[6.0] "It was a good match, but I was a little bit disappointed. I was expecting it to be a little bit rougher, and a little bit more dynamic. But it was still a good match, and the bump on the steel steps that Priest took was pretty impressive to see. [***1/4]"
[8.0] "This was a fantastic match between Priest and Bálor here, a match who was a real surprise at the time and who's still good to see almost a year later. If I say that it was a surprise, it's because we've never seen the two of them work together before, they're both good workers there's no question about that but I didn't see them having such a cool connection. In the end they delivered a very high quality match-up with strong intensity and non-stop action, action that was very interesting to follow. There was a real sense of urgency in everything they did, although their rivalry was pretty basic but they decided to go hard that night and beat the crap out of each other. This match came on the card as a waiting program for Bálor as there was no plan for him at that time, and it turned into a showstealer. The highlight of the match is probably that hard bump that Priest took on the stairs, but the whole match is excellent. This undercard match ruled."
[10.0] "Still Finn's best match since returning to NXT and a real star making performance from Priest, who looked good throughout the match and also took a sickening stairs bump that should be on highlight reels forever."
[9.0] "Brilliant match. Finn moving down to NXT has really been game changing and Damian Priest is unsurprisingly brilliant. Very stiff match with some sick looking spots involving the steel steps and was the only thing I enjoyed on this takeover. 4. 5 stars"
[9.0] "That was an excellent match, I loved every move of it, I loved every second and every bump of it. Best match I've seen of Damian Priest so far. Best match of the show, that makes no doubt for me. Balor is an incredible wrestler and that match was his best of the year until his incredible title defense against O'Reilly. ****3/4"
[7.0] "A really fun match that was all wrestling action. Priest had definitely improved too and was amazing in this match . The spot with Priest falling onto the steel steps was brutal and I liked it a lot. It was a very good 13 minutes of quality wrestling . Good psychology with Finn overcoming the size of Priest to guarantee victory. ***3/4"
[7.0] "Given my distaste for Priest, and Finn's proclivity for working in a slower gear than the rest of NXT I'm completely surprised to say - this match fucked hard. A match all about stiff shots and legit beating the hell out of each other, this is the kind of variety that NXT and AEW need to contrast with the higher speed spotfests. Kinda the same role the NEVER Openweight division fills in NJPW. Kudos to Priest for taking one of the most painful looking spots of the last few months on the steps. 3 and 1/2 stars."
[6.0] "Hm, liegt das nur an mir oder warum sehe ich hier keine durchschnittliche 7er-Wertung? Klar, ich mag die Impacts von Priest und das übliche Gedöns von Balor ist ja auch nicht schlecht, aber so richtig mit Schwung kommt mir das nicht aus dem Mittelmass heraus. Auch das Ende ist irgendwie seltsam, zumal ich mich frage, ob Balor jetzt wirklich das Momentum noch benötigt, und wenn ja, wozu? Sechs Punkte, und das ist schon aufgerundet."
[8.0] "****1/4 rating. Great match. Another quality match from Finn. The return to NXT has done his in ring work wonders. This was Priest's best match ever."
[4.0] "This only went about 13-minutes, which was shocking to read, because it dragged like a mofo. I thought Bálor was a chore from underneath, and most of his offense looked really bad -- a special shout-out to those stomps n' forearms. Priest largely didn't interest me either, but I thought he was the stronger of the two performers in this one, surely. So yeah, definitely a very boring match for the absolute majority of it, but I did love the finish though; they actually treated that hellacious steel-steps moment as a big thing, as it lead to the finish w/ Bálor busting out those diving foot stomps, both of which looked GREAT & were the best things he did all match long."
[6.0] "An average contest with one man so superior in skill to the other. Balor's effort is worthy of a 9, while Priest a 4. Priest was dull and very limited, like he knew he couldn't keep up with Balor so stuck well within his safe zone. Balor was back to his best; high octane, never pausing for breath, always looking to counter. I do wonder if Priest was hurt when he missed the safe spot on the stairs, this would explain the lack of throws and power moves that this match really needed."
[8.0] "This match was only 14 minutes but it was great . Very fast pace and the moves on the match were pretty awesome . Finn balor was amazing as always and Damian priest was good as well especially his kicks were pretty good . He kinda reminded me nakamura kicks . I think Damian needed this win way more though . v"
[7.0] "Balor arbeitet im Ring richtig gut und hier darf nun Priest davon profitieren. Rundes Match, schöner Schlagabtausch, der auf den Punkt abliefert, ohne richtig hochklassig zu sein. Dicker Spot mit der Ringtreppe."
[6.0] "This match was alright. I think it wasn't too bad but I couldn't help but keep noticing the lack of consistency in what was trying to be sold. I'm not really one to harp on selling or anything but I really noticed it in this match, maybe it is because I didn't watch it live? But it seemed like some of the big moves just had no affect on the wrestlers in this match. At one point Priest makes this dramatic 2. 9 second kick out like he had been wrestling some long hard match and within a minute or so after this big kick out he goes back to wrestling like he didn't just sell that he was barely hanging on. And for Balor, who took a lot of heavy damage to his back in this match, by the end of it he sold as if he just had a small backache. It was entertaining but the drama/story they were trying to pull off didn't work that well"
[7.0] "The Finn character is in dire condition these days but its good to see hes still able to put in really good performances. This was a nice physical match with some great bumps. Don't think it was anything spectacular but it's probably something you should seek out if you haven't already."
[8.0] "Good match. Priest worked very well on top as he portrayed himself as a big man. Balor was much better than he was in the Gargano match. His work beneath was really good. There were some very good back and forth action with hard-hitting spots from these 2. The match was energetic enough and didn't feel overstay welcomed."
[8.0] "Really good brawl with some hard strikes and smooth transitions. Some scary bumps too specifically Priest falling onto the stairs, ow. It was fast-paced and really didn't have any boring parts. (***3/4)"
[8.0] "Das Match war tatsächlich eine positive Überraschung. Angesichts des Aufbaus hatte man gar nicht so viel erwartet aber hier konnten beide zeigen, was sie können. Es war ein Match mit Nonstop Action, gutem Tempo und einem richtig guten Matchfluss, welcher von der guten Chemie der beiden zeugte. Zudem gab es natürlich einiges an Spots und auch eine wirklich gute Schlussphase. Auch wenn das ganze hier nicht die große Story hatte war es in meinen Augen echt unterhaltsam und ein gutes Match, welches daher 8 Punkte verdient."
[7.0] "A very fun, very physical match. These two beat the hell out of each other, especially Priest's brutal working over of Balor's back. All the spots using the ring steps were well-conceived and perfectly executed, and the overall story of Priest being crueller but Balor ultimately just being a superior wrestler played out well. Not a must-see, but definitely a highly enjoyable match that's worth going out of your way to watch."
[8.0] "Aggressive, hard-hitting match from start to finish. Possibly my favorite Balor match since his return to NXT, and probably my favorite Priest match in NXT too, just over the triple threat from Takeover WarGames last year. It's only 13 minutes, and should be watched by all wrestling fans."
[7.0] "Real good match between these two. I genuinely didn't expect much, but between Priest's surprising speed and power matched with Balor's strong style strikes it was pretty brutal. That lost bump on the stairs was harsh."
[8.0] "Great match, Priest's bump to the steps was nasty and awesome, good back and forth action, if Priest keeps having performances like this he could have a great future"
