Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

[6.0] "This was a good, solid match, but that's a major disappointment when prior matches between these two were fantastic. There was nothing bad about this match at all, but it just did not come anywhere close to the levels of their previous matches."

[9.0] "Nice definitive conclusion to their series of matches, could have used to lose a fewminutes of filler. I think I should rewatch their entire series of singles matches to appreciate how good the match truly was."

[10.0] "The 4th and final match in the EVOLVE Hero vs Sabre series, and Hero's last match before heading to WWE again, concluded the feud with a bang. 3 seperate times Hero had beaten Sabre clean, so this time Sabre wasn't gonna miss his chance to finally beat Hero and send him packing. Contrary to their previous matches, they skipped the technical mat wrestling bullshit and just went right at it from the bell. The big storytelling in this was all about Sabre finally surpassing Hero. There were quite a few callbacks to not just Hero's matches with Sabre, but also some of his other EVOLVE matches as well. The ways that Hero had beaten Sabre before, like the elbow to the back of the head and the Tombstone were all kicked out of by Sabre as he had something to prove, and that was he can beat Chris Hero. There is a great spot at the end where Hero gives a nod to big Haitch by using the Pedigree on Sabre who freaking kicks out at ONE. The final moments are very dramatic with Sabre finally catching and tying up Hero to tap him out in the way the first time he beat him in their PWG match almost 2 years prior. The after match promo is heartfelt and even sets up some future storylines, but all great things must come to an end, and this was finally the end of Hero's legendary indie run and amazing feud with Zack, ****3/4."

[10.0] "So ends the greatest run of Chris Hero's terrific career - only fitting that his final indy match was against the greatest opponent of his late 2013 - early 2017 run in Zack Sabre Jr. Loved the opening with ZSJ showing good fire & going right to work on Hero - that lead to Hero beating the crap out of him, and that's something I always enjoy watching. Hero beating up people = awesome. He was great as always here in doing that & ZSJ was tremendous at sneaking in his hope spots & comebacks. A classic farewell match to one of the all-time greats in independent wrestling. ****1/2"

[7.0] "My last viewing of Evolve, Evolve 74, I mentioned how counterproductive it seemed to Job Hero out to an old part-timer, but little did I know at the time, that Hero was already in negotiations w/ WWE. Like I've said to others, and even w/out recently watching NXT, I do not think WWE is a good fit for Hero. It's not just his flabby physique nor the fact that WWE will remove much of Hero's current offense, ie. the multitude of piledrivers, but rather Hero lacks the 'Hollywood-ready' sheen that WWE/Vinny Mac responds to. Hero's great, but not every great competitor is a good fit whereever he/she may roam. To this day I feel, if offered the chance, Hero should have spent much of '17 in NOAH as the primary gaikokujin gunning for the GHC. It was remarkable to me how over Hero was during his last few tours; I guess a lack of funds/schedule conflicts prevented Chris from venturing over to Japan in '16. Japanese wrestling is (partially) based on their undersized natives mustering the spirit to overcome the larger foreign wrestlers. This has been the formula for decades, especially at NOAH's forbearer, the Baba-run AJPW. As it currently stands, NOAH lacks any foreign talent. Hero didn't necessarily have to be an all-out heel; but his size and experience w/ the promotion made it a match in heaven. I guess we'll now never know. Obviously, w/ their feud in Evolve and elsewhere, this was the obvious send-off match. I had this final dance a step below the PWG/Evolve 60/Mercury Rising affairs, but as these are two exceptional pro's, the facile formula of Hero whipping 'flaco' ZSJ while the Brit employs techniques to stave the larger, in-the-end too-cocksure man off, still works. After, it's the Hero appreciation-fest w/ even ACH sounding modest when it comes to lauding 'The King of the Indies. ' In the world of wrestling, Mr. Spradlin deserves every plaudit he receives; I just hope the WWE-universe agrees. 7. 25 - 7. 5 for the match"

[7.0] "I went *** 1/2 stars out of five on this match. Hero was very aggressive and the dynamic grappling counters by Sabre were very impressive. Solid match that played on both men's strongest abilities. Would have gone higher on the score if they included more power style maneuvers. Still a strong match."

[9.0] "A pretty great match, similar to their past encounters but that's by no means a bad thing. Sabre brings the fancy technical stuff, Hero strikes the crap out of him. Pretty straightforward and very well executed. It lacked the hook to get me to 10, but it was a nice send off for Hero."

[10.0] "Loved this. Everything you want out of a farewell match honestly. Hero was just brutal here beating Sabre Jr. up. Sabre his selling was great. And the callbacks to all their previous matches were great as well. Not much to say, all in all a classic match up."

[6.0] "It has the same formula of Chris Hero beating the piss out of Sabre for long and Zack selling and working desperately from underneath. Solid but dragged for too long, the atmosphere was bland and last two minutes were not credible. ***"

[8.0] "I've seen better from these two but it was still very good. It's always entertaining to see Hero just murder Sabre... not so much when Hero has to sell Sabre's strikes though... that's kinda silly. It's the gripe I have with Sabre, his strike offense is not believable."

[9.0] "What an incredible performance from Hero on his way out of the indies. The pacing on this was fantastic from the start, brawling all out on the outside with some running elbows that looked better than just about any strike I've ever seen ZSJ throw. The way Hero just bullied and destroyed Sabre was masterful, especially the spot where Zack kept trying and failing to even enter the ring. I won't say it began to drag, but the pacing and structure of the second half wasn't as pitch-perfect as the first, but it hardly mattered. Once again, Hero (like Roddy Strong) is one of those guys that brings the absolute best out of ZSJ, who I often really cannot stand. I didn't even mind Zack going over as it was the right thing to do in this situation, and the finishing submission looked pretty inescapable. Fantastic goodbye for one of the greatest of all time, combined with the promo/speech that followed it. ****1/2"