Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher

[7.0] "This was a good technical match. The mat-work was great and there was some nice stiff strikes and brutal submissions. Thatcher and Balor both showed great intensity here. This was nothing crazy, but it was a great way to start the show. ***3/4"

[7.0] "(Grade C) This was a match I was looking forward to watching and I wouldn't say I was letdown though I was expecting more. Still enjoyed the technical work from Thatcher & Balor able to counter and show up him at points, The intensity from Thatcher's facial expression needs to be studied he is so good at it! overall a good match though wasn't expect a little more"

[7.0] "A really solid match to open up the show, though I do feel like the Ladder Match that came after this would have been a better opener for the show. Don't get me wrong, this was good, but it didn't feel like something that would get the crowd excited like the Ladder Match. Either way, good stuff in this one, though it never reached that next level for me."

[8.0] "Technical masterpiece that had the right groove with the time given. Thatcher is an essential savagery in terms of wrestling standpoint but Bálor equalizing here with his own intense wrestling quality really surprised me. Bálor returning to NXT was the BEST track he took in his WWE tenure. Had given a bit more time, this could've become a potential MOTY candidate. 4 out of 5 stars!"

[8.0] "A physical, technical wrestling match. I enjoyed this from start to finish and actually think it was one of NXT's best matches of 2020. The story told, the brutality, and the submissions were all on point. Moreover, I think this was a clear display of how these men rank amongst the best technical wrestlers of their era. I think this is an underrated match, now that I've seen the ratings, as it was a strong 4/5 and 8/10 for me."

[8.0] "Ein sehr starker Opener das man auch wieder als kleines Dream Singles Match zwischen Finn und Timothy sehen (***3/4)."

[7.0] "A hard hitting match with stiff strikes , showcase of technical wrestling and painful brutal submission holds . I liked how Thatcher made Balor work his style , and Thatcher targeted the knee of Balor that would eventually weaken Balor's attempt at his finisher " Coup de Grace " and the work done on the knee was very good . Balor sold the injury very well too . I liked the idea of Balor winning after finally hitting the Coup de Grace . A very good opening match . One of the better matches of the night . ***3/4"

[6.0] "Als Opener passabel, wenngleich auch irgendwie experimentell, denn Thatchers Gangart ist nicht zwingend Balors Stärke. Trotzdem lässt sich der Ire auf einen harten Brawl und angewendete Submissions ein, wenngleich für mich nicht mit voller Überzeugungskraft. Am Ende steht da der Name über dem Talent und das Ergebnis ist auch recht unspannend. Man kann die Show aber durchaus auf diesem Wege kicken."

[6.0] "Exactly the type of match you'd expect from these two; a hard hitting, technical affair with intense grappling and submissions."

[8.0] "Mit Balor vs. Thatcher liefert man aber einem Opener, den man in der Form eben auch nicht alle Tage zu sehen bekommt. Balor lässt sich stark auf Timos Stil ein und schaltet erst in der Schlussphase sein Trademark-Programm ein, bis dahin sind es sehenswerte Submission-Sequenzen. Fügt sich wirklich gut zusammen. (***Ÿ+)"

[7.0] "Stiff strikes with a beautiful technical side. Timothy taking advantage of all of Finns shortcomings was a good show. (***1/2)"

[7.0] "Ein Match ohne Aufbau und vermutlich auch ohne große Folgen. Beide Wrestler hängen total in der Luft und hatten nicht wirklich was zu tun. Geholfen hat das Match vom Standing her vermutlich keinem so wirklich aber das Match war trotzdem gut. Aus dem Nichts, ohne Aufbau ein gutes Match zu zeigen ist aber auch eine Qualität, die ich schätze, insofern mochte ich das Match."

[8.0] "What a fantastic match. It starts off with solid grappling and technical spots and then it slowly but surely starts to pick up into more than that. Solid counters, great exchanges and even some good storytelling after finn failed the first coup de grace attempt and then timothy the grappling expert immediatly saw an opprotunity. This match just resonated with me and is a great example of how to mix in grappling and stiff exchanges when your match is mostly filled with technical wrestling."

[8.0] "Great facials and mat work as usual from Thatcher and Balor kept up right with him with counters and his exciting offense."

[6.0] "A good technical match, with some good limb work being told. Dragged on a bit too long and didn't crescendo in a particularly interesting way towards the end. While the pacing of the match suited each wrestler's styles, it is an odd choice as a PPV opener. Worth a watch but not going to blow you away. 3 stars."

[6.0] "Schicker Opener. Thatchers Style gefällt mir ziemlich gut, da kann auch die Beteiligung von Balor nicht allzu viel runterziehen. Hätte ich mir gerne noch länger anschauen können, und ein anderer Sieger wäre auch nice gewesen, aber das war dennoch weit unterhaltsamer als ich erwartet hätte."

[7.0] "A great grappling contest that you come to expect from Thatcher, but it wasn't anything more than you would expect. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Schöner, intensiver Opener. Erfüllt seinen Zweck, auch wenn ich der Meinung bin, dass da noch einiges mehr geht. ***3/4!"

[8.0] "Thatcher begann technisch dominant, gewohnt mattenbasiert und intensiv aber Finn Balor konnte nicht nur selbst technisch dagegen halten sondern sich mit seiner Dynamik und damit einhergehend zentralen Turning Points die Dominanz von Thatcher brechen und schließlich auch gewinnen. Insgesamt bekamen aber beide ein starkes Showing in einem guten Match, welches in meinen Augen 8 Punkte verdient."

[8.0] "Insgesamt ein gutes, intensives Match. Balor steht dieser Sieg gut zu Gesicht, da er in der letzten Zeit oft verloren hatte. Thatcher überzeugt mich immer mehr mit seiner technischen, stiffen Art. Würde die beiden gerne noch ein weiteres Mal gegeneinander antreten sehen. [****]"

[7.0] "Some nice mat-work and technical wrestling. I'm not always excited about his wrestling style but Thatcher was really fun to watch here. Good win for Finn and good way to start the show."

[7.0] "This was a good match, with a very decent in ring psychology. A really good, quite technically sound affair. Balor showed a different side to him with all the grappling and his escapes of Thatchers submissions were fun, and Thatcher is obviously one of the best grapplers in WWE today. It's just a shame the match never kicked into a higher gear."

[6.0] "Solider Opener. Genau das, was man sich erwartet hat, nämlich Catch as Thatch can. Nicht weniger, aber eben auch nicht mehr, sodass das Match dann einfach endet, ohne das man je die Gelegenheit bekam, emotional investiert zu sein."

[6.0] "It's a satisfying match to open the show, Thatcher shows why he is known as a good technician. I would have prefered a shorter match though."

[7.0] "Solid opening match that never fully kicked into a higher gear. The winner being pretty obvious hurt this one too. ***œ"

[1.0] "An extremely boring match. The worst of the night by a small margin for me. Technical wrestling really isn't my thing so hopefully others enjoyed it a lot more than I"

[7.0] "Very good 15 minute technical match. Thatcher did well for himself and Balor reminded just how good diverse he is. It was what it needed to be. 7 or 7. 5/10"

[7.0] "Good opener for the show, Seen better work from each of these guys. But they worked the match well and sold everything very well throughout. No complaints, Solid ***1/2 all day. Good opening for a good show"

[7.0] "From a technical standpoint, that match was very good, and in other circumstances it could have been a 9 from me. But i don't think such a slow paced match with only a barebone storyline to back it is a good choice to open the show, and I feel it's a waste of Finn Balor to give him low-level non-title storylines so often at TakeOvers."

[8.0] "Absolute heat from start to finish. Thatcher's facial expressions are on another level, he's just so entertaining to watch. Finn did nice here too, he's been building a nice little mi-card Takeover resume with this and the Priest match. Hope we get and Kross soon"

[9.0] "Very strong mat-based match. Thatcher's excellent technical abilities against Balor's quick style works expertly here."