[6.0] "Knocking off a whole ass star from my first watch of this is crazy. I wonder if watching the full, uninterrupted thing made the pacing feel more awkward and off. The star power in this felt more electric then than it does now. When Paragon really takes over in the third act, it feels weird and like its overstaying its welcome. There are truly great moments in here like Hangman/White, the Swerve entrance fakeout with Ricochet, Hobbs and Archer tossing RicoBald around like a toy to each other, Yuta immediately taking out Jarrett bc Moxley didn't wanna deal with him lol. So it works as a fun little TV gauntlet, but definitely fell short in the actual ring work. Too much stalling in the latter half. ***"
[7.0] "As soon as I thought that Hobbs should win this match, he pinned O'Reilly. I was genuinely surprised, I thought Jarrett would win this match. This was a fun showcase of AEW's roster. I thought there should be some aftermatch with Ricochet after his attack on Strickland, but he got a great heat through out the match. I'm not the biggest fan of gauntlet matches, but this was an entertaining match. [***1/2]"
[6.0] "I usually dislike this match in the company and no matter how many people come out, they always just 1v1 in the middle the whole time. This one was a bit less of that, so I liked it. That may be because it was a gauntlet in the middle of a Dynamite vs a gauntlet on pay per view. There was a lot more stalling and filling time with whoever was out there. I guess I just like that more. This was a great Dynamite episode, by the way. When something like this isn't the standout match, they have a loaded show."
[6.0] "It was good but got a bit too messy towards the end. Jarrett angle was smart work. Hobbs getting the win was an absolute delight no doubt. Its good that they didnt let him get lost in the shuffle after that great match with Takeshita. ***1/4"
[7.0] "I think this might be mostly remembered for Ricochet's Swerve fake-out. I don't know if this is the most compelling group of people to have in it--I'm more than a little tired in particular of seeing Lance Archer used as fodder and still being beltless in 2025--but Hobbs made for a fun winner and this was mostly well paced. Competently executed with only a bit of an odd pacing-lull around the time Strong came in. The finish made Hobbs look both smart and strong, so its hard to complain if you're a fan of his (I am.)"
[8.0] "I think that everybody here is astutely aware of how badly a poorly-conceived battle royal can muddle up an event, and this certainly was not one of those. This Swerve intro fake-out thing by Ricochet is an awesome bit of heel character work, & this is the second time now that Ricochet has done a good job with this heel persona; hopefully, he keeps this up through the year. Adam Cole entering and superkicking everybody is a great thing, as is Powerhouse Hobbs' wild entrance, complete with clotheslining Ricochet's head off. The way he dual-strikes Cole & Garcia is awesome, as is the little spot where he battles with Archer. Really hoping for big things for Hobbs this year. By the time O'Reilly comes down, we've gathered together a pretty great team of workers, and the spot where Yuta extracts Jarret from the arena is great. The Kingdom working together on Hobbs, only for Hobbs to cry aloud and slam em all is a sight to see. Really, with the exception of the early going being a bit slow/almost everyone granted their arbitrary "I'm here, time to destroy everybody" moment, I have almost no complaints about this, and I don't even really like royals that much. This was super awesome!"
[7.0] "Casino gauntlets have all delivered as promised so far and this was another good performance. Wheeler stood out to me as a really good fit for the role he was filling as a guy that picks his spots and will take some cheap shots before bumping for somebody else. The Undisputed Kingdom feel more like a faction that can have a much better year than they did while Taven and Bennett were Cole's only support. Hobbs being the surprise winner was a welcome and will hopefully result in a stronger rematch than the first time in 2024.***1/2"
[6.0] "A fairly solid casino gauntlet. Definitely far from my favourite one they've done but still a fun match regardless. The action here was a bit slow at times but there were certainly still a fair few cool moments especially from guys like Hobbs and Garcia. I expected Jay White to win, but shockingly Hobbs did which I'm definitely not against. This was certainly one of the weaker casino gauntlets but it was still pretty decent overall. ***"
[6.0] "This starts fast paced, lots of chops and counters between the first two, plus a snappy superplex. Yuta hilariously keeps getting knocked to the outside. There's a silly spot where Garcia has three guys in the corner to get 10 punches. Hobbs slingshots ricochet out of the ring and it's a lot of fun. He looks great throwing everyone around, including a killer spine buster. Double J takes a bunch of stiff shots from Yuta so he doesn't really get to enter. Hobbs looks great throughout all of this, it's a big win for him to get this title shot."
[5.0] "Look, it's a great stip, but this match in particular showed the weaknesses of AEWs upper-middle card right now. Undisputed Kingdom's presence actively made the match worse. Hobbes is an unconvincing challenger for Moxley's title at this moment in time for me. Lance Archer no longer feels like a credible monster for these matches due to inconsistent booking. Yuta and Ricochet by comparison were the stars of this match, playing the dirty heels who ruin everyone's fun very well. But the match as a whole was disappointing. Not terrible, but well below expectation."
[6.0] "It was a fine match but compared to the previous casino gauntlet matches (singles ones) this one dissappointed. Not that excited but a surprise winner is a welcome choice regardless."
[8.0] "I had so much fun watching this. All of the entrants had a nice story between them, and people did a nice job advancing their own storylines during the match. Richochet's fake out with Swerve's theme was a huge moment. The best part was Wheeler Yuta and Richochet being used as dummies for all the wrestlers to hit their big moves. Please let this be the beginning of a good, consistent push for Hobbs."
"[6.0] A fun gauntlet match. I didn't expect Hobbs to win but I really liked the result. This had many interesting layers. The action between hangman and Jay was great in the beginning and although it might seem odd their cooperation later on kind of made sense. Ricochet is really surprising me with how great he's portraying the ultra annoying jackass heel which proves that he's got many traits as a pro wrestler. Him being tossed around by archer and powerhouse was super fun. As was yuta being constantly beaten up in the early goings. One thing I really hope is that the undisputed kingdom guys find their way soon because it's sad seeing these amazing wrestlers not excelling at everything they do. Next week's title match will be interesting. Good match overall."
[7.0] "I thought storytelling wise and match wise, This Casino Gauntlet was very fun to watch in general and Powerhouse Hobbs winning the match was absolutely shocking to me but a great shock to see. We got some cool moments like Ricochet swerving...NO PUN...the crowd with Swerve's music and then coming out to his own stuff. We had some good spots here and there but the ending felt pretty sudden. [***1/2]"
[7.0] "I was very happy on who won this match because this is a great moment for Powerhouse Hobbs. I really am excited to see him battle for the AEW World Championship. My favorite moment in this match was when Ricochet tricked everything into thinking that Swerve Strickland was coming out but instead he came out and added that Jadakiss Laugh in the beginning. But overall a fine match happy that Powerhouse Hobbs won I thought he deserves this moment over everyone else in this match. I really hope his booking is great in the year of 2025."
[6.0] "A good match but looks more like a match for no1 contender for secondary strap more than World.Hobbs performance was brilliant in this match as well as Undisputed uniting with Garcia.In last Hobbs pins Kyle to win"
[5.0] "I really dislike this match style. Even though they try to make a point of the advantage of #1, nobody ever seems to work with any urgency to win while the numbers are low, least of all a guy like Jay White. And what I guess there's just like a long line of guys in the back, waiting to see how long the matches goes? Eh, just an excuse for a lot of guys to kill time. I did at the very least appreciate the winner, I like Hobbs a lot and he deserves another shot at Mox after bad luck last time."
[5.0] "The first mediocre casino royale. This one really revealed the weakness in the roster, Hobbs winning with zero build aside a bad IWGP match with an injury a year ago is weak but hopefully it somehow works out. Hobbs did look good here getting to throw everyone around but in a one on one he hasn't always been good, using the bland work-a-hold style."
[7.0] "Not my favorite Casino Gauntlet, but this did have a nice amount of good moments. I wasn't sure who would win here, but I certainly wasn't expecting Hobbs. Their last match, for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, was not one I particularly enjoyed. Hopefully they're able to put on something better this time around."
[8.0] "While it wasn't as flashy as the previous gauntlets, this edition was no slouch to become a greatly entertaining chain of action. The revisit of stories between White/Hangman, Hangman/Cole, Cole/Ricochet, the termed alliances, and a well-earned win that completes a long lost, unfinished arc - it was packed with a lot and it was worth every minute! Hobbs vs. Moxley sounds like a feast for next week and I hope it doesn't disappoint or hinder like their previous battle. 4 out of 5 stars!"
[7.0] "I was going to give it a 8, cause it was a lot of fun, but the finish felt rushed, and god I do not care about Hobbs, so the ending was really disapointing"
[7.0] "Decent action without it being the pure hype previous casino gauntlets have had. No performances stick out, besides Ricochet's first out-and-out heel showing."
[8.0] "I thought this match was a lot of fun and everything that happened made sense. Yuta being the ultimate heel by screwing over the fan favorites, Ricochet swerving the crowd, and a nice unexpected winner. 8/10."
[8.0] "Probably not as good as the previous CBRs but as a big fan of Strong, O'Reilly and Cole, I loved seeing them work together a bit. I actually loved the field for this match in general, with a lot of big names in there. Hobbs winning felt a bit random but I think that's the beauty of a match like this. You can realistically have anyone win without it feeling weird. Plus Hobbs really held his own."
[8.0] "It was incredibly entertaining, but kind of missed something that the previous Gauntlet matches had. Maybe it's a bit of disappointment that people were expecting Speedball and he didn't show up. Still, like I said, incredibly entertaining, and although Hobbs was a winner out of left-field, it does makes sense from a storyline perspective."
[6.0] "Good Casino Gauntlet, it obviously didn't had the level of some previous Gauntlets that AEW has done, but it was nice nonetheless, with a lot of big names coming and a lot of good sequences and combinations, the dynamic between all the participants was very sharp, and the match didn't even seemed so long, because of how interesting the interactions were. Hobbs winning is obviously kinda disappointing, he was the least over guy in the match - {**3/4}"
[5.0] "Easily the worst Casion Gauntlet in its short history and they seem to be over-relying on it already too unfortunately. Hobbs winning was nice to see though."
[8.0] "There was stuff I really really loved in this one, and then one dragging issue. What I LOVED: Hangman and Switch have fantastic chemistry. I could watch them just shit talk each other for a half hour. Yuta is boring as hell, but having him be just slapped around by every single new entrant until Jarrett was hilarious. He's such a geek. Jarrett wandering back in after the match was over was also pretty funny. Richochet's fake out entrace and then the "how far can we throw Richochet" were my favorite parts of the match, and Hobbs' win was pretty explosive. What I didn't like: the Unsdisputed Kingdom. They are so fucking bland. The moment when they're all in the ring with Hobbs was like: Look at them! Just look at how fucking bland they all look against a fantastic personality like Hobbs. Adam Cole has fallen dreadfully, and Roddy and Kyle are just boring. Absolute momentum killers."
[4.0] "Strong start that exploded into a disappointing mess. With Hangman and Jay White leading, this match has a lot of excitement. There an incredible amount of tension between Hangman and White and the played it well. Bringing in Yuta and having him be a distraction was fun. Even Ricochet's entrance with the Swerve fakeout played into the tension well. Everything past that was cheesy, unimpressive fluff. Garcia has no momentum in his TNT championship, so slotting him into this Gauntlet match to get his shit in and look stronger than more interesting wrestler derailed everything. Adam Cole is at the lowest point of his modern career and bringing him in to get his shit in and look stronger than more interesting wrestlers derailed what was left. Jeff Jarrett adds nothing to any match he's in. The Undisputed Era goons are boring as fuck. Lance Archer has no heat and has aged out of interesting spots. As for Hobbs, the guy has to escape the mentality that's made so many of these other wrestlers jokes. You are not five suplexes in a row and then your signature move. You have to be creative and exciting every time you step in teh ring. I'm not abandoning his push yet, but the more he's being shown without doing interesting things, the closer I get to wanting to move on. No one deserves a turn. It's earned week to week."
[4.0] "This was stinky. Barely anything exciting happening, lack of interesting entrants- and a boring ass winner who has a 0% chance of beating Moxley. A filler match, won by a filler on the roster, to complete a filler arc in the world title storyline. Filler, filler, filler."
[5.0] "This felt like it really dragged on, and didn't have much that was memorable. A few highlights were Wheeler Yuta jumping Jeff Jarrett as Jarrett was coming out, and Powerhouse Hobbs - he looked great in the match and deserved the win. But, I don't know, this wasn't good enough to take up almost a quarter of the show."
[7.0] "An entertaining and dynamic Gauntlet match, which in my opinion, had an outcome that leaves a bittersweet taste after all the action experienced throughout the fight. I must admit that I was surprised that Hobbs took the victory, but because I expected another opponent, even if it was a transitional one."
[6.0] "This was fine but even with bigger stars kind of lacking the excitement of the first few, they may be close to overexposing this even though it's a really cool gimmick match."
[8.0] "I was scared that it would be a bit boring, but they did a great job once again. Every participants made sense, great work from everyone (Ricochet taunt to Hangman during the entrance was gold). Didn't expect Hobbs to win but it will be an interesting challenge for Mox against that beast."
[6.0] "A very interesting gauntlet match. It was highly entertaining and well-structured. The final result was quite surprising--the World Title match next week promises to be excellent. However, I was definitely expecting a different winner."
[7.0] "Not quite to the level of the prior Casino Gauntlet match, even if I was pleased with the overall winner. They did a fantastic job of balancing a number of story; however there was a little too much Wheeler Yuta general shenanigans, too much teaming up of certain guys against others, so it just didn't really get to a level of in ring work that I thought was wonderful, but it was still plenty interesting the entire way through. I don't have a problem with furthering so many storylines in the match, I just want to see the fun part of watching every guy go after every other guy. Here's to hoping there's more of that in next week's women's gauntlet match. I do like Hobbs winning, but thought it was a bit abrupt, even if it was obviously coming with the pacing of the match. But the culmination in timing just didn't feel exciting enough, even if the match, alltogether, was pretty darn decent."
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