All comments

[3.0] "This was a really simple match nothing bad in it but nothing exceptional. Yu Owada is showing a lot more than I'm used to seeing from young boys (like back flips and going to the top rope) but it's good to see him also getting the fundamentals sorted."

[5.0] "Fine. Suzuki does well and lays in some good hits, but Narita's strikes continue to be embarrassing and by far the worst part of his game. Anyway, it's kept short so there's not to much to say about it. Very average, Suzuki is as good as Narita is bad, though Narita's selling and general heel stooging is good."

[5.0] "An interesting clash of styles. Definitely loses some points as Nic's offensive doesn't have much weight to it. But has some nice sequences with the crowd behind it."

[6.0] "Not that special of a match, but not bad either. Good heel work from Jay and after the terrible decision from a week ago, it is good to see him take a win."

[10.0] "Absolutely phenomenal match and a star making performance from Jericho. First of all that's a fantastic clash of personalities - Chris is incredible as an annoying babyface scumbag who uses heel tactics against other heels, while Triple H at that point was one of the most hated guys in the business. He's also more experienced, so it makes sense that he beats up Chris for the first part of the match, but when Jericho finally hits a low blow after Hunter being too cocky he takes over and the crowd goes crazy for the rest of the bout for the Canadian. Nowadays Last Man Standing Matches are just spotfests with action taking place all over the arena, but this one was happening mainly in the ring and because of that you felt the grudge of the fight with some great visuals. Phenomenal blade job from Triple H that added a lot to the match and even though Chris lost he still gained a huge momentum from this."

[7.0] "A good short match, nothing amazing and nothing bad. Can't really rate so high since it was short, but great overall. Both wrestlers showed with the short time they had what they can do."

[8.0] "A great match! AZM is great as usual really quick and with some great high flying moves, for me the star of this one was Vaquer, she has a great aura and some solid strikes and submissions, both women looked great, would love to see a rematch that really went for it."

[5.0] "The obligate wishy-washy promo from Cody, at least he kept his mouth short. Jubilation, jubilation, we got another BL member. If you were happy and thought we got rid of Roman all your dreams just got smashed as of now it is pretty clear that this faction will haunt us for life. The overall match quality of the show wasn't great and the call ups from nxt didn't feel important. Bron Breakker seems to be a complete dum dum and I am not interrested in his character at all. Paul Heyman should consider him lucky to be introduced to the HOF for his past as the stuff he is involved in today is just an insult of intelligence. Nonetheless I am looking forward to RAW seeing Sheamus back and hopefully getting the right intercontinental champion."

[6.0] "An ok match, they don't really do much or get into it too much, Suzuki does his usual shtick, Ren plays up the HOT heel tactics and then it ends rather quickly. A fine opener that's mostly held up by the crowd being really loud."

[7.0] "Real good match with GREAT heat from the Chicago crowd. The entrances felt special. Jack Perry came out with riot cops and taunted the crowd. Umino entered through the crowd which looked really impressive. 6k for NJPW in the US in 2024 is a hell of an achievement. Overall I thought Perry did a good job as the heel here - back scratching, low blows, spitting in Shota's face - but he could've gone even further. Going for the GTS was a ballsy move but he waited too long and Umino was able to get the win. Both guys ultimately come out of this looking great."

[4.0] "Not much going on here. Suzuki does his thing but Ren Narita didn't exactly set the world on fire. A fine opener here that got the crowd excited for more."

[6.0] "While YO-HEY may have taken the pin from Kaito Kiyomiya in this one, massive props to him. Playing the senseble member of GLG can't be easy but he's really impressive."

[8.0] "Chris Hero wrestled this match with supreme confidence, and came across as a man who was fully in control at all times... Until suddenly he wasn't. In a pro wrestling landscape where it seems like the majority of matches are pure 50/50, Hero shows how important it is to have wrestlers who can simply take charge of a match. He lays a beating on Sydal here, and it makes it so much more meaningful when Sydal tries to make a comeback - even more so when these attempts are consistently thwarted. There are some really fun, creative spots down the stretch, including a finish that is far preferable to the often silly looking Canadian Destroyer. Great match - and as a quick side note, I loved seeing the crowd show their respect to Larry Sweeney at the opening bell for this match between two of his former clients. RIP Sweet 'N' Sour."

[8.0] "It's quite frustrating how great Benoit is at wrestling as it always pains me to give him props. He pulls off an incredible sequence where he floats over from a Northern Lights and doesn't let RVD get a move in as he grinds him down before finally sinking in the crossface, all without breaking the chain sequence. This didn't do much to pop the crowd in 2002, but I know it would be gif'd to death if it happened on a modern wrestling show. Benoit brings out the best in RVD and the result is a super physical match where all the holds have a sense of struggle about them. They get plenty of time to let things build. An important turning point of this match is when RVD takes a tumble from the tip rope to the outside security wall. RVD immediately lets the viewer know that this has knackered his arm and shoulder and Benoit begins a intense control segment on Van Dan's injury. The fans are quite quiet to start things off, but RVD being so over gives the wrestlers a bit leverage and allows them to take their time and do a match with a lot of slower technical wrestling."

[6.0] "Good four-way tag title match. Pretty much non-stop action and a really good stretch to finish as it looked like Hikuleo and El-P were going to retain but Shane Haste stole the win for TMDK. The post match beatdown and hair cutting was really well done. Hot angle that got the West Coast Wrecking Crew good heat."

[6.0] "After a while, there is a show I can't say any real bad things about (aside from Naomi and the way she was made a number 1 contender. Really lame). It doesn't mean it had its lows, as those were more about uninteresting parts than awful (Jade squashing Chelsea Green once again, the first Triple Threat, Cody Rhodes promo. It was ok, but it was more relaxed and average and it was more centered about announcing the contender's matches). The best parts of the show were the Main Event, that despite its short time, all three men delivered a pretty good match full of dynamism; and Solo Sikoa's character turn with the debut of another Bullet Club OG in Tama Tonga. The whole segment caught me off guard, and not only that, it finally gave Solo Sikoa some purpose, some intrigue, some true badassery. It truly made Roman Reigns loss mean something to The Bloodline and now with Solo betraying Jimmy it opens a door to unknown territories and when I thought the whole Bloodline story was already stale and done, they once again managed to bring it back to life. For the first time I'm interested in Solo Sikoa, I'm interested in seeing what Tama Tonga brings to The Bloodline in a whole different thing that what he did in NJPW, how Paul E. fits in all of this (maginificent acting btw), and, if the rumors are true, how Jacob Fatu arriving to WWE is going to drive people crazy when they see him wrestle. A more relaxed show to calm things after Mania before starting the heavy build-up towards Backlash."

[9.0] "Historical moment in front of a good crowd. Solid performance with both of them and finishing at the peak, but not too close to a 10/10 in my books. Great color on Moxley."

[5.0] "This ended somewhat abruptly. I would've liked them to go a for a few minutes longer with a hotter finishing sequence. I rate it below "satisfactory" because I was left wanting more."

[7.0] "Definitely better than their first match. A well paced match with Naomi having her best performance since coming back and Tiffany continuing to impress"

[8.0] "Short match full of action, the most of it was frankly common stuff but the rhythm was very high and we also got a title change, it makes sense since TMDK was getting wins over wins. Perhaps they should have gone 5 minutes longer but as and high octane 10 minutes match this was good enough. ***3/4"

[5.0] "It's a perfectly acceptable pre-show, but nothing to write home about. Very short too, basically just enough time to figure out how to order the PPV ;)"

[7.0] "A normal 10 minutes Joshi, nothing really spectacular considering there was AZM but overall a solid match, you just probably won't remember anything about it in a week more or less. Anyway the last two minutes and the finishing move were actually cool. ***1/2"

[] "Good show, not exceptional, but relatively well. Disappointed with the women's match but otherwise the other 3 matches are well watched"

[8.0] "Good match as expected. Sheamus busts out a great german suplex in the opening part. The went back and forth and hit each very hard. Big E catches Sheamus who went for the brogue kick and planted him with a powerbomb. Finish was pretty funny. 7.50"

[7.0] "You can't replicate greatness. You can't top great wrestlers when they're put together and they put on their show. Sad part is this was just a qualifying match for another qualifying match, but this just speaks volumes of how great a match with more content and a story could be. There is nothing about AJ Styles you can say that has already being said. The guy lives by his nickname, simply PHENOMENAL. His pacing, selling, executions are out of this world. Rey Mysterio being in the mix added to the quick pace of the match, but you could see him getting tired by it. Our idols are getting old, but yet Rey still doing so great at nearly 50. Kevin Owens put on less show than the other two, but he wasn't that far behind in terms of quality. He was true to his style and delivered the power and brawling, taking out of the equation both of his opponents at times. AJ Styles winning was my prediction, as I think out of the 6 men competing for the shot he's the more fitting to challenge Cody in a PPV. I highly doubt they're doing a face vs face for a transitional title match, and they won't make LA Knight lose in another World Title match since they're slowly pushing him, so the only credible heel and the one that would be able to put a more interesting match is AJ. This was a short match, but all men managed to milk the hell out of it and make it fun. (*** 1/2)"

[8.0] "I love the team of Busick & Gulak. They are great here as a pair of battle hardened bruisers, and do very well grinding their opponents down. I really wish we got to see a bit more of them as a team. ReDRagon didn't impress me quite as much. They were good at times, but I've always thought that some of their offence can look a bit too contrived (such as the strange tandem submission early on, or the goofy double Dragon Screw). The finish felt sudden, too, despite the match getting plenty of time to build di something a little more impactful. Still, this was very enjoyable, and Busick & Gulak's control segment made it more than worthwhile."

[4.0] "Yeah, it's time for the bike rider Undertaker, since The Disciples of Apocalypse worked so well. I'm not into this gimmick at all, especially since he's paired with a charisma boozing Angle. Kurt gets some offense on Taker by targetting his leg, but that's about it and Deadman beats the King of the Ring winner without much trouble, which seems like a dumb decision."

[5.0] "This was another nice match with some fun mask related gags involved. I'll always find it odd that Alpha Wolf is considered a Junior Heavyweight will dwarfing Naomichi Marufuji and Kenoh."

[6.0] "Iyo carried the absolute hell out of the broken-down Bayley here. With any other opponent from the mid-card up this actually would've been a solidly good match, but Iyo could only work her magic here so much to make this alright at best. The opening minutes were pretty sloppy, with weak chemistry all around and Bayley looking quite awkward with almost all her movements and attacks, often looking quite unathletic and plain slow. And this was even before the apparent story of her injured leg began (and I'm not convinced that wasn't her legit being injured and just impressively gutting it through). At least Iyo was there with her immensely smoother, far flashier, far more athletic, and far more impactful offence plus her convincing aggression to make up for Bayley's shortcomings. She also raised the bar further as she brought out her fast counters and quickly chained-together transitions, all which looked pretty great and were often really creative, making the match genuinely quite impressive in those moments. Of course we eventually got finishers, kick-outs, and sudden unexplainable recoveries from said finishers, because what else does WWE know how to do (well, I guess heavy interference), but at least they never became too overkill relative to how WWE usually likes to book their big matches. It was a real shame Bayley never offered anything remotely convincing in contrast to the very strong work Iyo had put in. At least, even if her leg injury was real, I can say regardless that her constant leg-selling indeed added to the match, even if Iyo really should've targeted it more (which is what led me to think it actually a legit injury that they then worked as a silver lining 'lucky' accident).Aside from a handle of big moves, Bayley just looked rough and completely overshadowed here, so her win wasn't at all convincing. ***"

