[5.0] "Shoudnt have been main eventing. And felt like lazy booking like lets just do a bunch of crazy stuff no story and just bunch it all into one big match and call it the main event. Some moments were pretty cool all the wrestlers in the match are great"
[3.0] "Man, this was just a cluster fuck in a bad way. Sometimes it's a good thing, but this wasn't. Some moments were good, I thought Darby setting Jack on fire was easily the highlight of the night, it was pointless and stupid, but it was a cool moment. Besides that, this was meh at best. I like chaos matches, I've been some bad ones over the years, and this is easily possibly one of the worst chaos matches I've seen. Another thing is with these kind of matches, you want the action to continue, but with this, I wanted it to end cause I wasn't enjoying it."
[3.0] "Once they stopped with the god damn music it became a fairly entertaining match. I don't think I'm ever going to like this match. It's AEW's answer to the World War III battle royal that had so much going on you didn't know what was happening. The whole thing is a mess and very self indulgent. Only the first one works because it was edited and done out of necessity. They couldn't have a live crowd and it was done very well and I still enjoy watching that one. Every version after that has been pointless."
[7.0] "[3.5*] Yeah, this one definitely doesn't hold up on rewatch, specially after watching the 2022 one. 4 participants in each team is not anarchic enough and although they did some cool and crazy stuff that was all over the place, the biggest spots were all of them 100% pre-choreographed like the fire spot and Darby being tied for a Superkick Party spot. It's actually really worse on a rewatch than I expected it to be lol, I'm kinda surprised. Not bad at all, just liked like a TV series crazy episode where everyone played their part perfectly and did what the boss told them to do. It's funny because the story behind the match was literally about the rebellion of the EVPs so they could've done something more natural."
[9.0] "****1/2 (09/10) Let's Anarchy! Chaotic mos-def. But what else could the All-Elite give that they had not before for a war within an Anarchy in the Arena? That's a question I'm asking myself going into Double or Nothing '25, but the eight men involved in the 2024 edition figured out the answers for the season within Pro-Wrestling's Golden year. Why is it always Darby doing the absolute bats**t brutality that only propels one to ask, Why, Darby? Why? And at first instant, I did not like Jungle Boy getting the pin, but maybe it is justified since he did after all get lit on fire, and it was a tasteful move to finish Danielson, the (real) GOAT, with his own finisher. Oh, if the moon was only meant for Jungle Boy."
[5.0] "Quality is far from the first anarchy in the arena, not even as good as the second one. Some funny moments which are perfectly fine but man this stretch in AEW history will always feel awkward. This match being part of the failed big storyline doesn't help either."
[3.0] "I genuinely hated this lol. The violence in this is so performative that it comes across as lame, there's weird tongue-in-cheek bits that don't work at all. At one point they use a 4 cam setup in order to show what's happening around the arena and it gave me a World War 3 flashback, because when I saw it I also couldn't tell what is going on and didn't enjoy myself at all. Stuff just happens and no one seems to care, not the wrestlers, not the crowd, nor I. Darby sets Perry on fire and there's barely a reaction. This goes half an hour and I feel every second. Darby getting Mussolini'd was very funny and it all amounts to a bad superkick spot. :("
[6.0] "Cavalcade of violence. I think that the strain of doing these matches on a schedule every year has begun to show -- although this match had violence it lacked the sense of danger (outside of the flamethrower spot) that the better iterations of these matches have. It's fun and it's crazy, but Tony Khan's brief involvement is weird and the match slows ways down as the Elite are trying to get the rope tied around Darby's feet. This match also was done no favours by the story it took place. If "Anarchy in the Arena" on it's own stirs excitement in your soul then this match is worth a watch. If you were hoping for elevation above and beyond that, I don't think this match has it."
[7.0] "Weird one this. I do not like matches built around walking and brawling generally, and this was a lot of that while also being hard to follow at times. However, even I can't deny the insanity of some of the spots here. People getting hanged, set on fire, arguing about the music, even Tony got involved lmao. A nice build to everything too. Sheer dumb fun."
[9.0] "Definitely the best match on the show here. This was just pure and utter chaos, and I loved every second of it. From setting Perry on fire to hanging Allin upside down for what felt like an eternity, this was absolutely insane. The Elite getting the victory was also good, in my opinion, as it gives them a big win."
[9.0] "This whole match was crazy fun, The Elite trying to takeover AEW by beating top level baby faces like FTR, Bryan Danielson, and Darby Allin. There was fire, street signs and Okada trying his best to keep a regular in-ring style wrestling was really funny and entertaining. Overall I really enjoy matches like this where it's just pure chaos and this one is definitely one of my personal favorites."
