Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for May 23 to May 29

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of May 23rd to May 29th.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (May 24)
* #1 Contender for WWE Championship – Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston – 3.0
* Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki Cross – 1.5
* Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka – 3.0
* Shelton Benjamin vs. Cedric Alexander – 2.5
* Riddle vs. Xavier Woods – 3.5
* AJ Styles vs. Jaxson Ryker – 1.5
* Sheamus vs. Humberto Carrillo – 2.5
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax vs. Natalya & Tamina (c) – 2.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – Riddle vs. Xavier Woods match.
Worst – Ending to the Women’s Tag Team Championship match.
Show Notes – Guess Lashley decided to channel his inner Ric Flair again since he brought out more women this week. Opening MVP, Lashley, McIntyre, & New Day promo segment was a bit of a snoozer. McIntyre’s Michinoku Driver spot to Kingston was cool. McIntyre vs. Kingston was entertaining despite the lame DQ finish. Ripley, Flair, & Cross backstage segemnt was decent at best. Ripley vs. Cross was a dumb booked match and waste of time. Flair vs. Asuka was mostly good despite the ref botching the pin count ending. Pearce threatening suspensions to MVP & Lashley if they interfere in next week’s #1 contender’s match was interesting. WWE airing a vignette for the Alexander vs. Benjamin feud was also interesting. Alexander pre-match promo was decent at best. Benjamin vs. Alexander was mostly decent despite dragging a bit long and the shenanigans ending. Riddle vs. Woods was a very good action packed match. Eva Marie vignette was a bit weird since it was way more face-like than her prior heel-like ones. Women’s Tag title match was going on decently until the stupid spooky Bliss shenanigans happened. This week’s show was average overall but felt a lot more filler than usual for content.

NXT (May 25)
* Ember Moon & vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez – 2.5
* Pete Dunne vs. Bobby Fish – 3.0
* Mercedes Martinez vs. Zayda Ramier – 2.0
* Franky Monet vs. Cora Jade – 2.0 (Squash)
* NXT Championship – Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – NXT Championship match.
Worst – Mercedes Martinez vs. Zayda Ramier match.
Show Notes – Opening Women’s tag team match was mostly decent despite also being sloppy at times. Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher backstage promo segment was all right. Fish vs. Dunne pre-match hype vignette was splendid. Yikes at Dunne’s neck after landing very rough from Fish’s T-Bone suplex right at the ropes. Dunne vs. Fish was a pretty good back-and-forth match. Martinez promo segment was nothing special but Boa creeping behind her was interesting. Hit Row backstage promo segment was somewhat decent. Tian Sha’s post-match spooky antics was the only good part of a dull Martinez vs. Ramier match. Million Dollar Faceoff segment with Cameron Grimes, Ted DiBiase, & LA Knight was decent although it was a lot less comedic than I had expected. Indi Hartwell, Ever-Rise, & Drake Maverick backstage segment was goofy. Grizzled Young Vets promo segment was okay. Imperium vignette segment was all right. Bronson Reed & Legado del Fantasma promo segment and MSK run-in was okay. Reed vs. Santos Escobar feud for the North American title sounds really good. NXT title match was mostly good, especially the latter half, despite dragging a bit too long. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (May 28)
* Street Profits vs. The Usos – 3.5
* Natayla & Tamina vs. The Riott Squad – 2.0
* Bianca Belair vs. Carmella – 3.0
* Kevin Owens vs. Apollo Crews – 1.5
* Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Chad Gable – 2.5
* SmackDown Tag Team Championship – Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode) vs. Dominik & Rey Mysterio (c) – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Street Profits vs. The Usos match.
Worst – Kevin Owens vs. Apollo Crews match.
Show Notes – Roman Reigns & Usos opening backstage segment was all right. Street Profits & Usos promo segment was all right but still not a fan of the continued disrespect being dished to Luigi’s name. Montez Ford’s sunset flip leap over the ring post spot was insane. Street Profits vs. Usos was very entertaining, especially the latter half. Dirty Dawgs interview segment was decent. Yikes at Ruby Riott landing hard on the bottom rope from Tamina’s hard club to her back during the tag match. Usos & Adam Pearce backstage segment was decent. Belair vs. Carmella was quite good and Cole botching Belair’s name as “Belanca” at the end was hilarious. Seth Rollins promo segment about Cesaro was somewhat dull and dragged on too long. Owens vs. Crews was a mostly nothing match topped with a lame DQ finish. Reigns & Jey Uso backstage segment was all right. Pact McAfee rocking out to Rick Boogs’ rendition of Nakamura’s theme was funny. SmackDown Tag title match was mostly decent despite the shenanigans ending and WWE being lazy with its booking format and just swapping which Mysterio got attacked before the match. This week’s episode was mostly average overall.

