Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

"This match was fine, very predictable and as you would expect. The pacing was good but nothing about it really felt like it properly connected or even mattered."

[8.0] "Maybe I'm overrating this a bit, but without any crazy spots, or too much elaborated sequences, these three men delivered a banger worthy of the prize they're competing for. Shinsuke targeting Priest leg was great, showing some In-Ring IQ that, in many ocassions, is forgotten. There were some cool moments, never a dull moment, Rollins and Nakamura challenging each other to start striking each other faces was awesome, and the finish sequence was dope. I've truly loved this match (****)"

[7.0] "Good opener with a good creative ending, it is a shame that Shinsuke Nakamura got pinned, really felt like he should have been protected."

[7.0] "The drama radar was having lightwork in this bout because of the predicted winner in Rollins. However, the efforts pulled off by Priest & Nakamura were remarkable in bringing a shadow of doubt for an upset. The triple threat pattern had a usual start but groomed in progress to a different path towards the final stretch. Every man's offense & urgency to win meant a lot adding tension in the fans' minds. 3.5 out of 5 stars!"

[8.0] "The first of this tournament's four triple threat matches is fun, dynamic and gives us what would later be the (proper) first champion. Fast paced, dynamic moves, very pleasant to watch"

[5.0] "Klassisch berechenbare WWE-Matchstruktur mit immer nur 2 Leuten im Ring. Gutes Crowdwork, exzellentes Timing an manchen Stellen, mieses an anderen. Sehr lasche Strikes, Standardfinish. Technisch wars cool. 5/10 Brote"

[7.0] "A good match, although the result is predictable. Everyone performed well and everyone got their time in the match. I hope Nakamura will win more often in the future"

[9.0] "More matches like this on TV please. Fantastic opener between 3 great competitors. Every man got in their shit and the action rarely slowed down."

[6.0] "A good opener hurt by the lack of suspense and by the ad break. It was kinda short but good while it lasted"

[7.0] "The work here was really good but it doesn't really distinguish itself from other 3ways, and this fell into the category of 3-ways where they do a bunch of spots involving everyone in the match. At least they didn't finish where someone steals the pinfall victory here, and the finish itself was actually rather creative.***1/2"

[9.0] "Bombastic (triple threat) Match, aside from the considerations of the tourney itself, it's a killer starting for me."

[9.0] "Very very good match with some very good in-ring work, unique and interesting spots, good character work and non-stop action. All three guys looked fantastic and worked really well together, great chemistry and timing throughout. Really good finishing sequence as well. Fantastic TV match that made all guys look amazing, shame only one guy could win and advance."

[7.0] "A real good Triple Threat opener that made everyone look strong, i like how it particularly protected Damian, i enjoyed this."

[7.0] "Good triple threat match that kicked off the heavyweight title tournament. All three of these guys are good, so it's no surprise they worked well together. Priest was still selling his injured knee from Backlash, which was a nice touch from him. Rollins won and advanced to the semifinal by pinning Nakamura, probably the only thing I didn't care for since Nakamura came back not that long ago. 7/10"

[7.0] "Very good triple threat to open. Only issues were the commercial break interruptions and the typical fitting everything in for TV sloppiness that all get in the way of most televised American wrestling."

[6.0] "A bit mindless, just a series of moves for the most part, but it was at least with a new combination of people. Nakamura on RAW felt especially refreshing after how stale the show has been recently. I don't think it was as exciting as the current rating might indicate (some of the strikes in particular seemed pretty weak to me, and a couple exchanges came across as a bit overly choreographed for my tastes), but it was still enjoyable and I really liked the finish."

[8.0] "Fanatastic opening to Raw this week. Everyone felt like such a star this week and deservedly so. Match was fast paced and well thought out. I am a little upset Shin got pinned but someone had to. Seeing that shin got pinned im wondering and hoping Priest may get the push he deserves. Best part of the match was Rollins coming from out of nowhere to land a mythodical frog splash."

[6.0] "Schönes Opening für die RAW Show. 3 überaus talentierte Worker in einem wilden Triple Threat mit etwas Sparflamme. Ideal für eine Weekly Show. Gute 6 Punkte."

[6.0] "Schöner Opener mit einem sehr temporeichen Opener. Besonders Nakamura wurde hier sehr gut dargestellt und hat hier viel offensive zeigen dürfen. (*** 1/4)"

[5.0] "Didn't like this. I was just waiting for this match to end. There were some fine sequences, but overall it's just meh to me."

[8.0] "It started quite weird this fight, however it improved a lot as the minutes went by and I really liked it. He won the one who had to win and very good for Priest who sold his Backlash injury, I'm also happy for Nakamura who has not seen him fight for a long time."

[6.0] "A decent three way to open the show and this consolation prize tournament. They all got their shit in and it was a good time."

[9.0] "A banger of a tv match from these three guys in a performance that really makes it look like people want this new title. Fluid action throughout, ESPECIALLY in the latter half of the match, and all of the guys got a chance to shine. As a Nakamura fanboy, I do selfishly think that him eating the pin was the wrong move, but Seth is basically recognized in kayfabe as a top 5 male wrestler in the company so I can't be too mad. This match showed me how much I NEED a 20+ minute Rollins vs Nak singles match. Great work here. 8.5/10 / ****1/4"

[7.0] "A good match between these three. I especially liked Priests performance who was particularly good with selling his left leg. Not a surprising result but they got there in a good way."

[8.0] "Fantastic TV match that I cant rate higher due to lack of story, and no this being a title tournament match doesnt make up for that. I enjoyed this one from start to finish and particularly loved the finish of Seth hitting his frog splash from out of nowhere with insane height hitting Shinsuke perfectly despite the submission and angle that he had it in. Despite it being incredibly predictable from the start (Priest not taking two losses in a row, Shinsuke only being there for the pin) they executed the match perfectly letting you believe Shinsuke truly had a chance rather then Seth."

[8.0] "I really liked this match, it was honestly better than a lot of what was on backlash. WWE does triple threat matches pretty damn well all considering and this was quite good for WWE tv match standards. I give it a 8/10 to be honest."

[8.0] "Really good triple threat match with a finish that made sense. One of the better Raw matches in a minute."

[9.0] "Really liked this match where everyone got their time to shine. Only problem is it could have been a tad bit longer and I wished Nak didn't get pinned since he just started his push. But any very fun 9/10 / SOTM(Spot of the Match): Frog splash to break up the submission and pedigree for Rollins to win."

[9.0] "The one who give it a 4 it's just wrong, if you want to write about the first 40 minutes, write in the show review not in the match review, Great match between these 3 lads"

[10.0] "This was amazing. This was an incredible sprint, they went back and forth for 13 minutes and it was incredible with the right result."

[9.0] "Fantastic TV sprint between three top tier performers who delivered everything you would expect from them in a setting like this, never a ten minute match between these three guys could have been better and it was booked as it should be. Rollins is a fucking star and was still hugely supported by the crowd, with Nakamura & Priest able to shine alongside this. Phenomenal action with creative spots, loved it."