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

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

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

NXT WarGames 2021 (Dec. 5)
* Women’s WarGames match – Io Shirai, Cora Jade, Raquel Gonzalez, & Kay Lee Ray vs. Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne, Gigi Dolin, & Mandy Rose) & Dakota Kai – 2.0
* NXT Tag Team Championship – Von Wagner & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Imperium (Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) (c) – 3.5
* Hair vs. Hair match – Duke Hudson vs. Cameron Grimes – 2.5
* NXT Cruiserweight Championship – Joe Gacy vs. Roderick Strong (c) – 3.0
* Men’s WarGames match – Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Tony D’Angelo, & Carmelo Hayes) vs. Team Black & Gold (Tommaso Ciampa, Pete Dunne, LA Knight, & Johnny Gargano) – 4.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Men’s WarGames match and Gargano’s entrance attire & gear being a mash-up of all his TakeOvers attires.
Worst – Women’s WarGames match being very rough at times & WWE being lazy with the amount of filler padding throughout the show.
Show Notes – Jade getting boinked in the head from Dolin’s trash can toss was a bit funny. Jade’s Senton to Jayne from the top of the cage through a table was cool. The Tower of Doom spot was awkward but Shirai’s moonsault off the cage onto trash can with Kai inside was nice. Women’s WarGames opener was somewhat decent despite the anti-climatic finish & being a mess at times. Wagner’s chokeslam to Barthel onto Aichner was nice. Aichner’s springboard moonsault onto O’Reilly to break up his Figure Four on Barthel was cool. Holy crap at Aichner’s head hitting the floor from his step over top rope splash to Wagner on the outside. NXT Tag title was a very good back-and-forth action filled match, especially the latter half. O’Reilly’s & Wagner abrupt post-match breakup & brawl was interesting. Hudson’s delayed Uranage counter of Grimes running attack in the corner was nice. Grimes’ Poison Rana to Hudson was nice. Hudson vs. Grimes was mostly decent despite its plodding pacing. Strong’s stiff chops to Gacy was nice. Gacy’s sunset dive to Strong & Creed Bros on the outside looked ugly. Gacy’s stiff gutwrench powerbomb to Strong was brutal. Cruiser title was a pretty good hard hitting match despite it falling apart near the end. Gargano’s sunset powerbomb to Hayes from the cage side ropes was cool. Dunne’s crossface to Hayes & Gargano’s Gargano Lock to Waller with both kicking each other’s guy in the face was cool. Breakker botching cutting the door’s chains was a bit funny. Breakker’s catch & slam counter of Gargano’s running splash onto Ciampa was cool. Knight’s top rope overhead toss of Waller through a table was awesome. Knight’s BLT to Hayes spiking his head looked brutal. Waller’s elbow drop from top of the cage to Knight through a table was cool. Breakker’s spear to Ciampa through a table was sweet. Men’s WarGames was a fantastic physical action packed match. NXT WarGames 2021 was a mostly very enjoyable overall but would put it in the mid tier if it was a TakeOver branded show.

WWE RAW (Dec. 6)
* Steel Cage match – Big E vs. Kevin Owens – 3.0
* Queen Zelina vs. Nikki A.S.H. – 2.0
* RK-Bro-Nament First Round match – AJ Styles & Omos vs. Street Profits – 2.5
* United States Championship Open Challenge match – Robert Roode vs. Damian Priest (c) – 2.5
* Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop – 3.0
* RK-Bro-Nament First Round match – Dominik & Rey Mysterio vs. Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable) – 2.5
* Finn Balor vs. T-Bar – 2.0
* RAW Women’s Championship – Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch (c) – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Steel Cage match.
Worst – Vince McMahon & Austin Theory awkward backstage office segments and WWE’s questionable booking decisions over the finishes to several matches.
Show Notes – Opening Seth Rollins, Big E, & Owens backstage promos about their issues, cage match, & WWE title was all right. Big E’s spear to Owens onto the cage was nice. Owens’ top rope sunset powerbomb to Big E was nice. Big E’s Super Big Ending to Owens was cool. Cage match was a quite good back-and-forth action match despite the booking decision to have the face win via door cage escape. Zelina’s pre-match promo bashing Nikki was nothing special. RK-Bro backstage segment about their sponsored Tag tournament & matching host blazers look was a bit funny. Styles’ brainbuster to Ford spiking his head looked brutal. Styles & Omos vs. Street Profits was decent despite the countout finish that made Omos look like a big moron. Riddle’s post-match interview with Styles about his tag loss & Omos walkout was dumb but also a bit funny. Roode’s spinebuster counter of Priest’s springboard kick was nice. US title was a solid back-and-forth match despite dragging a bit long. Bianca vs. Doudrop was a pretty good back-and-forth match despite the buzzkill countout ending. Miz TV segment with Edge about Miz’s long beef with Edge & vets over their poor treatment of him during his early WWE days & Edge’s retort was all right. Morgan’s backstage interview about Lynch was a bit rough. Vince & Austin Theory backstage office segments were awkward. 24/7 title backstage segment with Dana Brooke, disguised R-Truth & Tozawa, and Reggie was a bit funny. Morgan hype vignette was splendid. Morgan’s dive to Lynch on the outside was nice but ouch at Morgan landing hard on her elbow. Ouch at Morgan after smacking her head on the turnbuckle from Lynch’s leg yank attack. RAW Women’s title was a mostly good match despite being sloppy at times. This week’s show was average overall but also somewhat dull at times.

NXT (Dec. 7)
* Cage match – Von Wagner vs. Kyle O’Reilly – 3.0
* The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed) vs. Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen – 2.0
* Carmelo Hayes vs. Dexter Lumis – 3.0
* Valentina Feroz & Yulisa Leon vs. Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolin) – 2.0
* Santos Escobar vs. Xyon Quinn – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Johnny Gargano big announcement segment & sneak attack by Grayson Waller afterwards.
Worst – Mandy Rose & Cora Jade promo segment.
Show Notes – O’Reilly’s foot stomps & Guillotine hold combo to Wagner via ropes assist was nice. O’Reilly’s top rope knee drop to Wagner’s head was cool. Opening Cage match was a pretty good back-and-forth hard hitting bout. Joe Gacy preacher promo about his quest to change the Cruiser division & Harland was decent. Bron Breakker promo about WarGames, Team Black & Gold, & NXT title match challenge and interruption by Malcolm Bivens boasting about Roderick Strong was splendid. Creed Bros vs. Briggs & Jensen was mostly decent despite the abrupt ending & Grizzled Young Vets tag ropes stealing antics being a nothing moment in the end. Duke Hudson promo about losing his Hair match & bashing Grimes, Grimes No Holds Barred match setup, & brawl was decent but Hudson’s goofy fake wig was a bit funny. Hayes vs. Lumis was a mostly good back-and-forth action match despite the lame DQ ending by Williams. The payoff to MSK’s mystery shaman storyline being Riddle was great. Mandy Rose backstage promo bashing Vic Joseph & NXT Women’s division was decent. Women’s tag match was mostly decent. Rose’s post-match promo boasting about Toxic Attraction and Core Jade interruption response mostly stunk. Tony D’Angelo backstage interview about Pete Dunne & Andre Chase interruption was decent but Chase’s promo being abruptly cut off by NXT production was funny. Yikes at Quinn’s head after his rough landing from Escobar’s ugly looking Frankensteiner. Escobar vs. Quinn was a quite good hard fought action match despite the ending shenanigans by Elektra Lopez. Johnny Gargano’s big special announcement of him taking a break from wresting for baby reasons & uncertain career future & sneak attack by Grayson Waller was great. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (Dec. 10)
* Los Lotharios (Angel & Humberto) vs. Rick Boogs & Shinsuke Nakamura – 2.0 (Squash)
* Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre – 3.0
* Naomi vs. Sonya Deville – N/A
* SmackDown Women’s Championship Contender match – Toni Storm vs. Charlotte Flair – 2.0
* Triple Threat Tag Team match – The Usos vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston & King Woods) vs. RK-Bro (Riddle & Randy Orton) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Opening Sami Zayn, Paul Heyman, & Brock Lesnar promo segment.
Worst – The Naomi vs. Sonya Deville hyped up match to be a big pile of nothing in the end.