[8.0] "Following this show, I think Smackdown is slowly becoming Smackdown again, instead of Raw in blue. The pacing was great and it didn't feel tiring to watch the show. Cody's opening promo was nothing new, but I don't think it needed more. There were little show-off matches for Bron Breakker and the more or less official tag team formation of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. There was a rather underwhelming #1 contender match for the women's title. And to determine the competitors of the #1 contender match for the Undisputed WWE championship, there were two triple threat matches. While the choice of competitors doesn't make 100% sense to me, I love that the opportunities are valued and not given. The main-event triple threat was my favorite match of this show. The highlight was definitely the debut of Tama Tonga (despite the underwhelming reaction) and how quickly they introduced the next chapter of the Bloodline."

[4.0] "So finally Suzuki had the opportunity to take on his prodigal son Narita to have joined HoT but the result wad pretty underwhelming. They both had a control segment and the ending was really weak, I hope it 'll lead to another between them. Anyway this was just a teaser. **"

[6.0] "Good, solid, fun match here. I really enjoyed the heel work from Eddie Guerrero and Love Machine, they were playing the crowd very well. I was sort of hoping for something a little bit more, it never truly reached that next level, but it was still good. (***)"

[7.0] "Good match between these two, unsurprisingly. AZM is really exciting to watch and she took it to Vaquer here to the point that I thought she was going to pick up the win and the title. But Vaquer is impressive too and she hit AZM with some sick looking moves. Unfortunately this ended before it had a chance to really move to that next level. But it's perfect for the spot on the card."

[6.0] "Normal Buy In with an average match and a good one. The first was your usual showcase for Indy american wrestlers and the other one was a really solid tag team match that even featured Mina Shirakawa which was a bit of a waste in my personal opinion. ***"

[6.0] "Solid cruiserweight style match, but a little uninteresting in my view. Sabin tried to keep Ricochet grounded and wear him down, but he was a bit on the bland side when in control, and didn't show a whole lot of presence or personality. Ricochet had some impressive moves, but I think the match needed a bit more of a narrative, as it felt somewhat aimless to me."

[7.0] "This really picked up when Moxley got some color. That's one hell of a crimson mask to say the least. Excellent finishing stretch with terrific big moves, nearfalls & atmosphere. Wasn't really feeling the first half of the match much, but they got me in the 2nd half. Good match."

[2.0] "Oh man I did not like this. It's Nemeth going 50/50 with Ishii, which was just ridiculous. Nemeth's offense looks light as a feather, which especially stands out when he is in there with a guy like Ishii. Some points for Ishii's (always) excellent selling & bumping, he definitely tried to make Nemeth look like a beast, but I just couldn't fathom it."

[7.0] "This match was all about Jack Perry & the crowd. It was fun! Jack was really good working the crowd and his mannerisms & expressions were pretty great. Solid action all around with Shota being a solid babyface, making this indeed a pretty fun number overall."

[] "One of my absolute favorite wrestlers, Swerve is a star and him being pushed to the top of AEW is no coincidence. Absolutely love how smooth he is to watch, all of his moves just transition perfectly into each other, and he is also killer in promos too. Huge talent."

[5.0] "It was an okay TV match. On the one hand this shouldn't be the level of a #1 contender match for the Smackdown Women's title. On the other hand at least there was one. This match wasn't bad, but Tiffany Straton carried the match. Naomi was again a little bit off the rhythm. The finish looked awkward as there wasn't any resistance to the roll-up. I've never been a big fan of Naomi (definitely not in the WWE), but this run since her comeback feels even worse. I hope she can prove herself in the title match."

[6.0] "It's not the most exciting match I have ever seen, but it's a pretty easy watch due to the fact that Rikishi was really over with the crowd. Venis had barely any character at this point, but Rikishi's charisma was covering for that and THAT Splash from the top of the cage looked fantastic and absolutely devastating."

[7.0] "This was a pretty good match. It wasn't a death match so this favoured Kamitani more than Yuki. Both got bloody here and had a good hard hitting bout. Kamitani was dominant and comfortably beat Yuki."

[8.0] "The Bloodline stuff was the highlight here, with Tama Tonga being added in a good moment. Other than that, they set up a #1 contenders match to get us the Backlash main event and gave us Bayleys first challenger. Throw in squashes for Bron Breakker and Jade Cargill and this was a fun show which also played off what we saw at Wrestlemania."

[6.0] "They needed to give Naomi a win to set her up for her title shot and while I could have gone with it not being against Stratton, this was the right way to go. Stratton is going to be around the title picture sooner than later and it wouldnt shock me to see her cause some mayhem when Naomi gets her shot."

[7.0] "The action was good but there was a lot packed into this and that might not have been a good thing. Having that many people run in made the match feel secondary and that shouldnt be the case in a match with some actual stakes. Knight winning should be setting up a rematch with AJ Styles next week and that is a good way to go."

[7.0] "This was a great tag team considering it was in the Buy In. The action was really quick and full of well executed moves and the final stretch was also not bad. It lasted only 7 minutes but they did a good work anyway, short and sweet match here. ***1/2"

[8.0] "I find some of the comments on this match confusing. I think the story of a Yuma being the more powerful wrestler, but Rising Hayato having the speed and experience advantage was well told. At no point did Hayato feel like he was going to win, but Yuma had him dead to rites twice. First when Hayato reversed a second Jumbo knee, which definitely would have been the finish, into a submission, and again at the bell. Yuma even powered mostly free of that submission before getting a rope break to force Hayato to release the heel hook he was desperately clinging on to. This is a very good match, and one they should definitely run back in a bigger venue."

