Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for February 21 to February 27

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of February 21st to February 27th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE Elimination Chamber 2021 (February 21)
* Pre-show: Qualifier for United States Championship match Fatal Four-Way – Mustafa Ali vs. John Morrison vs. Ricochet vs. Elias – 3.0
* #1 Contender for Universal Championship Elimination Chamber match – Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. King Corbin vs. Jey Uso vs. Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan – 4.0
* Universal Championship – Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns (c) – 2.0 (Squash)
* United States Championship – Riddle vs. John Morrison vs. Bobby Lashley (c) – 3.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) – 2.5
* WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match – AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – #1 Contender for Universal Championship Elimination Chamber match.
Worst – The finish to the Women’s Tag title match.
Show Notes – The pre-match hype video for SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber match airing during the middle of the entrances was odd. SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber match was very good despite somewhat dragging mid-way. Universal title match was a decent quick squash bout that made sense from a booking perspective. Not that big of a fan of Edge vs. Reigns at WrestleMania 37 since Reigns’ match could have been a bigger benefit to Bryan or someone else on the Blue Brand instead. US title match was decent despite the dumb ending with Riddle cheating to win. Women’s Tag title match was mostly decent despite the Reginald shenanigans and lame finish. Miz & MVP backstage segment was interesting. Orton being the first eliminated in the WWE title Chamber match was a surprise. WWE title Chamber match was very good, especially the latter half. Miz becoming the new WWE champ afterwards was laughable. Elimination Chamber was mostly very enjoyable overall.

WWE RAW (February 22)
* United States Championship – John Morrison vs. Riddle (c) – 3.0
* New Day vs. Retribution (T-Bar & Mace) – 1.5
* Tornado Tag Team match – Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin) vs. Lucha House Party – 2.5
* Damian Priest vs. Angel Garza – 2.0
* Charlotte Flair & Asuka vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler – 2.0
* Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus – 3.5
* Naomi & Lana vs. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke – 2.0
* AJ Styles vs. Ricochet – 3.0
* Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus match.
Worst – The tease of a Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka feud and the Flair Family backstage promo segment afterwards.
Show Notes – Opening Miz Tv WWE title celebration segment with MVP & Bobby Lashley was all right. United States title match was pretty good. A bit surprised Rhea Ripley is heading to RAW instead of the Royal Rumble call-ups being split evenly on the main brands. 24/7 title segment was funny. Retribution continue being utterly useless as a heel group in WWE. Miz, Lashley, Braun Strowman, & Shane McMahon segment was decent. Gran Metalik getting tagged during the Tornado Tag match was funny. Priest still needing distractions by Bad Bunny to win his matches doesn’t make him look good at all as a face. Randy Orton’s black goo segment was laughably bad. Women’s tag match was mostly decent but not interested at all in a Asuka vs. Charlotte title feud. Hardy vs. Sheamus was a very good hard hitting bout. Flair Family segment between Ric and Charlotte was boring. Styles vs. Ricochet was pretty good. Strowman vs. Lashley was a decent hoss style bout and surprised Lashley won clean. This week’s episode was mostly dull overall.

