[7.0] "Two-for-two when it comes to fun matches in the Continental Classic. I don't know how I feel about both leagues having matches on the same show, as they felt more separate last year, but it's not a huge deal or anything. What I wasn't the biggest fan of here was the finish, however. Although, it could be partially due to the fact that the crowd didn't really react much to the Lariat."
[5.0] "A fine match but it was definitely stuck in the first gear. The match is perfectly fine but didn't deliver as much for me and the crowd didn't seem as invested either. **1/2"
[9.0] "This was a super fun match! It got a *wee bit* spit heavy for me, but by and large it was a blast! I think this tournament concept shows AEW in its best light, as we get to focus on random matches between some of the best wrestlers in the world, separated from the storylines/angles. I honestly think there's a case to be made that the Continental title is starting to eclipse the World title in prestige! Loved the David & Goliath presentation; Claudio is a great bully! I wish they'd lean into this more and present him as being near untouchable when he can impose his strength. Ricochet has definitely found his lane in AEW and feels like a solid upper midcarder already. I'm more excited about the company now then I've been all year!"
[6.0] "Sincerely and suffering I say it, I think it is one of the worst fights of Ricochet since he came to AEW. The reason is simple and it seems that this fight was designed to monotonize Ricochet against a superior Claudio Castagnoli that even at the end of the contest was like waiting for him to enter to finish him. For me, it was an overrated fight. I don't think it's bad, far from it, but it leaves much to be desired by Ricochet who expected much more from him and as I say, it was a fight made for Claudio to take his first three points."
[5.0] "This is better than people probably give it credit for. The crowd clearly had little interest in it and the wrestlers then gave low energy for the majority but they did some interesting things in despite of that. A lot of dead air maybe though. And the finish was zero energy. **3/4"
[6.0] "[3.0*] Awful crowd, but the fact that they had to put themselves over just like the 2018 WWE crowds did is something capable of making you think about a lot of things. The Lariat was kinda weak at the ending but that is fine. Good match."
[5.0] "My god the crowd were absolutely insufferable during this. The match wasn't really anything special anyway but the crowd made parts of it actively painful to watch, as they popped themselves by coming up with countless variations of unfunny "bald" chants. The work done in the match was fairly average at best with Claudio obviously impressing and Ricochet still feeling super underwhelming and like he's working in slow motion half the time. An ok match overall, brought down a peg by a genuinely horrendous crowd. **3/4"
[4.0] "I'm not a big fan of Ricochet. Never liked him in WWE, Don't like him in AEW. But it's clear that they see something in him with the big debut and title matches. So him loosing to Claudio here in his first match of the tournament coming off a PPV loss is strange booking. Anyways, this was not my type of match. Usually with Ricochet matches, I can at least acknowledge that they look clean. This didn't look particularly good and I felt like there were some miscommunications. The finish doesn't help the matters. And the crowd made it all the worst. A pretty bad match."
[8.0] "I've seen some criticize this match for letting the crowd goof off with the bald stuff, and I can see where they are coming from. I think with tighter booking fans wouldn't be goofing on Claudio, they'd be booing him as the big enforcer of the Death Riders, so fair play. But in 2024 I think sometimes fans are gonna goof no matter what you do, so putting that aside and just looking at the action in the ring, I still enjoyed this a lot. Not their best match together but still an entertaining fight, even with the unusual crowd reaction."
[6.0] "This lost the crowd entirely, but was unsurprisingly neat inside the ropes. Ricochet isn't as spectacular as he once was, but still effortlessly strolls through these TV bouts, visibly reaching a little further after his WrestleDream match. Claudio was a natural opponent for that too, they just never got the people onboard. ***"
[8.0] "Enjoyed this match alot. Ricochet isn't as spry as he used to be, people have to get used to it. He's going to slow down as he ages, as a style he's using now I enjoy it. Especially liked the finish cause it felt out of nowhere which is what I want from the C2 from time to time. 4 stars from me."
[7.0] "This match was great, certainly could've been better but for a tv match they busted out some pretty fantastic spots. Unfortunately the match got quickly hijacked by the crowd which wouldn't be the worst thing but both wrestlers, mostly Ricochet, seemed quite distracted and put off by the "bald chants". I don't think this crowd deserved the match that they got but Ricohet needs to learn to not fan the flames or at least lean into the "why you bald? " meme. Regardless still a good match even it had a bad crowd and finish"
[7.0] "Fun match, honestly might have been better than the Takeshita v Ricochet match from Full Gear, although dragged a bit by the crowd audibly being bored. I think they actually should have just counted Ricochet out though, would have been more memorable than the limp finish we got."
[7.0] "This was really good for a tournament tv match. I enjoyed the pairing and seeing what both are bringing to the table. Both have been involved in recent pushes and are at the top of their games."
[5.0] "Average match. People complaining about the crowd getting bored early on chanting bored blaming the crowd dont get it. Ricochet is boring for 80% of his matches. No body language, no selling, no facial expressions, he NEVER reacts when things change from what they had planned. Watch the part where he'd running the ropes and Claudio is in his path. He runs AROUND him so he can hit the ropes and finish the spot. There is no Immersion. Hes never a wrestler in a struggle. He's Trevor Mann the performer thinking about his next spot. Floppy shit can be great (Mysterio/Guerrero HH 97), but you must at least act like your flippy shit is in the context of a struggle. The athleticism is there so this is a 2.5 star match, but the bored crowd is a reflection of Ricochet just not being interesting because he's a robotic CAW who does cool stuff, not a wrestler in a struggle you care about."
[5.0] "***1/4 normal match, they fulfilled and entertained, the problem was some sequences that almost botched and were not fluid, good duration, and some interesting sequences"
[6.0] "Crowd chanting bald shows how far the AEW crowds have fallen. Loved commentary pointing out how Claudio is best against a style like Ricochet's. Match was interesting but it was not either of their cleanest match. Finish just felt really abrupt and lack luster to me."
[6.0] "All in all I can't say it was bad at all but it was certainly a bit disappointing. Ricochet didn't have the usual crispness he normally has to his work and the finishing lariat was kinda weak looking, but the actual match made sense and came across as a fine TV match, just not a great tournament match. ***1/4"
[7.0] "A match of the night for me, even if it was overshadowed by "Bald" chants. Ricochet did some great stuff and Claudio is always great vs high-flyers. Aside from some sloppy moments here and there, it was a pretty good match. The winner was unexpected for me, as Ricochet just suffered a loss at the PPV, but it is a pleasant surprice, as every time Claudio is booked strong - it's a spark in my heart."
[6.0] "I had a fun time, AEW's TV crowds have been a total dud over the last 8 weeks or so, therfore it was nice to see a crowd that loud and active even for the wrong reasons. Ricochet needs a big time performance soon because if your whole gimmick is "out of this world" you can't have a singles match ceiling of ***1/2 especially when you already wrestled two demons in Takeshita & Ospreay. Claudio is the best base in professional wrestling today and this will probably be his weakest match in the tournament."
[6.0] "An enjoyable although it could've been a lot better than this. The crowd was having fun with the bald chants, however they ended up being a little distracting. The action was fine. Claudio looked powerful as always meanwhile Ricochet seemed a bit off of his game tonight. Fine match but nothing memorable. 6/10 - 3.25*/5*"
"Claudio looks strong, repeating the same finish as he did with Darby helps build him up like the giant that he is. The rest of the match was very entertaining and fun, the crowd was having a big of a laugh with both as well, overall extremely enjoyable. 3.75*"
[5.0] "This was fine, though the crowd was a little distracting. It's the kind of pairing that feels like it should have been better than it is, as we know Claudio can toss people around like ragdolls, and there was a little bit of that, but it did nothing to really grab me. Weak finish too."
[6.0] "6.5 - The fans enjoying the 'bald' stuff took away from a pretty good match. Ricochet is either brilliant at selling fatigue or he's legitimately struggling."
[6.0] "Like every Ricochet match, this was painfully average. The more you see him wrestle, the more you realise just how many performers have lapped him in what they can do."
[7.0] "This match was very cool, Ricochet got back on track after a disappointing match with Takeshita on PPV, this was very well worked, the dynamics worked out pretty well, with Ricochet constantly trying to outsmart a bigger wrestler, and Claudio always trying to impose his dominance over the smaller dude. The crowd decided to wake up here and chanted some nonsensical stuff, not sure if I like that, but at least they were reacting and having fun with the match. After Claudio destroyed Ricochet at the outside, he managed to comeback, but Claudio immediately hits a lariat and wins the match, capitalizing on the advantage, always a cool finish - {***1/4}"
[6.0] "Really solid match, that will probably be more remembered for the endless "bald chants" that were happening. Claudio is going to deliver every time especially against a guy that is going to sell as well as Ricochet does. Not a lot of heat here to build the match into anything special, but a lot of well executed sequences that can only be done by people as skilled as these two. ***1/4"
[7.0] "A renewal of a rivalry that has spanned the likes of CHIKARA and WWE, this was super fun as expected. Claudio Castagnoli remains super strong, adding this win over Ricochet to last week's big win against Darby Allin, and in a tournament setting, Ricochet should be able to rebound."
[7.0] "Good match right here, not as impressive as one might have imagined but obviously a lot of fun with two workers of such quality. The crowd's delirium wasn't much fun for me, even though I love fun. Fortunately, both delivered afterwards with some great moves and it was good."
[8.0] "Claudio keeps proving 2024 is his year (again). His performance is amazing, and Ricochet keeps having ok performances, but against Claudio nothing can go wrong. *** 3/4"
[6.0] "I thought the match was good, but not great. Ricochet looked a little sluggish and Claudio was powerful as always. I liked it, but it didn't go above good for me."
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