Charlie Dempsey vs. Shinya Aoki

[4.0] "I don't like these weird shoot style worked matches. I watch mma also so when I see something like this, it's difficult for me to suspend disbelief. Yeah, Shinya Aoki is a legend but this looks like make believe. If Charlie Dempsey wants to fight that badly for real, he needs to get his ass to a gym and train for it. Most of the time this was boring but since nothing was botched that terribly I find it hard to rate any lower."

[5.0] "I didn't like the finish on this one. I think K.O. finishes in pro wrestling must be really planned out beforehand; otherwise, they just look silly. It was the case here. Overall, the mat wrestling was good, but it felt like they never got into the next gear."

[4.0] "Match was quite boring for most of the time. Groundwork was alright but and strikes were mediocre and the match was very slow. Finish was interesting with Charlie Dempsey getting a TKO victory over Shinya Aoki with a brutal suplex. Even for a style of wrestling I am personally not a big fan of this was pretty mid. (**1/4)"

[7.0] "Both wrestlers have excellent ground technique. A must-watch match for those who enjoy submissions and classic wrestling, or for those discovering Josh Barnett's Bloodsport."

[6.0] "Bloodsport isn't my favourite style, but this was pretty enjoyable. Charlie Dempsey is so well-suited to this style and the commentators did a good job of explaining to me why Shinya Aoki was not to be taken lightly, and why a win over him means something. Enjoyed the finish - neither man seemed to have the clear advantage on the mat so it took Dempsey's size and throws to get the win."

[7.0] "They have Dempsey beating Aoki huh? This was close to the floor for Aoki and this is with me liking the fella who pretends he has ever been to Blackpool. Finish let it down a little even without the result."

[7.0] "The first match of the event that went a little bit longer, this was a fine match as expected, Shinya Aoki is a very respected grappler, and it was fun to watch him hang around with Regal's son. I think that Dempsey looked great here as well, he didn't looked inferior to Aoki whatsoever, and showed to everyone that he's a fine technician as well, he gained some people's respect right here for sure, and he won the match, which is a big deal. Really high quality of wrestling here - {***1/4}"

[7.0] "charlie dempsey is a dang stud man. Get him out of this weird manager role he's in with NQCC and let the man wrestle because my god. Really well worked match and enjoyable. 2.75 stars"

[8.0] "A strong match with a great sense of submission knowledge and using simple and effective counters to enhance the sequences. While this lacked the drama of a more cerebral bout, this made up for it with its flowing pace and memorable sequences, such as that splendid calf slicer into a semi banana split. I think there as on sequence that stood out as overly cooperative where Aoki let go of the kimura to let Dempsey do a backflip to escape. Terrible spot aside, I thought this was a strong match. ***3/4"

[5.0] "Some great grappling, as you always expect with Shinya Aoki. Because of the size difference, the chemistry for this one seemed a little bit off though. SINGLES RECORD: Charlie Dempsey 1-0"

[6.0] "[3, 25 Stars] It was a good grappling confrontation, I'd enjoyed Dempsey's first Bloodsport appearance and this was even better. (***, 25)."

[8.0] "an huge tribute to the old fashioned catch of the english and japan school. Saint and Rikidozan are clapping somewhere"

[9.0] "MOTN, Dempsey really impressed me with how smooth his transitions were, it's sad to know that NXT booking sdon't use him more, because he is the best technical wrestler in the brand. I was unfamiliar with Aoki, but damn, the guy is outstanding in the mat. The only thing that detracts 1 point is how rushed the finish was, baceause I would loved more 5 minutes with these guys trying to submit each other,"

[6.0] "Much better than it should have been. Not of ton of chemistry between the two but they made it work in the end."

[8.0] "Both Dempsey and Aoki put on an absolute show stealer three matches in the show, and Dempsey in particular proved the point that just because he's a "WWE" talent, it doesn't mean that he does not belong in Bloodsport"

[7.0] "Really good mat wrestling here, Aoki is amazing and Dempsey is pretty damn good too. So they were some smooth transitions and holds in this. Dempsey resorting to strikes was a necessity and he wins with a TKO after dropping Aoki on his head. Loved this one"

[8.0] "Aoki is a wrestling god and Dempsey is one of the few American wrestlers in the world that can match shinya capabilities even if not as fluid or consistent, incredible match."

[7.0] "Lots of great chain wrestling and some filthy looking submission holds. Aoki is the real deal. Dempsey keeps pulling a lot of funny faces which puts me off, but he can certainly wrestle."

[6.0] "They were fighting against the clock, and the finish felt a little rushed. Still, good match with strong pacing and a lot of energy throughout."

[8.0] "Wow, wow, wow. This was outstanding. The best grappling on the card (and quite comfortably at that), these two had each other in knots and this had to be the most fluid submission work I've seen in Bloodsport to date. I know Dempsey can deliver in this environment but this is comfortably his best performance yet, if not the best match of his career in general thus far. Shinya delivered, with his wrestling and grappling being superb. I would have loved to see a few more minutes of this to really send this to the upper, upper echelons but as it was, a top ten Bloodsport match. Match of the night, and in contention for match of Mania week. ****"

[6.0] "Shinya Dempsey ruled. I'm glad they did a promo package for both specifically Shinya. Only thing is Dempsey could have adapted more in his striking more to go against Shinya's grappling. Which ended up getting the win for him. A TKO. It would have been much better."