Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher

[8.0] "Match very pleasant to watch, the styles of both are very similar, so you could already know what to expect from the match, many changes on the floor, suplexes, and several attempts at finishing, good things. ****"

[9.0] "At the time I thought this was a bit of a carry job but DBS Jr really had a terrific year as well. These two are perfectly suited to wrestle each other and I'd love to see them get the chance for a rematch in the finals of the Opera Cup. This match delivered and then some, just a joy to watch."

[8.0] "Really good overall. Both have similar style and work well together. Thatcher dominates early with his leg work. Davey shows his struggle to Thatcher's work and the moment he counters the leg lock from Thatcher is amazing. Both also show their smooth execution of roll ups. Enjoyable stuff. The ending is a bit down but didn't take away from the match much."

[8.0] "Just on the fact that this was framed as an athletic contest between two wrestlers and not a gimmicked whizz-bang punch up between superheroes means I was inclined to like it, and on that premise it mostly delivered. A countered rollup looked sweet and the mat-based stuff was generally well executed, but it felt a bit on the sluggish and slow side, not much in the way of mounting tension or satisfying release. The squib of an ending was kind of a downer, though, Thatcher tapped too quickly."

[5.0] "Just mediocre grappling style fight. Awfuly boring and slow overall, but for a couple of times wrestlers did some nice moves and interesting sequence. I don`t think it is some kind of "must watch" match even for fans of the style. ***"

[8.0] "Exactly how a match between the two would look like. Lots of awesome grappling, some limb targeting strategies, and eventually the match becomes more of a slug & bomb -trading battle with them looking for that one big move to put away one another with. It's all very, very enjoyable stuff. Always love watching Thatcher do his thing & Davey Boy Jr. was a very solid opponent for him."

[9.0] "I have been watching Mlw very closely and I have to say that this is one of the best matches we have gotten from them in 2019. Davey Boy Smith made the right choice to leave njpw and test himself in the us. He is in the popular Hart Foundation faction here. He continued his momentum with a victory against the well traveled technical wizard, also known as Timothy Thatcher. This was what you call a wrestling match and a fight. I love Davey Boy and this was further proof of what a talented wrestler he is."

[8.0] "We got beautiful mat work from both Thatcher and Davey Boy, some impressive counters too. Thatcher was cerebral here, targeting Davey Boys left leg if I remember correctly. The claim from another user that the crowd was dead is false, as there were plenty of moments when most of the audience, if not the entire audience, was involved. After about the ten minute mark the strikes began. We got many impressive bridging german duplexes, even a scary looking tiger suplex from Smith. At the end the latter put Thatcher out with the cross face. I would love to see a rematch and I hope that Mlw bring Tim back. One of the best mlw matches imo. ***3/4-****"

[4.0] "Holy crap this was boring AF. If you like the grapplef*ck style this may be for you. Neither guy really has any charisma, this was a lot of sitting in holds (REAL WRESTLING! ) but until they started throwing some suplexes, this match was putting me to sleep. The crowd was pretty much dead throughout except for a couple people cheering. There's a reason amateur wrestling or some grappling tournament doesn't draw ratings. There's a reason UFC fans get bored during long grappling segments. This stuff is for the birds."