[6.0] "Decent match with pretty good structure. Really into MJF trying to hot tag segment, geniuenly funny "I'm about to dive" sell. There's something wrong about the sentence "ROH Tag Team Champion, MJF", but I don't wanna gatekeep too much here. This is the biggest live crowd in wrestling history and MJF is a great opening act, so making this as a first match was pretty great decision. His "comedy" shtick is cut to minumum here, because they have 7 minutes and that's for the better. Like I was saying, this story is, in my opinion, peak MJF so most of the stuff form that era is of quality. I don't care about kangaroo kick tho. Stop that. But overall, pretty positive in here."
[5.0] "[2.5*] This was a fun little match. Of course nothing extraordinary because MJF and Adam Cole could not risk an injury at the pre-show lol, but still fun. They had one of the biggest pops of the night when they won there. The construction to the Kangaroo Kick and the Double Clothesline was great."
[6.0] "Good match, excellent choice to have this in the zero hour. The crowd was on fire in this, MJF and Cole are completely hot and showed this here. Aussie Open did a great heel work. It was a nice moment seeing them winning the titles - {**3/4}"
[7.0] "When people say AEW does not do stories, this is the match I usually think of. While not great from a Meltzer standpoint, the way every moment of this match played into the story of Better Than You Bay Bay was masterful. There will never be a thunderous pop for a damn Double Clothesline ever again in pro wrestling, which just goes to show you how invested fans were in their story which was the best thing behind the Bloodline saga in all of wrestling in 2023. It's a shame Aussie Open didn't get to have a real run as ROH Tag champs, but they played their part well in selling the unlikely duo's offense. Fletcher has one of the best sells to a Superkick from Adam Cole I have ever seen. The true highlight of this match was MJF, who felt like the most over wrestler of all time in Wembley and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. The crowd exploded for the Kangaroo Kick/Double Clothesline (which once again Fletcher sold like death) and the drama for the main event was raised even more. For the storytelling aspects of this one and how fun it was ***1/2"
[6.0] "Re-watching All In 2023 in preparation for this year's event, this match was a nice reminder of how great Better Than You Bay-Bay were in the summer of 2023. There's some solid stuff to be found here; Aussie Open get a lot of good heel heat and moments to shine, and the crowd were super hot for Cole and MJF. The comedy schtick exists here, but it's not overused yet, and a feel-good ending with Cole and MJF winning the championships. This was a fun little opener to get the crowd excited, I really enjoyed it."
[6.0] "A solid match that was entertaining for what it was, but it's most memorable for MJF and Cole becoming champions together, rather than the actual wrestling. That's completely understandable, though, as you don't want either man doing something crazy and getting hurt before their AEW World Title Main Event."
[6.0] "[3 Stars] A good, fun match that enhanced the PPV main-event, some decent action and it was good to see Aussie Open competing in front of so many people. ***"
[6.0] "Even though it didn't add any value to their streamlined story, Cole & MJF had to be in this position to warm up the record-breaking crowd ahead of a fantastic show. Aussie Open were great heels and did what had to be done. The crowd was molten for a pre-show match of this caliber, which is already a huge success for AEW. 3 out of 5 stars!"
[5.0] "Pretty good match here. It added an interesting layer to Cole and Max's story as they won the ROH belts in the opener before their big main event. It was basic heel/face psychology with Aussie Open shutting down MJF and setting up a great hot tag to Cole. We got the kangaroo kick and DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE for the big pops. It worked. I guess people might be mad that Aussie Open were glorified jobbers here, but those guys aren't worth anything in AEW right now so this loss doesn't hurt them. I'm happy they got on the card at all. **3/4"
[4.0] "This match was short (Which was a good thing as you didn't want to risk injury to cole or mjf). It should have been on a dynamite considering the fact mjf and Cole were main eventing, I don't think it added anything to the main event, it was quite a bit sloppy in some places, but the crowd loved it. Nice touch saving the "Adam Cole bay bay" till the main event Rating: **"
[7.0] "Gutes Match.Ein klasse Opener, der sehr durch die großartige Athmosphäre lebt.Eigentlich wrestlerisch nur Standart, aber durch die Crowd wirkt jede Aktion richitg bedeutend, mit 7 Minuten zwar recht kurz geraten, aber als Anheizer war das genau richtig. ***1/2"
[6.0] "This was the perfect booking for the match. The live crowd loved the MJF/Cole pairing. Kangaro Kick, Double Clothesline and new champs. Basic structure that worked perfectly. Sometimes you don't need more in wrestling, just a compelling story. Aussie Open fulfill their roles as expected. (***)"
[6.0] "Most hyped double clothesline of all time and sure they had some great pops, but the match was simply fine, nothing all that great unfortunately as they still had to main event the biggest main event of AEW's history. Aussie Open deserved better than this 'squash'"
[6.0] "No swerve as almost everyone expected but still a fun enough open to the show. The crowd was hot to be expected and everyone worked hard to put on an entertaining little match. Nothing blow away at all but they hit the spots they needed in order to get the crowd alive. ***"
[7.0] "Just a fun, feel-good match. Aussie Open good have a good match with anybody, and while nobody's working particularly hard here, the character work and overarching story is more than enough to do the necessary heavy lifting. MJF finally hitting the Kangaroo Kick is an obvious but joyful moment, and this is just a really enjoyable (if simple) match."
[7.0] "Tony Khan takes a ton of flak, but as a Zero Hour match this was a minor stroke of genius, perfectly showcasing the setting, the incredible atmosphere and the vibe behind a unique main event. Be nice to see Aussie Open get their shine back as a reward for being the fall guys here ***1/2"
[6.0] "A bit shorter than I would've liked considering Aussie Open should probably be booked a bit stronger. But they had to play it kind of safe with Adam Cole and MJF since they had the main event slot, too. The pops for the double clothesline and kangaroo kick were great. Hopefully Aussie Open are on to bigger and better things now."
[4.0] "I assumed there would be some major intrigue leading into the main event and to play up the tension between MJF and Cole, but there wasn't really. It was a bog-standard tag match built around MJF/Cole's crowd-pleasing spots and well below the standard of Aussie Open."
[10.0] "Really short match but it was everything it needed to be. Aussie open attacking Adam Cole before the match was a easy but great way to get heat. Aussie open dominated the star before the big babyface comeback. The crowd was hot during all the match but exploded for the Kangaroo kick and the double clotheline. It was the perfect way to open the show."
[6.0] "Really fun, simple tag to progress the main event story. Aussie Open didn't get much of a chance to shine, they were vehicles for the MJF/Cole memes. But they played it well, capped off by the best sell of the arguably lame double clothesline finisher by Fletcher."
[6.0] "I love Aussie Open more than most and have been watching them life since they started to tag together many moons ago but I have no idea why people are angry they lost to the two people headlining this show. The match was fine if nothing special beyond it being in front of such a huge crowd."
[6.0] "I think the angle with the tag titles is dumb and unnecessary (especially if you aren't even going to do it with the actual AEW tag team titles? ), but the match was solid. The majority of it was nothing special but it entertaining enough and the crowd exploded for the Kangaroo Kick. I question the wisdom of having the two guys in the main event wrestle in the pre-show, but the match itself was fine."
[4.0] "Pretty quite normal but I have to admit that AEW did the most difficult decision to take but also the best one: do a title change to increase the Star Power of the main - event. The action was decent (the Kangaroo kick was hilarious) but the ending was a bit strange; correct bout to kickout the entire show. **1/4"
[6.0] "I wasn't sure which way they'd go with this and the result was surprising to be honest. For a pre-show match, it was really, really good. Aussie Open established themselves as the heels with the jump start which was a good move because the crowd were wild for Cole and MJF. They told a nice story of MJF getting an extended beatdown before the main event so maybe that will factor in to a segment of that. They had to get the obligatory kangaroo kick and double clothesline spots in to pop the crowd; working a big stadium crowd is different to a small arena and they did it well. People might complain Aussie Open got the short end of the stick but they've had no momentum anyway."
[5.0] "This was just a glorified squash that left me very disappointed given how good it could've been considering those involved. I get MJF and Adam Cole had to take it easy because of their epic main event later in the show, but Aussie Open got NOTHING out of this. They looked like absolute jobbers in there and this match didn't even help further any story thread going into the main event. No tease of any friction between the "Brochachos" and no worked injury to factor into the psychology of the main event. Pointless!"
[7.0] "MJF and Cole worked a solid basic psychology match here to open it up.. Got the fans real excited and hyped to see the rest of the event and while I don't quite agree with giving them the win in this one Aussie Open still looked pretty strong despite it being a relatively shorter match. Also Kangaroo Kick and double clothesline for the win."
[6.0] "The match was very basic but I can't be mad. Of course it's just a pre-show and both MJF and Cole will compete in the main event so they can't risk any injuries. You can make the argument that Aussie Open looked bad and that they should've retained but I'm not mad about the new champions."
[6.0] "I don't think that Mjf and Cole should have won but overall it was a fine match. The match was short and the action was fine, they did nothing too crazy since Cole and Mjf were going to wrestle in the main event later that night. At least the ending was nice with Mjf hitting the kangaroo kick" for a massive pop It was good for what it was. 6/10 - 3.25*/5*"
[7.0] "While I don't hate the outcome, I really think Aussie Open should've retained due to some dissension between Cole and MJF. Then you could go to the main event and have the same ending where they hug it out and it ends on a good note. Maybe the Aussies win it back (and I kinda hope they do) and if not I hope they have a prominent role."
[7.0] "Fun match but absolutely sucks that Aussie Open lost here. They're one of the best young teams going, get taken out with injuries it seems every so often. Finally healthy and on a good run, so they lost the belts for an angle that wont focus on the titles on ROH itself."
[8.0] "what a good fight! As this happened at zero Hour, I figured it would be a smoother fight to not risk injuring the main eventers, but I was wrong! Great fight, a great Zero Hour. We have to recognize how good Aussie Open is.If I were Tony Khan I would do anything to get them in the scene of feuding with FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Champions."
[6.0] "A strange match, but I appreciated that it left me wondering even more what would happen in the main event. I think everyone expected some sort of interference or screwy finish here, so MJF and Adam Cole going over clean and winning the titles was genuinely unexpected. In retrospect, this makes sense, since it seems like Better Than You, Baybay are going to remain a team for just a little longer, so we'll probably see some title defenses in the coming weeks. The match itself was pretty much a squash on Aussie Open, who have continually impressed me with their TV appearances. It's unfortunate that they didn't put on a showstopper, but considering this was a preshow match to warm the crowd up with both main eventers who would have to do a grueling match later in the evening, I think it's fine for what we got. The atmosphere added to this. Hearing 80 thousand people cheer for a kangeroo kick was ridiculously fun."
[6.0] "Das Match war in den knapp 7 Minuten und für das was es auch in Anbetracht der Main Card sein könnte bzw sein sollte auch absolut anständig und der Ausgang war halt auch spannend im Hinblick auf die Mainshow. Ich halte daher 6 Punkte für angemessen als Bewertung."
[6.0] "A lot of fun between one of the best tag teams in the world and one of the most entertaining duos in the game today. However long Better Than You Bay Bay ultimately lasts, they have become must-see programming whenever they are available. Aussie Open is likely to hold many titles before their run in AEW/ROH is over, as well. The Kangaroo Kick and the Double Clothesline were over as can be, and this got a great pop. 3 stars, 6 out of 10."
"I liked this match better than most. We knew it would be quick, given the importance of keeping them healthy for the main event and this being on the preshow. We got the Kangaroo kick gimmick we knew was inevitable, and they did some quality booking with having MJF embrace, kiss and proudly raise the ROH tag belt while Cole quickly dumped it on the ground so he could grab the AEW Championship belt and stare at it wantingly."
"5.0 This just felt rushed. I expected more from this at least narratively. Especially due to its connection to the main event. The ending was off and as the first match for the historic Wembley Crowd, I expected something more hype. The face-off between MJF and Cole at the end at least was somewhat inspired."
