Adam Priest vs. Timothy Thatcher

[7.0] "[3.25*] Such a well told story and a awesome usage of only 7 minutes of wrestling time. This match had a clear message: No matter what happened, Priest wasn't ever going to be able to defeat Thatcher. He started off trying to do some mind games, staying outside of the ring for a while. Then he came back and Thatcher dominated. He tried a submission, then Thatcher reversed it into another submission. Priest then tried a Suicide Dive, but Thatcher caught him with the Fujiwara Armbar. Then for a small amount of time, Priest's strategy actually worked and he was able to gain advantage using his lack of size and tons of speed, attacking Thatcher's leg when he was on the ropes, which led to him almost winning the match with the Single Leg Boston Crab. But this made him cocky, so after that he started taunting the crowd feeling like the best in the world, just for Thatcher to caught him AGAIN with ANOTHER Fujiwara Armbar, getting the win. The way Priest is able to tell these simple stories in such a clear and great way is impressive, specially for his age."

[8.0] "I love the size gap impacting some of the offense of Priest. Like him failing to drop Thatcher with the drop toe hold. He also sells his offense according. Like the uppercut. I can't praise him enough for his excellent grasp of in ring psychology. Not just Thatcher is bigger but he is better grappler so Priest was on disadvantage. But he will do anything to even the odds or gain an advantage. Like how he bit Thatcher's fingers when Thatcher had him in a submission for the pin. Priest gets the arm control and in order to take down a big man, he wrenches his wrist and trips Thatcher's leg. That proud smile on Priest's face when he got Thatcher down is one of the many little things that makes Priest great wrestler. A nice kick on Thatcher who was about to take control back. Suicida by Priest but not enough power behind it to take down Thatcher and also the seats being there helped Thatcher to not completely fall off. He gets countered with an armbar. Thatcher tortures his arm and hand and nails some more uppercut which were sold big time by Priest. Priest pulls Thatcher over the top. Priest goes after the leg on the apron. He vicious chop block followed by single leg crab. Thatcher gets to the ropes and Priest tries to go for it again but gets pushed back hard by Thatcher. Thatcher gets a single leg crab of his own. Priest desperately tried to grab referee's hand and he got the rope break. We got a good strike exchange which lead to Priest hitting a front chop block. Cool finish showing Thatcher's superiority on the mat as Priest gets caught while trying to go for the roll for the figure four and taps out to the Fujiwara arm bar. I will rate it the same as their 2023 match from SCI tournament. Thatcher seemed to enough torturing Priest like last time."

[7.0] "This had its technical foundations but this had its fair share of fantastical character work. Priest was a sneaky and cowardly heel and Thatcher provided the sadistic aggressor who enjoys giving Priest his comeuppance. There is quite a size difference but they seem to make it work within the story of the match. Priest has skill but bends the rules to get offence in while also using his smarts, like going really low to attack the knee of Thatcher to send him rolling. The match was short and didn't develop into a great match, but it had all the makings of a great one with a bit more time and a stronger position on the card. Also shout out to Thatcher's Terry Funk shorts. ***1/4"

[7.0] "Worth nothing that commentary is utterly dreadful here and if you can tune it out mentally or muting wouldn't put you off too much, i'd advise it. The match itself is a delightful technical encounter between two thoughtful stars of it. Thatcher is more vicious and aggressive in picking out the arm and working it down as you'd expect, while Priest is a wonderful little weasel and his sustaining of beatings and opportunistic thievings of the moment are both equally delightful. Feels pretty simple in that regard, each part is introduced sensibly and the match doesn't take very long to get to a logical finish, which almost feels a little disappointing considering the two talents involved. Still good stuff, ***1/2+"

[6.0] "(Watched live) Great technical match I just wish this went longer. I don't mind short matches at all it's just the way this was built felt like it ended to quickly for me."

[8.0] "Great, entirely too short match between two of my favourite wrestlers on the indies currently today. It's wild to think of Thatcher of that guy in Evolv (albeit nearly 10 years ago) whom the fans saw as not engaging or captivating enough of a personality (they were wrong btw); when he comes off as such a great Babyface here who can be in control of Priest (as he bumps + stooges around for him), as well as when he's selling the legwork later on in a great sympathetic manner. Priest continues to be one of the most versatile performers in the world right now as these guys engage in the classic tested armwork vs legwork style match with some unique spots mixed in, namely Thatcher catching Adam's tope suicide into a Fujiwara Armbar on a chair in the front row. This fit its place on the card to a T, but I would love to see what these guys could do with a little more time - especially since I think this was a real stark improvement over their previous match from the 2023 SCI."

[7.0] "Great for a short bout like this. Both are masters at this and that is easy to feel even when the match runs this short."