---

AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (May 24)
* QT Marshall vs. Robo – 2.0 (Squash)
* Abadon vs. Leila Grey – 1.5 (Squash)
* Thunder Rosa vs. Ashley D’Amboise – 2.5 (Squash)
* Lee Johnson vs. Daniel Garcia – 2.5
* Nyla Rose vs. Robyn Renegade – 2.0 (Squash)
* “All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Alex Reynolds – 2.5
* Tay Conti vs. Queen Aminata – 2.0 (Squash)
* Mike Sydal vs. Penta El Zero Miedo – 3.0
* Scorpio Sky vs. Alan “5” Angels – 3.0
* Fuego del Sol vs. Matt Hardy – 2.0 (Squash)
* Royce Isaacs vs. Ren Narita – 3.0
* Rocky Romero vs. JD Drake – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – The show closing Roppongi Vice reunion moment with Rockey Romero and Trent topped with the actual theme being played.
Worst – Abadon vs. Leila Grey match.
Show Notes – Marshall vs. Robo opener was an okay squash match. Abadon vs. Grey was a bit rough in terms of squash match quality. Rosa vs. D’Amboise was an entertaining grapple heavy squash bout. Gunn Club vignette was excellent. Page & Sky promo segment mocking Darby Allin & Dark Order was all right. Page vs. Reynolds was a decent back-and-forth style bout. Sydal vs. Penta and Sky vs. Angels matches were pretty good. Hardy’s promo segment about his love of money and his goal in AEW was all right. Issaccs vs. Narita was a fine AEW debut showcase performance by Narita. Romero vs. Drake was a good competitive match. The post-match brawl with the Wingmen & Best Friends leading to the show closing Roppongi Vice reunion moment with Romero and Trent was awesome. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall, especially the latter half.

AEW Dark (May 25)
* Nick Comoroto vs. Duke Davis – 1.5 (Squash)
* Aaron Solow vs. Ganon Jones – 2.0 (Squash)
* Dillon McQueen vs. 10 – 3.0
* Evil Uno & Colt Cabana vs. Steven Andrews & Simon Lotto – 2.0 (Squash)
* Big Swole & KiLynn King vs. The Bunny & Madi Wrenkowski – 3.0
* Gunn Club (Colten & Billy Gunn) vs. Kal Herro & Liam Gray – 2.0
* Leyla Hirsch vs. Vertvixen – 2.0
* Dante Martin vs. Jason Hotch – 3.0
* Diamante vs. Reka Tehaka – 2.5
* Joey Janela vs. Bear Bronson – 3.0
* Angelico vs. Ryzin – 2.5
* Tesha Price vs. Julia Hart – 3.0
* Sonny Kiss vs. Brian Cage – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Joey Janela vs. Bear Bronson match.
Worst – Gunn Club vs. Kal Herro & Liam Gray match.
Show Notes – Comoroto vs. Davis opener was a decent quick squash match. Solow vs. Jones was also a decent squash match despite Jones botching the timing of the Pedigree finisher spot. McQueen vs. 10 was a quite good competitive match. Ouch at Wrenkowski getting accidentally nailed in the jaw by either King’s elbow or the back of the Bunny’s head during King’s elbow strike spot to Bunny in the corner. Swole & King vs. Bunny & Wrenkowski was a good hard hitting match. Gray landing head first onto the floor from his tope suicida spot was very scary looking. Diamante backstage promo segment was decent. Hotch’s twisting backbreaker spot to Martin looked both brutal and legit painful. Martin vs. Hotch was a good action filled bout. Angelico interview segment was okay. Janela vs. Bronson was an entertaining back-and-forth style match. Ryzin mocking Aneglico’s dance routine was funny. Janela interview segment was a bit funny. Price vs. Hart was quite good and Hart getting her first ever AEW win was nice. Kiss vs. Cage was pretty good. Janela not helping Kiss during Team Taz’s post-match beatdown of him was interesting. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite (May 28)
* Darby Allin vs. Cezar Bononi – 2.5
* Hangman Adam Page vs. Joey Janela – 3.0
* Jade Cargill vs. KiLynn King – 2.5 (Squash)
* TNT Championship – Dante Martin vs. Miro (c) – 3.0
* “All Ego” Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky vs. Dark Order (Stu Grayson & Evil Uno) – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Britt Baker’s promo segment and the Inncer Circle Celebration segmet with Pinnacle brawl stuff.
Worst – Anthony Ogogo vs. Cody Rhodes weigh-in segment dragging too long in time.
Show Notes – Allin vs. Bononi was a solid opening match boosted a lot in energy by a very hot & large crowd at Daily’s Place. Ogogo vs. Rhodes weigh-in segment was mostly decent despite dragging way too long. Fireworks randomly going off from some outside event near Daily’s during the weigh-in was funny. Stadium Stampede 2 hype video package was superb. Page vs. Janela was a good back-and-forth bout. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston promo on the Young Bucks was fantastic. PAC & Don Callis promo and Omega, Good Brothers, Death Triangle, & Orange Cassidy brawl segment was wonderful. Matt Hardy & Mark Sterling interview segment with Cargill was okay. TNT title match was a pretty good action filled bout. Jake Roberts & Miro post-match promo & Archer brawl was splendid. The new AEW Women’s title looks nice. The Hikaru Shida Women’s champion celebration segment with Britt Baker was superb. Page & Sky vs. Dark Order was very good. Post-match brawl with Allin, Sting, and army of fake Stings was decent. Inner Circle Celebration & Pinnacle stadium ambush segment was great. This week’s Double or Nothing go-home show was mostly very entertaining overall.

---

NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact (May 27)
* TJP & Fallah Bahh vs. Petey Williams & Josh Alexander – 3.0
* 10-Women Knockouts Tag Team match – Fire & Flava, vs. – 3.0
* Decay (Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus) vs. Johnny Swinger & Hernandez – 2.5
* Moose & Sami Callihan vs. Good Brothers – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Jake Something & Rohit Raju vignette and Satoshi Kojima’s appearance.
Worst – The flat ending to the Knockouts 10-Women Tag Team match.
Show Notes – Opening Callihan, Moose, & Good Brothers promo and brawl segment was all right. Don Callis & Scott D’Amore backstage interview segment was decent. TJP & Bahh vs. Williams & Alexander was pretty good and a bit surprised TJP’s team both won. W. Morrissey sit-down interview & Swann ambush attack segment was very good. The Knockouts ad about Impact having the best women’s division felt like a dig at WWE and their constant gloating over NXT having the best one in the world. The women’s face team interview segment was a bit awkward. 10-Women Knockouts tag match was pretty good despite the flat ending. Alexander, TJP, & D’Amore backstage segment was decent. Jake Something & Rohit Raju vignette was superb. Violent By Design & Satoshi Kojima promo segment was splendid. Kojima’s match challenge to Joe Doering for Against All Odds 2021 was cool. Brian Myers & Sam Beale doctor’s office segment was decent at best. Karl Anderson’s spinebuster spot to Callihan looked sweet. Moose & Callihan vs. Good Brothers was mostly good. This week’s show was mostly entertaining overall.

Dark Side of the Ring – Becoming Warrior (May 27)
Overall – 3.0
Show Notes – Warrior’s first wife’s stories about his time as a bodybuilder and him slowly changing into a different person than she knew during his early wrestling career was interesting. The origin of Jim Hellwig’s “Warrior” gimmick was a bit funny. The story of Warrior’s first marriage quickly spiraling downwards after his big monumental win at WrestleMania VI was a bit sad. The story of Warrior blackmailing Vince McMahon for more money and creative control leading to his firing is still a crazy one after all these years. The part about Warrior selling the concept of “Destrucity” and Jim Ross’ intital line about it was a bit funny. Warrior’s sudden passing the day after his final WWE appearance is still one of the biggest shocking moments in WWE history. Dark Side of the Ring’s “Warrior” episode was mostly enjoyable but was a lot tamer than I had expected, especially in how brief and rushed it was covering Warrior’s real life controversies and his career post-first WWF run.

NJPW Strong “Collision” (May 28)
* AJZ vs. Clark Connors – 3.0
* Wheeler Yuta vs. El Phantasmo – 3.0
* NJPW Strong Openweight Championship – Chris Dickinson vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (c) – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – NJPW Strong Openweight Championship match.
Worst – El Phantasmo’s post-match promo segment.
Show Notes – AJZ vs. Connors opener was a pretty good back-and-forth style bout. El Phantasmo’s nipple twist spot to Yuta and Kevin Kelly & Alex Koslov debating the merits of doing it during a match was funny. Yuta vs. El Phantasmo was a good action filled match. El Phantasmo’s post-match promo segment was mostly decent. Dickinson vs. Lawlor pre-match hype video was splendid. Lawlor’s Sleeper Suplex finisher to Dickinson looked awesome. NJPW Strong Openweight title match was a great hard hitting and submission heavy bout. The post-match backstage segment between Team Filthy and Karl Fredericks was nice. This week’s show was very entertaining overall.

---

Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – NJPW Strong Openweight Championship – Chris Dickinson vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (c) (NJPW Strong)
• Worst match of the week – Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki Cross (WWE RAW)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE RAW