[3.0] "Bad match, very long and without much to justify it's lenght, there is some effort here, but this is one of those matches that tries to be both a hardcore match and a comedy match at the same time, sometimes it works but here it doesn't, it is not funny and not that violent outside of some spots, and El Desperado had way more violent matches before, so this is underwhelming, especially for a co main event. Desperado wrestling without the mask is something very memorable, but outside of that there is nothing good about this"
[4.0] "Efficiency 2 lots of standing around in between setting things up early on. The staple exchange is an overdone trope. 10 minutes in, way too much time setting things up. Real boring and it completely kills the flow of the match. There has to be a more clever way to do this stuff. Second half of the match was a little better with the flow. Immersion 2 despys look makes him really seem crazy. But other than that, they dont get clever enough to make most of it seem organic. Execution 2.5 its hard to rate execution here. The weapons spots look overly fake. So I guess not good. The weapons themselves (staples, elastic bands, plastic boxes) werent always the most threatening so it teetered on farce and comedy, which Im guessing is the point so I wont consider it a huge negative. Story 2 isnt something I rate as much in these types of matches. Its basically just who can take the most pain. Intangibles 2.75 despy has his own aura and the fans were into it for the most part. 2.25 stars overall. Too many tropes, not very clever, and too much standing around."
[10.0] "This is genuinely my favorite match of the year. The opening with the boquets of flowers a cinematic moment I want framed and put on my wall to the incredible match afterwards. I just adored and loved this match, probably due to the fact that Desperado and Brookes are two of my favorite wrestlers ever. They had such a great match that was so much fun to watch and told an incredible story."
[3.0] "I liked the bloody image of Desperado but besides that this match didn't really work for me. It tried to be a lot of things and the mix came off very strange to me. Like obviously they wanted to be death match but it fell prey to one of my least favorite tropes, where the guys just stand there waiting for terrible things to be done with them, the staple gun spot was just silly to me. And then with all this brutal stuff they are also throwing in comedy spots? Anything might work in wrestling, clearly this worked for some, but to me it was just strange and I didn't like the action that much either."
[6.0] "[3.0*] I think this was a good match, it was very easy-watchable from start to finish, with some cool comedic segments and an absolutely sick visual for Despe covered in blood without his mask. However, I felt that the big spots were not big enough, with all the table spots being kind of disappointing, they were not even set-up, it was just on the corner on both sides. Although I thought this was fun and good, I am just unable to see how could this have an 8+ level here, it is not that it had a lot of issues, it was just not that good for my taste and I prefer several other Despe hardcore matches."
[9.0] "One of the best DDT matches of 2024 From punching each other to hitting boxes on each other's heads Breaking the barbed wire table and kissing each other at the end, everything was perfect"
[7.0] "Could have done without the Goof Troop running in in the back half, but apart from that this was pretty great by "deathmatch for the sake of deathmatch" standards."
"If you take turns stapling each other in the chest, it makes me wonder if it even hurts. If a bouquet of flowers has you staggering, but you trade elbows back and forth with ease then it makes me wonder if your elbows have any force behind them. If you stop to do comedy in a deathmatch, then it just takes me out of it completely. I was looking forward to this match but was quickly let down. 0/10"
[6.0] "This was kind of a comedy hardcore match, it had some good moments, specially at the beginning, with the stapler exchanges and some nasty stuff that made me agonize, like a deathmatch always should, but after the guys invaded I couldn't enjoy several moments, everything felt extremely goofy and pathetic to be honest, at the end they were just doing piledrivers and kickouts, I couldn't get myself excited at any moment. El Desperado losing his mask was a good moment though, crazy look, he wrestled without the mask and was looking scary and awesome... the moment provided good and viral photos of course, but it was too simple, the match began and Chris took off his mask, at least they could've done some creative angle about it. Not my type of match but definitely interesting, they explored a lot of erotic angles too, with the nipples stuff and a kiss at the end, I can see people enjoying it but it's not my thing - {**3/4}"
[6.0] "There were some elements in this match that didnt gel as a cohesive story. Brookes stablemates interfering was a drag on the match and if theyd cut that segment out it would have been a stronger one vs one match. Desperado losing his mask mid match to me should mean a more serious scenario."
[9.0] "One of my favourite matches of the year, absolutely delivered. Incredibly happy for Chris that he's found his place in Japan and can wrestle comedy matches and epic matches like this one. Despy's injury did a tiny bit to the match but not enough to ruin it. ***** 1/2"
[9.0] "Two of my favourites meeting in a dream match and the result delivered on expectations. This match was so much fun with lots of weapon spots and such. My only criticism is that I wish there was a bit more wrestling on display, but I can excuse it since Desperado is apparently hurting enough to take time off to heal up afterwards."
[6.0] "El Desperado ohne Maske, dafür aber mit Blut überströmten Gesicht, ist visuell eindrucksvoll. Das Match selbst krankt für mich an der typischen DDT Präsentation, die immer alles mit einem Augenzwinkern machen muss. Was bei solchen Death Matches einfach die Stimmung killt. ***1/4"
[6.0] "I had high hopes for this coming in and it started strongly - the visual of Despy, covered in blood and without his mask, was unreal. However, it devolved into comedy which, while fine, took me out of the match and meant that it ends up hitting at three stars rather than notebook."
[8.0] "Very fun hardcore match with some really disgusting looking stuff. The unmasking of Despe was added much to the match. The only drawback is that for some time it became 4 on 1 which I think wasn't quite as great as both man going one on one"
[6.0] "I enjoyed the start, but the first half was way too "DDT" for my liking. Match got a bit better once Honda and all the other geeks were gone, but even then, it was nothing special. By far the weakest hardcore match I've seen from Desperado."
[8.0] "This was a bloody affair with Despy choosing to go maskless. This match was extra fun hearing Christelle lose her mind on commentary lol. Despy is a FREEDOMS fighter trapped in a New Japan wrestler's body. Schaudenfreude International and Gongitsune being interrupted by a fire extinguisher was a ggod bit, as were the stapler, table, and container spots."
[9.0] "Auch dieses Match ist 100% DDT aber ganz anders, als Dino vs. Takagi oder der Main Event. Absolut verrücktes Chaos, in dem Desperado und Brookes vollends aufgehen. Ich fand das großartig, bester Moment vielleicht sogar als Brookes mit dieser Schlinge durch die halbe Halle läuft. El Desperado legt sehr früh im Match die Maske ab, um direkt mal klar zu machen, dass es heute abgeht."
[8.0] "This was good, but didn't reach my expectations. The Schadenfreude interference in the middle allowed them to do few spots, but it also caused the middle to drag which was a shame. Outside of that this was DDT style deathmatch and allowed Chris and Despy to do stuff which Despy normally can't do in NJPW. Good stuff. 8/10"
[2.0] "Gratuitous violence for the sake thereof. Despy removing his mask and showing that fire was incredible. He could have a second career working without the mask. I'm not a death match guy but a few have worked for me because the violence was a means for telling a story and didn't feel like a snuff film. This failed to do that."
[10.0] "Art....What the hell was that? This was a battle. Desperado unmasking himself for the 2nd time is such a goosebump moment. He is very unique. His facial expression, selling and look. What a fantastic wreslter. His face full of blood...Amazing photographic moments here. This was not a No DQ Match, it was a Deathmatch. ***** 5 STARS"
[8.0] "This was a fun match and broke up the card well before the main event. Despy is really experimental now and after he recovers from his surgery I hope he continues trying new things."
[6.0] "This was more Jackass than Death Match, with cartoonish, bloody set pieces dominating the first 15 minutes - which felt more like a compilation of angles than a match. Once they decided to get competitive and go for the win, it was really just okay ***"
[9.0] "Chrissy B and Despy had a weird yet enthralling deathmatch, one that only they could have pulled off. I was thoroughly entertained pretty much the whole way. ****14"
[10.0] "An incredible Dream Match that delivered. The opening spot was hilarious and then Brookes unmasked Despy in the first minutes of the match which shocked me. Anyways, his facial expressions were incredible and both looked like sickos smiling while covered in Blood. Incredible bout between two of the most singular personalities in the business. *****"
[6.0] "Entertaining but rather self-indulgent. It was ultra-violent yet filled with comedy and homoerotism, so the severity of the violence didnt quite land, despite the blood everywhere. Chris Brookes is clearly skilled but comes across more as an exhibition wrestler without much emotional depth. The ending, with its piledrivers and such, felt rather formulaic, as if they were following a set template for an epic match rather than earning it. That said, you could tell El Desperado wanted to go all out for what he likely knew would be his last match for many months (he announced shortly after that he would be out with an injury). He's proven himself a valuable asset to New Japan with his versatility."
[7.0] "Quite a bit too long and they kicked out of a few too many things, but this never demanded to be taken seriously, and was memorable enough for me to call it worthwhile. Stapler shenanigans were the highlight, and I'm always a fan of the plastic bins. Even the Barbed wire and forks were fun too. Maskless Despy is always fun to see as well, and he had a great blade job here too. 3.5 Stars."
[10.0] "i was back and forth on a 9 or a 10 but this was everything i love in ddt, these two are two of my favorite wrestlers right now so i was nervous my expectations would be too high but it definitely lived up. i think the schadenfreude interference was a bit long after they did the band snap to desperado but thats my only real complaint. i knew this would be a hardcore match yet it still managed to surprise me with what they did. the exchange of staple guns leading to brookes stapling both of desperados nipples was one of the most absurd things ive seen in a long time in a hardcore match. desperado having his mask cut off early leading to him wrestling the entire match unmasked was really cool. what these two came up with ended up leading to one of my favorite matches of the year."
[7.0] "A good amount of manic violence and chaotic moments. The back-and-forth stapling spot was awesome as Chris stapled Despy's nipples. At times certain things became long-winded and took too long to get from one point to the other, but overall quite fun. Antonio Honda's knee spot is a major highlight. Despy looked tremendously monstrous with blood dripping down his forehead. Nice fun in this one. ***1/2"
[9.0] "As someone that generally is not the biggest fan of death matches, this still blew me away. There was an intensity prevalent throughout this match that truly elevated it. The spots were incredible, the violence nasty, and an unmasked, bloody Despy is one of the most frightening images in all of wrestling. Brookes continues to be one of the absolute best wrestlers that not nearly enough people talk about."
[9.0] "Homoerotic, powerfully violent, and wonderfully absurd. Two of my favorite guys in Japan making magic once again. Will be thinking about Despes stapled nipple for a while."
[8.0] "Nasty match that Despy sold really well, especially with his maskless facial expressions. Only downside was he couldn't quite hit his finisher on some Brookes' height."
[9.0] "one of the most fun, brutal, and absurd matches of the year. these two beat the hell out of each other and a maskless desperado was truly a sight to behold"
[8.0] "The intensity of this match was really great and they did some really brutal shit to each other, however it didn't really feel like it reached that 4.5 star level of work, there wasn't much escalation throughout the the match. I would put that on Brookes unmasking Despy quite early in the match to the point where the novelty of Despy's face showing was forgotten about by the end."
