[8.0] "This was way better than their Dynamite match a few months ago, it was just a good match with some cool moments. My god, Ricochet was just dumped on in this match, I mean he was booed like crazy. Hated the ref stuff, and I mean hated it."
[8.0] "It was good but obviously could have been better because of who the two opponents were but at this point Osprey could wrestle just about anyone to an 8 rating."
[7.0] "While this was nowhere near the quality of their famous match, it was still a very good match. Ricochet's heel turn has breathed new life into his work."
[8.0] "Heel Ricochet is the best Ricochet. While this match still doesn't live up to the expectations these two set back in 2016, this match acted as a brilliant showcase for Ricochet's new villainous persona. Credit to Ricochet for running with the toilet paper throwing"
[8.0] "A fun match to kick off the show. Not their best match against each other, but this was good. This new heelish turn for Ricochet is certainly interesting, and I'm intrigued to see where it goes, especially considering that he wasn't let into the Hurt Syndicate."
[8.0] "Very good TV match with a couple of very sharp, albeit sometimes predictable sequences. As far as I know, this was the only match of theirs to feature such a clear heel-face dynamic which brought a couple of interesting twists to this matchup. While they very much flirted with their famous opening sequence at times, it was cut short each time and I felt like that made much more sense than them having the exact same sequence each match. Both were great at playing with the crowd and Ricochet was doing some great heel work there, the toilet paper to the face spot made me pop. Don't really like ref bump finishes, but this one had an interesting take on it with Rico pushing the ref into the ropes causing Ospreay to stumble and cost him the match in the end. [8, 3/10]"
[7.0] "Probably my least favourite of all their encounters that I have watched with a fluff finish + it was obvious they were holding stuff back. I know now that this is because they may meet each other again? Even when dialling it back Ospreay still looks great and hits his spots to perfection."
[7.0] "No it's not as good as their best matches and I doubt we'll ever be able to recapture what once was but damn these guys are consistent. This is still a fantastically athletic showcase that's worth checking out and honestly the fact that Ricochet and Will Ospreay facing off has gotten played out by now kinda works in this matches favor. It's not a total spot fest, this was mostly a match to cement Ricochet as a heel and I've said it before he makes a great heel. Toilet paper taunt aside everything he did was great and knowing that he's embraced this persona helps his remain fun to watch in the eyes of the audience"
[4.0] "What seemed so very fresh eight years ago now just feels like it's very much not for me... of course both these wrestlers feel like they have a different flavor now as opposed to then, a lot has happened, but the small differences didn't really freshen things up for me since it's really only possible to have one match with Ospreay, the Ospreay Style Match TM. Ricochet is acting more heelish which may have future potential but in this match it didn't make much difference to me. Not the drowning-in-excess match that their 3way was but still not for me."
[8.0] "Very good match. Ospreay is *over* and this version of Ricochet is working. A little overshadowed by the Ospreay/Darby match which was similar but Darby is willing to take some absolutely mad bumps."
[8.0] "Ricochet's heel dynamic is very funny and enjoyable. Will was spectacular in this match as usual and the crowd erupted for him. Great work and I prefer this match compared to the one they had on dynamite. ****"
[7.0] "Ricochet got a nuclear reaction from the crowd, they hated the hell out of him but he would wow them with his athleticism time and time again. Ospreay was amazing as well. It had a great flow and Ospreay had the match won but Ricochet plays dirty to score the victory. Not a fan of the ref bump but everything else was cool. ***3/4"
[7.0] "Great TV match heightened by the amazing crowd response and heel work from Ricochet. The mic work isn't there yet but in terms of ring psychology and crowd work I'm definitely sold on heel Ricochet. Hopefully this leads to a singles feud following or at World's End."
[7.0] "An interesting addition to this pairing's catalogue, with Ricochet's recent heel slant forcing some restraint upon their usual outline. Naturally, considerable thrills still emerge and they arrive with noticeable charm in this setting, being greeted by a raucous response. Unfortunately, they get a little cute on the finish and while the juice is likely worth the squeeze, their route slightly takes the edge off this presentation. Even still, a very charming TV match. ***1/2"
[5.0] "Not exactly a great match but certainly a step above their last encounter thanks to some honestly pretty good heel work from Ricochet. This was still obviously filled with the usual lame sequences and callbacks that are present in every match between these two (can we stop it with the superhero taunt) but there was enough good here to the point where the match was overall, pretty tolerable. **1/2"
[7.0] "Not their best match, but still very good. I really like what Rico's character has become, he's annoying and comes off goofy, but it's fun and feels new for the upper-midcard. Didn't expect Will to get 2 loses in a row, but now the brackets looks really tight, with a lot of wrestlers still having a chance to advance to semi-finals."
[7.0] "****1/4 a very good match, at the level of their Dynamite match but far from those of NJPW, very good chemistry, very good sequences, good duration, an unexpected and well-done heel turn by Ricochet defeating in a dirty way to Ospreay but without making his heel turn so clear yet, since Ospreay being such a tough opponent, it can be justified that Ricochet will use dirty tactics in desperation to defeat him, good ending"
[8.0] "Great in ring action that did wonders for this heel turn Ricochet has started. The crowd did their part and there was some solid back and forth between the two. You can clearly see that they have both moved beyond the more insane matches they had and as a result, this match was less flashy but a considerably better wrestling match. The finish was a good wrestling angle and sets up another match in the future. 7.5/10."
[5.0] "Maybe the worst iteration of this matchup in AEW so far. Ricochet's leaning into being a heel now but just comes off as an absolute geek because of his notorious lack of charisma. This is basically just every other match these two have had before but worse. Not really worth checking out unless you LOVE these guys"
[6.0] "Ricochet vs Ospreay at the Hammerstein Ballroom was a good match, the atmosphere is special in this place and the crowd was better than they usually are, this helped the match. I think this is the match that Ricochet finally turned 100% heel, his antics and connection with the audience were the main focus of the match, I loved when he slipped while performing the move, the crowd mocked him and said he suck, and he showed the middle finger to them, very cool ring awareness type of situation. Other than that, the match was pretty mediocre, it had lots of things that I dislike in a match, and the ending was alright, they did two ref bumps and Ricochet won via cheating. To consolidate Ricochet as a heel act, this match fulfilled its purpose - {***}"
[6.0] "First and foremost, wrestling always looks and feels more impressive when the building is sold out instead of two thirds tarps and darkness. Secondly, I flashed back to Jimmy Rave hitting a little girl hard in the face with a toilet roll at an ROH show in Liverpool. Anyway, this was okay. They did some very cool shit and even sold some of it, but that lame ass finish is gonna create more ex-viewers than it does heat ***"
[7.0] "These two clearly know each other well at this point but given this and their last match there isn't much of a spark when they face off. Maybe that's because Ospreay has evolved into a much more complete wrestler and has kind of left those matches in the dust."
"[8.0] In their third AEW match (second singles bout) Ricochet and Will Ospreay deliver an impressive performance that perfectly encapsulates their respective standing in the company."
[6.0] "Interesting start to the match with a small technical exchange, going from a waistlock into a waistlock kick up. This continued for a few minutes more, getting quicker as it progressed, but their technique on the basics like a headscisssor got more perfunctory as they progressed unfortunately. The strengths of the match come clear right away, which was Ricochet, who is in the midst of turning heel, leaning more and more into that role, first stalling and then using the toilet paper thrown at him to taunt the fans and Ospreay. These two really leave me cold when wrestling together. I like they kept it more grounded, Ricochet particularly, but this didn't stand out outside of the character work and a cool high spot here and there. And just as they begin to get more interesting, they restart with the dreaded strike exchange which looked every bit of contrived as any other version. Then they go for another contrived ref bump which sets up a visual pin for Ospreay. This was somewhat revived in the finish with Ricochet pushing the ref into the ropes and beating Ospreay with the confusion. Decent match. Some solid high spots but the meat and potatoes largely bored me. Ricochet's character work was good, although I think he could carry that in his performance a little more. It felt like he'll do some and go back to the same boring Ricochet the next. They need to be merged imo. ***"
[5.0] "This is the second time AEW has done Ricochet vs Ospreay and the second time they gave us a lame bad finish. Nothing about this makes me want to see them run it back. AEW desperately needs a Giant Baba in 1990 moment as they have become a bad finish promotion but I do not see that happening any time soon. The stalling at the beginning was fine but nobody came to ricochet vs ospreay to watch Tracey Smothers style stalling."
[6.0] "Better than their last match in AEW at least but it still lacked. The CC is built up as this prestigious tournament with a lack of interference yet many of the match endings (including both on this show) have tainted results via ref bumps and nefarious tactics. In this one's case, it at least is meant to push Ricochet seemingly going heel but it doesn't make for the most satisfying results."
[9.0] "Loved this match. Ricochet brilliantly, naturally reacted to the heat he was getting. Loved his Christopher Daniel moves, on top of all his other offence. Really liked the stand and bang. The ref bump was done pretty well. Maybe my favourite AEW Ricochet singles match."
[10.0] "I was disappointed at first, but after watching the game, I realized that I was wrong. This game is completely different from their previous duels, the two no longer only focus on the content of the game, but also add a lot of plot-related things. Ricochet's villainous behavior in the game adds a lot of fun to the game. Overall, the content of the game itself may not be the best they have played, but the plot level does not lose the previous games, leaving suspense for the final winner of C2, 4.5 stars!"
[8.0] "Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay in their sleep is still a four star match. This was the television version of the types of matches they had in New Japan and various indies many years ago, and even time away with Ricochet in WWE hasn't lessened their connection with each other. Surprise result with Ricochet winning, possible rehab after how bad he looked in that segment with the Hurt Syndicate on Dynamite, but it puts the emphasis on Ospreay to defeat a monster in Brody King on the Christmas Day Dynamite."
[8.0] "This was a great match between these two. Not their best but a really good with major character developments which is something we aren't really used to see with these two. Ospreay was beloved by the NY crowd (which was super hot) meanwhile Ricochet was public enemy N.1. They even threw toilet papers at him. And Ricochet was a good heel in this, getting heat and playing with it. The action was slower than usual which was a pleasant surprise. Honestly I was getting tired of the same "double handspring pose, superhero pose" type shit. The two obviously have great chemistry and there were a few great exchanges. Loved the styles clash spot, in particular. The ending, I think, marks Ricochet's heel turn. They've been teasing it for a bit and if Ricochet turns into a petty, arrogant heel we will be eating good. 8/10 - 4*/5*"
[7.0] "Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of this match, the two guys were clearly not as skilled together as they used to be, the high flying moves were reduced after the WO gained weight, RICOCHET's moves were off, and what I've been looking forward to didn't play out in a match that I thought was inferior to the one I used to fight in NJPW.The match was too short and small and overall it looked like he could only be used as a warmup for the main event, instead I really liked WO's performance at Dynamite this week.4/5"
[8.0] "Yet again, these two outperformed my expectations for this matchup, not in the frequency of flashy moves but in the amount of smart tactical approaches to their game that I wasn't entirely expecting from Will. I like it when Ospreay is utilizing a more psychological edge to his game, and Ricochet complements it a lot more than I expected having only seen their 2016 match prior to these matches. Ricochet's heel turn is intriguing. Will seeing Ricochet's take on his Hidden Blade coming every single time, and Ricochet noticing Will gearing up for his, is the kind of smart tactician wrestling you wouldn't expect from these two, but it absolutely works. Points docked for the ref bump, but it does give Will a visual win that protects him, so it's not the end of the world. ****"
[9.0] "The atmosphere here was amazing, the Ricochet turn has been well received, whether that's go away heat or heat is something we won't know now, but he still had head and Ospreay is still as popular as ever which led to an amazing dynamic. The toilet paper Jimmy Rave tribute was delightful and was different to anything that happened on an AEW show before. The action was of course brilliant as always although they left enough on the table to suggest there was gonna be a third match soon. They presented the new dynamic that will take place in any matches they have from that point on and it will come to full effect the next time they fight. The finish however I was torn on, for the sake of his story Ricochet needed to win and in that manner even if some might have the valid argument that he should have lost here to drive him further in THAT direction. Ospreay needed to win after dropping points against Darby and because he simply has to be in the final, he has lost 5 singles matches this year and that simply can't run. He needs to win all remaining matches perhaps. The finish itself was good enough, Ricochet cheated without really cheating, he can claim it's accidental but we know it's not. For this story to work, Ricohet has to lose soon so that he can be fully set in his new ways. And again shoutout to the crowd cause they were fantastic! Hot crowds make everything SO much better. I'd like to see this match dynamic again soon but at full blown pace. 8.5 but I'm in a good mood so I will round up."
[9.0] "Really great match. Lot of factors going on here in making this just such a dope TV match. First, of course, you have the fantastic venue + crowd. Hammerstein Ballroom is a classic wrestling venue for a reason; something about the set up and vertical scale makes it so loud, raucous, and fantastic for a live crowd. Unlike most venues which are spread out widely, Hammerstein is actually very narrow in terms of space, but makes up for it with those 3 giant balconies, which give everyone a really great view even if you're high up. Ospreay and Ricochet have a storied history; their early matches with their extreme fast pace were hailed by some for their workrate and acrobatics, but derided by many for looking so overly choreographed. It's awesome to see how far they've come and how much their style has changed. There's still bursts of speed and stuff that looks a bit hokey, but a lot of what goes on here is pretty believable and sold really well. Ricochet has been doing a great job in his new heel role coming off as a douchey dweeb, especially with his kiss-ass interaction with the Hurt Business a bit ago, and the NYC crowd ate it up throwing all the toilet paper at him. His improvised spot to wipe his ballsweat on Ospreay is just so disgustingly wonderful, just great intuition on Ricochet's part to just go for it. The finish was also clever too, don't think I've seen the ref getting knocked into the ropes in awhile. I wish we could have had a clean finish, but I appreciate how this cements Ricochet as a proper heel, because he's a little too passive and goody-two-shoes as a face. As for Ospreay, what more can be said? The guy is just phenomenal."
5x
38x
183x
64x
15x
5x
1x
0x
0x
0x
0x