Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for June 28 to July 4

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of June 28th to July 4th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (June 29)
* Angel Garza & Andrade vs. Viking Raiders – 2.5
* 24/7 Championship – R-Truth vs. Akira Tozawa (c) – 1.0
* Murphy & Seth Rollins vs. Humberto Carrillo & Aleister Black – 3.0
* Peyton Royce vs. Ruby Riott – 1.5
* 2-on-1 Handicap match – Big Show vs. Angel Garza & Andrade – 1.5
* MVP vs. Apollo Crews – 2.0
* Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet – 2.5
* Sasha Banks & Dolph Ziggler vs. Asuka & Drew McIntyre – 2.5
Overall – 1.5
Best – Murphy & Rollins vs. Carrillo & Black match.
Worst – 24/7 Championship match.
Show Notes – Opening double contract signing segment was decent. Big Show, Zelina Vega’s crew, and Ric Flair promo segment was somewhat dull. Rollins and Rey Mysterio & Pals promo segment was pretty good. Murphy & Rollins vs. Carrillo & Black was pretty good. Royce busting out a spinning brainbuster was the only good thing about her match vs. Riott. Handicap match was a big waste of time. Mixed tag match was decent despite the flat ending. This week’s episode was mostly boring overall.

NXT Great American Bash Night 1 (July 1)
* #1 Contender for NXT Women’s Championship Elimination match – Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae – 3.0
* Timothy Thatcher vs. Oney Lorcan – 3.0
* 2-on-1 Handicap match – Rhea Ripley vs. Robert Stone & Aliyah – 1.5
* Strap Match – Roderick Strong vs. Dexter Lumis – 2.5
* Sasha Banks vs. Io Shirai – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Banks vs. Shirai match.
Worst – 2-on-1 Handicap match.
Show Notes – Women’s Elimination match was pretty good despite it dragging in the latter half. Damian Priest’s promo was bland. Thatcher vs. Lorcan was a nice grapple style bout. Killer Kross vignette was decent. Handicap match was a big waste of time. Strap match was decent despite it dragging too much. NXT title match video package was great. Sasha Banks’ entrance was amazing. Banks vs. Shirai was very good despite the shenanigans at the end. Night 1 of the Great American Bash was enjoyable overall.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (July 3)
* John Morrison vs. Matt Riddle – 3.5
* Intercontinental Championship – Drew Gulak vs. AJ Styles (c) – 3.0
* Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss – 2.0
* Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – 2.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – Morrison vs. Riddle match.
Worst – Jeff Hardy and Sheamus toast segment.
Show Notes – Opening Riddle interview segment was decent. Morrison vs. Riddle was very good. Intercontinental title match was pretty good despite plodding along too much. Sasha Banks and Bayley and Women’s tag title segment was mostly terrible. The video package for the upcoming Wyatt Swamp Fight was decent. Kingston vs. Nakamura was nothing special with a flat finish. The Jeff Hardy and Sheamus toast segment was terrible. This week’s episode was somewhat decent at best.

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AEW

AEW Dark (June 30)
* Max Caster vs. Shawn Spears – 1.5 (Squash)
* Pineapple Pete vs. Lance Archer – 2.5
* Griff Garrison vs. Ricky Starks – 2.5 (Squash)
* Brady Pierce vs. Scorpio Sky – 2.5
* KiLynn King & Skyler Moore vs. Brandi Rhodes & Allie – 2.5
* Fuego del Sol & Low Rida vs. The Butcher & The Blade – 2.0 (Squash)
* Brandon Cutler & “The Librarian” Peter Avalon vs. The Young Bucks – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Cutler & Avalon vs. Young Bucks match.
Worst – Caster vs. Spears match.
Show Notes – Opening segment with Cutler, Avalon, and Young Bucks was decent. Scorpio Sky’s new entrance theme is good. Cutler & Avalon vs. Young Bucks was pretty good. This week’s episode was mostly average overall.

AEW Fyter Fest Night 1 (July 1)
* Wardlow & MJF vs. Jurassic Express – 3.5
* AEW Women’s World Championship – Penelope Ford vs. Hikaru Shida (c) – 3.5
* TNT Championship – Jake Hager vs. Cody (c) – 3.0
* Santana & Ortiz vs. Private Party – 3.0
* AEW World Tag Team Championship – Best Friends vs. Hangman Adam Page & Kenny Omega (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – The puppies ad for the Puppy Battle Royal and the Wardlow & MJF vs. Jurassic Express match.
Worst – Ending to the TNT Championship match.
Show Notes – Opening tag match was very good. The AEW puppies ad was adorable. Pre-match video package and match itself for the AEW Women’s title was very good. Chris Jericho blurting out the secret hashtag sort of defeats the purpose of having one. TNT title match was pretty good despite the weak finish. Santana & Ortiz vs. Private Party was also pretty good. Taz’s promo was great. AEW Tag title match was pretty good despite it not hitting that next gear both teams are capable of. Night 1 of Fyter Fest was very enjoyable.

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NJPW & OTHER

NJPW New Japan Cup 2020 Night 6 (July 1)
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – BUSHI vs. YOSHI-HASHI – 2.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – SANADA vs. SHO – 3.5
* Yota Tsuji, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiromu Takahashi , Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – Taichi vs. Kota Ibushi – 3.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Second Round – EVIL vs. Hirooki Goto – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – EVIL vs. Goto match.
Worst – BUSHI vs. YOSHI-HASHI match.
Show Notes – BUSHI vs. YOSHI-HASHI was decent despite YOSHI-Hashi’s leg injury. SANADA vs. SHO was very good. 6-man tag match was pretty good. Taichi vs. Ibushi was pretty good despite the flat finish. Goto vs. EVIL was a very good hard hitting match. Night 6 of New Japan Cup 2020 was very good overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2020 Night 7 (July 2)
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Quarter-finals – Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – 4.0
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Quarter-finals – EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI – 1.5 (Squash)
* Yuya Uemura, SHO, & Hirooki Goto vs. BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Quarter-finals – Taiji Ishimori vs. Kazuchika Okada – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Quarter-finals – Taichi vs. SANADA – 3.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Takahashi vs. Ishii match.
Worst – EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI match.
Show Notes – Takahashi vs. Ishii was amazing and one of the best matches in the tournament so far. YOSHI-HASHI got utterly destroyed by EVIL. 6-man tag match was very good. Ishimori vs. Okada was also very good. Taichi vs. SANADA was pretty good despite dragging a bit too long. Night 7 of New Japan Cup was very good overall.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2020 Night 8 (July 3)
* El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., & Taichi vs. Gabriel Kidd, Yuji Nagata, Kota Ibushi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.0
* SHO, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hirooki Goto vs. BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito -3.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Semi-finals – EVIL vs. SANADA – 3.5
* New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Semi-finals – Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – Takahashi vs. Okada match.
Worst – Master Wato’s debut.
Show Notes – 8-man tag match was pretty good. The stuff between SHO and Takagi during and post 6-man tag match was a very nice appetizer for their future NEVER Openweight title match. Master Wato’s debut segment was one of the oddest debuts I’ve ever seen in wrestling. EVIL vs. SANADA was very good. The last few minutes of Takahashi vs. Okada was amazing and so was the match itself. Might 8 of New Japan Cup was very enjoyable overall.

NJPW Lion’s Break Collision (July 3)
* Alex Couglin vs. Clark Connors – 2.5
* Karl Fredericks & TJP vs. Rocky Romero & Jeff Cobb – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Fredericks & TJP vs. Romero & Cobb match.
Worst – Lack of a crowd for the debut episode since it was a pretty good show.
Show Notes – Couglin vs. Connors was an entertaining Young Lions style match. Fredericks & TJP vs. Romero & Cobb was pretty good. The debut episode of Lion’s Break Collision was enjoyable overall.

GCW Backyard Wrestling 2 (July 4)
* Alex Zayne vs. Rickey Crash – 3.0
* KC Kwik vs. Paco Loco – 3.0
* Nasty Leroy vs. DILF – 2.0
* Denver Colorado vs. Allie Kat – 1.5
* Kombat Kid vs. Tony Deppen – 2.5
* Kyle Smiley vs. Logan Stunt – 3.0
* Vampyro vs. Dexter White – 2.5
* Elimination Match – New School Yaders (Emanon, Jordan Oliver, “Mayday” Jack Williams, & Kid Grapple vs. Yard Legends (Hardass Nick, Matt Demorest, Psycho Joe, & Lucky the Leprechaun) – 3.5
* Falls Count Anywhere Match – JJ Escobar vs. El Shlako – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Elimination Match.
Worst – Colorado vs. Kat match.
Show Notes – Zayne vs. Crash was pretty good despite several scary looking spots. Kwik vs. Loco was pretty good despite dragging a bit too long. Leroy vs. DILF was an entertaining train wreck of a match. Smiley vs. Stunt was pretty good. Vampyro vs. White was mostly good. Elimination match was very good. Falls Count Anywhere match was insane. GCW Backyard Wrestling 2 was very entertaining overall.

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Week awards:

• Best match of the week – New Japan Cup 2020 Tournament Quarter-finals – Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup Night 7)
• Worst match of the week – 24/7 Championship – R-Truth vs. Akira Tozawa (c) (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – NJPW New Japan Cup 2020 Night 7
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW