Mistico vs. Rocky Romero

[7.0] "[3.5*] This was actually very good. They worked full lucha-style with the Two-Out-Of-Three Falls stipulation and both guys delivered well. Mistico was incredible. The importance of this match goes beyond the match stars and I hope the partnership goes well."

[6.0] "Interesting match, great to see this CMLL partnership with AEW, very different and unique match here. The match was boring sometimes and a bit worse than other matches we had the same week, but still very different and nice to see - {***}"

[8.0] "A pretty fun opener for the show. I don't watch CMLL much, but I am pretty familiar with Romero and somewhat familiar with Mistico. Either way, good stuff from both guys here and I thought it was cool to see Mistico get the win, despite Romero appearing in AEW more than him."

[4.0] "This match was extremely boring until the last 5 minutes. If this match was suppose to bring western attention to the art of lucha libre, it did not work (for me anyway)."

[8.0] "I was hoping the crowd would be a bit hotter for this than they were, but even so this was a very good TV match. Mistico is not my favorite CMLL guy, not sure he'd make my top 20, but he is definitely a meaningful star and it made sense to match him up with Romero, who was taking a break from his usual bland self to actually be a fun heel."

"Great match. Mistico is incredible. The way he moves in the ring, the way he balance himself on the ropes, the way he takes bumps, just beautiful. The two out of three falls stipulation is very refreshing to see, I think more matches should go two out of three falls. It can put over non-finisher moves and makes things interesting."

[7.0] "I have been getting into CMLL recently but weirdly Mistico is not really landing for me and it was the same here. I appreciate they worked a more traditional lucha style in this and all the work was smooth but it still left me largely cold and I am in no great rush to see Mistico come back."

[9.0] "I really loved this match. A great outing from both guys where they hit everything really well and had themselves a great match in front of an invested crowd. I earnestly hope that this leads to more people checking out CMLL this year, because they're having a really good 2023."

[6.0] "Personally, I somehow missed the moment when the fight began to be actively promoted. But during the match, the commentators tried to convince me that this was a very important fight, but to be honest, they didnt succeed. But in relation to the match, it is also clear that AEW themselves did not rate it much. Just an attempt to lure viewers to Rampage. Because I dont see any other explanation for how a fight with such rules can be allocated 14 minutes. Moreover, each foul was as sudden as possible and did not really follow from the logic of the match. Usually such fights look like three separate fights in one, but I didnt see that here. Yes, wrestling, if you take everything that has been said out of the equation, was not bad. Mistico didn't care, and Romero fought a standard fight by his standards. Just a good fight and that's all."

[8.0] "Rocky and Mistico clearly have good chemistry. Their counters were snug and believable, and Rocky did a great job as the heel. I have a couple of minor gripes (e.g., after getting his first fall via Sliced Bread, Rocky probably should've delayed his pinfall attempt a bit more after the avalanche Sliced Bread since it should be a technically more devasting version), but the match largely achieved what it set out to do. I haven't seen a ton of Mistico matches, so the finishing sequence (spinning tijeras into a Fujiwara Armbar) was a pleasant surprise and looked awesome. I also like that they pushed CMLL branding/style for the overall presentation of the match (entrances, refs)."

[8.0] "Great opener, the crowd was very hot for Mistico and he is a real great luchador . Nice work of Rocky Romero, in the CMLL he really improved lot.The match is a good showdown of technical wrestling, with Romero in the heel role. I don't like that the luchador's mask often gets torn off, but obviously this creat more support for Mistico. The first fall was beautiful with the articulated submission of Mistico. Romero equalizes with a beautiful Shiranui but Mistico closes the match with Mistica. I love 2 out 3 falls, it would be nice to see more matches like that in AEW."

[7.0] "This was a really good match: Romero worked the crowd very well and got some nice heat. Mistico's comebacks were great and the crowd was rooting for him. The action was fun, very smooth manuevers and flawless exchanges. The ending of the first two falls were both anti-climatic, especially the second one but overall it was a nice match. These two rapresented well CMLL and were able to get the crowd invested even if there it was no build-up. Hope to see more of CMLL in Aew and hope to see more of Mistico. 7/10 - 3.75*/5*"

[7.0] "This was a really great CMLL representation between two professionals that could get the crowd invested in a match with no build on AEW. Rocky Romero's at his best here working the crowd against him to get his opponent over. At the same time Mistico slowly builds his offense and get the crowd fired up for his big moves at the end. AEW could really use more stuff like this, where two really good wrestlers have a super smooth, pure example of different wrestling styles. The only thing I didn't love was the Best 2/3 falls stipulation that makes the first two falls feel a bit anticlimactic but, that's something that hurts my enjoyment of CMLL as a whole. ***1/2"

[8.0] "A bit of a slow start but once the match got going, it really picked up and the crowd was with them all the way. Romero has been an underrated wrestler for years now and when given a platform to really turn it up, he can do so as seen here. Mistico looked crisp and motivated. The match was treated like something out of the ordinary, something that Rampage has been missing for a while in spite of the show still delivering some good matches. The crowd responded to that well. I honestly would have been up for more of this if they had gotten a bit more time."

[8.0] "This match was presented like a big deal and felt pretty authentically Lucha Libre. Both men looked good here. Rocky excels playing to the crowd as a heel and Mistico is really good at the little things and just carries himself like a star. I loved the way for his armbar for the finish he was flailing his other arm. It gave the illusion for a second it was Rocky's arm and made the whole thing feel brutal. The finishing sequence itself was amazingly tense but the whole match getting there was enjoyable. Great opener that's well worth watching."

[8.0] "When this match was announced a week or two ago, I wondered whether Mistico and Rocky Romero would do anything differently than what they do in CMLL. The answer to that question was a resounding no, and it was absolutely the correct decision. This would not have been a hair out of place in Arena Mexico and was yet another really good to great Mistico match in 2023. Most importantly, Mistico came off as the gigantic star that he is in Mexico, as a significant number of fans in the live crowd knew exactly who he was and cheered hard for him from the outset."