Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for July 25 to July 31

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of July 25th to July 31st.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (July 26)
* United States Championship Contender’s match – Damian Priest vs. Sheamus – 2.5
* RAW Tag Team Championship – Viking Raiders vs. AJ Styles & Omos (c) – 3.0
* Drew McIntyre vs. Veer – 2.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Contender’s match – Eva Marie & Doudrop vs. Natayla & Tamina – 1.5
* Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee – 2.5
* Mace & T-Bar vs. Mansoor & Mustafa Ali – 2.5
& 2-on-1 Handicap match – Bobby Lashley vs. Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin – 2.0 (Squash)
* Riddle vs. John Morrison – 3.0
* 24/7 Championship – R-Truth vs. Reginald (c) – 2.0
* RAW Women’s Championship Contender’s match – Charlotte Flair vs. Nikki ASH – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Riddle vs. John Morrison match.
Worst – Eva Marie & Doudrop vs. Natayla & Tamina match and the very odd booking decisions throughout the show.
Show Notes – Opening Nikki, Flair, & Ripley promo segment rambled on way too long but laughed at Flair’s line of her working hard to get all of her title shots. Priest vs. Sheamus was solid despite a few sloppy moments. RAW Tag title match was entertaining. The recap video of McIntyre’s chair massacre of Shanky last week just showcases how awful Kevin Dunn has been in charge of WWE’s camera work. The DQ finish to McIntyre vs. Veer made no sense at all in terms of McIntyre winning since it was Veer who got hit with the chair. Ouch at Natayla suffering a possible serious leg injury. Women’s tag match was nothing special & the Lilly-lution video distraction spot was lame. Kross vs. Lee was decent and at least Kross didn’t suffer another laughable loss in a row but Lee’s booking since his return has been very baffling. Ali’s suicide dive DDT to T-Bar on the outside was cool. Mace & T-Bar vs. Mansoor & Ali was decent. MVP, Lashley, Alexander, & Benjamin promo segment about Goldberg & Hurt Business breakup was decent. Styles’ secret backstage talk to Miz & Morrison was interesting. Poor Riddle, his favorite scooter got viciously destroyed by Omos. Riddle vs. Morrison was a quite good back-and-forth action match. R-Truth’s banter while mic’ed up during his 24/7 title match was funny. Flair vs. Nikki was mostly decent despite the abrupt flat ending. Nikki & Flair post-match interview segment was very dumb. This week’s show was average at best with some very dumb booking decisions made.

NXT (July 27)
* Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne – 3.5
* 2021 NXT Breakout tournament First Round – Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs – 3.0
* Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter vs. Jessi Kamea & Franky Monet – 2.0
* Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) vs. Hit Row (Ashante “Thee” Adonis & Top Dolla) – 3.0
* Bronson Reed vs. Adam Cole – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – The LA Knight and Cameron Grimes golfing segments.
Worst – Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter vs. Jessi Kamea & Franky Monet match.
Show Notes – Ridge Holland’s surprise return was nice. Thatcher & Ciampa vs. Lorcan & Dunne opener was a very good hard hitting bout despite the ending shenanigans. Carmelo Hayes vignette was all right. Hit Row backstage promo segment mocking Legado Del Fantasma was okay. Samoa Joe & William Regal contract signing segment making Joe an active NXT wrestler was all right. The interesting Joe as NXT Enforcer storyline was dropped way too quickly though. Josh Briggs vignette was fine. Briggs’ vicious looking big boot & chokeslam combo to Hayes was cool. Hayes vs. Briggs was quite good back-and-forth action match and a bit surprised Hayes won. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez promo segment about Gonzalez’s dominance of NXT Women’s division was okay but Kai backstabbing Gonzalez for a title shot was great. Cole backstage promo segment about Reed was fine. Women’s tag match was decent at best despite the lame ending shenanigans by Robert Stone. Roderick Strong & Malcolm Bivens sit-down interview segment was all right. Imperium vs. Hit Row was quite good despite the ending shenanigans by Legado. The Way’s backstage segment was goofy. The LA Knight & Cameron Grimes golf segments with Ted DiBiase, & Grizzled Young Vets were hilarious overall. Cole busting out a Panama Sunrise on Reed was impressive. Reed vs. Cole was pretty good, especially the latter half. Ouch at Cole’s back after the rough landing from O’Reilly’s post-match suplex onto the stairs. This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (July 30)
* Jimmy Uso vs. Rey Mysterio – 3.0
* 24/7 Championship – Chad Gable vs. Reginald (c) – 1.5
* Six-Man Tag Team match – Big E, Shinsuke Nakamura, & Cesaro vs. Dirty Dawgs (Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler) & Apollo Crews – 3.0
* Carmella & Zelina Vega vs. Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Sad Corbin & John Cena promo segment and the 6-Man Tag Team match.
Worst – 24/7 Championship match.
Show Notes – Opening John Cena promo segment about him cracking lame jokes & Roman Reigns was a bit corny but the Sad Corbin & Cena promo portion was funny. Mysterios locker room promo segment about the Usos was okay. Uso vs. Mysterio was quite good despite the shenanigans ending by Dominik. WWE pipping in fake crowd cheers for the dead crowd at Rolling Loud recap video was both funny and embarrassing at the same time. Belair, Carmella, & Vega promo & brawl segment was dull. Banks’ surprise return was cool but her randomly being a face again was weird. Reginald pre-match interview was fine. Gable vs. Reginald was looking to be a potentially entertaining match until the lame DQ ending by Otis. Instead the 24/7 title match was just a waste of time in the end. Universal title contract signing & brawl with Corbin & Cena was all right. WWE pulling a bait-and-switch with a Balor vs. Reigns title feud was very lame though. Paul Heyman, Sonya Deville, & Adam Pearce backstage segment about Cena’s signing shenanigans was decent. 6-Man Tag was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Seth Rollins ambush attack & angry promo about Edge was all right. Belair using Banks as a weapon to Carmella & Vega was cool. Ouch at Banks’ head after Carmella’s rough looking face buster. Women’s tag was a solid match despite the abrupt ending. Banks’ swerve of faking being friends with Belair was sweet but it also made Belair look dumb in the end as well. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (July 26)
* Marq Quen vs. Jungle Boy – 3.0
* Yuka Sakazaki vs. Amber Nova – 2.5
* Thunder Rosa vs. Myka Madrid – 2.5 (Squash)
* Jora Johl vs. Luchasaurus – 1.5 (Squash)
* Scorpio Sky vs. Fuego del Sol – 3.0
* Angelico vs. Marko Stunt – 2.5
* The Bunny & Madi Wrenkowski vs. Tay Conti & Kris Statlander – 2.5
* Wardlow vs. Bear Bronson – 2.0
* Luther vs. Lee Johnson – 3.0
* Serpentico vs. Eddie Kingston – 2.0 (Squash)
* Dark Order (Alan “5” Angels & 10) vs. Lucha Bros. – 3.5
* Gunn Clubb (Colton & Billy Gunn) & Brock Anderson vs. Chandler Hopkins, Cameron Cole, & Izzy James – 2.0
* Chuck Taylor vs. PAC – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Dark Order vs. Lucha Bros. match.
Worst – The over two-hour runtime length for this week’s show.
Show Notes – Quen vs. Jungle Boy was an entertaining opener, especially the latter half. Sakazaki vs. Nova was a solid bout and way more competitive than I expected. Rosa vs. Madrid was a fun squash match. Sky’s big boot counter of del Sol’s Tornado DDT was cool. Sky vs. del Sol was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Stunt’s suicide dive into a Tornado DDT combo to Angelico on the outside was cool. Angelico vs. Stunt was a decent back-and-forth style match. The Bunny pre-match interview about Statlander was okay. Women’s tag was a solid competitive match. Ouch at Johnson botching the landing of his Spinal Tap-like finisher to Luther. Luther vs. Johnson was pretty good. Miro’s post-match promo to Johnson was splendid. Serpentico’s comedic sell of Kingston’s chop was funny. Serpentico vs. Kingston was a fine squash match. Jade Cargill & Mark Sterling promo segment was mostly dull and dragged a bit too long. Dark Order vs. Lucha Bros was a very good fast paced action packed match. Taylor vs. PAC was a solid back-and-forth style match despite its slow paced action. Kingston’s banter on guest commentary throughout the show was excellent. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall despite its long runtime length.

AEW Dark (July 27)
* Red Velvet vs. Alejandra Lion – 2.0
* Abadon vs. Killa Kate – 2.0 (Squash)
* Diamante vs. Big Swole – 2.5
* Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) vs. Zach Mason & Warren Johnson – 2.5
* Dante Martin & Varsity Blonds vs. Ryan Nemeth & The Acclaimed – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Dante Martin & Varsity Blonds vs. Ryan Nemeth & The Acclaimed match.
Worst – The finish to the Diamante vs. Big Swole match.
Show Notes – Opening Evil Uno & Grayson about Dark Order’s upcoming 10-man tag with Hangman Page on Dynamite was all right. Red Velvet vs. Lion was decent at best despite the sloppy ending. Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss backstage promo segment about no more go-go bars parties & AEW Tag title goals was decent. Diamante vs. Swole was a solid back-and-forth style match despite the finish making the ref look like a moron and way too oblivious to the rope grab cheating by Diamante even though he was right next to her. Dark Order vs. Mason & Johnson was a solid bout, especially the latter half. Max Caster’s pre-match rap about the 2nd Amendment, Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, & Julia Hart was an odd mix but an all right diss effort overall. Martin got some really great height with his top rope moonsault and afterwards his flying shotgun dropkick to the Acclaimed. Martin’s Irish whip into a Swanton dive to Varsity Blonds & Acclaimed onto the outside was awesome. Martin & Varsity Blonds vs. Nemeth & The Acclaimed was an entertaining main event match. Brian Pillman Jr. post-match promo to the Acclaimed was all right. This week’s show was average overall but still enjoyable.

AEW Dynamite Fight for the Fallen 2021 (July 27)
* 10-Man Elimination Tag Team match – Hangman Adam Page & Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, & Stu Grayson) vs. The Elite (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, The Young Bucks, & Kenny Omega) – 4.0
* FTR vs. Santana & Ortiz – 3.0
* IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship – Hikuleo vs. Lance Archer (c) – 3.0
* Trios match – Hardy Family Office (Private Party & Angelico) vs. Jurassic Express & Christian Cage – 3.0
* Julia Hart vs. Thunder Rosa – 2.0
* Labor of Jericho No Rules match – “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho vs. Nick Gage – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – 10-Man Elimination tag match and the Labor of Jericho No Rules match.
Worst – Cash Wheeler suffering a brutal looking bloody arm injury.
Show Notes – Page & Dark Order cowboy themed entrance was awesome. Same for the Elite’s Space Jam parody entrance. Nick Jackson botching the basketball dunk & Indytaker combo to John Silver was funny. 10-Man Tag was an amazing action packed bout and legit surprised Hangman lost. PAC, Chavo, & Andrade backstage segment was fine. Rick Starks’ FTW title celebration segment with Brian Cage beating up the ringside musicians was decent. NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi surprise video appearance was great. Yikes at Wheeler’s arm getting busted open. FTR vs. Santana & Ortiz was going on very well until Wheeler’s injury derailed its flow. Britt Baker backstage interview segment was fine. Darby Allin’s “Best in the World” promo line was very interesting. King Haku surprise appearance was cool. IWGP US title match was a good hard hitting bout. Cody & Malakai Black brawl was superb & same for Fuego del Sol’s KO sell of the Black Mass kick. Trios match was pretty good. Jon Moxley promo segment about Tanahashi was superb. Gage’s chokebreaker to Jericho looked brutal. Jericho getting his head sliced by a pizza cutter by Gage as an ad for Domino’s pizza was playing was hilarious. Ouch at Gage’s back after Jericho’s Frankensteiner into a glass panel. Also ouch at Jericho’s back after getting slammed onto glass shards. Jericho vs. Gage was an amazing bloody deathmatch, especially the latter half. Juventud Guerrera revealed as Jericho’s next Labor was sweet. This week’s show was one of Dynamite’s best shows this year.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam 2021 in Tokyo Dome (July 25)
* Pre-show: Provisional King of Pro Wrestling 2021 Championship New Japan Ranbo match – 1.5
* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori (c) – 4.0
* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Robbie Eagles vs. El Desperado (c) – 3.5
* Jeff Cobb vs. Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
* IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) vs. SANADA & Tetsuya Naito (c) – 4.0
* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi (c) – 5.0
Overall – 4.5
Best – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match.
Worst – Provisional KoPW 2021 Championship New Japan Ranbo match.
Show Notes – Phantasmo’s suicide dive over a cameraman to Taguchi was cool. Phantasmo’s moonsault from the top rope to everyone beyond the barricade spot was crazy. Opening IWGP Jr. Tag title match was an amazing fast paced action filled bout. IWGP Jr. title match was a very entertaining back-and-forth action bout and was surprised Eagles actually won. Cobb got some really sweet height with his dropkick to Okada who was sitting on the top rope. Ouch at Okada & Cobb’s backs after the loud thud sound from Cobb’s catch and suplex counter of Okada’s splash to the outside. Ouch at Okada’s chest after Cobb’s stiff loud sounding chop spot. Cobb vs. Okada was a very good hard hitting battle despite the abrupt flat finish. Taichi denying the crowd a pec-off contest between him & SANADA was funny. Ouch at Sabre Jr’s leg after the rough looking Dragon Screw by SANADA. Sabre Jr’s Zack Driver to Naito looked brutal. IWGP Tag title match was an awesome grueling action packed match. Not sure who got it worse, Tanahashi’s head or Tagaki’s knee after Takagi’s GTR spot on the barricade. Tanahashi’s Sling Blade counter of Takagi’s Last of the Dragon was cool. Tanahasi busting out a Kamigoye to Takagi was awesome. Holy crap at Takagi’s Avalanche Last of the Dragon to Tanahashi spot. IWGP World title match was a terrific hard hitting action packed bout and an instant classic. Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome was a fantastic show overall.

NJPW Strong Tag Team Turbulence Finals (July 29)
* Kevin Knight vs. Bateman – 2.5
* Misterioso, Royce Isaacs, & Jorel Nelson vs. Adrian Quest, Fred Rosser, & Karl Fredericks – 3.0
* Tag Team Turbulence tournament Finals match – The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs. Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Chris Dickinson) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Misterioso, Royce Isaacs, & Jorel Nelson vs. Adrian Quest, Fred Rosser, & Karl Fredericks match.
Worst – The goofy looking trophies for the Tag Team Turbulence tournament.
Show Notes – Knight vs. Bateman opener was a solid competitive match. Misterioso, Isaacs, & Nelson vs. Quest, Rosser, & Fredericks was a quite good back-and-forth action bout. Tag Team Turbulence tournament Finals was a pretty good hard hitting match. The trophies for the Tag Team Turbulence tournament look a bit too goofy and somewhat cheaply made. Karl Anderson post-match promo about wanting a shot at the IWGP Tag titles was fine. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (July 29)
* The Good Brothers vs. Chris Bey & Jay White – 3.0
* Kaleb with a K vs. Taylor Wilde – 2.5
* Eight-Man Tag Team match – No Way Jose, Fallah Bahh, & FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs. Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Rohit Raju, & Shera – 3.0
* Violent By Design (Deaner & Rhino) vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack – 3.0
* Moose vs. Chris Sabin – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Moose vs. Chris Sabin match.
Worst – Kaleb with a K vs. Taylor Wilde match.
Show Notes – Opening Scott D’Amore backstage interview segment about his mystery big announcement was all right. Doc Gallows got some sweet air with his chokeslam to Bey. Good Brothers vs. Bey & White was a good back-and-forth action match. Bahh & Fire N’Flava backstage segment about Tasha Steelz accepting Bahh’s tag request was okay. Wilde’s Tornado DDT to Kaleb using the ring post as an assist on the outside was cool. Kaleb vs. Wilde was mostly decent. Bey & White backstage segment about Bey’s status in Bullet Club was interesting. Deonna Purrazzo backstage interview segment about her training & mystery tag partner was all right. 8-Man Tag was an entertaining action filled match. Omega & Pals and Sami Callihan promo segment & brawl with Frankie Karazian was splendid. Kazarian’s surprise appearance was cool as well. Kimber Lee’s new Su Yung-like persona is interesting. ECW legend Francine rejecting Brian Myers tag partner offer was a bit funny. Swann’s 450 corkscrew to Deaner & Rhino onto the outside was cool. VBD vs. Swann & Mack was pretty good. Swinger’s Palace segment with Matt Cardona, Chelsea Green, Team Pump, & W. Morrissey was superb. Edwards & Dreamer backstage segment about Morrissey and Edwards teaming with Kazarian & Callihan’s next week was wonderful. Ouch at Sabin’s cheat after Moose’s loud sounding hard chop spot. Moose vs. Sabin was a very good hard hitting match. This week’s Homecoming 2021 go-home show was enjoyable overall.

Impact Wrestling Homecoming 2021 (July 31)
* Homecoming King and Queen Tournament First Round match – Hernandez & Alisha Edwards vs. Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt – 2.5
* Homecoming King and Queen Tournament First Round match – Thicc Mama Pump (Jordynne Grace) & Little Peety Pump (Petey Williams) vs. Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green – 3.0
* Homecoming King and Queen Tournament First Round match – The Road Warriors (Tommy Dreamer & Rachael Ellering) vs. Brian Myers & Missy Hyatt – 2.0
* Homecoming King and Queen Tournament First Round match – Decay (Crazzy Steve & Rosemary) vs. Fallah N’Flava (Fallah Bahh & Tasha Steelz) – 3.0
* Willie Mack vs. Deaner – 3.5
* Homecoming King and Queen Tournament Semifinals match – Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green – 3.0
* Homecoming King and Queen Tournament Semifinals match – Decay (Crazzy Steve & Rosemary) vs. The Road Warriors (Tommy Dreamer & Rachael Ellering) – 3.0
* Impact X-Division Championship – Black Taurus vs. Josh Alexander – 4.0
* Homecoming King and Queen Tournament Finals match – Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Decay (Crazzy Steve & Rosemary) – 3.0
* Hardcore match – W. Morrissey vs. Eddie Edwards – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Impact X-Division Championship match.
Worst – Tommy Dreamer & Rachael Ellering vs. Brian Myers & Missy Hyatt match.
Show Notes – Drama King, former Aiden English, being Purazzo’s partner was a cool surprise. Hernandez & Edwards vs. Purrazzao & Rehwoldt was a solid opener. The Pumps vs. Cardona & Green was pretty good despite dragging a bit long. Morrissey backstage promo segment about Edwards was superb. Hyatt being Myers partner was a nice surprise but her not wanting to wrestle was bit funny. Dreamer & Ellering vs. Myers & Hyatt was decent at best. Decay vs. Fallah N’Flava was a quite good action filled match, especially the ending. Mack vs. Deaner was a very good back-and-forth action filled match. Ouch at Cardon’a rough landing after his missed suicide dive to Rehwoldt on the outside. Rehwoldt’s powerbomb counter of Cardona’s Radio Silence was cool. Purrazzo & Reholdt vs. Cardona & Green was pretty good. The four-way hands chomping spot by Decay, Dreamer, & Ellering was funny. Decay vs. Dreamer & Ellering was entertaining. Taurus’ corkscrew dive to Alexander onto the outside was cool. Alexander’s C4 finisher to Taurus’ looked brutal. X-Dvision title was an awesome action packed match. King & Queen tournament Finals was a good back-and-forth action match. Ouch at Edwards’ back after Morrissey’s toss onto the apron. Also ouch at Edwards’ hitting his head on the guard rail from Morrissey’s powerbomb through a table on the outside. Morrissey vs. Edwards a very good hard hitting hardcore match despite Edwards whiffing on the finish. Homecoming 2021 was a very enjoyable show overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi (c) (NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam 2021 in Tokyo Dome)
• Best match of the week runner-up – 10-Man Elimination Tag Team match – Hangman Adam Page & Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, & Stu Grayson) vs. The Elite (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, The Young Bucks, & Kenny Omega) (AEW Dynamite)
• Worst match of the week – Provisional King of Pro Wrestling 2021 Championship New Japan Ranbo match NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam 2021 in Tokyo Dome)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Contender’s match – Eva Marie & Doudrop vs. Natayla & Tamina (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam 2021 in Tokyo Dome
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW