Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for August 15 to August 21

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of August 15th to August 21st.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (August 15)
* Riddle vs. AJ Styles – 3.0
* Nikki A.S.H. vs. Rhea Ripley – 2.5
* 2-on-1 Handicap match – Drew McIntyre vs. Veer & Shanky – 2.0
* The Miz vs. Damian Priest – 2.0 (Squash)
* Mace vs. Mansoor – 2.0
* Randy Orton vs. Omos – 2.0
* Karrion Kross vs. Jeff Hardy – 1.5 (Squash)
* Rhea Ripley & Nikki A.S.H. vs. Charlotte Flair & Nia Jax – 2.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – Randy Orton & Riddle reuniting as buddies and RK-Bro team.
Worst – The Eva Maria, Doudrop, & Alexa Bliss segments.
Show Notes – Opening Orton, Riddle, & Styles promo segment about Orton’s RKO to Riddle last week was a bit funny. Riddle vs. Styles was a quite good back-and-forth action match despite the flat ending. Nikki vs. Ripley was mostly solid despite dragging too long and Flair’s dull guest commentary work. Handicap match was nothing special but McIntyre’s post-match promo to Mahal was all right. Moist TV segment with Miz & Priest was very goofy and not in a good way but Miz botching his lines saying “WrestleMania” instead of SummerSlam was funny though. Miz’s KO sell of Priest’s Brogue Kick was sweet. Everything about the Eva Marie & Doudrop vs. Alexa Bliss feud has been awful and tonight’s Playground Lilly-based segment was no different. Mace’s reverse exploder suplex to Mansoor was cool while their match was decent at best despite the shenanigans finish. Orton vs. Omos was decent at best despite the lame DQ finish by Styles attack that the ref didn’t actually see happen. Orton being buddies with Riddle again was wonderful. 24/7 title outdoor park segment with disguised R-Truth & Tozawa was funny. Jax being Flair’s mystery tag partner was a buzz kill. Ouch at Nikki’s head after Jax’s rough clothesline to her. Women’s tag match was somewhat dull topped with an ugly looking Natural Selection finisher by Flair to Ripley. Nikki has been one of the worst booked champs in WWE in recent years. Goldberg & Lashley face-to-face promo segment with MVP was all right. This week’s SummerSlam go-home show was average at best overall.

NXT (August 17)
* Open Challenge match – Roderick Strong vs. Ilja Dragunov – 3.0
* Cameron Grimes vs. Josh Briggs – 2.5
* Robert Stone & Jessi Kamea vs. InDex (Dexter Lumis & Indi Hartwell) – 2.5
* 2021 NXT Breakout tournament Semifinals match – Carmelo Hayes vs. Duke Hudson – 2.5
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) vs. MSK (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – NXT Tag Team Championship match.
Worst – The back-to-back weeks of NXT pulling advertised matches from shows at the last minute.
Show Notes – KUSHIDA being pulled from the show is interesting. Ouch at Dragunov’s back after Strong’s Uranage to the apron & yikes at his crimson mask from Strong’s elbow strikes. Strong vs. Dragunov opener was an entertaining hard hitting match. Cole vs. O’Reilly Prime Target hype package was superb. Hit Row & Santos Escobar promo & parking lot brawl with Legado was fine. The Garganos, Indi, & Lumis non-PG innuendoes-based backstage segment was goofy. Indi mimicking Lumis’ creepy ring entrance mannerisms was funny & same for Stone’s new ponytail look. Stone & Kamea vs. InDex was mostly decent with some nice comedic moments despite dragging a bit long. Indi proposing to Lumis after the match felt a bit rushed for their storyline. Gonzalez & Kai split-screen interview segment about their feud was all right. Hayes vs. Hudson was a solid back-and-forth style match despite it getting sloppy near the end & was surprised Hayes won. Jacy Jayne vignette was okay. Grimes’ passionate backstage promo to DiBiase was great. Aichner’s clothesline to Wes Lee bending him in half was nice. NXT Tag title was a very good action filled match, especially the latter half. The post-match brawl with WALTER & Dragunov was wonderful, especially WALTER’s murder chops to Lee & Dragunov. The crowd mocking Kross with Jeff Hardy and Scarlett chants was funny. Joe & Kross face-to-face promo & brawl segemnt was all right. This week’s TakeOver go-home show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (August 20)
* Rey Mysterio vs. Jey Uso – 3.0
* Baron Corbin vs. Kevin Owens – 2.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Contender’s match – Shotzi & Tegan Nox vs. Natayla & Tamina – 2.0
* Montez Ford vs. Otis – 3.0
* Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs vs. Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez – 2.5
* Bianca Belair vs. Zelina Vega – 2.0 (Squash)
* Bianca Belair vs. Carmella – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Edge channeling his inner Brood persona for his mind games attack on Seth Rollins.
Worst – Shotzi & Tegan Nox vs. Natayla & Tamina match.
Show Notes – Opening Edge’s deranged promo segment about Seth Rollins & their match at SummerSlam was superb. Jey’s KO sell of Mysterio’s DDT counter of Jey’s slam was cool. Mysterio vs. Uso was a quite good action filled match despite the ending shenanigans by Dominik. Corbin cradling his stolen MitB case during his entrance was a bit funny. Corbin vs. Owens was decent at best despite the DQ ending by Big E but it was one of the rare instances in recent times where a DQ finish actually made sense or came off well in WWE. Belair backstage interview about Sasha Banks was fine. Women’s Tag was a somewhat decent match. Rollins promo segment bashing Edge was all right but Edge’s Brood style music mind games & “blood” bath to Rollins was awesome. Otis vicious spinning back elbow to Ford was cool & same for his hard club chop to Ford on the apron sending him to the floor. Ford vs. Otis was an entertaining hard hitting match. Nakamura & Boogs vs. Crews & Azeez was a solid back-and-forth style match. Vega’s current return run in WWE has been very forgettable and useless so far. Belair’s delayed Vertical suplex counter of Carmella’s Code of Silence submission was very impressive. Belair vs. Carmella was pretty good. Roman Reigns & John Cena’s final promo segment about their upcoming SummerSlam match was splendid. Reigns stip of him leaving WWE if he loses is interesting but also really dumb since there was no real build for it and spoils the ending to their match. This week’s SummerSlam go-home show was enjoyable overall.

WWE SummerSlam 2021 (August 21)
* RAW Tag Team Championship – RK-Bro (Riddle & Randy Orton) vs. Omos & AJ Styles (c) – 3.0
* Eva Marie vs. Alexa Bliss – 1.0
* United States Championship – Damian Priest vs. Sheamus (c) – 3.0
* SmackDown Tag Team Championship – Dominik & Rey Mystero vs. The Usos (c) – 3.0
* SmackDown Women’s Championship – Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair (c) – 0.5 (Squash)
* Jinder Mahal vs. Drew McIntyre – 2.5
* RAW Women’s Championship Triple Threat match – Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Nikki A.S.H. (c) – 3.0
* Seth Rollins vs. Edge – 4.0
* WWE Championship – Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley (c) – 2.0
* Universal Championship – John Cena vs. Roman Reigns (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Seth Rollins vs. Edge match.
Worst – The abysmal and very questionable booking of the women’s stuff in general on the show.
Show Notes – RAW Tag title opener was an entertaining match. Marie vs. Bliss was awful & strong contender for Worst WWE Match of the Year. Ouch at Priest’s back after his rough landing from his dive to Sheamus on the outside. US title was a quite good back-and-forth hard hitting bout. SD Tag title match was pretty good. WWE pulling a bait-and-switch for the SD Women’s title match with Carmella was hilarious for all the wrong reasons. Becky Lynch’s surprise return was cool but WWE booking her to quickly squash Belair for the title was dumb as hell. Mahal vs. McIntyre was mostly solid. Ouch at Ripley’s ankles after her hard landing to the outside from Flair’s toss & Nikki’s head after getting nailed by Flair’s foot from her moonsault to the outside. RAW Women’s title was a good action filled match despite being very sloppy at times and have zero interest in another stat padding title reign for Flair. Edge’s Brood & Rated R combo entrance was awesome. Edge busting out a Glam Slam to Rollins was also cool. Rollins; Pedigree counter to Edge’s spear looked bad. Rollins vs. Edge was an amazing action packed match. Miz, Morrison, & Xavier Woods “drip stick 2000” sprayer antics was dumb. WWE title match was somewhat decent at best despite it being a mess at times and lame injury ending. Reigns’ guillotine choke counter of Cena’s first 5 Knuckle shuffle taunt was sweet. Cena’s AA to Reigns through the announcer’s table was cool. Cena’s Super AA to Reigns was cool. Reigns vs. Cena was very good, especially the latter half, despite dragging too long. Lesnar’s surprise return was cool and same for his bearded Viking-like look. SummerSlam 2021 was a mostly enjoyable show despite some very questionable booking decisions and its very long runtime length.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (August 16)
* 2.0 (Matt Lee & Jeff Parker) vs. Duke Davis & Ganon Jones – 2.0
* Diamante vs. Julia Hart – 2.5
* Joey Janela vs. Alan “5” Angels – 3.0
* Hikaru Shida vs. Kiera Hogan – 3.0
* Lance Archer vs. Reggie Collins – 2.0 (Squash)
* Thunder Rosa vs. Ray Lyn – 2.5
* Anthony Bowens vs. PAC – 2.5
* Brian Cage vs. Joey Keys – 2.0 (Squash)
* Serpentico vs. Sammy Guevara – 2.5
* Jade Cargill vs. Katie Arquette – 1.0 (Squash)
* The Hybrid2 vs. Lucha Bros – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – The Hybrid2 vs. Lucha Bros match.
Worst – Jade Cargill vs. Katie Arquette match.
Show Notes – 2.0 vs. Davis & Jones was a somewhat decent opening match. Diamante vs. Hart was a mostly solid back-and-forth style match despite the ending shenanigans. The post-match Diamante & Big Swole brawl was all right. Janela’s Rock-style bouncing sell of Angels’ springboard moonsault to the outside was funny. Janela’s brainbuster to Angels looked cool. Janela vs. Angels was pretty good. Shida vs. Hogan was a pretty good hard hitting competitive match and fine AEW debut performance by Hogan. Archer beating up his opponent or people at ringside for his entrances never gets old to watch. Archer’s murder clothesline to Collins was cool. Rosa vs. Lyn was a solid bout. Bowens’ new entrance theme sounds decent at best. Bowens vs. PAC was a decent competitive match. Guevara botching his kip up spot and stumbling on Serpentico instead was a bit funny. Ouch at Serpentico’s hand after his missed chop to Guevara hitting the ring post instead. Serpentico vs. Guevara was a decent back-and-forth style match. Shawn Spears post-match ambush on Guevara was okay. Cargill’s Catatonic & Flatliner combo to Arquette looked rough. Cargill vs. Arquette was a nothing special squash match. Angelico’s Delfin Clutch to Fenix looked cool. TH2 vs. Lucha Bros was an entertaining action filled match. Eddie Kingston’s guest commentary during the latter half of the show was splendid. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dark (August 17)
* 2.0 vs. Skyler Andrews & Sam Adams – 2.0
* Tay Conti vs. Rebecca Scott – 2.0 (Squash)
* Lee Johnson & Brock Anderson vs. Joey Keys & Spencer Slade – 2.5
* Matt Hardy vs. Wheeler Yuta – 3.0
* Penelope Ford vs. Masha Slamovich – 2.5
* Kris Statlander vs. Kiera Hogan – 3.0
* Trios match – Chaos Project & Cole Karter vs. Death Triangle – 2.5
* Nyla Rose vs. Tina San Antonio – 1.5 (Squash)
* Trios match – Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, John Silver, & 10) vs. RSP, Andrew Palace, & Bill Collier – 3.0
* Brandon Cutler vs. Frankie Kazarian – 2.5
* 8-Man Tag Team match – The Wingmen vs. Jurassic Express & Varsity Blonds – 3.0
* Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty match.
Worst – Nyla Rose vs. Tina San Antonio match.
Show Notes – 2.0 vs. Andrews & Adams match was a mostly decent opening match. Conti vs. Scott was a fine squash style match & Conti’s ring work quality has been growing superbly over the past year. Hardy vs. Yuta was a good back-and-forth style match despite the ending shenanigans. The post-match brawl with Private Party & Orange Cassidy was nice, especially Cassidy’s one punch KO of Hardy. Statlander’s lengthy delayed vertical suplex to Hogan was cool. Statlander vs. Hogan was an entertaining action filled match. Ricky Starks’ bewildered reaction to Tina San Antonio not actually being from San Antonio was a bit funny & the only good part about a forgettable Rosa vs. San Antonio squash match. Silver’s brainbuster to RSP was cool & same for Reynolds moonsault to RSP and Collier the outside via 10 assist. Dark Order’s finisher combo destruction of Palace was sweet. Dark Order vs. RSP, Palace, & Collier was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Cutler’s comedic bottle spray attack backfiring on him was funny & Cutler vs. Kazarian was a solid match. 8-Man Tag was a quite good action filled match. Martin’s corkscrew flip escape counter of Moriarty’s swiping chop to his feet on the apron was cool. Moriarty’s entrance mask looked sweet. Martin vs. Moriarty was a very entertaining counters-heavy action packed match and one of the best matches on Dark this year. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite (August 18)
* Texas Tornado Tag Team match – 2.0 (Jeff Parker & Matt Lee) vs. Sting & Darby Allin – 3.5
* Sammy Guevara vs. Shawn Spears – 3.0
* AEW World Tag Team Championship – Jurassic Express vs. The Young Bucks (c) – 3.5
* Penelope Ford vs. Thunder Rosa – 3.0
* Labor of Jericho No Judas Effect Allowed match – MJF vs. Chris Jericho – 3.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Crowd being very hot throughout the show, the Texas Tornado Tag match, and Dam Lambert’s anti-AEW rant fueled promo.
Worst – Paul Wight & QT Marshall promo segment dragging too long & QT showing the crowd a photo of Wight’s stitched up hip & big ass.
Show Notes – Ouch at Allin’s back after 2.0’s suplex to him onto a skateboard. Sting’s no sell of going through a table & double Scorpion Death Drop to 2.0 was awesome. Texas Tornado Tag opener was a very entertaining match. Sammy’s top rope cutter to Spears & Spears’ C4 to Sammy afterwards were cool. Ouch at Spears back after Sammy’s DVD onto a prone guard rail. Guevara vs. Spears was a quite good hard hitting match. Dante Martin vignette was splendid. Dan Lambert’s angry rant promo about AEW & AEW fans was fantastic. AEW Tag title was a very good back-and-forth action packed match despite going overboard with the shenanigans. Baker & Hayter backstage interview about Red Velvet & Statlander was all right. Ricky Starks promo about Brian Cage and Hobbs’ backstage brawl with Cage was fine. Death Triangle, Andrade, & Chavo backstage segment was splendid. Ford’s cutter to Rosa on the outside was cool & same for Rosa’s airplane spin DVD to Ford afterwards. Ford vs. Rosa was a pretty good competitive match. The Andersons backstage interview about Malakai Black was fine. Moxley’s backstage promo calling out AEW’s top guys & Daniel Garcia was superb. Crowd signing Judas to make up for Jericho not being allowed entrance music was cool. MJF & Jericho’s ringside camera antics bit was funny. MJF’s Pendulum Piledriver to Jericho on the ropes was nice. MJF vs. Jericho was a very good back-and-forth action filled match despite the somewhat flat ending. This week’s show was awesome overall.

AEW Dark Thursday Edition (August 17)
* Santana & Ortiz vs. Warren Johnson & Zack Mason – 2.0 (Squash)
* Nyla Rose vs. Steff MK – 1.5 (Squash)
* Emi Sakura vs. Madi Wrenkowski – 2.5
* Private Party vs. Will Allday & Edge Stone – 2.0 (Squash)
* Daniel Garcia vs. Matt Sydal – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Daniel Garcia vs. Matt Sydal match.
Worst – Nyla Rose vs. Steff MK match.
Show Notes – Santana & Ortiz vs. Johnson & Mason opener was a decent squash style match. The twin magic switching shenanigans between Ashley & Steff MK was the only notable part about a nothing special Rose vs. MK squash match. Rose post-match powerbomb to Ashley onto Steff looked brutal and Vickie Guerrero’s post-match promo about Britt Baker was okay. Sakura’s Mexican Surfboard & Dragon Sleeper combo to Wrenkowski was cool. Sakura vs. Wrenkowski was a solid match. Mark Sterling & Jade Cargill backstage promo segment about Kiera Hogan was okay. Private Party vs. Allday & Stone was a mostly decent squash match. Garcia vs. Sydal was a quite good back-and-forth grapple heavy bout. Garcia’s post-match backstage promo about Jon Moxley was all right. This week’s short length show was average overall but mostly skippable outside of the main event match.

AEW Rampage “First Dance” (August 20)
* AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament Semi-Final match – Private Party vs. Jurassic Express – 4.0
* Jade Cargill vs. Kiera Hogan – 2.0 (Squash)
* Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia – 3.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – CM Punk’s AEW debut.
Worst – Jade Cargill vs. Kiera Hogan match.
Show Notes – CM Punk’s debut was awesome and same for the crowd’s reaction being molten hot when it happened. That was easily one of the best moments in wrestling in years. Punk wearing his classic “Best in the World” themed shirt was wonderful. Punk calling out Darby Alllin for a match at All Out was sweet. Punk’s opening promo to the crowd about his return to wrestling was magnificent. Christian Cage’s backstage promo about The Elite was his best promo in AEW so far. Jungle Boy’s clothesline to Isiah Kassidy bending him in half was cool. Same for Kassidy’s top rope Canadian Destroyer to Jungle Boy & Marq Quen’s Shooting Star Press to Luchasaurus afterwards. Ouch at Marko Stunt’s back after Matt Hardy chucked him hard off the apron to the floor. Private Party vs. Jurassic Express was a fantastic action packed match. Omega & Callis backstage promo about Cage was all right. Cargill vs. Hogan pre-match hype video was decent & same for their quick squash style match. Moxley and Garcia & 2.0 pre-match split-screen interview segment was superb. Moxley’s brutal looking German suplexes to Garcia were cool & same for his vicious clothesline to Garcia afterwards. Moxley vs. Garcia was an entertaining match. The post-match mass brawl with 2.0, Sting, Darby Allin, & Eddie Kingston was wonderful. This week’s show was amazing overall and one of AEW’s best shows this year.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (August 19)
* Sami Callihan & Chris Sabin vs. Ace Austin & Moose – 3.0
* Shera vs. Matt Cardona – 2.5
* Melina vs. Brandi Lauren – 1.5 (Squash)
* Jake Something vs. Kaleb with a K – 2.0
* Joe Doering vs. Doc Gallows – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Locker Room Talk show segment and the Joe Doering vs. Doc Gallows match.
Worst – Melina vs. Brandi Lauren match.
Show Notes – The show opening announcement by Josh Matthews & Gia Miller being interrupted by a random Morrissey & Edwards brawl was a bit funny. Callihan’s vicious looking clothesline to Austin was nice and ouch at Austin landing right on his head. Callihan & Sabin vs. Austin & Moose was a quite good back-and-forth action match. Good Bros backstage promo about NJPW and Violent by Design was all right. Shera vs. Cardona was mostly decent despite dragging a bit too long. Locker Room Talk segment with Johnny Swinger & Tenille Dashwood was hilarious, especially Swinger’s banter & the split-screen Dashwood’s impromptu talk show part being from the same exact set that was taped earlier and just played back during her “interview” with Rayne. Josh Alexander & Something backstage interview about their match at Emergence was fine. Christian Cage promo segment about his Impact title win, retiring the TNA belt, & banter with Brian Myers was superb. Melina vs. Lauren was a somewhat decent at best squash style match despite Lauren’s ring work being very rough. Post-match brawl with Purrazzo, Drama King, & Trey Miguel was okay. John Skyler backstage interview about his first ever Impact win last week was fine. Su Yung & Kimber Lee creepy segment was fine. Doering’s stalling vertical suplex to Gallows was impressive. Gallows sitdown powerbomb to Doering through the stage was cool. Doering vs. Gallows was a very good hard hitting hoss fight. This week’s Emergence go-home show was enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong “Summer Struggle USA” (August 20)
* Alex Coughlin Challenge Match Series – Alex Coughlin vs. Matt Morris – 3.0
* Daniel Garcia, Fred Yehi, & Fred Rosser vs. TJP, Ren Narita, & Clark Connors – 3.0
* West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson) vs. Violence Unlimited (Chris Dickinson & Brody King) – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – West Coast Wrecking Crew vs. Violence Unlimited match.
Worst – West Coast Wrecking Crew’s post-match backstage promo.
Show Notes – Coughlin vs. Morris opener was an entertaining back-and-forth match & a splendid NJPW Strong debut performance by Morris. 6-Man tag was a quite good competitive action filled match & fine NJPW Strong debut performance by Garcia. King’s running Death Valley Driver to Nelson onto Isaacs on the corner was cool. Nelson managed to get some sweet air with his elbow drop finisher to Dickinson. West Coast Wrecking Crew vs. Violence Unlimited was a very good hard hitting bout despite the ending shenanigans with JR Kratos. Kratos & WCWC’s post-match backstage promo was decent. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – Seth Rollins vs. Edge (WWE SummerSlam 2021)
• Best match of the week runner-up – AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament Semi-Final match – Private Party vs. Jurassic Express (AEW Rampage “First Dance)
• Worst match of the week – SmackDown Women’s Championship – Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair (c) (WWE SummerSlam 2021)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – Eva Marie vs. Alexa Bliss (WWE SummerSlam 2021)
• Best show of the week – AEW Rampage
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW