[8.0] "A stiff and brutal war of attrition. It was nasty and savage and it was expected from such competitors. The mean and sadistic demeanor of the competitors involved was exhibited very vividly. The exchange of those cracking strikes and blistering chops raised my excitement levels repeatedly throughout the match. The story was simple with Pete going after Thatcher while Ciampa focused his attention towards Oney. We also witnessed the Ciampa non-stop lariats sequence. It was also very technically sound with the attractive and aesthetically pleasing ground and body work, the grappling and mat wrestling with some Greco-Roman influenced maneuvers and submission locks too. The ending was not favorable with the interruption costing Tim and Ciampa the match. However , it leads to an angle advancement so I wont complain much. The match itself was vigorous and a fiery kind of battle. Put simple a straight down callous and hard-hitting affair. ****"
[7.0] "A disappointing but still pretty good match. This was hard hitting as you would expect from these four. Thatcher as always did good performance at selling the beating and Ciampa's hot tag was fire. Without the interference , this would've been better. 6. 60/10"
[6.0] "It was an okay match to open the show, Ciampa did a good performance and we had some good technical exchanges between him and Oney Lorcan. The interference of Ridge Holland at the end was so bad to me, like he wants to go with the guy who injured him for such a long time ... we are gonna see what happens. ***1/4"
[6.0] "OK show opener. However only Tommaso and Oney Lorcan were interesting. Pete and Timothy did too much of their style, I mean submissions and grappling."
[7.0] "Good star of the show. I really like the tag team of Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher. The tag team between Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne as well is pretty good. Great news of the recovery and return of Ridge Holland, very interesting."
[7.0] "Very good opener featuring four of the meanest people in NXT, leading to the introduction of a fifth in the return of Ridge Holland, who has joined forces with Oney Lorcan and Pete Dunne. This will certainly keep Ciampa and Thatcher busy for a while."
[7.0] "Great opening match for NXT. The initial sequences of Thatcher and Dunne with the tech wrestling, followed by Oney and Ciampa killing each other, were a lot of fun. Eventually it broke down into chaotic madness which Ciampa and Thatcher seem to thrive in. This really felt like the closest thing you could get to a style mirror match on NXT Commercials hurt the flow here, and it never really hit my (incredibly high) expectations, but you have to admit this was fun. Also, as an aside, how great is it to see Holland back after his injury?"
[8.0] "Very good tag team match to start the show here between these four amazing performers, when you see this match on paper you can only expect a stiff & brutal hard-hitting affair and that's exactly what we got with a surprising finish on top of that. The action between the two teams was obviously excellent, I don't think I'll surprise anyone by saying that this ruled so much despite the commercial that hurted the dynamic of the match. They connected and clicked well, the story told was simple but effective with both teams playing their roles very well, it was easy to understand and be invested in it. The crowd was on fire for this one, especially for Ciampa who remains one of the most popular of this brand no matter what. But the major point of this match is obviously the return of Ridge Holland who seems to be teaming up with Dunne & Lorcan, it's good to see him back and it's a trio that can be fantastic in the weeks to come, maybe a quartet with the return of Danny Burch. All in all, just some good stuff to start the show."
1x
2x
17x
28x
7x
1x
0x
0x
0x
0x
0x