"In my opinion, the best match of a pretty much perfect rivalry, it may not be for everyone, but if this kind of stuff is the type of wrestling you like then this match is absolutely incredible"
[10.0] "Goodness.Is there a winner here? LOL this was maybe the toughest watch I've had as a wrestling fan of 40 years. I give a ton of credit to both athletes, what they endured was insane, they told an incredible story as well, and this was a feud that we will never, ever forget. Wow."
[10.0] "Well. This was epic. First of all what the fuck was Paul turner doing with the chair that shit was terrible there's no rules what is he doing. I love blood in pro wrestling however this had blood but nothing like their Texas death match but in a way it was perfect. It felt like a fight for survival in the streets with some ridiculous cinderblock bumps and just awesome spots and holy fuck the chair shot to end it. Yes. There best match IMO. ****1/2"
[5.0] "I don't know about this one. I did not have a huge problem with the brutality, apart from the unnecessary syringe spot, but it was just boring. Their Full Gear match was vastly superior to this one as it had a great mix of both hardcore brawling and wrestling. Here it sometimes looked like they did not really know what to do. There were a few nice/gnarly spots, especially the gruesome cinderblock bumps but all in all, out of their their ppv matches, this was the worst one."
[10.0] "[4.5*] The Creepiest Match Ending Ever. Hangman Celebrated Like He Murdered Someone. But Anyways, Review: The Unsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage match between Swerve Strickland and "Hangman" Adam Page at AEW All Out 2024 was less a wrestling match and more a tragic, brutal epilogue to a year-long story of obsession and emotional collapse. it wasn't a 5-star or 4.75 star rating in my eyes, but It was gruesome, uncomfortable, and utterly essential viewing for anyone who had followed the downward spiral of the former AEW World Champion. While the technical brilliance of the show's opener or the International Championship match may rate higher for pure wrestling, this main event surpassed everything in terms of raw, visceral storytelling, cementing itself as one of the most violent and polarizing matches in company history. The Perfect Narrative Blowoff The reason this match resonated so deeply lies in its legendary build. Beginning with Swerve's calculated disrespect and escalating through the despicable home invasion angle, the feud successfully transformed "Hangman" Adam Page from a lovable, slightly conflicted hero into a genuinely unhinged antagonist. All Out was not about a title or a contract; it was about Page's desperate, last-ditch attempt to erase Swerve Strickland and, in doing so, regain his own rapidly deteriorating sanity. The atmosphere was electric, heavy with the sense that Page had crossed the moral event horizon, and there was no going back. The "Lights Out" stipulation gave full license to the violence, making the steel cage less a tool for containment and more a canvas for carnage. The story entering the match was simple: Page needed to kill the idea of Swerve, and Swerve was ready to die to cement his status as the true anti-hero of AEW. Escalation into Anarchy The match began not with grappling, but with a horrifying exchange of staple gun shots, immediately establishing the tone. Within minutes, both men were leaking blood, a testament to their willingness to forgo wrestling holds in favor of pure, agonizing hatred. Swerve, ever the master manipulator, used the violence to mock Page, stapling pictures of Page's own family to the former champion's chest--a brilliant, sadistic spot that amplified the personal stakes. The use of weapons continued to escalate. Barbed wire wrapped around chairs and fists was deployed, and the cage walls were utilized repeatedly to grind the skin and bone of both competitors. The in-ring action was not flashy; it was a gritty, ugly brawl designed to inflict maximum damage. The selling from both men was tremendous, particularly Swerve, who endured one crushing powerbomb onto a cinder block that should have ended the match right then and there. The high point of the match's brutality came with the utilization of tables, including a harrowing spot where Page was driven through one, though the landing was partially broken. Every move felt earned, not gratuitous, because the preceding months of build demanded this level of destruction. The Vicious and Polarizing Finale The finale is what will be discussed for years. After a grueling exchange, Page's descent into madness became complete. He retrieved a syringe--a shocking, perhaps unnecessary inclusion--and jammed it into Swerve's cheek. While this moment drew significant criticism for crossing the line from wrestling violence to something truly medical and uncomfortable, it undeniably communicated the utter loss of control by Page. The end came with the final, definitive act of violence: Page delivering a brutal, unprotected-looking chair shot directly to the skull of Swerve Strickland, which was followed by the bell for the victory. (While the chair was clearly gimmicked, the optics and sound were designed to look like a murder shot, which production wisely cut away from immediately.) The sight of "Hangman" Adam Page screaming in a mixture of catharsis, horror, and disgust in the immediate aftermath, having finally succeeded in his twisted goal, perfectly closed the chapter. He won the war but lost his soul, leaving the ring a destroyed man who had committed an act he could never truly take back."
[10.0] "10/10. Nothing else needs to be said. One thing for sure not gonna watch this match ever. Hangman character arc is one of the best wrestling will ever witness."
[10.0] "The goal of this match was to be violent and uncomfortable, and it easily achieved that goal. I simply never want to watch it again, they exceeded their goal to a massive degree given that."
[7.0] "this shouldve just been a hardcore match without the cage. the cage almost felt non existent in this match and theres only so much you can do with a staple gun. I get the long term story telling but once again, this match fell flat for me with alot of its spots. The final chair shot was pretty crazy though"
[6.0] "Overall, I love hardcore, but the big problem with this match isn't the hardcore and ultraviolence, but rather the secondary nature of the storyline itself. The previous match was way cooler. Here, even though it was a "Cinema Wrestling" format, the segment was just copying ideas from other matches. For example, the segment where Paige burns down Strickland's house--it's literally the same as the segment where Orton burns down the Wyatt's house. We've seen this before. And by the way, that match was often seen as proof that AEW can tell stories, not just do pure wrestling. But AEW has shown they can do original stories before: #MJF2020, Orange Cassidy vs. Chris Jericho, MJF vs. Jericho, Dark Order with Brodie Lee, CM Punk vs. MJF, Sting's farewell. But here, there's no originality--just a storyline recycled from another plot. It's not about comparing the promotions, but even in WWE 2022, which I hate, there are original ideas--for example, Lesnar on a tractor. We've seen exploding limos, exploding wires, wrestlers jumping off skyscrapers; and now they try to surprise us with burning houses in 2025? Also, let's point out that Paige and Strickland are trying to kill each other in the match. This isn't wrestling--it's criminal activity. Okay, such things can happen in wrestling, but I feel Swerve and Adam just don't fit the psycho type of criminals. They don't convince me; they lack even Jon Moxley or Randy Orton's aura. They're two good wrestlers, but they're like normies. They don't have a story like Brock Lesnar's to explain why they can do such things. In short, it didn't catch me. The Cinema Wrestling format is good, but the pauses between actions were pretty slow, making it boring to watch. So, I'd rate it 6/10."
[10.0] "The Meet the Grahams of pro wrestling in the year 2024. Just stupidly violent and cinematic to the point of ridiculous brutality. The hypodermic needle usage even makes sense given that it's in the sequence of the last few minutes of this match, where Page is just doing everything he possibly can to murder Strickland. A crazy amount of stuff happening in this one, but if you had to follow the Texas Deathmatch at Full Gear, I guess this is how you do it. The post-match was perfect, and I can't remember a lot of matches that have made me feel as viscerally emotional as this thing did. [*****]"
[10.0] "Maybe not the best match to pick for your very first AEW match. This is a reminder that it's probably better to listen to your friends when they tell you not to watch something before you're ready. When I first tried to get into AEW I started with this (against my good friend's recommendations) and didn't touch AEW for a good few weeks after. But dear god. What a match. This is one of those matches that make you *feel* something. Disgust, shock, sadness, frustration, you're gonna be feeling it. Swerve and Hangman are an absolute joy to watch in the ring. Just please... no more cinder blocks."
[8.0] "This one needs a content warning and that explains why ratings are kinda split here. Very violent with great staple gun action. Great storytelling by violence. The cinder block was quite something. Nasty work. The stomp through the table was alot. This was an exhibition of violence more than a match. This was too much for me, hope everyone is fine."
[8.0] "Okay...first of all, let me explain something. I'm not giving a "Low rating" because of the polemic hypodermic needle, I don't give a shit about what E-drones and even AEW fans (The worst fanbase to ever live in PW) try to deterioze this match. My problem here is simple...I hate when someone goes into a match and say "Oh this was a slow" when tries to performe a negative review. THIS IS PRO WRESTLING! If we gonna say that slow=bad, we are automatically saying that Undertaker is bad, Okada is bad, Tanahashi is bad...we can't do that! But I honestly HATE the beggining of this match. Lacked emotion so hard, basically anything they're doing was attractive for me, and I'm a huge fan of both. Swerve and Hangman probably had the best feud between male wrestlers in AEW last year, and this was the final match of his quadrilogy, needs to be good! Maybe it's not gonna be better than the Texas Death Match, okay, understandable, but needs to cause impact! In the beggining...it doesn't. However, when Swerve and Hangman start connecting her feeling and making it interesting, both in storytelling and in ring, the match simply rocks. I was expecting something better, that's all...But the end was perfect. Hangman is incredible, and like I said many times, when it comes to the sad day that he'll retire, he's gonna end his carreir as the best storyteller that ever lived in a pro wrestling ring"
[7.0] "[3.5*] I had a 2636 characters text about this match and I just deleted it entirely. Every since the day of the match, I had mixed feelings about. I loved some things and I hated others. Now, don't remember only the good things, instead I remember a lot of bad ones too, like the first 15 minutes (the "wrestling part") which was not clicking at all. Comparing it to the Hangman All In Death Match, it's just worse at everything. It's pretty great from a storytelling standpoint but nowhere near the best AEW gimmick matches overall."
[8.0] "When this one ended I wasn't crazily amused by it, it had some poor executions, the match dragged a little bit, the pace wasn't fast, a lot of slow moments, I wasn't sure about the type of violence they chose... but reflecting and digesting, looking at some details, boy, this was awesome, wasn't it? Swerve and Hangman have already a top-3 AEW rivalry ever, their chemistry is amazing and they are constantly producing good stuff, the hate is real, wrestling is better when it's about personal feelings, and violence is involved. This wasn't perfect, but it was excellent on what it should've been, they've accomplished the purpose and told the story they needed to tell perfectly, that's why I see some people giving 5-stars and I don't judge, for me it didn't had that absurd level, but it was definitely awesome. The violence was raw, they repeated the stapler angle, which is always agonizing, the bumps on the brick were great, and the stomp on the table was beautiful, Swerve sometimes mess up the stomp but this one was fabulous. The slow pace made us nervous the entire time, agonizing, wondering what they will do next, this is a type of match that we worry about the health of the workers, their rivalry is so fierce that we legit think they might kill themselves at some point. That finish was beautiful and horrifying, with Hangman injecting the needle at his mouth, and hitting him with a vicious loud chair shot, what an insane moment, perfect ending. Hangman is a brilliant wrestler and worked very well on the details here, he entered on the heel tunnel, finally embracing his dark side, making sure he'll do everything he can to win the match, and at the end, he left the ring with a feeling of mission accomplished, but still wanted to beat an unconscious Swerve, he gave three or four steps, and realized he went too far, his expressions were fantastic, what a talented young man. Most impactful match of the night, for all it meant - {****}"
[4.0] "Well, the beginning of this match saw both trying to decapitate each other with the steel cage coming down, wasn't expecting that to start off this match. The match was brutal, it really was, Swerve and Page beat the piss outta each other. I both liked the match and disliked the match. There were moments I liked, but then we got moments I didn't like. The staple gun wasn't that special cause we saw that already in their Texas Death Match, and those chair shots to Adam Page? Jesus Christ, that hurt me, that was moment I liked. The parts of the match I hated the most was that brick spot, that was just unnecessary to have in this match, but apparently it was OK because they did that spot again. Why? Just why? I like violent matches, I do, but sometimes these guys do too much. Oh and that needle spot? Why was that even a spot to begin with? It was gross and unneeded. I did enjoy the match when they didn't do the over the top shit, so it didn't ruin the whole as a whole, but it was close. When the knife came out or whatever it was, I hated that, it was just another over the top thing I hated. Oh, I almost forgot, that unprotected chair shot to the head? No, just no, that was just as worse as the needle. Love Adam Page and love Swerve Strickland, but outta their 3 PPV meetings, this was the weakest match honestly."
[10.0] "The perfect ending to the hangman and swerve saga (at least the first chapter of it) the finish is one of the most horrific things I've ever seen. Shit rules."
[6.0] "The violence was a repeat of Texas Death for the most part. It went on way too long. The nearfalls didn't hit like they were mean't too. Repetitive spots. I do not however, feel like you should go too hard on this match. After the amazing, legendary, extraordinary texas death match, there was no way they could ever top that."
[9.0] "Match of the Night for me. The violence was brutal and grotesque. The hate was palpable. This was the closest thing to an actual drag em out fight you will see. The pearl clutching on this match is nonsensical. This feud was always headed to these depths of wrestling."
[10.0] "Actually liked this one more than the previous match. Glad that Hangman got the W, and that horrifying reaction he got when he was about to walk back down the ramp really shows what an impact the match had on the crowd."
[10.0] "I love this match a ton, especially then ending. These guys went all out (no pun intended) from bell to bell and I don't think there was any better way to end such a hateful feud than with a match like this. From the two men trying to crush each others' skulls on the lowering cage to the final chair shot at the end, it really encapsulated just how much this feud was building and how much these men hate each other. Brutal, violent, shocking, this match had it all."
[10.0] "This match made me feel things that I literally never experienced with any other match. When we knew they brought the rivalry back after All In, everyone was extremely happy. When Adam Page burned Swerve's house, this was completely mind blowing, the segment itself elevated high on the hierarchy of memorable wrestling bouts. Since that moment, I had that real feeling of fear about what will happen on that cage. I never waited for a match as much as this one thanks to the burning house segment. During the entire night at All Out, which was so fascinating and violent, absolutely nothing could make you think of anything else than "what will happen in that cage". When Swerve and Page got into the match, it delivered as hard as you could imagine, maybe even more (cinder blocks, syringe, chair shot on the head...). When Page left, it looked like a wrestling crime scene, and the Hangman ultimately fell into madness. So yeah, this match made me feel things that I never felt in any other match, from any era or any company."
[9.0] "This is AEW at its most potent. I think it absolutely understood how to create an incredible climax to a wrestling program that integrates the violence of each wrestler's style, as well as the emotional escalation of the feud. Not a big fan of the use of syringes, though, so that's a point off."
[10.0] "Excellent match, one of the most violent matches I've ever watched for an amazing rivalry. Just overall great action and a good match to watch. 10/10"
[10.0] "There is a lot to talk and give opinions here, I feel that the best thing would be to talk about the most obvious problem there is, as a big fan of Wrestling Deathmatch I can say with great certainty that this is nothing new, it is not the first time that two Wrestlers occupy blocks of cement, syringes and blows to the head with chairs, this has always existed but in other companies outside of AEW, from what I can understand why they are not used to seeing this (and this is something very respectable, not to all people you I like to see this and there is no need to make disputes about preferences) and this violence that is not seen in all the stories and in all the renowned companies, I feel that it was appropriate because of the very personal story that they were telling, now talking about the match, it was spectacular , they have never disappointed and this time was no exception, they all gave it, they both looked incredible, both in skill and in resistance, I feel that the use of violence was appropriate (clearly speaking from my point of view), the I recommend if you like the Deathmatch style. Obviously this is not for everyone, but if you don't like it, that doesn't mean that no one should like it. But if you like it, it doesn't mean that everyone has to like it either. But we must recognize the amazing work of Swerve and Adam."
[4.0] "I loved this feud in the beginning, two guys who are on the opposite sides. One of them was willing to do anything to get the other guy's spot and the other guy's whole life was ruined because of it. The whole thing was very compelling until the end and then it jumped the shark and this match was the perfect representation of what I was feeling. Wrestling isn't really bad in fact these two are very capable but so many unnecessary spots that didn't make me feel anything other than apathy. Not for me."
[10.0] "This is just great, in my personal top of the best steel cage matches ever. Adam and Swerve are badass motherf*****s. It felt like they hated each other, a perfect ending(? ) to their feud. But looking forward to their next match, which hopefully will be someday."
[9.0] "The moment that Hangman Page completely lost his humanity. I don't think it's as consistently excellent as their Full Gear match but this was still some beautiful violence with some of the gnarliest most memorable spots of the year. Honestly I don't think this topped Swerve stapling pictures of his family into Page for pure emotion and storytelling, but the cinder block spot and the syringe finale are also insane. Also love that not a single pin was attempted until like 20 minutes in, shows just how much they wanted to kill each other."
[8.0] "The violence might've been too much for some people (clearly), but this was really the only way this feud could end, and I have to give them points for that."
[10.0] "Having to follow attempted murder is no small feat, and undoubtedly the crowd probably wasn't feeling a steel cage match right away, but the emotional power of these two is undeniable. What follows is a barbaric steel cage match that, given the background, cannot, and arguably should not, be duplicated. There's not even a pinfall attempt until 15 minutes in because these two are mutually interested in continuing to torture each other. A cinder block, a shard of wood, and it all comes down to maybe one of the more sickening spots in a major North American promotion match with the syringe, followed by an unprotected chairshot -- and for all the flak AEW (maybe sparingly justifiably) gets about weakening the power of dangerous-looking moves, this blow with the chair rings out like a gunshot, shocks the crowd, and ultimately ends the match by referee stoppage. It is not a perfect match--the ref-assisted Buckshot Lariat did not work as well as it did the time Hangman did it in the Texas Death Match way back when--but it is what it should've been, two men able to clearly express and act out their hatred for each other and at the very least providing a definitive, demented winner."
[10.0] "This match was the perfect culmination of a feud where two men just had to beat the ever-loving crap out of each other and oh my god did they. The match started hot and just kept picking up from there. The violence exceeded my expectations and was insane to watch. The cinderblock powerbomb spot I jumped off my couch. This is a match for sickos and oh boy was it perfect. This is my feud of the year and genuinely one of my matches. While I'm sure Swerve and Hangman will avoid each other for a bit there's a little part of me hoping for Swerve v Hangman 4"
[10.0] "I feel like I could write a novel's worth of words about this match and this feud as a whole but I'll try to keep it short. I've watched/played a fair few movies/games about the place violence holds in society. In the movie Funny Games, the antagonists often look and speak directly to the camera while committing horrific acts of torture, making the audience complicit in what is happening on screen. In the game No More Heroes, our player character Travis Touchdown participates in a ranking system of assassins, finding each new target he faces is increasingly deranged and nihilistic, their lives having become all about death. I reckon this match lands somewhere in the middle of those themes. Violence in wrestling seems to always be something celebrated, most in part because we admire that these brave souls are willing to put their physical health at risk even more than they already do, but there's something different about it this time around. Immediately upon the end of the show the first thing people were talking about was how dark All Out was compared to the mostly feely-good time that was All In just two weeks prior. What with Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander putting a bloody end to a once wholesome friendship and Jon Moxley LITERALLY COMMITTING ATTEMPTED MURDER on Bryan Danielson. Then we have our main event. Swerve Strickland and Adam Page, no disqualifications in a steel cage. Swerve has just lost the AEW championship and his childhood house. At this moment he has nothing left but pure hate in his body for Hangman. Hangman is still out on his righteous quest to show people he was NEVER the bad guy in this feud. The justice he seeks for Swerve trying to ruin his life, leaving him in the dirt while becoming the fan favourite title holder has become as twisted as the chain link fence that keeps them captive in the ring. All hell breaks out in the cage. The two of them literally have to be pushed into the ring by Prince Nana lest they try to crush each other's skulls by the lowering cage. Vertebreakers and powerbombs onto cinderblocks, barbed wire, staples, a fucking SYRINGE and a thunderous chair shot to the head. Much like the two examples I gave earlier, in this match we see our complicity as wrestling fans, as humans living in the 21st century, to violence in the ring turned back on ourselves. What was there to gain from this for either man? Why did we cheer it on? By doing so WE pushed them to do this to each other as much as they did themselves How will they live with the consequences of their actions that night? It really makes you think more than any other wrestling match ever could. By the time that chair shot smacks Swerve in the head the crowd has changed their minds, this is terrible, we really egged these men on to this to each other. The final moments of the show will forever be seared into my brain. Hangman limping off as the medics surround Swerve, the dented up chair still around his neck, when Hanger turns around, a look of potential remorse on his face and starts to walk back towards the ring. The crowd reacts in pure horror. At this very moment, any shred of the cowboy we knew and loved left Adam Page's body. He collapses to his knees and screams, accepting this fate. Fucking brilliant. God I love this sport, this art form."
[9.0] "This was one of the most violent match in wrestling that Iv'e ever seen. Swerve and Hangman did absolutely everything to each other to win and overall I think the match did very well. The unprotected chair shot to the head was a lot however I thought it added a lot to it. Hangman got the much deserved win and this will be the pause to this historic rivalry in AEW."
[2.0] "This focused too much on the violence, and that's where it got hurt from. The over reliance on violence made this ver slow paced to the point where it felt like almost double the time it was. There are some insanely dangerous spots here, such as the Cinder block stuff and the syringe and the chair shot to the head. To their credit, they managed to show hatred very well, but this was not something that could be considered as something on a wrestling program. Page getting the win was the right call as he is a very good heel and Swerve wasn't hurt much by the loss. It's a miracle neither were seriously injured by this. But the fact that they are back after it in less than a month makes it all the worst. Any of the bumps they took could've been used for writing them of TV for a few months.Overall, it's a slow and Dangerous match, and the only good thing about it was Page going over."
[9.0] "There is only one thing I don't like about this match and it is the unprotected chair shot to the head. In older matches I can forgive a little but in modern day it is much harder to. The match was emotional and good so it is hard to fault it to bad but it really made me hope that Swerve didnt get hurt"
"I am just going to copy what I posted on a Dynamite match that Adam Page had with Jay Lethal a couple weeks before this. "heel hangman page needs more 9-10 minute matches where he gets heat on the babyface and less 15+ minute matches where he trades moves or weapon attacks with his opponent" i would probably give this sleep inducing match a 5/10, but i don't give number ratings to things that are below 6/10 on this site. i preferred this to the women's hardcore match from earlier in the night."
[9.0] "Well this match was definitely not for the faint of heart for some wrestling fans that might not be into this type of violence. The ones that loved the old ECW matches back in the day, like myself, probably loved this match. This was definitely a perfect example of what a blood feud is all about in wrestling, and Page and Swerve showed that right at the beginning, as they both tried to hold the others head across the mat as the steel cage lowered from the ceiling, with the thoughts of decapitating the other. The violence would only get worse from there, as we'd witness tables, chairs, barb wire, nail guns and Swerve and Page both dropping each other back first on a cinder block. If you hate needles, you're going to squirm, as Page jams a syringe into Swerve's mouth. Page finishes Swerve off with a massive chair shot over the head that probably made Mick Foley himself turn away and say "What did I just witness? ""
[9.0] "Another great match between Hangman and Swerve. I liked how the violence was picking up little by little as the match went by. In comparison, their match in Full Gear was my favorite, but because the level of violence there came as a surprise; in this match, they knew what we expected, and they delivered. (****1/2)."
[10.0] "[10] This Lights Out match embodied the brutality of a true Death Match, featuring violent weapon use and high-risk moments. The animosity between the competitors was palpable, and the match perfectly reflected that intensity. The brutal final blowA sickening chair shot brought a fitting conclusion, as only a knockout could have ended this fierce contest."
[10.0] "One of the best Steel Cage matches I've ever seen. The hatred they have for each other is conveyed extremely well in the match, the spots of violence are superbly realised, everything is perfect. Then there's the Hangman Page character, my God that guy should win an Oscar for acting so well. For me, this is without a doubt the best AEW rivalry since its inception."
[10.0] "What the actual fuck did I just watch? This was one of the most gnarly and gruesome matches Ive ever watched. They really decided to really go all out. Shock value after shock value. Its nothing new from AEW. It definitely had everything it needed to have, callbacks to previous matches with the staple gun, storytelling, everything. Throughout the entire match, at least, unbeknownst to me, they were building it towards the ending the entire time and they nailed it with it. Saving and building towards the part with the biggest shock value at the end and having the referee call it and having Hangman be a little numb after what hes done instead of having him just pin Swerve was definitely the right choice. Im giving it a 10/10 with mostly how well the conclusion of the match was executed, making it easily the most memorable part of the match going out of it and easily the best part of the whole, entire thing."
[8.0] "I've never cringed at a wrestling match before this, I was so nervous that my hand was balled up for about 10 straight minutes while I could feel my heart beating out of my chest after that syringe spot. The beginning was slow and a lot of it was basic hardcore "set up the next spot" shenanigans. But holy fuck, this is a match no one will forget."
[7.0] "Unhinged but not nearly as interesting as their Full Gear bout. CZW-tier hardcore stuff but the storytelling was still pretty good for what it was. I don't know why its being glazed as hard as it is. It's far from their best together and the feud is a little overrated"
[10.0] "These men are just insane bastards. I never thought I would see such violence on AEW programming. I really thought Full Gear was the pinnacle of violence in AEW, I was wrong. This has, somehow, managed to be more violent than the Texas Death match. I don't like deathmatch wrestling and I think I've found the borderline with this. This is a f'n UFO, just like the first fight. Wrestling wise, the story being told is once again perfect. There are many reminders of their first fight such as the stapler with pictures of Swerve's family. The wooden stake is a piece of Swerve's burnt house. You can see during all the fight the hatred they have for eachother. The concrete block is another piece of madness, between the Vertebreaker and the Powerbomb, I was hypnotized. Eventually, the finishing sequence was the most violent thing I've seen in mainstream wrestling. Page played on the fear of needles to shock us all, before dealing Swerve with an exposed chair shot to finish the fight. This may be too much, I really hope this is a worked chair. Storytelling wise, Adam Page is the best storyteller in the world today. Everything he does, including his facial expressions and his body language, convey the story. After the match, you can see him speechless of what he has done. This is so much more than wrestling, this is art. Overall, I'm so stunned by this match that this is an absolute All-Timer, just as the Full Gear one. I understand why people can have disliked it, but I'm not one of them."
[5.0] "I am not a big fan of hardcore/deathmatches but if they are paced well, I can enjoy them. This match unfortunately had horrible pacing and some of the spots in the match made me feel very disgusted. It is weird, I enjoyed their every other match and I respect what Swerve and Hangman were trying to do but I just could not get into this match. I liked some spots like Swerve stomp through the table. Maybe if it had been 10 minutes shorter, I would have enjoyed it. Still, it was a very fitting ending for their rivalry for now. and I know other people will love it"
[10.0] "Even if they just stared at each other it would be a good match, all because of the build. Match had a strong start, a lot of callbacks that I loved and a few flaws that the horrifying ending more than made up for them."
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