Vader vs. Will Ospreay

[8.0] "I enjoyed this match. Clearly, we weren't going to see the Vader of '90, but Will helped a lot in carrying it. Will sold everything like his life depended on it, and Vader was doing clotheslines like crazy. Pete Dunne and Ricochet's interference was great, protecting Ospreay. It's not a classic, but it was a dream match I didn't know I needed."

[1.0] "Vader is one of my all-time favorites, but this was just depressing to watch. Definitely more of a spectacle match designed to get some buzz, but one that didn't do either guy any favors. Ospreay jobbing to an out-of-shape retired old man made him look bad and accomplished nothing. The whole backstory of this is that Vader bashed Ospreay on social media, but then Vader wins in the end? So basically, Vader was right the entire time? It makes no sense. Ospreay winning would've been a feel-good moment where he overcomes the bully, but instead we get an ending where the bully wins."

[7.0] "Very fun match, Ospreay shwed his maturity and ring generalship in the buildup. He made Vader actually look terrifying, the build was unique and the anachromic nature of it totally worked for the rabid RevPro crowd"

[2.0] "Yeah this wasn't really meant to be a "serious" match as it was only done out of a social media feud and involved a lot of shenanigans, but that doesn't stop it from being bad. Vader looks like your average right wing British alcoholic who hasn't seen the inside of a gym in years and Ospreay has to work around it."

[6.0] "Looking back this is beyond the weirdest match I've seen live. Vader who was practically on his way to death's door, could barely make his way into the ring, and had trouble taking any sort of bump against an up and coming aerial maestro with an absolutely raucous crowd that booed Vader so much he admitted afterwards that it made him genuinely sad, I don't care what Vader said to Ospreay beforehand, if it upset people that much that's on them, I didn't boo Vader but I thought it pretty sad how frail he looked. Ospreay tried to give his best for this match but it's not very easy when your opponent is less mobile than Yoshihiko (that's a blowup doll that sometimes "wrestles" in Japan) Pete Dunne and Ricochet interfered to build them up as credible challengers for Ospreay. Vader winning was probably the right call, I wasn't sad about that. What is interesting to me is that a spot in this match was reused in the Ospreay against Omega match from Forbidden Door in 2023. That being after a chokeslam from Vader, Ospreay kicked out at 1 and made everyone lose their minds, but was immediately beaten by another chokeslam. Funny match, but one I will always look back on fondly. RIP Vader."

[5.0] "This was quite the interesting match. The heat for this match was insane. The moment Vader's music hit, the crowd booed so much that you could barely hear the music. Will Ospreay bumped a lot for Vader in the match, which he needed to because Vader was very big at this point and he couldn't do much in the ring. As Ospreay was about to get the win, Pete Dunne interfered to help Vader, then Ricochet came in to help Ospreay. Vader ended up getting the win with 2 chokeslams. This was a classic case of smoke and mirrors making the match. There was supposed to be a tag team match with Ospreay and Ricochet vs Dunne and Vader, then the singles rematch where Ospreay would beat Vader. Those matches never happened, and two years later, Vader died. This was more of a spectacle than anything else, but I'll admit that I had fun watching this. **1/2"

[5.0] "A rather creative approach to the development of the feud due to real confrontations on the Internet. And it really resulted in a match between Will and Vader, which became a pretty big event. As it turns out later, this is one of Leon's last matches. And at 60, he looked not so bad, he showed some of his signature moves. Of course he couldn't show an all-time masterpiece, but Will did a good job and the interference added some dynamic to this short match. 5 points."

[6.0] "Great example of turning a real situation into a work. I also love how part of the crowd was behind Vader because some people actually agreed with his opinion on Ospreay/Ricochet at BOSJ. Vader is clearly too old to work like he once did here, but mad did he still look like a killer; he's still a great worker even if his body had slowed down. Ospreay bumps his ass off too to really sell it. The run-ins are done so there's a little more action and it works; the couple of nearfalls were actually great. Vader beats Ospreay when the crowd is still really hot for the match because he clearly couldn't do much more, and because he probably only agreed to it if he went over, but Ospreay got his shit in and got his ass beat before the bell AND lost dirty so it's not so bad. Really fun stuff and a nice final angle for Vader before his passing. ***"

[5.0] "One of the greatest smoke and mirror matches on the indies in the last five years. Will Ospreay bumped like mad for Vader, who wouldn't budge an inch for him, and thankfully there was an out put in to protect Ospreay from the loss he didn't really need to take at that time. One of the more bizarre interactions, and the last time I saw Vader until he died a couple of years later."

[5.0] "The pre-match showdown was great and more and more angered the crowd against Vader and emotions before the match flooded everyone. Osprey looked very dignified and was supercharged for revenge that even the overbooking ending didn't spoil the impression of this mini-plot."

[5.0] "This is all smoke and mirrors of course, with Ospreay bumping like mad for an all but immobile Vader. Crowd was red hot and it was an interesting spectacle. Probably as good as it could have been given Vader's health."