"This was really enjoyable. For me it felt like it could have been the first match of a series which built and built. For what this was, a TV main event with two legends this was pretty good. (7/10)"
[7.0] "This was a good match. Minoru Suzuki had just won the ROH Television Championship at Death Before Dishonor and in his first title defense, we got something of a dream match with Samoa Joe, who likewise made his ROH return and AEW debut at Death Before Dishonor and Dynamite the week before. This was a chop fest at first, and despite maybe going a bit long with the chops, it was fun. Joe winning made sense, as Suzuki was merely on tour in the US and was headed back to Japan. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Ein Dream-Match, das nur leider ohne Geschichte daherkommt. Das tut der Action allerdings keinen Abbruch, da ist Suzuki auch im hohen Alter noch höchste Kategorie."
[7.0] "This was a pretty good match. The crowd was hot for this and the chop exchanges were a lot of fun. I thought the finish felt really abrupt. ***1/2"
[8.0] "This was everything I hope it would be, a hard-hitting war between two all time greats who took each other to the limit mentally and physically. The chop battles always hype me up and this was one of the best I've ever seen in modern day wrestling. The finish was a bit weak but it doesn't ruin a great battle. 8/10 - 4*/5*"
[8.0] "That was great. Two legends of professional wrestling engaging in a Kobashi versus Sake style war. They threw bomb after bomb to set the stage for a match that evolved into a test of their respective submission prowess. They challenged each other physically, but also forced each other to prove their mettle mentally and emotionally. This was a genuine dream match that lived up to the hype, whether in the moments of pure striking or the trading of submissions and counters. It had a clear and concise story that JR sold before the match and the wrestlers carried to completion. 4 stars, 8 out of 10. This was everything I hoped it would be."
[7.0] "pretty disappointing match tbh. I just felt like these two could have a way better match and also which suzuki got a longer reign. But good match solid 7/10. SOTM(Spot of the Match): The opening sequence."
[5.0] "A classic and standard Suzuki match in America, nothing more, a great streak of strikes, some good interactions but nothing more, it wasn't something that captivated me much as much as I really like those involved"
[7.0] "A prime Samoa Joe wouldve tore the house down here against Suzuki. Obviously this match was still pretty good tho. The strike exchanges were great fun."
[8.0] "Really good match between Samoa Joe and Minoru Suzuki because of course it was going to be, what else would you expect from two such outstanding wrestlers as Joe and Suzuki, two of the most influential guys of the last twenty years in their field so it was a dream match and obviously it delivered. It wasn't a classic let's be honest, this match ten years earlier in the NJPW context with twenty minutes (or more) would have had the potential to be one of the most memorable matches of the decade but here that wasn't the point and they did what was asked of them. Ten minutes, main event on TV, title on the line, you had to expect a sprint of this quality and not expect anything better than this because Samoa Joe is no longer able to do the matches he did a few years ago due to his physical health, as he's suffering from a lot of injuries. It was a really great chopfest in which the two beat the crap out of each other, it was well paced and the crowd was always loud as hell. May this post-match angle burn in hell, but give more credit to this encounter."
[8.0] "Pretty good match. Pro wrestling shpould be like this. Punching hitting. Should focus on ground work, not on the spot fest. Suzuki is awesome. (****)"
[8.0] "Tolle Prügelei ganz nach meinem Geschmack. Suzuki hat hier einen Sahnetag erwischt und Samoa Joe ist für so ein Match natürlich der optimale Gegner. So ging es eine ganze Weile hin und her, bis am Ende Joe den Sack zumachen darf. Das hat richtig Spaß gemacht."
[8.0] "A true dream match. Joe is able to gamely work the style Suzuki is capable of and give it a fresh coat of paint. Akin to the Kobashi match from 2005, a fierce exchange of strikes. Joe is able to outlast Suzuki in this battle and win more ROH gold. Some will dock points because it isn't a great technical bout or a NJPW/AEW main event epic in nature. Appreciate a match for what it is."
[7.0] "A fine match, though I found it a bit slow (and not in a way that highlights either man). Some big boy slugs are exchanged, but the obvious result and kinda.. boring? .. structure of this match did not give it the gravitas it could have had."
[5.0] "A dreadful showcase of Suzuki filler in place of actual work. Joe is still fairly half-decent (even if it's quite obvious that he can't really go longer than sub-15 and seems to gas even earlier than that) and brings his temper and legit world-class experience into things, but Suzuki just comes into this with his usual 5-moves of doom bullocks. Ok, what about the striking exchanges? I'm generally not a fan of these unless they go all the way with them or you are Kobashi. These two were NOT Kobashi, as much as Joe would like to think Suzuki was given by how they were trying and failing to do the strike exchange spots that were already done brilliantly back in 2005 with the two. Joe hit forearms that were about two miles from Suzuki's face and the guy had to try to sell them a bit. Suzuki's chops were fine but they didn't really progress or do anything with them beyond time-wasting and playing to the crowd. This was also fine enough, but comparing these two to the horrific Sugiura chop fests was no contest, this just felt like a weak limitation of that in a good few ways. Eventually they move away from that and go into usual ring work; this wasn't great either as Suzuki goes right back to his usual clutches: rope armbar, more strike exchanges, walk around the ring, random submission, etc. I thought that the arm work would go somewhere but Joe just no sells a minute later to land a perfect powerbomb despite having his arm and shoulder bent almost backwards. Joe goes into his old submission sequence which was fine enough: I liked him digging in the elbow to the mid-section when Suzuki was trying to escape: but again, this goes nowhere, Suzuki just recovers instantly to counter a Irish Whip despite his own arm work. Suzuki's arm work also doesn't stop Joe from firing off more chops with no issue. Play the usual hits as Suzuki hits his sleeper and single leg dropkick, throws into the Gotch, but then Joe just leaves the hold to sit in the corner? Suzuki hits him once and tries for a sleeper but Joe just springs back to life to hit a big kick. Suzuki tries for a corner cross armbreaker but Joe hits him a few times and that's enough for the Muscle Buster and the three. This was just way too much filler and not enough actual work, not helped by the submission stuff getting ignored outright for more strikes and padding. Suzuki and Joe are also a bit stilted here, needing a good few resets during the stuff that wasn't just them firing shots. Joe was alright but he tired a lot in the second half and struggled to move with any energy whatsoever, making the sudden Muscle Buster not feel like a great feel-good moment out of the blue, but a slow, predictable victory. Either way, this was pretty shoddy: just watch Kobashi v Joe if you want to see what this was trying to be. This could've been good had Suzuki not been on autopilot."
[6.0] "Hab ich jetzt nicht ganz so gut gesehen, wie viele andere hier. Die Chopperei, die am Anfang noch unterhaltsam war, nervt irgendwann, wenn sie im Match ständig wiederholt. Ansonsten empfand ich das Match - auch aufgrund der vielen Chops - als zu kurz. Der Titelwechsel war zudem absehbar. Wenigstens die Storyline stimmt."
[7.0] "A dream bout which turned to be a good slugfest. That was pure hard-hitting, of course, I appreciated it but I felt the same when Suzuki had the same shit with Hiromu in the NJ Cup. Sure, that was good and funny to witness it. I'm just here for red torsos. So good to see Joe back on track again, can always deliver."
[4.0] "This was a total dream match for any fan of Suzuki or Joe. I probably would've adored this match if it happened when either man was in top form during their ROH or New Japan runs. Unfortunately I have to be the low man for this match. It must be because I've seen a million strong style matches over the last 5 years and I've been rewatching the best of guys like Ishii, Shibata and Suzuki lately. This match got a lot of hype because of the star power of Joe and Suzuki because the in-ring work was limited. There's a good chopfest to start which gets the crowd hot but it gets sluggish the longer they go. I wasn't interested in their mat wrestling and there wasn't much variety of offense. Suzuki's been playing the hits for the last few years as he slows down with age and that still makes for some bangers over in Japan because of their environment and a higher caliber of competition. But Joe/Suzuki was a miss for me. **"
[8.0] "A dream match that went down as per the expectations. Both men brought their metal fists if I'm not wrong and slugged their chests out with a barrage of chops and hand strikes as well as stuck to their technically sound wrestling too & shined bright. The ending felt a bit sudden for me and Joe winning the title means much to his accolade list in ROH and signals the beginning of the end of Suzuki's USA run. The post-match debut of Satnam Singh was not that good and we, the fans, have to wait for his in-ring work to decide whether his debut as a part of this prominent feud is a right call or not. 3.75 out of 5 stars!"
[7.0] "Suzuki and Samoa Joe beat the ever-loving hell out of each with an onslaught of open-hand chops to the chest that only encouraged angrier, more ferocious strikes from the opposition. The wince-inducing physical brutality of the match was in character for the all-time tough competitors and exactly what fans of both men expected when they squared off. Joe winning makes sense since he is signed to AEW and lives in the states."
[8.0] "Das Match war einfach eine Freude und für mich das Highlight der Show. Es ist einfach so schön Samoa Joe wieder im Ring zu sehen, denn er hat richtig Spaß dabei. Die beiden hauen sich unendlich Chops auf die Brust und gehen hier einfach einen super unterhaltsamen Stil, ohne dabei zu übertrieben."
[8.0] "Ja! Das war einfach nur auf die Fresse! Beide Worker hatten 90 % der Zeit nur Strike Exchange und das war cool, weil man dies als US Wrestling Fan selten sieht und weil beide Worker absolute Kultcharaktere sind."
[7.0] "Towards the end, it was clear that Samoa Joe was already fighting with the last of his strength, which is not surprising, because the fighters fought in the active phase even during advertising. Charisma beats like a fountain, the exchange of chop during 60% of the match and an ardent love for his work. I respect these fighters and believe that they deserve all their ovations and chants in support. A beautiful fight that will be remembered and will remain in my heart."
"8.0 Well that was something. Yes it would have definitely been better if it was a bit longer but I get it because they had limited time due to having to wrestle in a TV show. It was my kind of match. Hard hitting no nonsense. Great stuff and I'm exited to see what Joe does as tv champ in roh."
[8.0] "The end of the match was a bit predictable, but the rest of all was as expected, an intense clash between two ring monsters. Chops and punches were the most important thing of it, and make a good main event. The appearance of the giant was a bit random, but still okey. [****1/4]"
[6.0] "I think you get diminishing returns with this kind of match. Not only did Suzuki just have a better version of this match with Hiromu not long ago, it's also the style he tends to rely on when on tour. It gets the crowd going, reduces the number of bumps, and requires little planning so you can see why he uses it, but if you've been watching Suzuki recently, you can't help but feel that this was pretty standard. Post-match was crap."
[6.0] "Something about this didn't work for me. In particular he striking sequence didn't have the same excitement to it as, say, Suzuki v Danielson from last year. Nothing that happened after that was special enough to pull me back in. Fine match but not exactly my cup of tea."
[8.0] "Sehr gutes Match.Natürlich kein technischer Leckerbissen, aber das hat auch keiner erwartet, in der ersten Hälfte zeigen bei nur Chops und Forearms und erst ab der zweiten Hälfte gibt es Wrestlingmoves zu sehen, warscheinlich kein Match für jederman, aber ich fand es super. ****"
[7.0] "Another dream match that I have thought it would happen. The strikes were awesome as expected and the crowd was hot as well. However, I do expect more as the match was too short. It didn't have anything else that was noteworthy other than the aura of a dream match. Also, the ending was so sudden and disrupted which really let me down. Still a good match to end the show."
[9.0] "I wasn't sure about this, I haven't seen Joe wrestle a proper match in a long time and I feel like he hasn't had many hyped performances in the last 10 years, but he definitely showed me something here with the sheer brutality of this match. Just looking at the bruises forming on his chest and neck as he battered the hell out of Suzuki, and vice versa. Post match notwithstanding, the match was very good."
[8.0] "A brutal fight between two gorgeous wrestlers, the match is very amazing and a must-see for wrestling lovers! I'm glad that Samoa Joe became the champion."
[6.0] "Not understanding the love for this one. A bunch of slaps, chops, forearms, and rest holds. In the best way and they made it all look good, but just not my style. Great to see Suzuki in America though and probably was great for the live crowd. Joe wins his first ROH TV title ever. 3.25."
[8.0] "This was exactly the fantastic strikefest that I expected from these two. I'm so glad Joe is finally getting a chance to wrestle again and I can't wait to see what he can do as TV champ."
[8.0] "AEW Dynamite #132 : What a great war it was ! The opening sequence with the chops and elbow strikes was so good. They also worked really well the PAP while i was thinking otherwise. It was amazing when Suzuki wanted to do another chopfest at the end. Great to see Joe back. (****)"
[6.0] "This was quite okay. There were lots of stiff chops (surprise, surprise). Other than that, nothing really noteworthy happened. It was fun to watch it live, but it's not something I would want to watch again later this year."
[7.0] "This was good for what it was and accomplished its goal. Joe and Suzuki trade a series of chops in this, and also throw some stuffy forearms towards one another. Felt like nothing happened besides when they traded blows but when they did it was amazing. ***1/2"
[8.0] "They could have done a bit more sure but this was everything it needed to be and it is yet another dream match we will likely never see again courtesy of Tony Khan and AEW."
[6.0] "A total dream match that sadly came about 10-15 years too late, but at least we finally got it. Both men are some of the best 'killers' in all of pro-wrestling, so seeing them face off was very engaging despite how past their prime they both were. This was the standard Suzuki 'travelling match' where he and his partner traded heaps of stiff and sharp strikes while Suzuki performed a mixture of goofy but entertainingly wild facial expressions. That's all still fun to see to a certain extent, and the crowds always appreciate it, but it gets a bit stale seeing him do the same match each time he comes to AEW, and each individual AEW match of his also ends up getting a bit dull because of the heavy focus on strikes which never really vary enough to feel more fresh. The vast majority of their strikes had really good impact, and they both did well selling their pain, exhaustion, and clear desperation to endure it all for as long as they could. Suzuki's submission work was great whenever he utilised is, which sadly wasn't as frequent as I would have liked. At times their chemistry wasn't as smooth as it could have been, but they still mostly did well trading strikes and setting up their more complex exchanges and spots. Not any truly 'great' match or even any 'really good' match, but definitely still a plain good watch. It's great that after all the battles both men have been through throughout their careers, they can still put on decently entertaining performances like this. ***1/4"
[7.0] "As it was going on, and as it ended, I thought to myself: "well, that's about exactly how a Samoa Joe vs. Minoru Suzuki match in 2022 would look like". It was a good match. Lots of meat-slapping; it's always a hit-or-miss with MiSu when it comes to that, as it's such a played out scenario with him, but here they rocked it extremely well & worked their magic. The opening in particular was pretty kick-ass for sure."
[7.0] "This started hot and exactly how'd you want it to with them just chopping each other and egging each other on, but I think the back half wasn't as good, especially the end."
[9.0] "When was the last time a match was announced out of nowhere a generated such big expectations? If you want to see hard hitting, this is the place to go. Two revered legends clash for the first time on TV, and they give all their best, as their bruises tell. The post-match attack was anticlimatic, but bell-to-bell I loved every second of this match."
[8.0] "Really enjoyable match. Kinda sad that Suzuki lost his championship after two weeks but I also really like Somoa Joe. Great match with some great meat slapping."
[8.0] "A Main Event in conditions, the truth is that I expected something different in terms of Samoa Joe's victory, I think many knew he would take the title, but it was strange that it was so soon, however it has been so."
[8.0] "I'd give this an 8.5 if I could. Lots of chops and stiff striking, both mens chest went red and began welling up with in minutes and looked painful AF. Joe came across as a complete monster and took all of Suzuki's moves and matched him blow for blow. The ending was a bit abrupt and I'd hoped it would have gone a bit longer like the Suzuki vs BD match we got a few months ago."
[8.0] "This was a great main event title match. Both men were STIFF throughout the match and there was some amazing strikes. The chops back and forth were great and what I like to see in good wrestling. ****1/4"
[7.0] "Great spectacle for what it was, even if everything that happened was more or less what I expected. The crowd ate it up, though, so that made it better. Joe reminded me of his Kobashi match, but not because of his action, but because of him blowing up early against an older, but seemingly far better conditioned Puroresu veteran. Suzuki looked like he could have wrestled for 20 more minutes, while Joe was winded badly after the first minute. I mean, I know I am a lazy fan talking out of my ass here, but I did notice that not because I was looked for something to dislike, but because it was very hard not to notice. That being said, I love Joe regardless and overall this was fine. Hated the post-match angle, though; dislike the on-the-nose attention on ROH and I really hated Ross talking dumb shit over Kaze Ni Nare and then not even giving a shit about what it means -- after it was explained during Suzuki's first AEW stint half a year ago."
[6.0] "I was expecting a little bit more, the match style is not my favourite and the finish was outta of nowhere, didn't expect the 3 count with that move in that moment."
[8.0] "Das Match hat einfach eine Direktive: Dem Gegner geradlinig und intensiv eines auf die Zwölf zu verpassen. Das ist ein schöner Fight mit coolen Schlagabtäuschen und einfach ein echt gutes Match, welches 8 Punkte verdient."
[8.0] "What a match, extremely intense. They started the bout with a hundred chops, both endured incredible amount of pain just to show who was stronger. Then we saw some top-notch technical work, with extraordinary in-ring psychology"
[6.0] "Definitiv ein Match was sich viele, mich eingeschlossen, seit langem gewünscht haben. Nun ist es da und es war ja recht nett, mehr aber nicht wirklich. Der Slapaustausch war geil und das Highlight des Matches und alles danach war auch noch okay. Das Match war wirklich nicht schlecht, aber manchmal erwartet man sich einfach zu viel und das war hier eindeutig der Fall. Vor 10 Jahren wäre das sicher besser gewesen, aber lieber spät als nie(***)."
[9.0] "Yes, Suzuki wrestles a standard formula in all his US matches, but it's a great formula that always works, and there were enough tweaks here to keep it exciting. The match made Joe look like an absolute monster, taking all that Suzuki could give and then some. As nice as it would have been for Suzuki to keep the title for longer, that wasn't realistic, and Joe is a great choice. Shame about the post-match stuff, I get what they were going for but it ended the show on a weird note."
[6.0] "This match started off strong and fizzled out as it progressed. Samoa Joe will always be one of my all time favorites but the last ten-twelve years or so have not been the most kind to him in terms of his intensity and presence, with some exceptions in that timeframe."
[7.0] "The Dream Match we've all been waiting for! Very similar to a NOAH match, which is amazing. Minoru Suzuki and Samoa Joe stiffed the shit out of each other for eleven whole minutes. Since they had more time, they should've made a longer match, but that didn't ruin this great bout. ****"
[9.0] "Very similar to Hiromu vs Suzuki from the NJ Cup just shorter and slightly less good. Still a fantastic match though. It's so great to see Joe back wrestling, hopefully he defends the title as often as possible on TV, that would be great. ****1/4"
[7.0] "Habe irgendwie mehr erwartet, aber dennoch war es schon nice, was die Beiden hier zeigen. Etwas viel Brustgeklatsche (mehr als ein Viertel des Matches) und etwas viel Ringside-Brawling. Darüber hinaus war es aber sehr ordentlich und so für mich knapp im sehenswerten Bereich."
[9.0] "Okay, I loved the MATCH. The ENDING to Dynamite was just a bit weird but I'll get to it later. Anyways, HOLY FUCK, give me more Suzuki vs Joe. The chops at the beginning were INSANE, chop after chop after chop. Also, I usually don't pay attention to the match while on Picture and Picture, but this was one of the few times I had too. Joe pinned Suzuki and he did the thing where after he pinned you, he put on that STF. Man, I loved this match. And also, SAMOA JOE IS CHAMP ONCE AGAIN! But then, oof. Jay Lethal is outside and then the lights go out. Many people thought it would be Cesaro or Gresham, but instead, it was AEW's newest Indian signee. I mean, Khan hasn't really done anything to bother me besides the other Khan, so I'll see how it goes. But I did feel like it was very anti-climactic to an otherwise jampacked night of great wrestling."
[7.0] "7.5 - Suzuki is better at controlling a Western crowd than most Western wrestlers, and all he has to do is spam his small range of offense. Joe took Suzuki's lead here, and his cardio is clearly not peak, but he's still a monster who can deliver in hyped matches like this."
[6.0] "I didn't like the match. He's not bad, and I like other matches like this, but it was the Joe-Suzuki match that was weak... He was slow, boring, and earned such a score purely because of time. There's nothing more to say. ***"
[6.0] "Too short and didn't lived up to hype. It had just beey few fun moments where i really got interested in match otherwise it was bad and not what we were expecting."
[9.0] "A very, very good match that gets a higher rating than it would primarily because of the "holy shit" factor. I know there have been a lot of "dream matches" in wrestling of late, but this was one where I really could barely believe my eyes. Not the greatest either man has ever had, for sure, but a real treat for fans of both their work."
"Didn't like how abrupt the ending turned out to be (especially that stupid post-match), but overall that was a highly addicting match with all the slaps and stuff. Watching it back, I found it hilarious how red Samoa Joe's face looked."
[8.0] "Aside from the weirdly anticlimactic ending, this was one of the most violent pure matches in AEW history. Joe and Suzuki's chests both looked demolished after the match and the amount of hard slaps were insane."
[8.0] "This match was basically everything I expected. Two stiff af guys stiffing the f out of each other. For those complaining about the sudden finish, have you not seen a Minoru Suzuki match before? Most of his matches end suddenly like that. The post-match stuff did suck hard but I won't let that drag down my rating for the match itself."
[7.0] "A fun main event. The first three minutes was the best part of the match. Some brutal chops and forearms were the center piece of this match, with some other moves sprinkled in. The ending was a bit abrupt however. Good match though. [***1/4]"
[6.0] "The striking exchanges in this match were great while they lasted, but they went fewer than 12 minutes despite having an overrun available, there wasn't much in terms of storytelling or high-caliber work rate, and the finish was very abrupt. Also, Suzuki is now 0-4 in AEW, which doesn't affect my opinion of the match itself, but treating him purely as a stepping stone is certainly not a good booking strategy in the long run for such a legendary wrestler. ***"
