What's in a name?

After weeks of conflicting chat I'm putting it out to hopefully get some sense

.Does google place any weight on. . Com over. Info or the like? If we're targeting hundreds of kws do I need an exact match for the main one?


Ie niche /kW =mensshorts
Is Google going to place more favor on mensshorts. Com
Rather than the often free. Co. UK
Or. Info etc etc

When your getting hit with 17.99 com payments and there's no weight in them why not go for a free. Co. UK especially when the. Com is usually gone but other flavors are often available.

So there's a few things here
Is a. Com worth a shit if so why
Is exact domain matching even relevent if we're targeting sometimes hundreds of kW
And is newmensshorts. Com /Co. UK more likely to generate more traffic than mensshorts. Com
Essentially what's in a name?
When planning hundreds of niche blogs why not save the cash from. Com domains and plough it into other aspects?