Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for August 2 to August 8

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of August 2nd to August 8th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (August 3)
* United States Championship – MVP vs. Apollo Crews (c) – 2.5
* Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan vs. The IIconics – 1.5
* 24/7 Championship Triple Threat match – Akira Tozawa vs. R-Truth vs. Shelton Benjamin (c) – 1.5
* Shayna Baszler vs. Sasha Banks – 2.5
* Angelo Dawkins vs. Angel Garza – 2.0
* Montez Ford vs. Andrade – 2.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – WWE actually going through with Shane’s wacky fight club idea.
Worst – Montez Ford spiked drink angle.
Show Notes – Opening U.S. title match was decent. Kevin Owens Show segment was horrendous. Drew McIntyre’s promos were great. Nia Jax segment was terrible. Shane’s rumored shoot-fight tournament being real is hilarious. Baszler vs. Banks was decent despite the non-finish. RAW Underground concept is interesting. The Ford spiked drink angle is stupid. Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe promo segment was fantastic. The camera work for the RAW Underground segments was atrocious. This week’s episode was one of the oddest RAW’s ever.

NXT (August 5)
* #1 Contender’s for NXT Women’s Championship -Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai – 3.5
* Bronson Reed vs. Shane Thorne – 2.5
* NXT North American Championship Qualifier match – Damian Priest vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Ridge Holland – 3.0
* Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes – 3.0
* Tegan Nox vs. Indi Hartwell – 2.0
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Undisputed Era vs. Imperium (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai match.
Worst – Adam Cole vs. McAfee feud overshadowing the NXT Tag title match.
Show Notes – Opening Ripley vs. Kai match was very good. A Riley vs. Mercedes Martinez feud sounds very interesting. Guess NXT’s back to having kidnapping problems. The hype video for the show’s Ladder match qualifier was very good. North American qualifier match was a nice hard hitting bout. Lee vs. Grimes was pretty good. Post-match Karrion Kross video was great. NXT Tag title match was pretty good despite the big distraction between Adam Cole and Pat McAfee at the end. Not been a fan at all of this McAfee vs. Cole feud. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (August 7)
* Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus – 3.0
* Cesaro vs. Lince Dorado – 3.0
* Jeff Hardy vs. King Corbin – 2.5
* King Corbin vs. Sheamus – 2.5
* The Miz & John Morrison vs. Heavy Machinery – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus match.
Worst – Retribution’s debut on SmackDown just being a lame poor man’s version of Nexus’ debut.
Show Notes – Opening Firefly Fun House segment was decent. Riddle vs. Sheamus match was pretty good. Miz TV segment was easily in the all-time worst ever tier. Braun Strowman’s return was anti-climatic. Hardy vs. Corbin was good despite the lame DQ ending. Corbin vs. Sheamus was decent despite WWE overusing the screwy finish tonight. Guess WWE got desperate again over NXT’s ratings if they are shoehorning the brand for a match on SmackDown. Retribution’s takeover of SmackDown was just a very lame version of Nexus debut. This week’s episode was decent at best overall.

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AEW

AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament The Deadly Draw Night 1 (August 3)
* Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament Round 1 – Mel & Penelope Ford vs. Nightmare Sisters – 2.0
* Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament Round 1 – Tay Conti & Anna Jay vs. Ariane Andrew & Nyla Rose – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Conti & Jay vs. Andrew & Rose match.
Worst – Mel & Ford vs. Nightmare Sisters match.
Show Notes – Veda Scott, Shaul Guerrero, and Madusa being involved with the tournament is very interesting. Opening Mel & Ford vs. Nightmare Sisters match was somewhat decent but not a good showcase to start the tournament. Conti & Jay vs. Andrew & Rose match was good. Brandi Rhodes’ post-match heelish promo was interesting. Night 1 was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dark (August 4)
* Will Hobbs vs. Scorpio Sky – 1.5 (Squash)
* Serpentico & Aaron Solow vs. The Gunn Club – 2.0
* The Initiative vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela – 3.0
* KiLynn King vs. Abadon – 2.0
* Jack Evans vs. QT Marshall – 2.5
* Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr. vs. FTR – 2.5
* The Butcher & The Blade vs. Private Party – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Scorpio Sky’s post-match promo.
Worst – Will Hobbs vs. Scorpio Sky match.
Show Notes – Sky’s post-match promo was very good. The Initiative vs. Kiss & Janela was pretty good despite Janela being sloppy at times. Evans vs. QT Marshall was decent at best despite its sluggish pace. This week’s episode was decent overall.

AEW Dynamite (August 5)
* 12-Man Tag Team match – The Elite & FTR vs. The Dark Order – 3.5
* Santana & Ortiz vs. Best Friends – 3.0
* Dark Order vs. Matt Cardona & Cody – 3.0
* Reba vs. Big Swole – 1.5 (Squash)
* AEW World Championship – Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Orange Cassidy & Chris Jericho debate segment.
Worst – AEW going a bit overboard with the crowd audio this week.
Show Notes – Opening 12-man tag match was very good despite AEW going overboard with the crowd audio volume. Moxley’s promo was very good. Santana & Ortiz vs. Best Friends was pretty good. MJF’s campaign segment was wonderful. Matt Hardy and Sammy Geurvara segment was decent. Trent is going to be grounded for life after getting his mom’s van destroyed. Cardona’s in-ring debut was good. Eric Bischoff being the mystery AEW debate moderator was cool. Cassidy’s promo and the AEW debate segment was amazing. AEW title match was very good. This week’s episode was a lot more enjoyable than last week’s show.

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NJPW & OTHER

GCW Keep In Touch (August 2)
* Tony Deppen vs. Benjamin Carter – 3.0
* Cole Radrick vs. Kylie Rae – 3.0
* KTB vs. Calvin Tankman – 3.5
* Tre Lamar vs. Blake Christian – 3.0
* EFFY & Allie Kat vs. 44OH! (Rickey Shane Page & Atticus Cogar) – 3.0
* “Spyder” Nate Webb vs. Mance Warner – 2.5
* Scramble Match – Jordan Oliver vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Shane Mercer vs. Alex Zayne vs. Isaias Velazquez vs. Ace Austin – 3.0
* AJ Gray vs. Chris Dickinson – 3.0
* ACH vs. Joey Janela – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – KTB vs. Calvin Tankman match.
Worst – Nate Webb vs. Mance Warner match.
Show Notes – Opening Deppen vs. Carter match was good. Rae being a member of the MDK crew is amazing while her GCW debut was pretty good. KTB vs. Tankman was a fantastic big man-esque bout. Lamar vs. Christian was pretty good. EFFY & Kat vs. 44OH! was also pretty good despite the flat finish. Webb vs. Warner was mostly decent. Austin’s GCW debut and Scramble match were pretty good. Gray vs. Dickison was a nice mat-based match. ACH vs. Janela was mostly good despite being a bit too long. GCW Keep In Touch was an entertaining show overall.

NJPW Strong (August 7)
* New Japan Cup USA 2020 Tournament First Round – Karl Fredericks vs. KENTA – 2.5
* New Japan Cup USA 2020 Tournament First Round – Tanga Loa vs. Jeff Cobb – 2.5
* New Japan Cup USA 2020 Tournament First Round – Chase Owens vs. David Finlay – 2.5
* New Japan Cup USA 2020 Tournament First Round – Tama Tonga vs. Brodie King – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Tama Tonga vs. Brodie King match.
Worst – Chase Owens vs. David Finlay match.
Show Notes – Opening Fredericks vs. KENTA match was good. Loa vs. Cobb and Owens vs. Finlay matches were decent. Tonga vs. King was pretty good. NJPW Strong’s debut episode was mostly entertaining overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – AEW World Championship – Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley (c) (AEW Dynamite)
• Worst match of the week – Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan vs. The IIconics (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW