Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for May 2 to May 8

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of May 2nd to May 8th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (May 3)
* RAW Tag Team Championship – New Day vs. AJ Styles & Omos (c) – 2.5
* Charlotte Flair vs. Dana Brooke – 1.5
* John Morrison vs. Damian Priest – 3.0
* Lucha House Party vs. Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin – 3.0
* Angel Garza vs. Drew Gulak – 2.0 (Squash)
* Riddle & Randy Orton vs. Elias & Jaxson Ryker – 3.0
* Sheamus vs. Mansoor – 2.5
* Women’s Tag Team Championship – Lana & Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax – 1.5
* Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Lucha House Party vs. Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin match and Alexander’s post-match break-up angle and promo with Benjamin.
Worst – Charlotte Flair, Sonya Deville, Rhea Ripley, & Asuka in-ring promo segment.
Show Notes – Opening AJ Styles, Omos, & New Day pre-match promo segment was boring. Eva Marie’s WWE return is somewhat interesting although have really low expectations of her being any good this time around. Elias & Ryker tomato toss segment with Orton was a bit funny. Flair vs. Brooke was somewhat sloppy. Flair, Deville, Ripley, & Asuka promo segment was terrible. Humberto Carrillo interview & ambush by Sheamus segment was all right. Morrison vs. Priest was pretty good. Mansoor escaping 205 Live purgatory is a bit surprising. Lucha House Party vs. Alexander & Benjamin was pretty good and same for Alexander’s post-match break-up angle with Benjamin. Garza sticking a rose up Gulak’s butt was very cringeworthy. RK-Bro vs. Elias & Ryker was pretty good. Mansoor’s 50 match win streak ending both on his RAW debut and as a DQ loss was such a very stupid decision by RAW Creative. Alexa’s Playground segment was the usual level of cringe. Women’s Tag title match was dull. Lashley vs. Strowman was mostly decent despite the shenanigans. This week’s show was mostly average at best overall.

NXT (May 4)
* Falls Count Anywhere match – Leon Ruff vs. Isiah “Swerve” Scott – 3.5
* Asher Hale vs. Cameron Grimes – 2.5
* Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Tomasso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher – 3.0
* Zayda Remier vs. Sarray – 3.0
* Jake Atlas vs. LA Knight – 2.0
* NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Street Fight – The Way (Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae) vs. Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Falls Count Anywhere match.
Worst – Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory backstage segments.
Show Notes – Yikes at Ruff getting chucked hard onto the apron and his rough landing. Ruff’s Poison Rana spot to the outside was awesome although ouch at the rough landing by Scott. Ruff vs. Scott was a very good hard hitting match despite the ending shenanigans. Gargano, Theory, & Regal office segment was lame. GYV vs. Ciampa & Thatcher was a pretty good hard hitting bout. Karrion Kross, Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, Fin Balor promo & brawl with Gargano & Theory segment was decent at best. Ouch at Remier’s neck getting whiplashed on the ropes. WALTER promo segment was decent. Knight’s pre-match promo was lame. Haven’t been a fan of The Way’s overbearing presence on NXT shows in recent times. Toni Storm backstage promo segment was decent. Legado del Fantasma & KUSHIDA promo segment was all right. Raquel Gonzlez and Mercedes Martinez sitdown interview segment was fine. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase trolling Grimes again was funny. Ouch at Blackheart’s Senton dive not breaking the ladder. NXT Women’s Tag title match was very good, especially the latter half. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown “Throwback Edition” (May 7)
* Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins – 3.5
* Ruby Riott vs. Carmella – 1.5
* Dominik Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler – 2.0
* Reginald vs. Tamina – 1.0
* 10-Man Tag Team match – Apollo Crews, Sami Zayn, King Corbin, & Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis) vs. Big E, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens, & Street Profits – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins match and the multiple SmackDown throwback videos throughout the show.
Worst – Reginald vs. Tamina match.
Show Notes – The lack of the actual Giant Fist or any real throwback treatment done to the stage is a bummer but the throwback name graphics are nice though. Paul Heyman’s rendition of the 10-bell salute to Daniel Bryan’s career was funny. Jimmy Uso’s surprise return was nice. Opening Heyman, Reigns, Cesaro promo & Rollins ambush segment was fine. Teddy Long’s surprise appearance was wonderful. Cesaro vs. Rollins was very good despite the ending shenanigans. The throwback video of the Austin vs. Booker T supermarket brawl is one of my all-time favorite SD moments. Jimmy Uso not being fond of being Reign’s lackey is interesting. Riott vs. Carmella was nothing special. Bayley’s “tribute” to former WWE Women’s champions & promo segment with Bianca Belair and brawl was all right. The Usos backstage segment was fine. Dominik vs. Ziggler was a big waste of time. Reginald vs. Tamnia was also nothing but a waste of time topped with a lame DQ finish. 10-Man Tag match was pretty good. Reigns & Jimmy Uso promo and Cesaro wrecking Reigns and Uso was great. This week’s “Throwback SmackDown” show was mostly enjoyable but also a mixed bag overall in terms of how WWE handled the “Throwback” aspect.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (May 3)
* Miro vs. Will Allday – 2.0 (Squash)
* Abadon vs. Ryo Mizunami – 3.0
* Jon Moxley vs. Andrew Palace – 2.0 (Squash)
* D3 vs. 10 – 2.0 (Squash)
* Orange Cassidy vs. VSK – 2.5
* FTR vs. Hughes Bros (Terrell & Terence Hughes) – 2.5
* Nyla Rose vs. Madi Wrenkowski – 2.0 (Squash)
* Nick Comoroto vs. Baron Black – 2.0 (Squash)
* Red Velvet vs. Reka Tehaka – 2.0
* Private Party vs. Duke Davis & Ganon Jones – 2.0
* Thunder Rosa vs. Willow Nightingale – 2.5
* Dillon McQueen vs. QT Marshall – 2.0 (Squash)
* Chaos Project vs. Gunn Club (Austin & Colten Gunn) – 2.5
* Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy & The Blade) vs. Dark Order (Colt Cabana & Alan “5” Angels) – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Abadon vs. Ryo Mizunami match.
Worst – Way too many squash matches on the show.
Show Notes – Miro vs. Allday opener was a decent squash match. Abadon vs. Mizunami was a pretty good hard hitting competitive match. Cassidy vs. VSK managed to be entertaining despite its very short length. Vickie Guerrero might be the most annoying manager in wrestling history but not in a bad way. Comoroto’s stiff looking powerbomb to Black looked legit painful. Private Party vs. Davis & Jones was somewhat decent despite the shenanigans by Matt Hardy. Rosa vs. Nightingale turned from a squash bout into a pretty good back-and-forth style bout by the end of it. Ouch at McQueen getting his nose busted open. Chaos Project vs. Gunn Club was decent despite dragging a bit long. Hardy Family Office vs. Dark Order tag match was mostly good despite the shenanigans and flat ending. This week’s episode was average at best overall.

AEW Dark (May 4)
* Team Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks) vs. Aaron Frye & Brick Aldridge – 1.5 (Squash)
* Diamante vs. Leyla Hirsch – 2.5
* Varsity Blonds vs. Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis – 2.0
* SCU vs. Jake St. Patrick & Spencer Slade – 2.0 (Squash)
* Big Swole vs. Megan Bayne – 1.5
* Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela vs. Justin Law & Kit Sackett – 2.5
* KiLynn King vs. Julia Hart – 2.5
* Serpentico vs. PAC – 2.5 (Squash)
* The Bunny vs. Leila Grey – 1.5 (Squash)
* The Acclaimed vs. David Ali & Vary Morales – 2.0 (Squash)
* Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page vs. Hughes Bros (Terrell & Terence Hughes) – 2.0 (Squash)
* Ryan Nemeth, JD Drake, & Cezar Bononi vs. Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, & Alex Reynolds) – 3.0
* Dante Martin vs. Danny Limelight – 3.0
* Luther vs. Lance Archer – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Dante Martin vs. Danny Limelight match.
Worst – Big Swole vs. Megan Bayne match.
Show Notes – Team Taz vs. Frye & Aldridge was a somewhat decent opening squash match. Diamante vs. Hirsch was quite good despite its very short length. Swole vs. Bayne was a bit dull. Janela rushing to commentary before the match to give a good word about Kiss’ rear end was funny. Serpentico vs. PAC was an entertaining squash match. PAC interview segment was fine. Max Caster’s pre-match rap was all right despite dragging at the end. Nemeth, Drake, & Bononi vs. Dark Order Trios tag match was pretty good. Martin vs. Limelight was a quite good action packed bout. Serpentico trying to sneak attack Archer and failing miseraly was a nice twist to the usual routine of Archer being the one who beats up his opponents before the match. This week’s show was mostly average but enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite Blood & Guts (May 5)
* MT Nakazawa & Kenny Omega vs. Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley – 3.0
* QT Marshall vs. Cody Rhodes – 3.5
* Britt Baker vs. Julia Hart – 2.0 (Squash)
* #1 Contender for AEW World Tag Team Championship Four-way match – Varsity Blonds vs. Jurassic Express vs. SCU vs. The Acclaimed – 3.0
* Blood & Guts match – The Pinnacle vs. The Inner Circle – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Blood & Guts match.
Worst – The amount of commercial breaks during the Blood & Guts match killing the buzz of it at times and the Jericho cage toss spot being too comical.
Show Notes – Nakazawa & Omega vs. Kingston & Moxley opener bout was entertaining. Young Bucks & Good Brothers post-match attack on Kingston & Moxley was fine. Marshall vs. Rhodes might have been Marshall’s best match in AEW so far. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page promo and brawl with Darby Allin was splendid but ouch at Allin getting tossed down a flight of concrete stairs. Max Caster’s pre-match rap was terrific and a bit savage with the diss part to Brian Pillman Jr. Nagata vs. Moxley hype video was magnificent. Omega & Orange Cassidy AEW title challenger segment was superb. Miro promo segment was wonderful. Santana & Ortiz “Dead Presidents” face paint is cool. Ouch at Dax Harwood’s bloody face. Wardlow ragdolling Sammy was great. Wardlow & Hager hoss battle was nice. Yikes at Wheeler’s Crimson mask. Sammy’s Coast-to-Coast spot on Spears was awesome. The constant commercial breaks have been a bit of a buzz kill for the Blood & Guts match. Blood & Guts was amazing despite the somewhat anti-climatic finish. Jericho getting chucked through a cardboard stage floor was too comical. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Night 1 (May 3)
* Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, & EVIL vs. Master Wato, Tiger Mask, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Toru Yano – 3.0
* Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, & Minoru Suzuki vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) & Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
* BUSHI, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito, & Shingo Takagi vs. United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, & Will Ospreay) – 3.5
* Right to Challenge IWGP Tag Team Championship match – Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tanga Loa – 3.0
* Iron Finger From Hell Ladder match – Taichi vs. Tama Tonga – 3.0
* NEVER Openweight Championship – Jay White vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) – 5.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – NEVER Openweight Championship match.
Worst – Iron Finger From Hell Ladder match dragging way too long in length.
Show Notes – Bullet Club vs. Wato, Tiger Mask, Tenzan, & Yano opener bout was pretty good, especially the latter half. Suzuki-Gun vs. Roppongi 3K & Okada 6-Man Tag was a very good action packed bout. LIJ vs. United Empire 8-Man Tag was a very entertaining bout. Sabre Jr. vs. Loa was pretty good despite dragging a bit at times. The Iron Fingers being put in a clear plastic tote bag as the briefcase for the ladder match was a bit funny. Taichi countering Tonga’s Cutter causing Tonga to crash into the table from the top of the ladder for the match’s ending was cool. Iron Finger From Hell ladder match was quite good despite dragging way too long and the amount of shenanigans done. NEVER Openweight title match was a tremendous grueling battle between White and Tanahashi and a very strong Match of the Year contender. Bit surprised White defeated Tanahashi although White’s post-match promo of him being the real “belt collector” was very interesting. Night 1 of Wrestling Dontaku 2021 was mostly very enjoyable overall.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Night 2 (May 4)
* DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi vs. Jado & Guerillas of Destiny (Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga) – 3.0
* Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 3.0
* United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare, & Great-O-Khan) vs. BUSHI, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito – 3.5
* Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, EVIL, & Jay White – 3.5
* IWGP Wold Heavyweight Championship – Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay (c) – 5.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – IWGP Wold Heavyweight Championship match.
Worst – The loss of a potentially very entertaining IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from the show’s card due to COVID-19 issues.