[4.0] "There is some good stuff here, the action's mostly fine, but it's overshadowed by how badly booked it is. The whole Elite VS AEW storyline is one of the worst things about AEW this year. It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make sense that the production crew listens to the EVPS when Tony Khan himself has come back. It doesn't make sense that Jack Perry, the man who was set on fire, came back to get the pin 5 minutes later. Okada has been Low effort in the ring since joining AEW and this was no different. A lot of his stuff looks bad. Darby Allin, despite his foot being broken not too long ago, was hung by his foot from the ceiling. Some spots are unnecessarily dangerous. There was some actual good to this. Danielson and FTR try to do their stuff as well as they can. And there are some shades of good creativity. But in the end, the good was overshadowed by the several flaws. Bad match"
[9.0] "so much fun from the start and that never stopped. matt then danielson changing the music playing during the match was so good, especially to see final countdown with darby doing the coffin drop on beat and then matt turning it off because its too expensive. putting jack in the water to hide the lighter gel was really clever but i didn't really understand the car spot because he was never seen getting hit and then jack looked hurt. other great spots with the swanton on the ramp, the tacs on the sock and then darby setting jack on fire was better than i was expecting while keeping it safe. tony kahn also taking a massive bump, rolling down the ramp. then darby hanging upsidedown with the bucs super kicking him with spikes was disgustingly great. ****1/2"
[9.0] "I don't know why the rating is so low, I hope it improves, because this match was excellent, and I'm not even a huge fan of the stipulation, but it worked again, this was the clear MOTN, really good stuff. I loved the build they've created to one of the greatest moments in AEW history, playing Darby's song, then the Bucks turned into their song, and finally, the expected moment, where Danielson made the call to play Final Countdown, and those few minutes were magical, I had goosebumps the whole time, will remember this forever. The music stopped, and the match downgraded a little, but it was still good, it had some dead moments for sure, but also a lot of good ones, like the Scapegoat bus "hitting" Darby, and him coming back in Eddie Kingston-style, Tony Khan getting kidnapped and Darby putting Jack in flames, Darby hanging there like he's in slaughterhouse, the exploding chair, the thumbtack shoes, this match had a lot of nice moments and spots, it wasn't the most anarchic one, that would still be 2022 by a huge margin, but this was well executed, safely executed and with a lot of insane moments, it's not perfect but it was a great main event, definitely not as low as the people here are rating, I hope that with the time this will be fixed - {****1/4}"
[10.0] "This sort of match is so much better when you are there live and in attendence. I had so much fun singing the final countdown and seeing all the stupid stuff. From the multiple attempted murders of Darby Allin to the Jack Perry getting set on fire, this match was a blast."
[8.0] "I think the third installment in AITA solidifies it as one of my favorite match types ever. Just so much damn fun every single time. This one is easily the most insane to date, as I could count at least 5 instances of a felony that would result in prison time. I hope that in the upcoming matches for AITA, we continue to get more creative, because this has become a staple in such a quick amount of time. All here for it. It did get a little boring in the middle when The Bucks started working on FTR, but it wasnt too bad. The adjoining body of work from the rest of the match helped keep its fluidity. Having Jack Perry score the winning pin fall also helps him a lot. It was desperately needed for his push. Great clusterfuck, and the second best installment behind last years. ****1/2"
[9.0] "Crazy match and extremely fun. Final Countdown, Jack Perry being set on fire, an exploding chair, Darby Allin being hung upside down, just mental throughout. Might not be the best one but it was very good."
[8.0] "A very convoluted sporfest, but still it's a pretty fun watch. There's a lot going on right from the beginning and the first 10 minutes or so were probably the most fun part, with the crowd singing along to The Final Countdown and such. After that the match slows down a little, but the finishing minutes are also entertaining, with even a exploding chair making an appearance. My favorite spots from the match were all involving Darby Allin, like him getting hit by the bus or using the flamethrower. [8.5]"
[8.0] "Insane action that spanned from silly and fun to scary and crazy. The truck spot with Perry didn't work how I think they wanted it to but other than that everything looked great and was rather fun. At some point, the question of "how far is too far? " needs to be addressed because some of this feels like it walks that line. The flamethrower spot was the craziest thing I think I've seen. Pure chaos which is exactly what I expected and more."
