Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for May 10 to May 16

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of May 10th to May 16th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE
WWE Money in the Bank (May 10)
* Pre-Show: Jeff Hardy vs. Cesaro – 3.0
* SmackDown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way match – Lucha House Party vs. The Miz & John Morrison vs. Forgotten Sons vs. New Day (c) – 3.0
* R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley – 1.0 (Squash)
* SmackDown Women’s Championship – Tamina vs. Bayley (c) – 2.0
* Universal Championship – Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman (c) – 2.0
* WWE Championship – Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre (c) – 3.0
* Women’s & Men’s Money in the Bank matches – 4.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – WWE’s cinematic Money in the Bank matches.
Worst – Seth Rollins new entrance theme music.
Show Notes – Opening SmackDown tag title match was pretty good. Tamina vs. Bayley was mostly dull with a weak ending. Universal title match was decent but dragged down by its booking. Rollins new entrance theme was terrible. WWE title match was pretty good despite the slow start. The cinematic MitB matches were very entertaining despite the Women’s portion being the weaker of the two in terms of quality and ending. The show itself was mostly above average overall.

WWE RAW (May 11)
* No Disqualification match – Bobby Lashley vs. Humberto Carrillo – 2.5
* Akira Tozawa vs. Angel Garza – 1.5 (Squash)
* Andrade vs. Drew McIntyre – 2.5
* Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics – 2.0
* Cedric Alexander, Ricochet, & R-Truth vs. Shane Thorne, Brendan Vink, & MVP – 2.0
* Rey Mysterio & Aleister Black vs. Murphy & Seth Rollins – 2.5
* Shanya Baszler vs. Natalya – 1.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Becky Lynch’s pregnancy announcement.
Worst – Mysterio and Black’s roof toss spot at Money in the Bank being made quickly meaningless.
Show Notes – Despite the awkward start, Becky Lynch’s announcement of her becoming a mom was great. Tozawa vs. Garza was decent but Tozawa’s booking still doesn’t help NXT’s Cruiser tournament. Baszler’s promo was very good. Pretty dumb to bring back Rey Mysterio a day after his roof fall just to do an injury angle anyways. Profits vs. Raiders basketball segment was very dumb. Edge & Randy Orton promo segment was good. This week’s episode was mostly a dud overall.

NXT (May 13)
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Imperium vs. Timothy Thatcher & Matt Riddle – 2.5
* Tegan Nox vs. Indi Hartwell – 2.0
* Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament A Block – Tony Nese vs. Jake Atlas – 3.0
* Finn Balor vs. Cameron Grimes – 3.0
* Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament B Block – Jack Gallagher vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott – 2.0
* Kayden Carter vs. Aliyah – 2.0
* Timothy Thatcher vs. Matt Riddle – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Thatcher vs. Riddle match.
Worst – NXT rushing the booking of the team breakup and first match of Thatcher vs. Riddle feud.
Show Notes – Opening NXT Tag title match was decent despite the title change and Thatcher & Riddle implosion feeling too rushed. Nese vs. Atlas was pretty good. Dakota Kai video package was good. The major announcement being another NXT TakeOver show was a bit anti-climatic. Balor vs. Grimes was good. Gargano Family segment was decent. Thatcher vs. Riddle was one of the best matches of WWE’s empty arena shows. This week’s episode was mostly enjoyable overall.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (May 15)
* Intercontinental Championship Tournament First Round match – Elias vs. King Corbin – 2.0
* Naomi vs. Dana Brooke – 1.0
* Intercontinental Championship Tournament First Round match – Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak – 3.5
* The Miz & John Morrison vs. Otis & Braun Strowman – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Otis involvement in the show in general.
Worst – Naomi vs. Brooke match.
Overall – Opening Miz TV segment with Otis was decent. Elias vs. Corbin was somewhat decent but dragged too long and poor choice to kick off the IC title tournament. Hacker video segment was pretty good. The Becky Lynch video package was great. Bryan vs. Gulak was a very nice grapple and submission-based bout. Sonya Deville’s promo was decent. The main event tag match was decent. This week’s episode was mostly average overall.

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AEW
AEW Dark (May 12)
* Shawn Dean vs. Colt Cabana – 2.0
* Mike Reed & Ryan Rembrandt vs. Jurassic Express – 2.5
* Lee Johnson & Musa vs. Private Party – 3.0
* Jon Cruz vs. 10 – 1.5 (Squash)
* Alan Angels vs. Rey Fenix – 3.0
* Dani Jordyn vs. Kris Statlander – 2.5
* Jason Cade vs. Orange Cassidy – 2.0
* Skyler Moore vs. Britt Baker – 2.5 (Squash)
* No Disqualification match – Luther vs. Jimmy Havoc – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Angels vs. Fenix match.
Worst – Cruz vs. 10 match.
Show Notes – Angels vs. Fenix was very entertaining. Baker finding her groove and growth as a heel has been wonderful these past few months. This week’s extra stuffed episode was pretty decent overall.

AEW Dynamite (May 13)
* Jurassic Express vs. Best Friends – 3.0
* Fatal Four-Way match – Penelope Ford vs. Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida – 3.0
* Santana & Ortiz vs. Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy – 3.5
* MJF vs. Lee Johnson – 1.5 (Squash)
* Pineapple Pete vs. Chris Jericho – 1.5 (Squash)
* Christopher Daniels vs. Brodie Lee – 2.5
* Overall – 3.5
Best – Santana & Ortiz vs. Omega & Hardy match.
Worst – Cody’s wimpy looking “crashing the rails” spot with his truck.
Overall – Opening segment was decent. AEW’s tag division video package was very good. Women’s 4-way match was pretty good despite being a bit sloppy at times. Santana & Ortiz vs. Omega & Hardy was one of the best AEW tag matches these past few weeks. Pineapple Pete getting the pyro treatment was amazing. Jericho’s post-match promo and destruction of Vanguard was great. Daniels vs. Lee and Jon Moxley’s post-match promo were decent. This week’s episode was entertaining overall.

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OTHER
WWE’s Undertaker: The Last Ride – Episode 1 (May 10)
Overall – 4.5
Show Notes – Only one episode in but the series is already on track to be among the best documentaries ever produced by WWE. Undertaker being very candid about his career leading up to his match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 was great.

Viceland’s Dark Side of the Ring – Road Warriors Episode (May 12)
Overall – 3.0
Show Notes – An entertaining episode overall looking back on the rise and fall of legendary tag team The Road Warriors. First half of the episode was decent while the second half was very good.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – Women’s & Men’s Money in the Bank matches (WWE Money in the Bank)
• Worst match of the week – R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley (WWE Money in the Bank)
• Best show of the week – WWE Undertaker: The Last Dance – Episode 1
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW