Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for April 11 to April 17

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of April 11th to April 17th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE WrestleMania 37 Night 2 (April 11)
* Randy Orton vs. The Fiend – 1.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match – Tamina & Natalya vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) – 2.0
* Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens – 3.5
* United States Championship – Sheamus vs. Riddle (c) – 3.5
* Intercontinental Championship Nigerian Drum Fight – Apollo Crews vs. Big E (c) – 3.0
* RAW Women’s Championship – Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka (c) – 3.5
* Universal Championship – Daniel Bryan vs. Edge vs. Roman Reigns (c) – 4.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Universal Championship match.
Worst – Randy Orton vs. The Fiend match and the big ending of Bayley’s Mania long storyline being wasted on the Bellas Twins.
Show Notes – The boos for Hulk Hogan being a lot more audible on Night 2 was funny. Fiend’s entrance involving him popping out of a giant box was both cool and goofy as hell. Orton vs. Fiend stunk, especially the finish. Women’s Tag title match dragged way too long. WWE trying to drown out the boos for Logan Paul’s entrance was a bit funny. Zayn vs. Owens was a very entertaining match. US title match was a very good hard hitting bout and the finish was fantastic. Big E’s live music entrance was spectacular. Intercontinental title match was going on well until the lame shenanigans finish. Ripley’s live music entrance was a swing and miss in quality. RAW Women’s title match was mostly very good despite the anti-climatic finish and being somewhat short in length. Bayley’s big comeuppance moment being wasted on the Bellas instead of Becky Lynch was very stupid. The double spear spot by Edge & Reigns was cool. The double crossface and head butt battle spot between Bryan and Edge was awesome. Universal title match was terrific and the right choice for Reigns to retain. Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 was very entertaining but the weaker of the two nights.

WWE RAW After Mania (April 12)
* Bobby Lashley vs. Riddle – 2.0 (Squash)
* Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin vs. Viking Raiders – 3.0
* RAW Women’s Championship – Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley (c) – 2.0
* 2-on-1 Handicap match – The Miz & John Morrison vs. Damian Priest – 2.0
* Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler – 1.5
* Elias & Jaxson Ryker vs. New Day – 2.0
* #1 Contender for WWE Championship Triple Threat match – Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman vs. Randy Orton – 3.0
Overall – 1.5
Best – Baron Corbin Snickers ad.
Worst – Toss up between the lack of any real post-Mania debut surprises, the booking of Charlotte Flair’s return to RAW, everything involving Alexa Bliss & Bray Wyatt, and the Women’s tag team match.
Show Notes – Lashley vs. Riddle opener was a decent mostly squash match. Ripley interview segment was decent at best. Alexander & Benjamin vs. Viking Raiders was pretty good. Asuka interview segment was fine. Charlotte Flair’s “complaining about things” promo segment stunk and her new persona is just every other persona she’s had before. RAW Women’s title match was decent at best despite being sloppy at times and the lame DQ finish by Charlotte. Alexa’s Playground segment was extra cringey. Miz TV segment with Maryse & Priest was decent although Miz teasing a split with Morrison was interesting. Jax & Baszler interview segment was decent at best. Women’s tag match was a waste of time, especially the dumb finish. MVP, McIntyre, Strowman, & Orton promo segment was superb minus Strowman and Orton showing up. Elias & New Day pre-match promo was horrible. King Corbin Snickers ad was funny. Firefly Fun House segment was pointless in general. Triple Threat match was pretty good. T-Bar and Mace being hired goons for MVP was laughably bad. This week’s RAW After Mania show was arguably the worst one ever.

NXT (April 13)
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Drake Maverick & Killian Dane vs. MSK (c) – 2.5
* Jessi Kamea vs. Mercedes Martinez – 1.5 (Squash)
* NXT Cruiserweight Championship Open Ch5llenge match – Santos Escobar vs. KUSHIDA – 3.5
* Isiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Leon Ruff – 3.0
* 8-Person Mixed Tag Team match – Bronson Reed, Dexter Lumis, Ember Moon, & Shotzi Blackheart vs. The Way (Johnny Gargano, Austin Theory, Indi Hartwell, & Candice LeRae) – 2.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – NXT Cruiserweight Championship match and Franky Monet bringing along her adorable dog for her official debut appearance.
Worst – The Way’s interview segment and Indi Hartwell suddenly falling in love with Dexter Lumis mid-match story.
Show Notes – Opening Karrion Kross promo segment was all right. NXT Tag Team title match was a pretty good back-and-forth style bout. Martinez wanting Raquel Gonzalez’s Women’s title is interesting. The Way interview segment was mostly corny. KUSHIDA looks a bit goofy in his new Orange Cream colors gear. NXT Cruiserweight title match was very good despite NXT pulling a WWE main roster style booking with a random title change after a PPV. Zero interest in a KUSHIDA vs. Jordan Devlin match mostly due to not caring at all for Devlin these days. Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, & Franky Monet promo segment was okay. Doing the Gonzalez, Rhea Ripley, & Bianca Belair champions celebration moment right after was a bit awkward for timing. Sarray vignette was cool. Roderick Strong giving his NXT papers to William Regal was interesting. Swerve vs. Ruff was pretty good. Zoey Stark & Martinez interview segment was fine. Imperium vignette was superb. Hartwell falling in love with Lumis mid-match was a bit dumb. 8-Person Mixed Tag match was a bit of a mess. This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (April 16)
* Otis vs. Rey Mysterio – 2.0
* Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens – 3.0
* SmackDown Tag Team Championship – Street Profits vs. The Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode) (c) – 3.0
* Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler – 1.0
* Jey Uso vs. Cesaro – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Bianca Belair SmackDown Women’s Championship celebration segment.
Worst – Natayla vs. Shanya Baszler match and WWE dropping the ball with the lack of surprise debuts for SmackDown’s post-Mania show.
Show Notes – Opening Roman Reigns, & Paul Heyman promo and Cesaro appearance segment was superb. Adam Pearce, Sonya Deville, & Cesaro backstage segment was decent. Otis vs. Mysterio was a decent short match despite the ref somewhat botching the ending pin count since Otis had a shoulder up. Heyman interview segment involving him swerving Cesaro’s match challenge request for Reigns was great. Zayn pre-match promo segment was superb. Zayn vs. Owens was pretty good despite the lame countout finish. Apollo Crews promo segment was nothing special. The recap video of Bianca Belair’s title win was excellent. Street Profits & Belair title celebration with Street Profits segment was splendid. Bayley interview segment was decent. SmackDown Tag title match was pretty good, especially the latter half, and surprised Ziggler & Roode retained. Cesaro interview segment was all right. Natalya vs. Baszler was boring. Uso vs. Cesaro was mostly very good desite the DQ finish by Seth Rollins. This week’s show was entertaining but felt more like a regular episode than a special After Mania show.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (April 12)
* Zack Clayton vs. 10 – 2.5
* Hayden Backlund vs. Miro – 1.5 (Squash)
* Hikaru Shida & Tay Conti vs. Katalina Perez & Leila Grey – 2.0
* The Hybrid2 vs. Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander – 2.0 (Squash)
* Orange Cassidy vs. John Skyler – 2.0
* Danny Limelight vs. Konosuke Takeshita – 3.5
* FTR vs. Jay Lion & Midas Black – 2.0 (Squash)
* Death Triangle (Rey Fenix & PAC) vs. Vary Morales & Andre Montoya – 2.5 (Squash)
* Dante Martin vs. Baron Black – 2.5
* Britt Baker vs. Skye Blue – 2.5
* The Factory (QT Marshall & Nick Comoroto) vs. Andrew Palace & Cole Karter – 2.0 (Squash)
* MT Nakazawa vs. Mike Sydal – 2.0
* Shanna vs. Leyla Hirsch – 2.0
* Brandon Cutler vs. Penta el Zero M – 3.0
* Diamante vs. Thunder Rosa – 3.0
* Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela vs. Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky – 2.5
* Ryan Nemeth & Cezar Bononi vs. Best Friends – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Danny Limelight vs. Konosuke Takeshita match.
Worst – The almost two and a half hour runtime and very bloated card for this week’s show.
Show Notes – Opening Clayton vs 10 match was mostly decent. Conti’s hard sounding pump kicks to Perez and Grey were top notch while the women’s tag match was somewhat decent. Thunder Rosa interview segment was splendid. Shawn Dean vignette on his life and hiring in AEW was spectacular and very well done. Limelight vs. Takeshita was an excellent debut showcase for Takeshita. Kiss & Janela backstage segment was all right. Fenix & PAC mocking the Young Bucks taunt was funny. Death Triangle vs. Morales & Montoya was an entertaining squash bout. Page & Sky backstage promo segment was fine. Baker post-match interview was decent. PAC & Fenix backstage promo segment was fine. Shanna acting heelish during her match against Hirsch was interesting. Takeshita, Kenny Omega, & Nakazawa interview segment was all right. Cutler vs. Penta and Diamante vs. Rosa were pretty good back-and-forth style matches. This week’s show was mostly average but also way too long in length.

AEW Dark (April 13)
* SCU vs. Jay Lyon & Midas Black – 2.0 (Squash)
* Luther vs. Matt Sydal – 3.0
* Dark Order (Alan “5” Angels & 10) vs. Kit Sackett & Hayden Backlund – 2.0 (Squash)
* Colt Cabana vs. Jake Manning – 2.0
* Red Velvet & Big Swole vs. Amber Nova & Queen Aminata – 3.0
* Fuego Del Sol vs. Aaron Solow – 2.5
* Gunn Club vs. Andrew Palace, Stone Rockwell, & Mike Magnum – 2.0
* Madi Wrenkowski vs. KiLynn King – 2.5
* Matt Hardy vs. Ken Broadway – 2.0 (Squash)
* Dark Order (Stu Grayson & Evil Uno) vs. Vary Morales & Spencer Slade – 2.0 (Squash)
* Britt Baker vs. Shawna Reed – 1.5 (Squash)
* Team Taz (Brian Cage & Ricky Starks) vs. Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander – 2.0 (Squash)
* Nyla Rose vs. Leila Grey – 1.5 (Squash)
* Varsity Blonds vs. Prince Kai & Will Allday – 2.5
* Lance Archer vs. Cole Karter – 2.5 (Squash)
* Ryan Nemeth vs. Alex Reynolds – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Red Velvet & Big Swole vs. Amber Nova & Queen Aminata match.
Worst – Way too many squash matches in a row and also overall on this week’s show.
Show Notes – Taz’s reactions to Lyon & Black’s hula hoop spot was funny. SCU vs. Lyon & Black opener was a decent squash match. Luther vs. Sydal was a good competitive bout. Manning reading a book during Cabana’s entrance was a bit funny but doesn’t match KENTA reading a newspaper level of disrespect though. Cabana vs Manning was a somewhat decent comedic style match. Velvet & Swole vs. Nova & Aminata was a quite good match. Velvet’s smooth looking suicide spear through the ropes to Jade Cargill was cool. Nemeth promo segment was fine. Wrenkowski vs. King was a decent back-and-forth quick bout. Dark Order backstage promo segment was all right. Hardy’s post-match promo was decent. Cage’s Drill Claw to Bravo looked a lot more brutal than usual. Archer vs. Karter was a nice entertaining squash match. John Silver being on commentary during the Nemeth vs. Reynolds match was wonderful. This week’s show was mostly average but enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite (April 14)
* AEW World Tag Team Championship – Death Triangle (Rey Fenix & PAC) vs. The Young Bucks (c) – 4.5
* Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill – 3.0
* Anthony Ogogo vs. Cole Carter – 1.5 (Squash)
* Dax Harwood vs. Chris Jericho – 3.5
* Kris Statlander vs. Amber Nova – 2.0 (Squash)
* TNT Championship Falls Count Anywhere match – Matt Hardy vs. Darby Allin (c) – 3.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – AEW World Tag Team Championship match.
Worst – AEW production forgetting to mute the crowd audio during the Kenny Omega and pals parking lot promo segment.
Show Notes – Opening Young Bucks promo segment explaining their heel turn was superb. MJF trying to buy off Mike Tyson segment was all right. AEW Tag title match was one of the hottest action packed opening matches in Dynamite history. Chris Jericho interview segment was fine. Velvet vs. Cargill was an entertaining match. Britt Baker’s AEW Rankings update promo was funny. Ogogo’s boxer background being fully embraced right down to his entrance music was smart. Miro promo segment was superb. Jericho and Harwood flipping off each other during their match was funny. Harwood vs. Jericho was very good despite the shenanigans at the end. Don Callis, Kenny Omega, & Matt Jackson parking lot promo segment was incredible. AEW production forgetting to mute the crowd during the parking lot segment was terrible though. Thunder Rosa vignette was great. Christian Cage & Team Taz segment was all right. Ouch at the gashes on Allin’s back. TNT title match was a very chaotic and hard hitting hardcore style bout despite going a bit overboard with the shenanigans. This week’s show was very entertaining overall and better than last week’s show.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (April 15)
* TJP vs. Josh Alexander – 3.5
* Crazzy Steve vs. Karl Anderson – 3.0
* Jazz & Jordynne Grace vs. Fire N’Flava – 2.5 (Squash)
* Pick Your Poison match – Brian Myers vs. Jake Something – 2.0
* Pick Your Poison match – Matt Cardona vs. Sami Callihan – 2.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Jazz’s retirement ceremony segment.
Worst – Matt Cardona vs. Sami Callihan match being way too long in length.
Show Notes – Opening TJP vs. Josh Alexander match was a very good action packed bout. Taylor Wilde vignette was all right. Crazzy Steve vs. Anderson was pretty good. Petey Williams invoking the Steiner Math promo during the Swinger’s Palace segment with Ace Austin, TJP, & Alexander was awesome. Eddie Edwards & Eric Young promo and Violent By Design, Willie Mack, James Storm, & Chris Sabin brawl afterwards was splendid. Deonna Purrazzo, Susan, & Scott D’Amore backstage segment was decent. Tenille Dashwood’s All About Me segment was an interesting twist to the usual wrestling talk show format. Jazz’s retirement ceremony segment with Jordynne Grace & Fire N’Flava was excellent. D’Amore, Fire N’Flava, Jazz, & Grace backstage segment was all right. Cardona vs. Callihan was mostly decent, despite dragging too long, and a bit surprised Callihan won. Post-match Callihan & Trey Miguel promo and brawl segment was decent. FinJuice promo segment was all right. Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann match press conference segment was great. This week’s show was mostly very entertaining overall.

NJPW Strong New Japan Cup USA 2021 Night 2 (April 16)
* Jordan Clearwater, Adrien Quest, Barrett Brown, & Misterioso vs. The DKC, Kevin Knight, Alex Coughlin, & Karl Fredericks – 3.5
* New Japan Cup USA 2021 tournament Semifinals match – “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Hikuleo – 2.5
* New Japan Cup USA 2021 tournament Semifinals match – Lio Rush vs. Brody King – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – 8-Man Tag Team match.
Worst – Tom Lawlor vs. Hikuleo match.
Show Notes – 8-Man tag opener was a very entertaining action packed bout. Lawlor vs. Hikuleo was mostly decent despite the somewhat flat ending. Rush vs. King was a very good hard hitting bout and the Gonzo Bomb finish by King onto Rush looked more brutal than usual. King’s post-match promo was decent. This week’s New Japan Cup USA 2021 Night 2 show was enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – Universal Championship – Daniel Bryan vs. Edge vs. Roman Reigns (c) (WWE WrestleMania 37 Night 2)
• Worst match of the week – Randy Orton vs. The Fiend (WWE WrestleMania 37 Night 2)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW