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

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

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE TLC 2020 (December 20)
* Pre-show: Daniel Bryan, Chad Gable, Otis, & Big E vs. King Corbin, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, & Sami Zayn – 3.0
* WWE Championship Tables, Ladders, & Chairs match – The Miz vs. AJ Styles vs. Drew McIntyre (c) – 3.5
* SmackDown Women’s Championship – Carmella vs. Sasha Banks (c) – 3.5
* RAW Tag Team Championship – Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin) vs. New Day (c) – 3.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Asuka & vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) – 2.5
* Universal Championship Tables, Ladders, & Chairs match – Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns (c) – 3.5
* Firefly Inferno match – Randy Orton vs. The Fiend – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Universal Championship Tables, Ladders, & Chairs match.
Worst – The Lana vs. Nia Jax feud payoff to the Women’s Tag title match and WWE shoehorning Charlotte right back into the spotlight again.
Show Notes – Opening WWE title TLC match was very good despite it dragging a bit too long and Miz’s tenure as MitB holder being utterly meaningless in the end. SmackDown Women’s title match was very good. Asuka and Billie Kay segment was a bit funny. RAW Tag title match was pretty good. Women’s Tag title match was mostly decent but laughed at WWE giving Charlotte what should have been Lana’s big PPV moment. Also not interested at all in seeing Charlotte hog up the spotlight again. Universal title was a very good physical style bout. Firefly Inferno match was a lot better than I expected. Fiend charging at Orton while on fire and eating an RKO was cool. The post-match stuff was a bit too goofy though. TLC 2020 was a very entertaining show overall.

WWE RAW (December 21)
* Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose – 2.5
* Drew Gulak vs. Angel Garza – 2.0
* T-Bar vs. Ricochet – 1.5 (Squash)
* Bobby Lashley & MVP vs. Riddle & Jeff Hardy – 2.5
* Jaxson Ryker vs. Gran Metalik – 0.5 (Squash)
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce vs. Charlotte Flair & Asuka (c) – 2.0
* 6-Man Holiday Street Fight – Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, & Keith Lee vs. AJ Styles, The Miz, & John Morrison – 3.0
Overall – 1.5
Best – R-Truth photobombing Hurt Business’ photoshoot moment.
Worst – Jaxson Ryker vs. Gran Metalik match.
Show Notes – Opening Women’s Tag title promo segment was boring. Jax & Baszler vs. Brooke & Rose was decent at best despite being a bit too long. R-Truth photobombing Hurt Business’ photoshoot was the best part of a somewhat dull MVP Lounge segment. Garza pre-match interview was decent. Miz TV segment & brawl with Styles, McIntyre, Sheamus, and Lee was fine. Retribution match and post-match stuff was boring. Elias & Ryker promo segment and match was a waste of time. Randy Orton & Alexa Bliss promo segment was all right but also bit weird. Women’s tag title match was nothing special. Titus O’Neil’s segment was very heartwarming. 6-Man Holiday Street Fight match was pretty good despite dragging at times. This week’s show was mostly a big swing and miss in terms of quality overall.

NXT (December 23)
* NXT Tag Team Championship Street Fight – Killian Dain & Drake Maverick vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (c) – 3.0
* Jake Atlas vs. Isiah “Swerve” Scott – 2.5
* Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai – 3.5
* Ashante Thee Adonis vs. Bronson Reed – 1.5 (Squash)
Timothy Thatcher vs. Leon Ruff – 1.5 (Squash)
Ariya Daivari vs. Tyler Rust – 2.0
Velveteen Dream vs. Adam Cole – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai match and post-match Raquel Gonzalez brawl stuff.
Worst – Timothy Thatcher vs. Leon Ruff match.
Show Notes – Opening NXT Tag title Street Fight was pretty good despite falling flat near the end. Finn Balor & Kyle O’Reilly sitdown segment was nice. Malcolm Bivens & Rust interview segment was okay. The Poison Rana counter was the best part of a mostly sluggish Atlas vs. Scott match. NXT bringing Dream back on TV again feels like a big mistake on their end. Ripley vs. Kai match and post-match Raquel Gonzalez brawl were very good. Reed’s vignette was cool. Xia Li & Boa segment was as odd as usual. Io Shirai & Mercedes Martinez brawl segment was decent. Gargano Family Christmas segments were lame. Dexter Lumis art segment was cool. Ruff interview segment was decent. Dream vs. Cole was somewhat decent despite being dull at times. This week’s episode was entertaining but was also one of the weaker NXT shows this year.

Friday Night SmackDown (December 25)
* Universal Championship Steel Cage match – Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns (c) – 4.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Elimination match – Bayley & Carmella vs. Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair vs. Asuka & Charlotte Flair (c) – 2.0
* Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso – 2.5
* Intercontinental Championship Lumberjack match – Big E vs. Sami Zayn (c) – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Big E winning the Intercontinental Championship.
Worst – Pre-match promo segment for the WWE Women’s Tag title match.
Show Notes – Opening Steel Cage match was great despite the WWE’s stale booking habits with interference in almost every cage match these days. Women’s tag title promo segment was terrible. Women’s tag title match was very sluggish in action. Street Profits & Zayn backstage segment was decent at best. Bryan vs. Uso was mostly fine despite dragging a bit too long and its flat ending. Bryan and Zayn backstage segemnt was good. Intercontinental title match was mostly decent and Big E winning the belt was a great closing moment for the show. This week’s episode was average at best overall with a couple entertaining matches and moments and the rest being mostly skippable.

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AEW

AEW Dark (December 22)
* Bear Country (Bear Boulder & Bear Bronson) vs. Jurassic Express – 3.0
* Tesha Price vs. Nyla Rose – 1.5 (Squash)
* Sonny Kiss vs. Miro – 2.0 (Squash)
* Jazmin Allure vs. Thunder Rosa – 2.5
* Lee Johnson vs. Stu Grayson – 3.5
* Alex Gracia vs. KiLynn King – 2.5
* Pretty Peter’s Pagent Provocation Open Challenge match – “Pretty” Peter Avalon vs. Mike Verna – 2.5
* Vertvixen vs. Red Velvet – 2.0 (Squash)
* Fuego Del Sol, Aaron Solow, & Ray Jaz vs. Dark Order (Colt Cabana, Alan “5” Angels, & Colt Cabana) – 2.5
* Madi Wrenkowski vs. Leyla Hirsch – 2.5
* Terrence & Terrell Hughes vs. Gunn Club (Colten & Austin Gunn) – 2.5
* Danny Limelight vs. Rey Fenix – 3.5
* Serpentico vs. Matt Sydal – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Lee Johnson vs. Stu Grayson match.
Worst – Tesha Price vs. Nyla Rose match.
Show Notes – Opening Bear Country vs. Jurassic Express match was entertaining. Frankie Kazarian’s promo during the Waiting Room segment was fantastic. SCU promising to disband if they ever lost another tag match is very interesting. Johnson vs. Grayson was one of the best AEW Dark matches this year. Gracia defeating King was a bit of a surprise. The little Dark Order kid at ringside was cool, especially learning afterwards that he is one of Brodie Lee’s sons. Limelight vs. Fenix was also one of the best AEW Dark matches this year and the duel on the middle ropes spot was cool. Serpentico vs. Sydal was pretty good. This week’s episode was one of the better episodes of AEW Dark this year.

AEW Dynamite “Holiday Bash” (December 23)
* Chris Jericho & MJF vs. Top Flight – 3.5
* Dark Order (Alan “5” Angels, 10, & Colt Cabana) vs. Jurassic Express – 3.0
* The Butcher vs. PAC – 3.0
* Dustin Rhodes vs. Evil Uno – 3.0
* Hikaru Shida vs. Alex Garcia – 2.5
* AEW World Tag Team Championship – The Acclaimed vs. The Young Bucks (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Chris Jericho & MJF vs. Top Flight match.
Worst – Jade Cargill promo segment.
Show Notes – Inner Circle vs. Top Flight was a very good opening match and a very good showcase for Top Flight. Jake Hager’s post-match promo was decent. The Acclaimed music video was all right. Sting interview and Team Taz promo segment was okay. MJF and Santana & Ortiz segment going in a very emotional direction was an interesting surprise. Dark Order vs. Jurassic Express was pretty good. Don Callis & Kenny Omega interview segment was fantastic. Butcher vs. PAC was pretty good despite the flat ending. Jade Cargill promo segment was very weak. Kip Sabian & Penelope Ford wedding date announcement segment was a bit dull. Shawn Spears interview segment was fine. Abadon chomping on Shida’s neck was the best part of the Shida vs. Garcia match. AEW World Tag title match was very good despite dragging a bit too long. This week’s episode was very enjoyable overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – Universal Championship Steel Cage match – Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns (c) (WWE Friday Night SmackDown)
• Worst match of the week – Jaxson Ryker vs. Gran Metalik (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – WWE TLC 2020
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW