Otis vs. Rusev

[5.0] "Basically a squash match if you include the commercials, which definitely isn't the way you'd want to debut. They were clearly hyping Rusev as an unstoppable force, beating Otis isn't going to do much. It's not a bad match but it was very well just there."

[5.0] "**.75 Good hoss match here, if they actually let Otis work this would be a banger 100/100 times, but they never do, unfortunately, entertaining stuff though"

[5.0] "This was purely here for "big meaty men slapping meat" and I'm fine with that. It didn't result in a particularly good match, but it was still fairly entertaining to see these two big boys collide. Otis can be a threat when given the opportunity, which we saw glimpses of here."

[7.0] "This was a good big man match. Rusev is always a lion. Otis leaned in to his serious side here and worked as such, unlike the comedy role they have him in a lot of the time. They didn't do much in the match, nor should they have. It was a big man style match with a lot of strength stuff, power moves, and hard hitting offense on display from both gentlemen. Great return match for Rusev and solid showing by Otis."

[6.0] "This was expected to be a squash extender for Rusev, but it turned out to be a cool fight between two monsters. Otis' popularity is too good to sprout out into singles stardom, and matches like this prove time after time that he deserves a short stint at the very least. On the other hand, Rusev needed a safe podium to polish himself again as a brute force, which was done precisely through this match. I wonder how things will turn out in this return tenure for the Bulgarian badass, as the roster is already massively stacked. 3 out of 5 stars!"

[6.0] "Rusev is in great shape, and the spinning heel kick looked gnarly, but this didn't do much more for me. I enjoyed Otis suplexing him over the announce desk and I remain fully unsure as to where Rusev fits into 2025 WWE."

[6.0] "Two massive guys beating eachother up was pretty entertaining. I expected Rusev to stomp Otis, but was happy to see Otis get some actual offense in. I don't get why people were so upset that Otis was Rusev's first opponent back in WWE. That being said, the pacing was very slow, which is to be expected in this type of matchup. Not the worst match but nothing special."

[5.0] "Yeah nothing to see here. Of course Miro would win. Sad that he receives no reaction anymore though."

[8.0] "I thought this match was lovely! The aura of Rusev, the strength and comeback of Otis, impressive meaty athleticism was all on display here. The striking of Rusev was nice and methodical, and Otis got to yeet him over the announcer table. Not too many nearfalls and the result was obvious, but I thought the match delivered. 4*"

[5.0] "Half the match was spent on commercial so we only saw 4 minutes on television but other wise it was somewhat decent. Rusev looked great as a heel monster brutalizing Otis and later Akira Tozawa and making him look heartless. Some good spots here and there. Crowd was kinda quiet though. [**3/4]"

[5.0] "Interesting concept, but the execution wasn't so good, Rusev and Otis had very interesting moments here, overall I like the structure of the match, with a lot of hard-hitting moves and a slow pace, but they've exaggerated and the match looked slow, even with only 6-minutes, which is never ideal, and they couldn't have the crowd going on. On the other hand, the match was good at making Rusev look very strong and imposing - {**1/2}"

[4.0] "[2.0*] Eh, this wasn't for me. I was actually excited for this match because I thought this could've been a really good meat match. Rusev did a great one against Will Hobbs and Otis did a very fun one against Gunther, so I expected way more from this one. Just felt lifeless and very basic, like Rusev was trying to get "Meat" chants just for the sake of it."

[3.0] "Can't wait for Rusev to start complaining about his station in the company again. Wait until they ask him to look at the lights for Dominick Mysterio in a title match. As for this, I mean, it happened. It wasn't terrible but Otis' ship sailed a long time ago."

[6.0] "This was an okay match to display Rusev in his return to WWE. Otis was a fine first opponent for him. I thought this was going to be a straight-up brutal squash match, which I'm glad it wasn't. Rusev looks in marvelous shape, he still can go in the ring. Rusev got Otis in the Camel Clutch to get the win, then afterwards attacked Akira Tozawa and brutalized the Alpha Academy. They need to do something with the stock and momentum Rusev has put him in a first meaningful feud to establish him as the monster he claims himself to be."

[7.0] "I thought that Otis made the most out of the time he had. He was never winning, but he showed grit and still made himself look strong. No caterpillar shenanigans either, no bread, no water... just MEEEEEEAT."

[4.0] "This match stood out like a sore thumb. They have Rusev basically rehashing his AEW gimmick fighting comedy jobbers and the quality of this match was so far below the other matches before it. Poor showing."

"Pretty basic match, but I liked that it was essentially an extended squash. Sometimes the losers get too much offense and it takes away from the point. Otis got some shots in, but it wasn't too much. Rusev got over well."

[4.0] "Below average. What you would expect given these two and the way they are portrayed on TV, Miro needs something more appealing"

[6.0] "Otis never had a chance, this Rusev has some potential as it is focusing and blending both of his previous gimmicks together as a "redeeming brute, " Otis, despite being a lovable jobber, always looks great here in these sort of enhancement matches and makes everyone else that much better in the process."

[6.0] "An extended squash match, Otis always looks great in those while giving some hope spots in between, but it was never about him. Rusev looked great here."

[6.0] "Sometimes simple is best, this wasn't some overbooked epic, just a good old-fashioned Rusev demolition job. No 50/50 nonsense, no unnecessary drama, just a monster heel wrecking shop like he should."

[6.0] "Rusev's back to his destructive roots as a monster heel with the redeemer gimmick attached as well. The potential here is obvious, but WWE has to give him something meaningful to sink his teeth into this time. No more wasted momentum, just let him run through people until we get a must-see feud."