The episode received generally positive reviews with critics praising the humor and the guest stars.
After one of their favorite wrestlers apparently commits suicide, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) go to pay their respects only for a man at the wrestling show to get murdered with a strange symbol etched into his body.
Lawless explains that he had made a deal ten years before and the demon had promised to spare his life if he did its bidding.
Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.0 out of 10 and wrote in her verdict, "'Beyond the Mat' was sort of awkwardly forced on us (the brothers once again had to go do something - anything - due to dead ends and cabin fever), but it still managed to make its own fun.
"[6] Sean McKenna from TV Fanatic, gave a 3-star rating out of 5, stating: "This was a fair episode, but there wasn't really anything that had me overly excited.
'Beyond the Mat' may have given us fanboy Winchesters, and it may have busted Crowley out of his kennel, but with an awkward ending and a plot that literally went nowhere, I can't say that this was the note Supernatural needed to go out on for its mini-hiatus.
It's true that we can't get enough nuggets of Winchester childhood trauma, and the realization that their's [sic] was a nauseating cross between Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Doomsday Preppers, and Ghost Adventures (or, as I like to call it, Ghost Hunting for Brahs) is both heartbreaking and hilarious, but Sam and Dean's strolls down memory lane have been done before—and done better—with enough frequency that not even our favorite form of filler could save this... this this.
"[7] Becky Lea of Den of Geek wrote, "An episode of two halves, Beyond The Mat manages to succeed more than it fails, but the feeling that the season has been stalling somewhat (Love Hurts was especially guilty of this) continues.