In Ali We Trust

Adam Brooks (c) VS Mustafa Ali - OPW Heavyweight Championship 9/22/2024

JJZ: Did not expect to take Ali in this direction but boy did this match over deliver for me. I'm sure I've seen Adam Brooks before but can't recall. Maybe NXT UK? I dunno. I think one of the best things about Ali is he seems like he has chemistry with everyone no matter what their style is. The smoothness between the two was almost like dancing. Solid crowd that was hooked bell to bell. Brooks and Ali had some beautiful highspots that just made you say "Jesus Christ!" Both guys were determined to put on a memorable match and I believe they did.

CJD: Wow this one caught me totally out of left field. I'm pretty certain I've never seen Adam Brooks before, and that was one hell of a first impression. You mentioned how smooth this one was, that was something I noticed, but I also really appreciated how much Brooks ground Ali down. Besides one or two really cool moments, Brooks was more focused on hurting Ali than anything else. That created a great dynamic for Ali to shine and the crowd was all that much more along for the ride because of it. This could have easily been a your move/my move trade off with a big fireworks finish and everyone would have went home happy. But they elevated things a bit higher than that which I appreciated very much. It still was a bit of a big indie moves match but not in a bad way at all. It felt important and that's a credit to everything that went into it, both in and out of the ring. What a great showcase for a promotion I'm totally unfamiliar with. What is this, Friday on a Tuesday?!?