Weekly Wrestling Viewing Guide: July 30 - Aug. 5, 2017

There’s a ton of wrestling content nowadays and unless you’re a hardcore pro-graps fan, you have to decide what to watch when and what to consider leaving out. That’s where we come in to help.

Every week, we are going to run down the big in-ring happenings for the easily accessible US wrestling. This won’t cover your indie needs, but ReverendKain always has you covered in his weekly Sermon on the Mat for that.

Bear in mind, matches could be added after this posts that would definitely change how worth a show is to watch.

On Going

G1 Climax (New Japan World)

It’s still early in the G1 so there’s still a lot of lobbying for position. I figure in a week, we’ll know who really has a chance and who doesn’t.

You can see what bouts are coming for the following day on ReverendKain’s daily G1 results post. And he will be doing some recommendation pieces for the week after they are done. Find all of the matches here.

Verdict: If you’ve been curious about New Japan, this is the time to check it out. If you’re already into it, you’re already watching this.

ROH Wrestling ( FITE )

This was added after publish as our Ring of Honor man updated us on the Women of Honor special. It can be caught any time on the link above.

This week is the Women of Honor special, featuring Sumie Sakai vs. Kris Wolf and the main event, Karen Q vs. Kelly Klein vs. Deonna Purrazzo. This will be the TV debut of Kris Wolf

Verdict: If you really like women's wrestling, watch it, ROH has been consistent for weeks now, they've been putting on good shows for about 5 weeks, looks like they're back.

Monday

Monday Night Raw (USA Network)

Raw continues to provide overall solid shows as of late. While they’re still likely an hour too long, they’ve been enjoyable and that third hour hasn’t felt like the burden it has in the past.

The main event is a monster of a match. It’s a triple threat between Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Samoa Joe. These are 3 of the 4 competitors in the SummerSlam main event. There’s nothing on the line outside bragging rights, but it’s a big time match with the three biggest full time players on Raw currently.

Also, Kurt Angle’s son Jason Jordan will be on Miz TV. Perhaps this will lead to a Jason Jordan feud?

My favorite story on Raw right now is the rebuilding of the Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose relationship. They teamed together last week and had great chemistry. But when Seth offered a Shield style fist bump, Dean wasn’t ready for that.

Verdict: Raw is good. Three hours will always be a haul, but it’s worth checking out on DVR or clips later if the length is just too much.

Tuesday

SmackDown Live (USA Network)

SmackDown will be giving away a dream match this week - a bout between John Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura to see who faces Jinder Mahal. Creatively, this seems lazy given the star power of Cena and Nak. Pretty much I am hoping the same as my colleague Marc Normandin that this will be a non-finish match. That being said, a tease of this match could be quite exciting.

Outside that, SmackDown had one of their stronger episodes last week. Much of that had to do with the return of Chris Jericho. It’s not known if that was a one off of he’s going to stick around a month for a SummerSlam program. He’s still touring plenty with Fozzy so any return would only be for the next month.

Verdict: It’s been a slumping show as of late, but perhaps the build to SummerSlam will turn things around. And Cena/Nakamura is something to keep an eye on.

205 Live (WWE Network)

The big stories in the division will be touched on during Raw, but to follow all of the happenings, 205 Live is the spot to look.

Verdict: If you like the cruisers, check it out.

Wednesday

NXT (WWE Network)

TakeOver Brooklyn III isn’t too far away. We heard from one half of the title match last week with a Drew McIntyre promo. This week, we hear from the champion Bobby Roode. Women’s champion Asuka will also be back in Full Sail now that Ember Moon has been named the #1 contender.

Also, this will be Johnny Gargano’s first match back since Tommaso Ciampa betrayed him.

Verdict: NXT has been more than solid as of late and is worth checking out.

Lucha Underground (El Rey Network)

Lucha Underground moves onto the third round of the Cueto Cup. As they do that, the matches will become bigger affairs. The mythology hasn’t been as prominent during the tournament, but most of the matches have been really fun.

Verdict: Lucha Underground is always a fun show. If it’s your bag, watch it.

Thursday

GFW Impact Wrestling (Pop TV)

This week, Impact has advertised a Grand Championship match between EC3 and champion Moose. These matches are three rounds of competition that are scored by judges unless there’s a pinfall or submission. These guys have been feuding for a little bit.

We’re getting deep into the last set of tapings for Impact and often, shows will start to drag when that happens. The crowd is more tired. The talent is more tired. The shows don’t pop as much as the ones closer to the beginning. The Destination X live special isn’t for a few weeks so the next few episodes could bit lethargic.

Verdict: Impact has been overall solid since Slammiversary; however, as they get deeper into their tapings, the shows start to lose steam.

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There’s a ton of other wrestling out there and we can’t cover it all on here. So if there’s something you’re particularly excited for this week, let your fellow wrestling fans know in the comments.

See ya next week!