Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for August 23 to August 29

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of August 23rd to August 29th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE SummerSlam (August 23)
* Pre-Show: United States Championship – MVP vs. Apollo Crews – 2.5
* SmackDown Women’s Championship – Asuka vs. Bayley (c) – 3.0
* RAW Tag Team Championship – Angel Garza & Andrade vs. Street Profits (c) – 3.0
* Loser Leaves WWE No Disqualification Match – Sonya Deville vs. Mandy Rose – 2.0
* Street Fight – Seth Rollins vs. Dominik – 3.5
* RAW Women’s Championship – Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (c) – 3.5
* WWE Championship – Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre (c) – 3.0
* Universal Championship Falls Count Anywhere match – “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman (c) – 2.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Seth Rollins vs. Dominik match.
Worst – WWE’s poor production and fake crowd noise work throughout the show.
Show Notes – SmackDown Women’s title match was pretty good despite the abrupt ending. RAW Tag title match was entertaining. Deville vs. Rose was flat for the big stakes it had. Dominik performed very well for his debut match. RAW Women’s title match was very good. WWE title match was pretty good despite the weak finish. Keith Lee vignette was great. The Fiend’s entrance looked amazing in the ThunderDome. Ending of Universal title match made Strowman look like a big moron. Roman Reigns surprise return was great. SummerSlam itself was pretty good overall.

WWE RAW (August 24)
* Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler – 2.0
* 24/7 Championship – Akira Tozawa vs. Cedric Alexander vs. R-Truth vs. Shelton Benjamin (c) – 2.0
* Angel Garza vs. Montez Ford – 2.5
* Zelina Vega & The IIconics vs. Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, & Bianca Belair – 2.5
* Arm Wrestling Contest – Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews – 0.5
* Randy Orton vs. Keith Lee – 2.0
* RAW Women’s Championship Lumberjack match – Sasha Banks vs. Asuka (c) – 2.5
* Rey Mysterio & Dominik vs. Murphy & Seth Rollins – 3.0
Overall – 1.5
Best – Rey Mysterio & Dominik vs. Murphy & Seth Rollins match.
Worst – Booking of Keith Lee’s debut and his new entrance theme.
Show Notes – Opening Drew McIntyre promo was fine. Aleister Black’s random heel turn was a bit odd. Lee’s old theme was way better than his new one. Lee’s debut promo was weak. Arm Wrestling Contest was one of the worst ever in WWE history. Mysterio Family interview segment was good. Lana, Natalya, & Mickie James segment was pointless. Lee losing his debut match via DQ was dumb. RAW Underground segments were decent. Main event tag match was pretty good despite the buzzkill Retribution ambush. This week’s episode was very skippable overall.

NXT (August 26)
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Breezango vs. Imperium (c) – 3.0
* Drake Atlas vs. Tommaso Ciampa – 1.0 (Squash)
* Mia Yim vs. Shotzi Blackheart – 2.5
* NXT Cruiserweight Championship – Isiah “Swerve” Scott” vs. Santos Escobar (c) – 3.5
* Kyle O’Reilly vs. Drake Maverick – 2.5
* Io Shirai & Rhea Piley vs. Raquel González & Dakota Kai – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – NXT Cruiserweight Championship match.
Worst – Ciampa’s abrupt heel turn.
Show Notes – Opening promo by Killer Kross was good and was a better title relinquish spot than Keith Lee’s lame North American title one. NXT Tag title match was pretty good despite being a bit long. Candice LeRae vignette was decent. Austin Theory getting abruptly demoted to NXT was a bit funny. William Regal’s NXT title match announcement was both great in terms of the competitors and bad in terms of its overkill for match time. NXT Cruiser title match and unique mask weapon finish were very good. Women’s tag match was pretty good. This week’s episode was pretty good overall

Friday Night SmackDown (August 28)
* Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy (c) – 2.5
* Matt Riddle vs. Shorty G – 2.0 (Squash)
* Drew Gulak vs. Braun Strowman – 1.0 (Squash)
* Kalisto vs. Cesaro – 2.5
* Heavy Machinery & Big E vs. John Morrision, The Miz, & Sheamus – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Roman Reigns revealing Paul Heyman as his manager.
Worst – Drew Gulak vs. Braun Strowman match.
Show Notes – Opening Intercontinental title match was decent. Sami Zayn’s return was wonderful. Firefly Fun House segment was decent. Women’s tag title promo segment was somewhat dull and awkward, probably on purpose. Alexa becoming fond of The Fiend is interesting although Tamnia’s random face turn was odd. 6-man tag match was pretty good. The swerve of Roman Reigns being a Paul Heyman guy was amazing. This week’s Payback go-home show was mostly average but skippable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark (August 25)
* Storm Thomas & Demetri Jackson vs. Best Friends – 2.0
* Jessy Sorensen vs. Shawn Spears – 1.5 (Squash)
* Red Velvet vs. Mel – 1.0 (Squash)
* D3 vs. Lance Archer – 2.0 (Squash)
* Luther & Serpentico vs. The Initiative – 3.0
* KiLynn King vs. Nyla Rose – 2.0
* Frank Stone & Baron Black vs. The Gunn Club – 2.0
* Heather Monroe vs. Penelope Ford – 2.0
* Metro Brothers vs. Sanata & Ortiz – 2.5 (Squash)
* Ricky Starks vs. Shawn Dean – 2.5
* Marko Stunt vs. Jake Hager – 1.5 (Squash)
* Kip Sabian vs. Frankie Kazarian – 3.0
* The Hybrid 2 vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela – 3.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – The Hybrid 2 vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela match.
Worst – This week’s episode being way too long in length.
Show Notes – Opening Thomas & Jackson vs. Best Friends match was mostly decent. Archer beating up a random person before his matches still is very enjoyable to watch. Luther & Serpentico vs. The Initiative was pretty good despite the flat ending. Vickie Guerrero’s promo segment was decent. Sabian vs. Kazarian and Hybrid 2 vs. Kiss & Janela were pretty good. This week’s extra stuffed episode had a few good matches but also very skippable overall because it dragged on for way too long.

AEW Dynamite (August 27)
* #1 Contender for AEW World Tag Team Championship Gauntlet match – The Young Bucks vs. Natural Nightmares vs. Best Friends vs. FTR – 3.0
* Sean Maluta vs. Lance Archer – 2.0 (Squash)
* The Butcher & The Blade & Lucha Bros vs. Griff Garrison, Brian Pillman Jr., Sonny Kiss, & Joey Janela – 3.0
* 3-on-1 Handicap match – Big Swole vs. Reba, Penelope Ford, & Britt Baker – 1.0
* Tables match – Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy – 2.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – AEW World title contract signing segment.
Worst – Women’s handicap match being very sloppy overall.
Show Notes – The live crowd singing Jericho’s Judas theme was wonderful. Gauntlet match was mostly good despite the flow being off for most of it. Very interested in an Archer vs. Brian Cage feud based on their in-ring tease. AEW Women’s title hype video was very good. AEW World title contract signing segment was fantastic. 8-man tag match was pretty good. Brodie Lee interview and Dark Order segment & brawl was very good. Hangman Page getting kicked out of the Elite and Tay Conti joining the Dark Order were very interesting. This week’s episode was very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW & OTHER

NJPW Strong (August 21)
* Jordan Clearwater vs. Danny Limelight – 2.5
* Adrian Quest, Blake Christian, Barrett Brown, & Misterioso vs. Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks, ACH, & TJP – 3.0
* Chase Owens vs. PJ Black – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – 8-man tag match.
Worst – Chase Owens vs. PJ Black match.
Show Notes – Opening Clearwater vs. Limelight match was fine. 8-Man tag match was also pretty good. Owens vs. Black was mostly decent. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall.

NJPW Summer Struggle in Jingu 2020 (August 29)
* Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Master Wato – 2.5
* King of Pro Wrestling Championship Tournament Finals 4-Way match – El Desperado vs. SANADA vs. Toru Yano vs. Kazuchika Okada – 3.0
* NEVER Openweight Championship – Minoru Suzuku vs. Shingo Takagi (c) – 4.0
* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu Takahashi (c) – 3.5
* IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (c) – 3.5
* IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship match – Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – NEVER Openweight Championship match.
Worst – Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Master Wato match.
Show Notes – Stadium venue setup for the show looked nice. Master Wato vs. Kanemaru was okay despite some sloppy moments. Finals of KOPW title tournament was pretty good. Yano was a great choice for champ since he can make the goofy aspect of the title work well. NEVER Openweight title match was an amazing hard hitting brawl. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title and IWGP Tag title matches were very good. IWGP Double title match was the best one of EVIL’s reign. Ending shot with Naito and the fireworks in the background was cool. Summer Struggle in Jingu was fantastic overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – NEVER Openweight Championship – Minoru Suzuku vs. Shingo Takagi (c) (NJPW Summer Struggle in Jingu 2020)
• Worst match of the week – Arm Wrestling Contest – Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – NJPW Summer Struggle in Jingu 2020
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW