[8.0] "Good technical wrestling in this match and athleticism from both. You can really see the anger from gable and I really believe gable is probably the best in ring worker of this generation at least in the wwe. The diving headbutt was daring and I honestly hate that move due to how dangerous it is for the person doing the move. Probably should be banned by now. I don't know about "6 star instant classic" from the commentators but it is a competitive match with amazing work from both. Sami's springboard was incredible and the selling from both was very good. The Olympic slam from the top was hugely impactful and the spots from both in this match are brutal. The German suplexes were fun. Despite them being dangerous they are a dangerous move I don't mind due to how amazing they look. The German suplex Goose chase reversal was a bit weird and the way gable landed was scary. I hate to compare them but gables moonsault really does bare resemblance to angles. The roll up after the ankle lock actually had me. The helluva kick with Sami selling his leg was good and the heel turn at the end is magnificent."
[9.0] "What a match that was, and in a random episode of RAW, despite the commercials, it was still a great and enjoyable match, Sami and Gable have amazing chemistry together, and Gable heel turn was well executed"
[9.0] "Awesome match. Commercials making the pacing seem weird was the biggest flaw. These two have amazing chemistry in the ring together. Sami's German to Gable looked fantastic. Crowd being so into Sami since it was in Canada made Gable's heel turn better."
[7.0] "[3.5*] Great wrestling match. Unfortunately there were 2 commercials into the match that cut the pacing and progression, but the fact that it was still great even with the cuts is impressive. The last 5-8 minutes were very intense after a slow burn on the beginning and the heel turn afterwards was just a phenomenal angle executed perfectly. People on the crowd must have loved it."
[7.0] "Good match, but could have done with a few more minutes. I really wanted Gable to win the IC Title, I think it's almost criminal he's never won a singles title."
"It is hard to fully rate the match because the precursor of the second commercial break was Sami moonsaulting Gable to the outside, and when the break ended Gable was about to slam Sami from the top rope! How did they go from the lowest elevation in a normal match to the highest, with the control changing too? Hard to tell from TV but match was solid enough with the beginning flashy technical work that involves Gable getting the first points against Sami (the nod Gable gives to himself is a great little detail), but the following arm drag battle that ends with Sami showing his chops and arm dragging Gable out the ring, and Sami's showy springboard flip to avoid a missed dive that shows hints of the individual wrestlers surpassing the typical WWE match parameters. Which maybe they caved into too much with the repeated German Suplexes spot that read as uncreative to me and damaging to the German Suplex's reputation, which I think has kept a decent amount of all these years later. But it has become a motif in their matches so idk if it's their individual idea or the producer's. Throughout the match Gable goes after Sami's leg, my favorite moment of this aspect being Sami running to Helluva Kick Sami and Gable reversing through a roll into an ankle lock. The contrast of Sami running in water with Gable's lightning quick roll is so killer and solidifies Gable as a legit scary threat. There's also a great spot of Gable attempting a moonsault and the prone Sami attempts a reversal via holding a leg up but, maybe it's just my own canon, but Gable scouts it during the moonsault, lands on his feet, and immediately grabs the leg for an ankle lock. That's some great logic right there, since the moonsault would lean itself more towards the possibilty of landing on your feet if you made that decision in mid air. And Sami's sharpshooter tribute failing in MONTREAL due to his leg gave Gable some more credibility (and helped Sami out of the unfortunately botched sharpshooter setup. But maybe in kayfabe hes jist a bit dazed because Sami has a rougher appearance than usual by the end compared to his other matches). But the finish, Sami trucking through his injured leg anyways to Helluva Kick Gable and win hurt Gable's leg work throughout the match too much in my eyes. Because the Helluva Kick is basically all legs. I think something they couldve done that would've added a another layer is have Gable kick out of that Helluva Kick because the move would've been a weakened state that Sami sold in the match like he was running in water. And Sami has the Blue Thunder Bomb right there that's has already been introduced as a possible match ender. But maybe that gives too much credit to Gable's power in kayfabe than what the company wants, since Gable became a undeserving heel after this match. Or Gable's prowess can't overcome Sami's underdog heart in Montreal maybe? So the ending bothered me a bit but I still enjoyed the match."
[6.0] "I really loved the first 2/3 of this match. The ending felt a little flat to me, mostly because I didn't expect that Sami would be able to hit the Helluva Kick--much less finish Gable off with it--since he had been selling his ankle for so long which immediately beforehand been so compromised that he couldn't even lock in the sharpshooter."
[7.0] "This is a pretty hot match. Samis first title defence since winning the belt. The crowd is raucous for him as they usually are and they take the time to soak that in before the bell rings. Gable works straight for the most part. He stumbles on a Sami Zayn potential injury in the leg and takes advantage of it. Samis selling and comeback attempts are the strong point of the match for me. The crowd comes alive when he starts flowing but Gable cuts him off, countering to build that heat. Gable has a lot of Angle-lite offence about him without that explosiveness, but hes perfectly fine as a foil and he has some cool moves, like his rolling ankle pick counter to the helluva kick. Gable locks on the ankle lock for one final time but Sami once again escapes and hits the helluva kick in the corner to retain. A big moment! Then came the turn from Gable. The resentment from not winning the belt over and over again comes out and Gable attacks Sami in front of the family. Good match with a good angle to end the show. ***1/2"
[8.0] "This is around 15 minutes (because of the commercials) of some of the best technical and back and forth wrestling they could have ever performed here. The pace is really fast in the last five minutes and Sami perfectly sold his leg throughout it, it lacks of some epicity perhaps but for the time given they really couldn't do a better encounter. ****1/4"
"Great TV match, Sami is always good and as a huge Gable supporter I love seeing him get singles title opportunities, the story is simple and was good but when Gable suplexes Sami out of his wifes hands to officially turn heel it the story became great. 8.5/10 I cant wait for IC champion Gable"
[8.0] "This was an awesome main event. The crowd was red hot for Sami and not so much for Gable. The two have impeccable chemistry and the their movesets complement each other well. Gable targeted Samis left ankle, which was a callback to the gauntlet match from a bit ago. Sami retained by the skin of his teeth with a clutch Heluva Kick."
"3.75/5. Good match, but it doesn't reach the bar that I have for 4.0 (or 8.0 with Cagematch). It joins hordes of good TV main events that blur into one mess at the end of the day. The turn could be memorable, but I fear that it will be forgotten quickly."
[8.0] "My only roadblock from serenading this match at its fullest is the commercial breaks, making me wonder and clamor for a PPV showdown between these lads sooner rather than later. Otherwise, this was a fantastic battle for the workhorse title that told a stellar story of Gable's inability to step up and clinch the big gold. His prowess meshed excellently with Sami's resilient daredevil attitude, and the Montreal crowd was ballistic for their hero. From the presentation of Sami's entrance to the turmoiled heel turn of Gable, everything was executed pristinely. 4 out of 5 stars!"
[10.0] "How the crowd greeted Sami before the match and how they cheered for him during the match only had a positive effect on Chad's hellturn after the match. In terms of wrestling, there is no need to doubt: Chad and Sami know what they do. And it all turned out to be the perfect ending to RAW. And the moment itself is PERFECT. 10/10 for all of that."
[9.0] "A masterclass of hometown title defenses. Sami came in as over as a man can be, got the upper hand, had a wing clipped, sold it like crazy, got a little color, and fought through the pain to barely win to a huge pop. Gable's work over Sami's leg cannot be understated though, his heat segments are what got the crowd going, but the post-match was where he really shined. He looked absolutely crushed after the match, and the conflicted look on his face even as he ran up to suplex Zayn out of his wife's arms (what a fucking spot) was excellent. As a story this was fantastic, as a match it was simple but truly great as a TV main. ****+"
[8.0] "You give two of the best workers in the company this much time and an engaging story to work with and they're gonna produce magic the sequence where Chad countered Samis Moonsault counter into an ankle lock was incredible. Gable is wrestling with incredible intensity and Samis entrance gave this a big match feel. Superb work"
[8.0] "A classic indeed. The only gripe that can be made against this match is the fact it was on RAW. However, even the many commercial brakes do not kill the flow of this match. The chemistry between Gable and Sami is undeniable. Gables pure in ring talent plus Sami's amazing in ring story telling combine into what is a masterful experience. They are able to make the champ the underdog while still keeping his validity as the champion. Samis selling of the ankle injury is next level and gables many clever reversals into ankle locks really did make you believe there could be a new champ. Outside of the match itself the pre, and post-match are amazing. The one shot of Sami making his way through the crowd is an all timer. Hearing the place sing Sami's song is just amazing. Truley a champ's entrance. And the post-match heel turn of Gable is fantastic. We know why he did it. It makes sense. The best heel turns are the ones where the heel is not really a bad guy. Just someone pushed past their breaking point. Overall, very fun match that would be a MOTY contender if it was on a PLE. Excited, and praying they run it back."
[10.0] "Killer TV match on a number of levels. Not only is Sami one of the great babyfaces of the past 20 years, not only was he hot in his home town after a big title win, but he was facing a really great opponent in Gable with a good built in story behind the match. This was extremely good, and I dug the post match as well."
[8.0] "Very solid match that ends with a Gable heel turn that was definitely needed and starts with an awesome entrance with Sami coming in through the crowd. Hopefully these two get a blowoff type of match at Backlash, I'm personally hoping for a 30 minute Iron Man match. Solid 4 star match."
[7.0] "Pretty decent match with a heel turn that I think was sorely needed. Perc Gable is a run we deserve to have after his comedy stint with Otis. Now I did enjoy it, but I think he should be taken more as a serious competitor. I hope they make this a blood feud thatll last a while"
[7.0] "I wasn't quite as enamored with this as most people seem to be. It was obviously sold as a Big Match, what with Sami before his hometown fresh off a big WrestleMania win, plus the inevitable heel turn of Chad Gable. I thought it was good, but not to the level it was hyped at, perhaps inevitably since Chad didn't go heel until after the match was over, and they are probably saving some of that heat for the Backlash rematch. More frustrating still were the many commercial interruptions, but it is what it is. Good leg selling by Sami, though, and I liked the back-and-forth reversals before that final German suplex..."
[8.0] "Great title match right here, good choice to have Sami winning in his first defense and in his hometown, definitely more intrigued since Chad is a heel and we might get another one at Backlash which could be better without the commercials and limitations."
[8.0] "Magnificent main event for a TV show. Chad Gable can't miss, he is that insanely good. Truly underrated in-ring performer that just need to have THAT great match to be on the conversation with other top workers. When Sami Zayn turned heel on the first place he started a downward spiral that made him go from a great worker to lose most of his in-ring talent due to making him a clownish manager. When he turned face again, the same Sami Zayn from the old NXT days wasn't there, he wasn't at the same level, but little by little, being put on more complex matches have made him return to a level he hasn't been in years. Finally Sami Zayn is back and in this match he proved it by delivering an amazing performance, accompanied by one of the best entrances I remember. I think the match, while being so good in the ring with a logic limbwork on Sami's leg after falling from the top rope that was the main focus of Gable during the rest of the match, it lacked some storytelling with the great amount of material they had, but given how the show ended, I think they're saving some cartridges for another match and that's ok. I didn't like Gable's heel turn here, though. I think it should've happened later, or instead of making Chad train Zayn to beat Gunther, as it makes Gable seem a bit of an idiot. Why would you get mad at losing here when you were ok with training Sami not a month ago? You weren't angry before? You weren't jealous of Sami when he beat you the first time? I think it was a bit premature, and I also don't like how instead of making him the one to dethrone Gunther and avenge his painful loss, now he is the villain of the story. This was one of the best matches of the year, and the best in a TV show so far (****)"
[8.0] "[4.5*] Sensational match, it was just the beginning of the story between the two which has been fantastic so far, Gable made the biggest effort of his life to beat Gunther and then made an effort to help Sami, his heel turn shows how frustrated he is for not being able to able to finish your story. The action in the ring was incredible, a top-notch Storytelling with Gable doing great limb work on Sami's legs, punishing him with an Angle Lock. Gable's moves were incredible, the Angle Slam from the third rope, going from a moonsault straight into an Angle Lock, everything was fantastic, Sami and Chad played their roles excellently, Zayn being the great underdog he always is. The ending was cool and my only criticism of the match is the amount of commercials there were here, which ruined the match experience."
[8.0] "A pretty good match between two very talented in-ring performers that was sandwiched in between a beautiful and emotional entrance from Sami to start the main event and an incredibly well-executed heel turn from Gable to end the show."
[8.0] "Starting off, that Sami entrance was incredible. The atmosphere for the whole part was pretty good, as it was in Montreal and this had Sami wrestling. They had a nice feeling out process here. Chad went toward targeting Samis leg throughout the match and we got some really good leg selling from Sami here. Both guys hit some nasty suplexes and that German into the turnbuckle rocked. Felt this was a great start if they end up having multiple matches.****"
[9.0] "Nothing to complain about here except the commercials. Very smooth back-and-forth match and I believe they are saving the best stuff for their rematch. Well, Chad's heel turn pretty much confirmed that. Chad snapped and it made sense. I'm glad that WWE is keeping IC Title relevant after Gunther's unbelievable reign. Can't wait to see what's next, because this story has potential"
[6.0] "A match carried by a great entrance and hometown feel but bogged down by underwhelming work that never really hit a 2nd gear. Gable heel turn was the right choice because it's pretty clear he isnt over. He was over vs. Gunther because Gunther was over, here he was getting apathetic reactions. Hope the heel turn can seal it. Gable was also beaten pretty easily, delayed cover after the heluva kick is not what I would've done, but it can be redeemed! Needed maybe 5 more minutes with some near falls to be better. I know the rematch at Backlash will hit like crack tho so overall i think the segment was a success. Match wise just a dissapointment. ***1/4"
[9.0] "A legitimate WWE MOTY contender from these two. Great technical wrestling with the audience never knowing which was it was going to go. Sami's entrance was the absolute definition of Aura."
[7.0] "For a WWE style TV match, this is as good as it gets. I would've liked them to milk the turnbuckle suplex spots a bit more because of how nasty each of them looked given how they got 20 minutes but all in all, they managed to reel me in till the finish. The german suplex exchange spot where both were joking for position looked silly but didn't detract much from the match. Zayn was tremendous in selling the leg and the cutoffs from Gable were all very good. Have these two run this back at Backlash and with no commercial restrictions, these two can have a ever better match."
[9.0] "I think this is my personal WWE match of the year so far it is very good Gable suplexing Sami while Sami is hugging his wife is so fucking good I think I rewatched it like 3 times"
[8.0] "A truly fantastic main event. Sami's entrance made it very obvious he was winning, but as the match went on, I found myself actually thinking Gable could pull it off. These 2 obviously have a lot of chemistry, and I think a the turn at the end made it even better, Hopefully this means Gable will finally get a title win. Give these two a long match on a PLE and they might be able to have a MOTY candidate."
[8.0] "This main event starts in a good way already before the beginning, thanks to Sami Zayn's entrance, wonderful. Gable is an amazing athlete, he really is a wrestling machine and it's just a matter of time before he gets this championship. This is an other great match he is a part of, that's not a case. I really appreciated all the techincal phases, like the infinite exchange of grapples at the center of the ring. Gable took a tremendous bump after a German Suplex on the neck, it added more intensity at the match. Nice idea the focus on the left leg of Sami to connect the Ankle Lock, and at the same time loved Sami who struggles and hits his Helluva with that very injured leg. Chad's heel turn was good planned, as it was a shocking moment that destroyed Sami celebration in his own city, Montreal. Can't wait to see Gable on top."
[8.0] "Very good match for the Intercontinental Championship. Sami gives Gable a title shot as a reward for helping him prepare for Gunther. Worth noting here is Sami's entrance, which was done in a long take where he came from outside the building and walked in through the crowd. It was awesome. As for the match, it was two great in-ring workers just going out there and doing their thing. Gable was more aggressive here than he usually is, knowing he might not get another chance. Gable targeted Sami's knee, who did a good job selling it to make his inevitable comeback victory more meaningful. Sami's wife being in the front row was a clue that something was going to happen. Sami was celebrating the win with her when Gable came up from behind and proceeded to attack him. It's a logical heel turn with plenty of story behind it. 8/10"
[8.0] "This was some really good stuff. Always knew these 2 would absolutely hoop in a match together and they delivered here. The match is mostly built around Chad targeting Sami's leg, which leads to a couple of great moments of selling from Sami and some very tense submission spots throughout the match. Sami's selling here was absolutely world class as it usually is, always favouring his leg on the smallest of things that add so much depth to this match. Whether it be running the ropes or transitioning into a waistlock, Sami is constantly selling his leg and it constantly allows Gable to take control of the match and get offense in. Gable here was great too. His leg work had a ton of viciousness to it, his performance here almost planting the seeds for his eventual heel turn after the match. It also felt like after losing most of his matches after the 3rd Gunther match, it felt like Chad was determined to win here, having counters for most of Sami's moves and even having counters for Sami's counters. He was always one step ahead in this match, but he couldn't overcome the sheer will and determination of Sami which eventually resulted in him losing. The heel turn after the match was also really well done. It's almost like seeing Sami celebrating with his family at ringside, something that he couldn't do after losing Gunther or at Wrestlemania after losing the gauntlet, made something snap inside of Chad resulting in him literally ripping Sami from his wife's arms and nailing him with a German. Overall this was an amazing match as predicted, with a brilliantly done heel turn after the match which pays off months of storytelling that has been done with Chad. ****"
[8.0] "A pretty good main event that made both guys look good, in my opinion. I love Gable, but Zayn getting the win here was great and definitely the right call. I don't know how I feel about Gable being heel, but I did like the turn and I think Gable can pull it off."
[6.0] "There wasn't a great deal to this. Gable went after the leg and Sami mostly sold it really well, including all the different ways it repeatedly inhibited his offence. They traded a few too many suplexes with no real damage done and despite Gable being like a terrier going back after the ankle lock again and again, Sami busted out an unlikely helluva kick for the anticlimactic desperation win ***1/4"
[8.0] "The cut to commercials kind of did sort of mess up the flow of the match but the match itself was fucking solid in my opinion. Chad looked like a gangsta throughout and after the match with his eventual heel turn. The chemistry between Gable and Sami and the in-ring psychology and work really make this pretty much the best match on the show in my opinion. Also loved the hometown reaction Sami got especially after the heartbreaking loss at the Elimination Chamber event last year."
[8.0] "Nice Match, I hope this will lead to Gable as new Intercontinental champion, but I don't know what is the end goal of the rivalry. Sami's entrance was also stupendous and the turn of Chad was something you know it was coming, but not like that, so good."
[8.0] "A great first title defense for Zayn, who couldn't have dreamed of a better start to his reign, a top-quality match perfectly worked from start to finish as expected with two wrestlers as incredible as they are. It was everything it should have been in front of a red-hot Montreal crowd, and I loved every second of it. Insane post-match angle too, give me a full rematch in a PLE please now."
[9.0] "this match was great the crowd was epic both wrestlers gave it their all a lot of good spots during the match i did not know when it was going to end and i wont lie sometimes i kind of thought chad was going to win and that heel turn i did not see coming at all and thats why im giving it 9 points"
[8.0] "This was great. Sami Zayn in Montreal offers one of the best wrestler-crowd dynamics in professional wrestling. Chad Gable in any environment is all but guaranteed to deliver. This took me back to some classic Kurt Angle matches, and I think with true intentions. That includes bouts against Brock Lesnar and The Rabid Wolverine. The German Suplex sequences, for instance, were very Royal Rumble classic. Throw in some absurd counters into the Ankle Lock and this was technically beautiful. Zayn going all-out made this feel even more like a Main Event, including that beautiful Arabian Press that made me feel like El Generico had returned from the orphanage. All in all, this was everything I wanted it to be and more. THE reason I tuned in. 4 stars, 8 out of 10."
[9.0] "Delivered on the hype and then some. Both men in top form and flowed really well together. Perfect opportunity for Chad to turn heel - he was already getting some heat from Montreal just for being Sami's opponent. Run this thing back at Backlash with a heel Gable and let them cook commercial-free."
[7.0] "Good match with an time entrance by Sami but obviously held back by commercials and kept a few gears for a PPV rematch. Good leg selling by Sami, Gable did his job well but the match didn't have the heat until the post-match angle since Gable wasn't a full blown heel yet."
[10.0] "Now; this was great. Really great. These two have great chemistry and the crowd was on fire, as to be expected. The match itself was dramatic, with some nasty German suplex spots and great psychology with Samis leg, working to great effect. The match itself might have been around a 9 but with Samis incredible entrance, the turn post match and the overall production of the match, there was enough to boost this up to a 10. One of the better TV matches of the year so far with an incredible crowd and amazing production."
[7.0] "Good match but I am kind of tired of the same babyface should overcome injury in the big match. And everytime it's a knee injury. I think Sami and Chad both had their better match against Gunther. The ending was very simple. After the match Chad's turn looked cool."
[8.0] "A very solid match between two of the best names in pro-wrestling today. The only bad thing is that the number of commercials ends up disturbing the match experience. I hope they have a rematch in a PLE with 20 minutes free to show what they know. [****1/2]"
[7.0] "A match that I had a good time watching. There was some good wrestling. Chad Gable works Sami Zayn's leg, which prevents him from carrying a Sharpshooter but not the Helluva Kick for victory. The Montreal public is still keen on the idea of supporting their local hero. (3*3/4)"
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