Carmelo Hayes vs. Sami Zayn

[8.0] "Another great addition to the Sami Zayn US open challenge. Carmelo Hayes is a missed opportunity from WWE. He was a such a star in NXT but for some reason is neglected by the same company that put him over. Hopefully this run with Miz does something for him because he is HIM. Back to the match, a Helluva kick in the middle of the ring followed by the Blue Thunder to win the match was a fresh call. Also loved how Miz was in the commentary calling Hayes to hook the legs after the frog splash. You can feel the urgency. A good match with a solid story, mainly for Hayes."

[7.0] "Great match from Sami Zayn and Carmelo Hayes. Good to see Carmelo Hayes getting a chance to show what he can really do. Sami winning with the blue thunder bomb is an unusual but welcome finish to the match. Personally, I prefer that move over the Helluva Kick. I really hope these types of matches can continue with Sami's title reign as having great match after great match every week is a very welcome addition to what can sometimes be a slow show. Great performance from both of these two and would like to see them run it back later in Sami's title reign."

[9.0] "The match between Carmelo Hayes and Sami Zayn was superb. It hit a near-perfect balance of storytelling, athleticism, and drama. Hayes looked like a credible threat, not just there for the walk-through, hitting great counters (like reversing into a suplex-cutter), generating believable near falls (the first 48 move in particular), and making strategic use of Zayn's injured arm to sell damage. Zayn, in turn, showed resilience, clutch timing, and pulled off moves like the Blue Thunder Bomb at just the right moment to seal a satisfying finish. The pacing was mostly excellent, ebbing and flowing with control, high spots, and emotional beats. It only falls just short of perfection because there were a couple of spots that felt telegraphed and the finish, while good, was something fans could see coming. Overall though, this was a match that elevated both men and made the US Title Open Challenge feel relevant again"

[8.0] "Possibly Melo's best match on the main roster yet. Great display from both and especially from Melo, Miz on commentary adds a nice touch and him not interfering is a pleasant surprise. Three title defenses for Sami, no miss yet. *** 3/4"

[7.0] "Another good match for the US championship. Sami and Melo showing pretty great fight and very traditional classic wrestling match. That wasn't a spotfest like week ago with Fenix, but the activity was good and without boring moments. This title reign is pretty good now."

[9.0] "Sami zayn is so good, one of the best in the world, and people were angry that he won the title, carmelo hayes is also so good, triple h needs to have carmelo constantly wrestling every week, he's one of the best young wrestlers in wwe, melo should dethroned sami in few months"

[8.0] "Zayn continues to play good defenses. The ending was surprising with the blue thunder bomb that ended the match. Miz is a good commentator and I was surprised that he had no connection with the end of the match or afterward."

[7.0] "Good match for the US title. Melo gets an opportunity to show off what he can do and has a good showing. Melo gets enough offense with some near falls to look like a credible threat, though him actually winning simply wasn't going to happen. Sami wins with the Blue Thunder Bomb, which was cool to see. Sami is the right guy for these open challenges. 7/10"

[7.0] "A good main event that ended abruptly with a Blue Thunder Bomb. This was a fun defense from Sami Zayn as he has been delivering good match after good match on TV after the Solo Sikoa experiment failed. Some close moments where we thought Hayes was gonna win it but Zayn showed his grit and heart. [***3/4]"

[9.0] "I thought that was a very good match. I think Sami brought the best from Hayes in this one. There was some sloppiness with a more risky moves from Carmelo, but generally very solid work from both."

"7- It's rare to see Zayn hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for the win because usually it's a move that generates a two count. It was probably a notch below the Zayn/Fenix match from last week that was outstanding, but it was still an awesome match and the best match on this show. Melo is a talented guy who can really go in the ring, while Zayn is one of the best, so it's no surprise that they had chemistry together."

[7.0] "this match was Carmelo Hayes vs. Sami Zayn for the United States championship this match was pretty good"

[8.0] "An amazing match. I loved every second of this. It was Carmelo Hayes just showing out and showing the people in the back why he's the guy, and he should get the ball and be allowed to run with it. I liked how the chemistry was between Carmelo Hayes and Sami Zayn in this match. I liked how this was a clean finish and how The Miz didn't interfere and ruin the match, but this was a lot of fun. I do hope Carmelo Hayes is the one who defeats Sami Zayn and learns from his mistakes from this match and doesn't do it again. I'm telling you, WWE has a story with this, as Carmelo Hayes can have a quest for this title, and it can be the stepping stone he needs to be another future face of the company. But it was a fun all-around match, and hey, Sami Zayn won with a Blue Thunder Bomb."

[7.0] "It's rare to see Zayn hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for the win because usually it's a move that generates a two count. It was probably a notch below the Zayn/Fenix match from last week that was outstanding, but it was still an awesome match and the best match on this show so far. Melo is a talented guy who can really go in the ring, while Zayn is one of the best, so it's no surprise that they had chemistry together. ***1/4"

[7.0] "Two ad breaks cut at least six minutes from this one. That being said, this was so much better. Carmelo and Sami were given some time and room to put out a proper match and that's what they did. A lesson to be learned there. Good to the the Blue Thunder Bomb getting a win again also."