Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for January 10 to January 16

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of January 10th to January 16th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (January 11)
* Charlotte Flair vs. Lacey Evans – 1.5
* Jeff Hardy vs. Jaxson Ryker – 1.0
* Jeff Hardy vs. Elias – 2.5
* Sheamus & Keith Lee vs. The Miz & John Morrison – 3.0
* Sheamus vs. Keith Lee – 2.5
* Xavier Woods vs. T-Bar – 2.0
* United States Championship – Riddle vs. Bobby Lashley (c) – 2.5
* Riddle vs. MVP – 1.5
* AJ Styles vs. Drew Gulak – 2.5
* Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke – 2.0
* Triple H vs. Randy Orton – N/A
Overall – 1.5
Best – Sheamus & Keith Lee vs. The Miz & John Morrison match.
Worst – First hour of the show in general.
Show Notes – Opening Triple H & Orton promo segment was fine but not interested at all in seeing a match between those two. WWE having Ric Flair show up right after getting hit with another COVID outbreak was completely idiotic. Flair vs. Evans was dull and their feud is already among the worst in WWE in recent years. The pre-match segment and Sheamus & Lee vs. Miz & Morrison were pretty good. Triple H interview segment was okay. Sheamus vs. Lee was a decent hard hitting bout. Drew McIntyre promo segment was okay. Riddle’s pizza promo was dumb. Laughed at T-Bar’s goofy sounding promo. AJ Styles, Adam Pearce, & Drew Gulak segment was okay. Styles vs. Gulak was fine despite being too short. Goldberg vignette was nothing special. Alexa Bliss’ fireball at Orton was the only good part of the main event. This week’s episode was mostly boring overall even considering the less than ideal circumstances.

NXT (January 13)
* Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae – 3.0
* Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round – Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise – 2.5
* Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis – 2.5
* Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round – Jake Atlas & Isiah “Swerve” Scott vs. MSK (Nash Carter & Wes Lee) – 3.5
* Xia Li vs. some jobber – 0.5 (Squash)
* Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round – Breezango vs. Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Adam Cole) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Jake Atlas & Isiah “Swerve” Scott vs. MSK match.
Worst – Xia Li vs. some jobber match.
Show Notes – Blackheart vs. LeRae was a pretty good opener bout. Finn Balor & Pete Dune promo & brawl with The Band & Undisputed Era segment was fine. Gargano and Austin Theory interview segment was nothing special. Guess Grizzled Young Veterans’ suddenly forgot about them being faces and not heels these past few weeks. Raquel Gonzalez vignette was superb. Blackheart & Ember Moon interview segment was decent. KUSHIDA’s post-match attack was the only interesting part about the Gargano vs. Lumis match. Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa sitdown segment was okay. The Rascalz’s Impact/indies ring names were way better than their new NXT ones. Undisputed Era interview segment was decent. Atlas & Scott vs. MSK was very good. Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter interview segment was okay. Breezango vs. Undisputed Era was pretty good. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (January 15)
* Jey Uso vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – 3.0
* Natalya vs. Liv Morgan – 2.0
* Rey Mysterio vs. King Corbin – 2.5
* Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro – 3.5
* Apollo Crews vs. Sami Zayn – 2.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro match.
Worst – Micheal Cole’s commentary work during the Uso vs. Nakamura match.
Show Notes – Opening Paul Heyman & Roman Reigns segment was decent. Uso vs. Nakamura was pretty good despite Michael Cole’s random irrational hatred of Cesaro on commentary. Guess Sonya Deville really is just a backstage authority figure now. Street Profits interview segment was okay. Reigns & Crews being together backstage was interesting. Billie Kay’s new punk look is cool. Natalya vs. Morgan and Mysterio vs. Corbin were somewhat decent despite the lame endings. Heyman & Pearce segment was fine. Bayley’s Ding Dong, Hello debut segment with Bianca Belair was more miss than hit. Bryan vs. Cesaro was very good and bit surprised Cesaro won. Carmella & Sasha Banks segment was flat. The big twist with the Universal title contract signing segment was very anti-climatic. This week’s episode was average at best but also skippable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark (January 12)
* Mike Verna vs. Ricky Starks – 2.0
* Ryzin & Fuego Del Sol vs. Jurassic Express – 2.5
* Marti Daniels vs. Tay Conti – 2.0 (Squash)
* 10-Man Tag Team match – Shawn Dean, Zack Clayton, Adam Priest, Danny Limelight, & Vary Morales vs. The Dark Order (Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, Alan “5” Angels, 10, & Colt Cabana) – 3.0
* Louie Valle vs. Powerhouse Hobbs – 1.5 (Squash)
* Leva Bates vs. Red Velvet – 2.0
* KC Navarro & El Australiano vs. Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) – 2.5
* Lee Johnson & Aaron Solow vs. Varsity Blonds (Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.) – 3.0
* Alex Gracia vs. Anna Jay – 2.0 (Squash)
* Tesha Price vs. Serena Deeb – 2.5
* Baron Black & Nick Comoroto vs. Bear Country (Bear Boulder & Bear Bronson) – 2.5
* Chaos Project vs. Top Flight – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – 10-Man Tag Team match.
Worst – Louie Valle vs. Powerhouse Hobbs match.
Show Notes – Opening Verna vs. Starks match was somewhat decent. Daniels vs. Conti was a decent squash match despite the sloppy looking finish. 10-man tag match was pretty good. Taz’s reaction to Navarro & El Australiano’s entrance was a bit funny. Varsity Blonds new entrance theme sounds decent. Johnson & Solow vs. Varsity Blonds was pretty good. Black & Comoroto vs. Bear Country was a nice hard hitting bout and Bear Country picking up their first ever AEW win is interesting. Chaos Project vs. Top Flight was pretty good. This week’s episode was mostly average at best overall.

AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash Night 2 (January 13)
* Eddie Kingston vs. PAC – 3.5
* Chuck Taylor vs. Miro – 3.0
* Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. Danny Limelight & Variety Blonds (Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.) – 3.5
* Jurassic Express (Marko Stunt & Jungle Boy) vs. FTR – 3.0
* NWA World Women’s Championship – Tay Conti vs. Serena Deeb (c) – 3.0
* TNT Championship – Brain Cage vs. Darby Allin (c) – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – TNT Championship match.
Worst – Waiting Room segment being all over the place in terms of quality.
Show Notes – PAC vs. Kingston was a very good hard hitting opener bout. Taylor becoming Miro’s personal butler is interesting. Matt Hardy & Private Party interview was decent. Inner Circle New Year’s Resolution segment was entertaining but TNT’s censor guy probably very upset with Sammy Guevara now. Dark Order interview segment was okay. Allin vs. Cage hype video was superb. 6-man tag match was a very good fast paced bout. Post-match brawl with Moxley & Lucha Bros was entertaining. Waiting Room segment was a big mess but also a somewhat entertaining train wreck. Jurassic Express vs. FTR was pretty good despite dragging a bit too long. NWA Women’s title match was also pretty good. Yikes at Allin’s bloody head after the table smash spot. TNT title match was an amazing brutal bout despite the abrupt finish and the ref count botch spot. This week’s episode was very entertaining overall.

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NJPW & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (January 12)
* Taya Valkyrie vs. Kimber Lee – 2.5
* Chris Bey & Rohit Raju vs. Suicide & Manik – 3.0
* Deaner vs. Tommy Dreamer – 2.0
* Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary – 2.5
* Moose vs. Matthew Palmer – 2.5 (Squash)
* Karl Anderson vs. Rich Swann – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Karl Anderson vs. Rich Swann match.
Worst – Deaner vs. Tommy Dreamer match.
Show Notes – Valkyrie vs. Lee opener bout was decent despite the flat finish. Omega’s Bullet Club bus segment was decent. AEW’s paid ad segment was funny, especially Tony Khan’s on-going petty feud with Don Callis & Impact. Bey & Raju vs. Suicide & Manik was pretty good despite dragging a bit too long. Valkyrie & Rosemary segment was decent. Deaner vs. Dreamer was dull, especially the lame DQ finish. Women’s Tag title contract signing segment was somewhat weak. Brian Myers & Josh Alexander segment was decent at best. Swann promo segment was very good. Moose vs. Palmer was an entertaining extended squash match. Omega & Callis vignette was superb. Anderson vs. Swann was pretty good despite the abrupt ending. Post-match backstage brawl was entertaining. This week’s Hard to Kill go-home episode was average at best overall.

Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill (January 16)
* Pre-show: Brian Myers vs. Josh Alexander – 2.5
* Intergender match – Decay (Rosemary & Crazzy Steve) vs. Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb with a K – 2.5
* Old School Rules 6-Man Tag Team match – Violent By Design (Deaner, Joe Doering & Eric Young) vs. Tommy Dreamer, Cousin Jake, & Rhino – 2.5
* Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship Finals – Fire N’Flayva (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz) vs. Havok & Nevaeh – 3.0
* Ace Austin vs. Matt Cardona – 2.5
* X-Division Championship Triple Threat – Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju vs. Manik (c) – 3.5
* Impact Knockouts Championship – Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzo (c) – 3.0
* Ethan Page vs. Karate Man – 2.5
* Barbed Wire Massacre match – Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards – 3.5
* Moose, Chris Sabin, & Rich Swann vs. The Good Brothers & Kenny Omega – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Moose, Chris Sabin, & Rich Swann vs. The Good Brothers & Kenny Omega match.
Worst – Old School Rules 6-Man Tag Team match.
Show Notes – Opening Intergender match was decent. 6-Man Tag was a decent hardcore bout despite it dragging at times. Knockouts Tag title finals was pretty good. Cardona’s surprise debut was cool. Austin vs. Cardona was entertaining until the lame DQ finish. X-Division title match was very good despite the goofy unmasking spot. Purrazzo’s Venus de Milo submission looked brutal while the Knockouts title match was really good. Page vs. Karate Man cinematic bout was both very dumb and somewhat hilarious. Yikes at all of the barb wired spots during the Barb Wired Massacre match. Callihan vs. Edwards was a very entertaining and brutal deathmatch. The main event 6-Man Tag match was fantastic. Swann eating the pin was very interesting. The new commentary team and fake crowd reactions was a much needed addition for Impact’s empty arena shows. Hard to Kill was a very enjoyable show overall, especially the latter half.

NJPW Strong (January 15)
* Barrett Brown vs. Misterioso – 2.5
* Adrian Quest vs. TJP – 2.5
* Bullet Club (Hikuleo, El Phantasmo, & KENTA) vs. Blake Christian, ACH, & Fred Rosser – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Bullet Club vs. Blake Christian, ACH, & Fred Rosser match.
Worst – Adrian Quest vs. TJP match.
Show Notes – Opening Brown vs. Misterioso was an all right back-and-forth style bout. Fred Rosser interview segment was fine. Quest vs. TJP was decent despite dragging at times. Bullet Club vs. Christian, ACH, & Rosser was pretty good. This week’s episode was average but enjoyable overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – Moose, Chris Sabin, & Rich Swann vs. The Good Brothers & Kenny Omega (Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill)
• Worst match of the week – Xia Lia vs. some jobber (WWE NXT)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW