[9.0] "A great match with a lot of drama, mostly fluid sequences and big, exciting spots, but what is most memorable is the tension between Kenny and the Bucks, which plays out in an unpredictable and satisfying way. In terms of action and storytelling, it largely follows the classic Young Bucks formula and, surprisingly, while they add a lot of authenticity to the match, the Golden Lovers arguably struggle to keep up, as it is the Bucks who deliver the standout performance overall. Perhaps due to overexposure, revisiting it now, however spectacular the Young Bucks' trademark sequences are, they feel a little tried and tested, and it is this structure which makes up the majority of the match. In the closing stretch, however, they manage to create two genuinely dramatic near falls, and Nick's desperation in trying to revive Matt carries real emotional weight. Overall, it is an excellent match, though at times it lacks some precision, and would have benefitted from showcasing some more spectacular Golden Lovers sequences in order to be truly transcendent."
[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] "One of if not the best tag match I've ever seen. The storytelling is excellent. The chemistry between these 4 is excellent. The athleticism of all 4 of them is excellent. Just everything in this match is excellent and it was one of the most fun matches I've watched. There were also so many great spots whether it was the insane belly-to-back suplex from Ibushi or Matt forcing Omega to hit him with the OWA."
[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."
[9.0] "Prime Elite in einem der besten modernen Tag Matches die ich sehen durfte. Storytelling ist wirklich wunderschön, Matt und Kenny sind hierbei die Hauptakteure und ohne dass man jede Sekunde der Shows zuvor oder bei BTE geschaut ist, ist sie dennoch klar aber einfach sehr gut erzählt. Zudem unglaubliche Tag Moves in dem ganzen Match, wobei mein einziger Negativpunkt die am Ende nicht besonders befolgten Tag Regeln sind, wodurch es ein Tornado Tag eher wird. Sonst, alles weitere ist Top. Und das Finish, einfach nur Wow; wirklich nur perfektion. Für mich nur knapp hinter dem Omega/Hangman vs Bucks und dem 95er 4 Pillars AJPW Match. (****3/4)"
[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] "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"
[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"
[10.0] "Mir hat das Match extrem gut gefallen. Der hier häufig genannte "melodramatische" Aspekt der Matchstory hat mich nicht gestört und das Match als solches war einfach fantastisch."
[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"
[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. ***"
[10.0] "Für mich persönlich das beste Tag Team Match, welches ich bis jetzt gesehen hab, auch wenn ich dazu noch erwähnen muss, dass ich die alten AJPW Tag Team Klassiker nicht gesehen habe. Die vier erzählen von Anfang an eine tolle Geschichte im Ring, die sich wie ein roter Faden durchs Match zieht. Die Art und Weise wie das hier gehandhabt wurde sieht man heutzutage leider nur noch sehr selten und macht für mich dieses Match alleine schon deswegen zu etwas besonderem. Das Match lebte jedoch nicht nur vom genialen Story-Telling, sondern es gab auch jede menge Action zu sehen und die 40 Minuten vergingen teilweise echt wie im Flug. Die zwei Teams haben die perfekte Mischung aus Story-Telling, Spot-Wrestling und der nötigen Intensität und Dramatik gefunden und dieses Match wirklich groß erscheinen lassen. Überraschenderweise war für mich Matt Jackson der MVP des Matches aufgrund seines tollen Sellings und die Emotionalität, die er in dieses Match schaffte. Definitiv ein MOTYC und einer der großen Main Events von NJPW in diesem Jahr. **** 3/4 (4)"
[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?"
[7.0] "A good tag bout. Too much melodramatic stuff in the beginning. And, as Omega is infamous for, his selling gets rather sloppy toward the end. Several botches too. But, aside from that, a very entertaining bout to watch. A 7."
[5.0] "This does not stand the test of time. And that's a pretty sad thought when, as of me writing this, this isn't even a year old match. Most of the melodramatic stuff between Kenny & the Bucks comes off as super cringy, and the best bits are by far Ibushi w/ his typical Ibushilike weird, wacky antics & emotionless, vicious work over Matt's injured back. Once they get to the point of Omega "accepting" that it is indeed a match that he should probably try to win, it becomes what I am sure many would envision the Young Bucks vs. Golden Lovers match looking like - that's why it's a shame that it's stretched out like a motherfucker. A 15 min spotfest between the 2 teams could & probably would be pretty lovely. Not 40 goddamn minutes though. I will never forget the feeling I had when the day after it happened, I was watching it for the first time - they completely sucked me into the story they told & I was 110% into their drama & acting, but it does not do that on a re-watch, and without the emotional attachment, it's just an overly long bout for the two teams. **1/2"
[10.0] "The storyline, the storytelling, the moves, the sequences, the interactions. For me this match is the best in the history of wrestling. Just perfect. My rating: *****"
[10.0] "This was an awesome all-action tag team match, with drama and storytelling thrown in. Obviously, the highspots were fantastic, and almost all of them were executed perfectly. But the story of the Bucks being conflicted over whether they wanted to go for the win or hurt the guy they felt had turned on them was so great."
[10.0] "This is, in my opinion, the best tag team match to happen in over 20 years. It is literally perfect, there are no botches, not missteps, not one thing that doesn't make perfect sense. Everyone had roles here, and everyone shone: Matt sold his ass (or back) off, motivated by jealousy and betrayal to desperately prove he was on Kenny's level. Nick didn't want to fight but was loyal to his brother, and pulled off some unbelievable moves and looked like a badass. Kota just wanted a fight, and had to force Kenny, who played the conflicted friend perfectly. It's long, but every wrestling fan should watch this, you don't even need the BTE context in my opinion. *****"
[10.0] "Das war geil! Möglicherweise sogar das beste Match, welches die Bullet Club Fehde hervorbringen wird. Es ist glaube ich schon eine Weile her, dass ein Tag Team Match 5 Sterne von Meltzer bekommen hat aber dieses Match hat es verdient. Es hat Wrestling, Chaos, Spannung, Dramatik, Emotionen, den passenden Rahmen, Aftermath - einfach alles."
[10.0] "Was für ein unglaubliches Tag Team Match und ganz klar das Beste welches ich gesehen habe seit DIY/Revival II von Takeover Toronto. Die Golden Lovers sind back und vielleicht besser denn ever, und die Young Bucks haben gezeigt das sie noch mehr sind als irgendwelche "Spotmonkeys" die keine Story erzählen können. Denn dieses Match war nicht nur vom Wrestling, sondern vor allem auch vom Storytelling absolut unglaublich. ich erinnere mich vor allem noch an den Table Spot, oder als Kota Matt fast mit einem German gefühlt den Nacken gebrochen hat. Viele geben dem Match ja 5 Sterne, so weit würde ich nicht gehen, nichtsdestotrotz war das absolut fantastisch. ****3/4"
[10.0] "A fantastic match. Fast interactions. Both teams had each others number. and both teams worked perfectly together. counters at every turn for example Nick Jackson countering a hurricanrana from Kenny Omega into a backstabber to Kota ibushi later into the match. Early on Kota went after Matt's back which would be sold throughout the match. Young bucks brought it to prove that they are the best tag team in the world. No joking in this match. Good double team moves from both the Bucks and the Golden Lovers. For example the double superplex from The Golden Lovers to Matt Jackson. There was great drama. I like how Matt had conflict with having to attack Omega. Ibushi had a sick German suplex of the top rope to Matt after Omega tried to hit him with the one winged angel through a table. Matt continued to sell his back like when he had Ibushi in the sharpshooter. Another great moment by the Bucks was when they went for More bang for your buck and Matt instead of going for a moonsault onto Ibushi hit Omega with an elbow drop through the table. The moment when Matt put Omega's hand on his head and told him to hit the one winged angel was excellent. The match finally ended with a Golden Trigger for the win. One of the best matches of the year. Perhaps one of the best tag matches ever."
[7.0] "A good match, in my book, but not a great one. I can see why it would be considered a great one if you like a certain kind of match, long and melodramatic, but that? s not really what I? m into these days. Could have been about half as long and a lot better, honestly. I appreciated they did some storytelling around Matt? s back injury, though at times it didn? t feel like it felt with the bigger picture story they were telling. I? m not a big fan of drawn out ? how can I fight my friend? moments, and there were a LOT of them in this match. I was ok with it to a point, but some moments in the match completely baffled me. The worst of which has to be Matt (I think) literally helping Omega hit the One Winged Angel on him. That? s got to be one of the dumbest things I? ve ever seen in a wrestling match. I don? t care how conflicted you are about fighting your friend, I cannot buy into a spot like that. Good for the action put on display by four talented guys, but not anywhere approaching great for what I look for in matches."
[10.0] "The build-up to this match has been such a slow burn, with the seeds being planted as far back as last year's G1. In the meantime, so many wrinkles have been added to this story of a man torn between his dearest friend and his newest, most loyal buddies. Naturally, this all led to a match, that aside from the emotional burden, was to determine the best tag team in the world. And what a match it was. A near 40 minute war, filled with beautiful and innovative tag team offence, breathtaking sequences and nail-bitingly tense nearfalls. But it was the storytelling that truly elevated this bout. All the suppressed emotions of four men with nothing to lose were on full display here. Anger and frustration but also love and compassion. Matt especially, gave a standout performance as he finally unleashed the rage that was brewing whithin him all those weeks. By the end everyone was exhausted, having gone through a physical, as well as emotional battle and one of the best tag team matches of the last few years. *****"
[10.0] "I'm about a month late to this match, so it had big expectations to live up to. I think for the most part it did. The first half of this match is a very well-paced standard high octane tag match you'd expect on paper with a few strong character interactions sprinkled in. After the 20 minute mark, however, things got a lot more interesting. Some more big, great moments were reached that were executed very well, and the storytelling was kicked up a lot more as all 4 men took a beating. Kenny is torn between his soul mate and the family he made during their time apart, and the Bucks are angry over what they think is abandonment. Ibushi actually adds to the story too, encouraging Kenny to put the Bullet Club behind him without forgetting who he is now. Matt sold a little too melodramaticly, and Nick holding him choose and yelling at Kenny was sappy as well, but the story still held strong and ended at the perfect time. Finally a NJPW main event that justified 40 minutes and used every moment to the fullest. Not my favorite of the year, but this was executed perfectly by just almost every angle. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Die MotY-Maschine Omega läuft auch vorzüglich im Tag-Team. Hervorzuheben ist auch, dass Ibushi und die Bucks hier signifikant zur In-Ring-Story beitragen, welche von starken Emotionen von Seiten der Bucks geprägt ist, die zwischen Frustration über das Ende von Omega als Bullet Club Leader und den Willen zur Erneuerung der Freundschaft schwanken. Matt und Nick stellen die personifizierten Pole dieses inneren Konflikts dar. In-Ring Action war total unvorhersehbar an vielen Stellen und spannend wie kaum ein anderes Tag-Match. Eindeutig MotY-Kandidat!"
[9.0] "Eindrucksvoll, wie sich die Young Bucks langsam von ihrem Spot-Monkey-Ruf lossagen und es schaffen, Stories in ihre Matches zu bekommen. Das fällt hier nun zwar auch denkbar leicht, da es die wohl größte Indy-Story 2018 ist, aber dennoch ist die Kombination aus Spotfest und Storytelling wirklich gut gelungen. Die Spots sind zum Teil sehr stark und die Chemie der Teams ist herrlich mit anzusehen. Bei den Workern war das abzusehen, aber dass es so gut klappt, ist dann doch überraschend und wirklich stark. (****¾)"
[7.0] "Normally i dont watch Young Bucks stuff very often, but i watched it because of Meltzer rating and i wasn't impressed with this match. Not a bad match, but ***** is too much for this one."
[9.0] "This was absolutely awesome. The Bucks have been killing it this year with all the storytelling they've been showing in their NJPW matches, but here with the help of Omega and Ibushi they took it to another level. This was perhaps the best display of internal conflict I've ever seen in a wrestling match. You had: Omega, who was trying to reignite his friendship with Ibushi but not willing to totally give up his friendship with the Bucks in order to fight them; Ibushi, who was desperate to convince Omega to fight the Bucks lest they themselves be defeated; and the Bucks (whom I always confuse), one of whom was apprehensive about fighting Omega while the other was totally onboard with the idea, causing conflict even between themselves. Throughout this match the two most unconfident members, Omega and the one apprehensive Buck (again, I confuse them lol), totally changed their attitudes and became fully invested in destroying each other. I loved this story, as it really felt like a tragic breakdown of long-time friends happening right before our eyes. Outside of all the fantastic athletic spots, which was always expected with these 4, we got a lot of fantastic spots highlighting the mental processes of the wrestlers as they had to make split decisions that would affect all of their relationships. I absolutely loved Nick trying to wake Matt up after he took Omega's OWA, as well as Ibushi convincing Omega to hit the V-Trigger despite his initial unwillingness. There were just so many amazing spots of pure storytelling that it's impossible to list all of them here. My few criticisms were that Omega didn't really sell the table spot for long enough, since he was already up and back in the ring a minute or two later; all 4 men were constantly in the ring at once which, making the tag team rules feel sort of meaningless; and a few of the 'emotional' storytelling spots were a bit melodramatic. Overall though this was amazing. ****1/4"
[8.0] "8. 75/10 : Masterpiece, my 2nd favorite NJPW match of 2018 so far, and my favorite tag team match since Takeover Toronto. I never was a fan of the young bucks for all the reasons you would hate the young bucks for, but boy did they show me I gave them a bit too much shit. Then you had Kota and Kenny, 2 of my top 4 wrestlers in the world today, so you can't really go wrong from there. The match wasn't perfect for me that's why I still find these WON and Cagematch ratings a bit over-praising. But that doesn't mean that this wasn't a jaw-dropping blast of a match. I enjoyed it tremendously."
[9.0] "Wirklich gutes Match, aber kein 5* Classic mMn. Die Spots und Sequenzen waren stark, aber ich bin einfach kein Fan von Matches, welche wirklich gar nicht auf Psychologie achten und letzendlich ein Spotfest darstellen. Natürlich haben alle trotzdem eine klasse Performance abgeliefert und ich hab das Match auch gefeiert, aber dennoch finde ich es ein bisschen überbewertet. (**** 1/4)"
[9.0] "Nicht ganz auf dem Level der DIY/Revival Tag Team Matches aus 2016, aber sonst ist das wahrscheinlich der einzige Kritikpunkt an der Stelle. Dramaturgisch phänomenal inszeniert. Tolle Struktur, bei der alle 4 mit der Zeit das Tempo anheben ohne dabei zu overpacen. Das Match beinhaltet grandiose Spots, No-Sell Sequenzen und HO. LY SH*T Momente. In Sachen Story Telling und Sinn für Dringlichkeit kaum zu überbieten. Ich ziehe meinen Hut vor einem der besten Matches des Jahres 2018 (****½+)."
[7.0] "Some are calling this the best tag match ever. I can only assume those people haven't seen the classic 90's tag matches of All Japan, where this match wouldn't crack the top 20 of that era. If you enjoyed this match as much as most people, great for you. Taste in wrestling is subjective; I'm glad for you if this scratched your particular itch. This match did not scratch mine. Kenny looked like a complete moron for not having his usual killer instinct out there. Like the commentators said, the time for negotiation had already passed, and he'd had weeks to prepare for this match. This whole fragmentation of the Bullet Club storyline would be right at home in a teenage soap opera. I avoid WWE because I'm not interested in this soap opera crap, and I watch New Japan because they present wrestling as a sport. This whole thing was so melodramatic. Just fight, don't be cucks about it. ***3/4"
[10.0] "Quite simply put... THE. BEST. TAG. MATCH. EVER. I don't know how I'd be able to describe this match without going off on a complete tangent on why every single second of this match was the fucking best. All i'm going to say is go watch this fucking match. Words do not do it justice. You have to see it to believe it. *****"
[3.0] "There's a difference between being genuinely invested and only being 'invested' because you want to be part of the story (see current-day Tommaso Ciampa -- that ISN'T heel heat, that's fuckin' MEME heat. It's pathetic). I think Being The Elite made me WANT to be part of the story, and so when I watched this match the first time, I was sucked in like everybody else here, though the less-than-decent selling (particularly from Matt Jackson) put me off at times. Watching it again now, it just feels strange. Before you shit on me and say that I'm just being a contrarian so that I can feel special, go back and actually WATCH the damn match now. It's egregious and although they needed a good way to close their second big trek into the US, this (and that stinker of a semi-main event between White and Hangman) felt like overkill physically. This match felt like a tag team version of Okada vs. Omega, in which there were more than enough great potential finishes but they just kept going and going and going until I was too pissed off to appreciate the (compared to the previous 38 minutes) absolutely WEAK finish. Character work and psychology's definitely there but it's tainted by overindulgence on the workers' parts for me to appreciate. I'm never watching this again."
[10.0] "An incredible athletic showing paired with great storytelling. This is pretty much everything you can ask for in a tag team match. Maybe the best tag team bout since the Edge/Mysterio vs. Benoit/Angle fights."
[10.0] "Amazing match that had me on the edge of my seat for the whole damn thing. About as perfect of a match as you can get, minus that one really weird mishap from Ibushi of all people. Storytelling, awesome wrestling, a great crowd, it doesn't get much better than this."
[10.0] "An amazing emotion filled match with everyone playing their respective roles perfectly. The story here going in was so nuanced that it almost made Ibushi an afterthought but the in-ring stuff was so good, everyone shone. The Bucks did more than their usual and had an extra layer of storytelling on top of everything, an example being the More Bang for your Buck ending with an elbow drop through the table. There was one scary superplex which could have killed Matt had Ibushi not stuck his foot out. There was what seemed to be a botch on the Cross Slash but the way Ibushi recovered has me doubting whether it was actually a botch or not, so I won't have that influence my rating. My absolute favourite moment was the OWA to Matt with Kenny not wanting to hit it but Matt forcing him to, I've replayed that so many times and it gave me goosebumps, which doesn't happen often. The entire thing ended with a great post match segment with Cody getting even more heat (he's such a damn good heel) and more story progression with Nick hugging it out with Kenny but Matt feeling reluctant. Kenny gave a brilliant post match promo and the crowd was hot during the entire thing. The first big match in this Bullet Club implosion delivered in swathes, next stop is Omega/Cody. (*****)"
[10.0] "A really great MOTYC match but had some things that took away from it, like Matt using the sharpshooter when he did, and some of the story line building things they tried to do didn't make sense. I would go 4. 75 stars."
[0.0] "This was rubbish. The Match the structure was bad and counter intuitive. The match was nearly 40 minutes long and was fought under normal tag rules but a good 30 min of it was done tornado style With JR regularly commenting on how the match was out of control and tagging did not seem to matter. Then every so often they would do a Face in peril segment that would last a few mins before they go back to tornado stuff. Going into this match i assumed that it would be the golden lovers who were the faces and the bucks the heels but that changed several times over the course of the match with the bucks being the faces at the end. It was a mess. As for the work itself it was your usual young bucks and omega fare where everything looks very choreographed to the nth degree, but if they get things wrong everyone looks stupid, this happend several times during this match. There was one good spot in this match though and that was the elbow through the table to the floor. Naturally however omega who took the move was up and in the ring within one minute, this happened twice with him in this match, he did nothing for the majority of the match took two huge bumps and then on these bumps was when he decided he would get involved again, garbage selling. Do the young bucks have any offense that does not involve the corner in some way, be it jumping off the ropes, throwing somone into the corner, hitting a strike out of the corner etc. Now we get to the 'story' and the 'acting' Good god this was bad, Shawn Micheals would look at this and think "you know what that is a bit much". At one point omega has Matt Jackson up for the one winged angel, he hesitates and Matt begins to get free before screaming at Kenny to hit the move on him, Not in the way of a defiant blood-soaked babyface telling a heel to give them there best shot like a badass but like a screaming child 1/2*"
[8.0] "Many people find this match amazing, one of the best ever, and so on... all I've seen, it's an incredible sequence of outstanding moves, with some storytelling here and there. Good? No doubt, a very good match. But 5 star? The best tag team match ever? No, definitely not."
[10.0] "It took a decade to finally get to this match, but fortunately it was all worth the wait as all four men put on one of, if not the greatest tag team matches in the past decade. Let's get it out of the way first, yes there were some botches early on, specifically two; the accidental collision between Kenny and Ibushi, and Ibushi's overshot Moonsault. It's hardly a complaint though as it didn't bring down the quality of the match at all. This match is probably the best example of a spot fest with excellent storytelling. The ongoing story of Bullet Club's implosion lead to this match, and it made for some great storytelling spots specifically with Matt and Kenny. I can't forget the amazing athleticism shown on display as well from all four men, especially Nick and Ibushi. It was the perfect storm of story telling, psychology, athleticism, spots, character work, etc. This is what pro wrestling is at it's finest in my honest opinion, *****."
