Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for October 24 to October 30, 2021

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of October 24th to October 30th, 2021.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (October 25)
* #1 Contender for RAW Tag Team Championship Triple Threat match – Street Profits vs. Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode) vs. Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable) – 3.0
* Queen Zelina Vega vs. Doudrop – 2.0
* Damian Priest vs. T-Bar – 2.0
* Carmella vs. Liv Morgan – 2.0
* Keith “Bearcat” Lee vs. Cedric Alexander – 2.0 (Squash)
* Dominik Mysterio vs. Austin Theory – 2.0
* RAW Tag Team Championship – Dirty Dawgs vs. RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) (c) – 3.0
* #1 Contender for WWE Championship Fatal Four-way Ladder match – Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins – 3.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – 1 Contender for WWE Championship Fatal Four-way Ladder match.
Worst – Zelina Vega’s queen coronation segment and Damien Priest’s big downgrade of a new entrance theme.
Show Notes – Opening Big E promo segment about Houston, Xavier Woods, & WWE title and response by Rollins, Mysterio, Balor, & Owens & brawl was all right. Ford’s sitdown powerbomb counter of Ziggler’s Fameasser was nice. Alpha Academy’s discuss lariat & German suplex combo to Dawkins was cool & same for Ford’s Frog Splash save out of nowhere. #1 Contender’s Tag was an entertaining action filled match. Vega’s queen coronation segment was boring. Lynch & Belair promo about their bad blood & brawl was splendid. Priest’s new entrance theme is such a huge downgrade quality wise from his original theme. Priest vs. T-Bar was mostly solid despite the buzzkill DQ ending. Priest’s post-match rampage to T-Bar was nice though. Carmella’s pre-match backstage promo about her return to RAW & Morgan was dull. Carmella vs. Morgan was decent at best but their feud is beyond stale. Theory’s Half Nelson backbreaker counter of Dominik’s hurricanrana looked brutal. Dominik vs. Theory was mostly solid despite being a bit sloppy at times. RAW Tag title was a quite good back-and-forth action match, especially the latter half. Owens’ powerbomb to Balor onto a ladder was cool. Ouch at Owens’ back after his missed Senton to Rollins onto a ladder. Ouch at Rollins’ chest after Balor’s Two Foot Stomp onto a ladder & backdrop counter to Owens afterwards onto the same ladder. Mysterio’s seated senton with a ladder to Owens on the outside was cool. Owens’ powerbomb counter of Mysterio’s seated senton to a table on the outside was cool. 4-Way Ladder match was a very good hard hitting action packed bout. This week’s show was average overall.

NXT Halloween Havoc 2021 (October 26)
* NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Scareway to Hell Triple Threat Ladder match – Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolan) vs. Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta vs. Zoey Stark & Io Shirai (c) – 2.5
* Joe Gacy vs. Malik Blade – 2.0 (Squash)
* Diamond Mine Open Invitation match – Odyssey Jones vs. Roderick Strong – 2.0
* NXT Women’s Championship Trick or Street Fight match – Mandy Rose vs. Raquel Gonzalez (c) – 2.5
* NXT Tag Team Championship Lumber-Jack O’Lantern match – Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) vs. MSK (c) – 3.0
* NXT Championship – Bron Breakker vs. Tommaso Ciampa (c) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – NXT Championship match.
Worst – Joe Gacy’s pre-match promo and the questionable booking decisions for both of the Women’s matches on the show.
Show Notes – Ouch at Dolan’s back after Pirotta’s powerbomb through a ladder. Ouch at Stark’s back after Hartwell’s spinebuster onto a ladder. Yikes at Shirai’s rough fall onto a ladder on the outside from Hartwell’s ladder push. Opening NXT Women’s Tag Ladder match was mostly solid despite being rough at times. Gacy’s pre-match rambling promo about Halloween stunk. Kay Lee Ray angry vignette destroying stuff was okay. The backstage NXT Halloween party segments were dumb but also a bit funny despite the audio quality issues. Gonzalez’s fire extinguisher attack to Rose while wearing a hockey mask was goofy. NXT Women’s title was a solid hardcore style match despite not being a fan of the title change booking. Dakota Kai’s surprise return was nice though. Williams, Hayes, Lumis, & Gargano Haunted House segments were very goofy but also funny. Waller & Knight promo about Halloween Havoc hosting & attack by Solo Sikoa was decent. Aichner’s rolling Fireman’s Carry to both of MSK at the same time was rough. Ouch at Carter & Barthel after Carter’s top rope cutter to the outside that mostly missed the lumberjacks. Aichner’s catch & brainbuster combo to Lee into Imperium Bomb finisher was sweet. NXT Tag title was a good back-and-forth action match. Ciampa’s Kratos style look was cool. Ciampa’s Widow’s Bell to Breakker from the ropes looked brutal. Breakker’s hurricanrana to Ciampa was cool. Ouch at Breakker getting busted open from Ciampa’s DDT onto the floor. Ciampa’s running knee fest to Breakker was nice. NXT title was a quite good back-and-forth action filled match. This week’s Halloween Havoc themed show was mostly enjoyable overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (October 29)
* SmackDown Women’s Championship Contender match – Shotzi vs. Charlotte Flair – 2.5
* Drew McIntyre vs. Mustafa Ali – 2.5
* Trick or Street Fight – Rick Boogs & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Madcap Moss & Happy Corbin – 2.0
* Guest Referee match – Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler – 1.0
* New Day vs. The Usos – 3.0
Overall – 2.0
Best – New Day vs. The Usos match.
Worst – Charlotte Flair’s opening promo segment and the Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler match.
Show Notes – Opening Flair rambling promo about being better than everyone else in WWE’s Women’s division and Sasha Banks & Shotzi responses segment stunk. Shozti’s suicide dive to Flair on the outside was very rough looking and/or botched. Shotzi’s Frankensteiner to Flair was nice. Shozti vs. Flair was a mostly solid back-and-forth style match despite also being sloppy at times & the weak ending. Shozti’s post-match attack & heel turn on Banks was interesting but Banks’ random face turn has been odd. Jeff Hardy backstage interview about his return to SD was okay but Corbin & Moss jokes interruption was lame. Adam Pearce promo segment about suspending & fining Lesnar was decent at best. Heyman backstage interview rant about Lesnar & his rampage last week was fine. McIntyre’s chop to Ali sending him flying across the ring was nice & same for his overhead suplex to Ali afterwards. McIntyre vs. Ali was a solid brief match. King Woods knighting of Kofi Kingston segment & response by Usos was all right. Corbin trolling the crowd by smashing a pumpkin on the floor instead of on Boogs or Nakamura was a bit funny. Boogs’ pumpkin attacks to Corbin was a bit funny. Trick or Street Fight was mostly a train wreck in terms of quality & had a buzzkill shenanigans ending but it did had some nice comedic moments. Yikes at Naomi botching a springboard dive to Baszler. Naomi vs. Baszler was a big waste of time & same for the Naomi vs. Deville feud so far. Usos’ catch & toss into the timekeeper area of Kingston’s Trust Fall was cool. New Day vs. Usos was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. This week’s show was mostly dull overall.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (October 25)
* Diamante & Xtina Kay vs. Leyla Hirsch & Ryo Mizunami – 3.0
* FTR vs. Mike Reed & Toa Liona – 2.5
* Emi Sakura vs. Reka Tahaka – 2.0
* QT Marshall vs. 10 – 3.0
* 3-on-1 Handicap match – Paul Wight vs. Arjun Singh, Cole Karter, & Carlie Bravo – 2.0 (Squash)
Overall – 3.0
Best – Diamante & Xtina Kay vs. Leyla Hirsch & Ryo Mizunami match.
Worst – The nasty looking bruised welt under QT Marshall’s eye during his match against 10.
Show Notes – Mizunami’s vicious chop to Diamante sending her crashing to the mat was nice. Hirsch’s German Suplex to Diamante bending her in half was nice. Diamante & Kay vs. Hirsch & Mizunami opener was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Harwood’s Gordbuster to Reed was nice. Liona’s running crossbody to both of FTR at the same time was cool. FTR vs. Reed & Liona was a solid tag match. Sakura vs. Tahaka was a somewhat decent match. 10’s swift punch to Marshall causing him to stagger to the ground was nice. Yikes at the big welt under Marshall’s eye afterwards. Marshall vs. 10 was an entertaining hard hitting bout, especially the latter half. Jon Moxley vignette about his new Mox book was splendid. 3-on-1 Handicap match was a decent squash style bout. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall.

AEW Dark (October 26)
* Bobby Fish vs. Invictus Khash – 2.0 (Squash)
*Riho vs. Xtina Kay – 2.0
* Jack Evans vs. Eddie Kingston – 2.5
* Dante Martin vs. JDX – 3.0
* Tiger Ruas vs. DJ Brown – 1.0 (Squash)
* Diamante vs. Skyler Moore – 2.0 (Squash)
* 10 vs. Shayne Stetson – 2.0 (Squash)
* Too Fast Too Fuego (Fuego Del Sol & Fuego Dos) vs. Kidd Bandit & Dean Alexander – 3.0
* Aaron Solo vs. Bryan Danielson – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Aaron Solo vs. Bryan Danielson match and the heavy focus on promos and interviews throughout the show.
Worst – Tiger Ruas vs. DJ Brown match.
Show Notes – Fish vs. Khash opener was a decent squash style match. Fish’s post-match interview about Punk was okay. Riho forgetting during her entrance that the AEW Studio stage’s ramp doesn’t go all the way down to the floor was a bit funny. Riho vs. Kay was a mostly decent match. Sammy Guevara & Ethan Page promo segment about their upcoming TNT title match & brawl with Scorpio Sky, Santana, & Ortiz was all right. Kingston’s catch & T-Bone Suplex counter of Evans top rope dive was cool. Evans vs. Kingston was a solid hard hitting bout. Martin vs. JDX was a pretty good fast paced action match despite being very brief. Martin & Lio Rush interview segment about the Sydal Bros was fine. Adam Cole interview segment about his bad blood with Jungle Boy & Tony Schiavone was all right. Mark Sterling & Jade Cargill backstage interview about the TBS tournament & Cargill’s ranking was decent. Ruas post-match interview about wanting better competition in AEW was okay. Tony Nese backstage interview about his reason for coming to AEW & mocking AEW’s roster was fine. Excalibur & Taz’s banter about Cody Rhodes being Fuego Dos was a bit funny. Fuego Dos’ powerbomb counter of Bandit’s assisted hurricanrana was nice. Del Sol’s springboard spiked Tornado DDT finisher to Alexander was cool. Too Fast Too Fuego vs. Kidd Bandit & Alexander was a pretty good back-and-forth action bout. Bryan’s running dropkicks, chops, & kicks combo to Solo in the corner was sweet. Solo’s corkscrew kick to Danielson was nice. Solo vs. Danielson was a quite good hard fought action & grapple style match. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

AEW Dynamite (October 27)
* CM Punk vs. Bobby Fish – 3.0
* MJF vs. Bryce Donovan – 1.5 (Squash)
* TNT Championship – “All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Sammy Guevara (c) – 3.5
* TBS Championship tournament First Round match – Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida – 3.5
* AEW World Championship Eliminator tournament First Round match – 10 vs. Jon Moxley – 2.0 (Squash)
* Dark Order (John Silver, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, & Colt Cabana) vs. The Elite (Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Adam Cole, & Kenny) – 3.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – TNT Championship match and the Dark Order vs. Super Elite match.
Worst – Cody Rhodes rambling promo about AEW fans, not wanting to turn heel, family life, and other stuff.
Show Notes – Punk vs. Fish opener was a pretty good back-and-forth hard hitting match despite dragging a bit long. MJF’s post-match promo trashing Boston & Darby Allin, Allin video response, & brawl with Pinnacle, Sting, & Allin was excellent. Britt Baker & Pals backstage interview about Abadon was a bit funny. Page’s backbreaker to Guevara onto the top rope looked brutal. Guevara’s springboard cutter to Page was cool. Guevara’s Shooting Star Press to Page on the outside was awesome. Guevara’s Frankensteiner counter of Page’s Super Ego’s Edge was cool. TNT title was a very good action packed match. Kingston & Danielson backstage interview about their upcoming match was superb. Shida’s release Straight Jacket Suplex to Deeb was cool. Deeb vs. Shida was a very good back-and-forth action match, especially the latter half & ending sequence. Seeb’s brutal post-match attack on Shida was probably legit painful. Yikes at 10’s face oozing blood after Moxley chucking him hard into the steel steps & ring post. Moxley’s vicious destruction of 10 was cool. Cody’s rambling promo about stuff, Andrade’s response, & brawl with Black & PAC was decent. Andrade mocking Cody’s awful looking tattoo was funny though. The Elite’s Ghostbusters style entrance was cool. Grayson’s hurricanrana to Omega via Young Bucks assist was cool. Elite’s superkicks & Ushigoroshi combo to Grayson was cool. Ouch at Cabana’s back after Super Elite’s powerbomb onto proton packs. Hangman Page’s “Stay Puft Man” surprise appearance was wonderful. Dark Order vs. Elite was a very entertaining action filled & comedic-based match. This week’s show was fantastic overall.

AEW Rampage (October 29)
* AEW World Championship Eliminator tournament Semi-Finals match – Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston – 4.0
* Matt Sydal vs. Dante Martin – 4.0
* No Disqualification Trick or Treat match – Dr. Britt Baker vs. Abadon – 3.0
Overall – 4.0
Best – Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston match.
Worst – The state of Daniel Bryan’s bruised chest after his match against Eddie Kingston.
Show Notes – Danielson & Kingston’s stiff chops exchange in the corner was sweet. Yikes at the bruised welts on Danielson’s chest. Kingston’s Saito Suplex to Danielson on the floor was brutal. Danielson’s super backdrop to Kingston bending him in half was cool. Kingston’s DDT counter to Danielson’s armbar attempts was nice. Danielson’s Triangle Choke & elbows strikes finisher to Kingston was cool & Kingston giving the middle finger to Danielson during it was great. Danielson vs. Kingston opener was an amazing grueling physical battle. CM Punk & Kingston backstage confrontation was interesting. Martin’s head scissors toss to Sydal via ropes assist into the corner was cool. Martin got some really amazing height with his springboard dropkick to Sydal. Sydal’s vicious running knees to Martin in the corner was cool. Martin’s sunset flip pin to Sydal was silky smooth. Martin’s counters exchange into a hurricanrana into a double foot stop to Sydal was awesome. Sydal’s leaping Frankensteiner to Martin from the top rope was nice. Martin’s cutter counter of Sydal’s Lighting Spiral was cool. Sydal vs. Martin was an outstanding back-and-forth fast paced action filled match. Abadon & Baker split-screen pre-match interview was a bit funny. Ouch at Abadon’s back after Baker’s swinging neckbreaker & suplex afterwards onto a table on the outside that didn’t break. Ouch at Baker’s back after Abadon’s Uranage onto thumbtacks. Baker’s curb stomp to Abadon onto a chair was nice. Baker’s superkick to Abadon with tacts in her mouth was crazy. Baker vs. Abadon was a quite good hard style bout. This week’s show was one of Rampage’s best episodes.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Impact! (October 28)
* X-Division Championship – Rocky Romero vs. Trey Miguel (c) – 3.5
* Tasha Steelz vs. Rachael Ellering – 2.5
* Joe Doering vs. Heath – 2.5
* Ace Austin vs. Chris Sabin – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Minoru Suzuki’s Impact debut and the X-Division Championship match.
Worst – The rough finish to the Tasha Steelz vs. Rachael Ellering match.
Show Notes – Opening Moose & Edwards brawl, promo by Moose about his Impact title win, & brawl with Moose & Alexander was all right. Minoru Suzuki’s Impact debut & brawl with Alexander was sweet. Moose & Matt Cardona backstage segment & brawl was fine. Romero’s armbar counter of Miguel’s springboard attempt onto the ropes was brutal. Romero’s dropkick counter of Miguel’s Spider Trey was cool. Miguel’s one-arm sitdown powerbomb counter of Romero’s armbar was nice. X-Division title was a very entertaining action packed match. Maclin, D’Amore, Cardona, Edwards, & Alexander backstage ruckus about wanting title shots against Miguel & Moose was fine. Steelz vs. Ellering was a solid match despite the rough ending. Morrissey’s backstage promo about Moose’s betrayal & Moose response was fine. IInspiration’s backstage interview about Knockouts Tag Division was fine. Doering vs. Heath was decent despite the ending shenanigans & lame no contest finish. The Demon & Johnny Swinger backstage segment about Demon’s Impact debut & Swinger’s recent bad luck was all right. Demon joining Decay is interesting. Mickie James promo about her Knockouts title win & title match setup with Madison Rayne was splendid. Suzuki accepting Moose & Morrissey’s tag partner request was interesting. Sabin’s new entrance theme sounds generic. Sabin’s surfboard & Iron Maiden combo to Austin was cool. Sabin’s springboard Tornado DDT to Austin was sweet. Austin vs. Sabin was a really good back-and-forth action filled match. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

Dark Side of the Ring – The Steroid Trials (October 28)
Overall – 3.5
Show Notes – The origin of Vince McMahon & WWF steroid trial revolving around them using the same doctor who got busted for supplying drugs to teen athletes was interesting. Linda McMahon getting tipped off about Dr. Zahorian getting busted for being a steroids dealer was very interesting and a huge “What If” to both WWE and wrestling history had WWF not been aware beforehand of the doctor’s serious legal troubles. Hulk Hogan managing to blunder badly when it came to being an awful liar about his steroids usage on the Arsenio Hall show and putting McMahon into even hotter legal water is still a funny story. HBK & Bret Hart’s road to future top stardom being helped a lot by the fallout from Hogan’s appearance on Arsenio Hall was interesting. Nailz, Zahorian, and Hogan being huge busts as key witnesses for the prosecution and the prosecution screwing up big time with the jurisdiction choice for the trial were other big “What Ifs” had the prosecution not been as terrible as they were with their overall handling of their case against McMahon. Dark Side of the Ring’s Steroids Trial episode was a very enjoyable and interesting look back at one of the most important moments in WWF history.

NJPW Strong Autumn Attack Night 4 (October 30)
* Team Filthy (Danny Limelight & JR Kratos) vs. Rocky Romero & Fred Rosser – 3.5
* Taiji Ishimori vs. Lio Rush – 3.5
* Team Filthy (Royce Isaacs & “Filthy” Tom Lawlor) vs. Suzuki-Gun (Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki) – 3.5
Overall – 4.0
Best – Team Filthy vs. Suzuki-Gun tag team match and the post-match Suzuki & Chris Dickinson promo segment.
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – Krato’s release suplex to Rosser from the corner was nice. Romero’s top rope knee drop to Limelight’s arm was nice. Limelight’s Half-and-Half suplex to Romero bending him in half was cool. Ouch at Limelight’s back after Rosser’s backdrop suplex to the apron. Kratos & Rosser hoss battle portions during the opening tag match were nice. Rosser’s Emerald Frosion counter finisher of Limelight’s Tornado DDT was sweet. Team Filthy vs. Romero & Rosser opener was a very entertaining back-and-forth action filled match. Rush’s dropkick of Ishimori’s leapfrog attempt was cool. Ishimori’s springboard roundhouse kick to Rush sending him spinning to the ground & sliding release German suplex afterwards was nice. Ishimori’s head scissors & Crossface combo to Rush was cool. Rush’s roundhouse spin kick into Final Hour frog splash to Ishimori was sweet. Ishimori vs. Rush was a very good back-and-forth action packed bout. Archer knocking out a couple of the ringside crew during his entrance was hilarious. Isaacs & Lawlor flexing taunts next to a downed Suzuki while Archer ragged on the side was a bit funny. Isaacs’ lariat & Lawlor’s Russian Leg Sweep combo to Archer was nice. Archer’s swift punch & Black Hole Slam to Isaacs was sweet. Isaacs’ Full Nelson release German Suplex to Suzuki was nice. Suzuki’s slaps massacre to Isaacs was cool. Team Filthy vs. Suzuki-Gun was a very good hard hitting bout. Post-match Archer, Suzuki, & Chris Dickinson promo segment about Dickinson vs. Suzuki match setup was awesome. This week’s show was amazing overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – AEW World Championship Eliminator tournament Semi-Finals match – Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW Rampage)
• Best match of the week runner-up – Matt Sydal vs. Dante Martin (AEW Rampage)
• Worst match of the week – Guest Referee match – Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler (WWE Friday Night SmackDown)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – Tiger Ruas vs. DJ Brown (AEW Dark)
• Best show of the week – AEW Rampage
• Worst show of the week – WWE Friday Night SmackDown