Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for September 20 to September 26

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of September 20th to September 26th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (September 21)
* #1 Contender for RAW Tag Team Championship Triple Threat – Angel Garza & Andrade vs. Murphy & Seth Rollins vs. Humberto Carrillo & Dominik Mysterio – 2.5
* Keith Lee vs. Drew McIntyre – 2.5
* #1 Contender for RAW Women’s Championship – Zelina Vega vs. Mickie James – 1.5
* Cedric Alexander vs. Apollo Crews – 2.0
* Lana & Natalya vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler – 1.0 (Squash)
* Asuka vs. Peyton Royce – 1.5 (Squash)
* Retribution (Slapjack, T-Bar, & Mace) vs. Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, & Bobby Lashley) – 2.0
Overall – 1.0
Best – Show closing Retribution vs. RAW massive brawl.
Worst – Toss up between the Mysterio Family and Retribution segments.
Show Notes – Retribution looks way too goofy with their new masks and face paint. Triple Threat tag match was okay despite the flat ending result. KO Show segment was decent. Lee vs. McIntyre was decent despite anti-climatic ending. Randy Orton’s promo dragged too much. Bianca Belair vignette was good. R-Truth’s Sharknado beach segment was hilarious. Rollins and Mysterio Family paternity segment and backstage segments were like an awful telenovela episode. RAW Underground segments were better than last week’s despite the baffling booking decision for the Strowman vs. Kato bout. The names of Retribution’s guys are comically bad. This week’s Clash of Champions go-home show was mostly terrible overall.

NXT (September 23)
* #1 Contender for NXT Women’s Championship Battle Royal – 3.0
* Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas – 3.0
* Fabian Aichner & Raul Mendoza vs. Danny Burch & Roderick Strong – 3.0
* Austin Theory vs. Damian Priest – 2.5
* Antonio De Luca vs. Ridge Holland – 1.5 (Squash)
* #1 Contender for NXT Championship Gauntlet Eliminator match – KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bronson Reed vs. Timothy Thatcher vs. Cameron Grimes – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – #1 Contender for NXT Championship Gauntlet Eliminator match.
Worst – Antonio De Luca vs. Ridge Holland match.
Show Notes – Opening Women’s Battle Royal match was pretty good despite the early half being weak in quality. Damian Priest interview segment was decent. Fandango’s Sherlock segment with William Regal was funny. Ciampa vs. Atlas was pretty good. Holland vignette and Gauntlet match hype video were nice. Aichner & Mendoza vs. Burch & Strong was pretty good. Theory vs. Priest was decent despite dragging a bit too long. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vignette was fantastic. Io Shirai, Gargano Family, and Priest backstage segment was fine. Gauntlet Eliminator match was great and same for O’Reilly’s performance during it. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (September 25)
* Triple Threat – Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn – 3.0
* Gran Metalik vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – 2.5
* Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin – 2.5
* Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans – 1.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Roman Reigns’ promo.
Worst – Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans match.
Show Notes – Opening Intercontinental title segment was okay despite WWE being lazy booking a triple threat even though the same matchup is happening again in a couple days. Triple threat match was pretty good. Heavy Machinery, Miz, and John Morrison segment was decent. Bayley’s promo was okay. Metalik vs. Nakamura was somewhat decent. Universal title hype video was fantastic. Jey Uso’s promo segment with Heyman was fine. Riddle vs. Corbin was nothing special. Bliss vs. Evans was bad even with the Fiend style shenanigans. Crazy Bliss was wonderful though. Roman Reigns promo and post-attack speech was great while Uso’s promo was fine. This week’s Clash of Champions go-home episode was decent at best.

---

AEW

AEW Dark (September 22)
* Fuego del Sol & Rembrandt Lewis vs. Dark Order (Stu Grayson & Evil Uno) – 2.0 (Squash)
* Christopher Daniels vs. Ricky Starks – 3.0
* Puf & Calvin Stewart vs. The Butcher & The Blade – 2.0 (Squash)
* Serpentico vs. Will Hobbs – 2.5
* Donte Smiley & Maxx Stardom vs. The Lucha Bros – 2.0
* Ryzin & Xander Gold vs. Dark Order (5 & 10) – 2.5
* Daniel Garcia & Kevin Blackwood vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela – 2.5
* M’Badu & Cruz vs. Gunn Club – 1.5 (Squash)
* Kilynn King vs. Serena Deeb – 2.5
* Ben Carter vs. Lee Johnson – 3.5
* Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Eddie Kingston – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Ben Carter vs. Lee Johnson match.
Worst – M’Badu & Cruz vs. Gunn Club match.
Show Notes – Daniels vs. Starks was pretty good. Puf’s entrance tron featuring dancing cartoon doughnuts was hilarious. King vs. Deeb was a solid bout. Carter vs. Johnson was one of the best matches ever in AEW Dark history. This week’s extra stuffed episode was mostly entertaining overall.

AEW Special Late Night Dynamite (September 22)
* Ben Carter vs. Scorpio Sky – 3.5
* Anna Jay vs. Brandi Rhodes – 2.5
* Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Spears – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Ben Carter vs. Scorpio Sky match.
Worst – Brandi Rhodes terrible looking punches during her match.
Show Notes – Opening Carter vs. Sky match was very good and bit surprised it was not the main event for the show. Jay vs. Rhodes match was decent. Sky and Sydal backstage segment was okay. TNT Championship hype video was pretty good. Sydal vs. Spears was pretty good despite being a bit too long. AEW’s 1 hour Dynamite special was entertaining overall.

AEW Dynamite (September 23)
* Kip Sabian & Miro vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela – 2.5
* Evil Uno vs. Hangman Adam Page – 3.0
* TNT Championship – Orange Cassidy vs. Brodie Lee (c) – 3.5
* Ivelisse & Diamante vs. Thunder Rosa & Hikaru Shida – 3.0
* AEW World Championship – Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – AEW World Championship match.
Worst – The latter half of Miro’s AEW debut match.
Show Notes – Opening Sabian & Miro vs. Kiss & Janela was decent despite being a bit sloppy. Kingston’s promo was wonderful. Uno vs. Page was pretty good despite being a bit long. Matt Jackson interview segment was okay. TNT title match was very good. Cody ditching his blonde hair look is interesting. Lee’s backstage promo was wonderful. Matt Hardy, Private Party, and Inner Circle segment and Tully Blanchard, FTR, and Best Friends segment were decent at best. Women’s tag match was pretty good despite being a bit sloppy. Jericho and MFJ segment was great. AEW title match and post-match brawl were very good. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall but more in the mid-tier quality for Dynamite shows.

---

NJPW & OTHER

NJPW G1 Climax 2020 Night 2 (September 20)
* Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji – 2.5
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – YOSHI-HASHI vs. Juice Robinson – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – SANADA vs. Toru Yano – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – Hirooki Goto vs. KENTA – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito – 4.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito match.
Worst – Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji match.
Show Notes – Opening Young Lions match was fine. YOSHI-HASHI vs. Robinson was pretty good. Yano’s comedic style G1 matches are such a joy to watch and tonight’s match against SANADA was no different. Goto vs. KENTA was very good. EVIL vs. Sabre Jr. was very good despite the Bullet Club shenanigans. Tanahashi vs. Naito was amazing and strong contender for match of the G1 tournament. Night 2 of the G1 Climax tournament was very good overall.

NJPW G1 Climax 2020 Night 3 (September 23)
* Gabriel Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura – 2.5
* G1 Climax 2020 A Block match – Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2020 A Block match – Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada – 2.5
* G1 Climax 2020 A Block match – Taichi vs. Minoru Suzuki – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2020 A Block match – Will Ospreay vs. Tomohiro Ishii – 4.0
* G1 Climax 2020 A Block match – Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Will Ospreay vs. Tomohiro Ishii match.
Worst – Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada match.
Show Notes – Open Young Lions match was decent. Takagi vs. Cobb was pretty good despite some sloppy moments. Takahashi vs. Okada was decent despite its somewhat flat action. Taichi vs. Suzuki was a fine hard hitting bout. Ospreay vs. Ishii was amazing. White trolling the crowd with the chanting shenanigans was great. The finish and match itself for White vs. Ibushi was very good. Night 3 of G1 Climax 2020 was very good overall.

NJPW G1 Climax 2020 Night 4 (September 24)
* Yuya Uemura vs. Yota Tsuji – 2.5
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – Toru Yano vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – Juice Robinson vs. KENTA – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tetsuya Naito – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tetsuya Naito match.
Worst – Yuya Uemura vs. Yota Tsuji match.
Show Notes – Opening Young Lions match was okay. SANADA new mini-face mask he’s been wearing recently looks way too goofy. SANADA vs. Goto was pretty good. Yano vs. Tanahashi was a fantastic comedic spectacle of a match and bit surprised at Yano winning. Robinson vs. KENTA was very good despite it falling a bit apart at the end. EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI was very good despite the usual Bullet Club shenanigans. Sabre Jr. vs. Naito was amazing. Night 4 of G1 Climax 2020 was very entertaining overall.

NJPW Strong (September 25)
* Lion’s Break Crown tournament First Round match – The DKC vs. Logan Riegel – 2.5
* Lion’s Break Crown tournament First Round match – Jordan Clearwater vs. Clark Connors – 3.0
* Lion’s Break Crown tournament First Round match – Barrett Brown vs. Danny Limelight – 2.5
* Lion’s Break Crown tournament First Round match – Blake Christian vs. Adrian Quest – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Jordan Clearwater vs. Clark Connors match.
Worst – Barrett Brown vs. Danny Limelight match.
Show Notes – Opening DKC vs. Riegel match was okay despite the abrupt finish. Clearwater vs. Connors match was pretty good. Brown vs. Limelight was decent despite being a bit too long. Christian vs. Quest was pretty good. First round of the Lion’s Break Crown tournament was entertaining overall.

---

Week awards:

• Best match of the week – G1 Climax 2020 B Block match – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Climax 2020 Night 2)
• Worst match of the week – Lana & Natalya vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – NJPW G1 Climax 2020 Night 2
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW