Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

[5.0] "One of their weaker matches together. It was more about getting Eddie's heel character over rather than having a flashy match. I'm really not a fan of matches going long only for it end in DQ. It would be just as effective with less time."

[8.0] "Excellent job as a heel by Eddie, excellent performance by the both of them. What a chemistry they had! Super super solid"

[8.0] "Great match as always between these two. Eddie is now fully the heel, first half is a bit more methodical but it does pick up for the 2nd half and gets really good. Eddie dominates with Rey getting some nice comeback moments. Eddie is clearly more vicious as expected. It didn't hit the heights of their other matches but with the story and emotions it was still a great match to watch. You could sense Eddie's desperation and slow realisation he was going to lose to Rey AGAIN, so he took fate into his own hands."

[8.0] "This is such a well executed little piece of storytelling. Here you get a cold-blooded Eddie Guerrero methodically dismantling Rey while Rey gets to show some of his great babyface fire. It has its heated moments, and although it might prevent the match from being truly great, the finish makes perfect sense and if anything, only poured some more fuel to the fire, and that's ultimately what this match is about. ***3/4+"

[9.0] "Didn't love the finish but thought the match itself was unbelievably good. I really liked Eddie just getting to be ultra aggressive and evil. There's no one in the game that plays the sympathetic babyface like Rey Mysterio and I thought he especially shined here."

[8.0] "Despite a lame DQ finish, this was still a great match that continued the feud of Eddie and Rey, as it continued to build in personal hatred and brutality, as seen with Eddie's brutal post match attack."

[10.0] "The way this rivalry unfolded was really well booked, in retrospect. Amazingly the seeds were planted when the very briefly existing team of Eddie and Booker T had a face rivalry with them ore successful team of Rey and RVD. Rey started getting the advantage over Eddie in several matches, which clearly got under his skin a bit, but the rivalry remained pretty friendly between faces. When RVD got hurt, Eddie and Rey teamed up and even won the tag titles, but Eddie's losses to Rey started to weigh on his mind and he started pushing Rey into singles matches, including at Wrestlemania. As Rey kept winning, Eddie's mood turned darker, until he betrayed Rey in violent fashion to kick off his final heel run. This I believe is their first match after Eddie's official turn, and the mood has shifted drastically from their recent bouts. Eddie really brutalized Rey during the turn, stealing his mask and brainbustering him on the steel steps, so the potential for violence escalates quickly. Rey is in a tough spot, reeling from a betrayal and motivated for a piece of revenge but also knowing he likely can't out fight the larger Eddie and is more likely to win if he continues to rely on the tactics which have worked against Eddie before. The result is a fantastic mix of grits and smarts, with both guys playing their roles perfectly. I give Eddie tons of credit for how darkly he came across in this fight, it wasn't easy to turn the crowd against him but he succeeded pretty well. When Eddie failed to seal the deal on Rey multiple times despite gaining a hefty advantage, it was also interesting to see how he lost confidence and eventually resorted to the DQ rather than suffer another straight loss to Rey, perhaps unsatisfying for a PPV but effective and smart in the larger feud. They never topped their 1997 WCW classic but this feud was damn good, a highlight of '05."

[8.0] "Very much a setup for bigger and better rematches, but the raw ingredients are strong enough to still produce something notable in the process. Their work remains pristine here and is now unlocked by a fabulous babyface - heel dynamic, with Guerrero relishing the chance to get spiteful. They'd improve on this considerably just a month later but for a start to the series' genuine feud, it's very enticing. ***3/4"

[6.0] "This one felt like it was lacking something but both guys really played their part well and Eddie really looked like a nutcase here, with Mysterio always going to be the sympathetic babyface. You knew there was going to be a rematch based off of the finish in this one and these two can obviously have a much better match and their chemistry is without saying. 3 stars."

[6.0] "The value in this match is more about Eddie's character work than the bout itself. It's really interesting to see the thought Eddie put into the new character. He changed most of his mannerisms, facial expressions, and even the moves he used. He really sunk his teeth into this heel character, and it becomes very immersive. It elevates Rey a lot too. As a match, though? It was okay. A large portion is very sluggish, and it's full of holds, which is unexpected for these two. Of course, this is far from bad, but with two men of this caliber, just a 'decen't match can feel underwhelming. Good, but out of the many matches they've had, this is lower on the list."

[8.0] "If you put two good friends in real life to fight, they're gonna produce a good match. And that's exaclty what Eddie and Rey always do when they fight together. The end being a DQ makes things a bit worse, but they did not dissapointed during the match"

[7.0] "This one shows that Eddie understood the business perfectly. He slowed down, stopped taunting and got more emotionless so the people wouldn't cheer him at all. He was fully into the character and he knew how to get the heat from people. Rey on the other hand was a very good babyface as always with his quick spurds of offense being fun to watch, but at the same time he showed some character and the whole match felt personal because of that."

[8.0] "Another great match in the legendary rivalry between these two. This one is different from most of their previous ones cause Eddie is the ruthless heel and Rey is a pissed off baby face and it adds a new but good dynamic to their match. A dq finish that actually makes sense given their feud up to this point so it doesnt annoy me. A great match 4/5"

[10.0] "It sucks that words 'underrated' and 'overlooked' in pro-wrestling context mean less than zero these days, but unfortunately this match is rarely talked about amongst the fans and has way too few votes on CAGEMATCH. It was structured and worked so well that a DQ finish that they did here would look super cheap if both wrestlers' work wouldn't be as good as it was here, and it was a masterclass of how make everything between the moves contributing to the match too. Certainly one of the best matches and performances in their careers. ****3/4"

[10.0] "This was fantastic storytelling where the rivalry is seriously amped up and it legitimately feels like these two hate each other. Eddie is just vicious in how he attacks Mysterio's ribs after the damage he did to them on Smackdown. He really takes his new heel character to another level here and there's some painful looking spots here, which looked so good because of how good Rey sells it. Even early on when he is slammed into the announce table twice. Rey is a fantastic underdog here because of how he fights through everything Eddie throws at him and his selling over the whole match makes his comeback here feel that much more important. Even the DQ ending was one of the rare cases I was actually okay with it on a PPV match because it completely made sense to the story that was being told here. Eddie is frustrated because no matter what he throws at Rey, he just can't beat him and seeing him snap like he did was absolutely shocking as well as the continued beating with the chair. Also with the main event of the show being an "I Quit Match" it also fit into the show thematically where Rey Mysterio was just never going to give up. This feud was obviously for the long haul and I'm all for it."

"Rey comes out looking like a badass and the stare down between the two is beautifully intense. This match actually fucks and they beat the hell out of eachother. Rey gets sent up and over the top rope like 10 feet in the air and lands on the apron and hits the cleanest springboard diving headbutt. DQ Finish is underwhelming"

[10.0] "This gets my vote as the most underrated match in WWE history. From a psychological standpoint this is flawless. Before the match Rey says a prayer in the corner with his back to ring, but as soon as Eddie approaches he turns to face him down. He knows exactly how his former friend's mind works, and he won't allow himself to be taken advantage of. Eddie so completely embodies this new heel persona in everything that he does - cold, bitter, and resentful. He buries the forearm in to Rey's face on pinfall attempts. He wrenches his submissions in just the right way to add that extra bit of torque. There is always an added spitefulness to everything he does. He is relentless in his assault on Rey's ribs and never loses sight of his strategy. Rey contorts his body as he sells the injury, looking out to the fans with anguished cries. When Rey kicks out of a superplex, Eddie repeatedly tries to keep him down, his frustration building with each failed attempt. When he gets back to his feet he becomes almost meditative in an effort to calm himself down. You feel that he could explode at any moment. I love the the way he dances around the ring, both trying to regain his swagger while simultaneously taunting Rey. While DQ finishes often feel like cop outs, this one is the perfect ending. It has been built to for the entire match, the tension always rising between the two as they just barely stayed within the confines of the rules until Eddie's well established temper finally got the best of him - one of the key elements of the story to this point. If you want to see two men who perfectly understand their characters, motivations, and storyline, then this is the match for you. For my money, this is a masterpiece, and one of my favourite wrestling matches ever. Don't sleep on the pre-match video package either, I think it's one of the best WWE have ever produced. "I have your blood on my hands, Rey... At Judgment Day, I'll have your life"."

