Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for June 26 to July 2, 2022

Editor’s note: There will not be any match & show ratings reports for the next two weeks since I will be taking a small vacation break of sorts and scaling back a lot on the amount of wrestling I usual watch weekly during this break.

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of June 26th to July 2nd, 2022.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (June 27)
* Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Qualifying Last Chance 20-Man Battle Royal – 2.5
* Jey Uso vs. Montez Ford – 2.5
* The Miz vs. AJ Styles – 2.0
* Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss – 2.0
* 2-on-1 Handicap match – Bobby Lashley vs. Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable) – 2.5
* Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Qualifying Last Chance Elimination match – Becky Lynch vs. Tamina vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. Doudrop vs. Xia Li – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Asuka’s trolling the commentary team during the Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss match and the Cena 20th Anniversary celebration segment minus Vince McMahon’s part.
Worst – The lame buzzkill countout ending to The Miz vs. AJ Styles match.
Show Notes – Opening Men’s MitB Qualifier Battle Royal match moments: T-Bar’s catch counter of Ricochet’s elimination save off a ladder into Ricochet’s headscissors elimination of T-Bar. Match itself was solid but the ending sequence between Miz & Riddle was entertaining & Riddle winning is interesting. Balor, Priest, & Mysterios’ backstage segment about Balor & Priest persuading Dominik to join their group & mocking Rey was all right. Miz’s interview about Logan Paul, boasting about himself and his big star power, issues with Styles, & interruption and punch by Styles was decent. Miz vs. Styles was going on decently until the lame anti-climatic count out ending & just ended up being a match that dragged on way too long for a nothing ending. Cena & Ezekiel backstage segment about Cena wanting to see Elias & random advice to Zeke was a bit funny but Theory’s interruption “rap” mocking Cena & boasting about himself was lame. The former WWE wrestlers videos praising Cena were splendid overall but Big Show, Daniel Bryan, & Jericho showing up in them was both surprising & cool. Bianca Belair’s interview segment badmouthing and calling out Carmella, Carmella’s response boasting about herself and claiming she’ll win the RAW Women’s title, & brawl was decent. Morgan vs. Bliss was somewhat solid despite the abrupt flat ending but Asuka trolling on commentary throughout it was funny. The Cena career tribute video packages were splendid overall. The Cena 20th Anniversary celebration segment about Cena thanking the fans for their support of his career and helping making him a better person was great. Vince McMahon leeching off it for another shameless cheap crowd pop moment & not buggering off due to his recent scandal stunk though. 2-on-1 Handicap match was a solid bout & post-match brawl with Theory was decent. Cody Rhodes’ taped interview about his injury, missing out on MitB, & his issues with Rollins was all right. Cena & Rollins backstage segment about Rollins’ laugh humming of Cena’s theme and mocking Cena for his failed past MitB cash in, boasting about his own past cash in and claiming that he’ll win this year’s MitB case, & interruption by MVP claiming Omos will win instead was all right but Cena’s surprised look & bolting over Omos’ large height was a bit funny. Women’s MitB Qualifier Elimination match was mostly solid. This week’s Money in the Bank 2022 go-home show was average at best & dull at times.

WWE NXT (June 28)
* #1 Contender’s for NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship – Kayden Carter & Katana Chance vs. Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez – 2.5
* Giovanni Vinci vs. Ikemen Kiro – 2.0 (Squash)
* Indi Hartwell vs. Kiana James – 2.0
* Diamond Mine (Roderick Strong & Creed Bros (Julius & Brutus Creed)) vs. Joe Gacy & The Dyad – 2.5
* Sanga vs. Xyon Quinn – 2.5
* Nikkita Lyons vs. Mandy Rose – 2.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – Tony D’Angelo and Stacks’ night time bridge segment “killing off” Two Dimes off-screen & prank phone call by Santos Escobar.
Worst – The Toxic Attraction and Nikkita Lyons’ backstage segment.
Show Notes – Women’s Tag opener moments: Jade’s leg yank counter of Carter & Chance’s 450 Splash & neckbreaker combo to Perez into Perez’s Pop Rocks finisher to Chance. Match itself was a solid back-and-forth bout despite dragging long. Diamond Mine and Gacy & Dyad’s backstage segment about Gacy’s offer for Creed Bros to join him, Julius rejecting the offer, & Strong and Gacy’s banter was decent. Toxic Attraction backstage interview about upcoming NXT Women’s Tag title match against Jade & Perez, Rose mocking Perez for not picking her NXT Women’s title, interruption by Lyons wanting the NXT Women’s title, & Rose’s cat retort was decent at best. Vinci vs. Jiro moments: Vinci’s stiff chop flooring Jiro in the corner. Vinci’s brutal looking spiked Tornado DDT to Jiro. Match itself was a decent mostly squash bout. Carmelo Hayes’ backstage interview about retaining his N.A. title and being the “A champ of NXT & Grayson Waller’s interruption asking for autographs for his family was all right. Briggs & Jensen promo about their NXT UK Tag titles win, interruption by Pretty Deadly bashing “American trailer trash” for disrespecting the honor of the belts, insults banter, & brawl was decent. Hartwell vs. James was mostly solid despite the flat ending. D’Angelo’s bridge segment about Two Dimes getting the “sleeping with the fishes” treatment over trying to usurp him & Escobar’s prank phone call was sweet. Diamond Mine vs. Gacy & Dyads was a mostly solid back-and-forth bout despite dragging at times. Hayes & Trick Williams backstage interview about their reaction over Hayes getting conned into a NA title match against Waller was decent. Diamond Mine backstage segment about Creed Bros & Strong blaming the other for costing them the match earlier & D.M. civil war tag match setup was all right. Sanga vs. Quinn was a mostly solid hard hitting match. Cameron Grimes hype vignette was all right. Wendy Choo’s sleepy time dream video mocking Tiffany Stratton was a bit funny. Lyons vs. Rose was going on somewhat decently until the DQ ending by Toxic Attraction. Grimes & Breakker face-to-face promo segment about their upcoming NXT title match, Grimes’ grievances over Breakker getting all the opportunities because of his family connections, insults filled banter, & brawl was pretty good. This week’s Great American Bash 2022 go-home show was average at best overall & dull at times.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (July 1)
* Good Old Fashion Battle Royal match – 3.0
* New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) – N/A
* 6-Women Tag Team match – Asuka, Liv Morgan, & Alexa Bliss vs. Raquel Rodriguez, Lacey Evans, & Shotzi – 2.5
* Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Qualifier Fatal Four-way match – The Miz vs. Madcap Moss vs. Ezekiel vs. Happy Corbin – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Good Old Fashion Battle Royal match.
Worst – WWE’s baffling booking of a lengthy battle royal match with no MitB stakes attached that was made redundant over the booking leading to the main event match with most of the same people involved & MitB stakes.
Show Notes – Opening McIntyre, Riddle, Zayn, Sheamus, Rollins on top of ladders with Omos & MVP chilling on the side promo segment about them bickering over who will win the Men’s MitB ladder match, interruptions by Miz, Ezekiel, Corbin, Moss demanding the final spot in the match, & Battle Royal setup was decent & a bit goofy. Battle Royal moments: Rollins eliminating himself to avoid getting beaten up by Omos was a bit funny. Riddle’s RKO outta nowhere to Rollins on the outside. Omos’ head grab of Riddle into Riddle’s headscissors and Sheamus & McIntyre’s toss elimination of Omos. Corbin’s chokebreaker to Riddle. Match itself was entertaining despite the anti-climatic ending. WWE doing a battle royal with no stakes involved after the opening segment teasing a final open spot was weird though. Natalya vs. Rousey match hype video was decent. Natalya’s backstage interview mocking Rousey’s failed acting career & boasting about beating Rousey at MitB was all right. New Day’s pre-match promo about dancing Shanky, their issues with Viking Raiders’ attack last week, & mocking the new “vicious” Raiders was goofy but the brawl with the Raiders & their shields was all right. Pearce, Corbin, Moss, Miz, & Zeke yelling backstage segment about them bickering over who replaced Kevin Owens’ MitB spot & match setup was decent at best. 6-Women Tag match moments: Bliss face planting onto the floor from her botched suicide dive to Shotzi & Evans. Match itself was a solid back-and-forth bout despite dragging a bit long. Post-match ambush attack by Lynch to Asuka was all right. Pearce & Sonya Deville’s backstage office segment about Deville’s grievances, formal complaint filed, & slap over Pearce’s actions last week was decent. Usos & Street Profits “Ask Them Anything” segment about their upcoming tag titles match & insults banter was all right. Max Dupri’s Maximum Male Models debut segment with Ma.cé & Man.soor was goofy as hell but also ironically good at the same time. Rousey’s backstage interview bashing Natalya’s comments earlier was somewhat dull. Fatal Four-way match moments: Corbin’s back drop to Miz onto the apron & chokeslam to Zeke onto the announcer’s table. Moss & Zeke’s superplex setup to Miz into Corbin’s Tower of Doom. Moss’ slingshot to Miz into Corbin’s yam bag. Match itself was solid. This week’s Money in the Bank 2022 go-home show was average overall.

WWE Money in the Bank 2022 (July 2)
* Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match – Becky Lynch vs. Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Lacey Evans vs. Shotzi vs. Alexa Bliss – 2.5
* United States Championship – Bobby Lashley vs. Theory (c) – 3.0
* RAW Women’s Championship – Carmella vs. Bianca Belair (c) – 2.0
* Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship – Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) (c) – 3.5
* SmackDown Women’s Championship match – Natayla vs. Ronda Rousey (c) – 2.5
* Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match – Riddle vs. Seth Rollins vs. Omos vs. Madcap Moss vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Theory – 4.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Liv Morgan’s cash-in moment & SD Women’s title win and the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match.
Worst – The RAW Women’s Championship match and the lame booking decision ending to Men’s Money in the Bank match.
Show Notes – Women’s MitB Ladder match opener moments: Asuka’s bulldog to Lynch onto the ladder. Rodriquez’s double suplex onto a ladder counter of Morgan & Lynch’s double team suplex. Shotzi, Evans, & Asuka’s ladder shove to Rodriguez in the corner into Shotzi’s botched step up DDT to Rodriguez on the ladder. Asuka & Shotzi’s suplex attempt & counters into Asuka’s hip toss to Shotzi onto a ladder. Evans, Rodriguez, & Morgan’s brawl on the ladder into Rodriguez’s back drop to Morgan into Morgan’s sunset bomb to Evans off the ladder. Yikes at Bliss’ head after Shotzi’s botched move on the ladder that crumpled. Ouch at Shozti’s back after her rough landing onto a prone ladder from her missed senton to Lynch. Ouch at Lynch after her leg drop off one ladder bouncing off Asuka on another ladder that didn’t break. Lynch’s shove kick to Morgan’s ladder onto the ropes into Morgan’s rebound kick off the ropes sending her ladder back upright into Morgan’s kick to Lynch off her ladder. Match itself was a botch fest train wreck but Morgan winning the MitB case was cool though. US title match moments: Lashley managed to get some nice height with his chokeslam to Theory. Lashley’s catch & press slam counter of Theory’s rolling attack. Theory’s escape & spear counter of Lashley’s overhead slam attempt. Lashley’s Hurt Lock finisher counter of Theory’s A-Town Dowb. Match itself was a pretty good back-and-forth bout. RAW Women’s title match was somewhat solid at best despite the flat ending and being dull at times. Post-match ambush attack by Carmella was decent. Undisputed Tag titles match moments: Usos’ double team suplex to Dawkins onto the post on the outside. Jey’s superkick counter of Ford’s Flying Nothing. Jimmy’s uppercut counter of Ford’s springboard attack. Ford’s suplex to Jimmy on the apron. Dawkins’ shoulder tackle toss & Ford’s catch and German suplex to Jimmy. Street Profits Doomsday Device Blockbuster to Jimmy. Jey’s grab counter of Street Profits Blockbuster into Jey’s shove to Dawkins into the post & Usos’ superkick flooring Ford. Ford’s swanton dive over the post onto the Usos on the outside. Match itself was a mostly very good hard fought action filled bout, especially the latter half, despite the very sluggish first half & anti-climatic ending. The spooky cryptic vignette teasing Bray Wyatt’s potential return was interesting. SD Women’s title match moments: Natalya’s Sharpshooter to Rousey on the apron into Rousey’s roll toss counter into the post. Natalya’s escape & Sharpshooter counter of Rousey’s armbar into Rousey’s roll over ankle lock counter into Natalya’s escape & Sharpshooter attempt into Rousey’s armbar finisher. Match itself was solid despite dragging at times. Morgan’s cash-in & title win moment was amazing. Men’s MitB Ladder match moments: Pearce’s pre-match promo announcing Theory as the special 8th competitor in the match was lame. Rollins’ ladder toss to Sheamus & McIntyre on the outside. Riddle’s back drop onto a ladder counter of Rollins’ Pedigree. Moss’ whip to Zayn onto a ladder in the corner. Sheamus chucking a ladder to Omos on the outside. Moss, Riddle, Sheamus, & McIntyre burring Omos with ladders. Ouch at Zayn’s head after Moss’ powerbomb onto a ladder in the corner that didn’t break. Riddle’s draping DDT to Sheamus via ladder assist. Riddle’s Floating Bro off the top of the ladder to McIntyre, Moss, & Sheamus was cool. The 6-man powerbomb to Omos through the announcer’s table was cool. Butch’s run-in sleeper attack to McIntyre pulling him off the ladder into Sheamus’ Brogue Kick to McIntyre. Sheamus sticking the ladder onto McIntyre into McIntyre’s bench press ladder shove tossing Sheamus off the ladder & Claymore Kick to Butch. Yikes at Moss after his rough landing from Rollins’ ladder shove. Riddle’s RKO to Rollins off the ladder. Match itself was great despite the lame buzzkill ending with Theory winning. Money in the Bank 2022 was an enjoyable show overall despite dragging a lot at times.

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AEW

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door (June 26)
* Pre-show: The Factory (QT Marshall & Aaron Solo) vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto – 3.0
* Pre-show: Nick Comoroto vs. Lance Archer – 3.0
* Pre-show: Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) vs. Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee – 3.5
* Pre-show: L.A. Dojo (The DKC, Kevin Knight, Alex Coughlin, & Yuya Uemura) vs. Gunn Club (Austin, Colten, & Billy Gunn) & Max Caster – 3.0
* Trios match – Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, & Minoru Suzuki vs. Shota Umino, Wheeler Yuta, & Eddie Kingston – 4.0
* ROH World Tag Team & IWGP Tag Team Championships Winner Takes All Three-way match – Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero) vs. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb (IWGP) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (ROH) – 4.0
* AEW All-Atlantic Championship Four-way match – Clark Connors vs. PAC vs. Malakai Black vs. Miro – 3.5
* Dudes With Attitudes (Shingo Takagi, Darby Allin, & Sting) vs. Bullet Club (Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & El Phantasmo) – 3.5
* AEW Women’s World Championship – Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa (c) – 3.5
* IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship – Orange Cassidy vs. Will Ospreay – 4.5
* Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Claudio Castagnoli – 4.5
* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Four-way match – Adam Cole vs. Hangman Adam Page vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White (c) – 4.5
* AEW Interim World Championship – Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – 4.0
Overall – 4.5
Best – IWGP United States Heavyweight title match, Claudio Casragnoli’s surprise AEW debut, and the Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Claudio Castagnoli match.
Worst – The flat anti-climatic ending to the IWGP World title Four-way match.
Show Notes – The pre-show matches were entertaining overall. Trios Tag opener moments: Suzuki & Kingston’s stiff chops exchange into Kingston’s machine gun chops in the corner into Suzuki’s stiff chop flooring Kingston. Umino’s apron cannonball to Jericho on the outside into Guevara’s Shooting Star Press to Umino into Yuta’s cannonball dive & Kingston’s suicide dive to Guevara. Guevara’s standing Spanish Fly to Yuta into Kingston’s brutal looking back drop driver. Umino’s Avalanche Powerslam to Jericho. Suzuki’s spiked Gotch Style Piledriver to Kingston. Match itself was an awesome hard fought action packed bout. ROH & IWGP Tag titles match moments: Khan’s Iron Claw slam to Romero onto the apron. Harwood’s slugfest to Khan & Cobb, stiff lariat to Khan, & German suplex to Cobb. Harwood & Trent’s superplex & Wheeler’s top rope splash combo to Cobb. Wheeler & Romero’s double team spiked piledriver to Khan. Khan’s leg yank to Romero counter of RV’s Strong Zero to Cobb into Cobb’s stiff powerbomb to Trent. Romero’s rebound kick to Harwood into FTR’s Big Rig finisher counter of Romero’s running attack. Match itself was a great action filled bout. AEW All-Atlantic title match moments: PAC’s swift superkick to Miro, back drop over the ropes to Connors, & somersault dive to Black. PAC’s spiked rolling German suplex to Black into Black’s high knee counter of PAC’s running attack. Connors’ spear to Miro through a table on the outside. Connors & Black’s superplex setup to PAC into Miro’s Tower of Doom. Black’s Black Mist spray counter of Miro’s Game Over to PAC. Black’s arm bar to Connors into PAC’s 450 Splash onto Black & Brutalizer finisher to Connors. Match itself was a very good hard hitting bout. DWA vs. BC Trios moments: Sting’s dive off the entrance tunnel onto BC was cool. BC’s triple dropkick & ELP’s Tree of Woe nut stomp to Allin into Allin’s Spider German to ELP. Nick’s corkscrew kick to Tagaki into Tagaki’s pop-up DVD counter of Nick’s running attack. Matt’s knees counter of Allin’s Coffin Drop into BC’s top rope dives onto Allin. Sting’s dodge & double Scorpion Death Drop counter of Bucks BTE Trigger. Sting’s purple nurpple & ref distracted nut kick to ELP. Takagki’s stiff Pumping Bomber spinning ELP onto the mat into Takagki’s Last of the Dragon finisher. Match itself was a very good back-and-forth fast paced bout. AEW Women’s title match moments: Rosa’s catch & Northern Lights suplex counter of Storm’s Tornado DDT on the outside. Storm’s German suplex counter of Rosa’s DVD onto the apron. Rosa’s flying armbar, running knee strike, & spiked DVD counter of Storm’s Storm Zero into Rosa’s spiked Fire Thunder Driver. Match itself was a very good hard hitting action bout. IWGP US title match moments: Osrpeay’s running double foot dropkick to Orange on the outside into the guard rail via Aussie Open launch assist. Orange’s kick counter of Ospreay’s Cheeky Nandos into Orange’s spiked Tornado DDT. Orange’s head smash to Ospreay onto the post’s camera into Ospreay’s moonsaults & Shooting Star Press to Orange into Orange’s knees counter of Ospreay’s corkscrew splash. Orange’s Beach Break counter of Ospreay’s float over powerbomb attempt. Ospreay’s cutter counter of Orange’s Orange Punch into Ospreay’s Oscutter. Orange’s rana counter of Ospreay’s Stormbreaker. Ospreay’s lariat & Hidden Blade combo to Orange into Ospreay’s Stormbreaker finisher. Match itself was a terrific hard fought action packed bout & MotY worthy contender. Post-match brawl with Aussie Open, Roppongi Vice, & Shibata was sweet. Sabre Jr. vs. Castagnoli moments: Claudio being the surprise mystery opponent was awesome. Claudio’s running uppercut & Neutralizer to Sabre Jr to start off their match. Sabre Jr’s La Mistica, foot stomps, & neck twist combo to Claudio. Claudio’s Uranage style backbreakers & running uppercut in the corner combo to Sabre Jr. Claudio’s one arm lift counter of Sabre Jr’s arm bar into Sabre Jr’s toss over the ropes & arm bar into Claudio’s one arm lift & powerbomb into the ring counter. Claudio’s uppercut & top rope Gutwrench suplex to Sabre Jr. Sabre Jr’s PKs fest to Claudio into Claudio’s block, uppercut, & lariat counter. Claudio’s pop-up uppercut counter of Sabre Jr’s running attack into Claudio’s discus lariat & Ricola Bomb finisher. Match itself was a terrific hard hitting grapple-heavy bout. IWGP World title match moments: White & Cole’s delayed suplex to Page onto the ramp. Page’s springboard lariat to White on the apron, Fallaway slam to Cole, & slingshot splash to White on the outside. Cole’s swift superkick counter of Page’s moonsault. Okada’s big boot to White sending him over the guard rail into Okada’s running crossbody over the barricade onto Cole & White. Cole’s backstabber & Ushigoroshi to White. White’s dodge & Uranage counter of Cole’s Boom. Page’s stiff big boot to Okada, forearm strike to Cole, & pop-up Liger Bomb to White. Okada’s Air Raid Crash counter of Cole’s Panama Sunrise. Cole’s dodge counter of Okada’s Rainmaker into White’s Rainmaker to Okada. Match itself was an amazing hard fought action packed bout despite the awkward & anti-climatic ending. AEW Interim World title match moments: Moxley’s top rope underhook suplex & piledriver combo to Tanahashi. Moxley’s lariat to Tanahashi over the ropes into Tanahashi’s “skinning the cat” save into Moxley’s lariat to Tanahashi over the ropes. Moxley’s Uranage to Tanahashi through a table on the outside. Tanahashi’s Twist & Shouts counter of Moxley’s Paradigm Shift. Tanahashi’s headbutt & Kamaigoye counter of Moxley’s Paradigm Shift. Tanahashi’s High Fly Flow to Moxley into Moxley’s roll over & Bulldog Choke. Moxley’s lariat to Tanahashi into Tanahashi’s slaps into Moxley’s swift lariat counter of Tanahashi’s running attack. Moxley’s overhead elbow strikes, sleeper, & Death Rider finisher to Tanahashi. Match itself was a great hard fought action filled bout. Post-match mass brawl with JAS, Yuta, Kingston & Pals, & Claudio was splendid. Forbidden Door was a magnificent show overall.

AEW Dark Elevation (June 27)
* Anna Jay vs. Heather Reckless – 2.0 (Squash)
* Team Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks) vs. Jordan Kross and Joey Jett – 2.5 (Squash)
* Ruby Soho vs. Missa Kate – 2.5
* Swerve in our Glory (Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee) vs. Vic Capri & GPA – 2.0 (Squash)
* Serpentico vs. Ethan Page – 2.0 (Squash)
* John Silver vs. KM – 2.5
* House of Black (Brody King & Buddy Matthews) vs. CJ Esparza & Brubaker – 3.0 (Squash)
* Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, & 10) vs. Max Caster & Gunn Club (Austin & Colten Gunn) – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – House of Black vs. CJ Esparza & Brubaker match.
Worst – The heavy amount of squash and near squash matches on the show & the flat shenanigans ending to the Dark Order vs. Max Caster & Gunn Club match.
Show Notes – Jay vs. Reckless opener was a decent mostly squash brief match. Team Taz vs. Kross & Jett moments: Hobbs’ running smash into the corner & stiff clubbing shots to Kross on the top turnbuckle. Match itself was a fine jobber destruction bout. Soho vs. Kate moments: Kate’s dodge & pump kick counter of Soho’s top rope double foot stomp. Match itself was a solid back-and-forth bout. Swerve in our Glory vs. Capri & GPA moments: GPA’s triple jawbreakers to Lee into Lee’s powerslam counter of GPA’s running attack. Lee managed to get some sweet air with his first toss to Capri across the ring. Lee’s catch & Spirit Bomb counter of GPA’s running attack bouncing him on the mat. Match itself was a decent mostly squash style bout but the continued tension between Lee & Swerve is interesting. Post-match Lee & Swerve and Butcher & Blade staredown was all right. Serpentico vs. Page was a somewhat decent brief squash style bout. Silver vs. KM moments: KM’s bodyslam & slingshot splash to Silver. Silve’s running boot to the back of the head & deadlift German suplex to KM into Silver’s Spin Doctor finisher. Match itself was a solid back-and-forth brief bout. House of Black vs. Esparza & Brubaker moments: HoB’s shadowy lights stage entrance with evil Julia Hart was pretty cool. Matthews’ big boot to Esparaza in the corner into Matthews’ spin kick & suplex to Brubaker onto Esparaza in the corner. King’s brutal looking cannonball splatting Esparza in the corner. King’s loud stiff chop flooring Esparaza into King’s yank lift & Matthews’ backbreaker. Matthews’ grab & law dart to Brubaker onto Esparaza in the corner. Matthews’ knee strike and lift toss & King’s spiked Fire Thunder Driver finisher to Brubaker. Match itself was a cool brutal jobber destruction bout. Caster’s pre-match rap diss mocking Republican voter fraud claims, Joe Biden bike fall, & Drake’s music album was not one of his stronger efforts. Dark Order vs. Caster & Gunn Club moments: Reynolds’ somersault dive to Gunn Club on the outside via 10’s lift assist. Match itself was a solid back-and-forth bout despite the flat ending & ending shenanigans by Billy Gunn. This week’s show was average at best overall.

AEW Dark (June 28)
* Willow Nightingale vs. Ashley D’Amboise – 2.5 (Squash)
* The Factory (Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto) vs. Matt Vandagriff & Knull – 2.0 (Squash)
* Matt Sydal vs. Jake Something – 3.0
* Athena vs. Amber Nova – 2.0 (Squash)
* Dante Martin vs. Lucky Ali – 3.0
* Julia Hart vs. Valentina Rossi – 2.0 (Squash)
* Fuego Del Sol vs. Marcus Kross – 2.0
* The Wingmen (JD Drake & Ryan Nemeth) vs. Dark Order (Evil Uno & 10) – 3.0
* Ariya Daivari vs. Caleb Konley – 3.0
* ROH Pure Championship – Tony Nese vs. Yuta Wheeler (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Dante Martin vs. Lucky Ali match and the ROH Pure Rules title match.
Worst – Fuego Del Sol vs. Marcus Kross match.
Show Notes – Nightingale vs. D’Amboise opener was a fine mostly squash style bout. The Factory vs. Vandagriff & Knull was a decent squash match. Sydal vs. Something moments: Sydal’s Meteora & Shooting Star Ores finisher combo to Something. Match itself was a pretty good back-and-forth action bout. Yuta’s backstage interview about his upcoming ROH Pure title match & JAS was all right. Athena vs. Nova was a decent mostly squash style match. Nyla Rose’s Pride Month video package was splendid. Martin vs. Ali moments: Ali’s flip toss onto the ropes counter of Martin’s backslide. Ali’s back suplex lift from the apron to inside the ring into an atomic drop & neckbreaker combo to Martin. Martin’s vault over the ropes & side kick counter of Ali’s strike attempt into Martin’s top rope crossbody. Martin’s splash splatting Ali on the outside into Martin’s Nose Dive finisher. Match itself was a pretty good back-and-forth action bout. Hart vs. Rossi was a decent mostly squash brief bout. Del Sol vs. Kross was a decent at best match despite dragging a bit. Post-match QT Marshall offering a spot in the Factory to Del Sol, Del Sol rejecting the offer, & Marshall stopping the Factory from beating up Del Sol afterwards was decent. The Wingmen vs. Dark Order tag was a pretty good back-and-forth bout. Caleb without a K’s AEW debut was pretty cool. Daivari vs. Konley was a good back-and-forth action bout & Daivari getting his first ever AEW win is interesting. ROH Pure title match moments: Yuta’s escape counter of Nese’s superplex into Nese’ uppercut. Yuta’s leaping lariat to Nese sending him out of the ring into Yuta’s suicide dive. Nese’s pump handle sitout piledriver to Yuta. Nese’s swift spin kick to Yuta into Yuta’s dodge, overhead elbow strikes, & STF finisher counter of Nese’ 450 Splash. Match itself was a good back-and-forth grapple heavy bout. Post-match Nese & Yuta handshake moment & ambush attack by Daniel Garcia & 2point0 was all right. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite Blood & Guts 2022 (June 29)
* Orange Cassidy vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page – 3.0
* Luchasaurus vs. Serpentico – 2.5 (Squash)
* Max Caster & Gunn Club (Austin & Colten Gunn) vs. Danhausen & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) – 2.5
* TBS Championship – Leila Grey vs. Jade Cargill (c) – 2.0 (Squash)
* Blood & Guts match – Jericho Appreciation Society (Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, & Chris Jericho) vs. Santana, Ortiz, Eddie Kingston, & Blackpool Combat Club (Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, & Jon Moxley) – 4.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Blood & Guts match.
Worst – Santana suffering a potential serious injury during the Blood & Guts match.
Show Notes – Pre-match promo by Lambert bashing Cassidy’s looks, Jan. 6 insurrection dig, & demanding Best Friends be kicked out was decent. Cassidy vs. Page opener moments: Page’s roundhouse kick & brainbuster to Orange. Orange’s Orange Punch to Page, orange juice mist to Lambert, Orange Punch & body slam finisher combo to Page. Match itself was pretty good. Christian Cage’s interview about him not being sorry over his dig at Jungle Boy’s dead dad, wished all of Jungle’s family except his mom was dead instead, trashing Detroit folk, & debuting Evil Luchasaurus was sweet. Luchasaurus vs. Serpentico was a fine jobber destruction bout. Caster’s pre-match rap mocking Danhausen looking like a Juggalo, & dig Flint’s dirty water was a bit funny. Caster & Gunn Club vs. Danhausen & FTR was a mostly solid bout despite being sloppy at times. Bowens revealing his leg has healed & Billy Gunn siding with Acclaimed over his sons during the post-match scuffle was interesting. TBS title was a decent mostly squash bout. Post-match promo about Cargill demanding real competition, Hathaway mocking Statlander and Athena, brawl by Statlander & Athena, Grey’s attack helping Cargill, & Cargill denying Grey Baddies membership was all right. Blood & Guts match moments: Guevara’s cutter counter of Claudio’s pop-up uppercut. Yuta’s German suplexes fest to Garcia & Guevara into Yuta’s German & Claudio’s uppercut combo to Guevara. Moxley’s face rake onto the cage & fork jabs to Garcia. Claudio & Moxley’s press slam cutter to Guevara. Ortiz’s lariats flooring Garcia & Guevara. Moxley’s piledriver to Parker onto glass shards. Guevara’s suplex to Moxley onto a chair. Santana’s Saito suplex bending Menard in half. Moxley’s skewers jabs to Menard’s head. Kingston’s kendo strikes fest to JAS. Kingston & Ortiz’s powerbomb to Hager through a table. Moxley’s suplex toss to Menard onto tacks. Jericho’s nut shot & DDT onto tacks counter of Moxley’s Paradigm Shift into Jericho dragging Moxley onto tacks & Walls of Jericho into Kingston’s tacks throw to Jericho’s face. Tay Conti & Ruby Soho’s brawl at ringside. Kingston’s toss to Guevara off the cage onto the timekeeper’s table was crazy. Claudio’s giant swings to Jericho on top of the cage. Kingston’s Stretch Plum to Jericho & Claudio’s Sharpshooter to Menard finisher. Match itself was an amazing & crazy bloody battle despite being botch laden. This week’s Blood & Guts 2022 show was mostly great overall.

AEW Rampage (July 1)
* #1 Contender for AEW Interim World Championship 20-Man Royal Rampage match – 3.0
* Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) – 3.5
* Nyla Rose vs. Toni Storm – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Brody King’s hanging chokeout sleeper to Darby Allin finish to the Royal Rampage match.
Worst – Max Caster’s weak mid-match rap diss effort during the Royal Rampage bout.
Show Notes – Royal Rampage opener moments: Darby Allin’s back drop to Nese onto Mark Sterling on the outside into Allin’s suicide dive to Nese through the ropes. Butcher’s swings of Allin onto the guard rail. John Silver & Hangman Page’s double team back drop to Hobbs into Silver & Page’s hug moment. Penta & Rush’s chops exchange on the apron into Rush’s low blow elimination counter of Penta’s suplex attempt into Penta’s elimination grab of RUSH. Takeshita’s Blue Thunder Bomb to Allin into Takeshita’s German suplex to Allin & Swerve at the same time. Orange’s lazy chop to Takeshita into Takeshita swift chop flooring Orange into Takeshita’s block & brainbuster counter of Orange’s Tornado DDT. Butcher & Blade double team powerbomb & elimination toss to Swerve. King’s swift lariat sending Page flying off the apron. King’s brutal powerbomb to Allin. King’s cannonball splatting Allin in the corner. King’s hanging sleeper finisher elmination to Allin was cool. Match itself was entertaining. Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Young Bucks moments: Matt’s Northern Lights suplexes to YOSHI into Matt’s Northern Lights suplex to Goto & YOSHI.Nick’s running knee strike & Matt’s standing Slice Bread combo to Goto. YOSHI’s lariat to Nick into Goto & YOSHI’s Russian Leg Sweep neckbreaker combo. Goto’s Ushigorishi counter of Nick’s running attack. YOSHI’s superkicks to Nick into YOSHI’s superkick & Goto’s GTR to Nick. Bucks’ BTE Trigger to YOSHI. Nick’s springboard crossbody to Goto in one ring into Nick’s bouncing leaps into the other ring & Bucks’ Meltzer Driver finisher to YOSHI. Match itself was a very good back-and-forth action filled bout. Gresham’s promo video about being the best tech. wrestler in the world & upcoming match against Tully’s guys was splendid. Rose & Storm’s pre-match split-screen backstage interview was all right. Rose vs. Storm moments: Rose’s toss into the steps & bodyslam on the floor to Storm. Storm’s dodge & hip attack counter of Rose’s cannonball in the corner. Storm’s dodge & guillotine stunner counter of Rose’s guillotine top rope leg drop. Storm’s Tornado DDT to Rose via Shafir assist into Storm’s spiked Pendulum DDT finisher to Rose. Match itself was pretty good. Post-match brawl with Thunder Rosa was all right. This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (June 30)
* #1 Contender for X Division Championship Fatal Four-way match – Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel vs. Steve Maclin vs. Laredo Kid – 3.5
* Gisele Shaw vs. Rosemary – 2.5
* Savannah Evans vs. Jordynne Grace – 2.0 (Squash)
* Impact World Tag Team Championship – Honor No More (PCO & Vincent) vs. Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (c) – 2.5
* Ace Austin vs. Alex Zayne – 3.0
* Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin match.
Worst – Gisele Shaw vs. Rosemary match dragging a bit long & ending shenanigans by the Influence & Taya Valkyrie.
Show Notes – Opening America Most Wanted & Good Bros backstage segment trying to persuade PCO to join them & interruption by Vincent saying PCO stays in HNM was interesting. Four-way match moments: Maclin’s Uranage to Kid. Miguel’s top rope shotgun dropkick to Maclin into Maclin’s dodge & Tree of Woe spear counter of Miguel’s running attack in the corner. Bey’s Aasi moonsault to Maclin, Kid, & Miguel. Bey’s dodge of Miguel’s top rope Meteora into Miguel’s Meteora finisher counter of Bey’s pop up attack. Match itself was a very good action filled bout. Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun match hype video package was splendid. Shaw vs. Rosemary was a solid match despite the ringside shenanigans by Influence & Valkyrie and dragging at times. Rosemary & Valkyrie’s backstage segment about Rosemary summoning Father Mitchell wanting Havok back to deal with the Influence was okay. Evans vs. Grace was a decent mostly squash bout. Joe Doering hype vignette about Doering’s career in Japan & VBD was decent. Josh Alexander’s backstage interview about his win over Young & upcoming match against Doering was all right. Impact Tag title was a solid back-and-forth bout. Post-match brawl with HNM, AMW, & Heath was all right. Chris Harris’ passionate speech about wanting to join Storm’s team & Storm accepting Harris & Heath into his team against HNM was splendid. Austin vs. Zayne moments: Zayne’s leap up top rope rana to Austin. Austin’s back elbow strikes counter of Zayne’s Taco Driver into Austin’s running lariat & lariats to Zayne in the corner. Austin’s superkick counter of Zayne’s springboard moonsault. Zayn’s springboard moonsault to Bey & Austin on the outside. Austin’s The Fold finisher to Zayne via Bey distraction assist. Match itself was a really good back-and-forth action bout despite the ending shenanigans by Bey. Kazarian vs. Sabin moments: Kazarian’s escapes counter of Sabin’s Cradle Shocks into Kazarian’s body slam & springboard leg drop. Kazarian’s Northern Lights suplex counter of Sabin’s Tornado DDT. Sabin’s superkick counter of Kazarian’s slingshot Flying Nothing. Kazarian’s slingshot cutter counter of Sabin’s slingshot attack. Sabin’s Cradle Shock outta nowhere to Kazarian. Kazarian’s superplex to Sabin into Sabin’s flash roll-up attempt. Kazarian & Sabin’s slugfest & kicks exchange into Kazarian’s German suplex into Sabin’s lariat & Cradle Shock finisher. Match itself was a great hard fought action filled bout. This week’s Against All Odds 2022 go-home show was very enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong United Empire Rising (July 2)
* United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Aaron Henare, Kyle Fletcher, & Mark Davis) vs. TMDK (JONAH, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, & Bad Dude Tito) – 3.5
* Willie Mack vs. Jeff Cobb – 3.0
* Homicide vs. Will Ospreay – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Homicide vs. Will Ospreay match.
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – United Empire vs. TMDK 8-Man Tag opener moments: JONAH’s sitdown drop counter of Fletcher’s sunset roll. Tito’s sunset splash & Tree of Woe nut stomp combo to Fletcher. Nicholls & Fletcher’s stiff chops exchange. Davis’ cartwheel escape of Nicholls & Haste’s whip into Davis’ lariats to Nicholls, Haste, & Tito. Khan & Aussie Open’s strikes to Tito in the corner into A.O. & Khan’s whip & Henare’s sitout powerbomb combo to Tito. AO’s suicide dives to JONAH, Haste, & Nicholls on the outside. Henare & Tito’s forearms exchange into Henare’s strikes, headbutt, & Rampage Tackle finisher. Match itself was a very good hard hitting action bout. Haste & Nicholls’ backstage promo about their bad blood with Aussie Open was all right. Mack vs. Cobb moments: Mack’s arm drag & running rana combo to Cobb into Mack’s loud stiff chop & purple nurple. Mack’s dive to Cobb on the outside was cool. Cobb’s lariat to Mack into Mack’s dodge counter of Cobb’s standing moonsault. Mack’s Samoan Drop & standing moonsault combo to Cobb. Mack’s spiked snap German suplex & T-Bone suplex combo to Cobb. Cobb’s block, headbutt, & superplex combo counter of Mack’s top rope attack. Mack’s dodge & Sky High counter of Cobb’s ripcord lariat. Mack’s spin kick to Cobb into Cobb’s roll-up finisher counter of Mack’s slam attempt. Match itself was a good back-and-forth hoss style battle despite the abrupt ending. Homicide vs. Ospreay moments: Homicide’s chair toss slide tripping up Ospreay on the outside into Homicide’s suplex onto the ramp. Homicide’s swinging neckbreaker to Ospreay on the stage. Homicide cannonball dive through the ropes to Ospreay. Ospreay’s rana counter of Homicide’s Tiger Driver. Homicide’s block & Tornado DDT counter of Ospreay’s Frankensteiner. Homicide’s escape & uppercut counter of Ospreay’s Stormbreaker into Ospreay’s step-up enziguri counter of Homicide’s running attack. Homicide’s overhead suplex counter of Ospreay’s running attack in the corner. Homicide’s cutter counter of Ospreay’s Hidden Blade attempt. Ospreay’s escape & Stormbreaker setup counter of Homicide’s Cop Killer into Homicide’s escape & Cop Killer counter. Homicide’s fork attack attempt into Ospreay’s ref distracted swift kick, Hidden Blade, & Stormbreaker finisher combo to Homicide. Post-match heated confrontation with Aussie Open & Eddie Kingston was splendid. Match itself was a great hard fought action bout. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship – Orange Cassidy vs. Will Ospreay (AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door)
• Best match of the week runner-up – Blood & Guts match – Jericho Appreciation Society (Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, & Chris Jericho) vs. Santana, Ortiz, Eddie Kingston, & Blackpool Combat Club (Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, & Jon Moxley) (AEW Dynamite Blood & Guts 2022)
• Worst match of the week – Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss (WWE RAW)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – RAW Women’s Championship – Carmella vs. Bianca Belair (c) (WWE Money in the Bank 2022)
• Best show of the week – AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
• Worst show of the week – WWE NXT