[2018-04-05-EVOLVE 102] Matt Riddle vs Zack Sabre Jr

[ShittyLittleBoots]

A very good match. Zack was absolutely fantastic (as always, really) in this one & Riddle was a great FIP; though I did think that some of his comebacks were lacking... something? Can't quite put my finger on what exactly, but something & that is ultimately what keeps this from being a GREAT 4*+ match. ***3/4

[El-P]

Great match. Mat wrestling clinic + a few funky pro-style leanings. Reminds me a lot of Angle vs Joe from Lockdown in 08, which looked like a possible future for pro-wrestling style with an MMA feel. Sabre is kinda wooden in a Dean Malenko way (which includes the subtle heelish tendencies), but he's a fantastic worker. If'm WWE, I want to sign Matt Riddle yesterday. Bordering MOTYC.

[Phil Schneider]

Great match and fitting swan song for Sabre's EVOLVE title reign (and his run in EVOLVE overall). Match was set up as Riddle's strikes and throws against Sabre's submissions and we got great versions of both. I loved Sabre torturing Riddle's feet and he was just twisting him up in some really inventive pretzels, Riddle's body is taking a beating this weekend, I can't imagine his knee felt good the way Sabre was twisting it. Sabre also took some pretty big shots to the jaw, Riddle's go to sleeps felt especially reckless. Loved the finish with Riddle attempting a twister, Sabre countering it into some sort of calf slicer, and Riddle able to re counter back into an arm trap twister for the tap. So much of the matwork was dominated by Riddle, it was nice to see the Ju Jitsu brown belt break out some tricks.

[Edwin]

This was good. Not a fan of ZSJ still (haven't been convinced he's this great technical wizard -- advanced grappler that he's made out to be) and a lot of his goofy annoying grappling was on full display, however I did dig his banana split near the end leading to the twister. Riddle looked great however and I really dug his helicopter armbar early on and how ZSJ rushed to the ropes quickly to break it up and even though he holds back on his strikes, he still landed some pretty brutal body kicks. I also dug the manjigatame counter into the Gotch-style tombstone. Perfect finish with Riddle breaking out the arm-assisted twitter.

[Boss Rock]

Great match and awesome way to do a title change. It certainly helps that I'm a big fan of Sabre, but it really felt like someone had finally overcome and beat him at his own game. I get the criticisms of Sabre doing flashy stuff just because he can, but I've always seen it as Sabre imposing his will early and doing as many things as he can to break his opponent down over the course of the match (which was instrumental in him winning the New Japan Cup). And even as a face he's kind of a dick, so it makes sense that he would have that "Hey, look how cool I am!" air to him. Loved the finish of Riddle tying up Sabre like Sabre had done to so many opponents before with no way of escaping.

 

One of the best matches I've seen this year and my pick for Evolve MOTY so far.

[Childs]

Watched this twice. The first time, I was groggy and thought it was merely good. The meh crowd did not help. But on rewatch, it took a big leap. Terrific creativity and struggle in the counter sequences. Top-notch selling from Riddle. Cool, unexpected finish. Both guys were really on their best form.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

This is high on my rewatch list. I remember not loving it live, even though these are two of my favorite guys. I was probably just tired from being up at 3:15 to make my flight.

[Cap]

Finally catching up on some stuff that I didn't see live from Mania weekend. Yep... This is really really good stuff. This is up there with some of my favorite matches from the entire weekend to be honest. This was pure back and forth struggle, really good pace mixed with the right amount of selling and letting stuff breath. This felt like two equals playing a game of human chess. I loved the callback to how Sabre beat Riddle before at the end with Riddle reversing it into the bro-mission and dragging Sabre's arm across to keep him from getting the ropes. It is a bit of a struggle to see the drama they are producing in spite of the weirdly lackluster crowd. TThis is is a MOTY contender for me ****1/2

[Maciej]

They just seem to hold on a little tighter and bust things out a little differently than usual, and this ends up being by far their best match together. They work their asses off on the mat, Sabre trapping those extra limbs with a little more purpose than usual and Riddle taking it to another gear in terms of setting things up extra logically (the timing on locking in the first Bromission after the elbow strikes is either more on point than usual or the camera work is). I think this is my favorite Riddle match ever.