Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for August 9 to August 15

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of August 9th to August 15th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (August 10)
* Seth Rollins vs. Humberto Carrillo – 2.5
* Andrade vs. Angelo Dawkins – 2.0
* Zelina Vega vs. Bianca Belair – 2.5
* Shelton Benjamin vs. Apollo Crews – 2.5
* Akira Tozawa & Ninjas vs. Cedric Alexander, Ricochet, & The Viking Raiders – 1.0 (Squash)
* Liv Morgan vs. Peyton Royce – 1.5
* Asuka vs. Bayley – 3.5
* Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – First 30 minutes of the show involving Seth Rollins and Dominik.
Worst – Retribution’s segments.
Show Notes – Opening contract signing segment and Rollins post-match beating of Dominik were very good although yikes at the welts on Dominik’s back. MVP Lounge segment, especially Crews promo, was good. Drew McIntyre interview was fine. Asuka vs. Bayley was very good although the match stip was still dumb. Retribution already feels like a big bust. RAW Underground segments were decent but the camera work was still atrocious. Orton vs. Owens was good. Orton and Ric Flair post-match segment was great. This week’s episode was somewhat good overall.

NXT (August 12)
* Karrion Kross vs. Danny Burch – 2.0
* Drake Maverick vs. Killian Dane – 1.0
* Tyler Breeze vs. Santos Escobar – 2.5
* Indi Hartwell vs. Mia Yim – 2.5
* Damian Priest vs. Bronson Reed – 3.5
* Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter vs. Aliyah & Mercedes Martinez – 3.0
* NXT North American Championship Qualifier match – KUSHIDA vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Velveteen Dream – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – The multiple video packages and vignettes throughout the show.
Worst – Drake Maverick vs. Killian Dane match.
Show Notes – Scarlett Bordeaux suddenly having magical powers and the contract fireball spot was dumb. The constant cutaways and non-finish made the Maverick vs. Dane match utterly useless. KUSHIDA and Dakota Kai’s vignettes were very good. Hartwell vs. Yim was decent. Priest vs. Reed was a very good hoss fight. Io Shirai’s video promo was very good. Women’s tag match was pretty good. Velveteen Dream being the big surprise was not a good decision at all. This week’s episode was enjoyable but one of the weaker ones for ring action.

Friday Night SmackDown (August 14)
* #1 Contender for SmackDown Women’s Championship Triple Brand Battle Royal – 2.5
* Sheamus vs. Shorty G – 2.5
* Gran Metalik vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – 2.5
* Big E vs. John Morrison – 2.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Mandy Rose’s promo segment.
Worst – Retribution still coming across as a very poor man’s version of Nexus or nWo.
Show Notes – Opening Retribution ambush attack was lame. Sasha Banks & Bayley’s pre-match promo was decent but can’t say the same for their heel ring announcer shtick. Asuka getting two title matches at SummerSlam was the best part of the Battle Royal. Mandy Rose’s promo was her best ever in WWE. AJ Styles & Jeff Hardy IC promo segment was decent. Metalik vs. Nakamura was good despite the flat finish. Alexa Bliss interview and confrontation with Braun Strowman segments were nothing special. This week’s episode was somewhat good overall but nothing special for ring action.

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AEW

AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament The Deadly Draw Night 2 (August 10)
* Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament Round 1 – Rache Chanel & Leva Bates vs. The Swole Family (Big & Lil’ Swole) – 2.0
* Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament Round 1 – Rachael Ellering & Dasha vs. Ivelisse & Diamante – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Rachael Ellering & Dasha vs. Ivelisse & Diamante match.
Worst – Rache Chanel & Leva Bates vs. The Swole Family match.
Show Notes – Opening Chanel & Bates vs. Swole Family match was somewhat decent despite its sluggish pace at times. Ellering & Dasha vs. Ivelisse & Diamante was decent. For someone who barely has wrestled, Dasha’s ring work was fine. Night 2 of Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament was decent overall.

AEW Dark (August 11)
* Lee Johnson vs. Rey Fenix – 2.5
* Alex Chamberlain vs. Shawn Spears – 1.5 (Squash)
* M’Badu & Shawn Dean vs. The Gunn Club – 2.0
* “Marvelous” Michael Stevens vs. Kip Sabian – 2.0
* Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Private Party – 2.5
* Pineapple Pete, Corey Hollis, & Aaron Solow vs. Jurassic Express – 2.5
* The Hybrid 2 vs. The Natural Nightmares – 2.0
* Rachael Ellering vs. Penelope Ford – 2.0
* The Butcher & The Blade vs. SCU – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Lee Johnson vs. Rey Fenix match.
Worst – Alex Chamberlain vs. Shawn Spears match.
Show Notes – The cameraman catching Fenix blatantly punching his arm instead of Johnson for the punching spot was pretty funny. This week’s episode of Dark had a few enjoyable matches but was decent at best overall.

AEW Dynamite (August 12)
* The Young Bucks vs. Stu Grayson & Evil Uno – 3.5
* TNT Championship – Scorpio Sky vs. Cody (c) – 3.0
* AEW World Tag Team Championship – Jurassic Express vs. Hangman Adam Page & Kenny Omega (c) – 3.0
* Hikaru Shida vs. Heather Monroe – 2.0 (Squash)
* $7,000 Obligation Match – Orange Cassidy vs. Chris Jericho – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – MJF’s Campaign promo and Jon Moxley attack & promo segment.
Worst – The flat ending to the TNT Championship match.
Show Notes – Opening Young Bucks vs. Dark Order match was very good. MJF Campaign promo and Jon Moxley attack segment was amazing. TNT title match was pretty good despite the flat ending. Brodie Lee’s promo was his best one in AEW and probably found that old TNT title in a trash can. AEW Tag title match was pretty good. FTR heel turn and attack on Rock ‘n’ Roll Express was great. Jericho’s ruined suit somehow gets more orange each week. Shida’s Stretch Muffler spot looked cool. Cassidy vs. Jericho was pretty good despite the weak ending. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall.

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NJPW & OTHER

NJPW Summer Struggle 2020 Night 8 (August 9)
* Gabriel Kidd & Yuya Uemura vs. Gedo & Yujiro Takahashi – 2.5
* Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata, & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yota Tsuji, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe – 3.0
* DOUKI & Minoru Suzuki vs. SANADA & Shingo Takagi – 3.0
* Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kota Ibushi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, E Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi – 3.5
* BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito vs. Taiji Ishimori & EVIL – 2.5
* NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals – YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hirooki Goto vs. SHO, Toru Yano, & Kazuchika Okada – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
Worst – Gabriel Kidd & Yuya Uemura vs. Gedo & Yujiro Takahashi match.
Show Notes – Opening Young Lions vs. Gedo & Takahashi match was decent. 6-man tag match was pretty good. LIJ vs. Suzuki-Gun tag match was also pretty good. Suzuki vs. Takagi for the NEVER title should be great when it happens. Master Wato, Tenzan, Ibushi, & Tanahashi vs. Suzuki-Gun 8-man tag match was very entertaining. BUSIHI & Naito vs. Ishimori & EVIL was mostly decent. NEVER Openweight 6-Man tournament Finals was great. YOSHI-HASHI winning his first ever NJPW title was the biggest surprise of this tournament. Night 8 of Summer Struggle was very good overall.

NJPW Strong (August 14)
* Barrett Brown & Logan Riegel vs. Jordan Clearwater & Clark Connors – 2.5
* Blake Christian, Misterioso, & PJ Black vs. ACH, Alex Zayne, & TJP – 3.0
* New Japan Cup USA 2020 Tournament Semi-Finals Round – Tama Tonga vs. David Finlay – 2.5
* New Japan Cup USA 2020 Tournament Semi-Finals Round – KENTA vs. Jeff Cobb – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – 6-Man Tag Team match.
Worst – KENTA vs. Jeff Cobb match.
Show Notes – Opening tag match was decent. 6-man tag match was pretty good. Tonga vs. Finlay was decent although was surprised Finlay won. KENTA vs. Cobb was decent despite its sluggish pace. This week’s episode was average overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals – YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hirooki Goto vs. SHO, Toru Yano, & Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Summer Struggle 2020 Night 8)
• Worst match of the week – Drake Maverick vs. Killian Dane (WWE NXT)
• Best show of the week – NJPW Summer Struggle 2020 Night 8
• Worst show of the week – AEW Dark