WWE Week in Review (9/24/18 – 9/30/18)

Welcome to this edition of WWE Week In Review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have some good matches to bring up for the Top Ten, so let’s get to it before some-body tries to make Bert and Ernie gay.

Worst Promo:

Milwaukee Bull-$@!# (Smackdown) – Aiden English told Lana he knew about what she did in Milwaukee. Who cares?

Best Promo:

Ain’t Got One Left (Raw) – Triple H said the Undertaker couldn’t take his soul because he already sold it. This added more depth to this match than even Vince may have planned on.

Worst Moment:

Host Show-Down (Smackdown) – R-Truth and The Miz fought for control of a television talk show that only airs for five minutes on Smackdown. Does Vince just not want to make any more money on ticket sales or is he just living on the edge?

Best Moment:

Roman Gets Shocked (Raw) – Roman Reigns got out-powered by Rezar, who looked great taking Roman’s thunder, if only for a moment.

Worst Trend:

Dumb Talkin’ (Raw, Smackdown) – This week, we had some stupid promos and angles, like Samoa Joe going to AJ’s house or R-Truth dancing like an idiot. Perfectly good wrestling was upended by dumb things being said to give fine matches silly reasons to exist.

Best Trend:

Prison Sentence Ended (Raw, Smackdown, NXT, 205 Live) – Numerous wrestlers who haven’t gotten a chance to do any-thing of value for quite some time were given better matches than usual and even won in an upset or two.

Worst Match:

Lars Sullivan versus Victor Orchant and The Brian Kendrick versus Local competitor (NXT and 205 Live) – Both of these matches got a 1 out of 5, so that ought to speak for itself.

Best Match:

10. The Miz versus R-Truth (Smackdown)
9. Finn Bálor versus Jinder Mahal (Raw)
8. Sheamus versus Big E (Smackdown)
7. Hiroyo Matsumoto versus Rachel Evers (Mae Young Classic)
6. Io Shirai versus Xia Brookside (Mae Young Classic)
5. Tommaso Ciampa versus Otis Dozovic (NXT)
4. Lio Rush versus Noam Dar (205 Live)
3. Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre versus The Revival (Raw)
2. The Shield versus Acting General Manager Baron Corbin & AOP (Raw)

1. Hideo Itami versus Mustafa Ali (205 Live)

My Take: 4 out of 5 – This was a hell of a main event that looked as grueling a match as any I’ve seen this year. Itami is just too damn good and Ali is doing in the WWE what most wrestlers do on the independent circuit, which is get over. Ali is a big time player who may actually get a shot at the mid-card on Raw or Smackdown, as he can wrestle and make the people care about him and his match. Well, there you go.

Final Words: These guys, like Corey Graves said, tore the house down. Both of these great athletes should get more attention from Vince after this fight, but Vince doesn’t think like most promoters.

Worst Wrestler:

Brie Bella – Brie injured Liv Morgan, by accident. Brie is capable of being a fine talent, but she needs to get a hold of herself before she loses her reputation to talk of being dangerous. Brie needs to slow her offense down and be more select with the chances she takes until she gets her bearings back.

Best Wrestler:

Mustafa Ali – This guy is slowly, but surely, becoming the big star of the cruiserweight division. Ali works hard and gets over, which is all you can ask for of a wrestler.

Worst Show:

None – Each show had a decent score that tied with the other.

Best Show:

None – Each show had a decent score that tied with the other.

Final Verdict: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a decent week that had a few awesome matches, with one being one of the better bouts of the year. When the WWE sticks to wrestling, they seem to do better. If Vince would focus on matches over money, he might actually make a buck he could feel pride in, rather than just seething greed.