FTR vs Bullet Club Gold is one of the best tag team matches of all-time, thoroughly earning an incredible five-star rating from Dave Meltzer.
First dubbed “The best American tag team match ever on television”, Dave Meltzer has added to the plaudits for FTR vs Bullet Club Gold by awarded their match an incredible five-star rating.
A week after beating FTR in an Eliminator Match, Jay White and Juice Robinson challenged the champions to a two-out-of-three falls match, with their title belts on the line.
This was FTR’s first second defense since winning the belts from The Gunns, after their victory against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal at Double or Nothing 2023.
After Juice Robinson pinned Dax Harwood the week prior, the rematch for the AEW Tag Team Championship turned out to be one of the best tag team matches in history.
Bullet Club Gold vs FTR
The second match between Bullet Club Gold and FTR turned out to be one of the best tag team matches of all time.
While Juice Robinson and Jay White were not a common tag team, they proved to be just as good as FTR as a team, despite coming up short.
The opening of the match began with mind games, each man rolling to the outside, frustrating their opponents and dictating the pace of the match.
The match carried on at a slower pace, although in hindsight they were pacing themselves for the near-hour long bout ahead.
After some solid wrestling, Juice Robinson countered the Shatter Machine, before Jay White hit Cash Wheeler with a Blade Runner and earned the first fall for his team.
First Fall – Jay White pins Cash Wheeler (19 Minutes 05 Seconds) – 1-0.
The second fall went another twenty minutes, and the action really picked up.
Both teams had numerous near falls, with Cash Wheeler narrowly avoiding being counted out and losing the tag team titles.
This second fall came at the end of a long and exciting sequence, which saw Juice Robinson eat a Shatter Machine and get pinned, bringing FTR back on level terms.
Second Fall – Cash Wheeler Pins Juice Robinson (39:40) – 1-1.
The match continued at a lightning pace, and looked as though it was going to go to a sixty-minute draw.
Fans expected this when the match was put first on the show, rather than at the end.
Matches like Bryan Danielson’s bouts with Adam Page and Kenny Omega were placed first on their respective shows, to give the match time enough to go to a time-limit draw.
This seemed likely for FTR vs Bullet Club Gold, but it jumped into the five-star category for the fantastic ending just before the buzzer.
At 58 minutes in, FTR paid tribute to their epic matches against DIY in NXT.
They took the finish from their best match, locking both of the Bullet Club Gold in their respective finishers.
Jay White and Juice Robinson locked hands (just as FTR had done years prior) before tapping out and giving FTR the win.
Third Fall – Dax Harwood Submits Juice Robinson (58 Minutes) 2-1
FTR retained their AEW Tag Team Championships, with one of the best tag team matches of all time.
Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating
Dave Meltzer rated FTR vs Bullet Club Gold at 5.25 stars, making it one of the best tag team matches of all time.
On the Wrestling Observer Radio following that episode of AEW Collision, Dave Meltzer was quoted as saying “I thought that was the best American tag team match ever on television”.
In the following weeks Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he awarded a 5.25 tar-ratings for the FTR vs Bullet Club Gold match.
The full star ratings for Bullet Club Gold vs FTR are as follows:
- Dave Metlzer Star Rating – 5.25
- Cagematch Rating – 9.42
- Atletifo Rating – 5 Stars