[9.0] "A batshit insane main event that had so many awesome moments that I couldn't believe I was seeing. This lived up to the standard of Anarchy In The Arena. Hats off to all 8 men involved. Jack Perry getting lit on fire, Darby hung upside and superkicked with the thumbtack Reeboks and more (****3/4)"
[0.0] "There is so much going on, very big effort and taking many risks and it make zero sense. They start match with - of course- fighting every place in arena. You just have high paid 'stars' doing meaningless spots in a non convincing way and nobody keep track because everyone everywhere at the same time. On top of that they play music and they made the 'cut that crap' cliche.Then everybody did more seperate things. Some of them in the ring, some of the in other parts of arena, I don't even know where some of them are. Then Darby Allin hit by a bus then he came to the arena. Thats a sentence nobody should need to write to tell a pro wrestling match but here we are. Then they use tables, they do moves to each other that should a kill a person but everybody is alright after the 5 minutes. Then Punk guy just take the Tony Khan to do arena. But then darby came with a flamethrower and just set him on fire. I don't even remember final of this stupid match. But I remember its either stupid or very dangreous. In any way its meaningless. Everybody should understand why ratings are like this right now. Because if youre companys big match is a lack of logic spotfest like this you have a problem. Just trying to do brainless things like that when you have Danielson, Okada and FTR, must be study level bad booking. Tony Khan vs The Elite story sucked too. This match is just bad in every level."
[8.0] "The fight is just a mayhem of violence from everyone. Not as good as the previous ones but for god sake they put Jack Perry on fire with a F'n flamethrower, what the hell? And Darby got hanged by the feet in the middle of the ring, amazing spots."
[10.0] "Again, this will never ever be anyone's cup of tea. Really chaotic and really violent but since it's Anarchy in the Arena what would expect? We got Derby being Derby, a Meltzer Driver on a giant fish, and explosive chair and a countless amount of other spots that are worth seeing. It was weird to see Perry getting the pin but it isn't a problem at all at the end of the day. If you love giant bralws all over the place you know this is a must see. *****"
[6.0] "This wasnt as good as the previous Anarchy in the Arenas. At all. It had some pretty good moments but there was a lot of meaningless moments. The match dragged at times and Danielson took the loss again. This match should retire with Danielson because it just doesnt hit the same anymore."
[9.0] "This wasn't quite as good as previous editions of Anarchy in the Arena, probably because they had to work around Darby Allin's injuries, but this was still an incredible match. I had been spoiled on the flamethrower spot, but I can only imagine what that would have been like if I didn't know it was coming. One minor nitpick was that Kazuchika Okada seemed a little tentative when delivering weapon shots. I don't think he's fully comfortable with hardcore wrestling."
[6.0] "Pretty much nothing in this match mattered. 2 weeks removed from it and it's proven to have absolutely 0 consequence on the wrestlers involved or the show in general. And that's pretty much what it seemed like it would be before and during the match. Kinda hard to get into when it feels like it's more about the match type than the feud. Some good spots but they were in service of nothing."
[5.0] "I thought this mostly sucked. When you have a match called Anarchy in the Arena and it ends with a fucking knee and the crowd dead silent I think you lost the plot somewhere. Having Jack Perry so obviously wearing flame gel probably would have been a good sign to just skip the spot or I don't know don't shoot him from up close? Darby is hanging because he's Darby. All of this stuff never really added up to much for me and this feud really did not have the heat to warrant such a match anyway but they're going the route of making it obligatory for every Double or Nothing unfortunately."
[8.0] "Last year's AITA is still the best one they've ever done, and without remembering much about the first one this one might be the weakest. Lots of fun spots and hard-hitting action, and while the long, drawn-out ending fell flat, that's definitely what they were going for in making The Elite look like a formidable force, so mission accomplished."
[4.0] "This was pretty much the perfect indictment of AEW as a whole. This was an overly confused match that went from one tone to another. This seems to be a comedic heavy bout with the music being played and then stopped and changed to something else. That was all fine but then they would switch to straight brawling, but then again switch to absurdist spots like a flame thrower. It was all incoherent and messy. It wasnt totally unworthwhile and there were some aspects of the match that were enjoyable to an extent. But this wasnt a good match. It didnt make good use of people like Okada or Danielson, who went missing at one point. Then you add in the phantom hit and run with Jack Perry, the driver being knocked out. It fell flat as a narrative. And most of the spots felt tame even compared to the Copeland vs Black cage match earlier in the show. A misfire if there was one. **"
[4.0] "I haven't watched AEW since All In 2023, but this whole Elite / Tony Khan stuff finally got me intrigued enough to chuck on the main event, only to be met with a pretty heatless garbage brawl lacking any rhyme or reason. Crowd was dead and tired from a very long show (i thought we moved on from these post pandemic) and although there was some cool spots (Darby coffin drop, flame thrower) this was overall just a bunch of nothing. A movie of explosions and more explosions. I think emblematic of this is when Darby gets hung up, kicked, then for Daniel Bryan to come in and fight back against a 3-1 numbers advantage (? ) and leave the guy fucking hanging the whole match. Then into a random finish, which was a regular move to my recollection - how is the crowd supposed to care if they saw a guy on fire, someone jump 10 feet onto everyone, and is seeing a man hung upside down in the ring? This was supposed to be a major battle for the soul of AEW and it just turned into a match that felt like it meant nothing. But i guess i can't call it bad. actually I probably can. Do these people think about things twice? 2024 is the year of great wrestling. Can we get Okada in Chase U? **"
[6.0] "This has some fun elements, and definitely one or two things I have never seen before, but it was ultimately a plunder match without a lot of substance. Those definitely have their place, but this one, while entertaining, did not have me clamoring for more."
