[9.0] "We start things off with a brilliantly loud chant pertaining to politics and Sabre Jr. is of course a big fan. Remember, he fights with "his heart, his brain, and most importantly his underlying hatred of the British Conservative Party". I wish I had recorded this, because it was simply magical. Now, if youve seen a Zack Sabre Jr. match before, you can hopefully understand that this is gonna be very difficult for me to describe, because I dont even know what was going on half the time or what you would call these moves. The man is simply amazing. Mills absolutely held his own here too, dishing out his own technical prowess and in my opinion finally embodying his nickname: True Grit. This one had a lot of beautiful technical wizardry from ZSJ, which is genuinely the best way to describe whatever it is he can do, as well as a bevvy of PKs and other strikes. There was also an absolute gnarly Zack Driver that was at a very high-angle. The way Sabre Jr. slips and slides through holds, the peppering shots, the way he contorts his own body and his opponents is unbelievable, and seeing it live made it all come together for me. I remember some of the transitions he pulled off were so good, at one point he shifted all the way around Mills body while OFF OF THE MAT to apply a different hold. The man is something else. The ending of the match came as Sabre Jr. unleashes some brilliant PKs, but a defiant Mills sits up to flip off Zack. This was a great moment, followed immediately by two more PKs from ZSJ for the win. Post-match, Sabre Jr. is carried out in the arms of David Francisco. Up the Francisco. This was such an incredible match, with Mills really looking great next to one of the best technical wrestlers of all time. I wish I could say more beyond gushing, but I think Id have to seriously rewatch this one because I was fully along for the ride here. Im going to end this one by just naming ZSJ moves in case he hit them in this match. Tesco Meal Deal. Hypernormalisation. Sunday Rail Engineering Works Replacement Bus Service. Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness. I actually love that one, its so good."
[7.0] "[3.25*] This was a pretty damn good technical wrestling match that lost me when stopped being technical. Zack was incredible from start to finish and he is a Wrestler Of The Year Contender, but Connor was just not good on the ending stretch and climax sequence. This kind of sequence needs chemistry, and Mills lacked to match ZSJrs pacing on it. His no-selling felt awkward and the worst moment of the match was his rebound lariat after a weak kick on his shoulders. When you go for a rebound lariat you are supposed to have a previous bump, but this was not a bump, so he just went to the ropes by himself, which made the move feel flat. Besides that his showing was very good and he needed it after Okus rising. Very good match but with an ending that I did not like."
[8.0] "Connor Mills impressed himself going up against one of the best technician in ZSJ and wasn't afraid to try and one up Zack even if he got wrapped up but definitely held his own in the striking game. Speaking of strikes, there's something about the slaps and uppercuts that were thrown here that were impactful for sure!"
[8.0] "Incredible match, Zack is bringing to his matches the moniker of greatest technical wrestler in the world after beating Bryan Danielson, and I think there's a lot of potential there, Connor Mills was impressive here, a lot of technical moves, he brought the A-Game and really impressed me, ZSJ was awesome as usual, he's a machine. I loved the little story here of Mills trying to beat Zack in this own game, they tried to outsmart each other the whole time and it was phenomenal. I don't know if it's by design, but Connor Mills targeted the same leg Bryan Danielson did, and that was Zack's previous match, so it makes a lot of sense and it was probably on purpose. Every time they slaped each other was amazing too, this is just an amazing match - {****}"
[7.0] "Trying to channel guys like Danielson and Sabre himself was Mill's strategy, and while it presented some structural issues, it made for another great ZSJ match, and an entertaining performance from both guys overall. Mills certainly had highlights, while ZSJ was the more consistent wrestler, and I actually thought the match progressing away from the technical work made sense. 3.5 Stars."
[6.0] "Ein sehr typisches Sabre Match. Da hab ich schon so viele bessere gesehen und Connor Mills fügt nicht wirklich irgendwas besonderes der Sabre Formel hinzu. So hat man es eben schon zu oft gesehen diese Art Match. Wenn ich jetzt aber nicht schon so viel gesehen hätte, dann würde ich auch mehr geben. Es ist aber nicht mehr so besonders."
[6.0] "A pretty standard 'Sabre match', with Sabre leading the majority of the time, Mills showing some nice grappling skills of his own in response, and both being quite entertainingly arrogant and 'cheeky' towards each other to portray a good sense of tension between them. There were also some nice strikes from both guys and some good leg-targeting from Mills, but that wasn't enough to prevent the match becoming as overly familiar as it was, given it was a typical case of a Sabre 'moves and transitions out of nowhere' showcase, and while Mills' style was cool and all, and matched Sabre's nicely, he came off as too similar to Sabre to stand out, even down to his dyed-blonde hair. As such, this often felt a bit bland even while I thought their work was technically pretty good, because it felt like Sabre was just facing himself. Quite a few transitions and counters were still pretty cool, though a few were a bit overly convenient like a few of Sabre's magic spots often are, just with Mills getting some of those moments as well as Sabre. They then had some generic rapid 50/50 trades and no-selling at the end, plus a dorky "badass" slap fight. Sabre is still too talented and Mills roo promising for this to have been anything other than good, but it failed to reach a higher level. It didn't help that this went over 20 minutes without feeling like that length was necessary. ***1/4"
[9.0] "Great match, that could be on talk for "Match of the Year" by december. To any fan of "Technical Wrestling", this is a "must-watch", as Mills tried to wrestle ZSJr, at his own game; the result was a great match, second best of the show, not much behind the Main Event. (***1/2)."
"Going 8.6 for this. Everything Sabre is touching these days is turning to gold, this match included. He has so much fire and violent striking ability, which complement the unparalleled technical stuff. Would've loved to see him against prime-years Angle, imagine that. Big shoutout to Connor Mills, who hung in there and made it competitive, though we all knew Sabre was winning. Lots of focus on Ospreay this year, for good reason, but keeping pace is Sabre against anyone who does singles match with him."
[7.0] "This was a good match overall, indeed I think it'd be extremely difficult to have an actively bad match with Zack Sabre Jr in 2024. But I am a little bit letdown, I had higher hopes for this one but Connor Mills just doesn't impress me too much. A decent technician but his strikes seemed astonishingly weak to me."
[7.0] "Zack never fails to amuse me with his technical style of matches. Connor showed that he could be the next Zack as he levelled with his own variant of submission holds. The way when Zack still delivering an Ankle Lock whilst hanging upside down in the turnbuckle corner is pretty amazing to me. Another amazing moment is when Zack doing a choke hold this time while getting lifted from Connor's shoulder. It looks like Zack can do any submission wherever he goes. Connor flipping off Zack to hit him with a Shining Wizard twice at the end is pretty corny to me though. But still Zack getting the win is the way it goes knowing it his type of match and he is more experienced than Connor. Another good RevPro match and one of the very rare modern catch style that is very entertaining to watch. ****"
[9.0] "This is my favorite type of match. I love when two technical wrestlers are against each other and it get heated and nasty so it leads to more than just grappling and submissions. This was the best match I have seen from Connor Mills who is getting better at wrestling psychology and in-ring storytelling without taking away from the action. ZSJ is able to make everybody look better by using their wrestling style to decide how the match will be laid out. In this ZSJ comes in as the favorite and he is confident that he is better, but Mills knows ZSJ's move-set so well that ZSJ needs to improvise and almost scramble through sequences to keep Mills off his toes. I hope that Mills can keep this momentum and growth that can make him one of the best technical wrestlers in wrestling. ****1/2"
[9.0] "This was a beautiful technical match that didn't drag a single second. Everything was smooth (as you would expect for ZSJ) and that's also due Mills. The finish was a bit disappointing, those kicks to body were supposed to be emotional but they looked pretty weak to be the end. ****1/2"
[8.0] "A pure technical wrestling fight, it was really good. I really like Connor Mills in this one, he wanted to prove he can be as good as ZSJ on technical wrestling and he showed all his talent. ZSJ was ZSJ therefore incredible, he sets the bar so high in some fights that we kind of always expect better, but he clearly delivered here. I really struggled between a 8 and a 9, it is a totally a 8, 5 but I will underrate this one because I think they could do even better."
[8.0] "Ive been a Connor Mills guy since the first time I saw him so hes always been a wrestler Ive been pulling for. This was his career singles match so far. Maybe thats to be expected if youre wrestling Zack, but he more than held his own and seemed like Sabres equal here. If RevPro is moving into a new, after-Ospreay, era then you need as much roster depth of your own for when you cant always rely on imports (or need viable wrestlers to compete against the imports). Seeing Mills come up to that level is great. Im not going to say that this was as good as Sabre/Danielson or anything preposterous like that, but this was pretty similar. Technical with trying to get holds and work limbs with strikes mixed in while everything felt like a struggle with a sense of real aggression to it. I think theres an argument that Connor could have won here, but I think its better this way. Hes got that chip on his shoulder and now you get a rematch where hes even more prepared and he can really earn that win without it feeling somewhat forced. Mills transition from super indie tag team guy to really legit singles guy has been cool to see unfold and hes just getting started. Seeing Zack move into the veteran role where all these young Brits were inspired by him is really cool too. This one will be fun to look back on in a couple of years. Id give this an 8.5 but I rounded it down to an 8 for the Cagematch system."
[8.0] "Zack Sabre Jr vs Connor Mills war das zweitbeste Match an diesem Abend! Grappling auf höchsten Niveau allein was da für tolle Submisson Kontersequenzen hier gezeigt wurden das war von Anfang bis Ende eine klasse Gesichte rund um ZSJ angeschlagenen Bein. würd mir gern ein Rückmatch der beiden in Zukunft wünschen (****1/4)"
[9.0] "Connor Mills is on a role having a great match against Trent Seven then here against ZSJ. I loved how much of a killer "True Grit" looked against Zack. He has really improved ever since he turned heel and adjusted his look. After having that masterpierce against Danielson at NJPW and now this, I hope it is ZSJ that takes the title off Naito as I can't fathom another Sanada reign."
[9.0] "True match of the night. I've seen and been impressed by Mills before, but this was his defining moment. He hung with ZSJ and more, and he feels like he's the child of Nigel McGuinness and Lee Moriarty put together. The match was a fantastic piece of technicality, aggression and british banter. Really quality, and outshone the main,"
[9.0] "While Connor Mills seemed to parody a few wrestlers in this match (Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness for example), he put those imitations to real good fucking use. This was an outstanding match. Connor's working of the leg combined with ZSJ's selling made an amazing performance. This was my first time watching Mills ever, and I genuinely thought for a moment he would beat Sabre. That's how good his limb targeting was. ZSJ was amazing as usual. This was just an outstanding match all-around, and definitely an underrated MOTY contender for me so far."
[9.0] "Connor Mills can be an excellent pro wrestler, and this one shows it too. ZSJ is doing amazing, and this is the best RevPro match he has had since Ospreay vs ZSJ."
[9.0] "Superb technical fight absolutely brimming with next level counters and utterly believable struggle. Mills put himself on the map here, hanging with the god of tekkers in an evenly matched scientific war ****1/2"
[10.0] "These guys slapped each other so goddamn hard, no idea how they aren't concussed. If you like ZSJ style technical wrestling, this match is must watch. A classic in the same vein as ZSJ vs Danielson II (though clearly not as important in terms of passing the torch), but if Mills keeps having matches like this, Revpro have no choice but to put him in the main event scene!"
[6.0] "It was just boring man... Never thought I would say a ZSJ mach was boring but this was. I don't like Connor Mills in this match at all and really didn't make me ingadged. The crowd is dead for this 21 minute match that feels like all of those 21 minutes. If this went 12 this would have been a fine match. It's not bad cause it's a ZSJ match but it isn't a fun watch I would say. Watch it if you want."
[8.0] "[4.25*] Great technical duel, ZSJ worked excellently on Mills' legs who made some interesting reversals. Mills was tough in this match, with brutal kicks on Saber Jr, who had the entire Crowd rooting for him. The sequence of slaps between them at the end and ZSJ's dropkick to Mills' head was phenomenal, great match, with incredible technique and an excellent performance from Zack Saber Jr, the transitions and submissions were incredible to watch."
"I had never seen a Connor mills match before; I am now mad I have never seen a Connor mills match before. It was a great match of back-and-forths, both with strikes and submissions. They sold their distaste for each other well and how hungry Connor was for a win. Perfect placement on the card. Overall an amazing co-main that both men delivered in. Zack is on an immaculate run since the year started."
[9.0] "Connor Mills was the latest RevPro young gun to experience the Andy Quildan rite of passage - wrestling ZSJ. Of him, RKJ and JJ Gale, Mills was by far the most impressive in this spot. Mills looked like he turned the corner against Trent Seven a couple of weeks before and he was excellent here, wrestling ZSJ's style of match and more than holding his own. He was also vicious and nasty, which brought out the best in ZSJ, who himself is on a stellar run. ****1/2"
[8.0] "Both wrestlers in this match were really good. But of course Im most impressed with Connor mills. Now Ive been watching him since he was tagging with Mayhew. Mills is clearly one of the top wrestlers in the country and proved he hang with the big boys. So lets give him a chance internationally. He can break into America or Japan. But Im sure he would do well."
[7.0] "I really wanted to love this and in different circumstances, I might have. However, on the night, there was a palpable feeling that a decent number of people in the crowd just wanted to get to the main event. However, while I did not love it, I did still like it as the two worked very hard and put together some great sequences. Zack gave a lot to Mills and he showed up with a good performance."
[8.0] "Solid. Connor Mills had a great showing here, and is in prime position to be the man to take the British Heavyweight Title from Michael Oku. He truly held his own with ZSJ here, ZSJ did a lot to make Mills look good, selling for him particularly well, but Mills was explosive, sound in technique and worked the crowd well. ZSJ is ZSJ."
[8.0] "ZSJ never misses. Connor Mills is a much better heavyweight than he was a cruiserweight and is having a very good year. Mills got much more of the match as he begins his face turn. Commentary were a little grating putting over how well Mills was doing though. This was the first match the crowd got back into after Trent killed them."
