[6.0] "The first day of BOLA 2023 was alright. No great matches but quite a few good ones. Shelley vs Masha was alright. Inter-gender matches are inherently limited but this thankfully wasn't too absurd. Shelley's technical work and overpowering approach was good, and Masha sold sympathetically, but her own offence was pretty unconvincing and overly telegraphed. Nice trades and counters at the end to go off on a high note. **3/4. Keith vs SBK was quite good. It was a real '50/50' style, with them being evenly matched with their energy levels, technique and impact, basically testing who was stronger and more durable. Nothing crazy but definitely well-worked. ***1/4. Latigo vs Komander was pretty good and my 2nd favourite MOTN. Komander's flashy stunts were all really impressive, and Latigo was a good arrogant and speedy powerhouse heel, with that styles clash making for some cool interactions. They were a bit sloppy at times but mostly had very good chemistry. ***1/4 - ***1/2. Gresham vs Grace was fine. It was difficult to take seriously because, despite Grace having a credible physique and size against a smaller guy like Gresham, them being an open couple automatically made their exchanges come off as absurd. Aside from that, the match was just really basic and overly 'cutesy' for 90% of the time until their big trades at the end. **1/2. Aramis vs Skywalker felt really 'off' but was still alright. Skywalker had fun heel work and some nicely impactful offence. Aramis had a few cool stunts but was also either sloppy or underwhelming at other moments. On one hand I liked the pacing of their filler' periods and their bigger spots/exchanges, but then they never seemed to get the most out of those would-be big' moments. ***. Takeshita vs Oku was your standard 'overkill yet still good' US Takeshita match. They traded a lot of strikes, some of which were good, but they ended up spamming way too many thigh slaps that made those strikes all feel artificial, and then they did some generic 'epic match' spots in the final 1/3rd that felt annoyingly forced. A shame they couldn't be more creative, given how already athletic and crisp they both are. ***1/4. Garcia vs Titus was mixed. Garcia's offence was typically weak, and his character work was dorky as usual, but Titus at least bumped well and had a variety of impressively athletic and energetic moves. Despite Titus' individual efforts, their 'Eddie belt' spot and 50/50 mirror exchanges were pretty stupid, and the DQ finish was a lame cop-out. **3/4. Bandido vs Taurus vs Vikingo was a pure, mindless spotfest. The usual criticisms of 'obvious cooperation' and 'overkill' naturally applied, but the creativity and athleticism of their stunts couldn't be denied, making for quite a few spectacular moments. They sadly peaked the match too early, making for an underwhelming final few minutes, but it was still pretty good overall and my MOTN by a slight margin. ***1/4 - ***1/2"

[8.0] "BOLA time has finally come! It was a good first round, some amazing matches and a lovely showcase to variety of different wrestling schools. I think starting the night with Komander vs. Latigo would be a much better choice, but finishing it with killer lucha three-way was totally the right way to finish this fun ride."