Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for February 28 to March 6

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of February 28th to March 6th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (March 1)
* Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus – 4.0
* Naomi vs. Nia Jax – 1.0 (Squash)
* WWE Championship – Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz (c) – N/A
* Braun Strowman & Adam Pearce vs. Hurt Business (Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) (c) – 2.0
* Elias vs. Damian Priest – 2.0
* WWE Championship – Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz (c) – 0.5
* Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler – 1.5
* 6-Man Tag Team match – Riddle & Lucha House Party vs. Retribution (Slapjack, T-Bar, & Mace) – 2.0
* Riddle vs. Mustafa Ali – 2.5
* WWE Championship Lumberjack match – Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz (c) – 2.0 (Squash)
Overall – 1.5
Best – Bobby Lashley winning the WWE Championship.
Worst – The abysmal bait-and-switch booking leading up to Lashley’s title win and the Flair, Jax, & Baszler pre-match promo segment.
Show Notes – Opening McIntyre, The Miz, MVP, Lashley, & Sheamus promo segment was all right. McIntyre vs. Sheamus was a great hard hitting match. Miz’s “stomach cramps” segment and WWE’s bait-and-swerve with the WWE title match was lame. Shane McMahon’s promo was decent but way too wordy. RAW Tag title was somewhat decent at best despite the lame ending and RAW Tag champs being made to look like weaklings. Elias vs. Priest was also somewhat decent at best despite it being sluggish. Randy Orton interview segment with Alexa Bliss and spooky Evil Orton stunk. WWE doing another bait-and-switch for the WWE title match was extra stupid. Flair, Baszler, & Jax promo & brawl segment was horrible. Gran Metalik ditching the goofy looking cat ears mask was a great decision by him. Happy for Lashley finally becoming WWE champion but WWE’s booking tonight leading up to the big moment was a mess. This week’s show was arguably the worst RAW of the year overall.

NXT (March 3)
* Oney Lorcan & Danny Birch vs. Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa – 3.0
* Aliyah vs. Ember Moon – 2.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez vs. Nia Jax & Shanya Baszler – 3.0
* Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes – 2.5
* Ever-Rise vs. Breezango – N/A
* Finn Balor vs. Roderick Strong – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Finn Balor vs. Roderick Strong match.
Worst – The horrendous booked finish to the WWE Women’s Tag Team title match involving Adam Pearce and RAW brand referee.
Show Notes – Despite being 35 years old, Ciampa looks more like an elderly man based on his appearance these past few weeks. Opening tag match was a pretty good hard hitting bout. Strong & Balor promo & brawl segment was entertaining. Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm hype vignette was splendid. WWE Women’s Tag title match was a good match that got ruined in the end by WWE style garbage booking for the finish. NXT really does feel at times like a WWE main roster booked show but with better work rate to hide it. Isaiah Scott segment was fine. LA Knight promo segment was superb. Grimes trying to pay off Reed so he didn’t have to wrestle was funny. Kayden Carter interview segment was fine. The Way’s therapy segments were lame overall. Santos Escobar promo was nothing special. William Regal’s mysterious big announcement for next week is interesting. Balor vs. Strong was very good, especially the latter half. This week’s show was enjoyable overall but also one of NXT’s weaker shows in a while.

Friday Night SmackDown (March 5)
* King Corbin vs. Montez Ford – 2.0
* Sami Zayn vs. Angelo Dawkins – 2.0
* Dominik Mysterio vs. Chad Gable – 2.5
* Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair – 2.5
* Murphy vs. Cesaro – 3.0
* Steel Cage match – Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso – 3.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Daniel Bryan’s opening promo and the Steel Cage match.
Worst – The booking quality in general for the show.
Show Notes – Opening Daniel Bryan interview segment was great. Roman Reigns & Jey Uso promo segment was superb. Street Profits, Corbin, & Zayn pre-match promo segment was dull and same for the Corbin vs. Ford match. Zayn vs. Dawkins was mostly decent despite the ringside shenanigans finish. Reginald & Carmella backstage segment was okay but not a fan of the duo being broken up way too soon since the pairing still had a lot left in the tank. Seth Rollins & Murphy segment was decent but Murphy abruptly acting heelish was dumb. Murphy vs. Cesaro was pretty good despite Michael Cole spoiling the finish beforehand. Crews going full on stereotypical 80s evil foreigner and not in an entirely good way is probably going to backfire badly. Bayley’s “Ding Dong, Hello” talk show segment was a waste of time. Steel Cage match was very good, especially the latter half. This week’s show was mostly a dud in terms of quality.

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AEW

AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament B/R Live Special (February 28)
* Maki Itoh, VENNY, & Emi Sakura vs. Mei Suruga, Rin Kadokura, & Hikaru Shida – 3.5
* AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament Japan Final – Yuka Sakazaki vs. Ryo Mizunami – 3.5
* AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament United States Semi-Finals – Thunder Rosa vs. Riho – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Yuka Sakazaki vs. Ryo Mizunami match.
Worst – The opening tag match dragging a bit too long.
Show Notes – Taz trying to sign Itoh’s theme was funny. Opening Itoh, VENNY, & Sakura vs. Suruga, Kadokura, & Shida match was very good despite dragging a bit long. Sakazaki vs. Mizunami was a very good action packed bout and surprised that Mizuanmi won. Rosa vs. Riho was very good hard hitting bout despite the weak finish. Also surprised that Rosa won. Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament B/R Live special was very entertaining overall.

AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament Special (March 1)
* Leva Bates vs. Madi Wrenkowski – 1.5
* Leyla Hirsch vs. Miranda Alize – 2.0
* AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament United States Finals – Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose – 3.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose match.
Worst – Leva Bates vs. Madi Wrenkowski match.
Show Notes – Bates vs. Wrenkowski opener was nothing special. Hirsch vs. Alize was somewhat decent at best. Rosa vs. Rose U.S. Finals tournament match was very good. Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament special was mostly enjoyable overall.

AEW Dark (March 2)
* Lee Johnson & Aaron Solow vs. Louie Valle & Chris Peaks – 2.5
* Ivelisse & Diamante vs. KiLynn King & Red Velvet – 3.0
* Top Flight vs. Fuego Del Sol & Jon Cruz – 3.0
* Gunn Club vs. Tony Vega, Aaron Frye, & Angel Fashion – 2.0
* Abadon vs. Renee Michelle – 2.0 (Squash)
* JD Drake vs. Stu Grayson – 3.0
* Bear Country vs. M’Badu & Baron Black – 2.5
* Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alan “5” Angels, & Colt Cabana) vs. Levy Shapiro, John Skyler, & Ryzin – 2.5
* Max Caster vs. JJ Garrett – 2.5
* Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo vs. The Hybrid2 – 3.0
* Orange Cassidy vs. Steve Stetson – 1.5 (Squash)
* Chuck Taylor vs. VSK – 2.0
* 10 vs. Daniel Joseph – 2.0 (Squash)
* Matt & Mike Sydal vs. SCU – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – JD Drake vs. Stu Grayson match.
Worst – The show’s very lengthy runtime.
Show Notes – Opening Johnson & Solow vs. Valle & Peaks match was decent. Women’s tag match was all right. Top Flight vs. Del Sol & Cruz was a good action packed bout despite the weak finish. Drake vs. Grayson was a pretty good hard hitting match. The Acclaimed’s Shopping Network parody segment was lame but the music video portion was fine. The Butcher & The Blade’s post-match attack on Bear Country was interesting. Caster’s pre-match rap was decent at best. Dean & Bravo vs. Hybrid2 was pretty good. Negative One’s commentary antics against Excalibur during 10’s match was a bit funny. The Sydal Bros vs. SCU was pretty good. This week’s show was enjoyable overall despite being very lengthy.

AEW Dynamite “The Crossroads” (March 3)
* Intergender Tag Team match – Cody Rhodes & Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill & Shaquille O’Neal – 3.5
* PAC & Rey Fenix vs. John Skyler & D3 – 2.0 (Squash)
* FTR & Tully Blanchard vs. Jurassic Express – 3.5
* AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator tournament Finals – Nyla Rose vs. Ryo Mizunami – 3.0
* Face of the Revolution Ladder Qualifier match – 10 vs. Max Caster – 2.5
* Matt Hardy & Marq Quen vs. John Silver & Hangman Adam Page – 3.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Cody Rhodes & Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill & Shaquille O’Neal match.
Worst – The flat ending to the 10 vs. Max Caster match.
Show Notes – Shaq actually doing a table bump spot was crazy. Opening Intergender tag match was way better than I expected. Eric Bischoff being a recurring guest just to troll Jericho is funny. Inner Circle press conference & Young Bucks promo segment was wonderful despite Matt Jackson’s rough promo delivery. AEW getting Atsushi Onita for the Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch hype vignette was cool. FTR & Blanchard vs. Jurassic Express was very good despite it falling apart a bit at the end. Paul Wight interview segment was fine. Women’s Tournament Finals was a fine hard hitting bout and surprised Mizunami won. Sting, Ricky Starks promo and Darby Allin & Team Taz brawl segment was all right. 10 vs. Caster was mostly decent despite the lame shenanigans ending. Main event tag match was mostly good despite the flat ending. The random mass brawl to close out the show was great. This week’s Revolution go-home show was very entertaining overall.