"I like these matches, but I truly hate the camera cuts trying to capture everything. Stick to one shot for 15 seconds please. I feel like they miss way more and it's disorientating after a while. The 4 way camera helped in the end, but came quite late. In theory these matches are great, but really only for the live audience who are watching from feet away. If you're in a stadium and 100 metres away then you're relying on the screens, same as sitting at home watching. Some of the spots are really fun, but i'd honestly prefer a basic hardcore match around the ring for that. Or the old Stadium stampede which worked as it was choreographed and filmed specifically for tv. Fun to hear Final Countdown again and the Bucks saying it costs too much to play haha. Darby a fire starter, the scape goat truck. Usual fun moments that make these watchable."
[6.0] "Just like the others Anarchy in the Arena we saw in the past, it just didnt click for me. This is a long nonsensical match and even though I understand this is the goal, this is not for me. Some great spots and overall not annoying to watch, but I cant rate it higher. This is not the kind of match I like to see in AEW."
[8.0] "This match started off pretty tame with some generic brawling, and the overall highlight of the match for a while was just final countdown playing in the background. Things started to pick up once they showed Darby and Jack Perry fighting backstage, and Darby also got ran over by a truck. Darby sent Jack Perry on fire mid match, which should probably take someone out for the whole match but I've never booked anything so I'm wrong here. Darby got hanged with his feet dangling, and after FTR failed to make a save they let Bryan make a big comeback which was excellent as it's Bryan making a comeback. The finish to this was awful tho as the guy who got set on fire earlier, ends a match with a fucking knee of all things.****"
[0.0] "I didn't really care for the musical chairs with the theme songs. It became a little too tongue in cheek "ha-ha" undercutting the danger of the match. When it finally stops we have the fans chanting they want music. Similar to a certain French event recently where the crowd feels like they are there for themselves rather than the event. A lot of gaga and brawling to just get to the next spot. No real reason for anything it's all just happening. We get Perry attacking Tony and kidnapping him at gorilla. Darby has a flamethrower. Jack Perry gets caught on fire. This should be big, but it's just a random nothing spot mid match that got less of a reaction than when the music got cut off. Wrestling is passing me by. Less and less wrestlers want to find cool things that fit within a logical story-driven match and more and more just try to find a way to force a story between all the crazy stuff they want to do. The Bucks continue to just be generic and tongue in cheek, a pumping up their sneakers spot completely wrecks any effect an upside down hung Darby would have. Everything is a joke. Okada, Danielson, FTR and Darby are all worse off for having been associated with this mess. Worst of all Perry of all people gets the pin. DUD. If I never see another anarchy in the arena match I think i will be just fine."
[7.0] "Funny, but not the best one. The fire spot was nuts, and the explosive chair shot was awesome, but other than that is just meh. Darby hanging like a fish half of the match didn't help at all, it was a nice opportunity to do some crazy stunt but they chose not to. Ending was also not good, a weak knee strike by Perry"
[8.0] "Another very fun and wild one of these matches. They have enough new stuff here, and have learned important lessons on how to film Anarchy in the Arena matches that this is definitely worth checking out even if the concept is growing a little stale. They deserve a lot of credit for finding a credible excuse for Jack Perry to be soaking wet (in fire-protective fluid)."
[6.0] "This was actually quite disappointing. I confess that I am completely numb to these kinds of matches by this point, so you'd have to go batshit crazy to impress me. The funny thing is, although this was very messy, it wasn't intense enough to justify its name. Instead of going balls to the walls from the start, they inserted wrestling spots in it. but not to the point of making it a good wrestling match. In the end, it was neither chaotic enough nor methodical enough."
[6.0] "I've not really liked any of these anarchy in the arena matches tbh and this one didn't change my mind. It was alright for what it was. This lacked the chaos of some previous iterations which is good in some ways as there was less camera cuts which helped with actually seeing the action. I expected some more inventive spots outside of the flamethrower stuff this was pretty meh. The result was never in doubt and I've never been less interested in the elite."
[8.0] "8.5 - They really caught me with music at the start. Really fun match. The Darby/JB pairing feels so right, hope they pair off. Played on the EVP stuff without being too over-the-top. Carrying off a legit flamethrower spot is wildly impressive."
[4.0] "These AEW stadium/arena hardcore matches are all the same goofy affairs each time, with non-stop brawling, lethargic weapon attacks, and absurd spots one after the other. It doesn't help that every pairing tries to get as far away as possible from the others and the cameras then have to cut between everything every 5-60 seconds, making it difficult to ever follow one wrestler/pairing's actual journey and thus making it difficult to get invested in anything. How can I care about relatively plain table spot 20 minutes into the match when we apparently got an attempted vehicular murder only 10 minutes in? How can I care about literally anything before or after the flamethrower spot where Perry was literally set on fire? (And it DIDN'T EVEN PLAY INTO THE FINISH). The actual wrestling exchanges and spots were very limited and nothing remotely special, just the same old signature spots from everyone. Underhanded snarling heel Okada is still the only real highlight in current AEW, so at least there was that here in small doses. Almost everything here was either tongue-and-cheek comedy or over-the-top, which I get, and it even made me smile a few times, but it's really not what I want in my wrestling. **1/4"
[7.0] "This came at the end of a very long night and I had to take a long break before watching this. Even though these Anarchy in the Arena matches don't make a lick of sense and I never look forward to them (and having seen it live, it's a terrible match for the live audience as you can't see anything for 90%) but seeing them on tv I always end up having fun with them. This is one of the weaker matches of this type they did but it still had some fun spots. I think it was a big shorter than previous matches and I also think that was a good choice. I'm giving this a good score but man, if I would have watched this straight away at the end of a 5+ hour ppv, I would have hated this."
[10.0] "On paper I was a looking forward to this match, but less so that past Anarchy in the Arena matches. I won't say this is the best one they ever did but god DAMN did it turn out to be fun! Exceeded my expectations to say the least. For me the babyface team stood out more than the heels but it was really the well built moments, stunts, and visuals of the match that made it work so well. The argument over what music should be blasting through the first part, the wild fights into different parts of the arena, the car crash(! ), the FLAMETHROWER spot, Darby being hung up, the faces fighting down to the last man... that's just a few things to highlight. This match ruled hard, I put it at my #10 for the year so far and my #4 for AEW this year."
[5.0] "Honestly this was kind of a boring match for something called Anarchy in the Arena. The first one of these was unique enough that they feel the need to repeat it every year, but by last year's match it seemed kind of rote. They still found a way to make it a varied and fun match spanning the actual arena but here it was mostly just some stuff behind the curtain and ringside stuff. Perhaps the constraints of the arena but it felt "small" and contained rather than... anarchy."
[10.0] "Anarchy in the Arena is such a crazy, and enjoyable experience live. It's like one big party. I still haven't seen it yet on video, but I don't think the video could possibly capture how much of a party it was. Everyone was happy, and energized, and it was absolute chaos. Probably the only match that is a completely different experience watching from home than in the Arena. And a man was set on fire."
[9.0] "my favorite type of match! it was extremely entertaining and exciting! The Final Countdown made the match so dreamy and also its timing was perfect, especially during Darby's jump and Danielson in the middle of the crowd. I really love Jack Perry's new character, and him bullying Tony Khan was a great and hilarious idea. this match had a lot of good moments that I surely missed some of them. but why I'm not giving it a 10? because it had the potential to be more extreme ans speedy than that. I mean they should have given much more time to it and more activity. (****3/4)"
[8.0] "im giving it a 8 mainly because yes it was incredible to watch with absolutely out of this world insane spots but. They fumbled the bag here they fumbled such an obvious storyline that can get us threw the summer and into all in. now there is a chance for them to fix there mistakes and actually make this a compelling storyline by simply actually making this a elite vs aew feud not just randomly picking 4 guys to go fight on the aew team. Have the elite start firing people have them start making aew a different place then what it was set out to do. Just do something please i want to like this storyline because it is a good idea. The spots in this match are going to live rent free in my mind for years. When the match got announced i wasnt to pleased mainly because its unnecessary but it was great possibly the best anarchy in the arena match weve seen so far. VERY Interested to see whats next come wednesday."
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