AJ vs. Naomi

[9.0] "Holy CRAP this is a weird match for many reasons. This was from the infamous third season of NXT back when it was a weird sort of game show for rookies. The first few episodes were shown on TV but due to a new TV deal it was replaced by Smackdown, and it became a web show only, and I cannot possibly explain to you how little WWE cared about this show at that point. This is the season that had a full episode with exactly ZERO wrestling, and I'm not talking about a special studio episode, they had the ring, they had the crowd, and they simply had no wrestling on the card at all. If you seek out this match, you will also hear some of the most absolutely UNHINGED WWE commentary ever broadcast in any form, it's Michael Cole and Josh Matthews and Cole in particular has to be heard to be believed. To a certain extent this was an extension of his famous "heel" era but really I think he just absolutely did not care because he knew nobody was watching, he's out there complaining about everything, criticizing everything, doing inside jokes and just rambling, I know I said it before but I genuinely can't believe this kind of commentary ever went out on a WWE program of any kind. I guess it's like the dark days of Byte This or whatever, when you are on a Z-level WWE show that Vince will absolutely never watch you can literally just do anything you feel like I guess. Ok, but refocusing, even in such a bizarrely terrible environment, sometimes talent will stand out, especially by comparison if all the women have been kneecapped on the main roster. Here you've got two women who will go on to be fairly important in WWE, of course the famous AJ who would strangely become WWE's main character for a brief time after experiencing a massive burst of popularity a few years later, and Naomi who would survive her stint as a "Funkadactyl" and successfully transition to the era of actual women's wrestling, becoming a three time champion over the years. Even so, there's really no reason why this match should have been worth a damn, as I said nobody was watching or caring in the slightest. However, AJ and Naomi decided what the hell, this could be our only shot so why not go all out? And they DID, for six minutes they actually wrestled their asses off. They got the crowd to care, they even made a checked out Michael Cole say "I can't believe I'm saying this but this is a great match! ". It's fast paced, it's energetic, but I think what makes it really shine is you can really see just how hard these women are trying in the face of absolute apathy at the start of the match. I don't recall anyone even mentioning it at the time but even so the fact that they grabbed this hard at even the faintest opportunity is honestly kind of inspiring, and I'm glad to give these women credit many years after the fact."

[9.0] "Definitely the best match of the season, and it comes from the two most star studded women in the line up."

[9.0] "Showed the whole world that divas are superstars! wish we got a bigger aj lee and Naomi feud with the belt going back and forth."

[7.0] "Good ass match, especially for where and when it took place. Both had great chemistry and the match flew by. Commentary is god awful, I know the whole bit was making fun of the show but it's aged horribly. Josh Matthews says AJ isn't like most girls and likens her to Sheldon Cooper, I'm glad this dork is out of here. Cole turns into an AAA announcer at the end when AJ locks in the Octopus. ***1/2"

[8.0] "This was such a great and surmising match for the Divas division and season of that time, they did so well, and for 5 minutes this match was just so great,"

[6.0] "Easily the best match of the season that really shows the potential of two women who would go on to play a huge part in changing the outlook of women's wrestling in WWE. I wish it could've gone on a bit longer but I won't hold that against the match."

[7.0] "[7.5] This is the match that sown the seeds for the Women's Evolution Era in WWE. Very ahead of its time for a women's match in 2010 that didn't have a single trope of the Divas Era and instead was focused on pure in-ring skill that had everyone from the crowd to Michael Cole actually popping for the athleticism of the match itself. The match was such a surprise for how good it was that it had Cole marking out at the end like it was Daniel Bryan tapping out Batista circa WrestleMania 30. Josh Matthew's "If this isn't the next breakout Diva I don't know who is" post-match quote is all you need to about AJ Lee's performance in this match foreshadowing how rise to the top in the years to come."

[7.0] "AJ Lee vs Naomi was good for a women's match in this period, they give some time, that was a good hidden gem."

[5.0] "This was a solid little match back in the early days of NXT. Although the match was short and there were a few little mistakes albeit from these two's rookie years in the company you could definitely see glimpses of what the two woman would be able to achieve in the future."