Brody King & Malakai Black vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong vs. Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii

[7.0] "GONZO BOMB! Sick ass four way match that TK booked on a whim. Obviously a strikefest but I like how each character and personality shined here too. Some were acting a little silly like Roddy/Kyle moments and Gabe/Brody barking at each other, but it added more heart to the match. Good performances from everyone, including Malakai here with timing and movement from him I haven't seen since the black & gold days. Underrated gem! ***3/4"

[7.0] "Really liked this match, wasn't surprised by House of Black winning, they always do, but this was very solid and zero hour suited, the amount of stiff strikes here was crazy, they were hitting each other extremely hard, in a compelling way that was evolving and made the crowd react. The way this match was wrestled is no surprise, we had some guys that are really heavy hitters, like Ishii, Brody, Gabe, Roddy... they were the most notorious ones, but Private Party added a cool dynamic to the match, and Kyle's sellings were excellent - {***1/4}"

[7.0] "The match, announced for the event at the last minute, has been quite exciting for opening officially the Zero Hour. I have enjoyed the different dynamics presented during the match, especially the moments when each team has defended its own mentality and identity within the ring. Kyle O'Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii teaming up to strike stiffly their rivals, Gabe Kidd and Roderick Strong beating their opponents through heelish techniques, despite their own confrontations, Private Party delighting the public with their incredible chemistry and House of Black tearing the house apart with their devastating moveset and mystic personality. The Most Valuable Player was, as always, Tomohiro Ishii, especially when he collided with Brody King. The House of Black, deservedly, won an entertaining match in order to warm up the engines for the event. Rating: 6.50 / 10. Stars: *** 1/2."

[7.0] "This was a fun match despite the fact that it only existed to get people onto the card. A number of intriguing match-ups were teased here."

[6.0] "This was a pretty good pre-show match. Lots of fun pairings and lots of fun action. Not much stuck with me, but Gabe Kidd's interactions with Brody King stood out as memorable."

[7.0] "I thought it was the best match of the pre-show. Give me Gabe Kidd-Brody King blood feud immediately!"

[7.0] "This match was a lot of fun, all the 8 men showed their great in-ring capabilities. Honestly, this match could be in the Main Card and I don't think anyone would complain about it. (***3/4)."

[7.0] "A well paced tag team match with a good number of interesting spots (like Ishii literally murdering Brody King with a Brainbuster) and Strong Style mostly because the influence of the Stone Pitbull and Gabe Kidd. A good blend of styles overall. ***1/2"

[5.0] "Was seeing some of these guys cool? Absolutely. Were the spots done well and executed flawlessly? Pretty much. Would this show have been better served cutting this and 3 other matches from the show to give the better matches time to breathe? Yes. I also feel like giving House of Black a pity win in a meaningless four-way on the preshow does more to bury them than losing has."

[4.0] "This match had the potential for more, although it was just an exhibition of some talents that were left out of the main show. But given the number of big names, they could have been given more time (**)"

[5.0] "***1/4 normal match, I had expectations from the team of Kyle O'Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii but they did little, the truth is I expected more from the fight, it was just a few spots and it lacked dynamism and memorable moments"

[6.0] "Fun last minute addition went longer than i thought and some decent stories told throughout - right winner to keep HOB momentum up."

[7.0] "Definitely another case of a pre-show match over-delivering just like the main event. Not as good as that match since this was way less focused by nature of how many teams/participants there were but it was still a lot of fun. Seeing Private Party get in this mix is funny given how off and on they've been since day one of AEW but this is exactly the type of stuff they need to be involved in if they're ever going to get better and become something more. Crazy what being rid of Matt Hardy has already done for them."

[8.0] "As expected this was a very fun way to open the show and possibly could have been on the main show had there been more build up. Private Party got to shine while Kyle OReilly and Roderick Strong continued their strong year. No surprise that the House of Black won which makes sense due to the recent push they have got and hopefully they beat the bucks for the titles to end that reign. I would have liked to have seen the match given more time given the talent involved but it was a very enjoyable opener"

[7.0] "A fantastic, frantic, and fun four-way that I genuinely can't believe it was free. The two stories are largely about A)immovable walls Ishii and King, as it probably should have been, and B) the obvious history between O'Riley and Strong. House of Black pick up the win after Private Party suicide dive to take out the other teams, and House of Black brutalize them once isolated. Right victors and a fun path to get there, the only things that really held it back were a weird under-utilization of Kidd and being stuck on the pre-show."

[7.0] "As entertaining as this match was, I think some of the confines of the pre-show setting impacted the final product of the match. That being said, this still had its highs. I really liked the flashes from Malaki and Ishii was amazing, as expected. The strengths of this match were showcasing each of the teams' fortes - in particular the brutality of the House of Black and the athleticism of Private Party, who in their own way steered the match. I don't love the choice for who gets pinned, but I would like to see a tag title shot given to the winners"

[8.0] "Probably the second best match of the whole show, I think Shingo vs. Bryan was a bit better, but I legit had a fun time with this match. Everybody beat the living hell out of each other, Tomohiro Ishii did the grossest vertical drop brainbuster to Brody King I've seen this year, Gabe Kidd wasn't being cringey the whole time, The KOTBT were also going crazy. Private Party did their usual stuff, but they can both still bump like crazy. I'm excited to see what the winners will do next, hopefully they'll take the titles away from the Bucks. ****"

[7.0] "Is a match yeh, but I don't is a match that I'm feeling rare, the best team House of black, is good to see they win, the another team doing a good job the spots and combinations we be entertained, but I not see a good climax or something incredible like in the another match that have a tag team. I think that the problem is had 4 tag team maybe, with need a faster match is very fast is good no finish with a great result is only a match that of change nothing import maybe the history with Roderick and the other guy? But know who is AEW not had nothing interesting"

[8.0] "An extremely dense match in a good way, it's insane that this was under 9 minutes. Kyle & Ishii and Gabe & Roddy were excellent makeshift teams to pair up with two established duos, and everybody here got to show off everything. Brody squaring up with Ishii & Kidd was sick as fuck, Ishii & Malakai had an awesome sequence, Private Party got tossed around like nothing but hit some smooth offense, and Roddy just murdered people like usual. Some of the chops in this were INSANE but the Chasing The Dragon to Brody was the spot of the match. ****"