[6.0] "Far from their best meeting but still quite good. Mysterio was very impressively serious and focussed right from his entrance, appropriately treating this match like a blood feud instead of just another match. Likewise, Eddie did well playing the cold and heartless heel who showed no remorse for the awful actions he perpetrated in betraying his ex-friend the way he did. The match started as an aggressive brawl, with both guys getting in some good strikes and other such painful-looking attacks. Eddie naturally gained control and did really well with his resulting control period. His attacks further targeting Mysterio's ribs/lower back were especially impressive, and Mysterio's accompanying real-time selling and bumping were also very good. It was great fun seeing Mysterio briefly put things in motion to properly pull off a comeback only for Eddie to quickly cut him off in typically impactful fashion. Mysterio initially sold his ribs/lower back quite well once he finally made his comeback and started fighting on equal ground again, managing to still hit some of his flashy stunts and speedy attacks while selling the pain immediately after, but he dropped his selling the longer that his comeback went on (at least until Eddie finally returned to targeting him again), which was a shame but definitely not unexpected. That match ending by DQ after Eddie's chair shot was pretty disappointing, but the match that preceded that finish was still quite good. ***1/4"

[8.0] "A pretty great match between these two, shame it had to end in a DQ but even so the ending made sense and furthered the feud. Eddie was absolutely vicious here and Rey played off of that very well, lots of good action in this. ***1/2"

[8.0] "Eddie pulled out a great performance here to really show how great of a heel he truly was. Eddie was in control for most of the match and his work on his ribs/lower back of Rey was so good. These two also did a really good job of showing hatred without making it look cringy. When Rey makes his comeback towards the win Eddie gets desperate and tries to cheat using a chair but ends up losing to DQ.****1/4"

[7.0] "A good match that perfectly brings Eddie Guerrero's heel turn to another level. Rey Mysterio also does great here in the sympathetic babyface role, and also with his more aggressive wrestling style here. The ending does make Eddie look really heelish, but of course I'm not a huge fan of DQ endings. Still, it is one of the better DQ endings I've seen recently."

[9.0] "Eddie had turned heel on Rey and you could feel the hatred between the two. Eddie had also injured Rey's ribs and was great at targeting them. Just an awesome match."

[9.0] "I love this feud. People really don't like it for various reasons, I didn't even like the WM match but there is so many great matches in this feud. This, the SD June match, some house show matches, even the Summerslam match which is arguably marred by WWE "storytelling". This is a very unconventional match as far as WWE. It's a style of match built upon dislike and resentment but instead of a brawl, it's very much a typical match with so much more grit behind every hold. Honestly, if you want to study how to create a hate filled match in modern wrestling, watch this match. The aggression and hate is honestly steaming from Eddie's body almost. Then they played into the story that Eddie can't beat Mysterio, even after he is cheating. And that just escalated things way higher. Eddie's work on the back is a true piece of art. His nasty powerbombs on the table, the torque and modifications he puts on certain submissions holds to apply more pressure. So much snap and violence in everything he did. And of course, Rey's selling of the work was excellent. His brief hope spots were great as well, adding drama to the mix among everything else. The DQ finish totally works within the story as well. Everything just worked so perfectly. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This was just so much fun to watch honestly. Eddie's performance here was incredible and one of his best as well as he's just so good as a heel. Rey took a tremendous beating which he took really well and had some hope as well but it wasn't going to work here. Just an incredible match in terms of psychology, storytelling, and character work. (****1/2)"

[10.0] "Amazing match. The psychology was great & the character work by both Eddie & Rey, especially Eddie was absolutely great, as well. Loved this. ****1/2"

[7.0] "A good match that does not shine like their Wrestlemania match. The first minutes are slow and the last ones are well executed. Chavo's interference did not ruin the fight, but it's still an inconclusive ending with an already seen post-match. ***1/2"

[7.0] "The forgotten PPV match of their feud in 2005. Random interference from Chavo caught me off guard because I didn't think they had any association at that time. Eddie & Rey have spoiled us throughout the years so this match ends up just getting lost in the shuffle since nothing really stands out and it ended in DQ."