why? And none of The Elite really use submissions, so there was very few attempts at actually trying to win in this one with a submission. Negatives aside, this was a war. The bed of nails was brutal, the glass and tacks were gnarly as always. Good match. 8.5, but for Cagematch I'll go 9."
[10.0] "This was easily the best war games match i have ever seen.the moment kota ibushi stepped in with mox trambling omegas hand was amazing.the thumbtacks going through the roof was the most creative moment here.pac doing a double stomp from the top to the table was a very great moment.it had many amazing sequences the mvps for me were the youngbucks and takeshita.I cant stress this enough but a great way of judging a match this long is "did it feel an hour long" and fr this thing flew by.my nitpicks are that the ending was a lil bit anticlimactic not the pac leaving thing but the actual finish."
[10.0] "Best Blood & Guts in AEW history. Not even a question. This was absolute carnage, I loved the ending. Babyfaces being pretty much destroyed until heels started arguing and started leaving. Maybe my favourite Blood and Guts match and that's still cleared the crazy high bar these matches have set in terms of brutality. Bring on Pac/Claudio. Bro, Matt Jackson raining thumbtacks from up on top of the cage, down below, as the Elite back body drop Claudio and PAC on top of them was GREAT. Tony signed off this matchs approved moves like an iTunes agreement"
