Week in Review

Week of January 23, 2021

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:
AJ Styles vs. Ricochet (Raw, January 18)

Raw has largely been a chore to sit through for the better part of the past six months, but I'll take a great match whenever I can get one, and AJ Styles vs. Ricochet was just that. Based on their 2019 rivalry over the United States Championship, I knew this had potential on paper and they did not disappoint.

What's interesting is that there wasn't anything at stake (aside from a possible spot in the men's Royal Rumble match for Ricochet if he won), yet it was one of the best things on the entire show. These two took each other to the limit and had an exciting affair. That Styles Clash in particular was phenomenal, no pun intended. Both guys had stellar showings here.

Superstar of the Week:
Alexa Bliss

I realize it isn't for everyone, but personally, I feel Alexa Bliss is doing the best character work of her entire WWE career right now. That's saying a lot considering she's been on the main roster for almost five years, but I truly believe she's firing on all cylinders and is among the best parts of Raw every week.

She was the focal point of Monday's episode when she welcomed Asuka to her "playground" before facing her in the night's main event. It wasn't an instant classic by any means, but it was nicely executed and Bliss played her role remarkably well, resulting in a huge win for her over the Raw Women's Champion.

Show of the Week:
WWE NXT, January 20

This award is only ever really up for grabs between NXT and SmackDown. The blue brand continues to produce quality shows on Friday night, but it's hard for me to go against NXT this week. There wasn't anything overly exciting on the episode outside of the Fight Pit main event, but the two hours were filled with successful storyline progression and enjoyable matches.

The men's and women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournaments have been all over the episodes lately and this week was no exception. The build for next week was also better than usual, so there isn't a whole lot to complain about. Rather, I'm just excited for the next TakeOver special coming up.

Other Notable Highlights and Low Points

This Week's Highlights

Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, Adam Pearce and Kevin Owens: Reigns wasn't wrong when he said he's been carrying the company these past few years and especially SmackDown these past few months. As strong as SmackDown is on the whole at the moment, there's no denying it would look a lot different without Reigns and Heyman around. The angle advancement with these four on Friday was well done and left me looking forward to the Royal Rumble.

Big E vs. Apollo Crews: Okay, so this didn't last long at all, but what we got from them was pretty good. I was disappointed we didn't get the match from them that I know they're capable of, but this is in the "Highlights" column because I'm digging what these two along with Sami Zayn are doing in the Intercontinental Championship. This is clearly building to a Triple Threat for the title, which has the potential to be a show-stealer. Needless to say, the heel turn for Crews is coming.

Bianca Belair vs. Bayley: This wasn't a match but rather an obstacle course. I typically loathe this type of stuff from WWE, but I honestly thought this was entertaining and played to the strengths of both women. Bayley has turned into an excellent character as a heel in the last year, while Belair was finally able to show off her athleticism beyond what she can do in the ring. To top it off, Bayley attacked Belair afterward, setting the stage for an eventual rematch between the two.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher: I had been waiting months to see these two inside the Fight Pit and I'm happy we got it on Wednesday night. The first one with Riddle and Thatcher was slightly superior, but this was still a lot of fun and different than anything else on NXT this week. The best part about it was that Thatcher won decisively, as he should have. Now, the two will team up in the men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Could they go all the way and win the trophy?

Kushida and Leon Ruff vs. The Way: It's a shame Alex Shelley is currently under contract to IMPACT as it would have been cool to see them reunite with Kushida as The Time Splitters for the second straight year in the Dusty Classic. Nonetheless, Kushida and Ruff had quality chemistry together and this was an entertaining affair. Kushida pinning Johnny Gargano for the victory made sense as I expect Gargano and Kushida to clash for the NXT North American Championship at TakeOver.

Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter vs. Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez: The women's Dusty Classic is off to a solid start. This seemed like an easy win for the heels on paper, but then I realize both of them have bad blood with Io Shirai, so it was perfectly logical for Shirai to interfere and cost them the match. Catanzaro and Carter are more of a true team, anyway. I don't know if they'll win the entire thing, but at the very least, this was a nice underdog moment for them.

The Lucha House Party vs. Imperium: It's awesome that Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik are back on NXT for the time being and are portrayed as the talented wrestlers they are. After falling short in six-man tag team action on Monday's Raw, they returned to NXT and had a blast of a bout with Imperium. Speaking of Imperium, I'm intrigued what's next for them on NXT now that Alexander Wolfe has returned. Fingers crossed that means NXT UK Champion WALTER isn't far behind.

This Week's Low Points

Charlotte Flair vs. Peyton Royce: As I discussed last week, I truly couldn't care less about Charlotte feuding with her father Ric and Lacey Evans. I'm not even sure what the endgame is supposed to be. Is it a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship opportunity for Royce and Evans? Because it looks like Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax will be getting the next shot. This was a decent match, but Royce failing to win even with a distraction with Lacey and Ric was disappointing.

The Dirt Sheet with "Goldberg" and "Drew McIntyre": I'm a fan of The Miz and John Morrison, I really am, but their booking along with most of their talking segments for the last six months or so have been complete trash. This was more of the same unfortunately, though I will admit that the return of Gillberg popped me. The dude attempting to cosplay as McIntyre, however, not so much. This felt like a total waste of television time once it was over as it accomplished nothing.

Shayna Baszler vs. Mandy Rose: I can't be the only one who finds it bizarre that Baszler and Nia Jax complain about wanting a rematch for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, yet they haven't gone after the actual champions in weeks. Instead, their focus has solely been on Rose and Dana Brooke. As a match, this was perfectly fine, but it makes no sense to me why Brooke would beat Baszler clean a few weeks ago and not Rose, who has lost all of her momentum since SummerSlam.

Jeff Hardy vs. Jaxson Ryker: It's the rivalry that will never end. I feel bad for Hardy, who has way more to offer than being involved in meaningless matches with Elias and Ryker. I didn't understand what the point of this was supposed to be if Ryker already beat Hardy and Hardy didn't get that pinfall win back here. If anything, WWE is apparently teasing tension between Elias and Ryker, but they're still so early into their alliance that I don't think anyone would care if they broke up.

Charlotte Flair and Asuka vs. The Riott Squad: This was a well-wrestled match for the most part, but I put it in the "Low Points" column because it came out of nowhere. Flair and Asuka are two huge names and thus this should have been advertised in advance. Plus, I would have waited to do the match until Riott Squad were ready to take the titles from them, but it doesn't look like WWE is headed in that direction. Flair and Asuka holding the belts has proven to be pointless.

Sasha Banks vs. Reginald: Reginald has helped Carmella in a few of her matches, so the idea was that Banks would be able to finally give him his comeuppance in this match. The problem is that his role hasn't been defined well enough, not to mention that it's rare WWE does an intergender match right. The men are always limited, so there's only so much they can do. All he did was jump around ringside, which got old to me very quickly. Banks forces him to tap out, so at least there was that.

Tyler Rust vs. Bronson Reed: This is a minor "Low Point", if only because it paled in comparison to everything else on NXT this week. They worked well together, but both guys need wins at the moment. Rust really impressed me in his recent outing against Tommaso Ciampa and I hope we can get some sort of video package or interview so we can learn more about him. As for Reed, he needs a storyline he can sink his teeth into so he can get on the right track to singles stardom.

Week in Review

Week of January 23, 2021

Match of the Week:AJ Styles vs. Ricochet (Raw, January 18)

Superstar of the Week:Alexa Bliss

Show of the Week:WWE NXT, January 20

Other Notable Highlights and Low Points

This Week's Highlights

This Week's Low Points

Week in Review Archive

2012

2013

2014

2015

Match of the Week:
AJ Styles vs. Ricochet (Raw, January 18)

Superstar of the Week:
Alexa Bliss

Show of the Week:
WWE NXT, January 20