Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tommy Billington

[6.0] "Great technical match and a good introduction to Tommy Billington. We don't often get to see Katsuyori Shibata go full gear in AEW and we still didn't get it here but he felt much less reserved here and Billington was a great opponent to let The Wrestler do what he does best. Dynamite had a few missteps and clearly has a lot to go if he wants to be more than just a tribute to his uncle but having a solid ppv match with Shibata is a good move in the right direction"

[6.0] "Shibata should have never come back. He just isn't the same obviously since the headbutt heard around the world. Many have been able to wrestle a "safe" match and be a little more exciting. His persona just isn't matching his in ring anymore and he hasn't changed to reflect that. His out of ring is funny but that is not going to cut it. He should retire. Tommy is still very green but he is young and is getting some really good wrestling talent to learn from. It'll be interesting to see how he is in 5 years."

[6.0] "Fun early midcard match with some technical wrestling mixed in with more for lack of better term "strong style"/hard hitting striking/wrestling."

[8.0] "This was a really good match with a lot of action. Tommy's work seems to get smoother with each match he works. It was good to see that Shibata is still useful and relevant these days."

[6.0] "I wish there was a promotion that focused on this type of wrestling in the United States. Billington is a guy that respects the in-ring action and is presenting his matches as legitimate. Perfectly matching the same vibe as the veteran Shibata that is willing to do the same and then some. I like Shibata's focus on submissions to slow down Billington, I just wish he sold the limbs a little bit more. Not a match that lit the world on fire, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. ***1/4"

"Billington has potential, but needs to learn a legitimate move sequence to do for his babyface comebacks. In this one, he just hit three plodding moves and then sprang up to show fire to the audience. That fire was the only way you would know it's his comeback. This match definitely fit Ring Of Honor and while I wouldn't give it more than 5/10, it made me happy that I chose to watch this event."

[4.0] "I get that this match was made to reintroduce Tommy Billington and for Shibata to make him look good, but this is a PPV. People are paying for great matches, not training wheel matches to help new young talent get their feet wet. Shibata never left first gear and Billington's nerves kept him from capitalizing on the opportunity. -- To be brutally honest, how many opportunities do underwhelming nepo babies deserve over proven talent in this company? Someone like Brandon Cutler or Peter Avalon could have given us a genuinely great Shibata match and both would have more upside looking forward from the PPV, too. Give Billington some Dark matches and then put him in the ROH weekly TV rotation with some stories before forcing him into a big spot he neither earned nor deserved."

[8.0] "[3, 75 Stars] I really liked this match it was cool, it's the better match of Tommy Billington Career and one of Shibata Recent better match. (***, 75*)"

[5.0] "Nothing wrong with this match, it just lacked any type of investment or heat. Neither of these men have exciting enough current charisma or character to spice up what feels like a technically sound but otherwise pointless match up. There was no reason to have this on a PPV."

[4.0] "[2.0*] I found this match VERY disappointing and they were never able to catch my attention properly. It was my pick for Top 3 MOTN and it ended up being Bottom 3. Heatless, bland, just a simple showcase of technical wrestling that was just not able to beat the fully entertainment matches like Mansoor vs Atlantis Jr or QT vs Lethal, which is a lesson to learn that pure wrestling will not be better just because it is pure wrestling, specially when the heart is not there. Baffling."

[6.0] "This was a fun watch if you like the style, but it never got out of first gear, so it was never anything more than that."

[6.0] "Basically fine match but at times you can see Billington is green still. But he has plenty of upside and hopefully continues to improve. Shibata is always solid and was a good choice as opponent. The match never quite got out of second gear, but it was decent."

[6.0] "The match had some solid grappling but they never hit that next gear. Shibata still has it and Billington has a promising future."

[6.0] "Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tommy Billington at ROH Final Battle 2024 was a 6/10 match that had potential but fell short of expectations. Shibata's hard-hitting strikes and Billington's technical prowess provided flashes of brilliance, but the match suffered from pacing issues and a lack of chemistry. The storytelling felt underdeveloped, with no clear narrative driving the action. While the crowd appreciated the stiff exchanges, the finish lacked impact, leaving the bout feeling incomplete. Decent, but not memorable."

[5.0] "Kinda disappointing in my opinion, I was really excited for this match and had high hopes, but it was basically a filler, a nice showcase of technical wrestling, with a very promising young man in Tommy Billington, and the absolute legend Katsuyori Shibata. This match had a lot of ingredients to be something more, a prodigy of wrestling facing an established veteran, the dynamic was there, but unfortunately it was just a filler, and not even the technicality was sharp the entire time, there were some miss-executions by the Dynamite Kid, but he's talented and has a lot of time to improve his craft - {**1/4}"

[7.0] "A very solid match that did exactly what it needed to do - introduce Tommy Billington to an unfamiliar audience and leave them with a better impression of him than they had when he made his entrance. Shibata is one of the best in the world but has obviously been working a more considered, careful style since his return from injury. While this wasn't particularly explosive, he bumped more than I expected and really put the work in to establish Billington as a threat, even if there's never a moment where you believe he's going to get the job done. Finish was great."