Chuck Taylor & Trent vs. Ortiz & Santana

[8.0] "One thing AEW does very well is the ability to give matches an indy feel, and what match does that better than a parking lot fight. I wish it was longer but man this match gave off serious GTS Wrestling vibes and I loved it."

[9.0] "Might not be the best match but an iconic match for sure. Really embodies why people used to love AEW. it's contained and violent at the same time, it's pushing the boundaries of what could be shown on tv while being refined and tightly packed. It's a signature match even if it's not a better match than some other spotfest AEW would put out later."

[8.0] "[4.0*] This match was just great. The first ever for the stip so I completely get the average rating, but if I may say, I liked the BCC vs Best Friends one better. I have a feeling that it was more brutal, despite having less cool spots. This was still unbelievable, with a lot of insane moments, like the double Swanton Bomb from the top of the car, the Powerbomb through the glass and the finishing move from Trent that was very creative. I did not like OCs interference too - even in 2020 he was appearing anywhere and everywhere ffs lmfao."

[9.0] "Lean, mean, super fun match. The biggest crime this watch could've committed was just not taking advantage of its setting, but it did everything it could to avoid that. Really entertaining and didn't overstay its welcome a single second."

[7.0] "I didn't care for this match. It was a fun backstage beat-up segment that could only occur during the pandemic era, and the wrestling was fine. Nice cameos from Orange Cassidy and Sue. That said, I was flabbergasted when Dave gave this five. It was just fine."

[7.0] "A very overhyped but super fun brawl. The difference between this match and a lot of other brawling we see in modern wrestling is the brutality. I didn't pay attention to this feud at all but they did a great job at setting the tone. Blood, big bumps, great pace. ***3/4"

[10.0] "Perhaps the recent Parking Lot Fight was better but this one is surely more iconic. The spots were wild and I loved to see glass used in television show, that's why AEW is so espacial. If you want to see a violent bloody war full of good moments this is your cup of tea, as it's mine. *****"

[9.0] "Amazing match, just minutes of absoulte fun! All four men interacted perfectly with their surroundings and delivered fantastic perfomances. There were many spots great spots but my favorite was definitely the double powerbomb on the glass. Orange Cassidy coming out of the trunk and attacking Santana was an incredbile moment and Sue flipping off Santana & Ortiz was hilarious. Cheers to all four athletes for putting their body on the line, awesome match. 9/10 - 4.75*/5*"

[9.0] "Love this match, still one of my favourites in AEW's history. It's just fun, 13 minute brawl/spotfest with little downtime and some pretty wild moments - the splash off the top of one car on to another, the senton on the hood, and the powerbomb on the windshield come to mind. Some cool images like Trent's bloodied back and Santana & Ortiz in their war paint. I'm meh on the finish, to poke at one thing about it. When commentary are going on about how personal it is, how they're gonna tear each other apart and the major damage being sustained, it is jarring to then hear Excalibur laughing his ass off because Best Friends' comedy character friend is here to save the day. Doesn't hugely detract from things, though. ****1/2"

[9.0] "Pretty good. Not the best brawl nor street fight Ive seen, but still good. They made great use of their surroundings. The finish was good. The inclusion of Orange at the end didnt really work for me because it showed that Best Friends couldnt do it on their own. That does however keep Santana & Ortiz strong, so I guess thats good. Too short to be great. Maybe it would have been better had it gone 20 minutes. Props to everyone involved for bleeding the hard way. Definitely not 5 stars though. ****1/4."

[9.0] "Such a fun match. Like, this match obviously has its comedic elements, like Orange Cassidy emerging from the trunk of a car, or Sue flipping off the camera. But this match also has some genuinely brutal spots and pretty much everyone gets busted open. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This was done in 1 take and to me that is amazing. All 4 men gave 110% and it showed. They used the environment perfectly to enhance the match. Everything in this match worked perfectly. One of my favorite matches of all time."

[10.0] "How were they not injured during this? I couldn't believe what I was watching in some of the spots of this match because they were that brutal. Felt like something you would see in CZW. From what I've seen, this is probably the best hardcore match in a major company especially considering the violence and the pace they delivered it. Most matches of this type are hurt by dull moments in the middle and you would only see high spots here and there. So it was unbelievable how the 4 of them were able to go at it from the starting bell to the end without any rest period. *****"

[9.0] "Amazing stuff from Best Friends and Ortiz & Santana right here in what is surely one of the most unique and original matches of the last decade in my humble opinion, I can understand why some may disagree with Meltzer's rating but in no way should his opinion depend on ours in my opinion, we can debate it yes but if you liked it don't force yourself to criticize it by saying it's not worth the maximal rating just because other of your favorite matches didn't get that rating. I don't think I'm ever going to be that high about it either when I watch it but the match generated a lot of buzz and hype at the time so it's understandable. Anyway I loved it, I don't really know what to say because it was just an incredibly fun brawl with crazy spots and perfect pacing. The setting was great, I really liked the Parking Lot Brawl between JBL and Cena back in the day and I felt like I was seeing that again but even better and in a different setting obviously. Kudos to these four guys for all the crazy bumps they took, they really put their bodies on the line. Orange Cassidy's cameo was awesome too, this was really great."

[3.0] "It's essentially no different from any of those random attitude era backstage brawls which I was never a fan of and is one of the many reasons I don't really miss that era of wrestling. Also Chuck and Taylor are very out of place in this match."

[10.0] "Oh god I love this match! It seemed strange to me that a Parking Lot Brawl got 5 stars, but after seeing it I understood why. This is one of the funniest matches I've ever seen, a great demolition derby full of brutal spots, an amazing "hardcore spotfest". Plus, I loved the final moment with the middle finger. Great, great match"

[8.0] "Going into this I really did not expect this to be that good, but damn did they prove me wrong. This was one of the best Street Fight matches that I have watched, at least in many years. It was an amazing brutal fight, brawl all while being fun to watch at the same time. They all did an incredible job and executed their roles as good as they can. The ending was just as brutal as well. I would definitely recommand everyone to check it out. ****"

[7.0] "This was a good parking lot brawl. All four guys were great and there was some wild fighting moments."

[10.0] "Without question, one of the best matches in AEW history. Perhaps the best Parking Lot Brawl of all time. These two teams beat the absolute tar out of one another, utilizing every car and weapon available to them in a creative and innovative manner. Trent took an otherworldly level of damage in this one, including two of the craziest Powerbombs I may have ever seen. Chuck Taylor was fantastic as a brawler, as well, with heavy strikes and great sells along the way. On the other end, Ortiz and Santana kept finding new ways to inflict unimaginable damage. Their use of weapons was one thing, but the fact that they kept discovering ways to utilize cars as weapons was as difficult to watch as it was impressive. I am honestly speechless because this match just kept getting crazier and never once relented with the actoin or the drama. The Decapitator onto rear truck door plate was creative as can be. And the end reveal with the steel-wrapped Superman Punch and perhaps the two nastiest moves of the entire match for the finish. Incredible. This was simply incredible. 5 stars, 10 out of 10. Compounded by the moment after the match, I simply do not know how you can do this stipulation any better than they did."

[10.0] "Simply the best street fight I've ever seen and a well deserved 5 star match. All 4 men going full violence all match long with lots of painful jaw dropping action. I'm so happy Chuck Taylor had another unforgettable great match in a period of his career we could call the final years I think . *****"

[10.0] "An insane brawl here that does a lot of new and different things. This match excels at using the cars parked around the competitors to make offense look and sound as painful as possible. The simple visual (and soundbite) of these moves being done on top of cars, denting their roofs/hoods and shattering their windows, adds a lot to this match. You think it's pretty cool when Best Friends do sentons to the trunk of a car, but then Chuck nearly gets decapitated by a sledgehammer that gets lodged in a windshield. That's the moment you know the match is something else (and it reminds you a couple times afterwards with equally crazy moments, and the blood spilled). Santana & Ortiz are exceptional brawlers and bring a lot of intensity and hatred, Trent is a world-class worker, and Chuckie T just has that magnetism (and OC pops out of a trunk for a great moment). Trent gets all my respect for the shit that he let happen to his back in this. The post-match is just awesome. Glad Chuckie T got that big five from Dave (and I appreciate his comparison to the Dibiase/Duggan Steel Cage Tuxedo Street Fight), but I'll go ****1/2 myself."

[8.0] "This was a really good street fight, but 5* for this? If this happened in any other company, it probably doesn't even get rated. It was fun, but come on."

[7.0] "A fun, creative, short brawl that goes just far enough to prove these guys are tough. Some of the spots were admittedly pretty contrived, but everyone involved put on a fun spectacle and they all got over as badasses. A wonderful TV match, possibly AEW's best Dynamite match so far. ****1/4"

[7.0] "I really don? t understand what so special about this match and why it got a 5 stars rating from Meltzer. It was just a fun brawl for me personally, nothing too bad but nothing too special."

[7.0] "It's difficult to have a match in this kind of setting but these guys did a good job. Some creative spots and nasty bumps. They kept it fast paced, otherwise this kind of brawl scenario can start to drag really quickly, and the action impactful."

[8.0] "This match was a live action re-enactment of the parking lot brawls from the Smackdown games from the PS1 era. Great creative spots as well as bloody brutality. You knew shit was gonna go down when Ortiz threw an axe (? ) through the windshield of a car. So far AEW has had a great record of fun and creative weapons and environment-based matches."

[9.0] "Such a fun match. Quite likely the best street fight that I have ever seen. The Sue spot at the end was the icing."

[7.0] "It is a good and innovative match with huge spots, but it is completely lack of selling and there are relevant timing mistakes. In fact, there are actions in which Santana or Chuck Taylor don't mind about the fact that thier tag team partner is under pressure. The stipulation is very hard to do, so it is a relevant effort. ***3/4"

[8.0] "I never knew backstage brawls could be this fun. This was a really enjoyable fight, filled with spots both ludicrous and brutal."

[8.0] "8. 4/10 : Bringing pride to parking lot fights, a match that's often just a repetitive gimmick with one or two final huge spots; not here. The brutality is insne. I was wincing, gasping, WHATing. I was wondering how do these people have human bodies. Nah they must have something else. It's awesome when wrestling makes you question that. Props to all 4 guys."

[7.0] "This was a relatively standard brawl with all 4 men impressively putting themselves through quite a lot of pain at a very fast pace. I can't see what about this was anywhere near 5 stars (which is often how I feel towards hardcore matches), but I definitely thought this was still pretty fun. ***1/4"

[8.0] "Very good high-spot match which make full use of the enviroment. Plenty weapons, glasses, cars, and the use of blood was amazing. (****1/2)"

[8.0] "This is a very good match. The impacts and the barbarity really succeeded in matching the idea of a serious rivalry between guys who genuinely hate each other. I think it? s also a massive credit to the four that this match was so unique and fresh, perhaps not in aesthetic as parking lot brawls have been done numerous times before but definitely in how the environment was used and how the fight was paced. My only criticism would have to be Chuck Taylor who in terms of his ability is far below his partner and Santana and Ortiz. His selling and actions just seem to be off and often come across as phoney. One example that stood out to me was when Ortiz sold being thrown into a car boot like death while Taylor had only thrown him limply with one hand."

[7.0] "I haven't really been into this feud until about the last two matches wherein Best Friends were less cutesy and more feud-driven. I liked that intensity with less overt silliness. As for this match, we've seen a few parking lot brawls over the years, and I feel like this was the best one I've seen. That's a pretty low bar because just about every other match of this type has been forgettable, but I thought this was pretty fun. It did suffer from a few things, though. For one, as with most matches of this type, there weren't really any near falls which make you bite. That kind of atmosphere just doesn't lend itself well to selling pinfall attempts and it inhibits the drama. And two, this match ended with a return to silliness with Orange Cassidy climbing out of a car boot and changing the tide of the match. I don't think it needed that. Keep the dumb stuff with Trent's mother, the van, and the middle finger, but I think the match itself should have been raw and personal throughout with no comedy, because the feud really picked up in moments like that. You've got brutality and blood and intensity and emotion and then a comedy character climbing out of a car boot and ending the match. Not needed in my opinion. Still a fun watch, though."

[9.0] "This is exactly how I like my gimmick match brawls, brutal, bloody and personal. Trent was easily the star of the match here bringing the hate and just wanting to hurt Proud and Powerful as much as he could. And of course Proud & Powerful being the badasses that they are were able to match Trent's intensity and give an ass kicking right back to Best Friends. Towards the end there Santana even looked to be having fun. Let's not forget Chucky T who did his fair share part in the match. These guys really took the "Parking Lot Brawl" label to heart as the used the cars for various suplex and delivered multiple dives off one car onto another. And remember these are fricking cars and by the end some of them were pretty dented up so it had to have hurt. Multiple lacerations to backs and arms were had and there was blood everywhere. I thought the powerbomb Trent took on the hood of a car was going to be the worse bump of the match but then Proud & Powerful freaking powerbombed him through a damn windshield. Insane. Finish made sense with Oragne Cassidy helping out by taking out Santana and then Trent capitalizing to pin Ortiz but it did take away from the match a bit given how badass both team where during the whole thing. ****1/4"

[9.0] "This was great. I don't normally like hard-core matches but they did everything right in this match. Trent and Ortiz especially took a lot of crazy bumps. Cassidy makes an amazing cameo and Best Friends got a huge win. ****1/2"

[8.0] "Brutal and fun match all at the same time. Some of the spots looked brutal and Sue at the end was just perfect."

[9.0] "Real damn good fight. You could tell this wasn't a normal wrestling match. Turns out a street fight was actually a street fight and not them hitting each other with weapons only midway through the match! Just all around really fun violence and a lot of memorable spots in just 13 minutes"

[8.0] "It was a really awesome match. I'm not high on brawling in the modern wrestling world outside of Mexico but this was a different breed of the match. They went all in on the car bumping and their use of the environment in general. I really didn't care about their feud at all but they went for a different tone to the rest of the match and it came out much better for it. Although they had a slight tounge in cheek end to it all with the car drive into the sunset ending which I did like. ***3/4"

[10.0] "Big Dust got a five star match from Big Dave, and well deserved too. This was an incredible brawl, very creative and very well produced. Trent getting backdropped by the Dead Presidents onto a shoot windscreen was an absolutely brutal and memorable bump, and an inspired cameo by Orange Cassidy to turn the tide. Although they're tipping FTR vs. the Young Bucks, they should go all the way with Best Friends now after this performance."

[8.0] "I wasn't expecting much, but this turned out to be a fantastic brawl and was a fitting end to this rivalry. ****"

[8.0] "Lots of fun, very dangerous. AEW is at their best when they cut the pretense and just let their dudes be goofy and wild. Cassidy coming out the trunk made me laugh, feel good moment with Trents mom driving them off, reminded me of carpool as a kid. Carpool ass match."

[6.0] "I couldn't care less about both of these tag teams but the high praise this match received got me curious. I mean, it's a trainwreck aew parking lot brawl so it is what it is, but being what it is it's pretty fun. I guess?"

[9.0] "This was an amazing parking lot brawl with lots of brutal spots. Orange Cassidy coming out of the car at the end was really cool and the post match drive off with Sue was hilarious."

[9.0] "A very memorable match. Have never seen a street fight quite like that. All 4 guys really put their bodies on the line to create a special match. Cassidy coming out of the hood of the car was a very creative surprise. If you don? t like hardcore matches this may not be the one for you, but anyone can appreciate the clever match lay out. Not every match has to be the same"

[7.0] "Good brawl with some nice spots and the wrong winners. Hopefully this dumb feud is over now. ***1/4."

[9.0] "Very fun match with cool spots. Irregardless of who won or lose, this elevated both teams in my eyes. The only thing that kept me from giving this a 10 was Cassidy's appearance. As much as I love the guy, I wish the ending was clean."

[10.0] "Fantastic falls count anywhere style, not at all "cinematic", just a really well shot hardcore match in the parking lot area that nailed it beyond even the highest expectations. Love this, both teams showing they have tremendous worth."

[9.0] "Man what a fight that was incredible. What a parking lot fight. Brutal match to end this rivalry between best friends and Santana and ortiz. Gotta love AEW"

[10.0] "Just a crazy match with cool spots. The way they performed the receptions for the cars just amazed me. This is just a great match, so the rating is appropriate. 10/10"