NXT (February 24)
* Dexter Lumis vs. Johnny Gargano – 2.5
* Tyler Rust vs. Leon Ruff – N/A
* Zoey Stark vs. Io Shirai – 3.0
* Kacy Catanzaro vs. Xia Li – 2.5
* Drake Maverick & Killian Dain vs. Grizzled Young Veterans – 3.0
* No Disqualification match – Karrion Kross vs. Santos Escobar – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Cameron Grimes’ “Million Dollar Man” inspired basketball dribble challenge segments.
Worst – Show opening The Way’s pre-match backstage segment and interview segment later in the show.
Show Notes – The Way’s pre-match stuff was a bit corny. Opening Lumis vs. Gargano match was mostly good despite the shenanigans. MSK vignette was superb. Grizzled Young Veterans backstage ambush of MSK was interesting. NXT production crew’s botch of Stark’s interview and Shirai video segment was funny. Stark vs. Shirai was pretty good while Toni Storm’s post-match promo was fine. The Way’s interview segment was lame. WWE Women’s Tag title match hype vignette was great. Cameron Grimes’ “Ted DiBiase basketball dribble” challenge segments were hilarious. Grizzled Young Veterans pre-match promo was decent although surprised James Drake got to talk for once. Kross vs. Escobar No DQ match was pretty good and was Kross’ best match in NXT so far. LA Knight car promo was fine. Adam Cole & Roderick Strong promo & brawl with Finn Balor segment was fantastic. Undisputed Era breaking up for good was way long over due in NXT. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (February 26)
* Dominik & Rey Mysterio vs. Chad Gable & Otis – 3.0
* Apollo Crews vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – 3.0
* Tamina vs. Liv Morgan – 2.0 (Squash)
* The Street Profits vs. King Corbin & Sami Zayn – 2.5
* Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Seth Rollins and Cesaro segment.
Worst – Tamina vs. Liv Morgan match.
Show Notes – Opening Roman Reigns & Bryan promo and Bryan & Jey Uso brawl segment was entertaining. Reigns & Uso backstage segment was decent. Edge, Sonya Deville, & Adam Pearce segment was also decent. Mysterios vs. Gable & Otis was pretty good despite its short length. Crews’ “Nigerian royalty” promo segment was all right and his new heel royalty persona is interesting. Crews vs. Nakamura was pretty good. Bianca Belair WrestleMania match announcement segment with Reginald & Sasha Banks was a bit boring. Zayn & Corbin segment was decent at best. The height Montez Ford got on his sunset flip over Zayn onto Corbin was insane. Bryan & Edge interview segment was fine. Seth Rollins & Cesaro promo & big swing segment was fantastic. Bryan vs. Uso was very good despite the buzz kill double countout finish. The post-match attack by Uso and Reigns was fine. This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament Special (February 22)
* 2021 AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament First Round – Nyla Rose vs. Tay Conti – 3.0
* 2021 AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament Japan Semi-finals Round – Emi Sakura vs. Yuka Sakazaki – 3.5
* 2021 AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament Japan Semi-finals Round – Ryo Mizunami vs. Aja Kong – 3.0
* 2021 AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament First Round – Madi Wrenkowski vs. Britt Baker – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Emi Sakura vs. Yuka Sakazaki match.
Worst – Madi Wrenkowski vs. Britt Baker match.
Show Notes – Rose’s Dragon Screw counter spot looked very brutal. Rose vs. Conti opener was pretty good. Sakura vs. Sakazaki was very good, especially the latter half. The post-match attack by Sakura’s group and staredown between Sakura and Hikaru Shida was okay. Mizunami vs. Kong was a pretty good hard hitting match and it ending via a countout was an interesting booking decision. Wrenkowski vs. Baker was mostly decent. Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament special was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dark (February 23)
* John Skyler vs. Brian Cage – 1.5 (Squash)
* Serpentico vs. Lee Johnson – 3.0
* JD Drake vs Eddie Kingston – 3.0
* Brooke Havok vs. Leyla Hirsch – 1.5
* Jurassic Express vs. Angel Fashion & VSK – 2.0 (Squash)
* QT Marshall vs. JJ Garrett – 2.5
* Marko Stunt vs. Max Caster – 2.0
* Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) vs. Louie Valle & Chris Peaks – 2.5
* Kip Sabian vs. Fuego Del Sol – 2.0
* Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo vs. Varsity Blonds – 3.0
* “Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth vs. Aaron Solow – 2.5
* Ivelisse & Diamante vs. Miranda Alize & Renee Michelle – 2.5
* Top Flight vs. Tony Vega & Steven Stetson – 2.5
* 8-Man Tag Team match – Bear Country, Sonny Kiss, & Joey Janela vM’Badu, Levy Shapiro, Daniel Joseph, & Aaron Fryes – 2.5 (Squash)
* “Pretty” Peter Avalon & Cezar Bononi vs. Ryzin & Baron Black – 2.5
* Tesha Price vs. KiLynn King – 2.0
* Three-way Tag Team match – Matt & Mike Sydal vs. The Hybrid2 vs. SCU – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Three-way tag team match.
Worst – The over two-hour runtime for the show.
Show Notes – Opening Skyler vs. Cage squash match was decent. Serpentico vs. Johnson was a fine action packed bout. Drake vs. Kingston was a good hard hitting bout and a fine AEW debut performance by Drake. Havok vs. Hirsch was sloppy but excusable based on the pre-show news of Havok suffering an ACL injury during her taped match. Caster’s pre-match rap was one of his best in AEW. Dean & Bravo vs. Varsity Blonds was pretty good. Nemeth working with Avalon & Bononi is a bit interesting. Women’s tag match was decent. 8-Man tag match was an entertaining extended squash style match. King’s new face paint looks a bit lackluster. Three-way tag match was pretty good. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall but was also way too long in length.

AEW Dynamite (February 24)
* Jon Moxley vs. “Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth – 2.0 (Squash)
* Varsity Blonds vs. Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Brian Cage) – 3.0
* Brandon Cutler vs. Jake Hager – 2.5
* Isiah Kassidy vs. Hangman Adam Page – 3.5
* AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament Semi-fianls match – Nyla Rose vs. Britt Baker – 3.5
* Face of the Revolution Ladder match Qualifier – Lance Archer vs. Rey Fenix – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Lance Archer vs. Rey Fenix match.
Worst – AEW going overboard at times with the obnoxious fake crowd audio levels throughout the show.
Show Notes – Opening Moxley vs. Nemeth squash match was decent at best. Moxley’s post-match promo was great. Archer & Fenix backstage segment was all right. Ouch at Pillman Jr.’s back hitting the edge of the ring steps from Cage’s powerbomb spot. Varsity Blonds vs. Starks & Cage was pretty good. Sting & Darby Allin post-match brawl with Team Taz was fantastic. Young Bucks, MJF, & Chris Jericho segment was fine and laughed at how bad the fake blood looked on Papa Buck. Shaq & Jade Cargill vs. Cody & Red Velvet hype video was superb. Kassidy vs. Page was very good and was Kassidy’s best performance in AEW so far. Kenny Omega & Don Callis workshop interview segment was interesting. Rose vs. Baker was really good, especially the latter half. FTR vs. Jurassic Express vignette was excellent. Fenix soaring over Jake Roberts for his dive spot to Archer was cool. Archer vs. Fenix was amazing and Match of the Year contender worthy. This week’s show was very entertaining overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (February 23)
* Tables match – Deaner vs. Jake Something – 2.5
* Winning team advances to #1 contender’s match for X-Division Championship – Willie Mack, Josh Alexander, & Trey Miguel vs. Chris Bey, Ace Austin, & Black Taurus – 3.0
* XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) vs. The Good Brothers – 2.5
* Eddie Edwards vs. Hernandez – 2.5
* #1 Contender for Knockouts Tag Team Championship match – Susan & Kimber Lee vs. Jordynne Grace & Jazz – 3.0
* TNA World Heavyweight Championship – Jake Something vs. Moose (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – TNA World Heavyweight Championship match.
Worst – Havok, Nevaeh, Tenille Dashwood, & Kaleb backstage segment.
Show Notes – Jake Something’s new entrance theme sounds generic. Opening Tables match was decent despite being a bit too slow paced. Moose’s sit-down protest & promo segment with Scott D’Amore was entertaining. Moose’s TNA title being reactivated is interesting. 6-Man tag match was pretty good although bit surprised Bey, Austin, & Taurus’ team won. Miguel & Sami Callihan backstage segment was fine. Decay’s promo segment was superb. AEW’s paid ad segment with the two Tonys and AEW pals was wonderful. Swinger’s Palace segment was funny. Good Brothers & FinJuice backstage segment was fine. MJF’s former lawyer making a surprise appearance to help out Brian Myers issues with Edwards was wonderful. Myers, Matt Cardona, & D’Amore backstage segment was very funny. Women’s tag match was pretty good, especially the latter half. TNA title match was a pretty good back-and-forth hard hitting match. The post-match Rich Swann & Moose brawl was all right. This week’s episode was solid overall.

NJPW Strong (February 26)
* The Riegel Twins (Logan & Sterling Riegel), ACH, & Brody King vs. The DKC, Kevin Knight, Clark Connors, & TJP – 3.5
* Chris Dickinson vs. Ren Narita – 3.0
* IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship – KENTA vs. Jon Moxley (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match.
Worst – The lack of a real crowd to watch the IWGP US title match.
Show Notes – Opening 8-Man tag match was a very good action packed bout. Dickinson vs. Narita was pretty good and very surprised Narita won. Moxley vs. KENTA hype vignette was wonderful. IWGP US title match was very good and legit surprised Moxley retained the title. This week’s show was very entertaining and the best one in NJPW Strong’s history so far.

NJPW Castle Attack Night 1 (February 27)
* The United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay, & Great-O-Khan) vs. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.0
* YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanga Loa – 3.0
* Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga – 3.0
* Provisional King of Pro Wrestling 2021 Championship YTR Style Texas Strap match – Chase Owens vs. Toru Yano (c) – 2.5
* Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii – 4.0
* EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii match.
Worst – Provisional King of Pro Wrestling 2021 Championship YTR Style Texas Strap match.
Show Notes – Opening United Empire vs. Kojima, Tenzan, & Tanahashi bout was entertaining. YOSHI-HASHI vs. Loa was a pretty good back-and-forth style bout despite the Bullet Club style shenanigans. Guerillas of Destiny & Goto post-match brawl was all right. Goto vs. Tonga was pretty good despite its short length and repeated Bullet Club type shenanigans. King of Pro Wrestling title YTR Style Texas Strap match was decent and had some good comedic moments but also dragged a bit too long. White’s pre-match and early match ringside antics were funny. White vs. Ishii was amazing, especially the frantic back-and-forth counters ending sequence. EVIL vs. Okada was very good and one of EVIL’s better singles matches since his heel turn. Night 1 of Castle Attack was mostly very enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Castle Attack Night 1)
• Worst match of the week – Brooke Havok vs. Leyla Hirsch (AEW Dark)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW