Adam Pearce vs. Brent Albright

[9.0] "I hadn't seen the result before watching the match, which made this ending special. Pearce used a cheap tactic, trying to end Brent from the beginning. It was obvious from the start that Brent wanted to end the fight by targeting Pearce's hand--and he did. The only issue was that it needed more time and more violence for my taste. **** 3/4"

[9.0] "One of the coolest things about this match is that it was the first time I watched both competitors. I had never heard of Brent Albright and I knew Adam Pearce from his role as an authority figure in WWE (although I already knew he was once an NWA Champ). Speaking of Pearce, it's even strange to see him have such a good match in contrast to his current role as a wimp. By the way, what a sensational match, the pace is perfect, the blood is well placed and the table spot is fantastic with the addition of the always super hot crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom. If you, like me, have never seen Adam Pearce outside of the fed, this is a great recommendation, one of my favorite matches of 2008 (****1/2)"

[10.0] "I'm not sure that I can think of another match that came from so completely out of nowhere to be as fantastic as this one. Pearce was just over a month removed from an absolutely rotten title vs title match with Nigel McGuinness, and while Albright has felt refreshed in his new babyface role, we have never seen something quite like this from him before. Albright not only shows intensity that has been missing from a lot of his ROH run, but he also demonstrates some really great selling that does a tremendous job generating sympathy from the fans. This has it all - violence, chaos, drama, excitement. Everything keeps building to a wonderful finale that has the crowd on the edge of their seats. What really put this over the edge for me is how the two took a crowd that, while at least receptive, seemed fairly lukewarm for this match, and by the end had them in an absolute frenzy, desperate to see Albright pull off the victory. I have gone back and forth on my rating, and while the match isn't without flaw, ultimately I think these two earned a 10.0 for what was a masterful ability to take a match that featured two wrestlers who have never been strongly over with this audience and bring the fans on a ride that against all odds, somehow culminated in one of the biggest pops in ROH history. This was lightning in a bottle, and I don't believe I've ever seen anything else quite like it. It's this unique set of circumstances that makes this match special and puts it over the edge in to a 10.0 rating for me."

[10.0] "Brutal brawl but damaged by the complete lack of leg selling. I you don't wanna sell something don't add a something that need a selling into the match! Anyway this a good showcase of what Pearce was able to do before go to WWE and that less could be enough sometimes. ****3/4"

[8.0] "The couple of bigger spots in the match, the good selling by Pearce and the hot crowd are what took it from a 7 to 8 in my mind"

[9.0] "Starts out as very uninspiring, and a very un-ROH kind of big-time match, and yet you have two guys who know their roles so well and play their roles so well, a crowd that is absolutely on fire, a final stretch after Albright gets back in the ring following the table spot that appropriately ups the intensity, and then the finish is just the cherry on top the whole thing. Simple psychology perfectly executed."

[10.0] "I can't think of many matches which blew expectations out of the water like this one. One of the better matches in ROH history."

[9.0] "I was surprised to see this match rated so highly, while I like both guys decently they aren't the type that I would expect to have a match with this degree of renown. I'm happy to say reports are not exaggerated though, this was in fact a great match! Every step they took seemed to be just what the match needed. Both guys got bloody, which always really heightens the atmosphere, and the crowd got super into the match, they were very hot for the match. Pearce had the legendary Larry Sweeney in his corner which always helps, and Sweeney got his clock cleaned by Roderick Strong when he tried to interfere in the match in a very fun moment that got a big pop. Albright took a major table bump, another point in their favor, and the whole thing just felt gritty and fun. Huge pop for the finish as well. Not the greatest I've seen in my life but definitely a great match that exceeded all expectation."

[9.0] "A very old school-style and excellent match that definitely suits an NWA World Title match. Adam Pearce was the champion here and was a great heel. I loved the managers at ringside for him, too. Very NWA. Brent Albright even looks very old school and played the babyface role so well here. This was the first time I ever watched a Brent Albright match, and I was incredibly impressed. Loved the suplexes by him (I'm a sucker for a good suplex). Awesome bump from the top rope to the outside through the table, too. This just felt like a callback to a classic style of wrestling and the crowd was super hot throughout this, so that style definitely still can work (at least as of 2008). Awesome stuff."

[7.0] "It's a good match but I'm not feeling the same emotional tug as a lot of people as for me neither has the presence or charisma to really get me fully immersed such that I cared about the story they were trying to tell."

[10.0] "Easily one of my favorite matches in ROH history and in general too. The pacing of this was great and told a great story too. Pearce was really good in working on top and Albright was just awesome in working from underneath as the never say die babyface and that got the crowd really into this one and boy was this a classic. Definitely a match worth checking out honestly and so underrated IMO. (*****)"

[10.0] "One of the greatest matches in Ring Of Honor history. Nobody expected these two to put on such a amazing match, but they did it. The ROH crowd was on fire also. Big pop when Brent Albright won the title. Amazing stuff. *****"

[10.0] "Well this was freaking AMAZING. And the best part about the whole match is that you never expect this match to be THIS good, as it is Pearce vs. Albright after all. But goddamn, these 2 put on a legit masterpiece of a match. This is a true Ring of Honor classic, and one of the best matches of 2008. Amazing match."

[9.0] "One of the biggest pops in ROH. AWESOME! Who would have thought that these two would turn in a great match? It was a bit of a hybrid of old-school 1980s build and new millennium moves. Adam Pearce's use of the figure-four, while nonsensical in the match psychology is perfect for his character psychology because he goes on and on about how being an NWA champion puts him on the level of Harley Race, Ric Flair and Jack Brisco. His figure-four is just Pearce trying to make his own title defense as epic as past reigns had been, but he's, at heart, just a clueless putz who lucked into the title, so he really has no idea when or where or why to use the move appropriately, just that he wants to work it in. The final stretch had the place rockin' too. This was one of the best matches on an ROH show all year. ****1/2"

[8.0] "Brutal bloody match that I did not expect to be as great as it was. Albright takes a nasty bump off the top rope through a table on the floor below, it looked sick. These two beat the hell out of each other. Really Great match. ****"