Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley vs. The Blade & The Butcher

[6.0] "Fun opener. Butcher & Blade held their own and gave the BCC a decent fight. The crowd enjoyed it. ***"

[7.0] "Butcher and Blade are underated AF. They went into a chaotic brawl with Mox and Claudio and felt credible, even though the outcome was pretty predictable. A big strong fight like we all like 'em. Moxley and Castagnoli are fitting together pretty well, a pair of lads who love to fight, of fucking course."

[6.0] "That was a decent match to open up Rampage. Butcher and Blade got to entertain the Canadian crowd and Mox and Claudio got the expected win. 6/10"

[7.0] "Good match where Canadian fans were shown in the case of those fighters they had been waiting for for so long. Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley had a lot of fun and got what they wanted, an equal and honest fight in a bloody style. Blade had endured a lot on himself and was already all red, he almost burst. As a result, the good guys dealt with the bullies in a beautiful style."

[8.0] "This was definitely the most interesting match from the show on paper, and it delivered pretty well on that promise. Butcher and Blade are an underrated team I think, they mostly serve as flunkies to get beat by the big stars but they can do a lot of good stuff in the ring and I'm always glad to see them, particularly Butcher Andy Williams. As for Mox and Claudio, well, what can you say for two of the best in the world? They were completely excellent, as expected. Not a match I'd stop everything to write home about, but an excellent fight on a slightly weak episode of Rampage."

[8.0] "Really fun hard-hitting opening match between two great teams. If you like tough men hitting each other you will enjoy this. Not much more to say."

[6.0] "Basically a house show match but perfect for what it was: a good showcase for the Blackpool Combat Club against established lower midcarders. The crowd being super, super into it really helped give the action some heft, and this being Moxley's warm-up before his big title match made it feel at least a little important in the AEW landscape, which is something the matches on Rampage have sorely been missing. The definition of "satisfactory.""

[5.0] "Filler match but good for what it is. Still can't help but think you could make better use of Claudio and Moxley wrestling on TV."

[8.0] "A good hard-hitting match between two tough hard-hitting teams. The Blade & The Butcher are a team to be reckoned with and The Blackpool Combat Club is one of the toughest, hard-hitting factions in the history of professional wrestling in my opinion and a joy to watch."

[4.0] "This match was alright if a little disappointing. Maybe this was a bit longer than necessary, but they couldn't fill the time well enough. 4/10 breads"

[7.0] "Decent opener, no complaints. I love the fact that the past two RAMPAGES now, Moxley has opened up the shows. This has been a smart move on Tony Khan and crews part for luring folks in with a big name to help keep viewers engaged throughout the whole episode perhaps. No question in my mind Moxley and Claudio would win this as Moxley needed that last little buildup going into his title defense against the Hangman this coming week. Butcher and Blade continuing killing it and to the point I? m hoping 2023 is a big year for them."

[8.0] "It was a good opening match. The Butcher and The Blade are amazing, and I was really missing The Bunny. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Page vs Moxley, it's going to be a bloodbath."

[6.0] "A fine match that felt like it was about to enter next gear right when it decided to end. The usage of Claudio has been disappointing for me since he won the ROH title really. Hey"

[6.0] "The match is good but, of course, it's a pretty basic contest due to the names involved to start the show."

[8.0] "Always was a big fan of the Butcher and the Blade. Very glad that they got a high profile match like this one. They looked like a threat against the killers."

[7.0] "Fun tag team opener with a bunch of mean men not backing down from each other. Claudio and Mox fit together so well as a team, and Butcher and Blade are getting better with each match, they can easily be heated up for a run with the titles if TK so wished."