Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for May 17 to May 23

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of May 17th to May 23rd.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE
WWE RAW (May 18)
* Murphy vs. Humberto Carrillo – 2.0
* Charlotte Flair vs. Ruby Riott – 2.0
* R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley – 1.0 (Squash)
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – The IIconics vs. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss (c) – 1.0
* Submission match – Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya – 2.5
* Apollo Crew & Kevin Owens vs. Andrade & Angel Garza – 2.0
* Murphy vs. Aleister Black – 1.5
* Drew McIntyre vs. King Corbin – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – The multiple stories and feuds built throughout the show.
Worst – R-Truth vs. Lashley match.
Show Notes – Opening segment between Randy Orton and Edge was decent. Seth Rollins’ promo was pretty good. Asuka’s celebration segment was great. Truth vs. Lashley feud has been terrible. The finish for the Women’s Tag title match was dumb. Austin Theory joining Rollins group was the only real interesting thing to happen in the third hour. This week’s episode was decent more in terms of story building and less in terms of ring action.

NXT (May 20)
* Karrion Kross vs. Liam – 1.0 (Squash)
* Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament B Block – El Hijo del Fantasma vs. Akira Tozawa – 3.0
* Mia Yim vs. Santana Garrett – 1.5 (Squash)
* Roderick Strong vs. Dexter Lumis – 2.5
* Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Ever-Rise – 1.5 (Squash)
* Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament A Block – KUSHIDA vs. Drake Maverick – 3.5
* Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – KUSHIDA vs. Maverick match.
Worst – Ending to the Shirai vs. Ripley match.
Show Notes – Opening segment with Kross and Tommaso Ciampa was decent. Fantasma vs. Tozawa was pretty good. Shotzi Blackheart vignette was decent. Strong vs. Lumis was decent but also weirdly booked. NXT probably should do something about all these parking lot kidnapping incidents. KUSHIDA vs. Maverick was very good. Shirai vs. Ripley was pretty good despite the lame ending. This week’s episode of NXT was very enjoyable overall.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (May 22)
* The Miz vs. Braun Strowman – 2.0
* Intercontinental Championship Tournament First Round match – AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – 3.0
* Champion vs. Champion Non-title match – Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley – 3.0
* Mixed Tag Team match – Sonya Deville & Dolph Ziggler vs. Mandy Rose & Otis – 2.5
* Intercontinental Championship Tournament First Round match – Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Styles vs. Nakamura match.
Worst – Miz TV segment.
Show Notes – Opening Miz TV segment was not good at all. WWE managing to retcon their new brand invitational rules with Styles was hilarious. Styles vs. Nakamura was pretty good. Flair vs. Bayley was pretty good despite the weak ending. Mixed tag match and Forgotten Sons promo segment were decent. Pre-match video package for Hardy vs. Sheamus was very good while the match itself was decent despite dragging near the end This week’s episode was mostly enjoyable overall.

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AEW
AEW Dark (May 19)
* Dani Jordyn vs. Hikaru Shida – 2.0 (Squash)
* Clutch Adams vs. QT Marshall – 2.0
* Jason Cade vs. Marko Stunt – 2.0
* Lee Johnson & Musa vs. Jimmy Havoc & Kip Sabian – 2.5
* Shawn Dean vs. Rey Fenix – 3.0
* Jon Cruz vs. Luther – 1.0 (Squash)
* Ryan Rembrandt & Mike Reed vs. Private Party – 2.5
* Alan Angels vs. Sammy Guevara – 3.0
* Serpentico vs. Darby Allin – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Dean vs. Fenix match.
Worst – Cruz vs. Luther match.
Show Notes – Dean vs. Fenix and Angels vs. Guevara matches were pretty good. This week’s episode was decent overall although very skippable.

AEW Dynamite (May 20)
* 10 vs. Jon Moxley – 2.0
* MJF vs. Marko Stunt – 2.5
* Orange Cassidy vs. Rey Fenix – 3.5
* Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker & Nyla Rose – 3.0
* Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Cassidy vs. Fenix match.
Worst – First half of the show being weak in quality for a go-home show.
Show Notes – Opening stuff involving Brodie Lee and Jon Moxley were decent at best. Jake Roberts and Arn Anderson sitdown segment was good. PAC’s vignette and Cassidy vs. Fenix were very good. Women’s tag match was pretty good despite some botches and questionable booking. Guevara vs. Hardy and post-match brawl were pretty good despite the audio issues early in the brawl. This week’s episode was good overall but not one of AEW’s better episodes and somewhat weak as Double or Nothing’s go-home show.

AEW Double or Nothing 2020 (May 23)
Pre-Show: #1 Contender’s for AEW Tag Team Championship – Private Party vs. Best Friends – 2.5
Casino Ladder match – Frankie Kazarian vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Kip Sabian vs. Darby Allin vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Colt Cabana vs. Joey Janela vs. Luchasaurus vs. Brian Cage – 3.5
MJF vs. Jungle Boy – 3.5
TNT Championship tournament Finals – Lance Archer vs. Cody – 3.0
Penolope Ford vs. Kris Statlander – 2.5
Shawn Spears vs. Dustin Rhodes – 1.5 (Squash)
AEW Women’s Championship No Disqualification, No Countout match – Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose (c) – 3.5
AEW World Championship – Brodie Lee vs. Jon Moxley (c) – 3.5
Stadium Stampede match – Inner Circle vs. The Elite – 4.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Stadium Stampede match.
Worst – Ending portion of the TNT Championship Finals match.
Show Notes – #1 Contender’s match was decent despite being somewhat sloppy. Casino Ladder match was very entertaining despite it being a bit too long. MJF vs. Jungle Boy was very good. TNT title match and Ford vs. Statlander were pretty good. AEW Women’s title match was very good and surprised Shida actually won. AEW World title match was a very good brawl. Stadium Stampede match was an amazing joy to watch. Double or Nothing was a very entertaining show overall.

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OTHER
WWE’s Undertaker: The Last Ride – Episode 2 (May 17)
Overall – 3.5
Show Notes – An interesting episode overall looking back on Undertaker’s road to redemption following his poor performance and initial farewell ending at WrestleMania 33.

Viceland’s Dark Side of the Ring – Owen Hart Episode (May 19)
Overall – 4.5
Show Notes – One of the best ever episodes in Dark Side of the Ring’s series. Latter half of the episode was very somber and depressing to watch, especially considering Owen’s tragic death could have completely avoidable.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – Stadium Stampede match (AEW Double or Nothing 2020)
• Worst match of the week – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – The IIconics vs. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss (c) (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – Viceland’s Dark Side of the Ring – Owen Hart Episode
• Worst show of the week – AEW Dark