[6.0] "Decent match to have here in the kickoff show, Sami had a huge pop and him and JD have a nice arsenal of moves so it was a good one to watch - {**3/4}"
[6.0] "[3.5*] Incredible match for a Kickoff, the Crowd was absurdly hot cheering for Sami Zayn, it was really cool to see that, Sami deserves this pop. The action in the ring was incredible, Jordan Devlin's selling here was top notch, his bumps were great. Overall the match was simple but very well executed with Sami's sequence of Helluva Kick and Blue Thunder Bomb to win the match."
[7.0] "The pacing of this match was rapid enough for a match in the pre-show stature and the raucous response for whatever Zayn does gave a tremendous feel even though its obvious. JD delivered his best shot in such a big state and if he hasnt reached the attention of fans so far, hes reached by now. 3.25 out of 5 stars!"
[6.0] "A very basic, yet enjoyable match. There's honestly not much you could do in this, and this was pretty much the best you could reasonably expect. Also, BLUE THUNDER BOMB!"
[6.0] "A bit better match than what they possibly could have at a RAW show, but I would've loved to see the same dominance JD had over Seth Rollins in this one, I don't know, maybe even a win, but at least something that starts making him gain some status. I saw the match too one sided. Nicely worked though, and with a rare finish of Blue Thunder Bomb as the finisher after the Helluva Kick. It fulfilled the kickoff match role perfectly and gave both Sami and the fans a satisfactory moment to start the night (*** 1/4)"
[5.0] "A decent match in the Kickoff, to help the crowd get in the mood for the PPV. I love Sami, but I don't enjoy JD wrestling at all, he's just regular in the ring. Hope my perception changes on Survivor Series. (**3/4)."
[5.0] "This was fine? But I wasn't terribly impressed either. The bruise on JD looked gnarly and was cool that Zayn won with the blue thunder bomb. I agree with the other inmate that said this just feels like some Raw match, but I guess they shouldn't be giving away awesome matches on the part of the card most are going to skip anyways, but it doesn't make the match anymore memorable."
[7.0] "When was the last time they put on a such a big Kick Off show match? This was a great TV style match. They didn't push the boat out with a classic but they put on some good action like a pre-show should. McDonagh will put on better matches when he's able to be brutal with his offense like in NXT but he sold well for Sami's comeback. Zayn wins with a Helluva Kick and THEN a Blue Thunder Bomb for once. ***1/2"
[6.0] "The match was nothing unusual; it felt like a regular Monday Night Raw match. Sami & JD have the in-ring quality, but it didn't show in this one. Even though Sami got a standing ovation and the atmosphere was "fire, " having this match in the Kickoff show didn't help either."
[5.0] "Von Main Events bei Elimination Chamber, Wrestlemania und Night of Champions, direkt in den Kickoff von Crown Jewel. Schon schade, dass man das Momentum von Sami Zayn derart schnell auf der Strecke gelassen hat. Nach einer Ewigkeit gibt es hier mal wieder ein Match im Kickoff, was ich mir sogar angeschaut habe. Fand es in Ordnung, gut für die Stimmung aber nichts, woran ich mich morgen noch erinnern werde."
[5.0] "Suddenly, WWE decided to bring back the practice of having matches on pre-shows. We, as television viewers, are neither hot nor cold from this. So basically no one watches the pre-show, even if there are matches there. This is literally a warm-up, where the wrestlers themselves do not set themselves the goal of stealing the show. This happened this time, because according to the potential of the sign, this is a duel for 4+. In fact, we are dealing with a good fight, which is not enough stars from the sky. Not the fastest pace, Zayn showed his tricks, but J.D. was remembered only for the terrible hematoma on his side. Probably, if we are talking about warming up, then this is quite ok, but if in general, then, of course, it was not enough for me."
[5.0] "This is a basic match and you know they were about to do that. Short length, clear babyface vs hell dynamic and clean victory by the hero. Ok for a pre-show and I think it worked for the crowd, just nothing I'll remember or anything else but this didn't have go to be that match. **1/2"
[4.0] "Haven't watched too much JD McDonagh but didn't enjoy his excessive, reckless bumping. The flip bump was bad to start, then I'm pretty sure he caused the welt on his side that the camera kept focusing on. There's a line between bumping well and just throwing yourself into your opponent's offence, and I don't think he's found that line."
[6.0] "Solid match for the kickoff. It served its purpose of getting Sami Zayn a win in front of the Saudi crowd to get them excited for the rest of the show. JD McDonagh did a nice job selling for Sami, who dominated most of the match and picked up the win with a Helluva Kick and a Blue Thunder Bomb. 6/10"
[5.0] "Not bad for a pre show match although one that could have been stronger. JDs selling at times bordered on cartoony although the rope burn he got from the monkey flip looked very rough. Zayn is still very fun to watch in a singles setting but felt it could have been a stronger match."
[6.0] "It was a good fight that what is usually the Kick-Off has come good to see something different, so well, little more to say, I did not expect much from this but it did not come out at all bad, it seems that the story of Sami against Judgment Day will continue."
[7.0] "A good enough kickoff show match. This seemed more like a way to get Sami on the card more than amatch as the crowd were going insane. JD McDonagh sells very well and somehow ended up with a huge graze on his torso. I liked that Sami won with the Blue Thunder Bomb."
[7.0] "Einfach ein gutes Singles Match das man auch in die Main Show hätte geben können. Das hätte nicht wehgetan. Beide spielten später noch Rollen. Ich gebe dem hier ein Match Rating von (***). Was man einfach sah wie Over Sami hier war. Ein Sieg von Sami war hier einfach richtig."
[7.0] "A solid match here between these two. This is the kind of match that is fine to be on the Kickoff Show, and I'm interested to see if this is the start of WWE doing Kickoff Matches again. I just hope it doesn't get to a point again where title matches are on them."
[7.0] "It was kind of weird. There were quite a few moments where the spots looked not exactly botchy, but didn't look like they were done the same way they were intended. Obviously crowd was heavily behind Sami Zayn and the people brought the energy to the match, but because of those weird moments it still made the match feel a bit clanky. Not the best form for both wrestlers, but they are still good so their not very best is still not that bad. So nothing atrocious, nothing particularly exciting, okay match."
[6.0] "A decent match for kick off with a surprisingly amazing crowd. Sami is great and JD is pretty good but the match was kind of boring. But again, this was a kick off match so no big expectations. The crowd went crazy for Sami, and gave JD great heat which made the match better and you could say that the crowd carried this match. I think JD got injured mid way through the match so respect for him for ending it. A fine match with a great crowd. ***/*****. 6/10.( Hopefully the crowd will be as good for the main card)"
[6.0] "Not a terrible match on a kickoff show. Sami Zayn has proven time and time again how over he is with the crowd. JD McDonagh gets a pretty bad-looking blood bruise in his abdomen. He shows that he can hang in there with the likes of Zayn, but I don't ever see McDonagh becoming a major player. There were some "This is awesome" chants, which is surprising considering they're in another country. I wouldn't ask for this match, but it was definitely watchable enough to get the show going and get the crowd into the event."
[7.0] "Fine match , not bad Sami and JD played well for the most part , but this was clearly just a way to get Sami on the card in saudi. A generic raw match just given on ppv , this was fine I liked some spots like Sami winning with a blue thunder bomb . JD also got some good boos in his entrance , overall fine match for a kickoff show but other than that this wasn't anything special. There was also a scary botch where they couldn't land the move , so there were also some sloppy moments. The opening stretch was slow too , this also felt too short."
