[10.0] "I'm a Sucker for these violent cluster-F matches and this was my personal match of the year. No other match left me as thoroughly awestruck and speachless as this. It was an all out war, and all 10 of these guys looked like stars. They left it all out there. No question unanswered. Armfulls of chairs, a basket of thumbtacks, Special props go to Alex Coughlin. He was a total beast in what was probably the last showcase in his tragically short career. The final stretch where everything went fully off the rails was excellent. All the Empire was down, it was just down to the last man in Ospreay, And his Body gave out before his spirit. It's that dramatic stuff i love in wrestling. An unforgettable sendoff for Will ospreay, and a star making win for the War Dogs."
[9.0] "I haven't been wowed by any particular War Games matches that have been done recently. That includes Blood & Guts. Not to say the matches have been bad, but nothing extraordinary. Leave it to NJPW to do an amazing War Games-esque match. It really isn't as violent as people made it out to be when this happened, but there were a few spots here and there that made you wince a little. The last 10 minutes involving the War Dogs just completely decimating UE was great to see too, and it was a fitting end to what would be Will Ospreay's NJPW career. My favorite part of the match, was Callum Newman just being handcuffed for a good 50 minutes on the outside, wriggling around whenever someone came in, including his teammates who didn't even bother to help him. It was a nice touch of comedy. One of the best Cage matches in years, arguably ever as well. Will have to watch the one NJPW did during the year of this writing. ****3/4"
[9.0] "[6/6] Not the most violent match I've seen, but this was a goddamn war, hell a public execution at times. It was an amazing story with little I would change."
[10.0] "While the makeshift steel cage setup and stage production might come off as amateurish by modern standards, the storytelling and sheer volume of high-impact spots in this match collectively surpass anything I've seen from WWE's WarGames or AEW's Blood and Guts. United Empire and BULLET CLUB War Dogs delivered a cage match masterclass worthy of being studied as a textbook example - proving that cage quality matters less than creative content, and that the structure itself should enhance rather than dictate the action. These six warriors (five War Dogs plus Finlay) redefined villainous intensity, arguably becoming the most compelling iteration of Bullet Club in history. United Empire flawlessly balanced Ospreay's farewell narrative with their own pre-match storytelling. A word of caution amidst the brilliance: Such matches shouldn't become routine. The post-stage-destruction sequences bordered on unsafe, particularly Coughlin's knee slamming into the loosened wooden boards and subsequent high-risk spots atop the compromised structure. The physical toll was extreme - from blade job intensity to Henare's gruesome handcuff spot. While New Japan's boldness is commendable, safety protocols need tightening. Ultimately, this wasn't just Ospreay's swan song. The true stars were War Dogs' evolution and United Empire's next-gen fire: Gabe Kidd and Henare embody New Japan's high-octane future, while Akira/Coughlin/Moloney/Clark/Newman show promising (if unpolished) potential. Veterans like Cobb, TJP and Finlay bridge the gap during this talent exodus era. Watching this battered roster pour their souls into the ring amidst New Japan's current struggles? That's pro wrestling poetry."
[6.0] "One of the more conflicting matches to rate. I thought the guys really put a lot of effort to make this feel like a war. There was plenty of aggression, some attempts at unique spots (e.g. tearing up the ring) and plenty of blood to add a feeling of hate between the teams. Unfortunately, it went far too long and lost its momentum (and the crowd) on multiple occasions, particularly in the latter half. By about half way through it felt everyone had their spot already and was beaten up so I wasn't sure where they could go, and sure enough the pace fell off a cliff. Attempts at being unique really just ended up making things look awkward and sloppy such as guys slipping through planks in the ring and just looking uncomfortable and uncertain. Overall this worked in some ways and failed in others. I respect the effort but it's not an all time 'war games' style match for me at all. ***1/4"
[10.0] "Absolutely amazing, all 10 men went all out with this and put on a bloody war. I honestly think it was better than both war games & blood and guts of that year, and being will Ospreay last (contracted) match of new Japan makes it so much better. It was the perfect send off for Ospreay & it also put over bullet club, for me at least. 9.6/10"
[9.0] "By far the best cage match I have ever seen. All 10 members of this match put on an absolute war that never ceased to shock and amaze. Star making performances from all members of the War Dogs, with Coughlin and Kidd being the huge standouts throughout. Akira, TJP and HENARE also had amazing showings, with Akira's shift in character from being afraid of the cage and violence to being arguably the most violent and sadistic man in the match. The final showdown of Ospreay being surrounded by the War Dogs amidst his fallen Empire and basically admitting defeat to Finlay is some of the most emotive and cinematic storytelling that New Japan has ever produced. A beautiful and destructive masterpiece."
