[7.0] "This was basically more of the previous match between these two but a bit better. Ciampas goal here was to fully get Breakker over and make him look like a beast and he did it perfectly because Ciampa is awesome. He was selling and bumping his ass off for everything he did and his facial expressions and sense of urgency and panic really got across how he knew his days on top of NXT were coming to a close. Bron put in work here too with some nice slams even if hes still green. There were some hiccups here like Breakker forgetting the rope break spot and switching the hooked leg like 5 times, and for some reason they tried to make the botch in the last match into a small story where Bron is scared of going up on the ropes. Just a decent match that really did its job as a torch passing moment to Breakker."
[9.0] "Very entertaining match. I would even say that this was done right in every aspect of the match. The pace, the nearfalls, the desperation (from Ciampa) and the passing of the torch to a rising star. Beautiful job"
[8.0] "A better match than the first one at Halloween Havoc last year. Breakker is booked as being virtually superior to Ciampa from start to finish. One little thing bothered me, Ciampa arrived in a beautiful white outfit and Breakker in black while both are faces. (4*)"
[8.0] "This is one hell of a performance from Ciampa. Breakker at this point is green as anything, but with a crisp moveset that shows off his blue-chip athletic potential. Ciampa does an amazing job controlling most of this match, and working around the limited Breakker to keep the crowd invested over 15-minutes. When it's time for Breakker to get in his offence, Ciampa makes him look like an absolute star. ****"
[8.0] "[8.5] I thought this match was great, easily the MOTN for me. Bron was very impressive here, he's obviously athletic, he pulled great looking spinebusters and one vicious spear. The Alabama slam on the announce table was brutal. Tommaso brought the intensity to the match and was hard hitting. He made Bron looked great with Bron already being impressive. Really awesome match and was the right moment to crown Bron as the new champion. ****"
[5.0] "Bron Breakker vs Ciampa was fine. Breakker is clearly inexperienced and rough so doing these matches aren? t exactly going to hide that but doing them will make him get better quicker. He has promise though. The power offence is solid but could do the work. He mixes in his athleticism well enough too. He could do with having more presence though. But that doesn? t always work when Ciampa is leading the match as the veteran head. Alright main event but the opener was better for what this was trying to accomplish. **3/4"
[8.0] "This was an excellent passing of the torch and match of the night. Tommaso Ciampa has already proven himself as one of the best WWE has offer but Bron Breakker is a f**king freak. I have no idea how a guy with his level of experience is this good it's honestly scary. This match had a great story of a prodigy vs a veteran and the table spot on the outside was beautiful."
[6.0] "This was a solid match to me, but I feel like I may have simply expected more from it after seeing everybody give it an 8/10 rating or something. I think that Bron's offense really got put over by Ciampa's selling here, but there didn't feel like there was too much that really stood out to me from this match. All in all, I'm happy to see Bron get the strap, because I think there's a ton of potential for him, but this match didn't do much for me. Still a decent match however. ***"
[10.0] "A physical match of those who love. Bron vs Tommaso was pretty cool. The rookie vs the veteran for the max title of NXT. Bron Breakker showed that not having the familiar name in wrestling does not mean that the talent comes by name, but that it is demonstrated with the talent in the ring in this case a balance of movement and strength. This is the end point of Black And Gold (Tommaso) for the ULTIMATE transition of 2.0 (Bron). Good story told and it is the beginning of a new start for Tommaso Ciampa."
[4.0] "I thought that this was a pretty solid, yet also an extremely meh match. The changing of the guard is a fantastic, classic tale to tell in pro-wrestling, and there were some bits here where they were telling it beautifully (my personal favorite run of the match came with the awesome table-spot, Ciampa's selling afterwards & him resorting to come back into the thing by using the ropes to his advantage), but overall, this felt a little move, move, movezy for me. You could argue that even with that nature of the match, they still told the story nicely with Ciampa busting out all kinds of big match shit, but for the most part, it just wasn't very compelling wrestling in my eyes. It was my first time watching BRON BREAKKER, and I think while he had some cool moments, he largely came off as a pretty awkward dude in there. It's obviously very understandable given how new he is, but yeah."
[8.0] "7.9/10: Bron Breakker has the best explosiveness body language in the ring. He makes it look so real and different from anyone else. Great moveset to go with it as well. Ciampa gave this his typical world-class athleticism and ring psychology as you would expect. A great match as the last relics of the glorious black & gold brand sing their swan songs."
