Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for March 14 to March 20

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of March 14th to March 20th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (March 15)
* The Miz vs. Drew McIntyre – 2.5 (Squash)
* Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke vs. Lana & Naomi – 2.0
* RAW Tag Team Championship – New Day vs. Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin) (c) – 3.0
* Jaxson Ryker vs. Damian Priest – 1.5 (Squash)
* Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman – N/A
* Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler – 2.0
* United States Championship – Mustafa Ali vs. Riddle (c) – 3.0
* Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus – 3.5
Overall – 1.5
Best – Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus match.
Worst – Shane McMahon & Braun Strowman promo segment and non-match.
Show Notes – Opening Lashley, Miz, John Morrison, & McIntyre promo segment was fine. Sheamus interview segment was decent. Strowman & Shane promo segment was even worse than the strange one they had last week. R-Truth’s “Stone Cold” antics backstage segment was funny. New Day & Riddle promo segment was dumb. RAW Tag title match was pretty good despite WWE’s bad habit of doing a title change right before a PPV show. AJ Styles & Omos vs. New Day for the RAW Tag belts at Mania is interesting. Bad Bunny just handing the 24/7 title back to R-Truth was lame. Bunny actually taking a bump to setup the WrestleMania feud with Miz & Morrison was interesting. Shane slimming Strowman was stupid. Alexa’s Playground segment was a bit weird. Asuka vs. Baszler was nothing special but the post-match brawl was entertaining. US title match was pretty good. Randy Orton interview segment was decent. Lashley vs. Sheamus was a very good hard hitting bout. This week’s Fastlane go-home show was mostly awful overall.

NXT (March 17)
* Dexter Lumis vs. Austin Theory – 2.5
* Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquim Wilde) vs. Breezango – 3.0
* Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai – 3.5
* Marchel Barthel vs. Tommaso Ciampa – 2.5
* LA Knight vs. August Grey – 2.0 (Squash)
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Karrion Kross & Finn Balor vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Birch (c) – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai match.
Worst – LA Knight vs. August Grey match.
Show Notes – Opening Balor, Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Burch, & Lorcan promo segment was fine despite dragging a bit long. Adam Cole, William Regal, & Kyle O’Reilly promo segment was quite good. Ember Moon, Shotzi Blackheart, & Robert Stone Brand backstage segment was a bit dull. Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango was pretty good. Santos Escobar & Devlin Jordan promo segment was all right but still don’t care about seeing Jordan on NXT. Sarray vignette was splendid. Stark vs. Kai was very good, especially the latter half. Io Shirai handing a match contract to Raquel Gonzalez was something different for a title match contract segment in WWE. Grizzled Young Veterans promo segment was fine. WALTER’s surprise appearance was cool. O’Reilly & Cole arrested segment was okay. Gonzalez & Kai interview segment was fine. Xia Li vignette was pleasant. Yikes at Burch landing awkwardly twice in a row during the tag title match. NXT Tag title match was mostly decent despite being a bit of a mess flow wise. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (March 19)
* SmackDown Women’s Championship – Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks (c) – 2.0
* Street Profits vs. Dominik & Rey Mysterio – 3.0
* Dominik & Rey Mysterio vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis) – 2.5
* Sami Zayn vs. King Corbin – 1.5
* Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler – 1.0
* Winner Becomes Special Enforcer for Universal Championship match – Edge vs. Jey Uso – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Big E & Apollo Crews sitdown segment and the comical anti-hype video for the Sami Zayn vs. King Corbin match.
Worst – The booking of the women’s division stuff on tonight’s show.
Show Notes – Opening Banks & Belair backstage segment was lame. SmackDown Women’s title match was poorly booked and the ending was a bit of a mess. Edge interview segment was fine. Jax & Baszler backstage segment was decent. Seth Rollins’ white suit with blueish ink splashes at the cuffs and bottom looked weird. Rollins promo & brawl with Shinsuke Nakamura segment was all right. Street Profits vs. The Mysterios was pretty good. Gable’s pre-match promo was decent. Zayn & Kevin Owens backstage segment was fine. Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns promo segment was superb. The anti-hype video for Zayn vs. Corbin match was hilarious. The pre-match video was correct after all since Zayn vs. Corbin stunk. Big E & Apollo Crews sitdown interview and brawl segment was great. Belair vs. Baszler was a waste of time. WWE’s booking of their women’s division stuff tonight was abysmal. Edge vs. Uso was pretty good. This week’s Fastlane go-home show was mostly average overall but also somewhat skippable.

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AEW

AEW Dark: Elevation (March 15)
* Danny Limelight vs. Jungle Boy – 3.5
* Miro & Kip Sabian vs. Baron Black & Vary Morales – 2.5
* Big Swole vs. Skyler Moore – 2.0
* Marko Stunt vs. QT Marshall – 2.0
* Tay Conti vs. Ashley Vox – 2.5
* Matt & Mike Sydal vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs – 2.5
* Dani Jordyn vs. Red Velvet – 2.0
* Dante Martin vs. Max Caster – 3.0
* Abadon vs. Ray Lyn – 2.0 (Squash)
* Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Brandon Cutler – 2.0 (Squash)
* Diamante vs. Layla Grey – 2.0 (Squash)
* 8-Man Tag Team match – Carlie Bravo, Dean Alexander, Brick Aldridge, & David Ali vs. The Butcher, The Blade, & Private Party – 2.5 (Squash)
* Michael Nakazawa vs. Matt Sydal – 1.0
* Matt Sydal vs. Kenny Omega – 1.0 (Squash)
* Maki Itoh vs. Riho – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Danny Limelight vs. Jungle Boy match.
Worst – The debut show’s two-hour runtime and not feeling that different from AEW’s Dark series in terms of format.
Show Notes – Limelight vs. Jungle Boy opener was a very good action filled bout despite some sloppy moments. QT Marshall interview segment was decent. Marshall got some great height on his suplex into Diamond Cutter finisher to Stunt. Lee Johnson vignette was superb. Hobbs & Hook interview segment was quite good. Sydal Brothers & Kenny Omega backstage segment was decent. Caster’s pre-match rap was not one of his better efforts. Martin vs. Caster was pretty good. Wight’s story of him as a kid getting kicked out of McDonalds for beating up Ronald McDonald due to his fear of clowns was funny. Tony Khan’s awkward promo during the post-match stuff was the only good thing about the Nakazawa vs. Sydal & Sydal vs. Omega matches. Itoh vs. Riho was a pretty good back-and-forth style bout. Paul Wight’s commentary debut and his work in the booth throughout the show was splendid. The debut episode of AEW Dark Elevation was mostly enjoyable despite its long runtime.

AEW Dark (March 16)
* Cezar Bononi vs. Luchasaurus – 2.5
* Leyla Hirsch vs. Savannah Evans – 2.5
* John Silver vs. John Skyler – 2.0
* Tesha Price vs. Penelope Ford – 1.5 (Squash)
* Chaos Project vs. Fuego Del Sol & Jake St. Patrick – 2.0
* KiLynn King vs. Jazmin Allure – 2.0
* Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alan “5” Angels, & Colt Cabana) vs. Angel Fashion, Baron Black, Vary Morales, & Ryzin – 2.5
* Gunn Club vs. David Ali, Adam Priest, & Seth Gargis – 1.0 (Squash)
* Bear Country vs. Dean Alexander & Brick Aldridge – 2.0 (Squash)
* Nick Comoroto vs. D3 – 1.5 (Squash)
* Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs vs. Varsity Blonds – 2.5
* Madi Wrenkowski vs. Vertvixen – 3.0
* Carlie Bravo & Aaron Solow vs. SCU – 3.0
* Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Brian Cage) vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela – 3.0
* Jack Evans vs. 10 – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Carlie Bravo & Aaron Solow vs. SCU match.
Worst – Too many squash matches in a row on the show.
Show Notes – Bononi vs. Luchasaurus opening bout was mostly decent. Hirsch vs. Evans was a decent David vs. Goliath style match because of the height & size difference between the two. Luther using Serpentico’s head as a weapon during his tag match was a bit funny. King’s new facepaint design looks better than her prior one. Dark Order vs. Fashion, Black, Morales, & Ryzin was a solid bout in general. Wrenkowski vs. Vertvixen was a fine and somewhat hard hitting match. Bravo & Solow vs. SCU was pretty good. Starks nailing a sweet looking spear to Kiss was great. Team Taz vs. Kiss & Janela was a good back-and-forth style match and both teams teasing cracks forming between tag partners was interesting. Negative One on guest commentary during the main event was nice. Evans vs. 10 was mostly decent despite being sloppy at times. This week’s show was average at best overall but also very skippable.

AEW Dynamite St. Patrick’s Day Slam (March 17)
* Penta El Zero M vs. Cody Rhodes – 3.5
* Jade Cargill vs. Dani Jordyn – 1.5 (Squash)
* 10-Man Tag Team match – Matt Hardy, Private Party, The Butcher, & The Blade vs. Jurassic Express & Bear Country – 3.0
* Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley vs. Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) – 3.5
* Rey Fenix vs. Angelico – 3.0
* Unsanctioned Lights Out match – Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa – 4.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Unsanctioned Lights Out match.
Worst – The booking decision and finish for the Penta El Zero M vs. Cody Rhodes match.
Show Notes – Penta vs. Rhodes opener bout was very entertaining despite not being that fond of the finish nor Cody winning. Callis’ digs at the Young Bucks was funny. MFJ’s promo was fantastic. MJF’s group being called “The Pinnacle” is a bit lackluster. Bear Country chucking Marko Stunt out of the ring for a dive spot was funny. 10-Man Tag was pretty good despite being unfocused at times. Moxley & Kingston backstage segment was superb. Christian Cage interview segment was decent. Kingston & Moxley vs. Good Brothers was very good. Post-match brawl and stuff with Omega and the Young Bucks was fine. Brian Cage teasing a split from Team Taz was interesting. Fenix vs. Angelico was a good action packed bout. Miro’s advice to Kip Sabian about not having your wife at ringside made a lot of sense considering how his WWE career went down. Yikes at both Rosa & Baker getting busted open. Baker vs. Rosa was a terrific bloody & brutal match and a bit surprised Rosa won. This week’s show was very entertaining overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 Night 8 (March 14)
* Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, & David Finlay – 3.0
* Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, & KENTA vs. DOUKI, Taichi, & Minoru Suzuki – 3.0
* BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, & Shingo Takagi vs. SHO, Kazuchika Okada, & Hirooki Goto – 3.5
* Yujiro Takahashi, EVIL, & Jay White vs. Toa Henare, Juice Robinson, & Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Second Round match – SANADA vs. Yuji Nagata – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Second Round match – Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – 4.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Worst – NJPW’s lazy booking habit when it comes to having Bullet Club style shenanigans in almost every match involving the group in some form these days.
Show Notes – Yano, Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI vs. Young Lions & Finlay opener bout was entertaining. Bullet Club vs. Suzuki-Gun was pretty good. LIJ vs. CHAOS 6-Man Tag was a very good action packed bout. Bullet Club vs. Henare, Robinson, & Tanahashi was mostly good despite the stale Bullet Club style shenanigans near the end. SANADA vs. Nagata was a very good back-and-forth action style bout. SANADA managing to not look like an idiot for releasing his Skull End submission into a failed moonsault spot in a high profile match was a bit refreshing. The opening moments of the main event match was a bit crazy in terms of the fast paced action flow. Yikes at Ospreay suffering a busted nose. Ospreay vs. Sabre Jr. was an amazing hard hitting counters fest match. Ospreay vs. Sabre. Jr. is among the contenders for match of the tournament. Night 8 of New Japan Cup 2021 was very enjoyable overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 Night 9 (March 15)
* Jado, Taiji Ishimori, & KENTA vs. DOUKI, El Desperado, & Minoru Suzuki – 3.0
* Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, & Will Ospreay vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, & Zack Sabre Jr. – 3.0
* BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, & SANADA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Hirooki Goto, & Yuji Nagata – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Second Round match – YOSHI-HASHI vs. David Finlay – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Second Round match – Jay White vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Jay White vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.5
Worst – The 5:30AM EST start time for the show and slept through the live showing because of a pre-show nap that turned into a full sleep.
Show Notes – Bullet Club vs. Suzuki-Gun 6-Man tag was a solid opening bout. United Empire vs. Suzuki-Gun 6-Man tag match was pretty good. LIJ vs. SANADA, Taguchi, & Goto was a pretty good back-and-forth action filled match. YOSHI-HASHI vs. Finlay was very good and one of their best performances in NJPW in recent times. The ending sequence to YOSHI-HASHI vs. Finlay match was splendid. Gedo’s reaction to getting hit with a Dragon Screw was a bit funny. White vs. Tanahashi was a very good back-and-forth action packed bout. White’s post-match promo was superb. Night 9 of New Japan Cup 2021 was very entertaining overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 Night 10 (March 16)
* Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura, & Yota Tsuji vs. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 3.0
* Chase Owens Bad Luck Fale, & Jay White vs. Toa Henare, Juice Robinson, & David Finlay – 3.0
* Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI & SANADA – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Quarterfinal Round match – EVIL vs. Toru Yano – 2.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Quarterfinal match – KENTA vs. Shingo Takagi – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – KENTA vs. Shingo Takagi match.
Worst – EVIL vs. Toru Yano match.
Show Notes – Young Lions vs. Nagata, Kojima, & Tenzan opener was entertaining. Bullet Club vs. Henare & FinJuice was quite good, especially the ending sequence and was a nice teaser for the upcoming White vs. Finlay tournament match. BUSHI must have a drawer that is just full of masks based on the countless different types he’s had in NJPW. United Empire vs. BUSHI & SANADA was pretty good. EVIL vs. Yano was mostly decent at best but the lights out finish with EVIL appearing out of nowhere was both goofy and cool. The stiff strike fest spot between KENTA and Takagi was lovely. KENTA vs. Takagi was a fantastic hard hitting match. Takagi has been the MVP so far of this tournament. Night 10 of New Japan Cup 2021 was a very enjoyable show overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 Night 11 (March 18)
* Gabriel Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura – 2.5
* Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuji Nagata – 3.0
* Bad Luck Fale & KENTA vs. Toa Henare & Juice Robinson – 3.0
* Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, & EVIL vs. BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, & Shingo Takagi – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Quarterfinal match – Jay White vs. David Finlay – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Quarterfinal match – Will Ospreay vs. SANADA – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Will Ospreay vs. SANADA match.
Worst – The amount of shenanigans by Gedo during the initial half of the Jay White vs. David Finlay match.
Show Notes – Opening Young Lions match was decent in general. United Empire vs. Tsuji & Nagata was quite entertaining. Fale & KENTA vs. Henare & Robinson was pretty good. Bullet Club vs. LIJ 6-Man tag match was very good, especially the latter half. White currently the front-runner for most swears uttered during a wrestling match in 2021 so far. White vs. Finlay was very good, especially the latter half and finish. Also very surprised Finlay actually won and the biggest shock upset of the tournament so far. The amount of times SANADA went after Ospreay’s injured nose was comical. Ospreay vs. SANADA was a great action packed bout. Night 11 of New Japan Cup was very enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong (March 19)
* Alex Coughlin vs. Jeff Cobb – 3.0
* New Japan Cup USA 2021 Qualifying match – Misterioso vs. Ren Narita – 3.5
* New Japan Cup USA 2021 Qualifying match – Bateman vs. Brody King – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Bateman vs. Brody King match.
Worst – The goofy looking fake body tatoo shirts the Riegel Twins wear.
Show Notes – Opening Bateman & King promo video segment was all right. Coughlin vs. Cobb was pretty good. Misterioso pre-match interview segment was fine. Misterioso vs. Narita was a very good back-and-forth action style bout. Bateman vs. King was a very good hard hitting match. This week’s show was very entertaining overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 Night 12 (March 20)
* Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb vs. Yuya Uemura & Juice Robinson – 3.0
* Jado, Chase Owens, & Bad Luck Fale vs. SHO, YOSHI-HASHI, & Toru Yano – 2.5
* DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi vs. BUSHI, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito – 3.0
* Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi, KENTA, & Jay White – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Semifinal match – Will Ospreay vs. David Finlay – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2021 tournament Semifinal match – EVIL vs. Shingo Takagi – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Will Ospreay vs. David Finlay match.
Worst – A very large earthquake hitting the area during the show.
Show Notes – United Empire vs. Uemura & Robinson opener bout was entertaining. Bullet Club vs. CHAOS 6-Man tag match was mostly decent but nothing special outside of a few moments. Suzuki-Gun vs. LIJ 6-Man tag match was pretty good. A very large earthquake suddenly hitting the area during the Okada, Tanahashi, & Ibushi vs. Bullet Club match was crazy. Okada, Tanahashi, & Ibushi vs. Bullet Club was mostly good in general despite the circumstances beyond the wrestlers control. Ospreay vs. Finlay was very good, especially the latter half. This year’s tournament has been a great star making showcase for Finlay. EVIL vs Takagi was a very good hard hitting bout despite it also going overboard with the Bullet Club style shenanigans. Night 12 of New Japan Cup 2021 was very enjoyable overall and the show rebounded well following the scary earthquake incident.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (March 16)
* FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs. XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) – 2.0 (Squash)
* Rhino vs. Jake Something – 2.0 (Squash)
* Rohit Raju vs. Shera – 2.5
* 12-Women Knockout Tag Team match – Tenille Dashwood, Fire N’Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz), Susan, Kimber Lee, & Deonna Purrazzo vs. Havok, Nevaeh, ODB, Alisha, Jazz, & Jordynne Grace – 3.0
* Sami Callihan vs. Trey Miguel – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Rich Swann & Don Callis in-ring promo segment.
Worst – Sami Callihan vs. Trey Miguel dragging way too long in length.
Show Notes – XXXL vs. FinJuice opener was a decent squash match. Post-match FinJuice & Good Brothers promo segment was fine and no FinJuice until next month makes sense since Finlay is still active in NJPW’s New Japan Cup tournament. Callihan promo segment was decent but also a bit goofy. Good Brothers, Scott D’Amore, & Tommy Dreamer office segment was decent. Violent By Design and Something, Sabin, & Storm post-match brawl was all right. Heel Women’s team & Kaleb segment was nothing special. Willie Mack & Rich Swann segment was okay. Don Callis coming out to wedding event-like music was funny. Callis & Swann promo segment was excellent. AEW paid ad segment was fine. Brian Myers & Matt Cardona segment was decent. Kaleb’s reaction to ODB’s antics was funny. 12-Women Knockouts tag match was pretty good despite dragging a bit long. Ace Austin interview segment was decent at best. Callihan vs. Miguel was mostly good despite its sluggish pacing and dragging way too long. This week’s show was entertaining overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – Unsanctioned Lights Out match – Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa (AEW Dynamite)
• Worst match of the week – Michael Nakazawa vs. Matt Sydal (AEW Dark Elevation)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW