Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for July 18 to July 24

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of July 18th to July 24th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE Money in the Bank 2021 (July 18)
* Pre-show: SmackDown Tag Team Championship – The Usos vs. Dominik & Rey Mysterio (c) – 3.0
* Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match – Alexa Bliss vs. Liv Morgan vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. Natayla vs. Tamina vs. Zelina Vega vs. Naomi vs. Asuka – 2.0
* RAW Tag Team Championship – The Viking Raiders vs. AJ Styles & Omos (c) – 3.0
* WWE Championship – Kofi Kingston vs. Bobby Lashley (c) – 2.5 (Squash)
* RAW Women’s Championship match – Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (c) – 3.5
* Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match – Kevin Owens vs. Riddle vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ricochet vs. John Morrison vs. Big E vs. Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre – 4.0
* Universal Championship – Edge vs. Roman Reigns (c) – 3.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match & the mega pop John Cena got for his surprise appearance.
Worst – The show’s broadcast feed issues on NBC Peacock’s service throughout the show.
Show Notes – Bliss’ hypnotism spot with Vega on the ladder was dumb. Naomi’s powerbomb counter of Morgan’s splash onto the ladder with Vega on it was cool. Opening Women’s MitB match was average at best despite its somewhat dull pacing and having one of the dumbest finishes in MitB match history. Nikki winning the Women’s MitB case was nice though. Styles’ hurricanrana on Erik to the outside via Omos assist toss was cool. RAW Tag title match was an entertaining back-and-forth style bout. The WWE title match being nothing more than just an extended squash was a bit surprising. RAW Women’s title match was very good, especially the latter half, but not a fan of Flair winning nor her getting another likely useless title reign. Yikes at Big E spiking his head on the diving spear to McIntyre onto the outside. Ouch at Ricochet’s back from Rollins & Morrison’s backdrop toss onto the ladder. Ouch at Owens’ back after Rollins’ Falcon Arrow onto a ladder. Ricochet’s springboard dive from the top rope to the outside on a bunch of guys was awesome. Big E hitting the Big Ending on Rollins off a ladder was sweet. Men’s MitB match was amazing and same for Big E winning it. Yikes at the welt on Reigns head after Edge’s spear to him through a barricade spot. Universal title match was very good, especially the latter half, despite it dragging too long and shenanigans ending. John Cena’s surprise appearance was amazing, especially the mega crowd pop he got. Money in the Bank 2021 was a fantastic show overall.

WWE RAW (July 19)
* Riddle & Viking Raiders vs. Omos, AJ Styles, & John Morrison – 2.5
* Symphony of Destruction match – Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker – 2.0
* Natayla & Tamina vs. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax – 2.0
* Sheamus vs. Humberto Carrillo – 3.0
* Open Challenge match – Bobby Lashley vs. Keith Lee – 2.0 (Squash)
* Karrion Kross vs. Jeff Hardy – 1.5
* RAW Women’s Championship – Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair (c) – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – John Cena’s promo segment and Keith Lee’s surprise return.
Worst – Alexa Bliss’ Playground segment with Eva Marie & Doudrop and WWE Creative’s idiotic booking of Karrion Kross’ debut.
Show Notes – Opening John Cena promo segment about his return & Roman Reigns was all right while the “Bro” off with Riddle was funny. 6-Man Tag was a solid back-and-forth style match. WWE’s retcon of the number of Flair’s title reigns is odd. Flair’s title Coronation promo segment with Ripley was dull. The crowd going from mocking Reggie after Jax dumped him to cheering him winning the 24/7 title was weird. Reggie’s flip over Drew Gulak using the ring post as an assist was cool though. Sheamus vs. Carrillo was pretty good. Keith Lee’s surprise return answering Lashley’s open challenge was cool. WWE Creative booking Lee’s return match as nothing more than just a mostly squash loss for him was stupid. Goldberg’s surprise appearance was okay but zero interest in him vs. Lashley for the WWE title. Mahal’s promo was dull but McIntyre’s chair destruction of Shanky was sweet. Dumb decision to debut Kross without Scarlett & his smokey entrance since both were the only real interesting stuff about him in NXT. Kross losing his debut match was hilarious for all the wrong reasons. Alexa’s Playground segment with Eva Marie & Doudrop was horrible. The Ripley “injury” ref stoppage spot just for a commercial break was lame. RAW Women’s title match was decent despite the lame DQ ending. Nikki cashing in and winning the belt was great even if it meant just another shamelessly padded title reign for Flair in the end. This week’s show was mostly lackluster overall, especially for RAW’s first show back with fans.

NXT (July 20)
* Diamond Mine (Tyler Rust & Roderick Strong) vs. Bobby Fish & KUSHIDA – 3.5
* Franky Monet vs. Jacy Jayne – 2.0
* Kyle O’Reilly vs. Austin Theory – 3.5
* 2021 NXT Breakout tournament First Round – Andre Chase vs. Odyssey Jones – 2.5
* LA Knight vs. Drake Maverick – 2.0
* NXT Women’s Championship – Xia Li vs. Raquel Gonzalez – 2.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Diamond Mine vs. Bobby Fish & KUSHIDA match.
Worst – Hit Row’s promo portion of the Legado Del Fantasma vs. Hit Row promo & brawl segment and NXT officials boneheaded decision to continue the NXT Women’s title match after Xia Li’s injury incident.
Show Notes – Opening Samoa Joe & William Regal angry promo segment about Karrion Kross was splendid. Li video promo segment was all right. Diamond Mine vs. Fish & KUSHIDA was a very good hard hitting action filled match. Knight, butler Grimes, & Maverick taped parking lot segment was all right. Jones vignette was splendid. Bronson Reed sitdown interview segment about him losing the N. American title & Adam Cole was fine. Theory’s new entrance theme sounds somewhat decent. Theory’s modified neckbreaker suplex to O’Reilly was cool. O’Reilly vs. Theory was a very good back-and-forth action bout. Santos Escobar denying the crowd a Mariachi Madness concert was a superb heel move & his promo dissing Hit Row was fine but Hit Row’s response promo was mostly awful. The Way backstage segment was goofy but also a bit funny. Yikes at Chase landing right on his head from the botched dive & catch to Jones on the outside. Chase vs. Jones was a solid bout. MSK backstage interview segment was bland but Imperium’s interruption promo video during it was cool. Yikes at Li getting the wind knocked out of her and a potential rib injury from Gonzalez’s rough looking twisting Vader Bomb spot. Very stupid of NXT to continue the women’s title match just to do the finish if Li was legit injured. NXT Women’s title match was going on well until the injury moment completely deflated the match’s flow. Joe & Kross segment with a KOed Regal was okay but felt a bit rushed. This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (July 23)
* Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn – 3.0
* Angelo Dawkins vs. Chad Gable – 2.5
* SmackDdown Women’s Championship – Carmella vs. Bianca Belair (c) – 3.0
* Toni Storm vs. Zelina Vega – 2.0 (Squash)
* Jimmy Uso vs. Dominik Mysterio – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Roman Reigns’ promo segment.
Worst – WWE’s big swing and miss with the portion of the show at the Rolling Loud Festival in terms of the very noticeable lack of crowd interest there.
Show Notes – Opening John Cena promo about Roman Reigns & Paul Heyman’s response segment was superb. Heyman mocking Cena’s theme song was hilarious. Balor vs. Zayn was a quite good back-and-forth action match made better by a very hot crowd for the finish. Sad Corbin backstage interview segment about his failed Corbin FundMe fundraiser was a bit funny. Big E, Apollo Crews, Dirty Dawgs, & Cesaro promo and brawl with Shinsuke Nakamura segment was okay. WWE pipping in fake crowd audio for the Rolling Loud Festival portion of the show was lame. Someone bringing a blow up doll to the concert and it getting briefly caught on camera by WWE was hilarious. The live crowd at the festival barely reacting at all to the intro announcement nor both matches held there was both hilarious and awkward to watch. Dawkins vs. Gable was decent at best. SmackDown Women’s title was pretty good. Kevin Owens & Corbin backstage segment was decent but Corbin getting hit in the nuts by Shotzi’s tank was funny. Edge & Seth Rollins promo & brawl segment was superb. Storm’s SmackDown debut squash match was decent at best. Uso vs. Mysterio was a solid bout despite the ending shenanigans. Reigns promo mocking Cena was both fantastic and hilarious. Balor challenging Reigns to a title match & Reigns accepting it was interesting. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (July 19)
* Lance Archer vs. Zachariah – 2.0 (Squash)
* Chaos Project vs. Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy – 2.5
* Hikaru Shida vs. Dulce Tormenta – 2.0
* Lucas Chase vs. Powerhouse Hobbs – 1.5 (Squash)
* Frankie Kazarian vs. Baron Black – 2.5
* Angelico vs. Jungle Boy – 3.0
* Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet – 3.0
* Brock Anderson & Lee Johnson vs. Gunn Club (Colten & Billy Gunn) – 2.5
* Fuego del Sol vs. Luchasaurus – 2.0 (Squash)
* “The Captain” Shawn Dean vs. Dante Martin – 2.5
* Tay Conti & Serena Deeb vs. Vertvixen & Jazmine Allure – 2.0
* Wingmen (JD Drake & Cezar Bononi) vs. Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Angelico vs. Jungle Boy match and the Eddie Kingston & Penta el Zero Miedo show closing promo to the crowd.
Worst – Mark Sterling & Jade Cargill Hollywood business deal backstage segment.
Show Notes – Opening Kingston & Penta backstage promo about the Wingmen was all right. Luther trying to put his hands in Cassidy’s pockets and Cassidy fighting off the attempts was funny. Chaos Project vs. Taylor & Cassidy was a solid comedic-based match. Shida’s Dominator-like move to Tormenta was cool. Mark Sterling & Jage Cargill backstage Hollywood business deal segment was dull. Brandon Cutler’s post-match failure of an ambush on Kazarian was a bit funny. Cutler has been great in his roll as the goofball lackey for the Elite. Hobbs’ backstage promo about Brian Cage was okay. Angelico vs. Jungle Boy was a quite good back-and-forth action match. Hart vs. Red Velvet was an entertaining competitive match. Anderson & Johnson vs. Gunn Club was mostly average despite the abrupt ending. Luchasaurus’ chokeslam & knee lift combo to del Sol looked sweet. Dean vs. Martin was a solid action filled bout. Deeb’s Indian Death Lock & suplex combo to Allure & Vertvixen at the same time was cool. Wingmen pre-match promo insulting Texas and Kingston & Penta was decent at best. Abrahantes botching Penta’s glove toss routine twice was funny. Wingmen vs. Kingston & Penta was an entertaining hard hitting match. Kingston & Penta’s post-match promo praising Austin, Texas and AEW fans was splendid. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall and helped a lot by the hot crowd throughout it.

AEW Dark (July 20)
* The Blade vs. Ryan Mantell – 2.0 (Squash)
* KiLynn King vs. Thunder Rosa – 2.5
* Eight-Man Tag Team match – Varsity Blonds & Dark Order (Alan “5” Angels & 10) vs. Private Party & The Acclaimed – 3.0
* Abadon vs. Promise Braxton – 1.5 (Squash)
* The Bunny vs. Big Swole – 2.0
* Chad Lenex vs. Wardlow – 1.5 (Squash)
* Aaron Solo vs. Dustin Rhodes – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Varsity Blonds & Dark Order vs. Private Party & The Acclaimed match.
Worst – QT Marshall & Aaron Solo promo segment.
Show Notes – Opening Dustin Rhodes promo segment about Solo was fine. King’s puzzled reaction to the crowd booing her despite not doing anything heelish to Rosa was a bit funny. King’s release German Suplex to Rosa looked nice and brutal. King vs. Rosa was a solid quick bout. Max Caster’s pre-match rap mocking Dark Order, Varsity Blonds, & Texas was all right. Private Party’s elbow drop & standing moonsault combo on Pillman Jr. was cool and same for Angels’ standing Spanish Fly on Anthony Bowens afterwards. 8-Man Tag was an entertaining back-and-forth action match. Bowens’ post-match promo insulting Julia Hart was vicious but also great in terms of heel heat. Bunny vs. Swole was decent at best despite the ending shenanigans by Blade & Diamante. Swole backstage promo segment about Diamante was okay. QT Marshall & Solo pre-match promo mocking the crowd and Austin, Texas was a bit of a dud. Solo’s Bronco Buster to Rhodes was both ugly looking and goofy. Solo vs. Rhodes was a solid back-and-forth style match. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall, especially its shorter than usual runtime.

AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest 2021 Night 2 (July 21)
* Labor of Jericho match – Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Spears – 3.0
* Doc Gallows vs. Frankie Kazarian – 2.5
* Wheeler Yuta vs. Darby Allin – 3.0
* AEW Women’s World Championship – Nyla Rosa vs. Dr. Britt Baker (c) – 3.0
* The Blade vs. Orange Cassidy – 3.0
* IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Texas Death match – Lance Archer vs. Jon Moxley (c) – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Texas Death match and Nick Gage’s surprise appearance.
Worst – The pacing and flow of the Women’s title match being rough or sloppy at times.
Show Notes – Opening Jericho vs. Spears was pretty good. MJF’s post-match promo to Jericho was superb, especially his “simp” insult to Guevara. Holy crap at Nick Gage’s surprise appearance. Miro’s newest “Redeemer” promo vignette was splendid. Gallows vs. Kazarian post-match promo by Callis & Omega to Kazarian was all right but Omega flubbing his lines was funny. Hangman Page, Good Bros, & Dark Order brawl was fine. Sting & Cassidy’s ringside comedic kicks fest spot was awesome. Yuta vs. Allin was quite good. Women’s title match was mostly good despite its rough pacing at times. FTR and Santana & Ortiz press conference segment was all right. Chavo Guerrero Jr.’s surprise appearance and being paired with Andrade is interesting. Andrade El Idolo, Chavo, & Death Triangle promo segment was wonderful. Blade’s Gutwrench Bomb to Cassidy on the top rope looked brutal. Blade vs. Cassidy went from being a decent at best to a fun match by the end of it. Jericho’s “Painmaker” interview segment was goofy. Cody vs. Black hype vignette was all right. Archer using some random fan in the crowd as a weapon to Moxley was hilarious. Moxley jabbing Archer’s head with a fork was crazy and yikes at Archer’s crimson mask. Archer’s chokeslam to Moxley through upright chairs was brutal. Holy crap at Moxley getting jabbed with a fork and chokeslammed through a barbed wire table. IWGP US title match was an amazing bloody hardcore bout. This week’s Fyter Fest Night 2 show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (July 22)
* Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju – 3.0
* Brian Myers, Sam Beale, & Tenille Dashwood vs. Jake Something, Matt Cardona, & Chelsea Green – 2.5
* Madman Fulton & Ace Austin vs. FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) – 3.0
* Knockouts Tag Team Championship – Fire N’Flava vs. Decay (Havok & Rosemary) (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju match.
Worst – Brian Myers, Sam Beale, & Tenille Dashwood vs. Jake Something, Matt Cardona, & Chelsea Green match.
Show Notes – Bey vs. Raju opener was a quite good back-and-forth action match. Jay White offering a membership in Bullet Club to Bey backstage was interesting. Don Callis backstage interview segment about Omega’s health & White’s surprise debut at Slammiversary was fine. Mickie James, Deonna Purrazzo, & Gail Kim promo segment about NWA Empowerrr & invitation offer to Purrazzo was splendid. Drama King vignette was all right. Ouch at Cardona’s rough landing from Myers toss of him to the outside. 6-Person Tag was a decent at best match. Eddie Edwards backstage promo about Morrissey was all right. Edwards & Morrissey parking lot brawl was entertaining. Myers, Dashwood, & Pals backstage interview segment was decent but also a bit funny. The crowd getting deflated after White said he came to Impact to face Finlay instead of Omega was funny. White and Omega & Pals promo & brawl with Bey run-in save segment was mostly superb despite dragging a bit too long. Josh Alexander & Omega backstage segment was wonderful. Good Bros backstage promo about White & Bey’s attack was decent. Fulton & Austin vs. FinJuice was pretty good. Rich Swann & Willie Mack promo & creepy ambush by Violent By Design segment was fine. Moose, Scott D’Amore, & Chris Sabin backstage segment was okay. Knockouts Tag title match was a pretty good back-and-forth style match. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong Tag Team Turbulence Night 2 (July 23)
* Tag Tam Turbulence tournament Semifinals match – Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs vs. Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Chris Dickinson) – 3.5
* Tag Team Turbulence tournament Semifinals match – The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs. Ren Narita & Yuji Nagata – 3.0
* NJPW Strong Openweight Championship – Satoshi Kojima vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs vs. Violence Unlimited match.
Worst – The ending shenanigans to the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship match.
Show Notes – Nelson & Isaacs vs. Violence Unlimited opener was a very good hard hitting bout. Violence Unlimited post-match backstage promo segment was all right. Good Bros vs. Narita & Nagata was a pretty good back-and-forth action bout despite dragging a bit too long. Good Bros post-match backstage promo was okay. Strong Openweight title match was a very entertaining physical and grapple heavy bout despite the ending shenanigan. Lawlor & Lio Rush backstage promo was decent. Rush’s challenging Lawlor for his title was interesting. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

GCW Homecoming 2021 Part 1 (July 24)
* Marko Stunt vs. Starboy Charlie – 3.0
* Tony Deppen vs. Ninja Mack – 3.0
* Nolan Edward vs. AJ Gray – 3.5
* Grim Reefer vs. 2 Cold Scorpio – 2.5
* GCW Ultraviolent Championship & BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship Winner Takes All match – Drew Parker (BJW) vs. Alex Colon (GCW) – 4.0
* Six-Way Scramble match – Jordan Oliver vs. Brayden Lee vs. Dante Leon vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Shane Mercer vs. Atticus Cogar – 3.5
* GCW Tag Team Championship – Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner & Matthew Justice) vs. G-Raver & Jimmy Llyod (c) – 3.0
* Frontman Jah vs. EFFY – 2.0
* GCW World Championship – Matt Cardona vs. Nick Gage (c) – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – GCW World Championship match and Matt Cardona’s shock win of the title.
Worst – Frontman Jah vs. EFFY match.
Show Notes – Stunt vs. Charlie opener was entertaining. Mack’s multiple backflips into a moonsault to Deppen on the outside was cool. Deppen vs. Mack was quite good. Edward vs. Gray was a very good hard hitting match, especially the latter half. Ouch at Colon’s back after getting darts thrown to it by Paker. Colon’s top rope DDT to Parker onto a bed of light tubes was awesome. Parker’s Superplex of Colon onto a glass board was cool. Parker’s Burning Hammer to Colon onto a barbed wire glass sheet was insane. Parker vs. Colon was an amazing bloody deathmatch. Lee & Cartwheel’s dual Sunset dives to the opposite sides onto the outside was cool. Mercer’s toss & catch of Cogar into a powerslam combo was cool. 6-Way Scramble was a very good action filled match. Yikes at Warner getting his tongue stapled onto a door and Justice getting slammed through it to free Warner was a very wincing moment to watch. GCW Tag title match was a quite good hardcore bout. Cardona flipping off the crowd during his entrance was funny. Gage spearing Cardona through a glass panel was cool and yikes at Cardona’s bloody back. Gage slicing Cardona’s head with a pizza cutter was crazy. Cardona’s Superplex of Gage onto an impromptu glass table was cool but holy crap at Cardona’s arm getting gashed afterwards. GCW title match was a great & bloody bout, despite the ending shenanigans, and legit shocked Cardona won. The crowd pelting Cardona with beverages after the match was crazy. Homecoming Part 1 was an amazing show overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – GCW World Championship – Matt Cardona vs. Nick Gage (c) (GCW Homecoming 2021 Part 1)
• Worst match of the week – Abadon vs. Promise Braxton (AEW Dark)
• Best show of the week – GCW Homecoming 2021 Part 1
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW