Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for September 5 to September 11, 2021

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of September 5th to September 11th, 2021.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (September 5)
* RAW Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Tag Team Turmoil match – New Day vs. Viking Raiders vs. Jinder Mahal & Veer vs. Lucha House Party vs. Mace & T-Bar vs. Mustafa Ali & Mansoor – 2.0
* Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus – 3.0
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Contender’s match – Nikki A.S.H. & Rhea Ripley vs. Natayla & Tamina – 2.5
* Karrion Kross vs. John Morrison – 2.0 (Squash)
* RAW Women’s Championship – Nia Jax vs. Charlotte Flair (c) – 1.5
* 24/7 Championship – Akira Tozawa vs. Reggie (c) – 1.5 (Squash)
* RAW Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Tag Team Turmoil match Part II – New Day vs. Mustafa Ali & Mansoor vs. Omos & AJ Styles vs. MVP & Bobby Lashley – 3.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – Part Two of the Tag Team Turmoil match.
Worst – The RAW Women’s Championship match and the lame booking to end the first half of the Tag Team Turmoil match.
Show Notes – Opening RK-Bro, MVP, Lashley, & New Day promo segment about Orton-Lashley feud & Tag Turmoil was okay. Viking Raiders vs. New Day portion of Tag Turmoil was entertaining. New Day vs. Mahal & Veer portion was decent. New Day vs. LHP portion was also decent despite being a bit sloppy. New Day vs. Mace & T-Bar portion was somewhat decent. Mace & T-Bar’s rampage on New Day & Ali & Mansoor bringing the match to a stretching halt & it ending via a non-finish so it could be put on pause till later was terrible. McIntyre vs. Sheamus was a quite good hard hitting match. Damian Priest backstage interview about Sheamus was okay. Nikki & Ripley pre-match interview about their friendship was decent. Flair backstage interview about Jax was dull. Nikki & Ripley vs. Natayla & Tamina was a solid back-and-forth style match. Moist TV taped segment with Kross was a bit cringey. Yikes at Morrison’s back after Kross’ Doomsday Saito onto the post sending him flying outside. Jax backstage interview about Flair was dull. RAW Women’s title match was mostly bad & the Bliss post-match antics & promo with Flair was lame. Doudrop backstage interview about Eva Marie was decent. New Day vs. Ali & Mansoor portion was fine despite the flow killing worked injury stoppage part near the end. New Day vs. Omos & Styles portion was solid despite dragging a bit long. Omos & Styles vs. MVP & Lashley was entertaining. Tag Team Turmoil match was mostly average overall. This week’s show was mostly boring with some questionable booking decisions.

NXT (September 7)
* Kay Lee Ray vs. Ember Moon – 3.5
* Carmelo Hayes vs. Santos Escobar – 3.0
* Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed) vs. Chuckie Viola & Paxton Averill – 2.5 (Squash)
* NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship – Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter vs. Zoey Stark & Io Shirai (c) – 3.0
* Mei Ying vs. Virginia Ferry – 1.5 (Squash)
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. MSK (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Dexter Lumis bachelor party comedic segment.
Worst – Carmelo Hayes vs. Santos Escobar match dragging too long in length.
Show Notes – Ray vs. Moon opener was a very good back-and-forth action match. Indie Hartwell’s bachelorette party segment with Candice LeRae & others was a bit funny. Hayes vs. Escobar was pretty good despite the ending shenanigans & dragging too long. Malcolm Bivens taped promo segment about the Creed Bros was decent. Ouch at Averill’s back after Brutus chucked him hard out of the ring to the floor. Creed Bros vs. Viola & Averill was a nice jobber destruction match. Moon backstage interview about her unsure NXT future was a bit interesting. Hit Row backstage promo about Legado was okay. Carter’s dropkick & splash combo to Shirai & Stark on the corner was nice. Shirai’s Release German Suplex bending Carter in half was nice. NXT Women’s Tag title match was an entertaining action filled match. Kyle O’Reilly backstage promo about his past feud with Cole & NXT title plans was all right. Dexter Lumis’ bachelor party with Johnny Gargano & others was funny, especially the laser tag game bit with Lumis knocking out almost all of the opponents, but the zombie ref stuff was weird. Franky Monet, Jessi Kamea, & Robert Stone backstage segment about InDex & NXT Women’s title shot was flat. LA Knight car drive promo segment about NXT title was splendid. Ouch at Lorcan’s back after Nash Carter’s counter to Lorcan’s running uppercut sending him flying into the corner. NXT Tag title was a very good back-and-forth action packed match. Dunne & Holland’s post-match attack on Burch & Lorcan was interesting. This week’s show was very entertaining overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (September 10)
* 10-Man Tag Team match – King Nakamura, Rick Boogs, Dominik & Rey Mysterio, & Big E vs. Sami Zayn, Otis, Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode), & Apollo Crews – 2.5
* Edge vs. Seth Rollins – 4.0
* SmackDown Tag Team Championship – Street Profits vs. The Usos (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Opening Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Brock Lesnar promo & brawl segment and the show closing return of Demon Balor.
Worst – Seth Rollins awkward post-match backstage interview segment.
Show Notes – Roman Reigns starting to hit Undertaker territory with how long his entrances have been for shows. WWE production’s long mute of the show’s audio because the crowd kept chanting “You F***ed Up” to Heyman was funny. Opening Reigns, Heyman, & Lesnar promo and brawl with Usos segment was superb. Zayn’s pre-match promo about Trae Young being his guest at ringside was a bit awkward, mainly due to Young’s timid reactions. Yikes at Ziggler’s neck after getting spiked right on his head from Big E’s belly-to-belly overheard suplex. 10-Man tag was a solid match. Big E post-match interview about who he will cash in his MitB case was fine. Becky Lynch’s very large fluffy red jacket looked a bit comical but also a great fit for her new heel persona. SD Women’s title match contract signing with Bianca Belair & Lynch was fine despite dragging a bit too long. Kalya Braxton’s backstage interview antics towards Heyman have been one of the few highlights about SD in recent months. Rollins mocking Edge by hitting him with his wife’s Beth Phoenix’s Glam Slams was cool & same for Edge repaying Rollins by hitting him a Pedigree afterwards. Rollins’ Buckle Bomb to Edge was sweet. Edge vs. Rollins was a great action packed match despite dragging near the end. Rollins backstage interview about sending Edge to the hospital was cringey. Street Profits double team Blockbuster to Jimmy Uso was cool. SD Tag title was a quite good back-and-forth action filled match despite the buzzkill lame DQ ending by Reigns. Demon Balor’s surprise return was cool. This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW All Out 2021 (September 5)
* Buy-In pre-show: Hardy Family Office (TH2, Private Party, & Matt Hardy) vs. Wheeler Yuta, Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy, & Jurassic Express – 3.0
* TNT Championship – Eddie Kingston vs. Miro (c) – 4.0
* Satoshi Kojima vs. Jon Moxley – 3.5
* AEW Women’s World Championship – Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker (c) – 3.5
* AEW World Tag Team Championship Steel Cage match – Lucha Bros vs. The Young Bucks (c) – 5.0
* Women’s Casino Battle Royale – 3.5
* MJF vs. Chris Jericho – 3.5
* Darby Allin vs. CM Punk – 4.0
* QT Marshall vs. Paul Wight – 2.0 (Squash)
* AEW World Championship – Christian Cage vs Kenny Omega (c) – 4.0
Overall – 4.5
Best – AEW World Tag Team title match and Adam Cole & Bryan Danielson’s surprise debuts.
Worst – Whoever in AEW production made the decision to have the live guitar playing of Jericho’s “Judas” theme drown out the crowd signing along to the song.
Show Notes – Pre-show 10-Man Tag match was entertaining. The Butcher’s surprise return was nice. TNT title opener was a great hard hitting slugfest despite the ending shenanigans. Kojima vs. Moxley was a very good physical match. Minoru Suzuki’s surprise appearance & brawl with Moxley was great. Baker’s Pittsburgh Sunrise to Statlander was cool. AEW Women’s title match was very good, especially the latter half. Yikes at Penta getting nailed with tacks & his crimson mask afterwards & same for Fenix repaying the favor to the Young Bucks. Penta’s Avalanche Destroyer to Matt was awesome. Fenix’s crossbody from the top of the tall cage to Young Bucks & Penta was crazy. AEW Tag title was one of AEW’s best ever matches & Lucha Bros winning the belts was wonderful. Ruby Soho’s surprise debut was sweet. Women’s battle royale was very entertaining & best Casino style match AEW has done so far. MJF trolling the crowd with the fake Y2J style countdown entrance was hilarious. MJF vs. Jericho was very good despite the Dusty Finish style shenanigans. Punk wrestling in pants was odd to see. Allin’s Senton dive to Punk on the outside was cool. Allin vs. Punk was fantastic, especially the latter half and a very good performance by Punk after his long absence. Yikes at the gash on Cage’s ribs area after spearing Omega through a table on the outside. Omega’s Super One Winged Angle finisher to Cage was amazing. AEW World title match was a great action filled match. Adam Cole & Bryan Danielson’s surprise debuts were terrific. All Out 2021 was easily in the top tier of best ever AEW PPVs.

AEW Dark Elevation (September 6)
* The Wingmen (Ryan Nemeth & “Pretty” Peter Avalon) vs. Bear Country (Bear Bronson & Bear Boulder) – 2.5
* Emi Sakura vs. Missa Kate – 2.0 (Squash)
* Lance Archer vs. GPA – 2.0 (Squash)
* Kiera Hogan vs. Blair Onyx – 2.0 (Squash)
* Nyla Rose vs. Laynie Luck – 1.5 (Squash)
* Anthony Bowens vs. Griff Garrison – 2.5
* Red Velvet vs. Queen Aminata – 2.0
* Dark Order (John Silver & 10) vs. Travis Titan & Isiah Moore – 2.5 (Squash)
* JD Drake vs. Dante Martin – 2.5
* Riho vs. Skye Blue – 3.0
* Trios match – Chaos Project & RSP vs. Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, & Jon Moxley – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Riho vs. Skye Blue match.
Worst – Nyla Rose vs. Laynie Luck match.
Show Notes – Opening Wingmen backstage promo segment mocking Bear Country & Martin’s fashion choices was decent. Nemeth’s dance taunting antics to Boulder was a bit funny. Wingmen vs. Bear Country was a solid back-and-forth style match. Archer carrying a beaten up GPA on his shoulder during his entrance was nice. Hogan vs. Onyx squash match was okay but Hogan getting her first ever AEW win was interesting. Big Swole & Diamante backstage promo vignette about the rules for their 3 Strikes match was decent. Bowens vs. Garrison was a solid competitive match despite the ending shenanigans but Max Caster’s surprise return was nice. Velvet vs. Aminata was a mostly decent match despite its short length. Dark Order backstage segment about Alan “5” Angels being the next member to bickering over Evil Uno’s poor leadership was a bit heartbreaking. Silver suplex counter of Titan & Moore’s double suplex was cool. Dark Order vs. Titan & Moore was fun squash style match. Drake vs. Martin was a solid action match despite the abrupt ending. Blue’s vicious looking superkick to Riho was cool. Riho vs. Blue was a quite good back-and-forth action filled match. Kingston’s powerbomb counter of Chaos Project superplex to Allin was both nice and a bit funny. Trios match was pretty good. This week’s show was average overall.

AEW Dark (September 7)
* Lance Archer vs. Jason Hotch – 2.0 (Squash)
* The Bunny vs. Laynie Luck – 2.0 (Squash)
* Alan “5” Angels vs. Evil Uno – 2.5
* Shawn Dean & Robert Anthony vs. The Acclaimed – 1.5 (Squash)
* Joey Janela vs. Lee Moriarty – 3.0
* Dark Order (Colt Cabana & Stu Grayson) vs. Travis Titan & RSP – 2.0 (Squash)
* Three Strikes match – Diamante vs. Big Swole – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Joey Janela vs. Lee Moriarty match.
Worst – Shawn Dean & Robert Anthony vs. The Acclaimed match.
Show Notes – Archer chasing Hotch during his entrance in order to give him complementary pre-match beatings was funny. Archer vs. Hotch was a decent but fun opening squash style match. The Dark Order civil war match between Angels & Uno was solid. Max Caster & Anthony Bowens pre-match rap mocking the heat about their raps and Caster going right back to his old diss insult ways was both funny and awesome. Dean & Anthony vs. The Acclaimed was an okay quick squash style match. Ouch at Janela’s left arm after Moriarty’s hammerlock slam onto the apron. Janela’s clotheslines & piledriver combo to Moriarty looked brutal. Janela vs. Moriarty was a good back-and-forth action filled match. The post-match ambush by Sonny Kiss to Janela was nice. Ouch at Diamante’s head after landing hard from Swole’s Blue Thunder Bomb. 3 Strikes match was a quite good back-and-forth hard hitting match. This week’s show was enjoyable overall, especially the latter half.

AEW Dynamite (September 8)
* Malakai Black vs. Dustin Rhodes – 3.0
* Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Dante Martin – 3.0
* Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho – 2.5
* The Pinnacle (Shawn Spears & FTR) vs. Dark Oder (Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, & John Silver) – 3.0
* Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – MJF’s ECW era Dudley Boys inspired promo segment trashing the crowd and Cincinnati.
Worst – AEW production cutting off Minoru Suzuki’s entrance before the “Kaze Ni Nare” crowd chant moment could happen.
Show Notes – Black vs. Rhodes opener was a quite good back-and-forth match despite the botched finish. Lucha Bros promo vignette about their Tag title win was all right. Eddie Kingston & Miro promo video about their feud was sweet. CM Punk & Taz promo segment was splendid, especially Punk’s callback to ECW era Taz with his catchphrase shout-out, despite also being a bit of a mess as well. Santana & Ortiz promo about AEW Tag division was fine. Hobbs’ catch & post slam counter of Martin’s dive to the outside was cool. Martin got some nice air with his top rope shotgun dropkick to Hobbs & same for his sunset dive to the outside. Hobbs vs. Martin was an entertaining hoss vs. high flyer style match. MJF channeling his inner ECW Dudley Boys with the trashing of Cincy & Brian Pillman Jr. response & brawl with Wardlow & Griff Garrison was awesome. Wardlow’s turn tease on MJF was cool. Soho’s inverted Flatliner to Hayter looked rough. Hayter vs. Soho was mostly solid despite the abrupt finish. Anna Jay trying to quell Dark Order’s civil war was much needed. The Pinnacle vs. Dark Order 6-man tag was pretty good. Dark Order’s post-match infighting was heartbreaking. Poor Tony Schiavone, his friendship with Britt Baker now being over because of Adam Cole. Cole & The Elite promo boasting about themselves & Bryan Danielson response & brawl with Danielson’s Pals was superb. Yikes at Suzuki’s face getting busted open. Suzuki vs. Moxley was a good hard hitting match despite its short length. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

AEW Rampage (September 10)
* Andrade “El Idolo” vs. PAC – 4.0
* Trios Tag Team match – Rebel, Jamie Hayter, & Dr. Britt Baker vs. Riho, Kris Statlander, & Ruby Soho – 3.0
* Max Caster vs. Brian Pillman Jr. – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Andrade “El Idolo” vs. PAC match.
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – PAC’s twisting sunset flip to Andrade on the outside was nice. Andrade’s corkscrew plancha to PAC on the outside was cool. Andrade’s slouching KO sell of PAC’s superkick was nice. Ouch at PAC hitting his head on the guard rail from his top rope moonsault to Andrade on the outside & same for the welt on his back. PAC’s overhead suplex to Andrade onto the corner looked brutal. Andrade vs. PAC was an amazing hard hitting action packed match despite the abrupt ending. Andrade being upset over his win against PAC being tarnished because of Chavo Guerrero and leaving him to be beating up by Death Triangle was interesting. Darby Allin, Sting, & Tully Blanchard promo about their feud & sneak attack by Shawn Spears to Allin was all right. Adam Cole promo vignette about him joining The Elite & Bryan Danielson’s response of wanting to go after Omega was superb. Baker looked like she wanted to legit beat up Riho after Riho’s accidentally dropkick to her nose. Riho’s double stomp to Baker & Rebel via Statlander’s shoulders assist was cool. 6-Women Tag match was pretty good. Pillman Jr. & Caster’s split-screen pre-match interview was all right. Caster’s pre-match rap mocking Pillman Jr. & Cincy was splendid. Caster vs. Pillman Jr. was an entertaining back-and-forth action match. The post-match brawl with Anthony Bowens & Jon Moxley was nice. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam 2021 in MetLife Dome Night 2 (September 5)
* Pre-show: Stardom Special match – Saya Kamitani & Momo Watanabe vs. Syuri & Giulia – 3.5
* Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada vs. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb – 3.0
* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori (c) – 3.0
* IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 3-Way match – YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. SANADA & Tetsuya Naito vs. Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) (c) – 4.0
* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Hiromu Takahashi vs. Robbie Eagles (c) – 4.0
* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – EVIL vs. Shingo Takagi (c) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match.
Worst – The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship going overboard with the amount of Bullet Club style shenanigans throughout it.
Show Notes – Pre-show Women’s tag was a very entertaining action filled match & Syuri’s brutal looking Stretch Muffler submission finisher was cool. Ishii & Okada vs. United Empire opener was a good back-and-forth hard hitting bout. Phantasmo hitting Despy with his own Pinche Loco finisher was cool & same for Despy paying Phantsamo back by hitting him with his loaded boot finisher afterwards. IWGP Jr. Tag title was a quite good action filled bout. Naito’s Tornado DDT to Sabre Jr. via Taichi assist was sweet. SANADA costing himself the tag titles because he’s a moron with his habit of breaking his Skull End submission for a moonsault that backfires most of the time was funny. IWGP Tag title was a great hard fought action packed bout. Ouch at Eagles back after the loud thud made from Takahasi’s sunset powerbomb to the floor. Takahashi’s vicious lariat to Eagles was cool. Ouch at Eagles neck after Takahashi’s spiked reverse DDT. Eagles Super Turbo Backpack to Takashi was nice. IWGP Jr. title match was awesome and surprised Eagles retained. El Desperado putting his Jr. Tag title on the line to get a Jr. title rematch with Eagles is interesting. EVIL’s running gag of tossing someone into the guard rail where the ring announcer is located is still funny. Takagi giving EVIL a taste of his own medicine by seating him at a table and tossing SHO & Yujiro into the barricade was sweet. Ouch at Takagi getting nailed right on the head from SHO’s chair shot. IWGP World title match was very good despite it going overboard with Bullet Club shenanigans. Wrestle Grand Slam at MetLife Dome Night 2 was a very enjoyable show overall.

NJPW Strong LA Dojo Showcase 2 (September 10)
* The DKC vs. Kevin Knight – 3.0
* Alex Coughlin vs. Clark Connors – 3.0
* Ren Narita vs. Karl Fredericks – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Ren Narita vs. Karl Fredericks
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – DKC vs. Knight opener was an entertaining back-and-forth action bout. Coughlin vs. Connors was a pretty good competitive hard hitting bout. Coughlin’s post-match promo praising Connors & their past history was superb. Narita vs. Fredericks was a quite good hard hitting grapple heavy bout and bit surprised Narita won. Fred Rosser post-match appearance & promo to Narita mocking him and challenging him to a future match was all right. This week’s show was enjoyable overall and a nice showcase of NPW’s Young Lion talent.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (September 9)
* Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary – 3.0
* Bunkhouse Brawl – Karl Anderson vs. Rich Swann – 3.0
* Chris Bey vs. David Finlay – 3.5
* Steve Maclin vs. Petey Williams – 2.0
* Moose vs. Eddie Edwards – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Chris Bey vs. David Finlay match.
Worst – Steve Maclin vs. Petey Williams match.
Show Notes – Steelz vs. Rosemary opener was a good back-and-forth action match. Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, D’Amore, & Brian Myers backstage segment about Team Cage vs. Team Austin tag match was okay. Violent By Design’s prison segment about Eric Young’s creepy preacher speech & curing Rhino of his ills was spectacular. Ouch at Anderson’s back after being chucked through a plywood board by Swann. Anderson launching himself onto another plywood board was a bit funny. Anderson’s vicious lariat to Swann was cool. Yikes at Swann’s back from the table not breaking after Anderson’s Super Gun Stun. Bunkhouse brawl was an entertaining match. Mickie James backstage sitdown interview about Deonna Purrazzo was fine. Josh Alexander & Cage backstage segment about Alexander joining Team Cage and future Impact title feud tease was all right. Rohit Raju backstage promo about his Tiger Knee to Chelsea Green last week was splendid. Bey vs. Finlay was a very good back-and-forth action packed match despite the ending shenanigans by Juice Robinson. Hikuleo surprise appearance & post-match brawl with FinJuice was nice. Alexander & Chris Sabin X-Division title contract signing segment was all right. Swinger’s Palace segment with TJP, Fallah Bahh, & No Way was a bit funny. Maclin vs. Williams was mostly solid despite the ending shenanigans by TJP. Moose vs. Edwards was a pretty good hard hitting match. Post-match mass brawl with Morrissey, Sabin, Myers & Pals, Alexander, Fulton, Austin, Cage, Alicia, & Callihan was sweet. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – AEW World Tag Team Championship Steel Cage match – Lucha Bros vs. The Young Bucks (c) (AEW All Out 2021)
• Best match of the week runner-up – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Hiromu Takahashi vs. Robbie Eagles (c) (NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam 2021 in MetLife Dome Night 2)
• Worst match of the week – 24/7 Championship – Akira Tozawa vs. Reggie (c) (WWE RAW)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – Mei Ying vs. Virginia Ferry (WWE NXT)
• Best show of the week – AEW All Out 2021
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW