Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson

[9.0] "Great build-up, great match, only things I didn't like were tags being unnecessary near the end and they just jumped in whenever they wanted lol, and Matt using the belt which should've been an instant DQ."

[10.0] "[5, 5 Stars] Yes, in terms of in-ring performance, we're not seeing the best of these four Goats, but in terms of storytelling, we're at the peak. Apart from Page & Omega vs. Young Bucks at Revolution 2020, there's no competition in Tag Team history. (*****, 5)."

[10.0] "I have a love/hate relationship with the Bucks. They're insanely talented, but many of their matches lack selling or anything resembling a story. This was not one of them. My God, what a match! This was perfectly executed and these guys told an amazing story. Every single move and sequence meant something. Matt sold his back like no one's business while Kenny and Nick's character work throughout the match was a great story. The Golden Lovers are so much fun to watch while this is the Bucks at their best and one of my favorite matches of theirs."

[10.0] "Incest and gay sex. 5 stars. Seriously just watch. The tag team wrestling you dream of. A match you'd dream of and a story executed to perfection. If this match was in Japan with their crowd and their camera work this could have been one of the greatest matches ever. However it's still excellent and deserving of 5 stars."

[10.0] "This main event is simply one of my favorite tag matches ever and this fits in perfect with peak New Japan which I see as 2013/2014 to COVID."

[10.0] "This was far too good to be a match I solely watched so I could read some Golden Lovers explicit fanfiction. This match has everything you could want out of a wrestling match. Amazing story both in and out of the ring that builds up beautifully to the finish of this match. So many spots in this perfectly intertwine with the story it's trying to tell. Speaking of spots, every single one delivers and has such beautiful execution that it's an absolute marvel to watch. Every single wrestler in this is in their prime and it shows. One small detail I noticed is how the Young Bucks in New Japan do this thing where they say little quips like "See ya! " before executing a move and it's a very effective way of selling the move more and doing character work in one fell swoop. Just an absolute amazing match in every way and I'm glad I got to see it, despite it being in shit 480p quality."

[10.0] "A fantastic tag team match between four fantastic wrestlers. All four of them were so good and their actions were so good that no words can describe them. The match was long and because each blow had a special storyline behind it, it didn't feel like time passed at all and this can't be considered a negative point in any way."

[10.0] "This was a banger of a tag match, right up there with the similarly told story of Omega/Page vs the Bucks in AEW. The underlying drama here was the conflict of Omega and the Bucks and their broken friendships, while Ibushi was kind of caught in the middle by just wanting to team up with his old buddy and prove they were the best. The match itself was nonstop action, with an emphasis on Matt Jackson selling his previously injured lower back the entire match. The melodramatic ending, while seemingly divisive, was a nice touch. My only nitpick is that after an initial bit where Ibushi was desperate to make the tag, they pretty much abandoned the standard tag style after that and turned it into a tornado match. Still, this was fantastic all around. *****"

[10.0] "One of My Favourite Tag matches ever. Incredible in ring action and masterful storytelling albeit a little dramatic. Matt refused to wrestle Kenny at first with both members of Young Bucks especially Matt extremely jealous of Kenny's friendship with Ibushi. Despite that Nick wanted to wrestle a clean match with Golden Lovers while his older brother wanted to hurt them. Kenny having trouble wrestling his Elite Friends while Ibushi egged him on. And the story of Matt's BACK which caused him problems while performing his moves was just as great. Loved the ending with Kenny refusing to hit Matt with the one winged Angel and Matt forcing him to give it to him. The ending was like a final nail to the friendship of the Elite. This was a beautifully crafted match. On a negative, The English Commentary and Production was really bad. I re-watched it in Japanese and although the prodiction issues are still there, it was much better. Amazing match. *****"

[10.0] "This was tremendous match and probably one of the greatest tag team matches ever. They told beautiful story of Omega being reluctant to fight matt and matt refusing omega's help. Matt sold the hell out of his lower back. Kota pushing kenny to beat the bucks. Omega not being able to hit matt with OWA, only for matt to demand that he go through with it and just end it. Nick breaking the pin was dramatic nearfall in this excellent match."

[9.0] "I remember at the time this match happened, I watched the highlights and thought it was the most incredible thing in the world, I finally watched it and even though this match is very good, it's not as out of the curve as my memory reminded me, the Young Bucks are great here and they give a great performance, but there is a moonsault sequence from Ibushi and Omega where Kota gives a bizarre botch, the story of Kenny vs. Bucks is interesting, but the AEW version of this conflict is more iconic and well done than this first incarnation (****3/4)"

[3.0] "Kenny Omega and Ibushi Kota vs Young Bucks Match Hates Match Results I don't think it's a good outcome for single wrestlers to win against tag team wrestlers And this match was a bit loose It would have been much better if the match time was too long and the match time was reduced by 15 minutes or so Kenny Omega Ibush Kota are both great single wrestlers, but a win over a tag team pro wrestler could cause problems with the status they have built up If the Young Bucks had won, it would have been a good result and the match evaluation would have been much better And it would have been nice if the match time had been reduced It was too loose The match itself is good, but the score is too high... Kenny Omega. Anyway, I hope you come back soon and show a good match"

[10.0] "The build for this match was excellent and the match itself was incredible. Probably the best match I've ever seen live."

"I love professional wrestling. Wish I could go back in time and watch this in person. Love this match so much"

[10.0] "This was an amazing match. The tension with Kenny and The Bucks was great and the action was pretty good. The right team won in the end but the fans are the true winners."

[9.0] "One of my favorite tag matches of all time. Layered with incredible storytelling, every individual member had their own personal stakes and reasoning behind their actions. The highlight of this masterpiece is certainly Matt, who sells not only being broken physically but emotionally as well. The ending is perfect too. Melodramatic? Yes. Over-the-top. Certainly. But a classic. 4.75 Stars."

[6.0] "Great match in the second half. The first half is only good for me, as the Bucks are unable to match up to the performance of the Golden Lovers. But the second half is really good and I really like the storytelling throughout the match. I wish the Bucks were able to deliver all the way through but still a pretty solid match."

[4.0] "This feels almost like a PWG match in the worst ways. There's some impressive feats of athleticism here but I don't know why basically all the rules of a tag match are just ignored from the very beginning of the match and the first half of the match is basically just a tornado tag match. To be fair, that is a pretty standard feature of many Young Bucks matches. So much of this match is just big move after big move and kickout after kickout. Eventually nothing feels important anymore and it all blurs together."

[10.0] "An excellent match with mastered storytelling, Omega doesn't want to finish on the Bucks while Ibushi is ready to do anything to win. We never get bored. (5*)"

[10.0] "This was a perfect tag match that told an excellent story. The in ring action was fantastic, as expected and it was paced very well. The storytelling here was perfect with everyone playing their roles amazingly here. I loved Matt's selling of his back. *****"

[10.0] "Most likely the greatest tag match of all time. Kenny and Kota show why they are the best tag team in the world with this classic, the storytelling is so good as well as the intensity. Strikes are stiff and moves hit hard. The match is exciting for all 40 minutes, it truly is the best."

[9.0] "A demonstration of the more psychological side of the Bucks while still providing plenty of spectacle, and the athleticism of the Jackson brothers is more than complemented by that of Ibushi and Omega. Widely and rightly heralded as a classic, a real example of all competitors at the top of their game."

[8.0] "It is good but they do the same stupid mid match promos I've come to despise in the year 2023. Impressively athletic with some great double teams."

[10.0] "A 40 minute storytelling masterpiece. I watched this match for the first time a few years back and thought it was incredible, but rewatching it now while knowing the intricacies of the story going into it makes it a hundred times better. If you take only the wrestling and athleticism aspect of this match, it's an amazing wrestling match. Now add in the drama, selling and storytelling that these four men brought to the table and you have one of the best tag matches of all time. One of the things I loved the most about this is how every character had their own clearly defined motivations and differences. Kenny is torn in half between his closest friends of ten years and his golden lover. Ibushi on the other hand, has no prior relation to the Young Bucks and wants to prove he and Kenny are the best no matter the cost. Matt and Nick, while virtually always on the same page, show a divide. Matt is the one who has had the majority of issues with Kenny uses his older brother status to make Nick do something he doesn't really want to. Eventually though, all four men realize they need to throw all doubts and regrets aside if they want to end this once and for all and prove they're the best in the world. As Kenny said in the interview after the match, this is their vision of what the art of tag team wrestling and wrestling as a whole can be. I think it's a beautiful one and it produced one of the best tag matches I've ever seen. *****"

[10.0] "Great match crazy spots and near falls the bucks did all sorts of crazy stuff here such as table spots plus Kenny v bucks was a good storyline *****1/2"

[10.0] "One of the best tag-team matches I have ever seen. I love how much the friendship of these 4 men plays into this match. The spots are well-placed, and the finish is almost emotional. Plus, the psychology behind Matt Jackson's injured back was great."

[9.0] "I guess it depends on your style but I think in terms of pure action, theres few matches that come close to this. I do think they went over the top with the story sometimes a little, but in the end, melodrama has its place in wrestling. All 4 of these guys are special talents, and they got to show their athletic prowess for near 40 minutes in front of a hype crowd. The table spots were particularly impressive. All in all a great main event. ****1/2"

[2.0] "If there was ever a poster child for "overkill" in professional wrestling, it would be this match. It was all style and no substance. What was supposed to be an intense display of athleticism ended up being a jumbled mess that went way too long. And what was supposed to be a match that told a story of bitter personal jealousy ended up being a perfect example of overacting and exaggerated melodrama. What should've been done in fifteen minutes of airtight and focused wrestling was stretched and bloated to almost forty minutes long. The match was chaotic from the very beginning and fell apart soon after. For the first ten minutes, both teams actually followed basic tag rules and the match seemed to make sense. But thereafter, both sides basically went into tornado rules mode and interfered nonstop, rendering the point of tagging in completely moot. That was annoying because it betrayed the established rules of the match. Why didn't the referee do more to have only one person from each side in the ring at once? Because both sides had to 'get their moves in' to pop the crowd, logic and story be damned. Then there was the story. At first, they actually did a tremendous job of building this as a bitter personal war. The Bucks, Matt in particular, seemed hellbent on making Omega regret teaming up with Ibushi some more and seemed downright hostile with him at many points. Meanwhile, Omega was conflicted and seemed reluctant to hurt either of his opponents, leaving him stuck between being friends with them and wanting to win the match with his other friend Ibushi. And for a while, that emotional conflict carried the match in the right direction. Then Matt started getting his back worked over and things fell into overkill territory. The way Matt sold was exaggerated to the point of being comical, and not in a good way. His screams and comments he'd shout at Kenny came across as forced and cringy instead of realistic and badass. Even though he was probably in real pain due to real back problems, it was next to impossible to take him seriously. And this problem was compounded by how he wrestled. Matt got the piss beaten out of him and seemed like he couldn't decide on how to sell what was happening to him. At several points, he'd eat a forearm to his back and scream out like he'd been stabbed in the kidneys. Minutes later, he'd get tossed into something much harder back-first and would barely sell, before doing a flip or landing a surprise move out of nowhere while being seemingly unfazed. Out of the four wrestlers involved, the only one that didn't do anything particularly bad was Ibushi. He was basically a side character in the Omega-Bucks melodrama, but he was also the most focused and straightforward wrestler in the match. He hit hard, had perfect timing and great facials, and came across as more of a threat to the Bucks than Omega could hope to be."

[5.0] "A prime example of how overbearing, telegraphed storytelling can stunt the potential of a match chock full of so much raw talent. The cartoonish selling and hyperbolic story beats really hinder the enjoyment of a match filled with so many positive moments. It's a shame to say because I enjoy all four workers, but unlike even the most spot-driven matches, this one doesn't even leave us with an interest in who wins. It's a case of badly acted soap opera in lieu of athletic tug of war."

[6.0] "I have tried to watch this match like 3 times now and I just struggle to watch it. I feel this match is so excessive and over the top and it could of really been much shorter because nearly 40 minutes is way to much for the kind of match that this is."

[10.0] "Quite possibly my favorite match of all time. There's some regrettable (if minor) sloppiness, but it's more than made up for by the drama and emotional stakes. There are a lot of great wrestling matches out there. I don't think any give me chills like this one does. One small quibble I have (other than the technical imperfections) is that Kota Ibushi really recedes into the background to a large extent. But Kenny and Matt are the stars of this particular match. Nick and Kota play their supporting roles well for sure, but Kenny and Matt do something really special here. Yet people accuse them of not telling stories in the ring..."

[10.0] "This match was nothing but pure emotion, and I loved it. Kenny and Kota finally getting back together, well the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) are left feeling bitrade by their former best friend Kenny omega after he accidently hit Matt. I think I've seen this match at least like 5 times"

[9.0] "This was an incredibly match on so many levels. I miss the days when Ibushi and Omega could go like this ****3/4"

[10.0] "A masterclass in storytelling, tag team sequences and in-ring psychology and quite possibly the best tag team wrestling match in the 2010s."

[6.0] "The perfect example of how almost all Kenny Omega-led matches are hindered severely on a re-watch. In the moment they're spectacular, but they absolutely. fall apart, technically and psychologically, if you've already seen it. Melodrama turned up to 11, the Bucks can't have a 'great match' (any match they have that goes over 25 minutes) without that."

[10.0] "I didn't even notice that the match lasted for 40 minutes, the time flew by very quickly. A brilliant match in many ways, storytelling was absolutely great."

[10.0] "My favorite tag team match of all time. Masterclass in both the actual wrestling and in storytelling. The Golden Lovers are so good together, need a reunion sometime in the future. *****+"

[10.0] "Oh my God. What a match. Great drama, great spots, great match. I really liked the story going into this and the match overdelivered. I wish we got more Golden Lovers from this era, the NJPW tag division really could have used a boost like that"

[9.0] "One of the best storylines of 2018 came to a head in Long Beach, California. From before the opening bell had even sounded, the reluctance to do battle was apparent in the words and body language of both Kenny Omega and Nick Jackson. While the short-tempered Kota Ibushi stood solely in support of his beloved partner, Matt Jackson was visibly overwhelmed by the emotional warfare that had been at play throughout the months that led up to the definitive split in his friendship with Kenny Omega. And it was Ibushi whom Jackson blamed for the dissolution of the brotherhood that had been built between the three members of The Elite. The emotion remains constant throughout the early moments, with a single Kota Ibushi kick to the injured back of Matt Jackson resulting in Kenny Omega stopping his own partner from attacking his friend. A moving moment, to which Matt Jackson responds by doing the same thing to Omega that Omega had done to him: A pieface to the wrong man in the heat of battle. And through both the storytelling and the awe-inspiring moves that are executed to near perfection, we're quickly reminded that beneath the deep-seated emotion are two of the absolute best tag teams of the modern era, if not professional wrestling's vast and decorated history. All of which makes for one of the best tag team matches I have ever seen. And, after all of that... I have no idea how to rate this match. The story was an absolute masterpiece, no way around it. Raw emotion that nearly brought me to tears. But the camera work bordered on awful with how many key moments it missed, the early parts of this match were flush with misfires or outright botches, and there was legitimately no reason to even tag in and out of this one. Partners were standing in the ring as though this was a Tornado Tag, and I am generally pretty lenient to that being the case given the way wrestling simply is today. I wanted to go five stars, but I can't do that if there's any doubt in my mind and there are quite a few. As such, I will say 4. 75 stars and 9. 5 out of 10. One of the best tag team matches ever."

[8.0] "This match did not hold up that well on rewatch for me, the workrate is excellent as these four are some of the best in the world, but the melodrama of Kenny not wanting to hurt his friends feels so performative and takes me out of certain moments of the match. Still a great match but not the near masterpiece I thought it was before ****1/4."

[10.0] "A myriad of big moves from the get-go, which is customary in these matches, but what stuck with me was the excellent storytelling. Rather than go face vs. heel, they tried to build a story of conflict, of a friendship that may or may not crumble, with Omega stopping Ibushi from attacking Matt at first and then with the One-Winged Angel. How Matt Jackson sold his back, the world-class athleticism of Ibushi and his in-ring chemistry with Omega. All of this was great stuff, and the crowd felt it that way too. Amazing match."

[4.0] "How can this match be considered as one of the best tag team matches of all time ? Unlike most of Young Bucks matches, this is not too much spotmonkey, even if we had some spotmonkey moments, for example Ibushi doing a German Suplex on one of the Bucks when Omega was teasing a One Winged Angel through a table on him. But like a lot of NJPW overrated main events, this has a clear problem of building for me. First of all, Matt Jackson's back selling was absolutely atrocious, he incredibly oversells a kick on the back from Ibushi at the very beginning of the match, then no sells a lot of kicks in the back from Ibushi way later in the match. And after that no sell, he has to stop his Sharpshooter on Ibushi because of the pain he feels at the back. Illogical. The table spot is way too much teased, for too much time. Omega oversells a Piledriver from Matt Jackson, then he is okay ? Nick Jackson took not too much damage in the match so his selling didn't shock me. Then another very awful moment in the match, the Meltzer Driver teasing from the Bucks. We have Ibushi who stop Nick Jackson from doing the Springboard, and Matt Jackson stop holding Omega ? Really ? Why he doesn't do a simple Tombstone Piledriver ? Oh okay, it's not enough spotty for the Bucks. This match should not have been this long, so much teasing for nothing, for looking like idiots being countered. **1/4"

[9.0] "Melodrama that makes Ciampa/Gargano seem tame and the Bucks' penchant for choreographed spots takes this from a bonafide 5* classic to just a generally great, but technically flawed, match. ****1/2"

[6.0] "i agree with those who say it doesn't hold up after rewatch. way too melodramatic and overbooked, and like most young bucks' matches it didn't make any sense. still, these guys' athleticism is unbelievable and they put in so much effort that at least the match is enjoyable as a huge spotfest"

[10.0] "A perfect mix of technique, storytelling, psychology, kayfabe, drama and realistic selling. My favorite among team matches."

[8.0] "This is a nice spotfest with enough story to keep you invested without totally getting bogged down by the total disregard for tag rules. The psychology is hit and miss for me. There are moments where the psychology is great, like when Matt Jackson can't keep the Scorpion Death Lock locked in because his back finally gave out. There are many more moments where the psychology didn't work as they noticeably wait for spots, some of which take painfully long to set up, and I wasn't a complete fan of some of the 'should I or should I not hit a move on my friend' psychology because just minutes ago you seemed to have no inner turmoil over the issue, and besides, its wrestling. You have to hurt your opponent to win the match. If Omega was conflicted about hitting the one-winged angel through the table to the outside, like they teased earlier in the match, I would have bought it. But just the one-winged angel in the middle of the ring... not so much. It doesn't end careers, it just ends matches. And then Matt Jackson insisting that Kenny hit him with the one-winged angel after Kenny's indecision was just over the top. Don't get me wrong, the psychology of there being inner turmoil over fighting your friends is a great idea, I just don't think it was executed ideally for the entire 37 minutes. ****1/4"

[8.0] "Very good tag team match but it lasted waaaaaay too long. The crowd was into it and the story telling was executed fine (maybe a little bit too much 'hit me Kenny! ' from Matt / Nick). Good variety of spots, but by the time the Omega was put through the table my attention had already partially faded, which is sad because this match was so promising. Nonetheless, great match."

[4.0] "There was a spot in this match I wanna say about 10 hours in where Kenny has Matt up for the OWA and he has a second thought because I guess he doesnt wanna win the match so he hesitates hitting the OWA but then Matt, who also apparently doesnt wanna win the match, tells Kenny to hit him w/ the OWA because uhh okay whatever and then Kenny hits it like 3 seconds later because sure why not but somehow THE MATCH CONTINUES when Nick breaks up the pin so they spend the rest of the match getting the crowd less and less invested until they get to the finish and Kenny pins Matt w/ a Golden Trigger. It was bad! *3/4"

[6.0] "Sadly, whole charm surrounding this match is gone & won't come back ever again. The story they told there was all cool and nice back when this happened, however 2 years later some of the melodramatic stuff that happened there seems so cringe. Kenny's goofy facial expressions and his overreacting manners come off annoying for most of the time. The best bits of the match happened when they raised up the tempo and threw some big guns to each other, some of the spots really ruled and what i can't take away from this one is that tag wrestling & combinations were brilliant. But those big spots ~ long pauses/overselling/overacting for most of the time really took me away from this one. This had some moments of greatness but was never consistently good. ***"

[6.0] "I appreciated the athleticism/big spots, and it's nice to see the Bucks do a completely different style of match, but this was melodramatic to the point of being silly. Matt Jackson's anguished facial expressions made him look like a pouty child crying because he didn't get what he wanted for his birthday. Hard to take the match seriously after seeing that. Matt came across as whiny more than tough. There were some ideas here that I'm not sure worked, like Matt Jackson begging Omega to give him the One Winged Angel (even going as far as manipulating Omega's arm into the position. ) I get what they were going for - that Matt was in so much pain, he just wanted the whole thing to be over - and it would have made for a fine ending, but Nick Jackson breaking up the pin kind of ruined that as he's basically making his brother go through more torment. Not to be nitpicky, but if Matt was in so much agony that he wanted the match to end, why not just fall down to the mat and allow himself to be pinned?"