[5.0] "I wasn't a fan of this. Despite a hot crowd, the action looked generic (Double Clothesline finisher included) and the match was rushed. AEW could have put this match on a TV weekly show and probably everyone would be happy with this too. At least this was on a Zero Hour."
[5.0] "A truly short match that never puts those who have lost the title in a good light, although it makes sense since they'll probably have a longer match later. It's a fairly straightforward match, with a narrative consistent with what they've been building over the past 2 weeks of feud with Aussie Open. I was expecting a slight hint of betrayal, and honestly, I'm surprised they won the titles."
[5.0] "I don't think it necessarily buried AO but this match just essentially served as a continuation of the intrigue of the main event. Happy that AO gets in front of the big crowd and I don't think a loss like this hurts in the long run, and they clearly didn't want to have Cole and MJF get gassed since they had a second match later (or god forbid, injured). It gets a big pop in front of a big crowd, no harm. It had a lot of heat and a real hot crowd, which carried the match, and that's sometimes all you need."
[7.0] "I understand that they didn't want to wear out Cole & MJF when they're going to go probably 30+ in the main but this really diminished Aussie Open in some ways. They got the jump on the challengers at the beginning and still lost in 7 minutes. I get that the Double Clothesline has been built as Finisher status, it's more the time that gets me. BtyBB did everything they needed to; MJF actually working face is fun and they hit their moves and all that and the crowd loved it. When Fletcher & Davis were on top they really looked great though, and Max's selling as Face In Peril was quite good too. Cole did little but he's easily the weakest worker in the match so that's fine. Leaves a bit of a sour taste but it prolongs the best Cole angle in several years, the work was good, and the crowd loved it so I have to give it some props. ***1/4"
[6.0] "As a fight is not at all what many would expect from Aussie Open that are pretty good in the ring but this time has won the fanservice, we will see what story they do with this, because something will have to do so that either the friendship or the rivalry of MJF and Adam Cole will continue somehow after this. As I was saying, a fight that although not much technical highlights, is entertaining to watch and to be the first of the Pre-Show is fine, but I know they have given them the title for pure fanservice."
[5.0] "A fine but ultimately disappointing match considering the four talents involved and a disappointing end to a disappointing title reign for Aussie Open. Tonys version of ROH continues to feel like a joke to me. The crowd liked the ending and it is cool that Cole got to check off the ROH tag titles from his resume but it still feels overall pretty rushed. Its already an odd choice to have Cole and MJF wrestle double duty like this but now they will be as tag champions that they also just won. A weird time for AEW despite it being their biggest show to date."
"Didnt start well with ADAM COLE BAYBAY getting cut off by a pre match attack! Good match to kick off the pre show between the 4. MJF and Adam Cole work great together and this leads us into their main event match tonight. NEW ROH tag champs, better than you baybay. Will find out tonight if this was a good decision depending on how the main event ends. Having them win the tag titles and then turning on each other tonight will defeat the purpose but maybe that isnt how tonight ends or they already have plans for that route."
[6.0] "This was the opening match to the pre-show of All In from Wembley Stadium in London. MJF and Adam Cole are supposedly best friends, yet are main eventing against each other. Weird choice for Adam Cole to be main eventing what you're calling the "biggest show ever", but I don't make those decisions, but to each their own. Adam Cole would never main event a show if I ran a major company. He's a fine wrestler, but not very marketable. Anyway, this match was fine and the crowd was behind MJF and Cole."
[7.0] "KANGAROO KICK! DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE! Better Than You, Bay Bay. Truly. Match recht kompakt, aber die feurige Crowd und die Action um die Trademark-Moves-Sequenzen herum einfach auf den Punkt. So kann man einen historischen Event starten und MJF und Adam Cole erfüllen ihren Rollen in jeder Hinsicht nahezu perfekt. Aussie Open verkommen hier zu Sidekicks, aber bei der Größe der Story und Größe des Events muss man damit einfach umgehen.Kurzweiliges Match, welches man auch als Segment betrachten kann und auch als solches sehenswert ist."
