Guardian #1 & Guardian #2 vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe

[4.0] "This was a largely uninspired opener that never finds its footing, weighed down by both bland execution and unfortunate circumstances. The Guardians of Truth come across as painfully generic, and while their identities as the Headbangers were never officially acknowledged, the crowd clearly recognized them, chanting "Mosh and Thrasher" throughout. That disconnect only undercut the presentation further, making the masked gimmick feel pointless rather than mysterious. The match itself is exceedingly basic, and any chance of escalation is derailed by the ring setup. The ropes are so loose that key spots have to be abandoned, most notably forcing an on-the-fly change to the planned Doomsday Device finish. At one point, the ring visibly deteriorates, further limiting what the wrestlers can realistically attempt. While these issues aren't the performers' fault, they do make an already dull match feel even flatter. From a booking perspective, this is a baffling way to introduce the Headbangers. Giving them a random, heatless PPV match does them no favors, especially when Jim Cornette was clearly interested in seeing what they could offer. The Briscoes fare no better, as this stands out as one of their weakest performances in the company, not through incompetence but through lack of opportunity to do anything meaningful. To its credit, the match doesn't overstay its welcome and remains mildly watchable in a purely functional sense. Still, that's faint praise for something so devoid of energy, identity, or payoff. **"

[3.0] "This is a very boring match. I didn't know it was the Headbangers but their work was very generic at the Guardians of Truth."

[2.0] "A pretty nothing match, made even worse by the ring ropes being extremely loose to the point where Mark couldn't jump off the top rope for the Doomsday Device and the finish had to changed on the fly. The Guardians were the Headbangers under generic masks, and although their identities were never revealed here, the fans chant "Mosh and Thrasher" at them. I guess they recognized their tattoos. I understand Jim Cornette wanting to give the Headbangers a shot, but having them debut in a random heatless match on PPV was not the way to do it. Also very poor use of the Briscoes. Possibly their weakest match in the company ever."

[5.0] "Surprisingly the identity of the Guardians is never revealed during or after the match. At some point the ring breaks and the ropes are too loose so they are limited by what they can do. Reasonably entertaining opener that didn't get enough time to get old."