Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for July 12 to July 18

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of July 12th to July 18th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (July 13)
* Elimination Tag Team match – Viking Raiders vs. Angel Garza vs. Andrade – 2.5
* The IIconics vs. Ruby Riott & Bianca Belair – 2.0
* Murphy vs. Aleister Black – 2.5
* Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens – 3.0
* R-Truth vs. Randy Orton – 1.0 (Squash)
* Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet – 2.5
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Kabuki Warriors vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley (c) – 3.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match.
Worst – Shayna Baszler’s promo.
Show Notes – Poor Garza, spent weeks trying to charm Charly Caruso and she instantly falls in love with Ivar instead. R-Truth’s antics were the only good part of the entire Cedric Alexander & Ricochet segment and 24/7 title non-match. Shayna Baszler’s promo was boring. Murphy vs. Black was decent despite the lame non-finish. Rollins vs. Owens was pretty good despite the odd booking decisions. Orton’s vignette and promo were good. Women’s Tag title match was very good. Extreme Rules go-home show was average overall.

NXT (July 15)
* Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes – 3.0
* Shotzi Blackheart vs. Indi Hartwell – 2.0
* Winner Takes All NXT Championship & NXT North American Championship match – Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee (c) – 3.5
* Timothy Thatcher vs. Denzel Dejournette – 1.5 (Squash)
* NXT Women’s Championship – Tegan Nox vs. Io Shirai (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – NXT Women’s Championship match.
Worst – Blackheart vs. Hartwell match.
Show Notes – Opening Lee and Dijakovic promo segment was entertaining. Priest vs. Grimes was pretty good. Tegan Nox interview was decent. Legado del Fantasma vignette was fantastic. Dijakovic vs. Lee was very good despite being one of their weaker bouts. The crowd’s antics detracted from the post-match stuff with Scarlett Bordeaux. Robert Stone’s storyline has gotten less interesting the longer its gone on. NXT Women’s title match was very good. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (July 17)
* Big E vs. Cesaro – 2.0
* Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Nikki Cross & Asuka – 3.0
* John Morrison vs. Braun Strowman – 1.5 (Squash)
* Lacey Evans vs. Naomi – 1.5
* Intercontinental Championship – Matt Riddle vs. AJ Styles (c) – 3.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Intercontinental Championship match.
Worst – King Corbin’s involvement during the show.
Show Notes – Opening video package hyping up tonight’s show was very entertaining. For a match with big stakes attached, Big E vs. Cesaro did not feel like it. King Corbin’s promo was bland. Moment of Bliss segment dragged too much. Women’s tag match was pretty good. Bray Wyatt’s promo was one of his better promos. Strowman’s rambling promo was a bit funny. Intercontinental title match was very good and surprised Styles won clean. This week’s Extreme Rules go-home show was average overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark (July 14)
* Rache Chanel & Diamante vs. Brandi Rhodes & Allie – 1.5
* Robert Anthony vs. Ricky Starks – 2.0
* Shawn Dean, Joe Alonzo, & Will Hobbs vs. Dark Order – 2.5
* Michael Nakazawa vs. Marko Stunt – 1.5
* Brady Pierce & Pineapple Pete vs. Serpentico & Luther – 2.0
* “The Librarian” Pete Avalon & Brandon Cutler vs. Jurassic Express – 3.0
* FTW Championship – Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Brian Cage (c) – 2.0 (Squash)
Overall – 2.0
Best – Avalon & Cutler vs. Jurassic Express match.
Worst – Nakazawa vs. Stunt match.
Show Notes – Opening women’s tag match was nothing special. Shawn Spears promo segment was decent at best. Avalon & Cutler vs. Jurassic Express was pretty good. This week’s episode was somewhat decent at best but also skippable.

AEW Fight for the Fallen (July 15)
* TNT Championship – Sonny Kiss vs. Cody (c) – 3.0
* Lucha Bros vs. FTR – 3.5
* Jurassic Express vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega – 3.5
* Nightmare Sisters vs. MJ Jenkins & Kenzie Paige – 1.5 (Squash)
* AEW World Championship – Brian Cage vs. Jon Moxley (c) – 3.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks & Omega match.
Worst – Chris Jericho’s expensive clothes after getting a juice bath.
Show Notes – Opening TNT title match was pretty good. Lucha Bros vs. FTR was fantastic. Steve Austin should teach FTR on the proper etiquette for spilling beer. Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy segment was a bit funny. 6-man tag match was very good. Omega heel turn tease was very interesting. Hikaru Shida and Jon Moxley promo segments were good. Not sure if Vickie’s new theme is either great, very annoying, or both. AEW World title match was pretty good, especially the finish. Fight for the Fallen was very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW & OTHER

NJPW Dominion 2020 (July 12)
* Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata, & Satoshi Kojima vs. Gabriel Kidd, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe – 2.5
* BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, & SANADA vs. Yota Tsuji, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii – 3.5
* DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & El Desperado vs. Yuya Uemura, Master Wato, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 3.0
* Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
* NEVER Openweight Championship – SHO vs. Shingo Takagi (c) – 4.5
* IWGP Tag Team Championship – Taichi & Jack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi (c) – 4.5
* IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship match – EVIL vs. Tetsuya Naito (c) – 3.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – NEVER Openweight Championship match.
Worst – Master Wato’s ring gear being among the worst looking ever attires.
Show Notes – The undercard matches were enjoyable overall. Ishimori & Takahashi vs. Goto & Okada was very good and was surprised by the result. NEVER Openweight title match was amazing and the best match since NJPW’s return from its break. IWGP Tag title match was just as great as the NEVER title match. EVIL’s new entrance theme and look is cool. Last few minutes of EVIL vs. Naito was crazy, mostly in a good way, while the match itself was very good. Dominion was an amazing show overall.

NJPW Lion’s Break Collision (July 17)
* Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks vs. Misterioso & The DKC – 3.0
* Rocky Romero vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Romero vs. Lawlor match.
Worst – Lawlor’s choice of attire for the match.
Show Notes – Both matches were pretty good. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall and the shortest in terms of time so far in the series.

Impact Wrestling Slammiversary 2020 (July 18)
* The Rascalz vs. Motor City Machine Guns – 3.0
* TNA World Heavyweight Championship Old School Rules match – Tommy Dreamer vs. Moose (c) – 2.0
* #1 Contender’s Knockouts Gauntlet match – Tasha Steelz vs. Kylie Rae vs. Fake Taya Valkyrie vs. Kimber Lee vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Susie vs. Katie Forbes vs. Madison Rayne vs. Havok vs. Taya Valkyrie vs. Alisha Edwards vs. Nevaeh vs. Rosemary vs. Fake Rosemary – 2.0
* Impact X-Division Championship – Chris Bey vs. Willie Mack (c) – 3.0
* Impact World Tag Team Championship – Sami Callihan & Ken Shamrock vs. The North (c) – 3.0
* Impact Knockouts Championship – Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace (c) – 3.5
* Impact World Championship Elimination match – Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Rich Swann vs. Eric Young – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Impact Knockouts Championship match.
Worst – TNA World Heavyweight Championship match.
Show Notes – Rascalz vs. MCMG was pretty good. Dreamer vs. Moose was somewhat boring. Women’s “Gauntlet” match was an entertaining train wreck. Heath Slater’s surprise debut was great. X-Division title match was pretty good despite the sloppy ending sequence. Tag title match was pretty good. Knockouts title match was very good. Impact’s big surprise was very anti-climatic. World title match and post-match was good despite some questionable booking. Slammiversary was mostly entertaining overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – NEVER Openweight Championship – SHO vs. Shingo Takagi (c) (NJPW Dominion 2020)
• Worst match of the week – R-Truth vs. Randy Orton (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – NJPW Dominion 2020
• Worst show of the week – AEW Dark