Sammy Guevara vs. Tony Nese

[5.0] "Tony Nese is about as exciting as Ben Stein on a sedative. He's in great shape and a capable performer, but I have never turned on a show just waiting to see Tony Nese preform on TV. Guevara, I like to a certain extent, if Jim Ross would stop making the asinine Eddie Guerrero comparisons. He's been a big part of AEW since its inception, but this match just didn't capture my imagination."

[7.0] "This was a really good match: both men delivered good perfomances and the action was fun and entertaining with lots of cool moments and sequences. Guevara was early in his days as Tnt champion and this match solidified his status as workhorse champion. This is also the best Nese has looked in Aew. 7/10 - 3.75*/5*"

[5.0] "I heard Bobby Fish once discuss how much attending improv classes improved his understanding and ability to be a successful pro-wrestler. Prior to, he was a dullard undercard noone in late 00s NOAH. After he had genuine success in NJPW & NXT. If only Nese heard, understood and also chose to challenge himself because I don't understand why he's a TV performer. He's a good-enough pro-wrestler to succeed in matches on 205 Live, but I don't care to see him on any national TV product as he's turn-off, who cares, makes vanilla look chocolate, television. Fine match, but less of an experience than Guevara's steaming bout with Lethal. 2 2/3"

[5.0] "Nothing special about this match, Guevara is great but Nese is lacklusting of a character. The finish spot was good tho"

[7.0] "Felt like the days of WCW's hot opening cruiserweight matches. Both men played their part and impressed. Would like to see more of this. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Strong bout between technical and flashiness. Nese dominated Guevara on the mat but once the champ was on in his feet, that went pretty serious. They had quite a chemistry and managed to leave a chance to the challenger. Great one."

[6.0] "Nese has had a couple of other matches in AEW, but this was his chance to show the majority of the AEW audience what he can do between the ropes. Not only was he up for the challenge, but he made a big impression. These are two guys who can work on the mat if they want to, but their biggest strength is their agility. Some of the moves they hit looked incredible and showed how both guys are capable of doing things most humans would deem impossible at first glance. A few moves could have been sold more to make them look more effective,"

[5.0] "This was ok but I didn't feel too excited about it. Nese is as bland as they come and Sammy feels miscast as a babyface."

[7.0] "Good opener for the show, Sammy looked good and sold pretty well. Tony Nese is a good addition to the AEW roster and did great in this match ***3/4"

[7.0] "This was an excellent mid-card match which means is a little bit better than satisfactory. Had a good amount of action, but the end ring storytelling was a little slow. They did have a few good sections where they built up excitement, but then it led to very little payoff. They're both excellent wrestlers who put on a pretty good story. They certainly showed that the TNT title is a Worthy title to wrestle for and not something that's thrown around easily."

[9.0] "I cannot BELIEVE that WWE was stashing this level of talent away to 205 Live. Nese and Sammy tore the house down here. Sammy has had a genuinely spectacular run as the midcard champion, and holy hell, what a TV debut for Nese. I will say it kind of dragged a bit towards the middle, but overall, this had just about everything you could want from these two. This match had mat wrestling and holds, big moves, high flying, harsh strikes and clubbing blows. These two are just jacks of all trades. *4.25*"

[5.0] "This was a perfectly fine match, although it was nothing special. I found it overly drawn out tbh. Im surprised so many people love this match"

[7.0] "A solid show kicked off by a more than satisfactory opener. Some of it felt like doing moves for the sake of doing moves, but they certainly were entertaining. I think Sammy Guevara has proven that he knows how to execute explosive offense against almost any opponent. Incorporating the signature maneuvers of others into his arsenal has allowed him to pull out almost video-game-like offense for wow-factor moments. That Corkscrew Tope Suicida was nuts. Tony Nese, on the other end, impressed me. He always has, but this was a nice showcase of the potential he has to be a champion in a major company. It may not happen yet, but he is on the right path. 3.5 stars, 7 out of 10."

[7.0] "Heck of an opener here. Nese did a fine job working on Sammy's injured rib, setting up some hot comeback from the latter near the end. Nese looked super impressive here, and he's gonna be a great pickup for AEW had they choose to sign him. [***1/2]"

[7.0] "A standard back and forth face vs heel title match done quite well, but without much going on beneath the surface. As a feather in Sammy's cap for this reign, it's quite good given it had almost no build. Nese had a few good reversals that made him look like a threat. ***1/4+"

[8.0] "This was an excellent tv match and the best showing Sammy has had on his title run. Tony Nese really stepped up and looked impressive in his first match not on YouTube ****"

[9.0] "Sammy can't have a bad match these days, and this was a clear example of that. Loved Nese, I think this is the best match he had, including 205 live. Both are remarkable athletes, with both highly flying and powerful moves. The finish was a bit sudden, the rest great."

[7.0] "Very good match. The quality of Guevara reign is overall mid/high. First very good proof by Tony Nese."

[6.0] "A decent opener here, Guevara is starting to look better as he builds his strength, but for someone with such a long career his offence and selling are both inconsistent. Nese is by far the better wrestler, and really should have won here - if they're not ready for that he shouldn't have got this match. More matches like this will help Guevara reach his potential though, and overall it was a very entertaining match."

[7.0] "This was an explosive match where Nese looked especially impressive. Kicking Sammy off the ropes and catching him on his shoulders is the most impressed I've been with a non-hardcore spot for quite some time. The heat segment that ran through the commercial break was pretty uninspired, and consequently led to a slightly saggy, drawn-out feeling to the early middle of the match, but otherwise this was mostly just a display of crisp, high-octane offence that I found incredibly engaging to behold."

[7.0] "Tony Nese put in a good challenge for the TNT Title here, including kicking Sammy Guevara off the top rope right onto his shoulders for a gutbuster. Guevara is a bit inconsistent in selling his ribs, but he's such a great babyface that it doesn't matter by the end."

[7.0] "Impressive match that highlights both guys really well. Nese could be great if booked right, Guevara just needs to wrestle most weeks if not every week. He could really do with more matches like this instead of dicking around with Jericho. Worth watching for sure."

[8.0] "Fantastic opener between Guevara and Nese in what was a match I was particularly looking forward to as it looked extremely good on paper and I was not at all disappointed with the result as it was even better than I expected, these two have a natural chemistry as they're both excellent workers and they produced some very good stuff here. I think it was one of the best matches of Guevara's career and I said the same thing about his recent encounter against Jay Lethal so you can clearly tell he's on a banger streak at the moment and that's why I love the idea of him defending his TNT Championship against anyone. He will always get the best out of everyone and he already makes a great champion, Nese was also phenomenal and the work they both put in was captivating to watch."