Show Notes – Opening Suzuki-Gun vs. Bullet Club 6-Man Tag match was quite good. Wato & Tenzan vs. Ishimori & Takahashi was a pretty good back-and-forth style bout. BUSHI’s blinky lights & bull horns entrance mask was cool. Cobb hitting a Kaimgoye on BUSHI was a nice mocking of IBUSHI ahead of their upcoming match. LIJ vs. United Empire 6-Man Tag match was a very good action packed bout. The pre-match antics by Tanahashi’s team, Gedo, & White for Tanashai’s abs display to the crowd routine was hilarious. Taguchi, Yano, & Tanahashi vs. Bullet Club 6-Man Tag match was a very entertaining match that featured some great comedic moments. Takagi’s Made In Japan spot to Ospreay through the tables on the outside was cool. The back-to-back Poison Rana spots by Ospreay and Tagaki were awesome. IWGP Wold Heavyweight title match was instant classic tier in terms of greatness, especially the latter half, and a very strong Match of the Year contender. Night 2 of Wrestling Dontaku 2021 was terrific overall.

NJPW Strong “Collision” (May 7)
* The DKC & Kevin Knight vs. Adrian Quest & Barrett Brown – 3.0
* West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson) vs. Jordan Clearwater & Misterioso – 3.0
* Ren Narita & Yuji Nagata vs. Chris Dickinson & Jon Moxley – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Ren Narita & Yuji Nagata vs. Chris Dickinson & Jon Moxley match.
Worst – West Coast Wrecking Crew vs. Jordan Clearwater & Misterioso match dragging at times.
Show Notes – DKC & Knight vs. Quest & Brown opener was an entertaining bout. Brown’s post-match attack on Quest despite them winning the match was interesting. The finish to the West Coast Wrecking Crew vs. Clearwater & Misterioso match looked brutal while the match itself was pretty good despite dragging at times. WCWC post-match promo segment was decent. Narita & Nagata vs. Dickinson & Moxley was a very good hard hitting bout. This week’s Collision themed show was enjoyable overall.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (May 6)
* #1 Contender for Impact World Championship 6-Way Qualifier match – Chris Sabin vs. Rhyno – 2.5
* Susan vs. Taylor Wilde – 2.0 (Squash)
* #1 Contender for Impact World Championship 6-Way Qualifier match – Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel – 3.0
* Doc Gallows vs. Juice Robinson – 2.5
* VSK vs. El Phantasmo – 3.0
* Kiera Hogan vs. Rachael Ellering – 3.0
* #1 Contender for Impact World Championship 6-Way Qualifier match – Moose vs. James Storm – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Moose vs. James Storm match.
Worst – Susan vs. Taylor Wilde match.
Show Notes – Opening Sabin vs. Rhyno match was decent. Brian Myers, Rosemary, & Black Tarus spooky backstage segment was all right. Kenny Omega, Don Callis, & Good Brothers backstage segment was fine. Susan vs. Wilde was a somewhat sloppy squash match. Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb cheating to help Wilde win was interesting. Deonna Purrazzo, Decay, & Havok segment was fine. W. Morrissey promo vignette sounded like he was reading straight from a script. Raju vs. Miguel was a quite good back-and-forth match. Swinger’s Palace segment with Cardona, Bey, Miguel, Sabin, & Storm was entertaining. Gallows vs. Robinson was mostly decent and same for the post-match brawl with Omega, Anderson, Finlay & Eddie Edwards. Purrzaao & Scott D’Amore backstage segment was decent. VSK vs. El Phantasmo was an entertaining debut match for Phantasmo. Hogan vs. Ellering was pretty good. Callis & Moose backstage segment was splendid. Ellering, Grace, & Fire N’Flava backstage segment was decent. Moose vs. Storm was a very good hard hitting bout despite the weak finish. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

Dark Side of the Ring – Brian Pillman Part 1 & 2 (May 6)
Overall – 5.0
Show Notes – The revelation of how badly Pillman’s private life spiraled downwards during his time in WCW was really depressing and painted a very terrible picture of his widow Melanie. Pillman managing to completely fool Bischoff into legit firing him thinking it would be for a great storyline in WCW but instead Pillman going to WWF for real and for a better payday is still one of the craziest tales about his career. Vince McMahon’s interview of Pillman’s widow after his death still is one of the most scumbag things he’s ever done in wrestling. Pillman Jr. revealing how bad his life became after his dad’s passing and dealing with an abusive step-father was a bit tough to watch. Dark Side of the Ring’s two- part Brian Pillman episode was an excellent look back on his life, career, and tragic passing and among the best episodes in series history.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – IWGP Wold Heavyweight Championship – Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay (c) (NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Night 2)
• Worst match of the week – Reginald vs. Tamina (WWE Friday Night SmackDown “Throwback Edition)
• Best show of the week – Dark Side of the Ring – Brian Pillman Episode
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW