Despite the historic importance, the match was also criticized by the quality. At the time it received a negative four star rating from Dave Meltzer and the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" named it the "Worst Worked Match of the Year." In 2020, 411Mania's Larry Csonka gave the match one star, stating "The match is not good in any way shape or form; but is one I completely appreciate for its historical importance." Kevin Pantoja, also a writer for 411Mania, gave the match two stars in 2019, stating "Technically, this isn’t any good. However, I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as some people do".