[6.0] "[3.0*] I watched it because it was the first match from Swerve as champion and I expected way more from it, specially on psychology. They never figured out that this was going to be a 50/50 match or not and the whole pacing felt strange. I get AEW wants to be the we will fight instead of talk company and I respect it a lot, but my god, he is the first ever African American World Champion of the company, why the fuck would you start his reign opening the show against a (very talented) guy that is 0-10 on singles in AEW and is a midcard ROH champion. The fact that this was not a banger hurts it even more. Super bad decision."
[7.0] "WHOSE HOUSE? Well currently it's Swerve House for sure as he is now AEW World Champion, but that doesn't mean he's here to rest. I've been conflicted on these Eliminator matches in the past just in AEW's presentation of them but Kyle Fletcher was the perfect opponent for one of these. I liked the little note that Kyle didn't follow through on a play Don had set in place. Swerve with a great showing here; which is nothing out of the ordinary."
[7.0] "A pretty solid first match for the show, though I can't lie when I say that I was hoping for a little more here. I feel like these two could have really let loose and had an absolute banger, but I guess not every match needs to be that way. Aside from that, the microphone under the ring was super distracting, for me. Something just felt off about it here. I noticed it when Fletcher was lightly kicking around when in a headlock or something, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for a while."
[7.0] "Gutes Match.Das erste Match von Swerve als Champ, ging absolut in Ordnung, beide bekommen ordentlich Zeit und nutzen sie auch vernünftiges, ohne alles auszupacken. ***1/2"
[8.0] "A fantastic showcase of both wrestlers filled with great manuevers, solid tension when Swerve seemingly injured in his foot (I was SO worried it was a real injury, but that thankfully wasn't the case), and nice subtle development for Kyle Fletcher's character. The Swerve Stomp directly on Kyle's head while Kyle was hanging from the ropes in particular was spectacular, and the House Call at the end was a great way to end the match"
[9.0] "Einfach ein fantastisches AEW World Title Eliminator Match als Opener der Folge. Ich gebe ein Match Rating von (****). Wurde echt nicht vom WON bewertet was ich nicht verstehen kann. Das hätte locker auch ein WON Rating von **** verdient. Kyle will sicher ein Rematch."
[6.0] "Swerve-Fletcher had good chemistry throughout the match, my only issue is that Swerve should have been a tad more dominate and the match a little shorter."
[7.0] "This was a good match. It felt a little flat, since there was no chance of Swerve dropping the title this fast, but Fletcher was a good opponent for him."
[7.0] "Good TV match for the champion. Fletcher continues to deliver good matches and lose, his storyline is close to take off against Callis. Him disobeying Callis was a nice little thing costing him the match, teasing that he is conflicted between his own ways and being a Callis guy. Swerve continues to win with different finishers, making his finishes less predictable, which will pay put in the bigger matches down the road."
[7.0] "Swerve proves every single time why he's in the position he's in. Was this match spectacular? No, It was fine, but this is Swerve's base. He only operates here and above, and if this is the worst we'll see, we're in good hands. Fletcher was decent but I've seen better from him too."
[5.0] "[3.0*] I expected a considerably better match, the pace wasn't what you'd expect from a match between Kyle Fletcher and Swerve, they could have used both of their athleticism better here, the best moments of the match were at the end but overall it was just an ok match ."
[6.0] "The match itself was decent, but I'm not a huge fan of Swerve's first match as champion being so even. Kyle Fletcher's good, but I feel like he's getting pushed a little too hard right now for someone who came in as a tag team guy and hasn't racked up much success on AEW proper."
[5.0] "This went too long, both for what they had to do and how the new champion should match up with a guy of Fletcher's level. Swerve was smart enough to portray himself as overconfident after beating Samoa Joe, which eases the perception problem, but nothing could stop this pretty nothing match from dragging. Rises above a '4' for Strickland's interactions with the crowd, though a better booker would have cut the match shorter and assigned time for the champ to talk on the mic."
[4.0] "I hated this! I'll echo the other sentiments that the booking is completely nonsensical to have Swerve going 50/50 with a guy who hasn't won a singles match on TV in however long (maybe ever? ). Beyond that, they had one too many hiccups for a real champion's showcase / future star in the making."
[7.0] "Pretty good match here. Maybe not what I would've done with Swerve in his first appearance as AEW champion but him just going out there and having a good match against a great opponent in Kyle isn't exactly the worst thing they could've done. This was basically just Swerve wrestling as a full on babyface now, which is essentially just him doing the same moves he usually does, but playing to the crowd and smiling a bit more. Great exchanges throughout this and even a decent little bit of leg selling from Swerve after he misses the Swerve stomp on the apron. We also see some progression in the Don Callis family story here, as Kyle doesn't heed the advice of Don who signals for Kyle to get a table, but Kyle thinks better of it before he ultimately ends up losing. Solid little match overall and a great showcase for Swerve after winning the title. ***1/2"
[7.0] "Fair match between Kyle and Swerve. Personally not a big fan of the 'elimination' matches as it contradicts the ratings system. However, they delivered in a fun opening match. Kyle definitely has a bright future ahead of him and Swerve should have a great run as champion."
[6.0] "***3/4 Good match for both guys, but this shouldn't have been the immediate follow up to Swerve's big win. Of course, these two produced entertaining action thoughout the bout, and I love Kyle Fletcher moveset. He executes his move perfectly. Though, it did get too kick out heavy near the end. Swerve did a Swerve Stomp on the apron to set up for a near fall and Fletcher kicked out of a House Call. Not a fan of Strickland's big offense being kicked out of this early in his reign. But nevertheless, good match."
[6.0] "Yeah this was fine, I like Swerve but I wish he had something more to do on his first episode as world champion. I'd like to at least hear a promo from him as champ, but this match was still decent."
[8.0] "This was my Match of the Night. A very good showcase for both guys that underscored their abilities to present compelling in-ring angles and stories while also executing those moves at a high level. I especially liked Swerve's selling of the ankle after the apron-side Swerve stomp -- it allowed Fletcher to take control of the match with fun counters and submissions. I also enjoyed Fletcher showing us his frustration/dissent with respect to Don Callis within the context of the match (i.e., refusing to use the chair as a weapon). The finish of this match felt quite earned and was a nice culmination of Swerve's in-ring savvy and ruthlessness."
[9.0] "This was a fantastic match. Kyle looked really good in defeat and they even added the little wrinkle of him going against Don's whishes. Great job from both men, great opener. If this was in a regular arena, the heat would be even higher. Good start to Swerve's reign."
[9.0] "I honestly don't know how this match is rated so low. This is an average kyle fletcher banger mixed with the amazing work of the new AEW world champion. I thought these two had great chemistry and put on a phenomenal match."
[7.0] "It was a fun match, I understand the criticism of Swerve having a match instead of doing a promo, but hey, if the guy is delivering good matches on a weekly basis, then why complain? (***1/2)."
[6.0] "Solid opening match. Nothing crazy that makes it a must see, but the two had a fun match that let the new world champion show off a little, to the point that he has time to interact with the crowd and have fun with it, which tracks with Kyle's current on TV record even if it calls into question why this match was put together. In terms of action there some good spots but nothing that would stand out from any other match from these two. Fletcher's decision to ignore Don was a nice story beat."
[7.0] "Really fun bout right here to start the show, nowhere as good as it could have been in a bigger context with more time I think but a chemistry that will surely be interesting to explore in the future as I think this will be anything but the last time we'll see two of AEW's best young guns clash. The world champion facing a future world champion. Fletcher & Strickland gave us some good action, and this Swerve Stomp nearfall really got me."
[6.0] "The match was solid but the winner was never once in doubt and the booking surrounding the match was questionable at best. Kyle has now gone 0-6 in AEW TV appearances as the ROH TV champion and Strickland looks largely evenly and competitive with someone that has been booked like a loser for weeks on the shows. If Kyle is to be getting these kind of match opportunities where he loses, he shouldnt be a champion as it makes the championship look worse through him losing repeatedly like this while nobody cares about the title that he holds. A fine match in a vacuum at least."
[7.0] "I think it's pretty great that Swerve Strickland was already fighting a match in the very first TV episode after winning his title on Sunday, and Kyle Fletcher was a terrific opponent for him. The match wasn't perfect, but both are very talented wrestlers and I think they had good chemistry together. (The leaping stomp Swerve took off the turnbuckle onto Fletcher on the apron was so brutal! ) I also liked the moment in which Fletcher started to go for a table or weapon under the ring per Don Callis' instruction, but then decided to go against Callis' orders and win the match his own way. Showing further cracks in Callis' control over his wrestlers, particularly Will Ospreay and now maybe Fletcher too. Good subtle long-term storytelling..."
