Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet

[8.0] "For sure, Ali and Ricochet sharing the very same ring would be great. Other than displaying great aerial stuff, and inhuman spots, they displayed a simple, but good storytelling. Ricochet is a fair lad, and didn't want to injure Ali even more. However, the latter gave no shit about his pain, and went all out. So Ricochet did. The chemistry is natural, and we felt it through great counters, and transitions, and also the safety between them. They gave them ten minutes, and they've put on a superb TV sprint."

[7.0] "You put two talented high flyers and they deliver some cool fast-paced action. Even better, they added a little storytelling and psychology with the injured ribs of Ali and Ricochet telling him not to fight and rest. Also, that Shooting Star Press to a standing Ali was a thing of beauty (*** 1/2)"

[7.0] "A real bomb to start the show, banger at his best. A lot of athleticism, interaction with fans, personal history and, of course, top-level professionalism. Mustafa Ali will get out of any match and make the show brighter and tougher. Ricochet promised that the IC title would come back to him and he went through the tournament with confident steps and who will stop him? Shooting Star Press on a standing opponent and a beautiful victory."

[8.0] "I loved the series of matches these two had in Main Event & Raw last year. This is pretty much a respectful rekindle of that spark. Both had a purpose to face again & Ali had a reason to be a bit aggressive here. It played as the key factor of the mini story they narrated mixing it up with incredible action. Ricochet winning made sense since being a part of the roster while Ali continues to thrive in the chances offered despite taking losses more than wins. 3.75 out of 5 stars!"

[8.0] "Ricochet initially showed some restraint to attack Ali's mid section but as the match went on he was more willing to attack it and Ali was pretty good in his role at selling here. They had a lot of good counters and stuff in this, the crowd was invested in this a lot so that helped this out some as well. A standing shooting star press is crazy.***3/4"

[7.0] "Fun cruiserweight match. Ali's had a weird couple of months and this was probably his most promising showing in awhile."

[8.0] "This is how you do a 10 min t.v match. Excellent storytelling from Mustafa Ali and some great athleticism from both men"

[7.0] "It was a fun match to watch, Ricochet and Ali executed beautiful spots, cleanly and fluidly. Ali's selling was top-notch and the story of the match made sense. Ali did his best, but in the end could not defeat Ricochet."

[8.0] "A great opener. Seeing Ricochet pull out moves he doesnt usually do on the main roster was awesome! Mustafa Ali did a great job of selling his ribs"

[8.0] "Incredible start to SmackDown. Awesome what great chemistry they both have, I loved it. I think the most shocking thing about this wrestling is that even though it's good, you don't understand what Mustafa Ali is doing here being from Raw. Nevertheless, great wrestling."

[8.0] "Really good opening match between Ricochet and Mustafa Ali here which was just everything I wanted it to be and everything it was supposed to be if you ask me, I don't see how this match could have been presented to us better as both had great chemistry (as they always do when they face off), they had time, the crowd was into it and it's typically the kind of fresh matchups you want to see in a fun little tournament like this, the outcome was a foregone conclusion but that didn't stop me from being invested and believing in a potential upset of Ali who's just that good at making us believe it every time, a babyface that does everything in detail and deserves so much more appreciation honestly. But we know that Ricochet is a favourite of Hunter and I can understand that so this win was meant for him, the ending was beautiful and the action a pleasure to watch."

[8.0] "The sprint you can expect from these two. Great way to carry on this tournament, really. Ricochet advancing is a good choice."

[9.0] "A pretty good match and so far Match of the tournament Ali selling his Match againts Lashley was a Nice touch (WTH? Solid Match so a 3/10? )"

[8.0] "Best match of the tournament so far. Crowd were loving it and I liked the story of Alis rib injury throughout."

"I don? t even have a rating for this yet, just how the hell do you call something a solid match and give it 3 stars?"

[6.0] "This was very spotty, it told a nice story, the spots were cool, the finish was pretty good. 6/10 breads"

[7.0] "Great selling by Ali in this match. Ricochet looked great and I enjoyed the chemistry these two have."