[7.0] "This was a solid and at times genuinely exciting pre-show that set the tone for a historic evening and effectively built hype for the main card. The Casino Battle Royale delivered chaos, several great moments, and a strong winner, while Sabian vs. Guevara was a dynamic, youthful showcase full of energy. Not everything was perfect in terms of execution and flow, but as a warm-up for the event, it served its purpose well."

[6.0] "Perfectly fine pre-show, a lot of wrestlers got a chance to show their stuff and get people excited about their work, and the battle royal had a great winner"

[6.0] "A good preshow, with many minutes of action, a few clips to build the pressure or add a little humor. Then a launch with the founding elements that almost sends shivers down your spine. Ideal for kicking off this historic evening. In-ring quality: 3.5/5. Angles and non-game segments: 0.75/3. Bonus/malus: none. Total: 6.25/10. Show seen on AEW Plus."

[7.0] "I've started going through all of the AEW shows, even one's that I haven't watched in years. I thought that this was honestly a pretty decent pre-show. I had fun watching both matches. You could definitely do worse with 2 matches. I recommend checking this out."

[7.0] "A good pre-show. A fun battle royale and a good singles match is overall fine. Nothing to complain about and worth your time to watch at least once. 7/10."

[7.0] "Decent preshow. The Casino Battle Royale was an up and down matchup with an obvious winner. Sabian vs Guevara was a good spot fest matchup between two younger guys. Their promotional videos were solid."

[10.0] "This was really fun opener, get you hyped for main card. Sure Alex Marvez could be a bit better commentator, but he wasn't that bad that would ruin the entire pre-show. okay his constat repeating to buy the PPV was starting to get a bit annoying but again not that annoying that you would start to hate the PPV"

[6.0] "This was a decent little pre-show. The Casino Battle Royal was fine for what it was, but the ceiling on a Battle Royal is somewhat low. Kip Sabian and Sammy Guevara had the match of the event although it was still just fine."

[4.0] "I remember watching this live and it was very, very funny that AEW's first match in company history is an actively bad one (albeit having the right winner). Then the following match on the pre-show was uninspired. But hey, I usually consider the pre-show a part of the main card anyway so whatever, right?"

[6.0] "Finally getting around to going through AEW from the start and this was a solid first offering. This is the first of the tradition of AEW's Buy-In's; meant to be a taster of sorts for the PPV itself. Double or Nothing 2019 was of course the first full AEW offering so this was a big deal. We get a Casino Battle Royale here that is very significant as one half of the contenders to face off at All Out to be the first World Champ is decided; the winner being "Hangman" Adam Page. If I could rate the Battle Royale I'd give it a 7; while it was rough at times I overall enjoyed it quite a bit. MJF doing some great heel work from the start. We also get the first AEW singles match on this Buy-In in Kip Sabian vs Sammy Guevara. Excalibur and Alex Marvez are at the desk here and hype up the matches for the main show; they bring JR out to the desk near the end. Before they go live into the main PPV, the Elite also have some words going in. A solid pre-show; I was ready for the PPV after this."

[10.0] "I went there live, so y'all can't be complaining about the quality. It was a good match with many people no one has ever seen before such as Glacier, Dustin Thomas, Sunny Daze, and Tommy Dreamer. The other match is actually history making, kip is the first person to EVER get a one fall win. So even if they just release him at least he made history one way or another. Also, the reason Glacier was there was because the Nightmare Factory was there (when are they not? ), and he's one of the major coaches there next to QT & Cody Rhodes."

[4.0] "The battle royal was like most battle royals, a cluster with a couple of really good workers and some random crap. Even going back and rewatching, it's clear that MJF and Adam Page stand out amongst the rest. Lots of characters, people who were pining for that Glacier return to TV were probably satisfied, I guess. The right person won at this moment in time. The singles match was fine. Sabian is more athletic than he is a good wrestler, and it's clear why Guevara wound up thus far having a better career. Ultimately you're not missing anything by skipping this pre-show."

[7.0] "Despite it being a Pre-Show it had 2 really fun matches and a really fun promo by the Elite to close out the Pre-Show."

[7.0] "For a pre-show, it was entertaining, full of explosive moments, whether it was during the battle royale where I saw some great talent or during the match after which was really cool, it makes you want to see the show, I hope it will be even better!"

[6.0] "Pretty good pre-show. AEW guys know how to book a battle royal that is for sure, compared to any other company I can think of. They made it a lot of fun and filled it with some crazy spots and some fun entrants. The singles match was fine, although it was a spotfest that never quite connected with me. I think that they didn't have the chemistry that they needed. Fun stuff leading into the pay per view"

[7.0] "This was my introduction to AEW. I'd not seen All In and my knowledge of AEW and the precursor of All In was all written word and opinions. I hope that some of the wrestlers featured in the Battle Royal get to be a part of the company because I was thoroughly entertained. Luchasaurus, MJF, and Orange Cassidy were the three that stood out for me and of course, a special mention goes to Dustin Thomas too. I look forward to AEW's TV shows as and when that'll be, on ITV in the UK."

[8.0] "Fun pre-show, the battle royal wasn't as good as the one at All In but it had many excellent moments, and Sabian/Guevara was enjoyable as well. I was feeling the hype at this point for sure!"

[7.0] "Really enjoyed the Battle Royale, it was really obvious that it was supposed to be fun and it was. A great way to introduce some of the characters that will not be familiar to viewers on a WWE diet. Not sure what people are expecting regarding commentary, I liked it, they did introduce and give a little background on wrestlers who were new to me, which was almost all of them. If these wrestlers are going to make up the lower and middle card then there should be some really good bouts in the future."

[4.0] "The Buy In pre-show didn? t feel like a pre-show, rather just some event in of its self, no panel discussed the main card, nor were there predictions or a preview. There was a few vignettes, but mainly just matches, which I feel like that misses the point of a pre-show. Even though I was exited as can be about the event, the Buy In pre-show was very sub-par. For starters, the commentary was awkward and very disorganized. And the transitions and pacing of backstage segments back to the team were off cue and seemed to be messed up. This seems to be due from its status of the very first event. In the actual action, the Casino Battle Royal was sloppy and extremely off the time mark. I time all the matches for my blog, and the ? 3 minutes? was actual about 4. 5 minutes. It seemed to be poorly booked, and although the idea was great, the execution could use some work. ? Hangman? Adam Page is one of (if not my) favorite wrestler in AEW, but his inclusion was not only very predictable, but made no storyline sense, as he was already booked for the show, so how did he end up with a card, let alone the covented joker card. Nonetheless, Adam Page will not dissapoint in the AEW title picture. Kip Sabian and Sammy Guvera put on a absolutely amazing bout, and showed what cruiserweight wrestling should be, this match was extremely good, and the spots were risky but well conceived."

[3.0] "3 points for the Sabian/Guevara match which was decent but nothing must-see. The battle royal was really bad with a result that was blatantly predictable but very sad all the same. The librarian skit and the attempt to sell the PPV were flat out terrible."

[5.0] "That sure was a pre-show. One messy battle royale and one pretty decent no-stakes singles match. Not exactly worth watching."

[6.0] "The Battle Royale was pretty good, although also pretty predictable as soon as Adam Page was revealed as the final entrant (***). Kip vs. Sammy was also pretty good, although I'm still not sure why AEW would put two relative unknowns as the free "you want to buy our PPV now" match (***1/4)."

[7.0] "A decent opening to the AEW brand, the battle royal got us of to a good start with some nice spots and the right winner *** and the Kip vs Guevara match was very good too another easy ***."

[4.0] "Adequate starter, both matches on two stars level, IMO. Battle Royale had some refreshing moments, nice spots and a good ending, while Sabian/Guevara was an usual high flying back-and-forth contest, though the ending was too rushed."