AEW Dark (March 8)
* Cezar Bononi & “Pretty” Peter Avalon vs. Natutal Nightmares (QT Marshall & Dustin Rhodes) – 2.5
* JD Drake vs. Chuck Taylor – 3.0
* Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Azriel – 3.0
* Lance Archer vs. John Skyler – 2.0 (Squash)
* Ricky Starks & Brian Cage vs. Angel Fashion & Fuego Del Sol – 2.0 (Squash)
* Jack Evans vs. Jake St. Patrick – 3.0
* Gunn Club vs. D3 & M’Badu – 2.0
* Tesha Price vs. Thunder Rosa – 2.5
* Bear Country vs. Cameron Stewart & Ryzin – 2.5 (Squash)
* Dark Order (Alan “5” Angels & 10) vs. Vary Morales & Labron Kozone – 2.0
* Tay Conti vs. Leila Grey – 2.0
* Chaos Project vs. Matt & Mike Sydal – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Azriel match.
Worst – Gunn Club vs. D3 & M’Badu match.
Show Notes – Opening Bononi & Avalon vs. Natural Nightmares match was decent. Drake vs. Taylor was a fine back-and-forth style bout. Post-match Kip Sabian & Miro attack on Taylor & Orange Cassidy and Miro promo afterwards was superb. Penta vs. Azriel was entertaining. Big Swole promo segment was nice and her new heel persona is interesting. Jake Roberts & Archer post-match promo segment was fine. Evans vs. St. Patrick was a pretty good action packed bout. The Acclaimed’s music video was all right. Bear Country vs. Stewart & Ryzin was a fun squash match. Chaos Project vs. Sydal Bros was pretty good despite dragging a bit long. This week’s special extra episode was enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW Castle Attack Night 2 (February 28)
* Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 3.0
* Chase Owens, Jay White, & EVIL vs. Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Kazuchika Okada – 3.0
* IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. Guerillas of Destiny (c) – 3.5
* NEVER Openweight Championship – Great-O-Khan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) – 3.5
* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way match – El Phantasmo vs. El Desperado vs. BUSHI – 4.0
* IWGP Intercontinental Championship – Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi (c) – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way match.
Worst – Chase Owens, Jay White, & EVIL vs. Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Kazuchika Okada match.
Show Notes – United Empire vs. Kojima & Tenzan opener was a pleasant back-and-forth style match and bit surprised Kojima & Tenzan won. Bullet Club vs. Chaos 6-Man tag match was pretty good. IWGP Tag title match was very good and one of GoD’s better matches in recent months. Despite the weak finish, NEVER Openweight title match was very good and one of Great-O-Khan’s better matches since his return from excursion. IWGP Jr. title Triple Threat match was terrific and El Desperado winning was a bit of a surprise. IWGP Intercontinental title match was fantastic. El Desperdo challenging Ibushi for both of his IWGP titles and bringing up their past history was great. Night 2 of Castle Attack was terrific overall.

NJPW 49th Anniversary Event (March 4)
* DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, & Taichi vs. Master Wato, Gabriel Kidd, Tomoaki Honma, & Hirooki Goto – 3.0
* Taiji Ishimori, Jay White, Chase Owens, KENTA, & EVIL vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Toa Henare, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.0
* BUSHI, SANADA, & Shingo Takagi vs. SHO, Tomohiro Ishii, & Kazuchika Okada – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 Tournament First Round – Jeff Cobb vs. Satoshi Kojima – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 Tournament First Round – Great-O-Khan vs. Tetsuya Natio – 3.5
* IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship – El Desperado vs. Kota Ibushi (c) – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship match.
Worst – The state of Juice Robinson’s hair.
Show Notes – Suzuki-Gun vs. Wato, Kidd, Honma, & Goto opener was an entertaining bout. Juice Robisnon looks like he just woke up based on the way his new puffy hairstyle looked. Bullet Club vs. Taguchi, Henare, FinJuice, & Tanahashi was pretty good and laughed at the ending of Taiguchi’s plan to beat EVIL quickly backfired big time. LIJ vs. SHO, Ishii, & Okada was a pretty good back-and-forth style bout. The post-match Ishii & SANADA mini-brawl was nice. Cobb vs. Kojima was very good and same for the Lariat counter into the Tour of the Islands finish. Great-O-Khan vs. Naito was very good, especially the latter half, and was surprised Great-O-Khan actually won. Red Shoes has some of the closest 2.9 counts I have ever seen in wrestling. El Desperado vs. Ibushi was amazing. NJPW’s 49th Anniversary Event was fantastic overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 Night 1 (March 5)
* DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr., & Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuya Uemura, Gabriel Kidd, & Tomoaki Honma – 3.5
* Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, & EVIL vs. Tiger Mask, David Finlay, YOSHI-HASHI, & Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.0
* Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, & Will Ospreay vs. Master Wato, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament First Round match – Bad Luck Fale vs. Toru Yano – 2.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament First Round match – Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto match.
Worst – Bad Luck Fale vs. Toru Yano match.
Show Notes – Suzuki-Gun vs. Young Lions & Honma opener was a very good action packed bout and the stiff exchanges between Honma and Suzkui was wonderful. Bullet Club vs. Tiger Mask, Finlay, YOSHI-HASHI, & Tanahashi was pretty good. United Empire vs. Wato, Kojima, & Tenzan was entertaining and the ending sequence was nice. EVIL & Dick Togo’s post-match attack to Cobb was decent. Fale breaking Yano’s King of Pro Wrestling trophy because his long-winded entrance announcement routine wouldn’t end was a bit funny. Fale vs. Yano was mostly decent at best but had a few funny comedic moments. Taichi vs. Goto was terrific, especially the latter half. Night 1 of New Japan Cup 2021 was very enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong (March 5)
* Kevin Knight & Clark Connors vs. Alex Coughlin & Karl Fredericks – 3.0
* New Japan Cup USA 2021 Qualifying match – The DKC vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor – 3.0
* New Japan Cup USA 2021 Qualifying match – Lio Rush vs. Rocky Romero – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Lio Rush vs. Rocky Romero match.
Worst – The first few minutes of Rush vs. Romero being a bit too slowish in pace for an empty arena setting.
Show Notes – Opening Young Lions vs. Coughlin & Fredericks was an entertaining action packed bout. Coughlin & Fredericks post-match promo was pretty good. The DKC vs. Lawlor was a pretty good hard hitting bout. Rush vs. Romero was very good despite dragging a bit early on. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 Night 2 (March 6)
* Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, & Jay White vs. Yuya Uemura, David Finlay, & Toa Henare – 3.0
* Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay, & Great-O-Khan vs. BUSHI, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament First Round match – Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomoaki Honma – 4.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament First Round match – KENTA vs. Juice Robinson – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament First Round match – Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada – 4.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada match.
Worst – Honma’s neck and head after the beating he took at the hands of Suzuki.
Show Notes – Bullet Club vs. Uemura, Finlay, & Henare opener was a good back-and-forth style bout. United Empire vs. LIJ 6-Man Tag match was very good, especially the finish. Suzuki vs. Honma was an amazing hard hitting fest of a bout. KENTA vs. Robinson was very good and one of KENTA’s better matches in NJPW. Okada is crazy to be taking a top rope superplex and all those high impact moves on his legit injured back. Takagi vs. Okada was terrific and current front-runner for match of the tournament so far. Night 2 of New Japan Cup 2021 was great overall.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (March 2)
* #1 Contender for X-Division Championship Triple Threat – Black Taurus vs. Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey – 3.0
* Tenille Dashwood vs. Havok – 2.0
* 8-Man Tag Team match – Good Brothers & FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs. XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) & Reno Scum – 2.0 (Squash)
* Special Guest Referee match – Brian Myers vs. Eddie Edwards – 2.0
* Three-Way match – Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace – 3.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace match.
Worst – Impact’s issues with the show’s feed on Twitch.
Show Notes – Opening Triple Threat match was pretty good. Grace, Jazz, & Fire N’Flava segment was okay. Myers & Matt Cardona backstage promo segment was fine. Dashwood vs. Havok was mostly decent despite dragging a bit. Sami Callihan’s Impact gym segment was dull and dragged on way too long. Swinger’s Palace segment with TJP, Austin, & Bey was decent but the Swinger’s Place sign randomly falling down in the background was funny. Violent By Design segment was very good. Tony Khan being nice to Impact for once with this week’s AEW paid ad segment was interesting. Moose “TNA Champion” vignette was superb. Rich Swann vignette was somewhat bland. Good Brothers & FinJuice backstage segment was decent. The DQ ending to the Myers vs. Edwards Special Guest Ref match was lame. Women’s Triple Threat match was very good despite the weak finish. ODB & Purrazzo post-match brawl was all right. This week’s episode was mostly average overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – New Japan Cup 2021 tournament First Round match – Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada – 4.5 (NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2)
• Worst match of the week – WWE Championship – Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz (c) (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW