Week in Review

Week of August 8, 2020

Each week, Graham "GSM" Matthews breaks down the latest Raw, SmackDown, NXT and 205 Live broadcasts as well as the occasional pay-per-view events for that respective show's highlights, low points and other noteworthy moments. Awards are also given to the week's best match, most impressive Superstar, and strongest show.

Match of the Week:
Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai (NXT, August 5)

With a shot at the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver XXX on the line, there was no reason to think Rhea Ripley and Dakota Kai wouldn't bring the best out of each outer in their excellent outing on Wednesday's NXT. Both women have been doing great work this year and thus it was no surprise that they delivered yet again when it mattered most.

My money was on Ripley to win because she never received a one-on-one rematch for the title after losing it earlier this year, but I actually liked what happened instead with Mercedes Martinez costing her the win. It made sense and the eventual match should be terrific.

Superstar of the Week:
The Riott Squad

I don't know if it's accurate to call them The Riott Squad at this point because of how Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan aren't completely back to being on the same page just yet, but they're off to a solid start. It's been teased for weeks that Riott wanted to bury the hatchet with Morgan, and on Monday's Raw, they finally came face-to-face in the ring on The Kevin Owens Show.

Thanks to KO, the former friends agreed to put their past behind them and attempt to move forward before beating The IIconics in tag team action. This reunion run may prove to be better than the original in time.

Show of the Week:
WWE NXT, August 5

It was another week where all of WWE's shows held my interest and were enjoyable on the whole. That said, I'm giving the slight edge to NXT this week because everything just seemed to click. There were a ton of fun matches, the right winners in most cases, hype for next week's show, and effective build for TakeOver XXX on August 22.

NXT usually locks into a rhythm whenever a TakeOver special is on the horizon and that's exactly what's happening right now. Some episodes of the black-and-gold brand are better than others, but they had an overall excellent episode this week.

Other Notable Highlights and Low Points

This Week's Highlights

Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler: First and foremost, it made no sense for this to be originally advertised as a WWE Championship match before being changed to a non-title affair. Why would Ziggler beg for another opportunity to fight McIntyre if the title wasn't on the line? Aside from that, this was another entertaining encounter outing from these two. The stipulation was slightly disappointing because it was basically the same as what they did at Extreme Rules, but at least it didn't hinder the quality of the contest at all. Ziggler winning was never a possibility unless Randy Orton interfered, but I enjoyed it.
Andrade and Angel Garza vs. Ricochet and Cedric Alexander vs. The Viking Raiders: Part of me thought Ricochet and Alexander might win because The Street Profits have already beaten Andrade and Garza as well as Viking Raiders. Obviously, I thought wrong, but it is odd that Andrade and Garza lost to Street Profits if they were always going to become the next number one contenders. Nonetheless, this was a very fun Triple Threat match.
Bayley vs. Nikki Cross: Bayley and Cross continue to work well together, but I'd be content if I never saw another match of theirs because of how it's been done to death over the last year. In all seriousness, this was a super solid main event for Friday's SmackDown. Cross came close to capturing the title on a few occasions, but Bayley reigned supreme as she should have. The Fiend's post-match attack on Alexa Bliss was even better and I'm excited to see what happens next. And no, I don't think Bliss is Sister Abigail.
Io Shirai and Tegan Nox vs. Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai: NXT's women's division is so stacked at the moment I forgot about Rhea Ripley not being involved in this match. It was a great way to kick off Wednesday's show as everyone got their time to shine and there never seemed to be a dull moment. Shirai continues to be booked strong as NXT Women's Champion and I appreciated that Kai didn't eat the pinfall loss before she faces Ripley next week for a shot at the title.
Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong: You can never go wrong with a Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong match. As expected, this was an absolute blast. Viewers didn't have much of an incentive to see either guy win because they're both heels, but it was an excellent enough matchup that it didn't bother me. Gargano has been doing awesome work in his new role recently and I was happy he won, especially since Strong and the rest of Undisputed Era are likely on their way out of NXT. One would assume that this victory would earn Gargano another chance to qualify for the NXT North American Championship Ladder match at TakeOver XXX, but I feel like NXT has already done too many "Last Chance" matches over the last year or so.

This Week's Low Points

Asuka vs. Sasha Banks: This match leads my "Low Points" column for the second straight week for the same exact reason as it did last week. The reason? The finish once again sucked. It's such a shame because the matchup itself was excellent and on par with their encounter at Extreme Rules. Before Asuka could put Banks away, she was distracted by Bayley beating up Kairi Sane backstage on the big screen. Asuka was moments away from beating Banks, and it wasn't as if Sane was in any real danger. Thus, Asuka looked like it an idiot for getting herself counted out and consequently losing the Raw Women's Championship.
Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler: Unlike Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong, this was a heel vs. heel match I had no interest in seeing. Baszler appeared to be primed to compete for the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam, but with Banks winning the title on Monday, I assume that's no longer in the cards. Instead, she'll have to settle for a feud with... Nia Jax. Thankfully, this didn't last long, but obviously it isn't over between them. Jax has a lot more to gain from this than Baszler.
Bobby Lashley vs. Mustafa Ali: As wonderfully as Ali sold for Lashley, it hurt my heart to see Ali lose so decisively one week removed from his hot return to Raw (that I believe did better numbers on YouTube than anything else on that episode if I'm not mistaken). He's too talented to be reduced to midcard fodder. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for rebuilding Lashley, but it shouldn't come at the expense of Ali. I was hoping Ali would continuing winning before vying for the United States Championship, but apparently not.
Naomi vs. Lacey Evans: It was cool that Naomi picked up a win on SmackDown this week, but the match itself was nothing special. Fans want to see Naomi win, but they also want to see more of her on the show, and a throwaway three-minute match with Evans isn't the answer. Bayley and Banks are all over Raw and SmackDown, and as entertaining as they are, some of that television time they're taking up could be used for someone like Naomi. Hopefully her push sticks this time.
Imperium vs. Ever-Rise: Yes, NXT still has tag team champions, in case you forgot. Seriously, where the hell have these guys been? Unless one of them got the coronavirus, it was ridiculous for them to not be featured on the show for this long. This was a fine way to bring them back into the fold, but the NXT Tag Team Championship has never felt like more of an afterthought. The worst part is that Imperium's Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel are actually really good, but they haven't been positioned as a threat on the show at all in recent months. They'll be defending those tag title against Undisputed Era next week, but the problem is that they shouldn't be winning them either because they should be main roster bound. Either way, NXT's tag team division needs help.

Week in Review

Week of August 8, 2020

Match of the Week:Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai (NXT, August 5)

Superstar of the Week:The Riott Squad

Show of the Week:WWE NXT, August 5

Other Notable Highlights and Low Points

This Week's Highlights

This Week's Low Points

Week in Review Archive

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2015

Match of the Week:
Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai (NXT, August 5)

Superstar of the Week:
The Riott Squad

Show of the Week:
WWE NXT, August 5