[10.0] "Großartiges Tag Match von vier herausragenden Akteuren. Die Spannungen der Storylines rund um den Bullet Club wurden hier perfekt in Handlung und Emotionen umgesetzt. Dazu die Qualität des hier vorgetragenen Wrestlings und das über fast 40 Minuten! Genial, so hat mich noch kein Tag Team Match mitgenommen! *****"
[10.0] "Die Young Bucks haben vielleicht das beste Jahr ihrer Karriere: Nach zwei großartigen Matches gegen Roppongi 3K, nun ein absoluter Klassiker gegen The Golden Lovers. Storytelling, Matchführung, perfekt aufgebaute Spots, Drama und noch so viel mehr was man sich von einem Wrestling Match wünscht. ****3/4"
[10.0] "This was an absolute classic here. A masterpiece of storytelling for sure. From matt's incredible selling the bad back to kenny refusing to hurt matt and nick asking matt to do moves requiring his bad back, all small details made the match a masterpiece. And the high spots, nearfalls were so well built which really popped the crowd hard. The drama was great, too. This lasted nearly 40 minutes but never felt too long. This may be the best tag team match in NJPW history here and a truly MOTYC so far."
[10.0] "Hier und da gab es den ein oder anderen Botch, aber trotzdem war dies vielleicht das beste Tag Team Match aller Zeiten. Das beste Young Bucks Match aller Zeiten und ein top MOTY Contender für dieses Jahr. Eine unglaublich Emotionale und auch Intensive Story die uns hier mit einigen großen Spots und Moves in knapp 40 Minuten Präsentiert wurde. Die Atmosphäre und die Stimmung war grandios und alle 4 zeigten Top Leistungen. *****"
[10.0] "Absolute classic and among the best tag matches ever. You were already joke to claim The Bucks have no psychology if you saw their 2017 work, but they've increased even more in 2018 and after this match there's no denying it. The action was rough, but it was also crazy good with immaculate storytelling. An amazing blend of spots while also telling a very compelling story. Just classic *****"
[10.0] "The best tag team match I've seen in my life! Fantastic storytelling and overall awesome match! 39 minutes of breathtaking action with the two best teams of our time. The best match in NJPW this year at the moment. *****"
[10.0] "This is the best tag team match I have ever seen. This is Wrestling: drama, incredible fighting actions, incredible near falls, violence, wonderful selling, great team work, friendship, brotherhood love, hot crowd and an interesting post match. Storytelling is the best element of the match: Matt Jackson is the MVP of the match, he is angry with Kenny and he provocates him for the entire match, the back injury is selled very well. Kenny is confused in the match, according to storyline, at the start of the match he doesn't want hit the Bucks, but Matt provocations bring him to hit hard, with a little regret before One-winged angel (wonderful moment when Matt wants that Kenny uses the one-winged angel). Nick attacks hardly Kenny when his brother is destroyed and the final is poetic: Nick's desperate comeback for his brother against all the Golden Lovers fails. Kota is an incredible athlete, but he is out of the storytelling in some moments: Matt splits him in the face (an offense for Japaneses) and he does not nothing ! He returns in the storytelling when he motivates Kenny in order to finish the job. ***** stars match!"
[10.0] "A masterpiece in tag team wrestling and storytelling You take possibly the best wrestler in the world in Kenny Omega, reunite him with another dynamic world caliber performer in Kota Ibushi. Then you throw in possibly the best long running tag team in the world in The Young Bucks ? You get this match at Strong Style Evolved, which imo was the best tag team match of all time. One who doesn't know the storyline involving these guys ( or doesn't watch Being The Elite ), aren't gonna be invested just parachuting into this match online or tv. But if your like me, this was everything you could have wanted and then some. Yes there was one miscue from during cross slash ( which isn't that noticeable during broadcast ) and Omega hit a rough moonsault on Matt. But outside of those two things ( which were not match or crowd killers at all ), this easily a ***** classic, with so many memorable storytelling moments and spots. An easy 5 Stars and MOTY for me... The best tag team match i'v had the pleasure of watching"
[9.0] "Great storytelling in the match and some amazing spots. My only gripes would be that the rules were basically ignored and I found the match dragged on at times. Omega and Matt Jackson were the standouts - before the match I was hesitant how the Young Bucks could adapt to being in the heavyweight division but they proved their style is adaptable."
