The Last Week In Wrestling #3 (Wrestling Round-Up)

Welcome to this edition of The Last Week In Wrestling, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a big week to cover, so let’s do so.

WWE Match Ratings Out Of 5:

Raw:

• Finn Balor versus Bobby Lashley – 2.5
• Ruby Riott versus Sasha Banks – 2
• Elias versus Apollo Crews – 2
• Ember Moon versus Nia Jax, Dana Brooke and Tamina (Fatal 4-Way) – 2.5
• Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins versus Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre to win the Raw Tag Team Championships – 4

Smackdown:

• Big Show versus Kofi Kingston – 0
• The Usos versus AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan – 3.5
• Rusev versus Aiden English – 1
• Rey Mysterio versus The Miz – 2.5
• Mandy Rose vs. Naomi… NOPE, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. Naomi and Asuka…. NOPE. Womens Battle Royale? Er… – 0
• Randy Orton versus Jeff Hardy – 2.5

NXT:

• EC3 versus Adam Cole – 3
• Mia Yim versus Aliyah – 2.5
• Kassius Ohno versus Justin Xavier – 2.5

NXT: UK:

• Ligero versus Mike Hitchman – 3
• Dakota Kai versus Killer Kelly – 2.5
• Ashton Smith versus Tucker – 2
• Tyler Bate versus Wolfgang – 3.5

Mixed Match Challenge:

• Finn Bálor & Bayley versus Bobby Roode & Natalya – 2
• The Miz & Asuka versus Jimmy Uso & Naomi – 2

205 Live:

• Mike Kanellis versus Lince Dorado – 3
• Mustafa Ali versus Hideo Itami – Falls Count Anywhere Match – 4

Mae Young Classic:

• Toni Storm versus Meiko Satomura – 3.5
• Io Shirai versus Rhea Ripley – 4

Final Verdict: 2/5

There were highs and lows and every-thing that comes in between, but this was a lousy week over-all, due to inconsistent booking.

Impact Wrestling Match Ratings Out of 5:

• Trevor Lee versus Sami Callihan – 2.5
• Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/ Konnan vs. Heavenly Bodies (Desirable Dustin & Gigolo Justin) – 2
• Gama Singh versus Rohit Raju – 0
• Moose & Killer Kross versus KM & Fallah Bahh – 2
• Kiera Hogan versus Su Yung – 3
• Johnny Impact versus Fenix – Impact World Championship Match – 4.5

Final Verdict: 1.5/5

I know Phil hated Bound For Glory and felt that this was better, but I have the opposite feeling. I could handle Bound For Glory, because it had several matches that felt like they belonged on Pay Per View. This episode was as bad as Bound For Glory could have been if it didn’t have the good matches that it had to redeem it from being one of the league’s biggest failures. I also have a problem with blaming the roster for not “stepping up their game”, as Phil put it. It’s not the roster’s fault that they aren’t making a bigger impact on Impact, but the bookers and promoters for not giving the same amount of room to people like Eddie Edwards and the X-Division as they give to Sami Callihan or Pentagon. How can Petey Williams ever become a great draw if you only see him once a month for five minutes (just for example)? Don Callis needs to stop letting Chris Jericho’s praise, as well as the praise of so many, puff up his ego and focus on the dwindling ratings that didn’t plague Impact when it was run by Vince Russo.

Lucha Underground Match Ratings Out of 5:

• Jake Strong vs. Dante Fox vs. Hernandez vs. Aerostar vs. Big Bad Steve vs. PJ Black vs. King Cuerno – Gift Of The Gods Title Match – 3.5

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

This was a one-match show that did pretty well with only one thing going for it.

Major League Wrestling Match Ratings Out of 5:

• Joey Ryan versus Richard Holliday – 2.5
• LA Park versus PCO – 3.5
• Sami Callihan versus Jimmy Havoc – Spin The Wheel, Make the Deal – 3.5

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Hey, it was good stuff. That’s all you need to know.

Ring Of Honor Match Ratings Out of 5:

• The Briscoes versus Coast 2 Coast – Ring Of Honor World Tag Team Titles Match – 3.5
• Jeff Cobb versus Punishment Martinez – Ring Of Honor World Television Title Match – 2.5
• Marty Scurll versus Chris Sabin – 3.5

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

This was fine night for ROH.

NWA 70th Anniversary PPV Match Ratings Out of 5:

• Sam Shaw versus Colt Cabana, Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky – NWA National Championship Tournament Semi-Final Four-Way Elimination Match – 3
• Barrett Brown versus Laredo Kid – 3
• Willie Mack versus Jay Bradley, Ricky Starks and Mike Parrow – NWA National Championship Tournament Semi-Finals Four-Way Elimination Match – 3
• Tim Storm versus Peter Avalon – Kiss My Foot Match – 2.5
• Jazz versus Penelope Ford – NWA World’s Women’s Championship Match – 3
• Willie Mack versus Sam Shaw – NWA National Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final – 3
• Crimson & Jax Dane (w/ Road Warrior Animal) versus Shannon Moore & Crazzy Steve – Tag Team Open Challenge Match – 2
• Nick Aldis versus Cody Rhodes – Two Out Of Three Falls Match For The NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship – 4.5

Final Verdict: 4/5

This was good stuff, warts and all.
______

Best Promo:

Roman Is Sick (WWE: Raw) – Roman Reigns cut a fine promo where he revealed he had leukemia and was leaving to battle the disease, for the second time. In one night, Roman went from hated to beloved, so at least that should put the hatred for the man into the proper context.

Best Moment:

Respect Of The People (WWE: Raw) – When Roman Reigns admitted he had leukemia, he became a champion of the people after several years of being hated by them, due to Vince’s booking. When Roman returns, I hope he gets the respect he deserves and the chance to succeed without Vince’s agenda screwing him over.

Best Move:

Pile-Driver (Major League Wrestling) – Sami Callihan hit a Pile-Driver on Jimmy Havoc while he was locked in a body-bag. You don’t see that every day.

Best Match:

Nick Aldis versus Cody Rhodes – Two Out Of Three Falls Match For The NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship – This was completely different from most of the matches you’ll see this year. Consider this taken from the page of classic NWA wrestling, which makes it even better that it happened on the NWA 70th anniversary show.

Best Wrestler:

Roman Reigns (WWE) – Roman didn’t even wrestle and he managed to finally get over with the crowd. Making him the wrestler of the week might make it seem like I’m just giving him a charity award, but Roman made the best of a raw deal and might have given himself the break he needed to get out from under Vince’s thumb. When Roman beats leukemia, I hope he is able to use his new connection with the people as protection against Vince McMahon’s agenda and reclaim his career.

Best Card:

NWA 70th Anniversary (National Wrestling Alliance) – This card was the strongest one to be booked this week and was quite solid, even when it faltered.

Best Show:

Mae Young Classic (WWE) – The matches were great and the episode was impeccably assembled. This is the way it should be.

Best League:

National Wrestling Alliance – Billy Corgan ran a fine event that, while having its problems, did more to offer the potential of that league’s future than any other did, this week.

Final Judgement: 3/5

This was a varied week that had quite a few bad matches, but also showed that wrestling is far from death and can thrive if the WWE were to ever disappear.