Show Notes – Opening Sami Zayn promo about Lesnar & Reigns attacks on him last week & lawsuit plans, Paul Heyman response, & Lesnar’s sit-down friendly banter with Zayn, & Lesnar’s brawl with Zayn & his nurses was awesome. Lesnar’s farmers style overalls look was a bit funny. Los Lotharios vs. Boogs & Nakamura was a decent squash style match but why bother hyping up Lotharios undefeated streak just to toss it away as a big nothing moment. Woods’ new crown looks way worse compared to his original one. McIntyre & Pearce backstage office segment about McIntyre still being upset issues not being in the Battle Royal & “higher authority” stuff was decent. Sasha Banks & Storm backstage segment about Flair was decent. Sheamus’ knee trigger counter of McIntyre’s Claymore was cool. Sheamus vs. McIntyre was a good back-and-forth hard hitting match. Corbin & Moss stealing McIntyre’s sword was goofy. Blackjack Lanza tribute video was splendid. Kayla Braxton’s ambush interview with Heyman about if Heyman was the advocate of Lesnar again was okay. Naomi vs. Deville match hype video was all right but Naomi’s pre-match promo was nothing special. Xia Li’s lighting effects visuals for her run-in save entrance for Naomi was both cool & a bit goofy. Naomi vs. Deville non-match was a big waste of time. Charlotte really should stop doing moonsaults after botching the landing for another one done by her. Storm Flair was going on well until the extra lame DQ ending by Flair. Lesnar & Pearce backstage office segment about Lesnar’s moose hunting story was okay. Uso’ pre-match promo about Woods’ new crown & RK-Bro was decent at best. WWE botching catching the cam shot of Kingston launching himself off pf Riddle onto Orton was a bit funny. Triple Threat was a quite good action filled match. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (Dec. 6)
* Riho vs. Angelica Risk – 2.5
* The Wingmen (“Pretty” Peter Avalon, JD Drak, & Cesar Bononi) vs. Brock Anderson, Lee Johnson, & Dustin Rhodes – 3.0
* Serpentico vs. Brian Pillman Jr. – 2.5
* 8-Man Tag Team match – The Factory (QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, Aaron Solo, & Anthony Ogogo) vs. Baron Black, Shawn Hoodrich, Tony Vincita, & JD Munoz – 2.0 (Squash)
* Emi Sakura & The Bunny vs. Ryo Mizunami & Abadon – 3.0
* Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) vs. Brandon & Brent Tate – 2.5 (Squash)
* The Acclaimed vs. Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo – 2.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – The Wingmen vs. Brock Anderson, Lee Johnson, & Dustin Rhodes match.
Worst – Max Caster’s swing & miss effort of his pre-match rap diss.
Show Notes – Ouch at Riho’s head after the whiplash from Risk’s hard looking running hip attack in the corner. Riho’s Northern Lights Suplex to Risk was nice. Riho vs. Risk opener was a solid match. Drake’s cannonball to Anderson in the corner looked painful. Anderson’s DDT counter of Drake’s strike attempt was nice. Rhodes’ powerslam to Avalon was smooth. Wingmen vs. Anderson, Johnson, & Rhodes was a good back-and-forth action match. Pillman Jr’s clothesline to Serpentico spinning him to the mat was cool & same for his Jackhammer to Serpetnico afterwards. Serpentico vs. Pillman Jr. was a solid match. The Factory vs. Black, Hoodrich, Vincita, & Munoz was a decent squash style match. Ryo Mizunami & Abadon is both an interesting & odd pairing. Mizunami’s chop fest to Sakura & Bunny in the corner was nice. Sakura & Mei Suruga’s frightened reactions to Abadon’s scary pose in the corner was a bit funny. Mizunami’s Uranage counter of Sakura’s Dragon Sleeper was cool. Sakura & Bunny vs. Mizunami & Abadon was an entertaining back-and-forth style match. Jurassic Express vs. Tate Bros was a fine mostly squash match. Max Caster’s pre-match rap mocking Outkast & his opponents was one of his weaker diss efforts. Acclaimed vs. Dean & Bravo was decent at best. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dark (Dec. 7)
* Lee Moriarty vs. Misterioso – 3.0
* Lio Rush vs. Rayo – 2.5
* Brandi Rhodes vs. Angelica Risk – 2.5
* Emi Sakura vs. Ryo Mizunami – 3.0
* Anthony Ogogo vs. Baron Black – 2.5
* The Pinnacle (Shawn Spears & Wardlow) vs. Jay Marte & Richard King – 2.0 (Squash)
* Fuego Del Sol vs. Luke Sampson – 2.5
* Team Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs, Dante Martin, & Ricky Starks) vs. JT Dunn, Omkar, & Kekoa – 2.0 (Squash)
* Thunder Rosa vs. Sofia Castillo – 2.5 (Squash)
* Aaron Solo vs. John Silver – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Emi Sakura vs. Ryo Mizunami match.
Worst – The buzzkill ending shenanigans to the Emi Sakura vs. Ryo Mizunami match.
Show Notes – Moriarty vs. Misterioso opener was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Rush vs. Rayo was a solid mostly fast paced brief bout. Rhodes’ superkick to Risk was nice. Rhodes vs. Risk was a mostly solid match. Sakura & Mizunami’s stiff chops exchange was sweet. Mizunami’s catch & slam counter of Sakura’s running crossbody in the corner was nice. Mizunami’s high collar suplex to Sakura was cool. Sakura vs. Mizunami was a really good hard hitting back-and-forth action match despite the ending shenanigans by Mei Suruga. Ogogo vs. Black was a solid back-and-forth style match. Sampson’s catch & chokeslam counter of Del Sol’s Flying Nothing was nice. Del Sol’s Tornado DDT & double stomp finisher combo to Sampson was nice. Del Sol vs. Sampson was a decent back-and-forth style match. Team Taz vs. Dunn. Omkar, & Kekoa was a decent squash style match. Starks post-match promo about Diamond Battle Royale and bashing Rush & interruption response by Rush was splendid. Rosa vs. Castillio was a fine mostly squash style match. Post-match Rosa promo about Jade Cargill, Mark Sterling interruption response, & ambush attack by Cargill was all right. Silver’s Liger Bomb counter of Solo’s hurricanrana was cool. Silver & Solo’s chops exchange was nice. Solo vs. Silver was a solid back-and-forth action match. Silver’s post-match promo about his upcoming match with Danielson was all right. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite (Dec. 8)
* Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale – 3.0
* 8-Man Tag Team match – Varsity Blonds & Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy) vs. 2point0 & The Acclaimed – 3.5
* The Young Bucks vs. Chuck Taylor & Rocky Romero – 3.0
* Jamie Hayter vs. Riho – 3.5
* Bryan Danielson vs. John Silver – 3.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Trent’s surprise return, Hook’s in-ring debut announcement, and the Jamie Hayter vs. Riho match.
Worst – AEW production botching the audio of Eddie Kingston’s backstage promo.
Show Notes – CM Punk trolling MJF’s hometown crowd by coming out to MJF’s theme was cool. Opening Punk smug promo about his issues with MJF and mocking Long Island, the crowd, & MJF was wonderful. MJF “Hero of Long Island” vignette was great. MJF accidentally eliminating Wardlow & Dante Martin turning on Team Taz and handshake with MJF during the battle royale was interesting. MJF’s fake post-match face turn & run-in save of Martin just to beat him up with Starks was sweet. Luchasaurus’ chokeslam to Bowens onto Carter was cool. Pillman Jr’s Fisherman style Falcon Arrow to Bowens was cool. 8-Man Tag was a very entertaining action match. Young Bucks vs. Taylor & Romero was quite good, especially the latter half, despite dragging too long. Trent’s surprise return & run-in save during the post-match SuperKliq & Best Friends brawl was awesome. Sammy Guevara & Cody promo about TNT title match setup & Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky interruption was all right. Cargill vs. Rosa hype video was splendid. Yikes at Riho whiffing on her top rope dive to Hayter on the outside. Hayter’s backbreaker counter of Riho’s tilt-a-whirl rana looked brutal. Riho’s double stomp to Hayter also looked brutal. Riho’s Dragon Suplex to Hayter was nice. Hayter’s brainbuster to Riho spiking her head was brutal & same for her choke backbreaker to Riho afterwards. Riho’s Code Red to Hayter was nice. Riho’s Avalanche Crucifix Bomb to Hayter was cool. Hayter vs. Riho was a really good physical battle. Deeb vs. Shida hype video was superb. Malakai Black’s sneak mist spray attack to Julia Hart was interesting. Silver’s sit-down powerbomb counter of Danielson’s shotgun dropkick was cool. Danielson’s elbows fest & Gotch Style Piledriver combo to Silver was cool. Danielson vs. Silver was a good hard hitting match. This week’s show was mostly great overall.

AEW Rampage (Dec. 10)
* AEW World Tag Team Championship – FTR vs. Lucha Brothers (c) – 4.0
* TayJay (Tay Conti & Anna Jay) & Ruby Soho vs. The Bunny, Penelope Ford, & Nyla Rose – 3.0
* Hook vs. Fuego Del Sol – 3.0 (Squash)
* Adam Cole vs. Wheeler Yuta – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – AEW Tag Team title match and Hook’s in-ring debut performance.
Worst – A big chunk of the women’s trios tag team match taking place during the split-screen ad break.
Show Notes – Fenix’s springboard hurricanrana to Wheeler & armdrag to Harwood at the same time was cool. Fenix’s splash to Harwood via Penta assist was nice. Ouch at Fenix’s back after Harwood slam to him on the apron. Wheeler’s leg drop to Fenix via Harwood assist was nice. Penta’s slingblades to FTR into a backstabber to Harwood was cool. Harwood’ slingshot Liger Bomb counter of Fenix’s Rana was cool. Penta’s splash to Harwood to push him onto Wheeler to break up the pin was cool. AEW Tag title was a great action packed match. Women’s Trios tag was a mostly good back-and-forth style match despite the ending shenanigans by Bunny & most of the match taking place during the split-screen ad break. FTR’s backstage ambush attack to Sting, failed save by Darby Allin, & Tully Blanchard’s swift kick to Sting’s nuts was all right. The crowd being extra hot for Hook at the start of his match was sweet. Hook’s gutwrench suplex counter of Del Sol’s hip toss was cool. Hook’s slam counter of Del Sol’s Tornado DDT & clothesline spinning Del Sol to the mat afterwards was nice. Hook’s clubbing strikes & Katahajime submission finisher combo to Del Sol was awesome. Hook vs. Del Sol was an entertaining squash match & great in-ring debut performance by Hook. Cole & SuperKliq and Yuta & Best Friends split-screen backstage pre-match interview was all right. Cole mocking Orange Cassidy with his comedic kicks to Yuta was a bit funny. Cole’s Ushigoroshi to Yuta was nice. Yuta’s diving elbow strike to Cole looked rough and/or brutal. Yuta’s modified Olympic Slam to Cole was nice. Cole vs. Yuta was pretty good, especially the latter half. Post-match ambush attack by SuperKliq & Fish was all right but Cole’s Panama Sunrise fakeout into a swift nut shot to Cassidy was funny. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2021 Night 9 (Dec. 5)
* Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima – 2.5
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – Taiji Ishimori vs. DOUKI – 3.0
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. YOH – 3.0
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi – 3.5
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – SHO vs. Robbie Eagles – 3.0
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – Master Wato vs. Hiromu Takahashi – 4.0
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – BUSHI vs. El Desperado – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – BUSHI vs. El Desperado match.
Worst – The Young Lion at ringside that took a hard whack to the head on the guard rail from Robbie Eagles dive to the outside.
Show Notes – Oiwa vs. Nakashima opener was a solid bout. Ishimori vs. DOUKI was a good back-and-forth style bout. Kanemaru reverse flapjack-like move to YOH via nuts grab was both unique & weird. Kanemaru vs. YOH was a pretty good bout. Phantasmo & Taguchi’s pulling an Orange Cassidy with the comedic slow slaps & kicks to each other was hilarious. Taguchi crotching himself during his rope walk to Phantasmo was funny. Phantasmo’s Rock-like bounce sell of Taguchi’s top rope hip attack was nice. Phantasmo crotching himself after his missed superkick to Taugic on the ropes & his stiff low blow afterwards was a bit funny. El Phantasmo vs. Taguchi was a very entertaining comedic-based bout. Ouch at the Young Lion smacking his head on the guard rail from Eagles missed suicide dive to SHO. Eagles’ sunset dive to SHO on the outside nailing his legs on the guard rail was a bit crazy. SHO’s release German to Eagles was nice. SHO vs. Eagles was a quite good bout. Hiromu’s slingshot backbreaker to Wato was cool. Wato’s corkscrew dive to Hiromu on the outside was nice. Wato’s double stomp to Hiromu looked legit painful to take. Wato & Hiromu’s kicks exchange into a high angle bridging German suplex by Wato was cool. Hiromu’s lariat to Wato spinning him to the mat was sweet. Master Wato vs. Takahashi was a great back-and-forth action packed match. Yikes at Despy’s leg after landing hard into the guard rail from his sunset dive to BUSHI on the outside. BUSHI’s leap over hurricanrana to Despy on the outside was cool. Despy’s Dragon Screw & Numero Dos combo to BUSHI was nice. BUSHI’s Seesaw DDT to Despy on the ropes was cool. BUSHI’s Destroyer to Despy was nice. BUSHI vs. El Desperado was a fantastic hard fought action packed bout. NJPW Best of the Super Jrs 2021 Night 9 was a great show overall.

NJPW XTRA (Dec. 6)
* Daniel Garcia vs. Jay White – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Show Notes – The “Week in NJPW” and NJPW Strong Detonation Night 1 highlights segments were all right. White’s slingshot to Garcia’s neck on the bottom ropes was nice. Garcia’s elbow strikes into a mud-hole stomp to White in the corner was nice. White’s spinning suplex counter of Garcia’s leaping sleeper hold was cool. Garcia’s Back rop Driver to White bending him in half was nice. White’s Sleeper suplex counter of Garcia’s lariat attempt was cool. Garcia vs. White was a quite good back-and-forth hard hitting action match. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

NJPW World Tag League 2021 Night 9 (Dec. 7)
* Kosei Fujita vs. Yuto Nakashima – 2.5
* World Tag League 2021 match – Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask vs. Dangerous Tekkers – 3.0
* World Tag League 2021 match – Minoru Suzuki & Taka Michinoku vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano – 3.0
* World Tag League 2021 match – EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Great Bash Heel – 3.0
* World Tag League 2021 match – TenCozy vs. Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare – 3.0
* World Tag League 2021 match – Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI – 3.0
* World Tag League 2021 match – Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Guerillas of Destiny – 4.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Guerillas of Destiny match.
Worst – The stale House of Torture shenanigans ending to the EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Great Bash Heel match.
Show Notes – Fujita vs. Nakashima opener was a solid match. Tiger Mask’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to Sabre Jr. looked legit painful for both guys. Nagata & Tiger Mask vs. Dangerous Tekker was a really good back-and-forth action bout. Suzuki’s death stare to Yano after getting smacked in the back of the head was cool & frightening. Yano low blowing Suzuki & Taka at the same time was a bit funny. Suzuki-Gun vs. Tanahashi & Yano was a pretty good match. Makabe’s stiff lariat to EVIL was nice. Honma’s DDT to Yujiro & Flatliner to EVIL at the same time was nice. EVIL & Takahashi vs. GBH was a pretty good back-and-forth bout despite the dull House of Torture ending shenanigans. Khan & Tenzan Mongolian Chops fest to each other was nice. Kojima’s brainbuster to Henare was nice. Kojima’s back-to-back DDTs on Henare & Khan spiking both guys was cool. United Empire vs. TenCozy was a quite good hard hitting bout. Ouch at Goto’s back after Chase’s hard body slam to him onto the floor. Owens Flatliner counter of Goto’s running lariat in the corner was nice. Owens’ knee trigger to Goto & neckbreaker to YOSHI combo was nice. Fale & Owens vs. Goto & YOSHI-HASHI was a quite good back-and-forth action filled match. Tama Tonga mocking Naito’s pre-match undressing routine was a bit funny. SANADA’s low dropkick to Tonga’s leg sending him spinning to the mat was nice. Tanga Loa’s stalling suplex to Naito was nice. Naito’s Frankensteiner to Loa was cool. Sanada & Naito’s strikes & kicks combo into a Back Drop Driver by SANADA into a Jackknife pin attempt by Naito to Loa sequence was cool. SANADA’s Magic Killer to Tonga via ropes assist was cool. LIJ vs. G.O.D. was a great back-and-forth action packed match. NJPW World Tag League 2021 Night 9 was an enjoyable show overall.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2021 Night 11 (Dec. 11)
* Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima – 2.5
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – DOUKI vs. Master Wato – 3.0
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – BUSHI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru – 3.0
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – Taiji Ishimori vs. Ryusuke Taguchi – 3.5
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – SHO vs. YOH – 3.5
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – El Phantasmo vs. El Desperado – 4.0
* Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – Robbie Eagles vs. Hiromu Takahashi – 4.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Robbie Eagles vs. Hiromu Takahashi match.
Worst – Whichever Young Lion at ringside drew the short straw for taking the full of brunt of BUSHI’s dive to the outside that crashed hard into the railing.
Show Notes – Oiwa vs. Nakashima was a solid competitive opening match. DOUKI vs. Wato was a quite good bout & bit surprised DOUKI won. BUSHI vs. Kanemaru was a good back-and-forth style bout. Ishimori’s hammerlock shoulder breaker to Taguchi was nice. Taguchi’s ankle lock counter of Ishimori’s Bone Lock submission was cool. Ishimori vs. Taguchi was a very good back-and-forth action bout, especially the ending sequence. SHO’s German Suplex to YOH bending him in half was nice. YOH’s loud sounding stiff lariat to SHO was cool. YOH’s Tiger Suplex counter of SHO’s wrench attack swing was nice. House of Torture & CHAOS run-in brawl was nice. YOH’s superkick & Direct Drive finisher combo to SHO was cool. SHO vs. YOH was very good & the rare time where HoT ending shenanigans played out really well. Despy’s sunset dive through the ropes to Phantasmo on the outside was cool. Phantasmo busting out Despy’s own Numero Dos submission to him was nice. Phantasmo busting out Jay White’s Bladerunner to Despy was sweet. Despy’s spinebuster & Guitarra de Angel combo to Phantasmo was cool. Phantasmo hitting Despy with his own Pinche Loco was awesome. El Phantasmo vs. El Deepserado was a great action packed match. Hiromu & Eagles’ stiff chops exchanges early into their match was splendid. Hiromu’s shotgun dropkick to Eagles’ sending him flying into the corner was cool. Eagles’ Poison Rana to Hiromu was nice. Eagles’ double knees strike counter of Hiromu’s Sunset Bomb on the apron was cool. Eagles stomps fest to Hiromu was sweet. Hiromu’s Time Bomb II setup into Eagles desperation kicks into Hiromu hitting the move sequence was great. Eagles vs. Takahashi was a fantastic hard fought action packed bout. NJPW Best of the Super Jrs 2021 Night 9 was a great show overall.

NJPW Strong Detonation 2021 Night 2 (Dec. 11)
* Jonathan Gresham vs. Gabriel Kidd – 3.5
* Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors, & Ren Narita vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay, TJP, & Jeff Cobb) – 4.0
* Brody King vs. Tomohiro Ishii – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Brody King vs. Tomohiro Ishii match.
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – Kidd’s new entrance theme sounds pretty good. Kidd’s hard chop to Gresham was nice. Gresham & Kidd’s pins & counter pins fest routine was sweet. Gresham vs. Kidd opener was a very good highly competitive grapple heavy bout. Connors’ stiff loud sounding chop to TJP in the corner was nice. Fredericks’ Swanton dive to Ospreay & Cobb on the outside was cool. Cobb chucking Narita into the guard rail on the outside was crazy. Ospreay’s spinning backbreaker to Narita was nice. Narita’s stiff chop & overhead suplex to Ospreay was nice. Connors’s pounce to Ospreay sending him flying across the ring was sweet. Connors’ spear to TJP through the ropes planting him onto the apron looked brutal. Fredericks’ uppercut & neckbreaker combo to Ospreay was cool. United Empire’s moves combo destruction of Fredericks was sweet. Fredericks, Connors, & Narita vs. United Empire was a great back-and-forth action packed match. King & Ishii slugfest exchange was nice. King’s loud chest destroying chops to Ishii was sweet. Ishii’s suplex to King was impressive. Ishii’s chops & elbows strikes fest to King in the corner was nice. Ishii’s German sulex to King via ropes assist was cool. King’s Black Hole Slam counter of Ishii’s running lariat was cool. King’s DVD to Ishhi was also cool. Ishii’s Vertical Drop Brainbuster to King was both very impressive and nasty in terms of brutal looking. King vs. Ishii was a great hard fought physical battle. This week’s show was amazing overall.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (Dec. 9)
* Mixed Tag Team match – Chris Sabin & Mickie James vs. Matthew Rehwoldt & Deonna Purrazzo – 3.0
* Rohit Raju vs. Lawrence D – 1.5
* The Learning Tree (VSK & Zicky Dice) vs. FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) – 2.5
* Street Fight – Eric Young vs. Rhino – 2.5
* 8-Person Tag Team match – The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay) & The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood) vs. Decay (Black Taurus, Crazzy Steve, Havok, & Rosemary) – 2.0
* W. Morrissey vs. Matt Cardona – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – W. Morrissey vs. Matt Cardona match.
Worst – Rohit Raju vs. Lawrence D match & this week’s show abruptly ending several minutes early.
Show Notes – Sabin’s dive to Rehwoldt to the outside into Purrazzo’s dive to Sabin into James’ dive to Rehwoldt & Purrazzo was nice. Opening Mixed Tag was a pretty good back-and-forth style match. Cardona & Morrissey backstage segment about their upcoming Impact title match & Morrissey mocking Cardona was all right. Young’s backstage promo about VBD’s issues with Rhino was fine. Raju vs. Lawrence D was nothing special, especially the random DQ ending by Josh Alexander. Alexander & Scott D’Amore heated promo segment about Alexander’s bad blood with JONAH & Impact title goal was splendid. Steve Maclin & D’Amore backstage segment about Maclin wanting another X-Division title match & being denied was okay. Finlay’s choke kneebreaker to Dice was nice. Learning Tree vs. FinJuice was mostly decent. Rhino’s slam to Young onto the apron was nice. Rhino’s suplex counter onto the ramp of Young’s suplex attempt was nice. Ouch at Rhino’s face after getting slammed right into a trash can in the corner. Street Fight was a solid hardcore style match despite it going overboard with the amount of run-ins near the end. Dashwood’s lucky to not have been hurt after Taurus’ chucking her out of the ring & Kaleb barely catching her. 8-Person Tag was a mostly decent match despite the flat ending sequence. Lady Frost backstage interview about her joining Impact & Knockouts Ultimate X match was all right. Ouch at Cardona’s head after Morrissey’s lawn dart toss into the post. Cardona’s Radio Silence counter of Morrissey’s powerbomb was nice. Morrissey vs. Cardona was a quite good hard hitting match despite the buzzkill DQ ending by Morrissey. The post-match brawl with Moose was all right. The show ending 8 minutes early was a bit weird. This week’s show was average overall.

ROH Final Battle 2021 (Dec. 11)
* Hour One pre-show: ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship – The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman, & Dutch) vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Kaun, Moses and O’Shay Edwards) (c) – 3.0
* Hour One pre-show: Miranda Alize & The Allure (Angelina Love & Mandy Leon) vs. Chelsea Green & The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) – 2.5
* Hour One pre-show: Wildcard 10-Man Tag Team match – The Bouncers (Brian Milonas & The Beer City Bruiser), World Famous CB, Flip Gordon, & PJ Black vs. Demonic Flamita, Will Ferrara, Sledge, LSG, & Max The Impaler – 3.0
* Dragon Lee vs. Rey Horus – 3.5
* ROH World Television Championship Four Corner Survival match – Joe Hendry vs. Silas Young vs. Rhett Titus vs. Dalton Castle (c) – 3.0
* ROH Pure Championship – Brian Johnson vs. Josh Woods (c) – 3.0
Fight Without Honor match – Kenny King vs. Shane Taylor – 3.5
* ROH World Women’s Championship – Willow Nightingale vs. Rok-C (c) – 3.0
* 8-Man Tag Team match – Rocky Romero & VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Homicide, & Tony Deppen) vs. The Foundation (Eli Isom, Taylor Rust, EC3, & Tracy Williams) – 3.5
* ROH World Tag Team Championship – The Briscoe Brothers (Mark & Jay Briscoe) vs. The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (c) – 4.0
* ROH World Championship – Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – ROH World Tag Team Championship match and all of the tribute video shouts by former ROH wrestlers throughout the show.
Worst – The premature botched bell ring during the 6-Man Tag Team title match and the rough finish to the Miranda Alize & The Allure vs. Chelsea Green & The Hex match.
Show Notes – Lee’s suicide dive to Horus on the outside was smooth. Horus’ top rope Rana Driver to Lee was cool. Horus’ Tornado DDT counter of Lee’s pumphandle was cool. Lee vs. Horus opener was a very good action filled match. Young’s backbreaker & clothesline combo to Dalton was nice. Hendry catch & press slam counter of Titus’ Flying Nothing was cool. ROH TV title was a pretty good match. Pure title was a good hard fought match despite dragging a bit at times. King’s top rope Blockbuster to Taylor through tables on the outside was cool. Ouch at King’s back after Taylor’s Uranage onto a trash can. King’s splash from the ladder onto Taylor onto a ladder was brutal. Taylor’s Package Driver to King through a ladder on the outside was insane. King vs. Taylor was a very entertaining hardcore style bout. ROH Women’s title was a quite good back-and-forth style match. Deonna Purrazzo’s surprise appearance & title match setup with Rok-C was great. Rust powerbomb counter of Romero’s rana on the outside onto a pile of chairs was crazy. Williams’ rebound lariat to Romero spinning him onto the mat was cool. Isom’s brainbuster to Deppen onto the top rope was cool. 8-Man Tag was a very good action filled match, especially the latter half. EC3’s post-match “Awakening” promo & Braun Strowman surprise appearance was interesting. Mark Briscoe’s Blockbuster to Taven from the apron was cool. Holy crap at Mark bouncing off the floor from OGK’s Doomsday Device on the outside. Briscoes’ Jay Driller & Froggy Bow finisher combo to Taven was cool. ROH Tag title was a great hard fought action packed match. FTR surprise appearance & brawl with Brsicoes was awesome. Gresham & Lethal’s stiff chops exchange was nice. Lethal’s rolling Toruture Rack & elbow drop combo to Gresham was cool. Lethal’s cutter counter of Gresham’s Chicken Wing was nice. The ROH locker room emptying out for the final few minutes was wonderful. ROH World title was a great back-and-forth action match. ROH Final Battle 2021 was a fantastic show overall and a great era ending farewell.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – Men’s WarGames match – Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Tony D’Angelo, & Carmelo Hayes) vs. Team Black & Gold (Tommaso Ciampa, Pete Dunne, LA Knight, & Johnny Gargano) (NXT WarGames 2021)
• Best match of the week runner-up – Best of the Super Juniors 2021 match – Robbie Eagles vs. Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2021 Night 11)
• Worst match of the week – Rohit Raju vs. Lawrence D (Impact Wrestling Impact!)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – Women’s WarGames match – Io Shirai, Cora Jade, Raquel Gonzalez, & Kay Lee Ray vs. Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne, Gigi Dolin, & Mandy Rose) & Dakota Kai (NXT WarGames 2021)
• Best show of the week – ROH Final Battle 2021
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW