Eddie Gilbert, Larry Zbyszko & Rick Steiner vs. Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes & Sting

[4.0] "Crowd was very into this match, but it's a very passage six man tag. Babyface team did well to excite the crowd, but the in-ring work is just kinda there. Cameraman missing Sting's dive was pretty lame."

[6.0] "This six-man tag felt pretty random, but it had some pretty good action throughout with a hot crowd. This was most notable for being Sting and Rick Steiner's first PPV matches. The crowd ate up everything Sting did here -- he was clearly a superstar in the making. The time limit finish was weak, and it was unfortunately telegraphed as well thanks to nonstop reminders by the ring announcer. Still, a fun opener in large part to the crowd. ***"

[6.0] "Teams were both thrown together, but really good opener with some vets and some youngsters who all performed well."

[4.0] "Nice names, but nothing exceptional in the ring, despite a notable duration. A pleasure to see Sting and a vocal crowd, but forgettable for its in-ring quality. In-ring quality: 0.5/4. Stakes: 0.5/2. Justification: 0.5/1. Place on the card: 0.75/1. Suspense: 1/1. Bonus/Malus: none. Total: 4.25/10. Match seen on WWE Network."

[7.0] "A good way to start the show. The first few minutes with the faces dominating got the crowd going. From that point onward, we got a decent match that kept me entertained until the time limit."

[8.0] "4 stars great opener here with a crowd that was super into it and the babyfaces the match brought excitement to the show while someone of the wrestlers on this ppv didn't arrive to arrive on to the show."

[7.0] "Except for Rick none of the heels really stood out, but the babyface team on the other hand looked fantastic. Hayes was leading the line with his charisma and incredible timing, Sting was the most over guy in the match and Jimmy wasn't far behind either. Some great execution of the spots with everybody being in the right place, a very fast action that didn't slow down in any of the 15 minutes and a hot crowd to start the show."

[6.0] "This was a very hot opener, did a good job at getting the crowd going and made Sting and The Freebirds look great."

[7.0] "I thought that this was a pretty fun opener that allowed the people there to get excited while letting the people yet to arrive settle in with a to the point six man. The crowd was hot for the freebirds, especially Hayes who fed off the crowd greatly. Rick Steiner had some nice looking power moves and showed them off well. He did well considering his rookie status at this time. The match was at its best when they all ran in a brawled with each other towards the end. The match went to a 15 minute draw which flew by thanks to great pacing and good wrestling. ***1/4"

[5.0] "Crowd was hot for a PPV opener, Sting looked like a star, unfortunately, camera didn't catch his big dive to start. Rick Steiner never looked more like a walking physical freak than at this point. Just insane. its a decent 6 man that didn't have the energy to match what it was going for."

[5.0] "This was a passably fine match but nothing very special. A young Rick Steiner showed some impressive power as expected and Larry Z is pretty fun, does a killer spinning back kick. The face team was pretty weak, Sting looked quite green though at least he pumped up the crowd, and the Freebirds by this time are merely annoying in my opinion, though they would get worse."

[5.0] "A perfectly fine six-man tag that unfortunately struggled to fill the 15 minutes time limit. Zbyszko in particular was guilty of killing time with rest holds, which seemed unnecessary. Sting looked like a star in the making though. When he hit that dive in the early going the crowd were coming unglued."

[6.0] "While still visibly green, Sting already comes across as a star even this early in his run. There isn't much story or structure here, just an energetic opening tag, but it's fun for what it is and effective at hearing up the crowd. The finish is a bit of a let down, but not a big deal. A perfectly fine way to kick off the show."

[6.0] "This was a surprisingly fun six-man tag match. This match was very energetic, which made for a good opening bout. I just wish this had a clean finish and wasn't a time limit draw. The faces could've gone over here I think, especially since they obviously already had big plans for Sting."

[7.0] "A very fun and energetic six-man tag, though it's strange to see the Freebirds getting cheered and I can never get used to that from growing up and watching Texas wrestling, where they were maligned. Sting was really green here, but did display a variety of awesome offense, particularly the plancha to the floor at the beginning of the match."

[7.0] "It's clear that they have big things planned for Sting. Rick Steiner jumps Sting to start the match, but Sting sends him to the outside and then launches himself to the floor with a very impressive plancha. You can tell that Sting still needs some polish by looking at the awkwardness of his dropkicks and arm drags, but Sting has won the Chicago crowd over already. Rick Steiner also showed a lot of promise. He brought a lot of intensity to the match and he hits a beautifully crisp powerslam on Garvin. The Freebirds are here to keep Sting on the rails and to act as the veterans. Zbyszko is a fantastic bumper and he does the Bret Hart sternum corner bump, but he instead bumps with his face. Ouch. Hayes gets a hot tag and the roof comes off as the building as he struts around the place, kicking all kinds of ass. The time limit expires just as Hayes lands a sunset flip. The finish might have been botched as they did spend a precious few seconds trying to get into the pinning position. Going into this, I assumed that this match was a vehicle to get Sting over in front of a large audience. The lackluster time limit finish made me think otherwise. This was a high-energy opener, soured by its weak finish."

[6.0] "A solid and energetic opener. The time limit draw was pretty obvious already 5 mins into the bout, but they managed to keep the pace well enough through the end. [***]"

[6.0] "Crowd was red hot for the Freebirds and Sting but the heels didnt really draw much heat at all when they were on offense which made it quite dull for little periods. The draw put a damper on things"

[6.0] "A chaotic and energetic match, if not the best worked necessarily. It's a fun and interesting mesh of personalities, including the "debuts" of Sting and Rick Steiner, at least on PPV, and they do both stand out like stars immediately, especially Sting. There's a lack of real flow or story to the match, which makes it hard to get totally engaged, but the men all work hard and throw themselves around impressively, which makes it all the more disappointing when it ends in a time limit draw. Still, it was a well-earned draw, or at least a successful one, making you want a bit more rather than just making you grown. More of a fun historical artifact than a great match, but fun all the same."