Bobby Eaton vs. Nikita Koloff

[0.0] "They had zero intention of having any kind of entertaining match. The strategy from the very start was to stall and stall they did. All of 20 excruciating minutes. Horribly booked and executed."

[3.0] "This was pretty rough. Twenty minutes of uninspired wrestling with what felt like at least half of it taking place in a hammerlock. It was weird to see Koloff get dominated here after he looked like an unstoppable beast versus Ric Flair and Terry Taylor at the last two Starrcades, respectively. The time limit finish was weak, too, because there was no sense of urgency from either man to get a pin. Boring way to start the show. *1/2"

[6.0] "Booking a Nikita match to go 20 minutes is a baffling decision under the best of circumstances, but especially so at this point where Nikita's mind is clearly not in it (understandably so given his wife's illness). Still, Bobby Eaton carries him to a passable match, not nearly as bad as the rating would indicate. The work is solid, there's some heat on Cornette and Eaton and in a weird way it showcases a different side of Nikita as a wrestler other than the usual powerhouse stuff, a shame these sequences weren't part of a better and more entertaining match"

[3.0] "20 minutes and nothing happened. Lots of holds which might be fine in some situations but as we are getting close to a time limit draw, I expect to see some urgency, at least from the challenger who will not win the title if the time expires. This fell totally flat."

[3.0] "It's almost unbelievable that you could come up with the idea of writing a 20-minute match in which so little happens. Boring as hell. In-ring quality: 0.25/4. Stakes: 1/2. Justification: 0.25/1. Place on the card: 0.5/1. Suspense: 1/1. Bonus/Malus: unworthy of a wrestling match -1. Total: 3/10. Match seen on WWE Network."

[2.0] "Felt terrible for Bobby Eaton here. Not only does Nikita not seem interested in the match, the psychology made no sense. Only worth watching for the fact its a bad Bobby Eaton match."

[3.0] "Koloff is completely checked out at this point with his wife's illness so it's understandable why he sleepwalked through this entire thing. Nobody else, Eaton or the crowd, cared either."

[3.0] "My God, what a slog. There's no life in this and both guys spend the majority of time in an Armbar, even when they are getting close to the time limit. There's no jeopardy in this, no excitement, Cornette is the only guy in this that the crowd cares about and it feels like both workers just wanted to get to the end without doing much."

[5.0] "Nikita Koloff has a hell of an armbar. It looks tight, and hes big enough to trap someone in it without making it seem rudimentary, but unfortunately it seems to be the only move that his trainers taught him. Eaton doing the move makes perfect sense as it neutralises Nikitas strength advantage, which is a good plan story wise. However the fans arent really hooked by the potential drama of the bout. Instead they are keen on shouting at Cornette, who responds not-so kindly, making the most of the heat. But back to the story of the match, surely you would abandon the plan when you are 5 minutes away from a potential draw and there is no sign of a tap. Eaton instead continues the same armhold to no success and a draw occurs, despite Nikitas best efforts. Fine wrestling but a story with one gear and no progression can only lead so far. And it didnt lead to a good match. **1/2"

[5.0] "In my view this was not as bad as some folks have said but it is definitely disappointing based on who is involved. I don't expect that much from Nikita but he's capable of having a good match, and you'd think Eaton would be an ideal guy to carry him. The match has its moments but it is far too slow and full of static holds by any measure."

[4.0] "This starts out ok, with Eaton trying various different things, being overpowered, heading for advice from Cornette and then we go again. It was working. Around halfway through they just abandon everything and go to rest holds. The final five minutes is a hammerlock. You're supposed to finish strong! Do your armbars in the middle somewhere or at the start. The final five minutes is brutal."

[3.0] "While it was at least technically sound enough to avoid a failing grade, this was extremely boring and lifeless. The whole match just felt so uneventful. Who decided that Koloff needed 20 minutes? He brought nothing to the table here. Eaton did a decent job putting over Koloff's strength, but he didn't seem to be putting in a lot of effort here if I'm being honest. He was content to spend extended periods of the match working headlocks and hammerlocks. How useless does Koloff look to be completely unable to reverse a hammerlock after being repeatedly caught in them for half the match? And after all of that, it ends in a draw just to make sure it feels like even more of a waste of time. Cornette mouthing off at ringside was the most entertaining part of the match. Very flat way to kick off a PPV."

[2.0] "I love both these guys and I still can't believe how bad this one was. This should've been good considering the guys in the match. Bobby Eaton seemed un-inspired here and Nikita's weaknesses really showed. Just a boring 20 minutes that isn't even worth it because for some reason it's a time limit draw. Considering the push Nikita was on it's shocking he wouldn't win this clean."

[4.0] "How were these two this boring? If they cut most of the rest holds and actually wrestled, this could have been great."

[4.0] "A 20-minute Nikita Koloff match...someone hates the world. But at least it's against Bobby Eaton. The match wasn't terrible and it wasn't great. It was mediocre. I don't think this was a good choice for an opening match."