Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for July 4 to July 10

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of July 4th to July 10th

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (July 5)
* Ricochet vs. John Morrison – 2.5
* 8-Woman Tag Team match – Nikki Cross, Alexa Bliss, Naomi, & Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Doudrop, & Eva Marie – 1.5
* Mustafa Ali vs. Mansoor – 2.0
* Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal – 2.5
* Mace & T-Bar vs. Lucha House Party – 2.0
* AJ Styles vs. Riddle – 3.0
* Elias & Cedric Alexander vs. Jaxson Ryker & R-Truth – 1.0 (Squash)
* New Day vs. MVP & Bobby Lashley – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – AJ Styles vs. Riddle match.
Worst – Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley in-ring promo segment & brawl.
Show Notes – Opening Miz TV segment with Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Riddle, & Styles was mostly cringey, except for Riddle’s promos part, topped by a somewhat lame brawl. Ricochet vs. Morrison was a solid back-and-forth bout despite the countout finish shenanigans. Mahal backstage interview segment about his former friendship with McIntyre was decent. 8-Woman Tag was a mostly terrible & dragged out match with poorly timed commercial breaks. MVP & Lashley backstage lounge interview segment about New Day was okay. Ali’s old theme was way better than his current generic rock theme. Ali vs. Mansoor was a mostly nothing match. McIntyre pre-match interview of him rambling about Mahal & his sword’s origin was dumb. McIntyre vs. Mahal was decent at best despite the lame DQ ending. Mahal stealing McIntyre’s sword is a bit interesting. New Day backstage interview segment was fine. Riddle & Damian Priest backstage promo segment was decent. Riddle’s crane kick spot to Styles was cool. Styles vs. Riddle was quite good despite the shenanigans ending with the Viking Raiders. Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley promo & crutch fight segment was both boring and a big waste of time. The 24/7 title shenanigans were the only good part about a very forgettable Elias & Alexander vs. Ryker squash match. New Day vs. MVP & Lashley was a decent competitive match despite the weak ending sequence. This week’s show was mostly boring and skippable overall.

NXT Great American Bash 2021 (July 6)
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. MSK (c) – 3.0
* Million Dollar Championship – Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight (c) – 3.0
* NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship – Zoey Stark & Io Shirai vs. The Way (Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae) (c) – 3.0
* Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole match.
Worst – Johnny Gargano & Karrion Kross face-to-face in-ring promo segment.
Show Notes – Ciampa’s Project Ciampa spot to Wes Lee looked brutal. NXT Tag title opener was an entertaining hard hitting match despite the somewhat abrupt finish. Johnny Gargano & Karrion Kross face-to-face promo segment about their upcoming NXT title match was both a dud and a bit lame, especially Gargano’s promo part, but Samoa Joe as the special guest ref is interesting. KUSHIDA vignette was all right. Knight was very lucky he didn’t hurt his neck from Grimes’ ugly looking Poison Rana spot. Million Dollar title match was a quite good back-and-forth match despite the ending shenanigans. Grimes becoming Knight’s butler is interesting. The field for this year’s NXT Breakout tournament looks really good overall. The mystery battery charger teasers ending up being for Tegan Nox’s surprise return makes sense based on the recent Nox return rumors. NXT Women’s Tag title match was pretty good despite the ending shenanigans by Nox. Hopefully Stark & Shirai can break the curse of none of the past NXT Women’s Tag champs having a meaningful reign. Hit Row N. American title celebration musical segment was all right, despite dragging too long, and Swerve’s rap part was great. O’Reilly’s ragdoll sell of Cole’s super kick counter to O’Reielly’s turnbuckle punches spot was cool. Yikes at O’Reilly’s neck after Cole’s botched Panama Sunrise spot to the outside. O’Reilly vs. Cole was a fantastic action packed match. Great American Bash 2021 was a very enjoyable show overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (July 9)
* Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying match – Baron Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – 2.5
* Natayla & Tamina vs. Nox & Shotzi – 2.0
* Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying match – Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Show closing Edge promo and mass brawl with Roman Reigns, The Usos, & The Mysterios.
Worst – Sonya Deville, Carmella, & Liv Morgan in-ring promo segment and WWE apparently not bothering to punish Jimmy Uso with pulled TV time after his recent DUI arrest.
Show Notes – Opening Roman Reigns & Usos promo segment about Reigns feud with Edge and his issues with Jimmy was all right. Corbin pre-match interview segment about his finances & life spiraling downwards since losing his crown was okay. Pat McAfee’s insult of Corbin’s receding hairline was funny. Big E & McAfee mocking Corbin on commentary during his match while getting feet pedicures was funny. Corbin vs. Nakamura was solid despite dragging way too long. Usos backstage segment was okay. Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart’s surprise SmackDown debut was cool and same for Shotzi getting to keep her tank entrance from NXT. Women’s tag match was somewhat decent despite becoming sloppy near the end and the botched finish by Shotzi. Edge backstage interview segment was okay. Sonya Deville’s announcement of Carmella as Bayley’s replacement for Belair’s title match opponent and Carmella & Liv Morgan promo segment was all over the place in terms of quality and dragged too long. Heyman & Reigns backstage segemnt was fine.Toni Storm vigenette hyping up her upcoming debut for SmackDown is interesting. Yikes at Cesaro’s head getting busted open. Rollins vs. Cesaro was quite good. Rollins post-match backstage interview & promo with Edge segment was all right. Alpha Academy backstage promo segemnt was okay. Edge promo & mass brawl with Reigns, Usos, & Mysterios was superb. This week’s show was average at best overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (July 5)
* Thunder Rosa vs. Leila Grey – 2.0 (Squash)
* Scorpio Sky vs. Marcus Kross – 2.0 (Squash)
* Hikaru Shida vs. Dani Jordyn – 3.0
* Angelico vs. Orange Cassidy – 2.5
* Serena Deeb vs. Tesha Price – 2.0 (Squash)
* Serpentico vs. Dante Martin – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Hikaru Shida vs. Dani Jordyn match.
Worst – Joey Janela interview segment and Alex Marvez informing the crowd of his latest go-go bar adventure.
Show Notes – Rosa vs. Grey opener was a decent squash match. Kross’ hair looks like someone superglued a Goku Super Saiyan wig on his head. Ethan Page cracking up on commentary over Sky abusing Kross’ hair was a bit funny. Shida’s Bridging German Suplex to Jordyn spot was very sloppy. Shida vs. Jordyn was a pretty good back-and-forth action match although Angelico vs. Cassidy was a solid competitive bout. Post-match Orange Cassidy & Kris Statlander and Bunny & Blade in-ring staredown was all right. Alex Marvez’s failed interview attempt of Joey Janela segment was a waste of time. Serpentico boinking his head on the ring post after Martin ducked out of the way of Serpentico’s running headbutt was a bit funny. Serpentico vs. Martin was a mostly decent back-and-forth style match. Post-match brawl with Luther & Matt Sydal was okay. This week’s show was enjoyable, especially its sub-45 minute runtime.

AEW Dark (July 6)
* Lance Archer vs. Ryan Mantell – 2.0 (Squash)
* The Factory (QT Marshall & Aaron Solow) vs. Terrell & Terence Hughes – 2.5
* Abadon vs. Natalia Markova – 1.5 (Squash)
* Matt Sydal vs. Carlie Bravo – 2.5
* The Blade vs. Tre Lemar – 3.0
* Bear Bronson vs. Big Trouble Bishop – 2.5
* Fuego Del Sol & Marko Stunt vs. Baron Black & Ryzin – 2.5
* Kris Statlander vs. Viva Van – 2.0
* Chad Lennex & Zachariah vs. Varsity Blonds – 3.0
* Angelico vs. Prince Kai – 2.5
* Wheeler Yuta vs. “Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth – 2.0
* The Pinnacle (Shawn Spears & Wardlow) vs. Hunter Knott & Rosario Grillo – 2.0 (Squash)
* KiLynn King vs. Tay Conti – 3.0
* 8-Man Tag Team match – Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Alan “5” Angels, 10, & Colt Cabana) vs. Will Allday, Jason Hotch, Chandler Hopkins, & Dean Alexander – 2.0
* Jack Evans vs. Mike Sydal – 2.5
* Red Velvet vs. Ashley Vox – 2.5
* Chaos Project vs. Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – KiLynn King vs. Tay Conti match.
Worst – The over two hour runtime for the show.
Show Notes – Archer vs. Mantell opener was a solid squash match. Hughes Bros’ Dudley Boys-inspired Wassup diving headbutt to Solow’s groin spot was cool. Waiting Room talk show segment with Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss about the growing Janela-Kiss team issues was entertaining despite dragging a bit too long. Sydal vs. Bravo was a solid bout. Blade vs. Lemar was a pretty good competitive match despite the ending shenanigans. Bronson vs. Bishop was a splendid hoss style match. Del Sol getting his first ever AEW win is interesting and the post-match celebration with several AEW talent was nice. Lennex & Zachariah vs. Varsity Blonds was pretty good. Angelico’s post-match dance on the ramp still going on well after his music ended was funny. Angelico also bumping into Yuta who was just trying to get to the ring for his match is an interesting way to set up a potential future match between the two. Had an epiphany during the Yuta vs. Nemeth match about Yuta having a strong resemblance face-wise to the Sheriff from the Robin Hood: Men in Tights film. Yuta getting his first AEW win is interesting. King vs. Conti was a quite good competitive match. Varsity Blonds locker room interview segment was all right. Evans vs. Sydal and Velvet vs. Vox were decent back-and-forth style matches. Chaos Project vs. Kingston & Penta was pretty good, especially the latter half. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall despite the very long WWE SmackDown-like runtime length.

AEW Dynamite Road Ranger (July 6)
* South Beach Strap match – Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall – 2.5
* The Pinnacle (FTR & Wardlow) vs. Inner Circle (Santana, Ortiz, & Jake Hager) – 3.0
* Matt Sydal vs. Andrade El Idolo – 3.0
* Mixed Tag Team match – The Bunny & The Blade vs. Kris Statlander & Orange Cassidy – 2.5
* AEW World Tag Team Championship Street Fight – Eddie Kingston & Penta * El Zero Miedo vs. The Young Bucks (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Malakai Black’s (Aleister Black/Tommy End) surprise debut.
Worst – The sluggish pacing of the South Beach Strap match.
Show Notes – The lights randomly going out during the Strap match with no mystery person showing up afterwards was weird. Opening Strap match was mostly decent despite it sluggish pacing. The crowd trolling Callis over his Impact “firing” was funny. Callis, Omega, & Evil Uno promo and brawl with Dark Order, Elite, & Hangman Page was awesome. Darby Allin & Ethan Page sit-down interview segment about their feud and past history was superb. Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle was quite good. Anderson vs. Moxley hype video was splendid. MJF & Jericho face-to-face promo segment about the “Labor of Jericho” stips for a match was wonderful. MJF’s KO sell of Jericho’s Judas Effect was spectacular. Britt Baker backstage interview segment was gold, especially her vicious “blood money” jab at WWE. Andrade’s black skull entrance mask looked cool. Sydal vs. El Idolo was a fine AEW debut performance by El Idolo. Malakai Black’s surprise debut was fantastic and explains the odd lights out moment earlier in the show. Mixed tag match was solid. Dan Lamebrt’s promo mocking AEW & modern wrestling and beat down response by Lance Archer was very entertaining. Penta’s Destroyer to Matt Jackson on a table to the outside was cool. Yikes at Matt Jackson whacking Kingston in the face with thumbtacks and same for the finish of Kingston getting superkicked in the mouth with thumbtacks. AEW Tag title match was very good, especially the latter half. Road Ranger was a very enjoyable show overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Game Changer Wrestling Backyard Wrestling 3 (July 4)
* Six-Man Tag Team match – Big Vin Squad (Big Vin, KTB, & Mike Swanson) vs. Young Dumb N Broke (Carlie Tiger, Ellis Taylor, & Jordan Oliver) – 3.0
* Colby Corino vs. Mayday Jack (Cole Radrick)- 2.5
* Backyard Pro Hardcore Championship – Rickey Crash (Rickey Shane Page) vs. Natas (Jody Threat) (c) – 2.0
* Diablo (Shane Mercer) vs. Aerial Crow (Dyln McKay) – 3.0
* Buried Alive match – KC Kwik vs. Paco Loco – 3.0
* World Famous CB vs. Nasty Leroy – 2.0
* Eight-Man Series of Survival match – 4th of July Blunt Guy (Steve Sanders), C-Spot (Everett Connors), Ayden Alexander (Dante Leon), & Nolan Edward vs. The Chad (Tye Hill), Tony Deppen, Vampyro (Facade), & Claude Marrow Jr. (Ruckus) – 3.5
* Otis White (Otis Cogar) vs. Dexter White (Atticus Cogar) – 2.5
* Darc Angel (Marcus Mathers) vs. Pizza Cat Jr. (Billie Starkz) – 2.5
* JJ Escobar vs. Emanon (Jimmy Lloyd) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Eight-Man Series of Survival match.
Worst – World Famous CB vs. Nasty Leroy match.
Show Notes – Swanson getting bent in half from Tiger’s powerbomb on the trampoline spot looked brutal. Opening Big Vin Squad vs. Young Dumb N Broke match was entertaining. The ring mat being soaked from all the pool spots after the first two matches was funny. Crow’s Poison Rana spot to Diablo on the outside of the ring was cool. Diablo’s catch and Tombstone piledriver counter of Crow’s corkscrew flip from the trampoline was cool. Diablo vs. Crow was quite good, especially the ending sequence. Buried Alive match was a pretty good hard hitting bout and ouch at Kwik’s bloody back after getting slammed through light tubes into a pit. Ouch at CB’s back after getting Fireman Carry dropped into thumbtacks. CB vs. Leory was decent at best despite dragging too long. Vampyro’s Flair Flop style sell from the top rope to the outside after C-Spot’s chair toss spot was funny. The Cutter fest during the Series of Survival match was sweet. Chad’s corkscrew flip to Alexander on a door table was awesome. 8-Man an Series of Survival was a very good action filled bout. Otis & Dexter White parodying as Undertaker & Kane for their entrances and ring work was funny. Whits vs. White was a solid bloody deathmatch style bout. The fireworks shootout between Escobar and Emanon & El Shlako was cool. Escobar vs. Emanon was pretty good. Backyard Wrestling 3 was enjoyable overall but also was the weakest of GCW’s Backyard series.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (July 8)
* Brian Myers vs. Jake Something – 3.0
* Impact Knockouts Championship Open Challenge match – Deonna Purrazzo vs. Lady Frost – 2.0 (Squash)
* 3-on-1 Handicap match – W. Morrissey vs. Jason Page, DeAnte Evans, & Danny Smith – 1.5 (Squash)
* #1 Contender’s for Knockouts Tag Team Championship – Susan & Kimber Lee vs. Rosemary & Havok – 2.0
* Four-way match – Rich Swann vs. TJP vs. Karl Anderson vs. Deaner – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Impact World title contract signing and brawl segment.
Worst – 3-on-1 Handicap match.
Show Notes – Opening Don Callis & Kenny Omega brief backstage interview segment was decent. Something got some great air with his Blackhole Slam to Myers. Myers vs. Something was a good back-and-forth style match. Post-match brawl with Sam Beale & Matt Cardona was fine. Purrazzo backstage interview segment of her becoming very delusional as Knockouts champ was fine. Callis getting Sami Callihan arrested over some unseen attack on him is interesting. Gail Kim’s surprise appearance was cool and her revealing Purrazzo’s next title opponent being a mystery until Slammiversary is interesting. Chris Sabin & Moose brawl segment at Swinger’s Palace was okay. Callis’ video proof of Callihan’s attack on him being a blatantly fake Callihan was hilarious. Tenille Dashwood talk show segment with Jazz was a bit funny. Ellering & Grace backstage promo segment about Dashwood’s attack on Jazz was a bit goofy. Rich Swann, Willie Mack, TJP, Fallah Baah, Violent By Design, Good Brothers, & Tommy Dreamer promo segment was decent at best. Four-way match was pretty good, especially the latter half. Susan, Lee, & Father James Mitchell backstage segment teasing the return of Su Yung was wonderful. Johnny Bravo & Johnny Swinger being revealed as being in cohorts with Callis for the fake Callis attack earlier is interesting. Callihan & Omega Impact title contract signing & brawl was superb. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong Road to Tag Team Turbulence (July 9)
* The DKC vs. Barrett Brown – 3.0
* Alex Coughlin Challenge Match Series – Alex Coughlin vs. PJ Black – 3.0
* Josh Alexander vs. Rocky Romero – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Josh Alexander vs. Rocky Romero match.
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – DKC vs. Brown opener was a pretty good back-and-forth style match. Coughlin vs. Black was an entertaining hard hitting bout. Alexander vs. Romero was a quite good grapple heavy bout. Alexander’s post-match promo was all right. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo 2021 Night 1 (July 10)
* Yuya Uemura vs. Master Wato – 3.0
* Dick Togo & EVIL vs. YOH & Tomohiro Ishii – 3.0
* Rocky Romero, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. El Phantasmo, Yujiro Takahashi, & KENTA – 3.0
* United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) vs. SHO & Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
* DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi vs. BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito – 3.5
* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Taiji Ishimori vs. El Desperado (c) – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match.
Worst – Robbie Eagles match challenge video to El Desperado being somewhat flat in terms of his promo and as a big show closing surprise moment.
Show Notes – Uemura’s high arm drag and Bridging German Suplex spots to Wato looked silky smooth in terms of effort. Uemura vs. Wato was an entertaining opener bout. EVIL’s running gag of tossing guys into the barricade where the ring announcer sits next to is still funny after all these months of it. Togo & EVIL vs. YOH & Ishii was quite good and helped by the lack of usual Bullet Club style shenanigans. Taguchi flying ovr the barricade twice after getting repeated kicks in the butt by KENTA was funny. Romero, Taguchi, & Tanahashi vs. Bullet Club 6-Man Tag was a pretty good match with some great comedic-based moments. United Empire vs. vs. SHO & Okada was a very good back-and-forth style match. Sabre Jr.’s double submissions to SANADA & Naito was cool. Takagi’s Pumping Bomber clothesline to Douki looked brutal. Suzkui-Gun vs. LIJ 6-Man Tag was a very good action filled match. Desperado’s knee breaker & Dragon Screw combo to Ishimori was nice. Ouch at Desperado’s ribs after crashing hard on the barricade by Ishimori’s modified Bloody Cross. Desperado & Ishimori withering in pain after the back-to-back nut shot spots was funny. Ishimori’s spinning Bonelock counter of Desperado’s Pinche Locho attempt was marvelous. IWGP Jr. title match was an amazing action packed bout. Eagles title challenge promo was flat. Summer Struggle in Sapporo 2021 Night 1 was very enjoyable overall, especially the latter half of the show.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Taiji Ishimori vs. El Desperado (c) (NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo 2021 Night 1)
• Worst match of the week – Elias & Cedric Alexander vs. Jaxson Ryker & R-Truth (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW