This review was commissioned by Joe B. over on my Ko-fi account.
A great match, but one that’s great for all the most boring reasons. That may sound like I’m being mean to it, but this match really comes to life primarily from how hard these two do all their moves. Damning with faint praise, maybe, but the physicality these two bring to the bout is absolutely nothing to be sniffed at. At its best, this match really captures a real sense of uncooperative danger. This is perhaps best exemplified early in the match when PAC slips out to the apron just as Andrade’s charging in with this big boot that catches him right in the jaw. It’s moments like that that can’t help but blur the line between what’s planned and what isn’t, and that adds a real sense of struggle to it all here.
As for the stuff that is very clearly planned, most of that functions real well too. PAC is a real wonder here in terms of his bumping. Every time that man takes a DDT, it always feels like a highlight. At one point, he’s just bent backwards through the ropes and he looks like he’s died for all of our sins. It’s awesome. There’s even a structure here with Andrade working an early heat that PAC really does have to work hard to finally halt to make this more of a back and forth affair.
Beyond that though, plain as it sounds, this is just good in all the ways one already expects. Nothing more, nothing less.
Rating: ***3/4
