[5.0] "Not a bad match but kind of dragged but due to the Keith Lee not being able to compete it was an angle turned match which wasn't bad but it went a little long."
[4.0] "Whose house? Well...this was strange booking. Normally I praise TK for being a important and huge matchmaker, but as a booker he often make some mistakes that cannot happen. Keith Lee wasn't able to wrestle? Cancel this shit and move the time of this into Moxley vs Eddie, or better, BOOK A BETTER PAY PER VIEW NEXT TIME DUMBASS"
[1.0] "Have absolutely no idea what the thought behind this was, or even if there was any thought behind this since this was a last minute replacement for what probably wouldve been an absolute banger between Swerve and Keith. But to open with an injury angle and then go the distance is ridiculous no matter whos doing it, let alone the promotions hottest star and a 50 year old. This wouldve been a great way for Swerve to keep getting heat if it ended after the bell rung in a squash, but Dustin going the distance with an injured leg? Getting multiple nearfalls with an injured leg? Disgusting booking."
[5.0] "Psychologically, this makes many choices and in truth, very few of them add up. Naturally, that limits the ceiling, as does the circumstance which ensures a pretty tepid response at the first bell. However, these two can't help but produce some engaging pro wrestling in spite of that, even if it's entirely at odds with the logical route. Clearly, it's complicated, but the performances keep this just about afloat in my book. **1/2"
[6.0] "Another match on this show that it seemed I enjoyed more than most. That said, though, this wasn't the absolute best or anything. I did appreciate Rhodes not just getting squashed, but I did simultaneously feel like that this dragged just a bit at times."
[3.0] "It's a shame that Keith Lee wasn't able to compete here, I was really looking forward to this match, one that has been expected for a long time. I've really liked what they did before the start, with Swerve completely brutalizing Dustin and hurting him, if it was up to me that would be the booking, because it would establish Swerve like a ruthless heel and deliver a message to Keith Lee that his replacement wasn't even able to start the match, but unfortunately they didn't followed that direction. Then, Dustin showed resilience and wanted to started the match, and over again they didn't followed what I wanted, a squash, to show that even with all the courage of the world Swerve was able to hurt him and easily beat that competition. Instead of all that, they went for a wrong way in my opinion, a long and boring match with a destructed Dustin able to hit some moves and not make Swerve look strong. Awful booking and unnecessary match... not Dustin's fault at all though - {*1/2}"
[2.0] "[1.0*] Ridiculously bad match. Everything concerning this was bad. The booking was just goddamn awful. Dustin Rhodes, a man that I love but this time was the hero that nobody needed. It almost made Swerve Strickland, the most over star on the company, look like a geek. His comeback was shit and the crowd was fully with Swerve, as they just should. It was a bad decision for everyone involved."
[3.0] "Keith Lee was injured and Dustin Rhodes took his place and it's sad that we didn't get Swerve Vs Keith. As for this match, it should've have really been a match and it felt like a step back for Swerve after his game changing feud with Hangman Page and him continuing to become AEW's next big thing."
[6.0] "For an impromptu match, it was actually quite good. A 50 year old Dustin can still move and despite this match feeling like a setback for Swerve, the man looked like a beast as he tore apart one of the most beloved wrestlers on the planet in Dustin. Bloody, violent match. Its sad that we didn't get Keith Vs Swerve though. ***"
[2.0] "Very weird match that made Swerve look like he had trouble putting away a weakened and old Dustin Rhodes. Similar to the main event in that way. Not a fan of the booking or the match in general since it didn't really accomplish anything other than be filler for a PPV."
[2.0] "Really not the best use of Swerve at this point and time in his ascent. I like Dustin Rhodes but it always feels like he is required to look strong when he's never been a serious threat and that was especially apparent here. A few months later Swerve is champ and Rhodes has done nothing, so yeah."
[1.0] "I started watching AEW in June of last year and I've watched every PPV since Forbidden Door 2023 and this is the first PPV match I've seen that has genuinely annoyed me. Why have one of the hottest stars in all of wrestling and a guy that has been portrayed as a killer struggle to beat an old man who had his ankle shattered before the match. That alone would have been bad enough but Dustin no sold the ankle most of the match. Should have just been an angle to set up the Swerve vs Keith Lee match that was meant to happen here but didn't and is an even bigger reason to just do an angle instead of a match."
[6.0] "I don't even understand how good Swerve is at the moment, he's capable of getting a good match out of a fifty something years old man that wasn't that good in his prime anyway. His looks, his performance, everything clicks and is interesting."
[5.0] "From the storyline's perspective, Keith Lee vs. Swerve Strickland deserved a full stop way earlier. But, the creative weaseled a way to prolong the never-ending saga, and I was glad when the rubber match was announced. However, Lee had to deal with his health (again, scares me about his future) and was replaced by Dustin. There was no disrespect to the legend who brought a ton of old-school essence into his work, and both men clicked very well, but the heat dissipated when the match happened, which made the pre-match assault by Swerve pointless. 2.5 out of 5 stars!"
[1.0] "Alas, this is imprudent. Initially, we were supposed to have another match, but due to the emergency situation, we got what we got. A protracted squash of a wrestling legend. Dustin had no less a cool career than Sting. And unlike the latter, he can still put on good matches, but how differently they are used... Dustin deserves better! 3/4 (and only thanks to Prince Nana's dancing)"
[3.0] "If you rang the bell and Swerve just pinned Dustin, this would have been perfectly inoffensive. For Dustin, a man in his 50s, to take one of AEW's hottest stars to the limit on one leg (sold selectively) was baffling."
[5.0] "I thought this was a solid match but completely heatless and uninteresting. Dustin can still go and Swerve is one of the most charismatic wresters in the world but things never worked out between these two. It's not their fault they even have good chemistry, but nobody cared about this match and therefore the action just dragged for almost 10 minutes. I liked the cinder block spot at the beginning and both men's offense looked good but I wasn't invested at all. Also the crowd in this match sucked, they completely ruined all of Dustin's comebacks as they were constantly chanting for Swerve. Forgettable but far from awful. 5/10 - 2.75*/5*"
[5.0] "This wasn't supposed to be a match, this was an angle furthering the ascent of Swerve after the cursed Keith Lee match was removed again. Was it PPV worthy? No, but for a last-minute change, it was a fine angle. Swerve looked cool, couple of neat spots, totally fine."
[3.0] "More an angle than a match, Swerve just steamrolled on Dustin. I understand it's the backup plan but it shouldn't be a match, an angle would've been good."
[2.0] "I don't think this was the right match for the show or Swerve. Didn't hurt him but it was a waste of him and I think if a heel like him is getting cheered then you've gone wrong somewhere. Dustin Rhodes getting beatdown before the match and still having a match of any length is questionable."
[1.0] "This was a dumb match. Dustin Rhodes has been doing the same thing everytime he gets on TV or PPV where he's old but oh wait he's still got fight in him. I just don't need to ever see that kind of match and here it was especially lame because this wasn't even supposed to happen."
[2.0] "Im sorry, but this isnt the game I signed up for. Swerve is damn cool and the time with the cement block was especially cool but after that... Dusty is no longer the shadow of himself and therefore difficult to keep pace. The end was cool though, perhaps what will raise the note. Disappointed again not to have had Lee."
[4.0] "Another match that went way too long. It sucks that we didn't get the Swerve/Lee match that was promised. I get why Dustin Rhodes was the substitute storyline-wise, but we all knew he had no real chance here. The fact that Swerve brutalized him beforehand and then still took ten minutes to finish him off is just absurd. I love Swerve and have lots of respect for Dustin, but this ain't it. **"
[7.0] "Yea, I admit that they should've done the injury angle AFTER this match ended INSTEAD of doing it before the bell rang. However, with that being said, this was still a good match with Swerve Strickland vs Dustin Rhodes which might've served as a swan song for the latter in AEW."
[5.0] "The injury angle they did was perfect, but for some reason they ran a 9 minute match too? Dustin Rhodes somehow wrestled a match after getting a cinder block smashed over his leg! Swerve worked over the leg during the match, Dustin sold his ass off and got in a good comeback before Swerve just ended up killing him in the end.**1/2"
[5.0] "That match itself was decent, but didn't need to exist at all. Swerve should, at least, squash Dustin, and go like a dominant act on his next feud. (**3/4)."
[3.0] "What was the point of the cinderblock angle when Rhodes ended up having a lot of offense in by the end. Did not make sense to me. I get you need to Swerve to wrestle and I know that him and Keith were going to have a lot of time, but just should have let Swerve absolutely squash him in a sub 5 minute match. Did not need to be this long."
[3.0] "It paints me to review this one as I have to, but this match honestly was a mess. A replacement match for Swerve vs Keith Lee, this one honestly could've either been just the cinderblock angle to Rhodes' ankle or a short match, or they could've thrown the spot into the match proper. Instead, we're left with a match that takes up nearly 20 minutes of PPV time that plods along with not much chemistry. Dustin Rhodes tried his best to get the crowd behind him and both he and Swerve gave good performances, but the crowd just weren't there to cheer for anybody but Swerve. Didn't need to be on the PPV. 1.75/5."
[3.0] "Not a good match at all. Served no purpose beyond making Swerve look foolish for not being able to quickly dispatch an old man that he assaulted before the match even started."
[3.0] "This seemed like an angle but they threw in a match with it too and it didn't need to have that. Dustin Rhodes was playing the role of a sympathetic babyface and yet the crowd cheered Swerve unanimously."
[3.0] "This match didn't need to happen or be anywhere near this long. They were caught between a rock and a hard place trying to get the people to cheer for Dustin over Swerve. I just hope Swerve doesn't make a full face turn any time soon. Nana is enough comedic relief to allow Swerve to still be a brutal heel whilst also being a fan favourite. If this still had to be a match after the injury angle, it should have been a short but violent beatdown which felt like a message to Keith Lee."
[6.0] "Unfortunate timing in real life booked this confusing matchup, but I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I genuinely enjoyed this. It went on for way too long, but it did make Swerve look like ruthless. It should have been more of a squash, but Dustin did well with what he could and I admire them for trying something so weird and out of the box. Swerve's arm-snap looked disgusting. Could've been cool to see them have an actual, non-angle match but it is what it is. In contrast to most other matches on this PPV, Swerve/Dustin is unique enough to be remembered."
[0.0] "I don't know what the hell they were waiting for... this match should never have happened in the first place. The match began with Dustin receiving a brutal punishment on his leg and then minutes of timeout. They tried to get something out of it for the crowd but obviously this was never going to work, quite unpresentable. For a few moments they tried to play with feelings a little by making it seem like they had a great rivalry, disrespecting each other and all that, although it was clearly not credible at all."
[5.0] "Let's be clear Strickland's Place in this show should have been be the first AEW Triple Crown Champion not getting an easy win on Dustin. That being said they did their best to get an interesting match but at the end of the day the result is a decent but boring bout. Rhodes' comeback was good. **1/2"
[4.0] "They did their best to make this something, but there's only so much you can get out of a rusty Dustin Rhodes with less than 12 hours of prep time."
[7.0] "So much baseless hate on a legend like Dustin, it's saddening. I thought this match was well done, considering the circumstances of its late booking. I liked that Dustin didn't simply get squashed in 2 minutes like a lot of people were frothing at the mouth for. Both did a great job and it was an enjoyable and succinct mini-drama only Dustin could have pulled off last-minute."
[3.0] "What a waste of a hot talent like Swerve Strickland, I get that Keith Lee got hurt again but...why did they put Swerve against Dustin Rhodes of all people ? Match went too long, no matter how hard they tried to make Dustin look good the crowd didn't give a shit and was behind Swerve. Useless match, I don't think Swerve got anything good out of that match. Swerve should have just beat the shit out of that old guy in 2 minutes and be done with it."
"Given that he's near the end of his career, and there was no time to plan out much of a match, Rhodes looked very good here. I'm kinda biased as he's one of my all-time favourite wrestlers, and any match of his at this point is a bonus. The pre-match angle with the cinderblock was a good way of covering up any rustiness, although something a little less severe might have looked better. I'd love to see another bout between these with full preparation time, but it was better than could really have been expected under the circumstances.""
[6.0] "Both guys do their best to bring something to this match, and Swerve could make a match with a paper bag look good. It's unfortunate that Keith couldn't wrestle, and I think Dustin did the best he could considering his age and the last minute nature of the match. It wasn't the match anyone wanted, but they did the best they could in a bad situation, and their best was pretty good."
[6.0] "Unfortunately it wasn't the match that was scheduled for this PPV, but both fighters gave their best and Swerve achieved a convincing victory that continues his path towards the AEW world title. 3 stars."
[2.0] "Dumbest thing ever, why was this even a competitive match? I really thought the injury angle would be the end but then a 10 min match after? Surely swerve didnt benefit from.this and Dustin definitely doesnt because who cares about him in 2023. I know theres time to fill, but find something else."
[1.0] "What the hell was this? I mean nobody wanted to see this match and Dustin Rhodes still had to get all of his shit in despite being completely irrelevant in AEW basically since Cody left. Pure filler that's just generally insulting to put on a PPV at this point."
[4.0] "As big fans of both men I was actually genuinely excited to see that Dustin was replacing Keith and getting a PPV match...however this was incredibly disappointing. Once again as my Riho complaint from the match previous Dustin hasn't been seen as a serious singles competitor since the very early stages of AEW so the lack of screen time, character, and absolutely no story (no ones fault on the story part) leading into this match could have been a springboard for Dustin to tear it down with superb in ring between the two but instead we got an entire 9 minute match that dragged on with Swerve attacking the leg/ankle the entire time. I understand wanting to make Swerve look strong...but why not use a different talent and respect Dustin if you are going that route? I could understand if this led into a character change or story for just Rhodes but it wont. No point in this match."
[2.0] "Was shocked when i was this match went 9m, it legitimately felt like 25. Match should've just been cut or much shorter. Could have completely done without the cinderblock injury babyface fire thing they were going for. I get why they did it but i couldn't care about this match at all. felt like a waste of time. This dude got his ankle shattered supposedly and then goes and is on top for a lot of the match, whatever man"
[3.0] "Oh boy, this was not good. I respect Swerve and Dustin Rhodes the most, but this match should have never happened. When Lee was announced to be out, Tony Khan should have put Swerve in the All-Star tag match. Dustin looked liked he was not ready for the match and used the pre-match attack as an excuse to get out of wrestling decent. This match could have nearly buried Swerve, but hopefully his stock remains high . *1/2"
[2.0] "Should have ended after the pre match breakdown. 50+ year old man has ankle shattered on a brick and is then allowed to compete and hits moves he has no business trying given the injury angle. Another total miss. Should have been a quick squash with no offense for Dustin."
[6.0] "Given that he's near the end of his career, and there was no time to plan out much of a match, Rhodes looked very good here. I'm kinda biased as he's one of my all-time favourite wrestlers, and any match of his at this point is a bonus. The pre-match angle with the cinderblock was a good way of covering up any rustiness, although something a little less severe might have looked better. I'd love to see another match between these with full preparation time, but it was better than could really have been expected under the circumstances."
[3.0] "There's absolutely no reason this match should've gone longer than a minute or two. Not only was Rhodes a last-minute replacement against the hottest heel act in the company (AEW booking a PPV match with a guy they weren't sure could be there was an interesting choice to begin with but I digress), but he gets the Annie Wilkes treatment before the match. Really after that attack the match didn't even need to take place. Instead we get almost ten minutes of Rhodes getting his ass kicked and a couple of squashed hope spots. Bell, House Call, Swerve Stomp, go home. If y'all need to fill out an extra 9 minutes of content there's 8 other matches you could pad out, or bring up a Zero Hour match. Really bad decision here and an indictment on Tony Khan's booking and insistence on making every match more competitive than it might need to be. Like the match was fine but really a drag during the absolute two-hour slog that was this event's midcard."
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