[10.0] "Even though I gave it a very high rating, it was definitely one of the worst matches for all 10 wrestlers. They all suffered in the ring and gave their all to perform great. I feel so bad every time I see this match I don't know, maybe it's just me I don't know how to feel about this match..."
[9.0] "(9) Wow, one of the most brutal matches I have seen to date. So much happened from start to finish i can hardly remember it all, some ridiciulous bumps and spots throughout. Kidd vs Henare was so sick and that final hit looked insane. Match felt like it was maybe going on for a bit long until the War Dogs started tearing up the ring and genuinely started making me nervous with the wooden planks moving all over the place. Ospreay throwing Akira out of the ring before eating Finlays finisher was fantastic as well. 1h+ Long match that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. A very emotional and pyhsical match that could have been even better if I had gone into the match without knowing a bunch of the spots. What a fantastaic final NJPW match for Ospreay."
[10.0] "An absurd match. It was brutal and had great action throughout. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad this was Will Ospreay's last match in NJPW, really amazing."
[9.0] "Probably the best war games, car crash match ever. Ospreay's NJPW send off put over War Dogs huge. The only bad thing is that this match ended the promising career of Alex Coughlin, as this was probably the most dangerous match in some time. But they did it and it's still talked about today. Was the most watched match on NJPWWorld in 2024."
[7.0] "It's complicated. Through 25 minutes, this gets WarGames far more than most of the era's renditions, sporting a genuine edge and maintaining the heat-hot tag formula. There are strong performances within that portion too, with Clark Connors shining especially bright. At half an hour, they are stumbling on believable and fitting finishes but unfortunately, this refuses to end. Under any circumstances, this runtime would be excessive but their outline makes it even more baffling, actively crossing the finishing line four or five times over. By the end, it borders on parody, closing with a ridiculously vain "cutscene" that's desperate for a drama that left long ago. There's a lot of good in here, it's just hidden away by the degree to which they overextend themselves. A shame really, but it's certainly not forgettable. ***1/4"
[10.0] "I'm not joking when I say that this is most likely my favorite New Japan match EVER. This was just pure insane carnage and violence told inside of an amazing story with all sorts of twists and turns and exciting things outside of it. The fact that Ospreay was known to be leaving and this was his last match. The story that they did where we weren't sure if Francesco Akira was going to leave the Empire for the War Dogs. The UE young boy Callum Newman being brought out as psychological torture and to taunt Ospreay. The fact that Finlay stated that he was going to pin Ospreay and put him down, leading to all of the other Empire members being taken out and handcuffed to the cage. And then even the wild stuff like HENARAE having to get almost his entire head wrapped in bandages that became soaked with blood but he kept fighting. Or the ring boards being ripped apart and making everything feel more dangerous and violent. This match is an absolute spetacle and incredible to witness. I LOVE this match."
[7.0] "[3.5*] NJPW just gave the other companies a lesson of how you do a War Games match. This was way more brutal and insane than the Blood and Guts, and at the same time had a very better and more complex storytelling than the Survivor Series War Games. And PLEASE, I am not saying that to incite hate or anything like that, I am just giving praise to a company who has 1000x less money and did a better job. They just defeated the two biggest companies of the world on their own major purposes, lmao. All the spots made sense, the 10 men had time to shine and the MVPs were Gabe Kidd and Akira in my opinion. Ospreay did a beautiful job at the ending on putting the Bullet Club over, he looked like he was fucking assassinated and the War Dogs looked like absolute beasts. Awesome Main Event to an awesome PPV. EDIT: After everything this match caused, including a career-ending injury to a 30 years old kid + HENARE almost dying, maybe it was just not as good as I thought it was, because the aftermath was disgraceful. I will give it a penalty of 0.75*. My original rating was 4.25*, I loved it and I will not change a bit, but everything that happened afterwards was just disgraceful."