[7.0] "Ciampa worked harder and more effectively than I had seen him in sometime, making the result ever-the-more heartbreaking even-if it was the correct move in the long run. Perhaps the dark match he worked Friday night w/ Dunne is a sign of bigger opportunities for him, perhaps not. But I was pleased the much-injured man was pulling out all-the-stops, including the pretty good corkscrew plancha, and taking that Alabama slam through the table. Bron's obviously still being led, but his persona and physical presence are impressive on this brand. Hopefully we'll see Waller improve & that could be a rivalry for years-to-come. 3 1/3 rounded-up as I didn't expect Bron to kick-out after the 'fairy-tale ending.'"
[8.0] "I hope in the main roster, Bron will get the surname Steiner, it's too much cooler and more logical. Bron is probably one of the few successful debutants on 2.0"
[8.0] "Bron Breakker wrestled his first match less than four months ago. Unreal. Not only does he have an incredible presence as a developing character, but he is a freak athlete who is already putting on high-quality matches on a monthly basis. Across the ring was Tommaso Ciampa, who wrestled one of the best matches of his career. Pulling out moves he never even considers attempting, fighting like hell for the NXT he fought to help build, and offering up the Grade A character work that has come to define his tenure. There were a few moments that showed how green Breakker still is, but the story of this match was compelling as inexperience and inevitability finally came to a head. Plus, the tributes to both Rick and Scott Steiner were excellently done. Four days in and we already have a match from NXT that will likely be spoken about for years to come. 4 stars, 8 out of 10. A match that could one day be viewed as the Lesnar-Rock of NXT lore."
[6.0] "Nothing too special but a good little match that somehow had a rookie with less than FIFTEEN (! ) matches look like he had at least 3x more experience. I liked the idea of this match being a bruiser champion vs a powerhouse challenger -- a real clash of styles but with similar intensity. Breakker's amateur-wrestling skills, strong confidence, power displays, and general athleticism were all very impressive. He didn't have to show too many wrestling fundamentals here, which smarty fit his experience level and style. He even sold well for Ciampa without coming off too weak. Ciampa showed good scrappiness and aggression in his attacks to try make up for his size and strength disadvantage, coming off as a bit of a mini Steve Austin with his beatdown work and facial expressions. They had good chemistry in all of their big exchanges and spots, though none of their exchanges were anything too memorable or creative. It was a big moment for Ciampa to tap out, signifying the final nail in the coffin of NXT 1.0. It's a shame that Ciampa was the one to put the next generation over here, since he was honestly one of the few from Gargano and Cole's NXT generation whose big matches I usually found tolerable or even rather good. Breakker won't be any sort of break-out wrestling star, but he definitely looks like someone capable of being a star for NXT 2.0. ***1/4"
[8.0] "Great torch passing main event here. Breakker emptied his tank here with all the moves of his own set and some unorthodox moves, thanks to the wild veteran in Ciampa. They kicked in and eventually changed gears at the top speed which was heavily lacked in their previous outing at Halloween Havoc. Ciampa is the one I'm concerned now as his future is something to be watched out for after the emotional send-off for his best friend, Johnny Gargano. Whatever it is, whether the main roster or a jump-ship, Blackheart will rule anywhere and NO ONE WILL SURVIVE! 4.25 out of 5 stars!"
[9.0] "Absolutely fantastic main event to conclude Breakker's five-months long arc of chasing the NXT Title. Loved the little veteran/rookie dynamic they got going here. Ciampa did a masterful job working on top of Breakker here, sold his ass off like a true pro and made him a true star. Bron of course, stepped up to the plate, proving all the doubters wrong and delivered the greatest singles match of his short career so far. The finishing moment couldn't have been done any better to put Steiner Jr. over as the next top star of not only NXT, but possibly, the entire WWE as well. Highest recommendation. [****1/4]"
[7.0] "Very good main event between Tommaso Ciampa and Bron Breakker, with the right result obviously. Bron Breakker has everything of a future star, he will be a big name of WWE for the next years, that's sure. He did a great powerhouse performance here, and Ciampa did everything to make him shine in this match as the veteran. ***1/2"
[9.0] "This was an amazing match, and Breakker looked like he'd been wrestling for years. Ciampa was of course great as always, and both met put on a masterclass here. Breakker looked a worthy champion, and if he continues to be booked like this he'll improve whichever WWE brand he ends up on."
[10.0] "One word: wow. A very good main event. Bron is the future of wwe and wrestling. He has everything you need: agility, charisma, athleticism, stage presence, etc. Ciampa was a great opponent, I hope he doesn't leave us as well after Gargano. Anyway, I'm happy for Breakker, now he deserves a long and important reign, to solidify him as the face of NXT"
[9.0] "I think this match is the best single match in NXT 2.0 era. It consist of high speed, strong moves and exciting ending. Thanks for the hard work of Ciampa and congratulation to Bron. Hope NXT continue to push the right talent in the future."
[10.0] "I watch this match and think of Takuya Nomura having title matches with BJW veterans and looking way beyond his years. This is not the kind of match you expect from a guy who had his proper debut less than 6 months ago and who has worked less than 20 matches. Ciampa likely deserves a TON of credit for keeping the flow of the match going, saving a couple spots, and bumping/selling like crazy to put this young star over. The pacing is ideal and the storytelling shockingly great, with several callbacks to the first match inverted or evolved (including adding an insecurity to going up the ropes for Bron which became a small arc that built to the finish), on top of the general story of Ciampa being momentum-heavy and Bron pulling out massive cut-offs over and over. The short spin-out powerbomb and spear looked tremendous. Bulldog from the 2nd rope into the Recleiner was an awesome finish too. The best NXT Title match in several years and I mean that. ****1/2"
[7.0] "I think the match has been rated higher for the result rather than quality. Don't get me wrong it was a great match but is it a ***** match with what some of these ratings show. Some great back and forth with Ciampa making Breakker look fantastic. Loved the finish too *** 1/2"
[8.0] "This was way better than the match at Halloween Havoc. The story here is that Bron isn't quite ready to beat Ciampa and become NXT champion. Bron would end up learning from his mistakes from the first encounter such as not falling off the top rope and going onto the concrete. Ciampa tries his hardest to put Bron away but he unfortunately could not do so after the fairytale ending so he gets even more desperate and tries to hit a move off the top rope but fails and in the end taps to the Steiner Recliner good stuff.****1/4"
[9.0] "Really awesome match to close out the show. Way better than their last match. Just an absolute brawl. I really liked how they avoided the typical "NXT epic" formula. Only the moves that warranted false finishes got them, and it made the match far more interesting. Bron's moonsault was awesome, and Ciampa brought it with a wide array of knees and clotheslines to bring the big man down. I loved how they told the story of Breakker learning from his mistakes by not being DDT'd onto the concrete, and instead sending Ciampa flying through the announce desk. The finish was awesome too, with a definitive, star making tap out to solidify Breakker's position as the future of WWE. If this is the end for Ciampa, he went out putting over the next big thing. Excellent. [****1/4]"
[9.0] "Great match that had me on the edge of my seat. Breakker is the future of the brand and maybe even the company as a whole and I am fully on board. Having these kinds of performances at his level of experience is truly insane."
[10.0] "The match was very good, Bron Breaker's performance was much better and Tommaso Ciampa did great as always, one of the best matches on the NXT 2.0."
[8.0] "Good match between the two. Bron's powerbomb was great. Ciampa sold well and we had 2 awesome near falls. For me this must be the (un)official start of NXT 2.0 as such."
[9.0] "Brilliant main event between Ciampa and Breakker here which I hope gets some praise from the fans this time around because I feel their first encounter at Halloween Havoc was criminally underrated for not much because they clearly delivered a very good match, here it was even better and we got the expected result so I struggle to see what we can complain about. I'm not saying it was a classic or something perfect but it was so qualitative from the first minute to the last and I hope people will realise how perfectly written this match was, with an insane build up of intensity over the minutes and an absolutely unbearable suspense. I think we all expected Breakker to win here and he did but I won't believe a single person who tells me they didn't believe Ciampa would win when he set up three knees followed by a Fairytale Ending, I really thought it was over at that point and the nearfall got me out of my seat. Also we need to speak about that perfect ending, a great piece of storytelling as Breakker said that it was because of that famous botch from the second rope that he lost their first encounter and that he wouldn't make that mistake again. As a whole this was so damn great, everything was perfectly worked and it was just two badass dudes beating the crap out of each other in an awesome TakeOver caliber title match."
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