Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for June 21 to June 27

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of June 21th to June 27th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (June 22)
* RAW Tag Team Championship – Viking Raiders vs. Street Profits (c) – 3.0
* RAW Women’s Championship – Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (c) – 3.0
* 24/7 Championship – Akira Tozawa vs. R-Truth (c) – 0.5
* Liv Morgan vs. Natalya – 2.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – The IIconics vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley (c) – 2.5
* United States Championship – Shelton Benjamin vs. Apollo Crews – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Edge’s promo segment.
Worst – The Nia Jax, R-Truth & Ninjas, and Charlotte segment.
Show Notes – Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode being RAW’s big return from the AJ Styles trade is lame. RAW Tag title match was pretty good. RAW Women’s title match was pretty good despite Charlotte’s poor job at selling. Edge’s promo was great. R-Truth vs. Tozawa was a huge waste of time. Ric Flair, Randy Orton, & Big Show promo segment was decent. Banks’ swerve for a Women’s title match was pretty great. Mysterio Family promo and show closing brawl was pretty good. This week’s episode was average overall.

NXT (June 24)
* Cameron Grimes vs. Damian Priest – 2.0
* Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas – 3.0
* Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter vs. Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai – 3.0
* Karrion Kross vs. Bronson Reed – 2.5
* Rhea Ripley vs. Aliyah – 2.0
* Dexter Lumis vs. Roderick Strong – 0.5 (2.5 for storytelling quality)
* NXT North American Championship – Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Keith Lee (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – NXT North American Championship match.
Worst – Ripley vs. Aliyah match.
Show Notes – Opening Grimes vs. Priest match was decent. Robert Stone, Ripley, and Aliyah segment was lame. Escobar vs. Atlas was pretty good. North American title video package was great. Women’s tag match was pretty good. Lumis vs. Strong was more progressing a story than an actual match. Women’s #1 Contender match video package was great. Great American Bash being suddenly announced for next week was typical WWE booking laziness. North American title match was very good. This week’s episode of NXT was very good overall.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (June 26)
* #1 Contender for SmackDown Women’s Championship Fatal 4-Way match – Dana Brooke vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans vs. Nikki Cross – 2.5
* New Day & Lucha House Party vs. Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Miz, & John Morrison – 3.0
* Jeff Hardy vs. King Corbin – 2.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – The Undertaker Tribute segments.
Worst – Corbin’s Undertaker teasing since last thing I want to see is Undertaker changing his mind on retirement and a match between those two.
Show Notes – Opening Undertaker tribute video was very good. First hour of the show was pretty good with the Undertaker tribute stuff and re-airing of the Boneyard match. Women’s Fatal 4-Way match was decent. 8-man tag match was pretty good. Braun Strowman’s promo was one of his best ever. Hardy vs. Corbin was decent despite dragging a bit too long. This week’s episode was mostly enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark (June 23)
* Robert Anthony vs. Brian Cage – 1.5 (Squash)
* David Ali & Musa vs. SCU – 2.5
* Pineapple Pete vs. Shawn Spears – 2.0
* Griff Garrison vs. Lance Archer – 2.0 (Squash)
* John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela – 3.0
* KiLynn King vs. Mel – 1.5
* Lee Johnson vs. Scorpio Sky – 2.0
* Max Caster, Serpentico, & Luther vs. Jurassic Express – 2.5
* Peter Avalon vs. Orange Cassidy – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Silver & Reynolds vs. Kiss & Janela match.
Worst – King vs. Mel match.
Show Notes – Lance Archer beating up some random guy from backstage or in the crowd prior to his matches never gets old. Dark Order vs. Kiss & Janela was pretty good. This week’s episode was mostly decent overall.

AEW Dynamite (June 24)
* Lumberjack match – Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus – 3.5
* Hikaru Shida vs. Red Velvet – 1.5 (Squash)
* Colt Cabana & Brodie Lee vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela – 3.0
* SCU vs. FTR – 3.5
* Brian Cage vs. Joe Cruz – 2.0 (Squash)
* Santana vs. Matt Hardy – 2.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – SCU vs. FTR match.
Worst – TNT title press conference segment.
Show Notes – Opening Lumberjack match was very good. Britt Baker having a new popemobile-like setup was amazing. TNT title press conference segment was dull. Janella & Kiss vignette was very entertaining. SCU vs. FTR was very good. Pentagon Jr.’s surprise return was great. AEW Tag title and World title matches video packages were fantastic. Taz’s promo was good. Baker and Big Swole’s segment was hilarious. Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy promo and brawl segment was very good. This week’s episode was very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW & OTHER

WWE’s Undertaker: The Last Ride – Episode 5 (June 21)
Overall – 4.0
Show Notes – The finale of The Last Ride series was amazing overall. A very interesting look back on Undertaker finally coming to terms with the end of his career, Undertaker coping with the passing of his brother, and the Road to the Boneyard Match.

NJPW New Japan Cup Night 3 (June 22)
* Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI vs. Yuji Nagata, Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura, & Gabriel Kidd – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – SANADA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – SHO vs. Shingo Takagi – 4.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – Taichi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – SHO vs. Takagi match.
Worst – Lack of a crowd around to enjoy a very good New Japan Cup show.
Show Notes – Opening 8-man tag match was pretty good. SANADA vs. Taguchi was also pretty good. SHO vs. Takagi was amazing and was also surprised that SHO won. Sabre vs. Ibushi was very good. Taichi vs. Tanahashi was also very good. Night 3 was very enjoyable overall and the best night of the tournament so far.

NJPW New Japan Cup Night 4 (June 23)
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – BUSHI vs. YOH – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 3.5
* SHO, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – EVIL vs. Satoshi Kojima – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tenzan match.
Worst – BUSHI vs. YOH match.
Show Notes – BUSHI vs. YOH was pretty good. YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tenzan was very good and one of YOSHI-HASHI’s best matches in a while. Yano’s antics were the best part of the 8-man tag match. Takahashi vs. Goto was pretty good. EVIL vs. Kojima was very good despite the abrupt ending. Night 4 of New Japan Cup was very good overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup Night 5 (June 24)
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru – 2.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe – 3.0
* DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi vs. Kota Ibushi, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – Hiromu Takahashi vs. Toru Yano – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Takahashi vs. Yano match.
Worst – Ishimori vs. Kanemaru match.
Show Notes – Ishimori vs. Kanemaru was decent. Ishii vs. Makabe was a pretty good stiff match. 6-man tag match was pretty good. Takahashi vs. Yano was fantastic in terms of match quality and Yano’s comedic wrestling style. Nagata vs. Okada was very good, especially the build to the submission finish. Night 5 of New Japan Cup 2020 was very enjoyable overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament First Round – SHO vs. Shingo Takagi (NJPW New Japan Cup Night 3)
• Worst match of the week – 24/7 Championship – Akira Tozawa vs. R-Truth (c) (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – WWE’s Undertaker: The Last Ride – Episode 5
• Worst show of the week – AEW Dark