Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for August 14 to August 20, 2022

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of August 14th to August 20th, 2022.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (Aug. 15)
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament First Round match – Asuka & Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki A.S.H. & Doudrop – 2.5
* Ciampa & The Miz vs. Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali – 3.0
* Drew McIntyre vs. Kevin Owens – 4.0
* Veer Mahan vs. Beaux Keller – 2.0 (Squash)
* United States Championship – AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley (c) – 3.0
* Dana Brooke vs. Dakota Kai – 2.0
* Theory vs. Dolph Ziggler – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Kevin Owens & Drew McIntyre pre-match promo segment and the Owens vs. McIntyre match minus the ending.
Worst – The buzzkill DQ ending to the Kevin Owens vs. Drew McIntyre match.
Show Notes – Opening Judgement Day promo mocking the Mysterios and Edge, Rey Mysterio’s sneak attack, & brawl was mostly decent. Asuka & Bliss vs. Nikki A.S.H. & Doudrop was a solid back-and-forth bout. Theory’s backstage interview boasting about his accolades and his failed MitB cash-in attempt lessons, Ziggler’s interruption, heated banter, & brawl was all right. Ciampa & Miz vs. Alexander & Ali moments: Ciampa’s dropkick counter of Alexander’s handspring attack. Alexander’s escape & slam counter of Miz’s Skull Crushing Finale. Ali’s suicide dive to Ciampa over the announcer’s table. Ciampa’s knee strike counter of Ali’s 450 Splash into Ciampa’s Fairy Tale Ending finisher. Match itself was a quite good back-and-forth action bout. Ezekiel’s “dad” video promo about Owens injuring his “son” last week was a bit funny. McIntyre’s promo bashing Reigns for rarely being around as champ and claiming he won’t be an absent champ when he beats Reigns, Owens’ fiery interruption bashing McIntyre for claiming he carries WWE and missing his old “Prize Fighter” side, & McIntyre’s fiery retort was awesome. McIntyre vs. Owens moments: Owens’ cannonball in the corner, standing senton, & moonsault combo to McIntyre. Owens’ apron Frog Splash to McIntyre on the outside. McIntyre’s rebound lariat, & overhead suplexes combo counter of Owens’ whip to the corner. McIntyre’s knees counter of Owens’s Swanton into McIntyre’s Michinoku Driver. Owens’ strike counter of McIntyre’s superplex crouching him on the top rope into Owens’ Tree of Woe cannonball into Owens’ Frog Splash & Swanton combo. McIntyre’s Avalanche White Noise to Owens. Owens & McIntyre’s slugfest into McIntyre’s Future Shock. Match itself was going on greatly until the lame buzzkill DQ ending by the Usos. Post-match brawl with the Usos was splendid though. Rollins’ promo mocking Riddle, interruption by Riddle saying he’s medically cleared and angry threat, insults banter, & brawl was all right. Styles vs. Lashley US title match hype video was splendid. Bayley & Pals backstage promo boasting about themselves & confrontation with Brooke was decent at best. US title match moments: Dexter Lumis random appearance & haul away by security was a bit funny. Styles’ escape & ugly looking Rack Bomb counter of Lashley’s top rope attack. Lashley’s backdrop counter of Styles’ Styles Clash. Lashley’s roll-over & seated Hurt Lock counter of Styles’ Cattle Mutilation. Lashley’s dodge & spear finisher counter of Styles’ Phenomenal Forearm. Match itself was a good hard fought bout despite dragging a bit long. Brooke vs. Kai was a somewhat solid at best bout. Theory vs. Ziggler was mostly good despite the flat ending & dragging long.
Final Thoughts – This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall despite the third hour dragging.

NXT Heatwave (Aug. 16)
* NXT North American Championship – Giovanni Vinci vs. Carmelo Hayes (c) – 3.5
* Cora Jade vs. Roxanne Perez – 2.5
* All or Nothing Street Fight – Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo – 3.5
* NXT Women’s Championship – Zoey Stark vs. Mandy Rose (c) – 2.5
* NXT Championship – JD McDonagh vs. Bron Breakker (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo match and Tyler Bate’s surprise appearance.
Worst – Diamond Mine promo & Gallus ambush segment and the questionable booking decisions throughout the show.
Show Notes – N.A. title match opener moments: Vinci & Hayes’ brutal looking running clotheslines flooring each other. Vinci’s sloppy catch & brainbuster counter of Hayes’ top rope attack. Hayes’ block & twisting suplex counter of Vinci’s powerbomb. Vinci’s top rope splash splatting Hayes & Williams on the outside. Vinci’s dodge counter of Hayes’ Flying Nothing into Vinci’s catch & stiff lariat counter of Hayes’ kick. Hayes’ spiked rana pin counter of Vinci’s powerbomb. Match itself was a very good back-and-forth action bout despite the ending shenanigans by Williams. Diamond Mine’s promo about Julius Creed’s accusations of Strong holding back the group & being payed off by D’Angelo to throw their match, Strong’s retort, banter, & ambush attack by Galus was decent at best. Crews’ green vision moment last week being the debut of Gallus this week was interesting though. Jade vs. Perez was mostly solid despite being sloppy at times & kendo stick shenanigans ending. Briggs, Jensen, Henley & Gallus backstage segment about Gallus wanting a NXT UK Tag titles match & Briggs accepting was decent. Escobar vs. D’Angelo match hype video was splendid. Escobar vs. D’Angelo moments: Escobar’s rana to Tony onto an upright chair. Tony’s trash can whack counter of Escobar’s dive to the outside. Tony’s suplex to Escobar onto a pile of chairs on the floor. Tony’s trash can boink to Escoar’s head. Escobar completely overshooting his dive to Tony through the corner ropes was crazy. Tony’s crowbar whack finisher counter of Escobar’s brass knuckles attack. Match itself was a very entertaining hardcore style bout. Hartwell, Chance, & Carter backstage segment about Hartwell’s praise of Chance & Carter winning the NXT Women’s Tag titles, Hartwell getting a love letter from Lumis, & Davenport’s surprise appearance ripping up the letter was all right. Choo vs. Stratton Lights Out match hype video was okay. NXT Women’s title match was a solid bout despite the lame shenanigans ending. Not a fan at all of NXT’s booking decision to both have Rose retain and continue her mostly abysmal title reign. Quincy Elliot’s “super diva” promo video was decent. NXT title match moments: Breakker’s one armed lift slam, overhead suplex, & standing moonsault combo to JD. JD’s rope crocth counter of Breakker’s top rope attack into JD’s neckbreaker to Breakker via turnbuckle assist. JD’s top rope Spanish Fly & brainbuster combo to Breakker. Breakker’s dodge & spear counter of JD’s moonsault into Breakker’s spears & powerslam finisher. Match itself was pretty good. Tyler Bate’s surprise appearance & staredown with Breakker was cool but WWE spoiling Bate as NXT UK champ despite his title win not airing yet was funny.
Final Thoughts – This week’s show was enjoyable overall despite some questionable booking decisions.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (Aug. 19)
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament First Round match – Natalya & Sonya Deville vs. Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolin) – 2.5
* #1 Contender’s Fatal Five-Way match for Intercontinental Championship – Sheamus vs. Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin vs. Ricochet vs. Sami Zayn – 4.0
* Liv Morgan vs. Shotzi – 2.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – #1 Contender’s Fatal Five-Way match.
Worst – Maximum Male Models & Hit Row in-ring segment and Liv Morgan’s backstage interview segment.
Show Notes – Opening Ronda Rousey promo about paying her fine and demanding Pearce to lift her suspension, Pearce’s response about not being able to do so and asking her to leave, brawl with security, & Ronda arrest was decent despite Rousey botching some of her lines. Bayley & Pals sitting in the crowd with Bayley bugging Michael Cole in the background was a bit funny. Natalya & Deville vs. Toxic Attraction was a mostly solid back-and-forth bout. Reigns & Sami Zayn backstage office segment about Zayn’s issues with Jey Uso, Reigns’ agreeing with Zayn but saying he should have talked to Jimmy instead, Jey’s phone call about Usos’ border issues, & Reigns wanting Zayn to tell Owens he owes him nothing was quite good & a bit funny. Maximum Male Models promo about titillating the crowd’s juices, Hit Row’s interruption, Max Durpi bashing Hit Row, brawl, & Hit Row’s musical performance was decent at best but also a bit corny. Kross’ dark room promo about McIntyre being a failure as WWE’s “chosen one” was all right. Fatal 5-Way match moments: The crowd going wild for their hometown guy Zayn’s entrance was cool. Corbin’s punch counter of Zayn’s springboard attack & Cole’s random El Generico callback to Zayn afterwards was pretty cool. Sheamus’ Irish Curses to Moss & Zayn. Sheamus’ 10 Beats of the Ballard fest to Moss, Corbin, & Ricochet into Zayn’s guillotine counter of Sheamus’ 10 Beats into Zayn’s Swanton to Corbin & Sheamus on the outside. Moss’ catch & Fallaway slam counter of Zayn’s Helluva Kick to Ricochet into Zayn’s escape & Blue Thunder Bomb counter to Moss. Ricochet’s springboard elbow to Corbin into Corbin’s big boot flooring Ricochet. Ricochet’s Shooting Star Press to Sheamus into Ricochet’s rope pull counter of Corbin’s running attack sending him crashing to the outside. Zayn’s Exploder Suplex to Ricochet in the corner into Zayn’s Helluva Kick. Sheamus’ Brogue Kick finisher to Corbin. Match itself was a great action packed bout. McIntyre vs. Reigns WWE Universal title match hype video was all right. Viking Raiders’ Viking Funeral ceremony with mystery masked person about their next battle with New Day & burning New Day merch was all right. Morgan’s backstage interview about her SD Women’s title & all her challengers her was nothing special. Morgan vs. Shotzi was solid at best despite the abrupt ending. Post-match ambush attack by Baszler to Morgan was pretty good. Reigns & McIntyre’s face-to-face segment about Reigns’ boasting being the guy in WWE, McIntyre claiming Reigns doesn’t deserve to be champ, & brawl with Zayn was splendid.
Final Thoughts – This week’s show was mostly very enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (Aug. 15)
* Josh Woods & Tony Nese vs. Arik Cannon & Tristan Davis – 2.5
* Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, & 10) vs. TUG Cooper, Drew System, Rylie Jackson, & Adam Grace – 2.5 (Squash)
* Serena Deeb vs. Sierra – 2.0 (Squash)
* Ceazr Bononi vs. Konosuke Takeshita – 3.0
* Julia Hart vs. Free-Range Kara – 2.0 (Squash)
* Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) vs. Jah-C & JDX – 2.0 (Squash)
* Penelope Ford vs. Heather Reckless – 2.0 (Squash)
* The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) vs. Justin Fowler & JT Energy – 2.0 (Squash)
* Emi Sakura, Marina Shafir, & Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida & Thunderstorm (Thunder Rosa & Toni Storm) – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Ceazr Bononi vs. Konosuke Takeshita match.
Worst – The heavy amount of squash matches on the show.
Show Notes – Woods & Nese vs. Cannon & Davis opener moments: Cannon’s shove into the turnbuckle, lariat, superkick, & corkscrew suplex via ropes assist combo to Nese. Woods & Nese’s double team Olympic Slam neckbreaker finisher to Cannon. Match itself was a solid back-and-forth brief bout. Dark Order vs. Cooper, System, Jackson, & Grace 8-Man Tag was a fine jobber destruction bout. Deeb vs. Sierra moments: Deeb’s delayed hangman’s neckbreaker to Sierra onto the ropes. Match itself was a decent mostly squash style bout. Bononi vs. Takeshita moments: Bononi’s catch & modified Tree of Woe stomp counter of Takeshita’s running attack. Bononi’s backbreaker & Tiger Driver counter of Takeshita’s DVD. Bononi’s whip to Takeshita in the corner into Takeshita’s boot counter of Bononi’s running attack into Takeshita’s top rope knee strike & running knee strike finisher. Match itself was pretty good. Hart vs. Kara moments: Hart’s new entrance theme sounds pretty good. Match itself was a decent mostly squash bout. Private Party vs. Jah-C & JDX was a decent mostly squash brief bout. Ford vs. Reckless moments: Ford’s hard chuck to Reckless into the guard rail into Ford’s smile to the mystery box over the head guy clapping in the crowd. Match itself was a decent mostly squash bout & solid return performance by Ford. Acclaimed vs. Fowler & Energy moments: Caster’s pre-match rap mocking Trump getting raided by the FBI, Kim K breakup reference, & one of their opponents looking like a bootleg Christopher Daniels was funny. Match itself was a decent brief squash bout. Women’s Trios Tag moments: Shida’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker counter of Sakura’s running attack into Sakura’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker via Baliyan Akki distraction assist. Shida’s escape counter of Shida’s bodyslam into Rose’s body tackle counter of Shida’s running attack into Shida’s dodge counter of Rose’s standing senton. Storm’s neckbreaker to Rose & toss through the ropes to Sakura into Rose’s superkick flooring Storm. Shafir’s roll-up counter of Storm’s Pendulum DDT. Storm’s shotgun dropkick, hip attack, & Pendulum DDT finisher to Shafir. Match itself was a solid frantic brief bout.
Final Thoughts – This week’s show was mostly average overall.

AEW Dark (Aug. 16)
* Fuego Del Sol vs. Ari Daivari – 3.0
* Robyn Renegade vs. Willow Nightingale – 3.0
* Serpentico vs. Brock Anderson – 3.0
* Abadon vs. Mafiosa – 2.0 (Squash)
* Angelico vs. Baliyan Akki – 2.5
* Emi Sakura vs. Renee Michelle – 2.5
* Josh Woods vs. Cobra – 2.0
* Rohit Raju vs. Invictus Khash – 3.0
* Charlette Renegade vs. Skye Blue – 2.0
* Bear Country (Bear Bronson & Bear Boulder) vs. Axel Rico & Victor Iniestra – 3.0 (Squash)
* Kayla Rossi vs. Avery Breaux – 2.0 (Squash)
* Cezar Bononi vs. Marcus Kross – 2.0 (Squash)
* Blake Christian vs. Powerhouse Hobbs – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Fuego Del Sol vs. Ari Daivari match.
Worst – The long runtime for this week’s show.
Show Notes – Del Sol vs. Daivari opener moments: Daivari’s toss to Fuego over the ropes into Fuego’s grab save, shoulder trust, & springboard corkscrew rana to Daivari. Daivairi’s stiff running back elbow strike flooring Fuego via Slim J leg grab distraction assist. Fuego’s Dragon Sleeper to Daivari via ropes assist. Fuego’s shove, punch, & Tree of Woe double foot stomp counter of Daivari’s top rope attack into Fuego’s Coast-to-Coast dropkick. Fuego’s moonsault to Daivari on the outside. Daivari’s shove in the post to Fuego via Trustbusters distraction into Daivari’s lariat & Frog Splash finisher. Match itself was a pretty good back-and-forth bout. Daivari’s post-match interview about his win & boasting about the Trustbusters was decent. Renegade vs. Nightingale was a pretty good competitive bout. Serpentico vs. Anderson moments: Serpentico flipping off Arn Anderson on the outside into Brock’s swift punch flooring Serpentico in return. Match itself was a good back-and-forth bout. Abadon vs. Mafiosa was a decent extended squash style bout. Angelico vs. Akki was a solid bout. Sakura vs. Michelle was a solid back-and-forth bout. Woods vs. Cobra was a somewhat decent brief bout despite its sluggish pacing. Raju vs. Khash was a pretty good back-and-forth action bout, especially the latter half. Raju’s post-match promo about his win & future in AEW & ROH was splendid. Renegade vs. Blue was a mostly solid bout despite being a bit rough at times. Bear Country vs. Rico & Iniestra moments: Rico’s enziguri, Iniestra’s backstabber, & Rico’s running senton combo to Bronson into Boulder’s gutwrench toss to break up Rico’s pin attempt. Bronson’s block & sitdown counter of Iniestra’s sunset bomb. Bear Country’s double team cannonball to Rico & Iniestra in the corner. Match itself was an entertaining extended squash style bout. Rossi vs. Breaux was a decent mostly squash bout & Rossi getting both her first win in AEW and a manager as well is interesting. Bononi vs. Kross moments: Bononi’s brutal looking Gutwrench slam finisher to Kross. Match itself was a decent mostly squash style bout. Christian vs. Hobbs moments: Christian’s boots counters of Hobbs’ running attacks in the corner into Christian’s missile dropkick sending Hobbs crashing into the opposite corner into Hobbs’ brutal lariat counter of Christian’s running attack. Hobbs’ suplexes to Christian onto the ring post. Hobbs’ toss to Christian into the ring into Christian’s superkick & knee strikes to Hobbs on the ropes. Christian’s 450 Splash to Hobbs onto the ropes. Hobbs’ shove & spinebuster finisher counter of Christian’s kick. Match itself was a pretty good action bout.
Final Thoughts – This week’s lengthy show was mostly enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite “House of the Dragon” (Aug. 17)
* Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match – Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia – 4.5
* Varsity Blonds (Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.) vs. Gunn Club (Austin & Colten Gunn) – 1.5 (Squash)
* KiLynn King vs. Toni Storm – 2.5
* AEW Trios Tag Team Championship tournament Quarterfinals match – La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee, RUSH, & Andrade El Idolo vs. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & Kenny Omega – 4.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match and Kenny Omega’s surprise return.
Worst – Jungle Boy’s rough promo segment.
Show Notes – Opening CM Punk’s heelish promo bashing Hangman Page for not answering his AEW title rematch offer and mocking Moxley and Kingston for not being among the best he’s ever faced, Moxley’s interruption trashing Punk, insults banter, & brawl was superb. Danielson vs. Garcia moments: Garcia’s catch, Butterfly suplex, & Juji Gatame counter of Danielson’s running attack. Garcia’s lift & piledriver counter of Danielson’s Triangle Choke into Garcia’s Dragon Sleeper point. Danielson’s standing Slice Bread counter of Garcia’s Dragon Sleeper into Garcia’s Dragon Sleeper & overhead elbows into Danielson’s flash pin point. Danielson’s toss & Tree of Woe kicks counter of Garcia’s running attack in the corner into Danielson’s elbow strikes & Spider suplex. Garcia & Danielson’s wrist control forearms exchange into Danielson’s elbows fest into Garcia’s roll-over foot stomps into Danielson’s roll-over headbutts & foot stomps. Danielson’s Triangle Choke & punches to Garcia into Danielson’s LeBell Lock & overhead elbows finisher. Match itself was an awesome physical action packed battle. Post-match Danielson’s handshake offer, Jericho’s ambush attack to Danielson, & Garcia shoving Jericho away was interesting. Moxley’s ambush attack on Tony Nese during Nese’s entrance, heated call out to Punk, & mini-brawl part deux with Punk was sweet. JAS backstage interview about Jericho wanting know which side Garcia belongs to & Steamboat’s interruption mocking Jericho was all right. Varsity Blonds vs. Gunn Club was a decent brief squash bout. Billy Gunn’s post-match promo being proud of his sons quick victory, Stokely appearance, Gunn Club’s ambush attack on Billy, & Acclaimed’s run-in save was all right. Billy & Acclaimed reuniting again was cool. Jungle Boy’s promo about his non-PG shirt last week, recent attack attempts on Christian Cage, and match request, Cage’s interruption denying the request and trying to repair their friendship, & brawl was mostly decent despite Jungle’s rough promo. Faccion vs. Young Bucks & Omega moments: Justin Roberts shocked face & Omega’s surprise return as Bucks mystery partner was awesome. Faccion & Young Bucks team suplexes duel into Young Bucks & Omega’s trios suplex to Faccion. RUSH’s overhead suplex launching Nick into the corner. Faccion’s lariat fest & triple dropkicks to Matt. Andrade’s dodge counter of Omega’s enzijuri to RUSH into Omega’s triple Dragon suplexes to Faccion. Lee’s suicide neckbreaker dive through the ropes to Omega over the guard rail was insane. Omega’s leap up knee strike, V-Trigger, & One Winged Angel finisher to Lee. Match itself was a great action packed bout. Post-match attack & mask removal by Andrade on Lee was interesting.
Final Thoughts – This week’s House of the Dragon themed show was mostly great overall.

AEW Rampage (Aug. 19)
* AEW World Tag Team Championship – Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) vs. Swerve in Our Glory (Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee) (c) – 3.0
* FTW Championship – Zack Clayton vs. HOOK (c) – 2.0 (Squash)
* Buddy Matthews vs. Serpentico – 2.5 (Squash)
* Penelope Ford vs. Athena – 3.0
* AEW Trios Tag Team Championship tournament Quarterfinals match – Trustbusters (Parker Bordeaux, Slim J, & Ari Daivari) vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, & Orange Cassidy) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Miro turning down House of Black’s offer to join and the Trustbusters vs. Best Friends Trios Tag match.
Worst – Zack Clayton’s dud of a pre-match promo segment.
Show Notes – Opening Claudio Castagnoli about his ROH World title, praising Ricky Steamboat, and open challenge offer for his title, Dustin Rhodes taking up the offer over winning a World title being a career dream goal, & Castagnoli accepting was splendid. AEW Tag titles match moments: Kassidy’s somewhat landing on his feet counter of Lee’s yeet toss across the ring. Kassidy’s rana to Swerve sending him to the outside into Kassidy’s corkscrew splash. Lee’s vicious pounce to Quen sending him crashing hard into the ropes was crazy. Swerve’s JML Driver finisher to Quen. Match itself was an entertaining action filled bout. Factory’s backstage poker game interview about Hobbs, Hobbs’ interruption flipping the table and being upset Solo failed to take out Starks, & Marshall’s promise to takeout Starks was decent. Clayton’s pre-match promo bashing West Virginia folk & claiming he’ll win the FTW title was mostly a dud. FTW title match was a fine extra brief jobber destruction bout. 2point0 backstage promo bashing HOOK & wanting to dethrone HOOK’s FTW title reign was all right. Billy Gunn’s backstage interview about his Assboys sons recent attack on him & promising a beating as revenge with his pals Acclaimed was all right. Matthews vs. Serpentico was a fine jobber destruction bout. Post-match Miro’s surprise appearance rejecting House of Black’s offer & brawl with Matthews was cool. Baker & Pals backstage interview about them not being booked for All Out & bashing Thunderstorm was all right. Ford vs. Athena moments: Athena’s shotgun dropkick to Ford into the guard rail. Athena’s brutal looking Eclipse finisher to Ford. Match itself was a good back-and-forth action bout. Post-match ambush brawl by the Baddies to Athena & Cargill destroying Athena’s wings gear was all right. Punk vs. Moxley AEW title unification match hype video was splendid. Starks vs. Hobbs feud hype video was also splendid. Trustbusters & Best Friends pre-match split-screen backstage interview was a bit funny. Trustbusters vs. Best Friends Trios match moments: Taylor’s strike counter of Slim J’s attack to Trent in the corner into Taylor’s Razor’s Edge back toss & Trent’s catch & sitout powerbomb to Slim. Slim’s hands in the pockets taunt to Orange into Trent’s Half & Half suplex splatting Slim. Best Friends’ triple dropkick to Bordeaux in the corner. Slim’s running Slice Bread to Orange into Slim’s splash to Trent & Taylor on the outside. Sonny Kiss’ ref distracted rope crotch to Orange into Slim’s flying reverse DDT to Orange. Best Friends grab hold of Slim into Orange’s splash finisher off Best Friends shoulders was cool. Match itself was a very entertaining back-and-forth action filled bout.
Final Thoughts – This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 18 (Aug. 16)
* G1 Climax 2022 D Block match – Will Ospreay vs. Juice Robinson – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2022 D Block match – El Phantasmo vs. Shingo Takagi – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2022 C Block match – Hirooki Goto vs. EVIL – 2.5
* G1 Climax 2022 C Block match – Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tetsuya Naito – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2022 B Block match – SANADA vs. Tomohiro Ishii – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2022 B Block match – Tama Tonga vs. Jay White – 3.5
* G1 Climax 2022 A Block match – Bad Luck Fale vs. JONAH – 2.5
* G1 Climax 2022 A Block match – Lance Archer vs. Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – SANADA vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Lance Archer vs. Kazuchika Okada matches.
Worst – Gedo chickening out on booking a 7-way for D Block and depriving everyone of the entertaining chaos it would have unleashed.
Show Notes – Ospreay vs. Robinson opener moments: Juice’s punches counter of Ospreay’s sunset bomb leap over the corner post into Ospreay’s apron bomb. Juice’s knees counter of Ospreay’s 450 splash into Juice’s gutbuster. Ospreay’s shove counter of Juice’s Pulp Friction into Ospreay’s shotgun dropkick to Juice into the ref. Ospreay’s dodge & hook kick counter of Juice’s US title strike. Juice’s piledriver to Ospreay on the exposed floor into Juice’s spiked Pulp Friction. Juice & Ospreay’s moves & counters exchange into Ospreay’s Hidden Blade finisher. Match itself was a good back-and-forth action bout. El Phantasmo vs. Takagi moments: Takagi’s backdrop counter of ELP’s CR II. Takagi’s swift punch counter of ELP’s dive to the outside into Takagi’s DVD onto the floor. ELP’s block & strikes counter of Takagi’s super DVD into ELP’s super rana & Thunder Kiss 86 combo to Takagi. Takagi’s rana & lariat counter of ELP’s CR II. Takagi’s Noshigami & brutal lariat combo to ELP. Takagi’s pop-up DVD & strikes to ELP into ELP’s CR II counter of Takagi’s Last of the Dragon. ELP & Takagi’s strikes exchange into ELP’s cross arm piledriver finisher. Match itself was a very good hard hitting action bout. Goto vs. EVIL was mostly solid despite the lame HoT style ending shenanigans. Sabre Jr. vs. Naito moments: Naito & ZSJ’s roll-up pins & pin counters into Naito & ZSJ’s kicks exchange into Naito & ZSJ’s roll-up pins exchange into Naito’s flash Inside Cradle finisher. Match itself was a pretty good counters heavy brief bout. ZSJ’s post-match temper tantrum rampage destroying stuff at ringside & beating up a Young Lion was amazing. SANADA vs. Ishii moments: SANADA’s dodge counter of Ishii’s sliding lariat into SANADA’s sliding lariat grab, roll-over, & Magic Screw via ropes assist. SANADA’s Skull End to Ishii into SANADA’s dumbass release & missed moonsault. SANADA’s tilt-a-whirl Skull End to Ishii into SANADA’s Pendulum DDT counter of Ishii’s brainbuster. SANADA’s slice bread style Skull End into Ishii’s escape & suplex into SANADA’s escape & O’Connor Roll. SANADA’s Tiger suplex & dropkick to Ishii into Ishii’s rebound lariat flooring SANADA into Ishii’s brainbuster finisher. Match itself was a very good back-and-forth action bout. Tonga vs. White moments: White’s dodge & Saito suplex counter of Tonga’s back elbow strike. White’s Flatliner counter of Tonga’s strike into White’s deadlift German suplex. White’s toss counter of Tonga’s Gun Stun into Tonga’s shove to the corner counter of White’s sleeper suplex into White’s shoulder thrusts to the back & sleeper suplex. Tonga’s block & Tonga Twist counter of White’s Bladerunner. White’s Bladerunner counter of Tonga’s Gun Stun into Tonga’s Bloody Sunday counter of White’s Bladerunner. Tonga & White’s moves & counters exchange into Tonga’s Gun Stun finisher. Match itself was a very good hard fought action filled bout. Fale vs. JONAH moments: JONAH’s counter whip of Fale’s whip into the post into Fale’s dodge counter of JONAH’s running splash boinking his head on the post. JONAH’s dodge, headbutt, & lariat counter of Fale’s Grenade. JONAH’s Torpedo finisher combo to Fale. Match itself was a solid hoss battle. Archer vs. Okada moments: Okada’s forearms to Archer into Archer’s pounce sending Okada out of the ring. Yikes at Okada’s head after getting nailed hard & jammed into the guard rail from Archer’s running cannonball. Ouch at Okada’s head after getting nailed by Archer’s rope walk moonsault. Okada’s short arm lariat counter of Archer’s Blackout. Okada’s Euro uppercut to Archer into Archer’s dropkick counter of Okada’s running attack into Archer’s Rainmaker. Okada’s escape, chop block, & Money Clip combo counter of Archer’s Blackout. Okada’s lariat to Archer into Archer’s rebound stiff lariat flooring Okada. Okada’s dropkick, Landslide, & Rainmaker combo to Archer. Match itself was a very entertaining hard hitting action bout despite the anti-climatic ending.
Final Thoughts – G1 Climax Night 17 was a very enjoyable show overall.

NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 19 (Aug. 17)
* TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & Lance Archer vs. YOH, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto – 3.0
* Team Filthy (Royce Isaacs & “Filthy” Tom Lawlor) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. – 3.5
* TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & JONAH) vs. Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe – 3.0
* Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, & Juice Robinson vs. United Empire (Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, & Jeff Cobb) – 3.0
* El Phantasmo, Yujiro Takahashi, KENTA, & EVIL vs. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, & Shingo Takagi – 3.0
* KUSHIDA, David Finlay, Toru Yano, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, & Jay White – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2022 Semi-Finals match – Tama Tonga vs. Kazuchika Okada – 4.0
* G1 Climax 2022 Semi-Finals match – Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay – 5.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay match.
Worst – Chase Owens’ head after getting spiked hard from Jeff Cobb’s rough overhead suplex.
Show Notes – Suzuki-Gun vs. CHAOS 8-Man Tag opener moments: TAKA’s escape counter of Archer’s bodyslam of TAKA onto Ishii into TAKA’s failed bodyslam to Archer splatting on the mat. Match itself was an entertaining back-and-forth action bout. Team Filthy vs. Dangerous Tekkers Tag moments: ZSJ’s Euro uppercuts to Lawlor into Lawlor’s strikes fest into Lawlor’s catch & Ankle Lock counter of ZSJ’s pele kick. ZSJ’s leaping armbar counter of Isaacs’ Pump Handle into ZSJ’s cross armbreaker finisher. Match itself was a very good back-and-forth action & grapple heavy bout. TMDK vs. Honma & Makabe moments: JONAH’s dodge counter of Makabe’s lariat into Makabe’s rebound lariat flooring JONAH. Honma’s stiff chops & lariats to JONAH into JONAH & Honma’s lariats to each other into Honma’s Kokeshi flooring JONAH. JONAH’s stiff lariat finisher to Honma. Match itself was a good hard hitting bout. Bullet Club vs. United Empire 6-Man Tag moments: Owens’ Mongolian Chops to Khan into Khan’s block & forearms into Khan’s snap suplex. Ouch at Owens’ head after getting spiked hard from Cobb’s overhead suplex. Henare & Owens’ forearms & moves exchange into Owens’ swift knee strike & Package Piledriver finisher. Match itself was pretty good. Bullet Club vs. LIJ 8-Man Tag moments: Takagi’s block & Dragon Screw counter of EVIL’s leg whip via ref. KENTA’s book whack to SANADA into SANADA’s falling nut kick to KENTA. KENTA’s powerslams to BUSHI & Hiromu. KENTA’s roll-over Game Over finisher counter of BUSHI’s roll-up. Match itself was a good back-and-forth bout. KUSHIDA, Finlay, Yano, & Tanahashi vs. Bullet Club 8-Man Tag moments: KUSHIDA’s cartwheel dropkick to Ishimori. Tanahashi’s yank & strikes counter of Good Bros Magic Killer to Yano into Yano’s ref distracted double low blow to Good Bros & roll-up finisher to Gallows. Match itself was pretty good. Tonga vs. Okada moments: Okada shrugging off Tonga’s forearms into Okada’s forearm dazing Tonga into Tonga’s rebound lariat counter of Okada’s whip to the corner. Okada & Tonga’s forearms & Euro uppercuts exchange into Tonga’s Tonga Twist. Tonga’s escape & Tonga Twist counter of Okada’s Tombstone on the floor. Okada’s dodge counter of Tonga’s rolling DVD into Tonga’s dodge & rolling DVD counter of Okada’s discus lariat into Tonga’s Supreme Flow. Okada’s catch, backbreaker, & Money Clip counter of Tonga’s Gun Stun. Tonga’s block counter of Okada’s Rainmaker into Okada’s strikes into Tonga’s dropkick counter of Okada’s running attack. Okada’s block & dropkick counter of Tonga’s Bloody Sunday. Tonga’s block & Bloody Sunday counter of Okada’s Rainmaker. Okada’s wrist control Rainmaker into Tonga’s dodge counter of Okada’s Rainmaker into Okada’s dropkick & Landslide to Tonga. Tonga’s Gun Stun counter of Okada’s Rainmaker. Okada’s block, enziguri, Cobra Flowsion, & Rainmaker finisher combo counter of Tonga’s Gun Stun. Match itself was an amazing hard fought action filled bout. Naito vs. Ospreay moments: Ospreay’s atomic drop & standing Shooting Star Press to Naito. Naito’s stiff slingshot dropkick to Ospreay in the corner. Ospreay’s Snake Eyes & big boot to Naito into Ospreay’s springboard forearm strike. Naito’s punches, neckbreaker, & double leg Full Nelson counetr of Ospreay’s powerbomb. Ospreay’s step up flip kick & standing Spanish Fly to Naito. Naito & Ospreay’s forearms & stiff slaps exchange into Ospreay’s brainbuster counter of Naito’s Tornado DDT. Naito’s stiff overhead elbow strikes & Gloria to Ospreay. Naito’s lift over counter onto the turnbuckle of Ospreay’s running attack into Naito’s top rope Poison Rana. Ospreay’s modified Styles Clash style piledriver to Naito into Ospreay’s Hidden Blade. Naito’s Destino counter of Ospreay’s Stormbreaker. Ospreay’s dodge & Hidden Blade counter of Naito;s Destino into Ospreay’s Stormbreaker finisher. Match itself was a fantastic hard fought action packed bout.
Final Thoughts – G1 Climax 2022 Night 19 show was great overall.

NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Finals (Aug. 18)
* Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi, & EVIL vs. YOH, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hirooki Goto – 3.0
* Team Filthy (Royce Isaacs & “Filthy” Tom Lawlor) vs. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & JONAH) – 3.5
* Chase Owens, Bad Lucke Fale, & Juice Robinson vs. United Empire (Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, & Jeff Cobb) – 3.0
* Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., & Lance Archer vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito – 3.5
* El Phantasmo & KENTA vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi – 3.0
* David Finlay & Hiroshi Tananashi vs. Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) – 3.0
* KUSHIDA & Tama Tonga vs. Taiji Ishimori & Jay White – 3.0
* G1 Climax 2022 Finals – Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada – 5.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada match.
Worst – The goofy ending shenanigans to the David Finlay & Hiroshi Tananashi vs. Good Brothers match.
Show Notes – House of Torture vs. CHAOS 8-Man Tag opener was a pretty good back-and-forth bout. Team Filthy vs. TMDK moments: Lawlor’s dodges counter of Tito’s punches into Lawlor’s Filthy Four Leg Lock into JONAH’s splash breaking up Lawlor’s hold. Isaacs’ knee strike counter of Tito’s 3 Point Tackle into Isaacs’ Saito suplex. MDK’s Doomsday Blockbuster to Isaacs. JONAH’s stiff lariat & Torpedo finisher. Match itself was a very entertaining hard hitting bout. Bullet Club vs. United Empire moments: Khan’s head smashes to Owens on the turnbuckle, leg sweep to Fale, & front slam to Owens onto Fale. B.C.’s running attacks to Cobb in the corner into Cobb’s catch & Tour of the Islands finisher counter of Juice’s top rope crossbody. Match itself was pretty good. Suzuki-Gun vs. LIJ 6-Man Tag moments: Naito’s antics to ZSJ during LIJ’s entrance & pre-match stuff was a bit funny. Same for Taichi & SANADA’s pushups & muscles pose off. ZSJ’s leg yank counter of Naito’s slingshot dropkick to Taichi into ZSJ’s hard shove into the guard rail. Archer’s pounch to Naito yeeting him across the ring. Taichi’s catch counter of BUSHI’s Lungblower into Archer’s chokeslam & Taichi’s Yokozuna Elbow finisher to BUSHI. Match itself was a very entertaining back-and-forth action bout. Bullet Club vs. LIJ Tag moments: KENTA’s ref distracted book whacks to Takagi in the corner. KENTA’s paper cut to Hiromu via ELP’s fingers hold. Hiromu’s block & book whack counter of KENTA’s book whack attack. Takagi’s roll-up counter of ELP’s CR II into ELP & Takagi’s roll-ups exchange into ELP’s ref distracted nut punch & roll-up finisher. Match itself was a good back-and-forth bout despite the ending shenanigans. Finlay & Tananashi vs. Good Bros moments: Yano’s sneak attack water bottle spray attack to break up Good Bros’ Magic Killer to Tanahashi. Match itself was pretty good despite the ending shenanigans. KUSHIDA & Tonga vs. Ishimori & White moments: WWhite & Tonga’s moves & counters exchange into Tonga’s rebound lariat flooring White. White’s block & Bladerunner counter of Tonga’s Gun Stun into Tonga’s elbow strikes counter of White’s Bladerunner into White’s Saito suplex. KUSHIDA’s Inside Cradle finisher counter of Ishimori’s Bloody Cross. Match itself was a quite good back-and-forth action bout. G1 Climax 2022 Finals moments: Okada’s back-to-back spiked DDTs to Ospreay on the floor. Ospreay’s high dropkick to Okada on the top rope sending him crashing to the outside into Ospreay’s awesome looking Sky Twister Press. Ospreay’s escape & Oscutter via guard rail assist counter of Okada’s Landslide on the floor. Okada got some sweet hangtime with his backdrop to Ospreay. Okada’s Money Clip to Ospreay. Okada’s stiff elbow strike dazing Ospreay into the corner into Okada’s stiff strike & extra hard whip into the other corner. Ospreay’s stiff chops & Kawada kicks fest flooring Okada. Okada’s backdrop counter of Ospreay’s piledriver on the apron. Ouch at Okada after Ospreay’s stiff hook kick counter of his Landslide & hard splat onto the apron from Ospreay’s Oscutter. Ospreay’s springboard missle dropkick to Okada into Ospreay’s Oscutter. Okada’s escape & Rainmaker counter of Ospreay’s Stormbreaker into Okada’s wrist control Rainmaker counter of Ospreay’s kicks. Okada & Ospreay’s moves exchange into Okada’s dropkick counter of Ospreay’s Oscutter. Okada’s dropkick counter of Ospreay’s Hidden Blade into Ospreay’s pop-up, Tombstone, & Hidden Blade to Okada. Ospreay buting out a High Fly Flow & Styles Clash to Okada. Ospreay’s V-Trigger to Okada into Okada’s escape & Landslide counter of Ospreay’s One Winged Angel into Okada’s Rainmaker into Ospreay’s kickout. Okada’s German suplex to Ospreay into Ospreay’s Spanish Fly counter of Okada’s 2nd German suplex. Okada & Ospreay’s forearms exchange into Okada’s Euro uppercut into Ospreay’s stiff hook kick. Ospreay & Okada’s moves & counters exchange into Okada’s spinny Landslide & Rainmaker finisher. Match itself was an instant classic & frontrunner contender for MotY.
Final Thoughts – G1 Climax 2022 Finals was a mostly great show overall.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (Aug. 18)
* Four-way match – Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rey Horus vs. Trey Miguel – 3.5
* Kenny King vs. Heath – 2.5
* Savannah Evans vs. Killer Kelly – 2.0
* Impact X-Division Championship – Chris Bey vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey (c) – 3.5
* #1 Contender’s Elimination match for Impact World Championship – Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan vs. Steve Maclin vs. Bandido vs. Rich Swann vs. Moose – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rey Horus vs. Trey Miguel match.
Worst – Savannah Evans vs. Killer Kelly match being a bit rough at times.
Show Notes – Four-way match opener moments: Horus’ toss to Taurus on the outside into Taurus’ catch & headbutt counter of Horus’ slingshot rana. Miguel’s step up rana over the ropes to Kid on the apron onto Taurus on the outside. Horus’ enziguri to Miguel into Taurus’ stiff lariat to Horus into Kid’s reverse rana to Taurus. Horus’ corkscrew splash to Miguel & Taurus on the outside via Kid’s assist into Kid’s top rope moonsault onto everyone on the outside. Taurus’ Destination Hellhole finisher to Kid. Match itself was a very entertaining action packed bout. King vs. Heath was a solid back-and-forth bout. Post-match attack by Honor No More was decent but PCO refusing to listen to Edwards’ orders to attack Heath was interesting. HNM backstage segment about Edwards’ being upset over Heath one upping them again, Taven being upset at their Tag titles match being delayed due to Gallows injury, Taven and Maria being upset at D’Amore over not getting a date set for their Tag titles match, & D’Amore match setup & stip retort to Bennett & Maria was all right. Evans vs. Kelly was mostly solid despite some rough moments. Grace’s backstage interview about Slamovich’s challenge for her Knockouts title and win and respect to Yim, VXT’s interruption mocking Grace, Yim’s interruption bashing VXT, & Knockouts Tag titles match setip was all right. X-Division title moments: Bey’s backdrop counter of Bailey’s running attack crotching him in the ropes into Bey’s top rope double foot stomp to Bailey ontp the ropes. Bey’s catch, lift on turnbuckle, swift kick, & sitout powerbomb combo counter of Bailey’s windmill kick. Bailey’s 619 style leg sweep kick counter of Bey’s Art of Finesse. Bailey’s double foot kick counter of Bey’s running attack in the corner into Bailey Ultima Weapon finisher. Match itself was a very good back-and-forth action filled bout. #1 Contender’s match moments: Callihan’s DVD & Swann’s running Frog Splash combo to Edwards. Callihan’s lariat & chops to Maclin into Callihan’s dodge counter of Moose’ running attack splatting Maclin in the corner into Callihan’s stiff chops to Moose. Maclin’s eye rake & Moose’s spear elimination to Callihan into Maclin’s flash roll-up elimination to Moose. Bandido’s Sky Twister Press dive to Maclin on the outside into Edwards’ apron kick to the back & Bandido’s 21 Plex elimination to Maclin. Bandido’s corkscrew splash to Edwards. Bandido got some sweet height with his pop-up cutter to Swann. Swann’s Phoenix Splash & Edwards’ Boston Knee Party elimination to Bandido. Edwards’ catch, Blue Thunder Bomb, & Knee Party counter of Swann’s springboard cutter into Edwards’ Die Hard Driver. Match itself was a very good action filled bout.
Final Thoughts – This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – G1 Climax 2022 Finals – Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Finals)
• Best match of the week runner-up – G1 Climax 2022 Semi-Finals match – Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 19)
• Worst match of the week – Varsity Blonds (Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.) vs. Gunn Club (Austin & Colten Gunn) (AEW Dynamite “House of the Dragon”)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – Liv Morgan vs. Shotzi (WWE Friday Night SmackDown)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite “House of the Dragon” & NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 19
• Worst show of the week – AEW Dark Elevation