Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for August 1 to August 7

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of August 1st to August 7th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (August 1)
* 2-on-1 Handicap match – Veer & Shanky vs. Drew McIntyre – 1.5
* Nia Jax vs. Rhea Ripley – 2.5
* Mace & T-Bar vs. Mansoor & Mustafa Ali – 2.5
* Doudrop vs. Tamina – 2.0
* John Morrison vs. Damian Priest – 2.5
* John Morrison & Sheamus vs. Damian Priest & Ricochet – 3.0
* Riddle vs. Omos – 2.5 (Squash)
* Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee – 2.5
* 24/7 Championship – Akira Tozawa vs. Reginald (c) – 2.0 (Squash)
* RAW Women’s Championship Contender’s No Holds Barred match – Charlotte Flair vs. Nikki ASH – 3.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – John Morrison & Sheamus vs. Damian Priest & Ricochet match.
Worst – Charlotte Flair’s rambling in-ring promo segment and WWE putting way more effort on piping in fake chants and muting the crowd throughout the show than delivering a good show to watch to begin with.
Show Notes – The crowd rebelling with “We Want Wyatt” chants during the opening MVP, Lashley, & Goldberg promo segment was funny. McIntyre’s post-match sword vs. chairs battle against Mahal & Pals was a lot more goofier than WWE probably expected. Yikes at Jax’s face getting busted open. Jax vs. Ripley was a solid bout despite Jax being reckless at times. T-Bar’s vicious looking clothesline to Ali at ringside was sweet. Mace & T-Bar vs. Mansoor & Ali was entertaining. Nikki’s sneak chair attack to Charlotte was the only good part about Charlotte’s awful promo segment. WWE production trying to drown out the “CM Punk” chants during the dull Doudrop vs. Tamina match & Bliss’ post-match antics was funny. Miz TV segment with Priest mostly stunk but the crowd rebelling again with “CM Punk” chants was funny. Ouch at Sheamus getting kneed in the head from Ricochet’s moonsault to the outside. Morrison & Sheamus vs. Priest & Ricochet was quite good. Alexa’s Playground segment with Marie, Doudrop, & Lilly “coming to life” bit was stupid. Kross’ pre-match promo was dull. Ouch at Lee landing right on his head from Kross’ T-bone suplex on the outside. Vince must really hate NXT at this point with how poorly handled NXT Champ Kross has been on RAW. Ouch at the gash on Flair’s back after her failed spear through a table. No Holds Barred match was pretty good despite the anti-climatic finish & odd decision to have Charlotte dominate almost the entire match. This week’s show was mostly boring overall.

NXT (August 3)
* Hit Row (Ashante “Thee” Adonis & Top Dolla) vs. Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza) – 3.0
* Ridge Holland vs. Ikemen Jiro – 2.0 (Squash)
* Bobby Fish vs. Roderick Strong – 3.0
* Cameron Grimes & LA Knight vs. Grizzled Young Veterans – 3.0
* 2021 NXT Breakout tournament First Round match – Trey Baxter vs. Joe Gacy – 3.0
* Love Her or Lose Her match – Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Dakota Kai’s video promo segment about her betrayal to Raquel Gonzalez last week.
Worst – The stip to the “Love Her or Lose Her” match being broken in record time even by WWE standards.
Show Notes – Wilde’s tiger style entrance mask looked awesome. Hit Row vs. Legado was going on very well until the lame DQ finish by Santos Escobar. Main roster style booking has seeped into NXT’s booking way too much in recent years. Fish vs. Strong was a quite good hard hitting match despite dragging a bit too long and somewhat abrupt ending. Grizzled Young Vets pre-match promo was a swing & miss in terms of quality. Grimes wrestling in a butler suit was funny. Ouch at Grimes’ face after getting whiplashed into the ropes by Zack Gibson. Grimes’ double hurricanrana to GYV at the same time was cool. Grimes & Knight vs. GYV was entertaining. Dakota Kai video promo segment about why she broke her friendship with Raquel Gonzalez was superb. Baxter’s 450 stomp finisher to Gacy was cool. Baxter vs. Gacy was a pretty good hard hitting & high flying bout and was surprised Baxter won. Io Shirai & Zoey Stark sushi restaurant segment was goofy but a bit funny. Joe’s destruction of NXT security as a message to Kross was superb. WALTER vs. Dragunov NXT UK title hype package was awesome. Dexter caressing Indi’s face as part his rope break of the Gargano Lock was funny. Gargano vs. Lumis was a good back-and-forth action match, especially the latter half, despite the lame shenanigans ending. Indi completely ignoring the “Lose Her” part of the match stip to smooch Lumis afterwards made the match meaningless in the end. This week’s show was enjoyable overall despite some questionable booking decisions.

Friday Night SmackDown (August 6)
* Jey Uso vs. Dominik Mysterio – 2.5
* Intercontinental Championship Contender’s match – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews – 2.0
* Tamina vs. Tegan Nox – 1.5
* Street Profits vs. Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode) – 3.0
* SmackDown Women’s Championship Contender’s match – Zelina Vega vs. Bianca Belair – 2.5
* Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Paul Heyman’s backstage interview segment.
Worst – Tamina vs. Tegan Nox match.
Show Notes – Opening Sasha Banks, Belair, & Vega promo segment about Banks’ return last week and SD Women’s title stuff was all right. Michael Cole botching the ad read for the match graphic for tonight’s Belair vs. Vega SD Women’s title match was funny. Dominik’s sliding sunset powerbomb to Uso on the outside was nice. Uso vs. Mysterio was a solid match despite it losing a lot of steam near the end. Pat McAfee calling Corbin a “bum ass” during his Balor vs. Corbin ad read was funny. Nakamura vs. Crews was going on well until the lame DQ finish by Commander Azeez. Paul Heyman backstage interview about Cena & mocking last week’s dumb Universal title contract segment was excellent. Tamia vs. Nox was very dull outside of Shotzi’s tank antics. Vega, Pearce, & Deville backstage office segment was lame in terms of the bait-and-switch explanation for Vega’s dropped title match shot. Edge & Seth Rollins promo segment about their feud & SummerSlam match was superb. Street Profits vs. Dirty Dawgs was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Ouch at Vega getting whipped hard into the barricade from Belair’s catch & swing counter of Vega’s jump to the outside. Vega vs. Belair was a solid match. Very mean of Balor to not accept Sad Corbin’s sincere apology over last week’s issues. Balor vs. Corbin was decent at best. Balor’s post-match promo about wanting his Universal title match & Cena and Roman Reigns’ response & brawl with the Usos was all right. This week’s show was mostly average overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (August 2)
* Red Velvet vs. Angelica Risk – 2.0 (Squash)
* Lee Johnson vs. Marcus Kross – 2.0 (Squash)
* Kris Statlander vs. Ashley D’Ambiose – 2.0 (Squash)
* The Factory (Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto) vs. Rosario Grillo & Hunter Knott – 2.0 (Squash)
* Yuka Sakazaki vs. Dani Jordyn – 2.5
* Bear Bronson vs. Darby Allin – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Bear Bronson vs. Darby Allin match.
Worst – The very squash match heavy card for this week’s show.
Show Notes – Paul Wight revealing him wearing a “Hot Boy Summer” shirt for tonight’s show because he lost a backstage poker game to the Wingmen was funny. Whoever designed Risk’s pants forgot to finish it since I have no clue how that is meant to be pants or be comfortable to wrestle in. Velvet vs. Risk opener was a decent squash style match. Kross trying to do a Kamehameha strike on Johnson was very goofy but also a bit funny. Johnson vs. Kross was also a decent squash bout. The post-match promo by Miro about him ending Johnson’s TNT title chances was fine. Statlander vignette was all right. Legendary announcer David Crockett’s guest commentary appearance mid-way into the show was cool. Statlander vs. D’Amboise was a solid squash match. The Factory vs. Grillo & Knott was a decent at best squash match. Sakazaki vs. Jordyn was a solid back-and-forth style match. Bronson’s catch & splash counter of Allin’s Coffin drop from the ropes was cool. Allin got some really good distance with his Coffin Drop finisher to Bronson to end the match. Bronson vs. Allin was a quite good action filled match. This week’s show was average overall and mostly skippable outside of the main event.

AEW Dark “100th Episode” (August 3)
* The Wingmen (JD Drake, Cezar Bononi, & Ryan Nemeth) vs. Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, & Wheeler Yuta – 3.0
* Jack Evans vs. PAC – 3.0
* Tay Conti vs. Kenzie Page – 2.5 (Squash)
* Capt. Shawn Dean & Fuego Del Sol vs. The Pinnacle (Shawn Spears & Wardlow) – 2.0 (Squash)
* Hikaru Shida vs. Madi Maxx – 2.5
* Chaos Project vs. Lucha Bros – 2.5
* The Acclaimed & Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy & The Blade) vs. Varsity Blonds & Matt & Mike Sydal – 3.0
* Diamante vs. Leyla Hirsch – 2.0
* Jon Moxley vs. Brick Aldridge – 2.5
* Penelope Ford vs. Reka Tehaka – 2.0
* Dante Martin vs. Eddie Kingston – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Jack Evans vs. PAC match.
Worst – Max Caster’s pre-match rap.
Show Notes – Opening Wingmen vs. Cassidy, Taylor, & Yuta was an entertaining back-and-forth action match. Evans’ pre-match backstage promo about PAC was all right. Ouch at Evans back after his rough landing on the apron and floor from PAC’s leg sweep counter on the outside. Evans’ Sky Twister press to PAC on the outside was cool and same for PAC’s vicious looking clothesline to Evans’ afterwards. Evans vs. PAC was a quite good hard hitting action filled match. Red Velvet backstage promo segment about Britt Baker & AEW Women’s title plans was fine. Conti vs. Page was a nice hard hitting squash style match, especially some of the stiff forearms dished out by both during it. Penta’s Guerilla Press catch counter of Serpentico’s dive to the outside was cool. Chaos Project vs. Lucha Bros was a solid match. Max Caster’s pre-match rap was his worst one so far in AEW, mainly due to him finally crossing the line he was hovering around in recent weeks by going too far with the tone of his insults since the jokes about Simone Biles mental health & Duke Lacrosse rape scandal were completely unnecessary. 8-Man tag was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Mark Sterling & Jade Cargill “Jade Brand”-based promo segment was a bit dull. Martin’s KO sell of Kingston’s backfist finisher was superb. Martin vs. Kingston was a solid high flyer vs. brawler style match. This week’s 100th episode themed show was average overall.

AEW Dynamite “Homecoming” (August 4)
* Labor of Jericho match – Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera – 2.5
* Trios match – Daniel Garcia & 2.0 (Matt Lee & Jeff Parker) vs. Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, & Jon Moxley -3.0
* Christian Cage vs. The Blade – 3.0
* TNT Championship – Lee Johnson vs. Miro (c) – 3.5
* NWA Women’s World Championship Eliminator match – The Bunny vs. Leyla Hirsch – 2.5
* Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes – 3.0 (Squash)
Overall – 3.0
Best – TNT Championship match and Malakai Black’s AEW debut match performance.
Worst – Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera match being rough in action and quality at times.
Show Notes – Juvi’s series of sloppy moves was a very rough way to start the opening match. Jericho vs. Juvi was decent at best despite it being rough at times and one of Dynamite’s weaker openers. Hangman Page no longer wanting to hang around with the Dark Order was a heartbreaking moment. Allin’s brutal looking suicide dive to Lee was great. Trios tag match was entertaining and a fine AEW debut performance by 2.0. The Elite backstage promo segment was goofy but Omega’s Cookie Monster shirt was sweet. Cage vs. Blade was a good back-and-forth style match. FTR vs. Santana & Ortiz feud vignette was splendid & great decision to re-do their match after last week’s injury issue derailed it. Britt Baker & Red Velvet promo & brawl segment was all right. Chavo hiring Fuego Del Sol to be Andrade’s shoe shiner was funny but poor Fuego, got beaten up by Andrade instead. Page and Omega promo about the Elite & AEW title & brawl with Elite & Frankie Kazarian was superb. Ouch at Miro’s head after his botched catch counter of Johnson’s sunset flip to the outside. TNT title was a very good action filled match, especially the latter half. Black’s entrance theme sounds great and his spooky entrance mask looked very cool. Black’s knee strike to Cody on the top rope sending him into a table on the outside was cool. Black vs. Rhodes was a great AEW debut showcase for Black. Black’s ambush attack during Cody’s post-match “retirement” stuff was interesting and a bit funny. This week’s show was enjoyable overall despite being one of Dynamite’s weaker shows.

AEW Dark (August 6)
* Jurassic Express vs. D3 & Ryzin – 2.0 (Squash)
* Kris Statlander vs. Leila Grey – 2.5
* Lucha Bros vs. Sage Scott & Jake St. Patrick – 2.5
* Julia Hart vs. Angelica Risk – 2.5
* Ethan Page vs. Baron Black – 2.5
* The Factory (Nick Comoroto & Aaron Solo) vs. Gunn Club (Colton & Billy Gunn) – 3.0
* “Pretty” Peter Avalon vs. Frankie Kazarian – 2.5
* Dante Martin & Sydal Brothers (Matt & Mike Sydal) vs. Darian Bengston, Vary Morales, & Aaron Frye – 2.0 (Squash)
* Lance Archer vs. Tre Lamar – 2.0 (Squash)
* Abadon vs. Kelsey Heather – 2.0 (Squash)
* Jora Johl vs. Orange Cassidy – 2.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – The Factory vs. Gunn Club match.
Worst – Jora Johl vs. Orange Cassidy match.
Show Notes – Jurassic Express vs. D3 & Ryzin opener was a decent squash match. Statlander’s clotheslines & backbreaker combo to Grey looked cool. Statlander vs. Grey was a solid match. Big Swole & Diamante sit-down interview segment about their issues with each other was all right. The Factory vs. Gunn Club was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Avalon probably raided Ric Flair’s closet to find that fancy looking shiny robe for his entrance. Avalon vs. Kazarian was a decent competitive match. Archer managing to bend Lamar in half with his running pounce spot was nice. Archer vs. Lamar was a decent extended squash match. Johl vs. Cassidy was decent at best but also was one of Dark’s weaker main events in recent months. This week’s show was mostly average overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (August 5)
* Chris Bey vs. Juice Robinson – 3.0
* #1 Contender for Impact X-Division Championship Four-way match – Jake Something vs. Daivari vs. Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel – 3.0
* Fire N’Flava vs. Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering – 3.0
* Steve Maclin vs. Jah-C – 2.0 (Squash)
* Six-Man Tag Team match – The Good Brothers & Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards, & Frankie Kazarian – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – #1 Contender for Impact X-Division Championship Four-way match.
Worst – Steve Maclin vs. Jah-C match.
Show Notes – Bey vs. Robinson was an entertaining opening match. Jay White making Bey an official member of Bullet Club was nice. Don Callis, Omega & Pals, and Violent By Design backstage segment was all right. Rehwoldt & Purrazzo Homecoming King & Queen coronation & Empowerrr match contract signing segment with Mickie James & Melina was all right. Melina’s surprise appearance was cool. Taylor Wilde backstage interview segment was about Tenille & Kaleb being the cause of her recent absence was all right. Kimber Lee & Su Yung spooky backstage segment was splendid. Raju’s spiked DDT to Daivari via Something’s toss assist was cool. Something got some really amazing height with his sitdown powerbomb to Miguel. X-Division title contender’s match was a quite good action filled bout. Grace’s vicious looking spinebuster to Tasha Steelz was cool. Yikes at Steelz’s neck after getting whiplashed into the ropes from Grace’s toss to the outside. Women’s tag match was pretty good. Fire N’Flava breakup & Steelz partnering with Savannah Evans was interesting. Kazarian backstage interview segment about his Impact return was fine. Tenille Dashwood’s talk show segment with Scott D’Amore’s & his antics to Kaleb was a bit funny. Chris Sabin backstage interview about Moose was decent. Callis’ obnoxious entrance announcement for Omega was wonderful. Callihan’s spike piledriver to Omega on the apron was cool. 6-Man tag was a good back-and-forth action match. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong Road to Summer Struggle USA (August 6)
* Kevin Knight vs. Alexander James – 3.0
* Alex Coughlin & Ren Narita vs. Fred Rosser & Rocky Romero – 3.0
* Team Filthy (Danny Limelight & JR Kratos) vs. Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Team Filthy vs. Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson match.
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – Knight vs. James opener was a pretty good back-and-forth style match and fine NJPW Strong debut performance by James. Coughlin’s gut buster to Romero looked legit painful to take. Young Lions vs. Rosser & Romero was a quite good action filled match. Narita & Rosser post-match confrontation was splendid. Isaacs & Nelson’s suplex and powerbomb combo to Kratos was cool. Team Filthy vs. Isaacs & Nelson was a very good hard hitting action packed match. Tom Lawlor making Isaacs & Nelson members of Team Filthy after being pleased with their performance was interesting. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – Team Filthy (Danny Limelight & JR Kratos) vs. Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson (NJPW Strong)
• Best match of the week runner-up – TNT Championship – Lee Johnson vs. Miro (c) (AEW Dynamite)
• Worst match of the week – Tamina vs. Tegan Nox (WWE Friday Night SmackDown)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – 2-on-1 Handicap match – Veer & Shanky vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – NJPW Strong
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW