[2020-05-27-WWE-NXT] Matt Riddle vs Timothy Thatcher

[ShittyLittleBoots]

I fucking love these two, and this unique PIT FIGHT presentation fit them like a glove. Every stomp, every kneestrike, every kick, every SMACK is treated like a big deal & they truly look n' feel gnarly throughout. That Showtime like kick by Riddle off the cage was absolutely sick & I love how it was sold w/ Thatcher spitting out those teeth & bleeding from the mouth. My goodness his selling was amazing in the match overall -- I've said it many times before, but here we go again; he might just be the greatest seller in the business today. They of course go to the mat quite a bit as well with them being them & this being a KO or Submission to finish match, and it's great stuff; it's scrappy, everything looks painful & there's great struggle in everything. Just an absolute hit in every way, this one was. Really couldn't ask for a better match to put over Tim Thatcher & his brand of pro-wrestling in NXT. ****1/4

[Makai Club #1]

This was pretty cool. I know people will ignorantly try to compare this to MMA or whatever but this is very much pro-wrestling. The mat wrestling was very good with it being fast and heavy without dwindling on without much aim. They used the cage around them very well too, making it much more than just an added accessory. Riddle had some cool strikes like the Antohy Pettis kick of the cage and when Thatcher was wailing on him, he had some cool up kicks as a defensive measure. Definitely different from what you’ll usually see but kept some of the classic elements that keep it grounded. ****

[Jmare007]

Yeah, this was pretty damn cool. Loved the grittiness and struggle the mat work had. Wasn't a big fan of the last 3 minutes but considering how different this is from anything WWE does that's not Daniel Bryan related, it's certainly welcomed.

[Tenese Sarwieh]

An intense struggle in with both men perfectly conveying hatred and doing bodily harm, loved every minute.

[cactus]

This was a lot of fun, but I felt the WWEisms hurt this match. Thatcher gushing out (the obviously phoney) blood after eating that brilliantly executed Showtime Kick felt like an afterthought, and the commentary didn't help it feel anymore organic. Compare Maruo's commentary to say, Jim Ross reacting to a nasty bladejob or big spot when he was at his peak and you will see what I mean. The cage dive also felt out of place for the type of match that were trying to accomplish. The actual in-ring stuff was great, with the strikes and the selling all hitting the mark. Thatcher has a lot of presence about him and if Matt Riddle isn't a huge star in the next few years, they've truly fucked up. 

★★★¼

[MikeCampbell]

Twelve years ago, I wrote something about the Lockdown match between Joe and Angle to the effect of "TNA wanted to do something completely different than what WWE was doing. But, WWE is smart enough to know that they don't have anyone who can do this. But, TNA didn't either." Well, I've finally been proven wrong!

 

Aside from a few of the over-the-top pro-style aspects, like Riddle's senton off the platfrom and Thatcher ramming Riddle's head into the cage, this would look right at home on a UWF show. The struggle in the matwork, and the nastiness and intensity that they both show is completely believeable. This was just about the perfect sendoff for Riddle, and an awesome way to establish Thatcher as a bad motherfucker. Now, let's get that North American Title on him, and put him with Imperium already!

[jiraffejustin]

It didn't take long for somebody to rip off/pay homage to Anthony Smith losing teeth mid-fight and handing them to the referee. Maybe that's why I rolled my eyes at the moment or maybe it was the incredibly fake looking blood or maybe it was because Kurt stepped in right before the soccer kick that would have made it look more convincing happened. I wasn't a fan of the Showtime kick move either. It looked fine, but I don't really want to see a Showtime kick in the very first time they try to do an MMA style environment. The reason it was so cool when it happened with Anthony Pettis is because there had been thousands of fights up to that point and nobody had ever seen it. I would have enjoyed this a lot more without everything on the platforms and the dive off. Maybe the only reason we got this type of match is because they agreed to do some NXT stuff with the cool stuff, but those things didn't mix well with each other. I like that they tried something new, but they added too much necessary stuff.