[9.0] "One of the best female wrestlers in the world, Asuka is already a legend and deserves all the recognition. Her character is sensational and her skill set formidable. With the right booking she is an absolute superstar."

[9.0] "One of the most talented women in wrestling, she had an outstanding stint at Stardom, where she became an icon of the company and a top performer as well. Iyo is a top superstar with captivating talent in the ring."

[8.0] "A huge shame these two never had more matches against one other as their chemistry was fantastic. Their In your house 96 match is a hidden gem and this match is very good as well. A surprisely hard hitting match which was basically just a no dq brawl for most of it. Both guys took big bumps and really put on a show unfortunately this only goes about 10 minutes. Rick rude returns and gives HBK the win. 4/5"

[8.0] "I'm a big Balor fan. He has enormous talent and works his characters very well. He's considerably above average in the ring, good on the mic, and it's a shame he's been constantly underused throughout his career, I love his gimmicks."

[8.0] "An incredible superstar, with outstanding runs in ROH and especially NXT. Adam Cole is excellent in the ring, and he has phenomenal charisma. High caliber main eventer that works extremely well as both face and heel."

[8.0] "One of the best faces around, his underdog aura is incredible. Johnny is excellent in the ring and has great charisma. A pity that this type of character is often underused, but I'm a huge fan."

[8.0] "One of the most impressive skill wrestlers I've ever seen, I'm a huge PAC fan. Both as a face and especially as a heel he works extremely well, his characters are great. His ring skill is just fantastic."

[6.0] "Since Bayley was putting over Naomi as challenger for her title, it was obvious Naomi was going to win (that's how they're building a Title match? Having the champion name someone randomly? ) . Before that, I was truly hyped to see a Bayley vs Tiffany, but that's gonna have to wait. Now we're getting a dull Naomi vs Bayley (I hope at least they make me eat my words). The match showed exactly why Tiff was a better option than Naomi. She completely outwrestled her (anyone does, actually), her offense and intensity was so much better while Naomi moved at the pace of a turtle and her strikes were as weak as a feather. Tiffany recovering after missing the PME was so perfect and beautiful, only to get pinned in a lame way to lose. Thanks to Tiffany, this gets *** from me. If she wasn't that good, this would be ** at best."

[7.0] "A good match here as one would expect. It has been consistent with many of Nemeths matches since arriving on the scene this year. Good performance from Ishii."

[6.0] "This was fairly decent, but largely just the pretty typical indy match between two guys who are friends. There were a couple of spots that acknowledged the familiarity between the two, and a relatively light hearted tone - probably a little bit too cheesy for me, if I'm being honest. The biggest moment was the botched spot where Taylor completely missed the apron with a release suplex, sending Gargano crashing to the floor instead. It didn't really factor into the match much at all, though, as they quickly moved back on to what they had planned instead of improvising and building off what was a painful looking move. Nothing all that memorable, really."

[4.0] "Short, basic match. Their match on the previous PPV was better. Nothing of note here at all really. Just a defense for Owens before he moved on to bigger and better things."

[3.0] "All that build before the match and that was it? There's barely anything happening, The Acolytes don't even play to the fact that they're over with the crowd and Edge with Christian can't have their usual fast-paced match here. Apart from that Bradshaw is pinning the illegal man near the finish and the ending sucked, especially since they've done that DQ thing at a previous PPV."

[8.0] "I were trying to be objective, I would probably rate this show a 6, as it's mostly just composed of solid little wrestling matches. The vibes these shows have though are just so good. The New Age Chronicle shows might my favorite thing in wrestling in 2024. Fun, lively shows with a very hopefully, punk-rock aesthetic. The main event featuring the junior and triple crown champs is a bit odd on a show like this, but that doesn't make the match less awesome. Super fun show, very worth the watch. Also, I wish there were more companies that would put up shows with no commentary. Mike the ring and let us at home feel like we are at the show, not watching a TV show about the show."

[6.0] "They did a good job here building off of the tag match on the previous night's show to add a little bit of depth to this match. Swann did pretty well playing the heel role here, which helped to give this some much needed structure. There were a couple of little issues with execution here and there, but this was a fun opening match with a bit of personality."

[9.0] "This triple threat main-event between Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio and AJ Styles was a quick and fast-paced highlight of the show. For me personally, except that the Wrestlemania losers get the same opportunity like the winners, this match-up on its own was great. I actually thought that Kevin Owens was even more likely to win the match. Everyone here have great chemistry with each other. There are not many matches where the reversals and move combinations are both eye-candy, sensible and logical at the same time. It's amazing what Rey Mysterio and AJ Styles are capable of at their age. I hope the WWE's triple threats keep this level."

[4.0] "I fucking love AEW. I am an avid supporter of this company and we NEED this company to thrive because the fate of professional wrestling depends on it. With that being said, it was unnecessary to show this footage. Ospreay was definitely entitled to respond to things that have been said about him (subliminally) but it wasnt the time for him to address this. So much has been said about the footage and the aftermath of this episode, so Im going to skip that and just keep it real on here. Tony Khan needs to move on from this bullshit. AEW has become home to some amazing talent, living legends and spectacular PPVs that have been considered as some of the greatest in the history of pro wrestling. Its time to heal. Punk is thriving, hes moved on. Let him talk his shit; thats what he does. Its time to focus on the positives AEW has to offer. Samoa Joe, Swerve, MJF, Ospreay, Danielson, Okada, Kingston. The list goes on. Fuck it, the world saw what went down between Perry and Punk. It is what it is. Competition is healthy but we cant have a repeat of WCW. All the tribalism doesnt help the situation. Like I said, we need AEW to succeed for the sake of the business we all love. Theres so many amazing wrestlers in the world and theres space for multiple companies to shine. I hope that everybody just moves past this shit and focus on the future of wrestling, which is looking insanely bright. All this bullshit overshadows things like the amazing match Copeland and Penta had, and this intense build up between Joe and Swerve. Dynasty is just around the corner and the card is already shaping up to look like a all timer. Lets focus on that. Its time to move on."

[10.0] "BIG. FUCKING. JACK. PERRY. The reaction to Wednesday's footage was one of the most embarrassing IWC moments ever. This match proved how great the idea and execution were. Now jack perry was extremely over in Jurassic express and the crowd enjoyed his work as a singles guy but he never really showed his singles star potential as his character was one note a bit but since his heel turn and run in japan he's been great and this week he was the most over he had ever been. He came out with a thunderous mixed reaction and controlled the crowd beautifully. That match itself was pretty great id say 4-star level in ring work but the atmosphere took it to another level in a match people will remember for a while. Shota played the babyface role greatly however Jack perry manged to make the crowd be mixed to almost fully cheering him by the end. In chigago no less. a maserstroke by jack perry and aew. See you back in AEW Scrapegoat."

[9.0] "Weather this wasn't the most popular or pleasant stable to watch sometimes, the Bullet Club is forever legendary and revolutionized a lot of stuff in wresting. I know a lot of people that started watching New Japan and indy stuff because of BC and the brand became very popular, I mean, I can't stand the t-shirt no more lol. But jokes aside, the stable deserves all the praise for being influential in literally every company and producing nice stories, matches and moments for wrestling. Not my favorite but perfectly influential."

[5.0] "What was going on with Eddie here? I mean all his Hurricanranas and Dropkicks looked great, but his basic offense looked like shit. He didn't care about connecting his punches, his kicks were awful and he was barely putting any effort into his bumps - it looked like he was mad about having to do the job. Still, these two know each other, so it wasn't that awful even with Eddie not being at his best."

[10.0] "This match could have been a disaster(not in ring wise both these two are way too talented for that) but perception wise. Instead the Scapegoat walked into Chicago carrying their flag on his shoulders just to tell the crowd to "Cry me a River." The crowd showed up for this from the chants to the signs it was an awesome atmosphere. These two worked the crowd perfectly. "You got choked out" "No he didn't" into the front face lock. The G2S counter which was sold beautifully. What a fun match that made the decision to air the footage on Wednesday more validated."

[9.0] "Match of the night hands down. I love an underdog story, especially when that underdog is the one and only Sami Zayn. Many fans argued that Gable deserved the shot, and I actually did agree. While Gable and Gunther had some great matches, they never went down on a PLE and therefore I feel like we never got a chance to see them go all in with some time to let the match breathe. Other than that, the Rocky vibes were strong and many people were convinced that Gunther would retain. The unpredictability gave this match the atmosphere it needed. I dont think Ive ever seen a bad Gunther singles match. This man is always on his A game no matter what show or event. The opening segment with Samis family, Gable and KO sent a rush of emotion through me and just made me root for Sami even more. The match was hard hitting, filled with chops and stiff moves. Gunthers arrogance cost him dearly here, which is a trait hes been leaning on heavily recently. He couldve easily finished the match but Gunthers ego got the best of him. It felt so good to see Sami break Gunthers historic streak and have another great mania moment on his belt. Samantha Irvins announcement at the end made things so much more meaningful and emotional and it was hard to keep the tears in. This is why I love wrestling. This is why I love Sami Zayn. He makes you feel. He puts his heart and soul into everything he does and you cant help but root for the guy. Sami Zayn DESERVED THIS! 9/10"

[8.0] "Austin and Shawns best match by far. Story going in is that they are a difunctional tag match trying to prove to each other who is superior in ring and I thought they did a great job telling that story in the match. A great technical wrestling match although a bit too much rest holds for my liking but the in ring action is great. Does get a bit overbooked by the end with 2 ref bumps and a double dq finish at the end. Nonetheless the match itself is great just lacks a clean finish. 4/5"

[7.0] "Keita offers a handshake to Shark but he refuses due to Sayama probably drilling it into him that handshakes aren't going to help him win MMA fights or whatever crazy stuff he was doing while wearing those goofy suit-robes. Tiger Shark is pretty much just a UWF Super Tiger clone only less athletic and not as skilled on the mat, though he's still relatively competent enough to work here. He mostly sticks to stand-up, hurling kicks and trying to rattle Keita whenever possible. Keita in turn gets in some creative takedowns to try to combat this clear issue, and there we have the entire match basically. I do wish that Shark didn't keep doing those dumb "shhhhiiii" breathing noises whenever he fired any strike. I get in the real world it tends to be a thing a lot for the sake of getting more power out of your shots, but in such a small and relatively quiet ring it's super distracting to the match lol. This was one of Keita's more experimental matches for sure, focusing on his weird unique offence whenever he'd take the lead. This time he was working over the back, so things were a little bit more controlled as he kept to hurling Shark into the turnbuckle, bottom rope elbows to the lower back, and knee drops. Pretty unique stuff, actually liked it a good bit. They got some good drama out of Shark getting in some comebacks and pushing Keita to come up with more and more tricky counters to get back into things, including a attempt to finish up with his Hyperdrive clutch after a sunset flip. Shark eventually wins out in this ex change by landing a very stiff elbow, terrifying Tombstone (Keita used his hands as shock absorbers alongside Shark's knees to basically make it look more crazy than it was, so much so that even Shark noticeably stops right after to quickly ask if he's ok) but ends up missing his diving headbutt in a silly bit. They went for a surprisingly cool finish by having Keita try to capitalise with a leg lock, Shark fighting free and landing some good headkicks from mount to knock Keita out and into his guard to slap on a omoplata choke for the submission victory. Not for everyone but rather fun if you want a less serious Bati-Bati outing that lends itself to theatrical stuff a lot more than grappling."

[10.0] "As a whole, it indeed was the biggest Wrestlemania of all time and its safe to say that no one can create a spectacle filled with emotions quite like the WWE. Night 1 was decent, very entertaining and had some great Wrestlemania moments sprinkled throughout but Night 2 easily takes the crown for best night. From top to bottom Night 2 was one of the best WWE PLEs Ive ever seen, and each match did exactly what was needed to build us up for the massive main event. Drew McIntyres obsession with CM Punk proved to be a detriment, with a fed up Punk attacking Drew, which gave Priest an opening to cash his MITB briefcase that has been in his possession for far too long. Great to see Drew finally have his moment in front of the fans, tweeting during the match and having a slugfest with Seth that kept me at the edge of my seat. I think Priest will make a fine champion and with the right feuds/matches, could call for a great reign. Bobby & the Profits vs. Kross & AOP was pretty good, dont let the ratings fool you. It was fun and kept the crowd hot. Snoop on commentary took this match to a upper echelon. Shit was pure comedy. AJ and LA knight had a pretty great match. In my honest opinion this was one of LAs best matches in the main roster for sure and Im all in on a heel AJ Styles. If this match had a stipulation Im sure it wouldve been even better due to the pure hatred displayed in the build up. The triple threat match slapped and all 3 guys put in some awesome performances. Logan Paul sneaks away with the W and has yet again another solid showing. As a person, Logan is a piece of shit. As a wrestler, this man was built to do this. Hes been able to hang with the best of the best and this match was no different. Although the buildup was a bit shakey at times, Bayley and Iyo tore the house down and in my personal opinion was the better match compared to Rhea vs. Becky. Bayley has been a unsung hero ever since she came back to form Damage CTRL, and it was great to see her finally get rewarded for her hard work. Iyos reign couldve been better but her talent and skill is undeniable. This will not be the last time we see her win a title. With that being said, lets shift our focus to the main event. Roman vs. Cody II felt like a love letter to wrestling, a passing of the torch to the new generation. Pure, raw emotion. Everything on the line, under Bloodline Rules. It took us a whole year to get here, a moment almost snatched away from us. The fans rallied and demanded that Cody be the one to have this moment. We can sit here and talk about the run ins, the Usos, Solo, Cena, The Rock, The fucking Undertaker. But enough has been said. One of the greatest Wrestlemania moments Ive ever witnessed. God I fucking love Professional Wrestling. When Cody won, my eyes welled up with tears of joy. I thought about Dusty, the sight of Mama Rhodes holding the belt. It was pure bliss and it felt so good to see Cody finish his story. I thought about Romans colossal 3 year run as the tribal chief, holding the company down and creating a stable that took the wrestling world by storm just like DX and nWo. I thought about the future of the business and how the art of wrestling almost died. But like the Phoenix, it rose from the ashes. If it wasnt for Cody betting on himself, leaving WWE and showing the world that other wrestling companies could exist and thrive and Roman putting the WWE on his back and keeping them afloat during uncertain times, we wouldnt be in this Renaissance era in pro wrestling. Wrestlemania XL will always go down as the biggest Mania to ever go down and the night that Cody finally finished the story. 10/10"

[10.0] "The best way I can describe this match is "scrappy". Not all the hits connect, but everyone seems to have this Stan Hansen mindset of coming up with something on the fly like in a real fight. It's an amazing match, I've seen very few like it. The first five minutes are kinda bland and there's the Oba comedy that I don't understand cause I don't speak Japanese. But my god the rest of this match until the end is an all timer man. The way these dudes just step on the gas peddle with the pacing is incredible. Oba is like a caveman and I'm not sure he actually knows any martial arts techniques, In-ring wise he's like the Vader of Fu-Ten just significantly smaller. The way Oba interjects himself into breaking submissions is awesome, and that powerbomb he did was incredibly devastating looking. I could go on and on about the cool spots, but I did mention that I was enjoying this until the end. The Ono/Suruga trade off is not bad, but it's not a satisfying ending for a match like this. I mean it's cool they kicked, slapped, and knee'd each other in the head. But I just wasn't feeling it, who knows maybe on a re-watch it'll be better and I can understand it more. From Minute 5 - 17(ish) this is one of the greatest tag matches ever, it's not perfect but I enjoyed the hell out of it. *****"

[7.0] "Nice main event right here, which would obviously have been much better if they'd had more time to spare, but they maximized their minutes by offering us a fantastic sprint, the action was red hot and the crowd was fully invested, because of course they were, given the names present. Three legends, three exceptional wrestlers just doing super cool things together in the ring and it ruled for what it was. Always loved the chemistry between Styles and Owens. I'd have liked to see so much more of it, though."

[9.0] "A hell of a wrestling match. Their best match together that I've seen so far and imo the best Benoit performance. Really good last 8-10 min with a ton of convincing nearfalls and reversals. Angle is prob the match quality GOAT from the PPVs ive rewatched so far."

[8.0] "The best match of the show up to this point and one in contention for best of the show overall. Jacks presentation has been a nice overhaul especially when comparing to where he was in his last couple months in AEW. Some of the crowd seemed behind him while others were against him. Regardless they were reacting. Some nice moves have been added to his arsenal, noticeably the Unprettier. A good performance from Shota especially toward the closing stretch of the match. This run in New Japan run may make a world of difference for Jack long term. 7.5-8"

[4.0] "Nothing wrong here, they're having a professional match, but there's not much you can do with that time and when none of the workers are over. Tazz had absolutely no heat at that point and Al Snow looked like a jobber after leaving his "head gimmick" that was rotten, but at least was over."

[4.0] "Started promising then derailed by the DQ. I think that's fine for the episodic format, but if I would have definitely felt cheated if I saw this in person, Sakuya has a great presence but it's better admired under different circumstances."

[6.0] "Trish and Lita looked a bit lost at times, but it was still very enjoyable. The crowd was hot and even though there were annoying "we want puppies" chants they didn't go for too long. The Hardys' and T&A's work was good, Test was bumping nicely for Lita and they didn't overpower any of the women, but still gave them some nice offense to get a few pops."

[4.0] "I love this promo.... I mean it's so bad I can't help but find it hilarious. I have no idea what they was thinking in the WWE with this, but its pure gold for all the wrong reasons."

[8.0] "Great match that was a perfect way to debut a new star. Sonjay had a great performance and Joe looked fantastic. I'm glad they had a back and forth match and not a one sided squash. Solid 4 star match."

[5.0] "A match with very little action due to the interferences by Legado and The Pride and its short time. The performance by all three men was just plain decent as there wasn't any room for doing more. LA Knight showed some creativity with his crucifix driver, but that kind of moves seem so awkward on a guy his size. Santos felt like he got most of the action during the match, as he was basically involved in every situation, and Bobby, well, he was just there. Truly didn't feel his presence in the match that much as attention went more to the interference than anything (** 3/4)"

[8.0] "A great Tag match on Free tv. Shawns return to the ring since February I wanna say and he hasnt lost a step. Of course it helps that hes matched up against two of the best Owen and davey. Davey and Shawn were awesome here their chemistry was always fantastic. They always got the best out of each other. Owen brought the heel tactics and Austin brought the energy and adrenaline to the match. Brillant tag 4/5"

[7.0] "Katsuhiko Nakajima was the MVP of this tournament. This match was short and sweet. Funaki tries to take Nakajima down with submissions. Then Nakajima fires back with kicks. They exchange some hard slaps and kicks before a simple finish. Good stuff. ***1/4"

[4.0] "This is Bruno's return to the ring and the crowd is electric for it. For tag team matches, this is pretty formulaic, but the emotional weight of Bruno's return overshadows that. The fans are invested in the Sammartinos, and rightfully so, they're facing Bobby Heenan. His antics are entertaining, but Orndorff has to carry the workload of the match. Moreover, the DQ finish is pathetic, I think they should have let Bruno pin Heenan here. 2.00 stars."

[10.0] "This is a really fun NJPW show that I could watch again. I was as invested in the matches as the audience was. Especially the Jack Perry vs Shota Umino match, which ignited the spirit of the roaring crowd, marking a success for NJPW. It's not just the matches that bring the burning spirit alive, but also the people involved. The pre-show matches showcased the talent made by NJPW, and we can expect to see them achieve great things in the future. The opener was great and enjoyable. I can't wait to see more of Stephanie and her STRONG title defense. The 4-way STRONG openweight tag titles match was awesome and really fun. Shota vs Jack fired up the crowd, with Jr. Heavyweight stars also delivering stellar performances. BULLET CLUB finally showed its dominance, and I hope to see more beastly moves from them in the future. ZACK SABRE Jr. becoming the 2-time TV champion was a highlight for me! His presence elevated the match. The Most Wanted Man defeated The Most Feared Wrestler in New Japan, and the main event was a banging showcase of Jon Moxley's deadly nature, catching Naito off guard. Overall, the show was perfect to me, and I loved it."

[2.0] "Jeff Cobb was a star in New Japan by this time but he could not get something out of COVID-era EVIL. Go away heat, dull-as-nails top work with constant ref bumps and Togo shenanigans that I've become numb to seeing. Just a completely uninteresting match. *1/2"

[9.0] "The action in this was probably a 7 or 8 but that is all elevated by the atmosphere of this match. Coming in the hope was Mox to be the first "forbidden grand slam" champion. The "will they do it" and "no way they put the belt on Mox" was the talk among fans. Naito had only won the title in January so was it too short a run? Nah they didn't care about any of that! They crowned the ACE OF THE WORLD and now the agenda is clear. Mox vs Shooter for WK, after Shota was the G1. This is what we want. It's time for NJPW to create the next generation of leaders in this company and Shota and Tsuji are it. Love this match love the result."

[7.0] "This match had a few things going against it. There wasn't a flaming hot crowd like their G1 28 match and not much of a story being told here. They also didn't up the pace until late in the match. I still dug this one quite a bit though. We had some of the usual Ishii awesomeness of him just bullying SANADA with hard strikes and power moves. SANADA did a very good job here with his smooth attacks and transitions throughout the match. There was intensity in the closing stretch and the finish was exciting. ***1/2"

[8.0] "Really good match. There's so much good chemistry between all four. The post match is building up some matches I am looking forward to. Great match."

[8.0] "This NWA World Heavyweight Title bout delivers everything you'd expect from a Flair main event. Ric Flair and Kerry von Erich battle for a full 60 minutes here. While some might find it slow, I was captivated. Kerry shines, proving once again that he's a worthy challenger to the champion. Too bad about a time limit draw, however. 4.25 stars."

[9.0] "So here's the rematch from their outstanding match in October 2020. It's not quite as great but still an excellent match. I think they subverted the usual big match Okada formula into a quicker more bombastic style of match. Shingo is definitely one of his best opponents in years. ****1/2"

[6.0] "Pretty average match where Team Canada look like the superior wrestlers here. It was cool to see Jimmy Hart come out at the end to help the champions retain but the finish seemed mistimed and somewhat off. Solid 2.5 star match."

[6.0] "Not very memorable but technically solid. KENTA was his usual self around this time. He's got some good character work but seems lifeless most of the time. Juice was really good here. Some nice strikes and exchanges. Loved the DVD on the floor. It definitely dragged and 17 minutes felt too long for this match. ***"

[6.0] "A pretty decent match. Another good performance from O-Khan, mostly due to Naito's fantastic selling and bumping. The knee work by O-Khan was sloppy at times but at least it was consistent. The finish was good for what it was and protected Naito. ***"

[6.0] "Bit of a goofy ahh showing for the Jr side of Battlarts all things considered. The two do some clean sprawling for the first minute until Keita manages to get his really cool hangman choke on Bit of a goofy ahh finish for the Jr side of Battlarts all things considered. The two do some clean sprawling for the first minute until Keita manages to get his really cool hangman choke on Tsubakichi across the ropes for a good reaction off the crowd. Tsubakichi mostly shakes it off for them to go back to dominating with two extra rope escapes being forced by him to Keita before the two get caught up in a fairly tame double toe-hold situation. We did see a modified STF for a couple of seconds so that was cool, I suppose. There's some decent enough movement between the two as Keita tries to break through defences by passing guards but seemingly keeps getting slipped up by his opponent despite sticking on some proper knotty submissions. Thought the finish was cool with Tsub rushing it recklessly and paying for it when Keita isolated and straightened one of his arms for a very nifty modified armbar that forced a quick tapout. Not Keita's best by a long shot, but a enjoyable side-bar that shows off his more grounded side."

[10.0] "Wow what a tag team match savage was phenomenal a paildriver at the table was crazy I love the match ****1/2 Wow what a tag team match savage was phenomenal a paildriver at the table was crazy I love the match ****1/2 Wow what a tag team match savage was phenomenal a paildriver at the table was crazy I love the match ****1/2 Wow what a tag team match savage was phenomenal a paildriver at the table was crazy I love the match ****1/2"

[9.0] "This is what NJPW needs. Good cards that happen after WK and before the G1. Which is to say they need to heat up guys and let them showcase it on good cards. MOX IS ACE OF THE FN' WORLD BABY! Honestly an amazing ending with arguably the least interesting of the 3 musketeers setting himself up as the next challenger. I love Ishii so much, he continues to prove he can have good matches with anyone. ZSJ getting his belt back ruled. The chaotic energy of Gabe and Kingston was fun. AZM is someone I'll never complain to watch wrestle. I missed the opening match but probably not going out of my way to watch it. TMDK winning was the right choice. Then we have Shooter and the Scapegoat. Holy hell this match was elevated by that Chicago crowd. With all the discourse that came from Wednesday the composure from Jack Perry was amazing to see. The cry me a river jacket being reveled after dropping the Chicago flag was amazing. Awesome card and a statement show for NJPW."

[5.0] "This had a few cool moments or periods of good intensity, but for the most part it was really mediocre. Neither of these two does much for me, though I can acknowledge they're both at least usually fine workers capable of putting together fine matches. The first 10 minutes were pretty dull because of how basic all their interactions were, but they then started bringing out some slightly more impressive spots, albeit still having some slight awkwardness with basically all of them. Shida still looks rather unathletic with a lot of her big moves, while Athena can show off some impressive athleticism/physicality at moments but often does so too slowly and without the most convincing impact at the end. Character-wise, Shida is still a completely generic babyface, while Athena continues to be a dorky cartoon villain with her stupidly over-animated facial expressions and cries. Her attempts at "acting" were infuriating, especially with her 'shocked' expressions in response to Shida's 'epic' kick-outs in the 2nd half. Basically none of their big spots once the match got going looked remotely as 'big' as intended, usually having somewhat awkward chemistry in their set-ups or underwhelming impact in the moves themselves, and their strike-trading sequences were always pretty underwhelming, lacking either or both speed and explosiveness. I'd actually say maybe only like 5% of their spots or sequences were actually outright bad (usually some bad signature moves from Shida), but it was just annoying to see them constantly coming up so short relative to what's expected of a World Championship match on a big show. There were also some attempts at a leg-targeting story from Athena on Shida, but neither woman ever focussed on their end of the work enough to make it a significant/worthwhile part of the match, so that was pretty wasteful. The few outright positives thing I can say about this match were that their big spots looked much better in the final 1/4th, and they also had a pretty good pace at the very end with their rapid trades. They still had some very generic finishers, trades, and kick-outs during that period, but in those moments mentioned they at least worked harder. **3/4"

[9.0] "This was genuinely, front-to-back a great show. In fact, I think this is the best overall, top-to-bottom New Japan Strong in history. While there arent any match of the year candidates on this card I can conceivably make the argument that their were 5 legitimately great matches on this show (AZM/Vaquer, Perry/Umino, Ali/Takahashi, Nemeth/Ishii, and Naito/Moxley which was MOTN). The atmosphere and crowd were great all night, and there was only one below average match on the show (Narita/Suzuki). The rest of the card was solid-to great. NJPW has been hit of miss this year, but Windy City Riot was a major HIT."

[9.0] "Shingo finally got his Dome singles match and it didn't disappoint. Cobb on the other hand gave the best performance of his career as of January 2021. This match proved that Cobb could hang with the best of them. He looked like a total beast here. This was a fast paced 20-minute hoss fight with both guys throwing big bombs throughout the whole thing. Cobb overpowered Shingo early on and threw him around like nothing, such as that sick belly-to-belly suplex on the floor. Shingo had to adapt his style and change his strategy to even the exchanges. He hit some impressive high flying offense and targeted Cobb's knee later on. Cobb's power moves and athletic displays were great. His suplexes variations were amazing and I loved the creativity like his moonsault powerslam. I think this match is slightly overrated at 5 stars but it's not too far off in my opinion. Definitely not far behind Shibata/Goto and Goto/Suzuki when looking at the NEVER title classics at Wrestle Kingdom. ****1/2"