[7.0] "Really cool spots through out this match, but it goes on way too long. The time intervals are too long. As well as over booked at times. There are really cool shots through out the match though, like Alex Coughlin with the chairs and the end with Ospreay. The car crash of a match is really fun at times though."
[10.0] "This was Ospreay's last match in New Japan so anyone that knows me already knows how I'm gonna feel man, just a complete car-crash for it's entire duration and one of my favorite car crashes at that, this match is so messy in the best way and while obviously that alone means it won't be for everyone, it does mean that it hits hard for those that love it, and this is easily one of my favorite cage matches ever, hard to give it a rating because of just how different it is but I had a 10/10 time watching it so a 10/10 seems like the only logical choice here..."
[1.0] "It's October and i think this match still going. New Japan are the worst promotion booking this kind of metches. The match has no structure and was the most boring thing of the year or even decade (The Miz and Austin Theory are hard to beat). The only thing that moved something inside me was HENARE destroying the chair, but nothing. Dear New Japan, keep doing just Singles Matches. 1/2*."
[10.0] "[5.0*] A beautiful match, far superior to all the Bloods & Guts/War Games style matches currently being made, probably one of the best if not the best in this concept. Even before it started, it provided one of the beautiful moments of the show, which was the huge pop for Will Ospreay, and as soon as the gong sounds, both leaders face each other and begin what would be our 64 minutes of pure violence and bloodshed, already in the first entry, which was from Drilla Moloney (who is a former member of UE but ended up leaving Stable because he found his teammates weak and lax), the mind games began against Billy Goat, he brought in Callum Newman (who had visibly been beaten a lot) to the outside of the cage and handcuffed him there, when he entered it was the beginning of one of the biggest beatings in the history of Wrestling against Ospreay, after some time Henare arrived to help his leader, but the dominance did not It lasted a long time as Clark Connors arrived armed with barbed wire and started to draw blood in this fight that was just beginning. The next to enter was TJP who came with more barbed wire and avenged his companions by skinning Cowboy's entire face on the wire, (after that it was possible to notice something that became Ospreay's pattern during the Fight, whenever he could he hugged his companions with a lot of love and affection to demonstrate the happiness of his last fight being with them, something he had already done with Henare when he arrived) this advantage lasted a short time because when Coughlin entered armed with chairs it was another massacre on the part of the wardogs( And Newman is still stuck there). Coughlin continued until Akira entered, who, unlike everyone else, entered through the crowd and with a kendo stick(during the construction of this rivalry, it was possible to notice a certain fear in Akira in relation to the War Dogs, due to the fact that the attacks lasted from WTL to Wrestle Kingdom and in WK itself when they took a dog collar and hanged him on the ropes where he only didn't pass out because TJP appeared to save him) they managed to dominate the fight for a while, until the arrival of Gabe Kidd , when he arrived, besides having the advantage, he brought more chairs, and with them, he and Coughlin caught TJP and buried him under those chairs and as if that wasn't enough, they even did a Slam with Henare on top of those chairs in the Philippine, if it were any normal fighter, he would be able to stay until the end of the fight without appearing because he was blacked out... The fight was 5x3 for a while until JEFF COBB showed up, that's right, Jeff Cobb, even with his leg completely injured, was there to try to equalize things in this fight, the offensive lasted a while, but soon War Dogs came back to dominate(and the Callum Newman, guess what...) at a moment in the fight where all the members of the United Empire are knocked out, War Dogs catches Akira and comes to finish the fight but as if by magic TJP with the Aswang mask returns to the fight(The aswang which is a creature from Philippine folklore, which can be represented as a werewolf, a vampire. TJP started using the Aswang mask during the rivalry with War Dogs, after the numerous attacks that Catch 2/2 had been suffering, so at WK he promised that he would come in a totally dark way, thus debuting this persona) in this he finds a way to save the team from defeat and both stables begin a frank exchange, where tables were broken, chairs were crossed, and when it seemed like it would be a 5x5 that son of a bitch Gedo appeared, with a barbed table to interfere, but with him came GOK, who in addition to taking Gedo out of the game, he uncuffed Callum Newman (FINALLY) to the delight of everyone present. After many spot changes and more broken tables, the War Dogs handcuffed both Jeff Cobb and Henare. It was only 5x3 and at that moment, BC took advantage of the majority and began to dismantle the ring, which at every moment seemed like it was going to give way. Later on, they erased the TJP, dismantled Akira and Ospreay so as not to see their pupil suffer and sacrificed himself for him, putting an end to this war. There are no words to tell how cool this match was, how interactive with the public and how unpredictable it was, but I can say that like this match it will take years for anything to come close. #Thankyouospreay (Edit: 03/24/2024 today Alex Coughlin announced his retirement from wrestling, as he was injured in that fight, so I wanted to immortalize him in this comment.) #THANKYOUCOUGHLIN"
[9.0] "This completely demolished many other companies cage matches, like War Games or Blood and Guts, and it was one of the best cage matches I've ever saw in my entire life, what a WAR. This was Ospreay's last match in New Japan, so he received a huge pop from the crowd, I think it was the loudest "Ospreay Ospreay" ever from the japanese fans, they really love and respect Will, it was amazing to watch, and he came with a Misawa inspired gear. He started the match with Finlay, it was great, excellent level of wrestling, he asked Finlay to raise their wrestling time to 10-minutes, and Finlay agreed to do 5, in that moment I knew they were not in a hurry and the match would be very long. Everyone here was flawless, BC War Dogs are one of the best Bullet Club incarnations ever, and United Empire really went to war for Ospreay here, it's beautiful when everyone is willing to sacrifice and do crazy shit for a stable to win, and this match encapsulated this feeling perfectly, wrestling is just better when this happens. I can't even describe with precision what this was, I'm sorry, but so many things happened, it felt like a whole journey, a lot of remarkable spots, like Callum Newman being struck for almost one hour and later combining an Oscutter with Will, Great-O-Khan and Gedo interfering, a lot of chairs, tables, kendo stick, ladders and every weapon imaginable, TJP coming back in his demon form, Henare going crazy and even busting his head open, having to comeback later with a protection, and stopping a chair shot with a punch, one of the most badass things ever, that whole sequence with Gabe was nuts. This war had everything, everything that they could do in a match like that they did, it was a ride, I love these insanely long matches. In the end they took the ring protection off, and it was really hard to walk, it was really crumbling, but the fact they were all dead and tired helped. Ospreay going against the five of them in a scene that was almost that Jon Snow shot at the Battle of the Bastards was insane, that whole ending was cinematic, and I've loved the choice of booking. Ospreay was legit looking like a dead body at the end, he was destroyed, everyone was looking like they just got off a real battle, in a real war, and all the Ospreay tributes afterwards were beautiful, just a beautiful match, one of the best cinema-wise wrestling experiences ever, everyone looks bigger after this one. The only bad thing about this match and the one that makes not give a perfect rating, is the fact that many wrestlers here were injured, and Alex Coughlin even RETIRED after the match. I know these things can happen in this dangerous sport, specially in crazy matches like this, but stuff like that shouldn't happen, under any circumstances - {****1/2}"
[5.0] "The WarGames concept has a certain amount of mileage for me, and that is because it's overdone to a dramatic degree these days. There's nothing particularly bad about this match, but it's too long and doesn't connect all that well. I am also not big into many of the wrestlers involved (save for Ospreay, sometimes), and that also prevented me from getting invested, even though I recognized the story going into the match. I won't begrudge anyone for really enjoying what everyone did, but it was not really for me."
[7.0] "Was kinda whatever about most of this, I'm not huge into the Wargames concept because more often than not it leads to half of a match that is sluggish, slow, and waiting to pick up steam. However, the last third of this, from when the canvas gets pulled up onwards, is some really really fun stuff. A complete and total car crash of a match with guys messing up their spots and falling over their own feet. It lends an element of reality to the hardcore spectacle."
[8.0] "I would give a 10, but with Henare and Coughlin's rough injuries due to the exaggerated gimmick moments, it downgrades it for me. Apart from that, the match had this heartbreak vibe as Ospreay would be gone afterwards independent of how it ended, so everybody made it sure it would be worth our time. United Empire and War Dogs showed us exactly how great could it be to have cage matches in New Japan if done correctly. A shocker that the leaders were the ones starting it, and everyone had their moment to shine, in particular, Gabe Kidd entering with a cart of weapons a la New Jack, Henare punching a freaking chair with his bare hands and Akira entering by diving off the top of the cage and going full rage on Moloney were the highlights of the match. However, moments as Coughlin against the kendo sticks, TJP morphing into the Aswang and the Newman/Ospreay Oscutters, while they were cool, added nothing into the match and it took it to nowhere. Props for Jeff Cobb to wrestle already injured, a pity that Coughlin retired thanks to this match and thank God HENARE healed. The ending was sick as hell, as the War Dogs cleared house on the United Empire, leaving Ospreay as the only one remaining, surrounding him like a bunch of sick and wild hyenas preying on a lion. After daring Ospreay to hit a Hidden Blade, Finlay took the chance to have a laugh, and hit the death blow with the Overkill to end a wonderful 7 and half year run in NJPW, that was Will Ospreay's."
[9.0] "I'm not a big fan of no-DQ matches or multi-man cage things like this but wow, this match had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. The build to it was fantastic and everybody delivered on the day. It was chaotic but had so many original and well-worked spots, yet still felt very organic - even though there were clearly injuries and issues that meant things had to be figured out on-the-fly. It was long but constantly interesting - the only down part was when the War Dogs stopped to pull the ring apart. I think if one of them had been doing the dismantling on his own while the match was going on it would have worked much better than stopping the match entirely so they could all do it. But that's the only criticism I have. It was emotional, ridiculous and terrifying, and I'm sure I'll never see a match like it again - and I think I'm quite happy about that."
[7.0] "I thought it was a generally good match, but it was extremely long and extremely messy in a bad way. Almost every spot with a weapon or almost every high spot was done in a way where a person receiving damage walks into it in an extremely obvious way."
[8.0] "It's not surprising that a match this long and chaotic is getting both positive and harsh reviews, but this was everything it should've been. It felt like a proper payoff to this feud and all its layers. The BC guys looked like a killer militant group, while the UE lads all felt uniquely dangerous. A proper mad end to Will Ospreays run in NJPW, and while I understand some of the criticism, some have missed the point entirely. 4.25 Stars."
[10.0] "At one point I thought they missed the peak of this match and ran too long, but once they took off the ring padding it reached all timer status. Ending was perfect. New Japan have perfected the War Games format on their very first try."
[8.0] "I originally rated this a 5. I was tired, I didn't think a single thing would outdo ZSJ vs Danielson beforehand. This doesn't come close, but I was tweaking giving this a 5. HENARE, Kidd and Coughlin steal the show, everyone else feels like an afterthought, and that's okay. Far too long, Ospreay's in it which immediately subtracts a point, but also that slap HENARE lands on Kidd makes every excruciating spot and every second of this feature film worth it."
[9.0] "Truly a shocking watching experience. Still cant believe this match was what it was. Cursed in the best way. Not a MOTY for me but I can understand it being that kind of good to the right audience."
[9.0] "I felt this match was very different from wargames ( I expected this match to be even more similar). This was truly violent and I loved that, especially because every wrestler came in with his particularities, with some stuff etc The more I was seeing the match, the most I felt every member of BC ans UE (more than the leaders), gaining in importance, revealing their strengths, their abilities in the ring. Through this match were able to see many différents confrontations, setting up potentiel incredible matches with the good stipulation added. Not only this match was important for Ospreay, I was hoping he won unfortunately, but this match was important for the entire BC and its leader that certainly wasnt charismatic enough as a leader during the 3/4 of 2023. 2024 will be the rebirth of a violent but still capable of great wrestling BC and I love that. In other words, the storytelling was crazy, the violence was really surprising (in a good way) and the stipulation was wisely used."
[9.0] "First of all, huge props to New Japan, the wrestlers, and the Osaka fans for producing an exceptional war of filth, blood, and grudge. This rivalry is one of the most engaging faction wars NJPW has ever pulled off in a long time, and these guys made sure that the WarGames moniker lived up to its name. From the intense start by the captains, the flow was a classic NJPW-styled "epic" fight which has been a nitpick for a fair share of fans. But I thought that going the distance was a great move, but it could've been under an hour. Some of the set-up moments were plodding, and it would've been done quicker and a few weapon spots were executed rougher than anticipated, making me feel either weird or uncomfortable. However, the rip-off of the ring wasn't comfortable for all, and it suited the style more than anything. Finlay being the one to bring the win made the most sense as he needed something notable to cement his stance as the new leader of BC War Dogs. 4.5 out of 5 stars!"
[10.0] "I only watched this show for the previous match but wow did these guys blow me away. I knew coming into it what Ospreay could do but everyone else was on their A game. This is easily one of the most brutal matches I've ever seen and felt like a war went down. The ending of Ospreay literally dying for his brothers was beautiful and a great send off for him. Hopefully someday down the line he can reunite with the UE to have a rematch with the War Dogs."
[10.0] "The idea of "spectacle" means different things for different people clearly. Sadly in the wrestling world I'd say maybe 70% or so have only ever seen one side of the business and think that means different companies are completely different desperate entities instead of part of the same industry. But really, every wrestling company is like a record label, or a film studio. Every match is like a new album or film to come out. And there for by this logic you have different genres. Most people like the radio pop - Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny equivalents of wrestling. That's fine, but for me, this right here, this is the concept album, prog heavy metal insanity I love in music or the messy intense fight philosophy of a film like John Wick and any movie that dares to follow up after it. People don't like the length here that's fine, and its not perfect really, it is a mess, but everyone has this intense story of desire, love and sacrifice for their faction. Its a unique form of the faction warfare you get from war games and for some reason its way dirtier and I really loved it for that. The ending was not what I expected or wanted and yet it was perfect as well. This is the magic of wrestling, where you though you loved Bruno Mars until you hear the Mars Volta for the first time, or your favorite film is something from the MCU till you finally take a chance on Mad Max Fury Road"
[9.0] "[4.5*] Fed's WarGames and Elite's B&G have never had a match, even with an undeniably larger investment than NJPW, at the same level as UE vs. BC. Now, there has to be the nomenclature of the word war to describe what this 65-minute match was, because thats what happened in the ring. Individual highlight goes to Gabe Kidd, who was the MOTM. What David Finlay did today must also be highlighted, silencing the critics and coming from a notable evolution since his victory in WK18. This is the best version of Bullet Club as a stable in some time, and that will be evident throughout the year."
[8.0] "The concept of the match being Wargames-like is cool. But this match is exceedingly long (1 hour and 4 minutes) and overindulgent. They don't need to go full hour on this. I understand that longer is better but too long and it drags so much. Anyways, the match is very entertaining at the least and very messy in which is so in this environment. An incredible war of attrition. I don't like how Ospreay and Finlay begins the match as they are supposed to be the last to enter since they are the highlights of the match. The match is very brutal, very bloody and almost gory to watch. Some of the amazing spots to watch like Akira throwing himself to the War Dogs from the top of the cage, TJP turning into "aswang", Gabe spinning the ladder like a helicopter rotor, etc. If I made a video highlight for this match, it will be at least 5 minutes of cool and amazing spots alone. But I genuinely believe that it should've end with a Powerbomb to the barbed table spot by Ospreay to Finlay and followed by a Stormbreaker, but they went 20 minutes longer. So, this match will be controversial in so many ways according to perspective. If they decided to end the match earlier, it should've been a 5-star match. Unfortunately, they decided to make the match longer which reduces my rating. Although they are still creative on what they're doing but I hope they should compress all of it in less than 40 minutes, and justifiably so since there are ten people in there. It's like it took forever to do this match and they are running out of ideas on what to do next, hence there are some obvious rest times occurred during the match. Unlike the 30-minute match with Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr. which is just the right amount of time. This match did too much of a work in which it is oversaturated. This is one of the times that the "less is more" should've applied. Also, the team lacked synergy at times as each member worked separately to do the work and not cooperating together, hence we had a lot to miss with a limited frame. The way when Ospreay comforted Akira at the near end of the match while the Wardogs cornering him is so touching to watch. A very good match no doubt, but they should've made it shorter and blended just right. Ospreay losing the match instead of winning makes it more emotional and impactful for his send-off. Here it is, the last obligated NJPW match for Ospreay as he wrote his new chapter in AEW. Thank you, Ospreay. ****1/2"
[9.0] "A great match, that wasn't perfect for the time it went; over a hour was kinda too much. Many great spots, beautiful violence and a good amount of blood; one of the best Steel Cage Matches I ever watched in my life. (****1/2)."
"Had it at 8.6, and was grateful when it was finally over. Ospreay looked dead at the end, his face purple and puffy. Absolutely disgusting but hard to turn away. I'm cool with these types of ultra violent matches when grudges get heated, but it leaves a weird aftertaste when something this nihilistic rules the day. Bullet Club War Dogs are so amoral, I just wonder what the logical conclusion of this dark cloud over NJPW will be. But watch this to see all these guys go all out for the group cage match. Henare and especially Akira took it up a notch in this main event. And really all the War Dogs did too, but it's like psychopath heat, and not cartooney like Psycho Sid. Will is leaving NJPW a legend, super incredible from that day he debuted in a losing effort to KUSHIDA all those years ago."
[9.0] "What an absolute spectacle this match. I had it just a notch below the Sabre/Danielson match - I probably would have it higher had all the match ended before the ring was pulled apart. This was absolutely insane file any company - even more so for NJPW. Just wow!"
[10.0] "Dude... This is one of the BEST War Games matches EVER. BCWD look like fucking killers. They murdered every member of UE. This is a LONG match and it might drag at times but I also think that it builds to the perfect ending. Ospreay pushing Akira who looks like a star in this match to a side and sacrifices himself to Finaly. THIS was a fucking amazing match. Wow."
[6.0] "This was just flat out too long everywhere. The parts that worked worked really well, but there was so much down time, or spots really endless that it took away from the drama. Chopping 20-30 minutes out of this would go a long way. There's a little of everything in this match, which I'm not sure worked. If there's like a 20 minute condensed version of this match that's probably the ideal way to watch."
[8.0] "I'll give it to NJPW, they managed to make a pretty unique-feeling War Games/Cage of Death-style match with various influences from them, all while elevating a bunch of guys on Ospreay's way out. And of course because it's NJPW it goes over an hour. Finlay still hasn't sold me as a faction leader, especially as a heel. There's really too much to talk about in the middle here, but there's obvious highlights like the insane ovation for a bloodied Ospreay for nearly the whole hour, as well as great performances from Akira, Coughlin, HENARE, Kidd, & Cobb. There's a pretty solid flow where there's never NOTHING happening, even if it's a little bit "okay that sequence is done, you guys go in" without a ton of connecting tissue between them. I would say more of them hit than miss though, especially things like Kidd & HENARE going back to being insane against each other. TJP's gimmick sucks though; I admit I'm not fully in the loop but holy shit who let him come out and look like that and work like that? When I saw O-Khan come out I said "why the fuck isn't this guy in the match over TJ? " Right when Akira's stuff with the dog collar was building things up they legit spend 3 minutes slowly unbuilding the ring before HENARE breaks the tension, and then he's cuffed to the cage which is a gimmick they did already. The very final stretch of Ospreay taking the bullet for the young boy was a great visual to end on, but man you could've cut 20-25 minutes of fluff (mostly Finlay & TJP & the ring dismantling) and had me more invested in it. Was it entertaining? Fuck yes. Was it excellent top to bottom? Nah. ****"
[9.0] "[4.75*] One of the most INSANE matches in NJPW history, all ten men involved entered the Steel Cage with the intention of killing each other there, the spots were brutal, the chairs were violent and dangerous. Gabe Kidd and Drilla Maloney took it to another level here, they went to great lengths to hurt the members of United Empire. The exchanges between Gabe Kidd and Henare were wonderful and intense, the hatred between them remained for this match. The negative point of this match is the length of the match, it was excessively long, twenty minutes could have been cut from the match and it would still be able to tell the story and finish in a pleasant way. The end of the match was INCREDIBLE, all the WarDogs going after Ospreay and Finlay getting the victory for his team was the greatest moment of the career of all the members of the WarDogs, they surpassed themselves in every aspect in this match, the intensity, violence , the extreme way they behaved showed that they are truly war dogs and they come out of this match more overs than ever before."
[7.0] "I tried to do my best but in all honesty Icouldn't finish watching this match. It felt full of gimmicks, I didnt knew well the members of the bullet club war dogs and UE and that for sure brought down my interest. The match was too melodramatic and even silly at some points. This felt like one of those early overly dramatic oasprey matches. I don't think it was good to place it as the main event."
[7.0] "It looks like some others have said it already, but this is a really challenging, borderline impossible match to rate. Did I like it? I dont even know. I definitely liked parts of it. Will I ever watch it again? I have no idea. This match was way too long. If you see the run time before watching it, you know its going to be way too long. This is indie fan Will Ospreay trying to do a Cage Of Death Match as best as he can within the limitations of NJPW while also boring from the WWE-style WarGames matches that all of the younger wrestlers seem to love so much. What you get is a match thats got a bunch of blood (God bless them), some crazy spots and then a TON of downtime and melodrama and unnecessary layers (get out of here with TJPs Fiend gimmick thing). They could have realistically done this match and got all of the same stuff in, in half the time, without losing any impact of it, and make it way more digestible. But this is the problem thats been created with the assumption that more time = better, I guess. I was expecting an actual cage around the ring so found the COD 7-style cage around the outside to be quite the surprise but I also bet Ospreay has seen the DBD4 ROH/CZW COD (so many acronyms) so that was probably kind of cool. I thought the ending, melodramatic as it was, with Ospreay protecting poor Akira and going out on his sword (of Essex), 5-on-1, was pretty great. The taking apart the ring stuff always takes forever and Im pretty over it, but these seemed dangerous as hell with the board sliding so once they got to it, it added a nice level of chaos to everything and I hated it less than I thought. This was mega flawed, but the effort was there, and I was engaged enough that I think its worth watching. If this was clipped down into an ECW TV episode, it would be an all-timer. Id probably give this a 7.5 (I guess? ) but Im rounding it down to a 7 for the Cagematch system."
[10.0] "This was an amazing, chaotic, bloody, gruesome match. Just pure hardcore bloody action. This match was an hour long but you wouldnt be able to tell while watching it, as there was not a boring second in the whole match. Bullet Club won which was the right choice in my opinion."
[10.0] "This was 64 minutes of pure chaos, but a chaos so beautiful that I could watch it over and over again. It was a great choice by NJPW to give these two stables a chance to kill each other in a cage and they proved it with that match. A great way to bid Ospreay goodbye. And that moment near the end, where Will pushed Akira out of the ring to make sure he's safe before going against War Dogs on his own... It was cinema. 10/10 for me"
[8.0] "No modern War Games incarnation match has been able to win me over to the degree I want. Whether it be any of the major American companies and now, NJPW. I feel some have been great, but all in recent times have been overlong, mixed results in pacing, and indulgent/hampered by plunder. This match fits the previous sentences description to a tee. A lot of great individual moments surrounded by set up/unfortunate pacing. A really difficult match to rate as I thought it was still great."
[9.0] "I mean wow, this match is like a short film. Over an hour of hardcore action, blood sweat and tears doesnt cover it. Post match goodbye to Will is beautiful too."
[10.0] "In my opinion, other USA based companies, specifically the Entertainment one, could learn a lot about War Games and Blood and Guts by studying this match. I really believe this is the best War Games style match in decades. Awesome spots and multiple different storylines, with even NEW storylines being made during the match, as well as new stars being made, WOW, this was unreal. The hour long time might be intimidating to some, but, I swear, this goes by in a flash. (*****)"
[7.0] "A good match with a number of impressive moments as well as notoriety for being Wills last match as a full time New Japan wrestler. It was also a nice change of pace for this kind of match in New Japan. After a while, it began to drag much like most of the WWE war games matches. Theres still enough good moments to it where I wouldnt call it bad but with some more condensing it may have been better."
[7.0] "Yes, this match certainly left me divided. In one hand, I really liked the spots, specially the ones envolving Alex Coughlin and Francesco Akira. But, I have to say, the selling in this match was pretty harsh. I think wrestlers like David Finlay, TJP and even Ospreay sometimes should work more in their selling, because in many times they didn't express the emotion this match needed. Anyway, it was a good match, but definitely wen waaaay too long."
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