Dalton Castle vs. Ricochet

[6.0] "Decent match despite Ricochet's title never feeling like it's in any real jeopardy. Dalton looking pretty slow and stiff but still manages to throw a gorgeous suplex of two. Slow pace in the early going and shamelessly steals the rolling gimmick from OC vs. Pac."

[5.0] "Dalton Castle's wrestling level has noticeably declined, and it showed. Ricochet dictated the pace the whole time, but he adapted to his opponent's slow, heavy style. It was like fighting a sack of potatoes in a field. The only thing I enjoyed was seeing Ricochet land a powerful kick on one of Dalton Castle's henchmen."

[8.0] "I really enjoyed this fun match, I am glad that Dalton got a relatively big chance at the PPV and I am glad that he is still able to show a high-quality performance. He caught Ricochet with his work on the mats and throws, and from time to time his power throws looked impressive enough combined with his funny classic moments. Rico only made it better with his rare outbursts of athleticism and the fact that he was ready to add a little lightness to this match, being a terrifyingly caricatured heel, so there were some funny moments with his participation, and both Dalton and Ricochet were able to switch to something more serious and surprise at the right moments through their actions, combining tactics and entertainment. The ending turned out to be a bit crumpled, in my opinion, but within the framework of the approach of our champion's character, it was more than logical and appropriate."

[6.0] "Ricochet continues to impress during his AEW run, and the National Championship is proving to be a great way to showcase his incredible skills and explore his heel persona. The surprise was Dalton Castle, who proved he can still go! While his "Boys" gimmick is seen as a little outdated and his "comedy" isn't everyone's favorite, his diverse move and skill set are undeniable. He gave Ricochet a run for his money, demonstrating in-ring work that definitely makes him worthy of a larger spot on the roster and showing he's capable of making athletic opponents look fantastic in the process."

[9.0] "Great fun match between two guys that I like quite a lot. In like 2015 this might be a bit of a dream match for me actually but in 2025 it's really good as well. Ricochet is poised to have a great run with this title against a wide variety of guys and Dalton got a rare chance to really show out and seized it with both hands. Some funny stuff as well, it worked for me."

[7.0] "A fairly entertaining match with a slightly surprising 'power vs. speed' dynamic working very well on both ends. Dalton is one of the reliable all-rounders in the roster, and Ricochet has reached his prime as a character that isn't memorable but not a mudhole. He needed a sound contender for his first defense, and the clear blueprint of face vs. heel, along with the distinctly different tendencies, helped him for the better. 3.5 out of 5 stars!"

[7.0] "Slow start, but the second half is excellent. We get some good comedy in this one, as is to be expected with any Dalton Castle match, but Ricochet is as good of a "straight man" as it gets: Dalton continues to *slowly* roll out of the ring, making Ricochet annoyed and having to repeatedly speed walk around to the other side of the ring again and again to throw Dalton back in. Once we get the action between the two on the apron it picks up. Dalton tries his best with grappling, suplexes, and his signature "Bangarang", but he falls short to Ricochet, who is one of the best in the world. The Spirit Gun that finishes Castle looks particularly devastating, so I wasn't surprised at all when there was no kick out."

[6.0] "I'm not a fan of Dalton Castle's 'comedy', but I must admit he's capable of a strong in-ring performance and making athletic opponents look fantastic in the process. Another mid-card match where the result was never in doubt, but again I enjoyed this more than I'd anticipated. Both men came out of this looking better than when they went in, so it's a win! Filling this out retrospectively, so excuse the lack of detail."

[7.0] "Dalton Castle is really unlike anyone else in wrestling with his combination of grappling offence and incredibly unique presentation, he really brought a lot out of Ricochet who is on a career high right now in terms of character presentation. The light comedy work was well delivered and the wrestling was really solid. Ricochet got the win to put a really solid first defence in the books for the AEW National Champion. Worth a watch this, another good match on the card."

[7.0] "The two men gave us some interesting moments. Dalton Castle's entrance, the moment he slid across the ring to stop Ricochet from finishing the match. Ricochet was great when he attacked the boys, the moment he struggled to shake hands at the beginning of the match. Ricochet makes a very good heel."

[6.0] "Ricochet wins a surprisingly entertaining match. Wasn't expecting Dalton Castle to shine, but he can still go. Love his diverse move and skill set, and he gave Ricochet a run for his money. I do think the "Boys" gimmick is a little outdated, but his in-ring work is definitely worthy of a larger spot on this roster. Ricochet continues to impress during his AEW run and the National Title is probably one of the best ways to show his skills plus explore his heel character. This match was a run-of-the-mill affair, but was decently entertaining and I wasn't upset that I watched it."

[7.0] "Wasnt sure what to expect from this but this was actually really good. Im not usually a fan of Dalton but i thought his shtick worked well here with Ricochet's more over the top heel performance. Ricochet is great in control here and Dalton's comeback towards the end is also quite good featuring a lot of sick looking suplexes on the outside. The result was never in doubt but overall i thought the work done here was great and i thought Ricochet and Dalton's acts worked really well together. ***1/2"

[8.0] "The fact that Dalton Castle can still wrestle his style this well 10 years or so after I first saw him amazes me. Ricochet was his usual fantastic prick, he got good heat by attacking the boys. Some lovely nearfalls here, tons of signature Dalton suplexes, and a nice heel finish. 4*"

[7.0] "Expecting a comedy-ish match with these two tbh. Heel Ricochet was doing great character work these past months. Castle is also a top tier character and has worked his way up nicely. ROH vs outsider also works well here! Castle with the rounds with the flock, then entering for a super fun sequence. Ricochet is one of the best sellers for this type of match. The scared boys also work well. Great crowd interaction! Very comedy heavy but it was fun if you expected that."

[6.0] "Ricochet never has bad matches in a big spot, so I knew this would be good. I just want a bit more out of a PPV title defense, comedy is never something that I'm looking for outside of the undercard. They were able to get the crowd invested without having to do a whole lot in the ring, using the boys to get some heat on Ricochet and Castle using his goofiness to fill the time. ***"

[9.0] "The good start at the presentation of the new national championship at its best way a fantastic match here between dalton with his hilarious entrance and ricochet ricochet did very very good heel work in this match for sure the end could have been better than that but this didn't ruin anything happened in the match"

[5.0] "Castle being Ricochets defense is absolutely ridiculous, but the match was enjoyable for what it was. I feared this could be rough, but everyone came home safe."

[8.0] "It's matches like this that remind you that, beyond the peacock/boys gimmick, Dalton is actually a very competent wrestler and him being ROH champion several moons ago was no joke. Really good match, one of Dalton's best in a long while because he's not stuck as a jobber to the stars/squasher of the jobbers tonight."

[8.0] "Good match with a touch of humor early on and some impressive exchanges from the midpoint onward. Happy they didn't make it into a circus act and gave Ricochet solid opposition. Peacock is still excellent, unfortunate he's locked into his gimmick, but that's what makes him ROH's signature. Good match overall."

[8.0] "Ricochet becomes the first AEW Champion to defend their belt in ROH, and it was against a former ROH World Champion in Dalton Castle. He brought his expected level of pomp and circumstance and had his best match since returning from injury, really bringing the fight to Ricochet but not being able to put him away."