Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for July 19 to July 25

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of July 19th to July 25th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE Extreme Rules 2020 (July 19)
* Pre-show: Kevin Owens vs. Murphy – 3.0
* SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tables match – Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. New Day (c) – 2.5
* SmackDown Women’s Championship – Nikki Cross vs. Bayley (c) – 3.0
* Eye For An Eye match – Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio – 3.5
* RAW Women’s Championship – Sasha Banks vs. Asuka (c) – 3.0
* Extreme Rules for Ziggler Only WWE Championship match – Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre (c) – 3.5
* Swamp Fight match – Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt – 2.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Eye for an Eye match minus the finish.
Worst – WWE’s booking decisions for several match finishes.
Show Notes – Opening video package was pretty cool. SmackDown Tag title match was a bit weak for a PPV opener but the finish was great. SmackDown Women’s title match was pretty good despite the flat finish. Rollins vs. Mysterio was very good up until its cringe worthy finish. RAW Women’s title match was very good until the abysmal ending sequence. WWE title match was very good. Swamp Fight was somewhat entertaining but was one of the weaker WWE style cinematic matches. Extreme Rules was mostly entertaining overall.

WWE RAW (July 20)
* Seth Rollins vs. Aleister Black – 3.0
* Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, & MVP vs. Cedric Alexander, Ricochet, & Mustafa Ali – 3.0
* Peyton Royce vs. Ruby Riott – 2.0
* Street Profits vs. Angel Garza & Andrade – 3.0
* Bayley vs. Kairi Sane – 3.0
* Unsanctioned Match – Big Show vs. Randy Orton – 1.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – 6-Man tag team match.
Worst – Unsanctioned match.
Show Notes – Opening Rollins promo was dull. Rollins vs. Black was pretty good. Ali getting his full name back was a bigger surprise than his actual return. Six-man tag match was pretty good. Street Profits vs. Garza & Andrade was good. RAW Women’s title segment with Stephanie McMahon was a dud. Bayley vs. Sane was pretty good although bit surprised Sane won. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler promo segment was dull. Unsanctioned match was a very boring match with some hardcore spots sprinkled in. This week’s RAW was mostly pretty good overall.

NXT (July 22)
* Dexter Lumis vs. Killian Dain – 2.5
* Ever-Rise vs. Breezango – 2.0 (Squash)
* Aliyah vs. Shotzi Blackheart – 2.0
* NXT North American Championship Qualifier match – Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed vs. Roderick Strong – 3.5
* Timothy Thatcher vs. Oney Lorcan – 3.0
* Karrion Kross vs. Dominik Dijakovic – 2.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – NXT North American Championship Qualifier match.
Worst – The first half of the show in general.
Show Notes – Keith Lee quickly relinquishing his North American title was an utter waste of the Double Champion storyline. Isiah Scott vignette was nice. NXT North American title Qualifier match was fantastic and surprised Reed won. Thatcher vs. Lorcan was a nice hard hitting match. Mercedes Martinez joining Robert Stone was interesting. Finn Balor’s promo video was good. Kross vs. Dijakovic was decent but also a bit dull. This week’s episode was mostly enjoyable overall but also one of NXT’s weaker shows this year.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (July 24)
* #1 Contender for SmackDown Women’s Championship – Nikki Cross vs. Alexa Bliss – 2.5
* Matt Riddle vs. Tony Nese – 2.0 (Squash)
* #1 Contender for United States Championship Fatal 4-Way – Drew Gulak vs. Lince Dorado vs. Gran Metalik vs. Shorty G – 3.5
* Bar Fight match – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Bar Fight match.
Worst – Miz TV segment.
Show Notes – The new intro previews for SmackDown shows have been a great decision. Opening Women’s promo segment was decent. Bliss vs. Cross was decent despite the anti-climatic finish. After all these years, Corbin’s delivery for promos is still terrible. Naomi’s promo was decent by the end of it but that Miz TV segment was horrible. Fatal 4-Way match was very good. Otis and Mandy vignette was wonderful. Ending was a bit dumb but the Bar Fight was a lot better than the Swamp Fight for cinematic matches. This week’s episode was mostly enjoyable overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark (July 21)
* Rache Chanel vs. Hikaru Shida – 2.0
* Corey Hollis vs. Kip Sabian – 2.0
* Sabby & Brady Pierce vs. Best Friends – 2.5
* Will Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks – 2.0
* Aaron Solow vs. Scorpio Sky – 2.5
* KiLynn King vs. Diamante – 2.5
* Robert Anthony vs. Darby Allin – 2.5
* “The Librarian” Pete Avalon & Brandon Cutler vs. The Butcher & The Blade – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Ricky Starks joining Taz and Brian Cage.
Worst – Nightmare Sisters interview segment.
Show Notes – Opening women’s match was nothing special. Nightmare Sisters interview segment was bland. Brian Cage and Starks forming a new partnership was very interesting. This week’s episode had a few entertaining matches but was also very skippable overall.

AEW Dynamite (July 22)
* TNT Championship NO DQ – Eddie Kingston vs. Cody (c) – 3.5
* Griff Garrison vs. MJF – 2.5 (Squash)
* Falls Count Anywhere match – Young Bucks vs. The Butcher & The Blade – 4.0
* Diamante vs. Ivelisse – 2.5
* Alan “5” Angels vs. Hangman Adam Page – 3.0
* Jurassic Express vs. Jake Hager & Chris Jericho – 3.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Falls Count Anywhere match.
Worst – Diamante vs. Ivelisse match.
Show Notes – Opening promo by Kingston and TNT title match were fantastic. Taz’s segment with Brian Cage and Ricky Starks was very good. AEW doing a women’s tag tournament is very interesting. Falls Count Anywhere match was one of AEW’s best TV matches this year. Dark Order and Hangman segment was decent. Jurassic Express vs. Inner Circle was pretty good despite being a bit too long. Sammy Guevara’s surprise return was amazing. This week’s episode was very enjoyable with a first hour that was el fuego in quality.

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NJPW & OTHER

NJPW New Japan Road 2020 (July 20)
* Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 2.5
* SHO, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Gabriel Kidd, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe – 3.0
* DOUKI & El Depserado vs. SANADA & Shingo Takagi – 3.0
* Gedo & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada – 2.0
* Master Wato, Yuji Nagata, Kota Ibushi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yoshinobu * Kanemaru , Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi – 3.5
* BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori, Dick Togo, & EVIL – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Wato, Nagata, Ibushi, & Tanahashi vs. Suzuki-Gun match.
Worst – Gedo & Takahashi vs. Goto & Okada match.
Show Notes – Opening Young Lions vs. Kojima & Tenzan match was enjoyable. 8-man tag match was pretty good. DOUKI & El Desperado vs. SANADA & Tagaki was fine. Gedo & Takahashi vs. Goto & Okada was decent at best. Wato, Nagata, Ibushi, & Tanahashi vs. Suzuki-Gun was very good. The Nagata and Suzuki post-match brawl was great. LIJ vs. Bullet Club was pretty good. New Japan Road was a good show overall.

NJPW Lion’s Break Collision (July 24)
* Alex Coughlin vs. Tom Lawlor – 2.5
* Danny Limelight vs. Misterioso – 2.5
* Clark Connors & TJP vs. Rust Taylor & Rocky Romero – 3.0
* Karl Fredericks vs. Jeff Cobb – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Fredericks vs. Cobb match.
Worst – Limelight vs. Misterioso match.
Show Notes – Opening Coughlin vs. Lawlor match was entertaining. Tag match was pretty good. Fredericks vs. Cobb was good despite the sloppy finish. This week’s episode was entertaining overall.

NJPW Sengoku Lord 2020 (July 25)
* Yuya Uemura vs. Taiji Ishimori – 2.5
* Gabriel Kidd, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima, & Togi Makabe – 3.0
* BUSHI, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito vs. SHO, YOSHI-HASHI, & Hirooki Goto – 3.0
* Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Kota Ibushi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi – 3.5
* Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada – 2.5
* NEVER Openweight Championship – El Desperado vs. Shingo Takagi (c) – 3.5
* IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship match – Hiromu Takahashi vs. EVIL (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – NEVER Openweight Championship match.
Worst – Takahashi vs. Okada match.
Show Notes – Opening Uemura vs. Ishimori match was decent. Both of the 6-man matches were pretty good. Master Wato, Tenzan, Nagata, Ibushi, & Tanahashi vs. Suzuki-Gun was very good. Takahashi vs. Okada was decent at best. NEVER Openweight title match was very good and Takagi has been amazing so far as its champion. IWGP Double title match was pretty good despite being too long. Sengoku Lord 2020 was a very entertaining show overall.

GCW Homecoming 2020 Part 1 (July 25)
* Scramble Match – Allie Kat vs. Matthew Justice vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Calvin Tankman vs. Benjamin Carter – 3.0
* Tre Lamar vs. ACH – 2.5
* Mance Warner vs. Chris Dickinson – 3.5
* Blake Christian vs. Alex Zayne – 3.5
* Death Match – AJ Gray vs. Alex Colon – 3.0
* “Spyder” Nate Webb vs. EFFY – 3.0
* Death Match – Shlak vs. Nick Gage – 3.0
* DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship – Joey Janela vs. Yoshihiko (c) – 3.5
* GCW World Championship – Homicide vs. Rickey Shane Page (c) – 2.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship match and Lio Rush’s surprise appearance.
Worst – GCW World Championship match.
Show Notes – Opening Scramble match was entertaining. ACH’s debut match was decent despite dragging a lot. Warner vs. Dickinson was a very good hard hitting bout. Christian vs. Zayne was simply amazing. The first Death Match had some very crazy spots and was a good bout. Webb vs. EFFY was pretty good. Shlak vs. Gage was the better of the two Death Matches despite the flat finish. DDT Ironman title match was a fantastic comedy-based bout. Lio Rush’s surprise appearance was great. GCW World title match was decent at best. GCW Homecoming Part 1 was fantastic overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – Falls Count Anywhere match – Young Bucks vs. The Butcher & The Blade (AEW Dynamite)
• Worst match of the week – Unsanctioned Match – Big Show vs. Randy Orton (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – AEW Dark