Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for January 17 to January 23

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of January 17th to January 23rd.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (January 18)
* Charlotte Flair vs. Peyton Royce – 2.5
* Xavier Woods vs. Mace – 2.0
* Mandy Rose vs. Shayna Baszler – 2.5
* Ricochet vs. AJ Styles – 3.5
* Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, & Bobby Lashley) vs. Lucha House Party & Riddle – 2.5
* Jeff Hardy vs. Jaxson Ryker – 2.0
* Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss – 1.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – Ricochet vs. AJ Styles match.
Worst – Alexa Bliss Playground segment and the booking of the Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss match.
Show Notes – Opening Randy Orton promo was a bit corny and his new mask doesn’t look that protective for his nose. Everything about Charlotte’s booking since her return has stunk big time. Hurt Business & Riddle segment was funny despite the camera shot botch. Mustafa Ali promo was excellent. The production botch during Asuka’s interview segment was comically bad. Bliss’ Playground segment was very cringey. Flair’s promo made no sense at all based how she’s been booked in WWE. Ricochet vs. Styles was very good. The Dirt Sheet segment with Gillberg and fake Drew McIntyre was hilarious. 6-Man Tag match was mostly good despite dragging too long. Drew McIntyre promo was fine. Hardy vs. Ryker was decent despite the lame DQ ending. Asuka vs. Bliss was a decent bout dragged down a lot by some horrendous booking decisions. This week’s episode was a very oddly booked show and also very skippable overall.

NXT (January 20)
* 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round – Leon Ruff & KUSHIDA vs. The Way (Austin Theory & Johnny Gargano) – 3.0
* Karrion Kross vs. Ashante “Thee” Adonis – 1.0 (Squash)
* 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round – Imperium vs. Lucha House Party – 3.5
* 2020 Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round – Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter vs. Mercedes Martinez & Toni Storm – 3.0
* Tyler Rust vs. Bronson Reed – 2.5
* Fit Pit match – Timothy Thatcher vs. Tommaso Ciampa – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Fight Pit match.
Worst – Karrion Kross vs. Ashante “Thee” Adonis
Show Notes – Opening Ruff & KUSHIDA vs. The Way match was entertaining. Pete Dunne vignette was fine. Kross squash matches have become a bit boring since it just follows WWE’s typical old routine with big man/monster pushes and even included the heel destroys face tag team bit. MSK vignette and Mercedes Martinez & Toni Storm promo segments were okay. Imperium vs. Lucha House Party was very good, especially the latter half, and also very surprised Lucha House Party won. Alexander Wolfe’s staredown of Imperium was interesting. Women’s Dusty Tag tournament match was pretty good despite the botched finish and surprised Catanzaro & Carter won. Catanzaro & Carter promo segment was fine. Legado del Fantasma & Lucha House Party promo & brawl segment was decent. Fit Pit match was very good, especially the finish. This week’s episode was very enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (January 22)
* Asuka & Charlotte Flair vs. Riott Squad – 2.5
* Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler – 3.0
* Intergender match – Sasha Banks vs. Reginald – 3.0
* Intercontinental Championship – Apollo Crews vs. Big E (c) – 2.5
* King Corbin vs. Dominik – 2.0
* Adam Pearce vs. Paul Heyman – N/A
* Adam Pearce vs. Roman Reigns – N/A
Overall – 3.0
Best – Roman Reigns promo at the start of the show.
Worst – Charlotte Flair’s abysmal effort to sell moves during the women’s tag title match.
Show Notes – Opening promo segment with Reigns, Paul Heyman, & Adam Pearce dragged on too long but Reigns’ promo was excellent. Not interested at all in a Heyman vs. Pearce match. Sami Zayn’s ringside protest of the show is interesting. Women’s tag match was decent. Riott Squad & Billie Kay post-match segment was okay. Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, & Ziggler promo segment was superb. Cesaro vs. Ziggler was pretty good. Banks vs. Reginald was a lot entertaining than I expected. Heyman & Reigns segment was fine. Crews vs. Big E was mostly decent despite the lame DQ finish. Kevin Owens promo segment was fine. Street Profits & Sonya Deville segment was decent. Obstacle Course contest was early NXT era style dumb but also a bit entertaining. Dominik vs. Corbin was dull. The brawl between Reigns and Owens was the only good part of the main event shenanigans. This week’s episode was mostly enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark (January 19)
* Luchasaurus vs. Brandon Cutler – 2.5
* El Australiano vs. Sammy Guevara – 2.5
* Nick Comoroto vs. Scorpio Sky – 3.0
* Marti Daniels vs. Shanna – 2.0
* Baron Black & Mike Verna vs. The Butcher & The Blade – 2.5
* Ryzin, Adam Priest, & Vary Morales vs. Gunn Club – 2.5
* Jon Cruz & Danny Limelight vs. Santana & Ortiz – 1.5 (Squash)
* Lee Johnson & Aaron Solow vs. Private Party – 2.5
* Alex Gracia vs. Big Swole – 2.0
* Zack Clayton vs. Sonny Kiss – 1.5 (Squash)
* KC Navarro & AJ Kirsch vs. Top Flight – 3.0
* Tesha Price & Katalina Perez vs. Ivelisse & Diamante – 2.5
* Shawn Dean & Fuego Del Sol vs. The Acclaimed – 2.5
* Chaos Project vs. Lucha Bros – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Chaos Project vs. Lucha Bros match.
Worst – The almost two hour run-time for the show.
Show Notes – Opening Luchasaurus vs. Cutler match was decent but yikes at Cutler landing right on his head from Luchasaurus’ chokeslam. Guevara’s post-match promo was okay. Comoroto vs. Sky was a pretty good back-and-forth style bout. Pretty Peter Avalon’s promo and announcement of The Walk Off contest was dull. Navarro & Kirsch vs. Top Flight was pretty good. Max Caster’s pre-match rap was fine. Chaos Project vs. Lucha Bros was pretty good. This week’s episode had a few entertaining matches but was very skippable overall.

AEW Dynamite (January 20)
* Negative One’s Birthday Celebration Tag Team match – Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, John Silver, & Colt Cabana) & Hangman Adam Page vs. Chaos Project & The Hybrid2 – 3.5
* Pretty Peter Avalon vs. Cody Rhodes – 2.0
* Jon Moxley vs. Nick Comoroto – 2.5
* Matt Sydal & Top Flight vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party – 3.0
* “Legit” Leyla Hirsch vs. Penelope Ford – 2.5
* Inner Circle Tag Team Challenge – MJF & Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara & Jake Hager vs. Santana & Ortiz – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Negative One’s Birthday Celebration Tag Team match and post-match Dark Order antics.
Worst – Matt Sydal & Top Flight vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party match being very sloppy at times.
Show Notes – Opening 8-Man tag match was very good, especially the finish. The post-match stuff with -1 and Silver’s failed proposal to Page was comedic gold. Sting, Darby Allin, & Team Taz segment was fine. The painting of Omega & Callis was amazing. Young Bucks & Don Callis segment was fine. FTR & Jurassic Express segment was okay. Moxley vs. Comoroto was a nice back-and-forth style bout. Moxley’s post-match promo was superb. Eddie Kingston, Archer, & Jake Roberts segment was fine. 6-Man tag was mostly good despite some rough moments. Hirsch vs. Ford was decent. Miro having Chuckie T disown Orange Cassidy as his best friend was dastardly by him. The All Inner Circle tag match was pretty good despite the rushed finish. Laughed at AEW going off the air while Jim Ross was in mid-sentence. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall despite the show’s latter half being very weak.

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NJPW & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (January 19)
* Eric Young vs. Rhino – 2.5
* Kimber Lee & Susan vs. Jordynne Grace & Jazz – 3.0
* Brian Myers vs. Fallah Ballah – 2.0
* #1 Contender’s for Impact World Tag Team Championship – Chris Sabin & James Storm vs. Private Party – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – #1 Contender’s for Impact World Tag Team Championship match.
Worst – Ace Austin promo segment.
Show Notes – Opening Young vs. Rhino match was decent at best despite the shenanigans. Moose’s post-show Hard to Kill promo was very good. Matt Hardy & Private Party surprise appearance was cool. Tag Title promo segment was very entertaining. Women’s tag match was pretty good despite the shenanigans. The payoff to the “Who Shot Johnny Bravo?” storyline with Taya Valkyrie getting arrested was an interesting way to write Taya out of Impact and laughed at Dreamer’s closing lines. The latter half of AEW’s paid ad segment was funny. Rich Swann & Moose promo & brawl segment was superb. Rohit Raju, Scott D’Amore, & TJP segment was decent. Fire N’Flayva backstage segment was fine. Ace Austin promo was a big swing & miss in quality. Sabin & Storm vs. Private Party was very good. Jerry Lynn costing Sabin & Storm the match was interesting twist to the AEW & Impact storyline. This week’s episode was mostly enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong (January 22)
* The Riegel Twins (Logan & Sterling Riegel) vs. Kevin Knight & Jordan Clearwater – 3.0
* JR Kratos vs. Brody King – 3.0
* Bateman vs. Ren Narita – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – JR Kratos vs. Brody King match.
Worst – The slowish pacing and action throughout the Bateman vs. Narita match.
Show Notes – Opening Riegel Twins vs. Knight & Clearwater bout was pretty good. King pre-match interview segment was fine. Kratos vs. King was an entertaining hard hitting hoss bout. Bateman vs. Narita was decent. This week’s episode was enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – Fit Pit match – Timothy Thatcher vs. Tommaso Ciampa (WWE NXT)
• Worst match of the week – Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – WWE NXT
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW