Welcome to the WWE Superstars Write-Up!!

Match #1: Dolph Ziggler vs. Shelton Benjamin
So this would be “build” towards the MITB match. Shelton gets a nice pop entering second. If he’s called the Gold Standard, why isn’t there gold around his waist? There should be. Ziggler starts off aggressively with kicks and strikes and ends up locking in a sleeper. Shelton counters out but Ziggler hits a leg lariat for a two count. He then starts the assault of stomps and elbows. Shelton fights out of a neck submission and builds quick offense with a couple of strikes and a Samoan drop. Two count. He sets Ziggler up for a superplex but it doesn’t work. They get caught up on the ropes, but Dolph recovers first and hits the Zig Zag. He takes some time and Shelton kicks out! Dolph is furious and goes right to the sleeper. He wraps the legs around and takes Shelton to the ground. Benjamin passes out and the ref calls for the bell.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Quick match with a bit of a surprise ending, which saw Shelton kick out of the Zig Zag. It seems this was done to build the sleeper as sort of a finishing move for Dolph. These guys did what they could in not even five minutes, and I’d expect a few more random MITB participant matches on Superstars in the next couple of weeks.
**

The main event, from Raw, will be MVP and Christian taking on Chavo Guerrero and Carlito.

Match #2: Mike Knox vs. Goldust
For the second straight week, Mike Knox finds himself without an entrance worthy of making the show. Goldust, however, gets his entrance, as he had an okay match with Jericho last week. Knox hits a cheap shot and goes right to work in the corner. Goldust tries to fight back but gets hit with a dropkick (yes, a dropkick from Knox) for a near fall. Neck submission applied. Goldust gets out of it and hits a boatload of offense ending with a bulldog for a two count. He hits a couple of strikes in the corner and connects with a quick scoop slam for another two count. Knox misses the bicycle kick but hits the sick running bear. He tries the pin twice but can’t keep Goldust down for three either time. Knox tries a powerslam but Goldust counters out of it and hits the Final Cut for the win.
Winner: Goldust

Just like last week, I’m not liking this pattern of very short matches. Two bouts should not be finished 15 minutes into the show. The match was okay, but just like the first one, it didn’t last very long.
*3/4

NXT recap, most likely to try and get that 1.0 rating up. If you don’t watch NXT I highly recommend it, and that’s not just because I blog about that show as well.

WM recall of Lesnar vs. Goldberg at XX with Austin stunning everyone afterwards. Can’t wait to see him back on Raw.

Match #3: Santino Marella vs. Zack Ryder
If this match gets more time than the other two, especially Shelton vs. Dolph, we riot. Santino immediately shows his mat wrestling skills with a side headlock. Zack counters into one of his own and wins the shoulder block battle. Santino hits an arm drag after a nice exchange and a scoop slam. He tries to send Zack halfway across the ring but Ryder stays on his feet. He follows it up with a clothesline and a neckbreaker for a near fall. Neck submission applied. Santino throws Zack off but gets sent back down with a kick to the face. He gets sent into repeated turnbuckles, which really makes him ANGER. He fights back with some strikes, a split, and a hip toss. Cobra time and it bites Ryder right in the nose. Rosa jumps on the apron and causes a distraction. That allows Ryder to gain the advantage by sending Santino neck first off the top rope. He hits the leg lariat and the Zack Attack for the win.
Winner: Zack Ryder

I’m starting to sound like a broken record. What kind of in-depth analysis can I give with a match like that? Not much. Just another filler. I’m looking for the main event to deliver to make this a decent show.
*3/4

(Insert many videos here that take away from quality wrestling.)

Match #4: Christian (w/Heath Slater) & MVP vs. Carlito (w/Michael Tarver) & Chavo Guerrero
We are ready to go in this main event as Tarver gets ready for some more SERIOUS cheerleading. Chavo and MVP to kick it off. Chain wrestling is followed by a takedown from MVP and a one count. Christian gets the tag and Chavo immediately goes to tag in Carlito. Christian hits a dropkick for a near fall and a vicious strike afterwards. He avoids a couple of wild swings but ends up running to a knee. Carlito sends Christian to the apron and then knocks him to the outside as we go to commercial.

Carlito has an arm and back submission hold firmly in place in the center of the ring. Christian gets out of it but ends up getting hit with a flying elbow. Two count. Scoop slam connects but Christian gets the boot up after Carlito heads to the second rope. He gets the tag to MVP, who hits plenty of offense, ending with the facebuster. He calls for the BALLIN elbow and hits it. He measures Carlito for the Playmaker but Chavo pulls Carlito out of the ring. He hits a dropkick to the outside on both of them. As he gets back in the ring, he gets distracted by all three heels and ends up on the outside. Carlito rams him into the security barrier and gets him back in the ring. He hits the scoop slam and tags in Chavo, who hits a quick splash and a couple of strikes for a near fall. Drop toe hold finds the mark just as MVP starts to build some momentum. He fires away in the heels corner and gets the tag to Carlito. MVP tries a wild swing at Tarver, who continues to mock him, but just can’t reach the rookie. Carlito continues the assault of stomps and strikes. MVP fights back and throws Carlito face first to the canvas. Both men make tags and Christian is a house of fire. Springboard sunset flip attempt gets a two count. He goes back to the second rope, hits the flying elbow, and calls for the Killswitch. Carlito tries to get involved but Christian takes him out. He attempts a second sunset flip, but Chavo counters with his own pin attempt for a long two count. He goes right for the Three Amigos and hits two, but Christian slides out of the third and hits an inverted DDT. Pin attempt broken up by Carlito and now MVP gets involved. The action between MVP and Carlito spills to the outside. Christian tries the Killswitch but it is countered with a Gory bomb. He heads up top for the frog splash but Christian avoids it. He recovers quickly and finally hits the Killswitch for the three count.
Winners: Christian & MVP

Nice tag match to end a show with just not enough wrestling. Both Christian and MVP would be good picks to win the MITB, but it seems Christian might be a better choice, seeing as WWE has been very hesitant to give MVP that main event push he works so hard for. Chavo is definitely underrated, as I say often, and should be getting much more mid-card action. Carlito works much better in his heel role, and even though people have called him lazy, it looks like he’s picked up his game.
**1/2

Time and time again, I talk about the ideal Superstars show having three matches. This episode was a prime reason why that sentiment is true. The main event was decent, but the other three matches were very rushed around lots of other videos. I guess the company feels the need to show those videos, but at the very least, take one of those matches away and give the other two a couple more minutes to develop. I find it much more interesting when this show displays quality wrestling that is better than any you will find on Raw. Unfortunately, all good matches need time, and they just aren’t getting it right now.

The match of the night was Raw’s Christian & MVP vs. Chavo Guerrero & Carlito and this week’s edition of WWE Superstars gets a grade of C+.

And a fierce tie has developed! Also notice how many matches on the top ten list Chavo is involved in.

2010 Matches of the Week

1. Smackdown 4
2. Raw 4

My 2010 Top Ten WWE Superstars Matches

1. Christian vs. William Regal    01/14/10
2. Chris Jericho vs. Kane    01/21/10
3. Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox    02/18/10
4. Evan Bourne vs. Carlito    02/04/10
5. Zack Ryder vs. Christian    02/11/10
6. Evan Bourne & Primo vs. Carlito & Chavo Guerrero    02/18/10
7. Kofi Kingston vs. Chavo Guerrero      03/04/10
8. Chavo Guerrero vs. Primo vs. Chris Masters    01/28/10
9. Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer    01/21/10
10. Christian & MVP vs. Chavo Guerrero & Carlito      03/11/10

Who Got Da Boot: Finlay vs. Mike Knox from the episode airing 1/07/10

Later.

I brought this conundrum (yes, 10 dollar word) up briefly in my Superstars blog, but I want to look at it in a little more depth here. With the WM card looking stronger than it has been in years, what should the main event be?

In my mind, Taker vs. HBK has to end the show. It should have been the true main event last year and it should be again in less than three weeks. I can’t remember the last time I was looking forward to a match more than this one. With so much riding on it, and with the recent stipulations of no DQ and no count-out, there is no better choice. However, with the other strong main events on the card, a case could be made for a different scenario.

If Taker/HBK does not headline, then I think Jericho vs. Edge should be there. These two could go for a couple of hours and I don’t think anyone would get bored. These two couldn’t have a terrible match if they tried, and putting them at the end of the night would be a great end to a nice card. There is also Batista vs. Cena, which is something I’m really looking forward to as well. Their star power alone would make the choice to be true main event a good one, but in terms of wrestling, this is most likely to be the weakest match out of the three. That’s not to say the match won’t be good, but do you really want to see that match right after Taker/HBK and Jericho/Edge put on stellar contests? It could be one of the biggest letdowns ever. That’s why the end of the night should go like this: Batista/Cena, followed by Jericho/Edge, and then Taker/HBK. WWE does have a tendency to throw meaningless matches in between main events, but I don’t think they need to do that if they go with this order.

That order is just my opinion, and to me it makes the most sense. What do you readers think should be the true main event? I’d love to hear your opinions on the comment board about this!

Show time. Thanks to being on break, I can get this blog posted pretty quickly. Hopefully I’ll be able to do the same for Superstars this week.

Match #1: R-Truth & David Otunga vs. The Miz & Daniel Bryan
Truth is still getting pretty huge pops on his entrance. This should be a good tag contest with two of the rookies that have been focused on the most in the first couple of weeks. Miz grabs a mic before the match starts to give Bryan a little pep talk. He tells Daniel that he hasn’t proved anything, and if he lets the MIz down, the Miz will personally make sure Bryan never becomes a WWE Superstar. If Bryan gets pinned, Miz will have him thrown off of NXT. Good stuff. Truth and Bryan to kick things off. Truth actually ignores Bryan’s attempt at a handshake. Truth wins the shoulder block battle and hits a clothesline for a one count. Otunga is tagged in and a little double team shoulder blocking ensues. David works over the left arm and gets Truth back in the action. Bryan fights back with a couple of uppercuts but gets knocked down by another clothesline. Truth disposes of both Bryan and Miz to the outside and gets an assist from Otunga on a big suicide dive to send us to commercial.

Bryan is working Truth over well with a couple of submissions. Truth tries fighting out but gets hit with a running knee. Miz is in and he applies a front face lock. Quick rollup from Truth gets a near fall, but his momentum is immediately squashed with a clothesline. Miz charges but ends up getting tied around in the ropes. Truth finally fights away and tags in Otunga. He hits his quick offense, ending with a quick slam on a leaping MIz. Otunga runs into the ropes, Bryan tags himself in, and hits a nice dropkick from the top rope. He hits a flurry of kicks in the corner and makes a counter into a heel hook. Otunga is screaming in pain in the center of the ring until Miz tags himself in. He bitchslaps Bryan and they start going at it. Miz turns around and gets hit with a heel kick by Truth. Otunga hits his finisher and they pick up the win.
Winners: R-Truth & David Otunga

Bryan leaves his pro laying in the ring as he poses walking up the ramp. He finds his way back only to have Miz yell at him. He tells him to go away, Bryan fakes a slap, and MIz flinches big time.

That was a nice tag match to open up the show, and it built the Wrestlemania tag match as well as dissension between Miz and Bryan. Truth impressed, as did Bryan, who showed some more of his submission prowess with that nice exchange into a heel hook. Otunga looked fine as well, but he definitely still needs some fine-tuning with his work. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two rookies were the top two of the show when it is all said and done.
**1/2

Video of Slater talking about being surprised by Carlito on last week’s episode. He’s pissed off (as he should be) and tells Carlito to watch the hell out. Slater vs. Carlito is up next.

Striker catches up with Miz backstage and points out that Miz actually took the loss and maybe he let Bryan down. Bryan pops in and mentions that every tag partner has carried him. Miz brings up the fact that he’s the pro, but Bryan brings up again that he is the one who got beat. A little more slapping occurs and Bryan walks out.

Profile video time. This one features Matt Hardy’s rookie, Justin Gabriel. We cut to Hardy and Gabriel backstage. Hardy says that he was the first rookie to beat a pro and gives him a pep talk. He says do the same thing tonight until Jericho and Barrett walk in. Jericho says he didn’t do good enough because Wade Barrett will kick his ass. Gabriel says he respects Jericho but can definitely still beat Barrett. Wade wonders what will happen to Gabriel, but Hardy gets in Jericho’s face and tells him whats up.

Match #2: Heath Slater (w/Christian) vs. Carlito (w/Michael Tarver)
Slater and Christian enters first, and Carlito and his rookie enter with mic in hand. Carlito watched the video and says he should be honored that he got spat in the face. He should be begging Carlito to spit in his face again. He teases spitting again, but Slater avoids it and starts some quick offense. Carlito hits an elbow but the ref breaks it up since the match hasn’t even started yet. Commercial time.

Carlito has Slater locked in a tight armbar. He continues to try and intimidate Slater but it’s not working. He charges and Slater throws Carlito to the outside. He takes his time getting back into the ring. Carlito goes right back on the offensive with vicious lefts in the corner. He misses a charge and gets hit with a couple of strikes, but gets the momentum back with a big boot. Two count. Neck submission applied. Carlito tries throwing him over the top but Slater hangs on the apron. He tries a rollup but gets stomped in the face. Back and arm submission applied this time. Carlito misses another charge and turnbuckle meets the family jewels. Slater hits a couple of quick clotheslines and a backdrop for a near fall. He tries another clothesline but runs into a big sit-down spinebuster. Carlito goes to grab his apple but Christian already got to it. Instead he goes for the Backstabber, but Slater counters into a rollup for a long two count. Carlito rams Slater into the corner, but Heath counters with another rollup and gets the three count on this attempt.
Winner: Heath Slater

Things were pretty slow at the beginning, with Carlito using plenty of heel tactics to stall time. Slater looked okay when hitting some of his quick offense, and the end was played up very nicely. Slater is now the second rookie to pin a pro, but with this one being a quick rollup and the other being part of a tag match, neither have actually been legitimate wins. It will be interesting to see which rookie gets a clean victory over a pro without a rollup or anything of the sort.
**

Profile video = Darren Young

Straight Edge Society talking amongst themselves backstage about helping out Young. Darren walks in and wants to know why he can’t continue to live his lifestyle. Punk continues to preach straight-edge to Young and they walk away from him again.

Raw Rebound looks at more Batista vs. Cena. Then Cole and Mathews run down the WM card.

Match #3: Wade Barrett (w/Chris Jericho) vs. Justin Gabriel (w/Matt Hardy)
Before we go to commercial, it is announced that the return of the highlight reel will occur on this coming Smackdown. Looking forward to that!

Gabriel and Hardy make their entrance and we are ready to go. Things start off quick, with Justin going for the early pin and only getting a one count. He tries a leap from the second rope but gets caught and rammed into the corner. Barrett rams and punches away at Gabriel’s lower back as Jericho praises his work to the announce team. He uses the ropes to wrench away at Gabriel’s back and neck. One count. Submission applied. Gabriel kicks his way out of it and hits a nice spinning heel kick. He hits a big right and gets a near fall. He tries a rollup and gets another two count. Barrett uses the ropes for a sickening backbreaker, but Gabriel still kicks out at one. Scoop slam connects. And another. He sets Gabriel up for the superplex, but Justin fights out, regains his composure, and hits the awesome 450 splash. Done.
Winner: Justin Gabriel

Hardy gets in the ring to celebrate with his rookie. Jericho runs in from behind, knocks Hardy out of the ring, and hits the Codebreaker on Gabriel. He puts Justin in the Walls just to teach him a little lesson. Him and Barrett pose as we head off the air.

The match was way too short but it was enjoyable in the few minutes it lasted. Jericho is making a hobby out of putting rookies in the Walls at the end of each show. Gabriel is very agile in the ring and really showed that he could be pretty innovative. I would love to see him in a singles match next week that gets some more time. Barrett worked well also, although once again this match was too short to really give us a good analysis of the wrestlers.
**

Show Rating: B+

The Good: The opening tag match accomplished a number of goals. Not only was a solid match delivered, but storylines were advanced for both the unified tag titles and the Miz and Bryan situation. The backstage segments with Miz & Bryan, Punk, and Hardy & Jericho were good also.

The Bad: Nothing was completely bad about this show, but the final two matches of the night weren’t exactly great ones. Most everyone looked good tonight, but I would like to see just a little more wrestling. The middle encounter was bogged down by Carlito’s heelish tactics, and the main event was way too short to develop, mainly because of all the videos and rebounds we got during the show.

The Ugly: Jericho brought up a good point when he was yelling at the announce team. What if he could replace Cole? That’d be awesome. I mean, anything to get rid of ol’ MIchael. Of course we would still love to see Jericho wrestle. Also, did someone get Tarver a cheerleader’s outfit for his birthday? Or at least pom poms?

My Top Ten WWE Matches of the Year

1. Smackdown WHC Elimination Chamber          WWE Elimination Chamber
2. Raw WWE Championship Elimination Chamber          WWE Elimination Chamber
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio          Smackdown   1/22
4. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk          Smackdown   2/12
5. Royal Rumble Match          Royal Rumble
6. U.S. Championship: The Miz vs. MVP          WWE Elimination Chamber
7. John Morrison & R-Truth vs Chris Jericho & Drew McIntyre          Smackdown   1/22
8. Christian & Kane vs. William Regal & Ezekiel Jackson          ECW   1/26
9. WHC: The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio          Royal Rumble
10. Unified Tag Title Match: DX vs. Jeri-Show          Raw   1/4

Later.

Welcome to the WWE Superstars Write-Up!!

Match #1: Kofi Kingston vs. Chavo Guerrero
We should get a nice opening matchup here between two guys who can wrestle good matches with most anyone. Mat wrestling to start the match. Chavo wins the shoulder block battle but runs into a jumping elbow for the first near fall of the night. Chavo hits an uppercut but the ref stops the match because he has a cut above his left eye. What bullshit. I don’t curse often, but that fucking sucks. Kofi hits a dropkick and a bunch of kicks in the corner, but Chavo counters with a heel kick. He is still bleeding a decent amount (as decent as we’ll ever see these days) as he wrenches away at the arm. Submission applied. Kofi tries to fight out can’t and gets thrown to the outside. Chavo hits a suicide dive on Kofi, rolls him back in the ring, hits another splash, and gets a two count. Kofi is able to send Chavo out of the ring and hit a suicide dive of his own through the ropes. He gets Chavo back in the ring and heads to the top rope, but Chavo stops him. He attempts a superplex but gets knocked off and hit with a crossbody. One count. Kofi hits a dropkick and a clothesline, and follows it up with the boom drop. He’s calling for Trouble in Paradise but Chavo slides to the apron. He gets back in the ring, avoids a charge by Kofi, and makes a really nice transfer into a half Boston crab. Kofi is able to get to the ropes quickly. Kofi misses with the first Trouble in Paradise, but gathers himself and hits on the second attempt. That’s it.
Winner: Kofi Kingston

This match just wasn’t given enough time. In the short time it went on I was really enjoying it, but of course the momentum was briefly killed with the blood stoppage. That really has to stop, because now it’s starting to take an effect on the actual matches. The contest was a very good one, with Chavo showing us why he should stop feuding with people less than half his height and continue to put on good matches with people like Kofi every week.
**1/2

The main event, from Smackdown, features the WHC Chris Jericho taking on a new member of the brand, Goldust.

Match #2: William Regal vs. Evan Bourne
We return from break and Regal is already chilling in the ring, which is the classic sign of an imminent defeat. This should be another interesting matchup. Regal starts off by wrenching away at Bourne’s right arm. Evan spins out and build momentum with a head scissors. He follows up with a nice dropkick and a side headlock of the deadly kind. Regal powers away and hits an elbow and a throw. Two count. Arm and neck submission applied as the crowd lets Regal know what they think of him. Bourne reverses for a second but gets clocked with a left hand. Two count after a couple of uppercuts and a kick. Bill goes back to the neck and arm submission. He gets up, avoids a left and connects with a kick to the back. Regal fights back with a slam but misses the running knee. Bourne hits his own knee, climbs up top, and connects with Air Bourne. That’s a wrap.
Winner: Evan Bourne

Another short match, but it was enough to show why Regal is one of the most technically sound wrestlers you will ever see. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any time to let Bourne showcase his high flying prowess, or to really let anyone get into it.
*3/4

Match #3: Mike Knox vs. Kane
Once again, a member of the match is already hanging out in the ring, and that is Mike Knox. Kane gets a deserving pop on his way to the ring as Striker hypes WM. Knox strikes away viciously in the corner but walks into an uppercut. Dropkick on the seated Knox connects for a one count. Knox counters back with that scary running bear of his for a near fall. He can’t keep the offense up, as he turns right into a big boot. Kane, however, is able to keep his offense going with a clothesline and a sidewalk slam for a near fall. He climbs to the top but gets caught with a bicycle kick on the trip up. Once again, Knox can’t take advantage, as he gets caught and hit with a chokeslam. Done.
Winner: Kane

This is way Superstars should always have three matches instead of four. These bouts are way too rushed, making them much less enjoyable than they might have been if they were given another five-ish minutes. Obvious win for Kane there to keep him looking strong towards MITB.
*1/2

Raw Rebound takes a look at more Taker and HBK. Should that match be the main event? I definitely think so, but I’ll talk about that in my pre-show notes on my next NXT blog.

Match #4: Chris Jericho vs. Goldust
In case you were wondering, this is a non-title match. Jericho is freaked the hell out and goes right to the outside. He hesitantly gets back in and wins the shoulder block battle. Goldust fights back with a little ass bump and a clothesline which sends Jericho back to the outside. Commercial time.

Goldust misses a big splash in the corner and gets smacked with an enseguri for a near fall. Jericho continues the assault by using the ropes to choke out the freaky one. Goldust flails wildly and misses Chris by about half a ring. He grabs Goldust and propels him up into the bottom rope. After a little coffee break, it’s back to work. Goldust tries a desperation rollup but can only get two, and when he turns around Jericho knocks him down with a clothesline. Jericho is thinking superplex, but Goldust fights back. He tries a flying clothesline but Jericho timed the dropkick perfectly. Long two count. Neck submission applied. He fights out and hits plenty of quick offense. He tries to end it with a bulldog but Jericho counters with his own. He tries the Lionsault, lands on his feet, and runs into a quick powerslam. LONG two count as Jericho really sold that one. Jericho counters an inverted suplex with the Walls and Goldust taps immediately.
Winner: Chris Jericho

It’s good to see Jericho actually winning matches with the Walls these days. This match was pretty mundane until the last couple of minutes, and that saved it from being a dud. Jericho is just too good to ever have a match that doesn’t end up being somewhat interesting. But for the main event, however, I still expected a little more. Goldust was okay, but he did nothing more than hit the usual quick offense.
**1/4

Superstars wasn’t bad today, but a show with four matches will almost never be better than a show with three. The best match today was the opener between Kofi and Chavo, and it might have been even more interesting if it was given a few more minutes and the blood stoppage didn’t exist. The two matches in the middle served the singular purpose of building Bourne and Kane a bit more, and the main event was saved by an interesting couple of minutes at the end. All in all, just an okay show.

The match of the night was Raw’s Kofi Kingston vs. Chavo Guerrero and this week’s edition of WWE Superstars gets a grade of B-.

Raw has broken the tie with ECW, so the defunct brand can officially be moved off the list.

2010 Matches of the Week

1. Smackdown 4
2. Raw 3

My 2010 Top Ten WWE Superstars Matches

1. Christian vs. William Regal    01/14/10
2. Chris Jericho vs. Kane    01/21/10
3. Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox    02/18/10
4. Evan Bourne vs. Carlito    02/04/10
5. Zack Ryder vs. Christian    02/11/10
6. Evan Bourne & Primo vs. Carlito & Chavo Guerrero    02/18/10
7. Kofi Kingston vs. Chavo Guerrero      03/04/10
8. Chavo Guerrero vs. Primo vs. Chris Masters    01/28/10
9. Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer    01/21/10
10. Finlay vs. Mike Knox    01/07/10

Who Got Da Boot: Dolph Ziggler vs. JTG from the episode airing 2/11/10

Later.

So Bret Hart vs. Mr. McMahon is finally going to happen at Wrestlemania. I have no doubt they will make this a street fight, but if no one bleeds I don’t know how believable the match will be. Expect a bunch of interference from people (Hart Dynasty anyone?) and most likely a Bret win.

Also, Triple H vs. Sheamus looks to be a lock for WM after the events that occurred at Raw. Personally I couldn’t care too much for it, but it’s good to see that Sheamus will not be totally buried yet after losing the title. Hopefully they don’t overbook the WM card, since I think eight matches should be the max. There will probably be nine total, but the card is so strong that every match should get enough time to play out. If there’s nine or more matches on the card, then I’m afraid a couple of them will have to be cut much shorter than we would want it to.

Show time.

Match #1: David Otunga (w/R-Truth) vs. Darren Young (w/CM Punk)
We start things off with a rematch from last week, and if it lasts more than thirty seconds it will be a much better match. Punk and company are still not looking too happy to have Darren as their rookie. Time to wipe the slate clean and see what Young can do. He starts off on the offensive but ends up being hit with a hip toss and a scoop slam for a one count. Otunga hits a big clothesline in the corner but Young fights back with a neckbreaker. Submission hold applied. Truth gets the crowd behind Otunga as he gets to his feet and hits the back suplex. Young hits a knee and a neckbreaker with the top rope for a little assistance. Otunga makes his way back up to the apron but is knocked down again by a dropkick. Young is looking good as we go to commercial.

Darren is still in control with a submission in the center of the ring. He breaks the hold and hits a suplex for a near fall. Right back to the neck submission. Otunga tries to build momentum but he runs into an elbow. Hat trick now for the submission. Otunga avoids a charge and tries a quick rollup for a near fall. Young hits a clothesline to stay in control. Two count. Fourth submission hold applied since the break. Young charges again but Otunga gets the knee up. He’s feeling it now as he hits a couple of clotheslines and a huge shoulder block that sends Darren to the outside. He gets Young and brings him back, but gets a bit distracted when Gallows and Truth get into it a bit. He goes for a move in the ring but Punk grabs his leg from the other side. This allows Young to hit his finisher and pick up the victory.
Winner: Darren Young

After the match the Straight Edge Society leaves without Young, even after helping him get the victory. Truth gets in for some consoling but Otunga shoves him halfway across the ring and leaves.

Thankfully Darren picked up the win here to make himself a bit more credible. I think he needs to add a little bit more versatility to his move set to have a chance of making it to Raw or Smackdown. Otunga is all about the power, and while he hits high impact moves, I just haven’t seen enough of him to get a good outlook on how he will end up. One thing is for sure: he has the look that McMahon really likes.
**

Profile video is shown for Daniel Bryan. Then a video is shown of the suicide dive where Bryan was sent into the announce table.

Bryan is getting checked out by a trainer backstage when the Miz walks in and talks about the valuable lesson he got last week. Bryan will get another lesson tonight, and that’s wrestling in pain. He will be facing Jericho’s rookie, Wade Barrett, and that match is next. He slaps Bryan right where the injury is and goes on his merry way.

Striker is interviewing Otunga until Truth gives him and starts giving him an earful. They start brawling and a ref has to get in and break things up. That doesn’t work, so they call a couple more in to get order restored.

Match #2: Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan
Savannah introduces the World Heavyweight Champion, and Jericho takes the opportunity to introduce Wade Barrett. We get a profile video for him. Jericho is now on commentary as Bryan enters alone to Miz’s music. Wade goes right to work on the injury with some rights and stomps. Backbreaker connects for a two count. The offense continues with a nice suplex. Wade charges but Bryan avoids it and sends him to the outside. He jumps onto the apron and hits a running knee onto Barrett. He goes for a springboard crossbody but can’t execute it properly due to the injury. Wade capitalizes and hits a big fireman’s carry slam and gets the three count.
Winner: Wade Barrett

Jericho gets into the ring and applies the Walls. He poses with Wade and Bryan is having a hell of a couple of weeks on NXT.

Not a whole lot there with Wade getting a decisive victory due to the injury of Bryan. Wade also has the look, as he towered over Bryan by close to a foot. Bryan has now lost his first two matches and been beat down by two different pros. That will probably continue until Bryan goes on a big time winning streak, takes down everyone in his path, and moves on to a bigger show.
*1/2

Raw Rebound looks at the continuing build for HBK vs. Taker II.

We get a video of Slater and Christian in the gym earlier in the day. Slater is psyched about their tag team win last week, but Christian tells him not to get too cocky. He puts him in his place but lets him know that he’s out there with Captain Charisma and that’s always a good thing. Christian makes him get to work, saying he likes him, but not that much.

Striker is backstage with Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel. Justin is psyched to have Hardy is a pro, saying he couldn’t have picked a better mentor. Hardy says Gabriel reminds him of his younger self, and they’re ready to go pick up a victory in the upcoming match.

Match #3: William Regal & Skip Sheffield vs. Matt Hardy & Justin Gabriel
Sheffield’s got the charisma and cowboy hat going and Regal cannot be too pleased about that. Profile video for the “cornfed meathead.” Oh boy. Regal is SO disappointed. This is a little funny. Gabriel and Hardy are out to a nice pop. The rookies will kick things off in this tag match. They lock up a couple of times and Skip gets the upper hand, connecting with a clothesline in the corner and a big slap to the back of Justin. Gabriel fights back with a nice dropkick, a drop toe hold, and an armbar. Hardy is in and some double team offense gets a one count. Gabriel is back and some more double teaming is quite reminiscent of the Hardy Boyz. One count as we head to commercial.

Regal is in control of Gabriel with a double underhook suplex for a near fall. Neck submission applied. Regal hits a left and hits a flurry of strikes in the corner. He throws Gabriel halfway across the ring and tells Skip that this is how it’s done. Hardy makes a blind tag but Regal is right on the attack with knees and sends him to the outside. Regal and Skip talks things over as both members of the face team are out on the outside. Hardy is finally back in and Regal continues the assault. Skip is in and he hits a scoop slam followed by a splash with a pseudo Ric Flair strut thrown in. Mathews comedically calls it VINTAGE SKIP SHEFFIELD. I like that kid. Two count. He stomps away and Regal is tagged in. Hardy tries a backslide counter but gets hit with a punch to the back of the neck. Sheffield is in and he pounds away at Hardy in the corner. Two count and a submission applied. Hardy slips out of a powerslam attempt and hits a neckbreaker. Regal tags in and gets to Hardy before he can make the tag. Regal continues to yell at Skip as he hits a big left. Hardy fights out with a Twist of Fate and Gabriel gets the tag. He heads to the top rope and hits a sick 450 splash for the three count.
Winners: Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel

Gabriel wasn’t in there for too long, but when he was he was pretty impressive. The 450 splash is a really nice finishing move and he executed it perfectly. I also liked the interaction between Regal and Sheffield. Skip really did fine in the ring, but it wasn’t in the style that Regal lives on. I look forward to conflicts between those two in the upcoming weeks.
**1/4

Striker is backstage with the other six rookies and hypes the prize at the end when Carlito enters. He takes a bite of his apple, surveys the area, and spits it right in Slater’s face. He walks away as Heath yells at him, and Striker succinctly says “That’s NXT” to end the show.

Show Rating: B-

The Good: Darren Young doesn’t look like a complete pussy now, although he did need a little bit of help from the Straight Edge Society to pick up the victory. Justin Gabriel impressed during his short time in the ring, and I like the dissension building between Regal and Sheffield. Also, I was a bit intrigued by the Truth/Otunga quarrel. Not really expecting that but it adds another nice element.

The Bad: Daniel Bryan has lost twice and been beaten down by two pros already on NXT, and this is probably more humbling from Vince McMahon. Whatever the case, the guy should be tearing up this show and moving on to feuds with top guys in the industry. Also, I want to see a bit more interaction between Miz and Bryan instead of only one backstage segment.

The Ugly: Skip Sheffield makes me laugh. Cornfed meathead?! Oh. My. God. And I could’ve sworn that was a little Ric Flair strutting too.

My Top Ten WWE Matches of the Year

1. Smackdown WHC Elimination Chamber          WWE Elimination Chamber
2. Raw WWE Championship Elimination Chamber          WWE Elimination Chamber
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio          Smackdown   1/22
4. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk          Smackdown   2/12
5. Royal Rumble Match          Royal Rumble
6. U.S. Championship: The Miz vs. MVP          WWE Elimination Chamber
7. John Morrison & R-Truth vs Chris Jericho & Drew McIntyre          Smackdown   1/22
8. Christian & Kane vs. William Regal & Ezekiel Jackson          ECW   1/26
9. WHC: The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio          Royal Rumble
10. Unified Tag Title Match: DX vs. Jeri-Show          Raw   1/4

Later.

Welcome to the WWE Superstars Write-Up!!

Match #1: Jack Swagger & William Regal vs. Santino Marella & Chris Masters
Well Swagger and Regal is quite a random pairing, while the faces get a nice pop upon their entrance. Santino and Regal to start things off. A little chain wrestling ends in a draw, probably when Santino realizes he won’t win that battle against Regal. He ends up spinning and splitting his way to an arm drag, to which Regal tags in Swagger. Santino hits a big elbow and calls for the cobra, but turns into a clothesline. Regal is in and he works over the right arm/hand. Santino is thrown to the outside, and when he makes his way back to the apron, he gets knocked off by a knee. Swagger is tagged in, and he hits a big clothesline in the corner. He tries for his big splash but only finds canvas. He makes his way across the ring and tags in Masters, who hits a flurry of offense ending with a running powerslam. He applies the Masterlock but breaks it when Regal gets involved. Swagger hits a chop block while all this distracting stuff is going on. He hits the gutwrench powerbomb and that’s it.
Winners: William Regal & Jack Swagger

Well the random heel pairing gets the win in this opening match on Superstars. Average tag team match with Santino actually showing that he can wrestle a little bit.
**

The main event will be The Great Khali, Matt Hardy, & Maria vs. The Hart Dynasty. Not sure if I’m looking forward to that or not yet.

Match #2: Zack Ryder vs. Primo
Well it looks like Zack is now on Raw. That’s not good for him, since with a little more work he can become pretty good. Unfortunately, he will probably just get caught in the shuffle that is Monday nights. Primo out to face him, most likely to do a bit of jobbing. Ryder gives a little shove and serenades the crowd with a bit of WOOWOOWOO music. Primo fights back with a few strikes, a knockdown, and a dropkick. He hits a scoop slam and heads to the top, but Ryder catches him and sends him neck first into the top rope. He then propels Primo up into the bottom rope for a near fall. Neck submission applied. Primo fights out of it but gets hit with a leg lariat. Two count. Another submission locked in. Primo gets out of it and hits a very nice tornado DDT from the second rope. He hits plenty of quick offense, but when he gets to the apron, Rosa starts shouting at him. That gives Ryder enough time to dodge a springboard crossbody attempt. Zack attack connects.
Winner: Zack Ryder

Obvious move to put Ryder over here to try and build him on Raw as much as humanly possible. Primo always works pretty well in the ring, and the tornado DDT showed his improvement in that area over the past couple of months. As for Ryder, his move to Raw will be make-or-break; either he gets lost in the shuffle or he is able to distinguish himself from the plethora of mid-carders.
**

Match #3: Luke Gallows (w/Serena) vs. Sylas Young
Two-thirds of the Straight Edge Society is out to the ring, ready to enjoy a little squash job. Luke gets in the ring, grabs a mic, and dedicates the following match to CM Punk. He says him and Serena are proof that straight-edge is the way to live life. The match starts and Luke starts the punishment. He hits a scoop slam and a flurry of rights. Sylas tries to mount offense but gets thrown halfway across the ring. Gallows hits a huge running splash in the corner. He follows it up with a sick backbreaker and the Twelfth Step for the easy victory.
Winner: Luke Gallows

After the match, Serena gets in the ring and kicks poor Sylas in the ribs.

A scintillating back and forth contest that had me intrigued at every momentum change.
N/A

Raw Rebound. Then we get a look at the official theme song for WM, which is I Made It by Kevin Rudolf. I definitely recommend this song since I’ve been listening to it pretty regularly for the past week or so. After that we get the really awesome video looking at the Taker/HBK feud so far.

Match #4: The Great Khali, Matt Hardy, & Maria vs. The Hart Dynasty
Hardy and Tyson Kidd will be the first ones in for our main event of the night. Chain wrestling to begin the match. Kidd screams for about five seconds straight to mock Hardy after getting a bit of an upper hand. He keeps the pressure on with a couple of strikes. Hardy fights back with a couple of elbows for a near fall. Kidd tries a springboard move from the apron but Hardy connects with a right and knocks him to the outside. Hardy is psyched as we head to break.

Hardy stays in control after the commercial with a flapjack for a near fall. Khali and David Hart Smith get tags for their respective teams. Smith can’t do much as he runs into a big right and a couple of slaps to the chest. He hits a big boot and is in complete control. Smith makes the smart move and tags in Natalya, which forces Maria into the match. Natalya goes right after her furiously. Maria fights back with a head scissors and a couple of kicks, but gets caught in the corner and thrown hard to the canvas. Natalya hits another kick, mocks the boys, and locks in a submission. Maria tries to get to her corner but is thrown down by the hair. Natalya gets up to Khali and chops him in the chest. She tries again but Khali grabs her arm. Smith quickly runs over and hits a big boot, which sends Khali to the outside. Kidd gets involved and tries a scoop slam on Maria (wtf?) but she counters with a huge slap, crawls under Natalya, and tags in Hardy. He hits lots of offense on Kidd. Powerbomb in the corner gets a two count as Hardy’s rookie, Justin Gabriel, looks on backstage. Natalya gets involved and pulls at Hardy’s hair, but Maria runs in and hits a bulldog. Kidd is able to get the tag to Smith, but he runs into a Side Effect for another two count. Kidd makes the bling tag and they connect with the Hart Attack. That’s enough to keep Hardy down for three.
Winners: The Hart Dynasty

A whole lot of things happened towards the end, and luckily they disposed of Khali pretty early and kept his involvement to a minimum. Maria looked fine in the ring, but that’s mainly because she was in there with Natalya. The Hart Dynasty showed plenty of intelligence during that match and that helped to make this one interesting. Hardy was able to do most of the work for his team, and I’m excited to see his rookie Justin Gabriel in action on NXT.
**1/4

There was nothing really wrong about this week’s edition of Superstars, but nothing was more than average either. I feel like in the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania this show could serve a much better purpose than what it was used for tonight. I would’ve liked to see maybe a MITB qualifier as the main event instead of six-person tag match. Instead, we got three pretty average matches and one quick squash. WWE, you have this time, so start using it wisely!

The match of the night was Smackdown’s The Great Khali, Matt Hardy, & Maria vs. The Hart Dynasty and this week’s episode of WWE Superstars gets a grade of C.

ECW is officially not going anywhere in the matches of the week list, which means Raw is guaranteed a second place finish! I’ll get rid of it eventually, but only when Raw finally passes it. Actually, if Smackdown has a better match for every show for the rest of 2010, they’ll still end up tied with the now defunct show. Hey, it’s possible.

2010 Matches of the Week

1. Smackdown 4
2. Raw 2
3. ECW 2

Also, welcome the return of the best Superstars matches of the year so far!

My 2010 Top Ten WWE Superstars Matches

1. Christian vs. William Regal    01/14/10
2. Chris Jericho vs. Kane    01/21/10
3. Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox    02/18/10
4. Evan Bourne vs. Carlito    02/04/10
5. Zack Ryder vs. Christian    02/11/10
6. Evan Bourne & Primo vs. Carlito & Chavo Guerrero    02/18/10
7. Chavo Guerrero vs. Primo vs. Chris Masters    01/28/10
8. Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer    01/21/10
9. Finlay vs. Mike Knox    01/07/10
10. Dolph Ziggler vs. JTG    02/11/10

Later.

Before we get started with the newest WWE show and info about the added feature at the end, I want to take a quick look at WWE Elimination Chamber.

WWE Elimination Chamber Ratings
John Cena wins Raw Elimination Chamber: ***3/4
Batista def. John Cena: N/A
Drew McIntyre def. Kane: **3/4
Michelle McCool & Layla def. Maryse & Gail Kim: *
The Miz def. MVP: ***1/2
Chris Jericho wins Smackdown Elimination Chamber: ****1/2

First off, it is important to note that the Undertaker is a BAD ASS. Not only is he already dealing with injuries all the time, he gets burned on his entrance, plays it off well enough to the TV viewing crowd that he’s just psyched to get in the chamber, and still gives us a hell of a performance. He is the definition of a professional.

Cena winning was surprising to me, and although I didn’t like the eliminations happening so quickly at the end, the match was really enjoyable. Kofi impressed me and having Ted pin Orton was awesome as well. Most of all, I was finally impressed by the work of Sheamus. He was in the match for almost 30 minutes and he held his own and then some. Unfortunately, Cena won, which sends him back down to the mid card.

The swerve came really unexpected to me since I managed to withhold temptation and not check out the spoilers. What’s even more impressive is that I didn’t see the PPV until the day after. (I had plans to be in the live blog but works sucks in college sometimes.) Anyway, the swerve was pretty cool, but I disagree with it slightly, as I’ll mention later on.

McIntyre and Kane had a solid IC match, but not many people cared after what just happened. The divas match already had little interest from me, but I lost it completely when the tag match was announced. There was just no point to it.

Another pleasant surprise came in the form of the U.S. title match. It was out of the blue again but these guys went out and delivered a match above almost everyone’s expectations. The outside interference was interesting, the in-ring work was great, the blood was refreshing, and both men got a big thumbs up in my book for delivering like that.

The Smackdown EC is officially the match of the year so far. I thought Morrison would be replaced, but instead he shined in the spotlight. Punk is just amazing on the mic, almost as good as his in-ring work. Truth impressed me too in the short time that he was involved. Mysterio needs a hug or something for working so quickly in such bad condition. I expected HBK to show up, but Jericho and Taker worked so well that it still came off as a shocker to me. Just an excellent chamber match with six guys that really tore it up in there.

I thought EC was a very good PPV, and know we are in full swing towards WM. After watching Raw and seeing the developments, I have to say that I am looking forward to WM in a big way. I mean, I do every year, but I’m already excited about the possibilities. Last year was a bit more hesitant, but nonetheless exciting. First off, MITB will stay at the big PPV, and Christian is already my pick to win. Taker/HBK is BACK, and while they’ll have a hell of a time topping last year, the anticipation is already pretty great. Jericho and Edge is a guaranteed hell of a match. How could a PPV with the last two matches being Jericho/Edge and Taker/HBK not be exciting?? And Batista vs. Cena is really shaping up, especially after the vicious beating Batista delivered. My only problem here is the fact that the WWE title is involved. These four big names could have a hell of a feud without it, and with these three big matches, the title could have been given to someone like Kofi and have two young guns in the title hunt. Batista vs. Cena does not need the title. Nevertheless, I’m really enjoying that feud.

Just one more thing: the added feature on the end of this blog will be an overall top ten matches list for 2010. I mentioned on my last blog that I enjoy having the Superstars specific list since it gives you readers the chance to watch quality matches that you might not have initially realized. However, an overall top ten list is always a great feature because it is totally objective. Chris does a wonderful job with his top ten list on his blogs and I’m very interested in comparing ours and seeing the differences. Also, I’d love to hear your opinions on your favorite matches of the year over the next few months. I’m always checking out the comment board and reading what you guys have to say intently.

Now that all the jargon is finished, it’s time to look at the inaugural episode of WWE NXT!

Looks like this show will continue to be taped on the same night as Smackdown. The new opening video rolls and then all eight rookies are shown backstage. The Miz joins them and introduces his NXT rookie, Daniel Bryan. Miz runs down his accolades, asks him if he’s ready, and then tells Bryan to get to the ring and introduce himself to the fans with some charisma. Miz tells him to have a good catchphrase and sends him on his way. He leaves and Miz tells us that if Bryan doesn’t show some personality, he will slap some into his rookie.

Cole (wonderful) and Josh Mathews are on hand for commentary as Bryan makes his way to the ring. They introduce Striker as the host of the show (I guess that’s compensation for Cole being here), and he is backstage hyping NXT and talking about the authenticity of the show. He will be waiting for reactions and throws it back to ringside. Bryan gets a nice pop when his name is announced. He apologizes for his pro being the Miz and wishes it was someone like William Regal. He talks about his past and looking forward to this opportunity until he is interrupted by Miz’s music. Miz says he’s got a lot of work to do. Bryan fights back, saying Miz better watch his mouth or he’ll make him submit. Miz still wants to know how he’s gonna be a star, and Bryan rips on Miz about his reality show past. Miz wants to hear a catchphrase, but instead Bryan talks more smack saying Miz can either tap or snap when they’re in the ring together. The fans like that. The Miz isn’t impressed and bitchslaps him. Exit Miz and Bryan says he’ll slap him back eventually.

Well Bryan definitely has a ways to go with his mic skills, but if NXT turns into the MIz & Bryan Show, I’ll be watching it intently every week. We all know what Bryan can do in the ring, and having the Miz there to help him with the mic stuff is really a perfect combo now that I think about it. Plus, this already can set up a nice feud between the two sometime down the line. Yea jumping ahead a little bit, but the thought of it is enticing.

Striker caught up with Bryan backstage during the break. Bryan says he slaps a lot harder, but Striker jumps in and questions his comment. Bryan says he’s been in this business for twice as long as the Miz but Striker interjects again saying well not the WWE. Bryan says he can be a star on his own, but Striker disagrees, saying he’ll need the Miz to do that.

I’m already loving the role Striker is playing in this show. He is far and beyond the best commentator/interviewer in the business.

Later tonight, Daniel Bryan will go one-on-one with the WHC Chris Jericho. Now that should be a dandy!

Match #1: Carlito & Michael Tarver vs. Christian & Heath Slater
Carlito is out first and introduces Tarver to the ground. We get a nice promo video on him talking about his past and his in-ring abilities. Christian follows and we get a similar video about his rookie, Heath Slater. Carlito and Slater start things up. Slater goes for a quick rollup and gets a near fall. He tries to get the crowd into it but they’re not buying any of it. Neither is Carlito and he goes on the assault. Tarver is in and he uses vicious lefts and rights to the gut of Slater. Heath fights back with a springboard forearm and a deep arm drag. Tarver counters a charge with a drop toe hold. Carlito hits a cheap shot and Tarver gets a two count out of it. Here comes Carlito and a neckbreaker is good for two. Heath almost fights out of a submission but ends up being thrown back down. Tarver is back and he goes right for another submission. Heath counters out and hits a nice scoop slam. Both men make tags and Christian gets his offense in. He tries for a Killswitch twice but it is foiled both times. Instead he hits a boot and a semi botched springboard sunset flip for a near fall. Carlito uses a couple of strikes to buy time and tag in Tarver. They try some double team offense but communication is an issue. Both end up running into either Christian’s elbow or boot. Slater gets involved by pulling Carlito out of the ring. Christian fights a flying elbow on Tarver and follows up with the Killswitch to get the win.
Winners: Christian & Heath Slater

Short but sweet tag match that was carried by the work of Christian. Slater moved well in the ring and Tarver looked like he could deliver some vicious punches. That goofy dance Slater was doing after the match was over is not really that endearing. I wouldn’t mind not seeing that anymore. Tarver didn’t really sell too well; he was moving around awkwardly and getting up pretty quickly from moves like the snap scoop slam. But then again, these guys are here to work on that kind of stuff, so as long as improvement is seen in the coming weeks, there’s nothing wrong with a little criticism here and there.
**

Match #2: Darren Young (w/Straight Edge Society) vs. David Otunga (w/R-Truth)
Punk and Young makes for one hell of a diverse pairing. Punk looks to have absolutely no desire to be mentoring him. Actually, we get a clip of Punk trying to figure out why the hell he’s here. Young tries to get some kind of advice but Punk won’t talk to him. We get a video looking at David Otunga and his background in Hollywood and wrestling. The rookie is out with R-Truth and his rapping ways and we’re ready to go. Young hits a quick elbow and gets an obvious one count, although Michael Cole’s eyes it was a near fall. Otunga fights back with an elbow and a clothesline. He hits a version of a spinebuster and that keeps Young down for three?
Winner: David Otunga

After the match the Straight Edge Society just leaves the building.

Okay I understand that they’re trying to build a bad relationship between the two, but now Young just looks like a pussy. His first match on national TV and he gets beat in thirty seconds. That’s not a good way to start a career. First impressions stick for a long time, and my first impression of Young is that he gets beat by just a clothesline and a botched spinebuster. Not good.
N/A

Raw Rebound takes a nice look at the vicious Batista beatdown on Cena.

Match #3: Chris Jericho (w/Wade Barrett) vs. Daniel Bryan (w/The Miz)
Jericho grabs the mic and says he wants his rookie Wade to give him a proper introduction. Wade starts rambling about his past and his love for Y2J, but Jericho stops him and tells him to just get the intro over with. Wade complies and introduces the WHC. Miz and Bryan make their way down to the ring, but Bryan pushes Miz out of the way on the trip down to the ring. The match finally gets started and Bryan offers a handshake. Jericho of course doesn’t accept it and shoves Bryan a couple of times. Bryan finally slaps him back and hits a quick dropkick, followed up with a forearm strike in the corner. Jericho fights back with a dropkick of his own and a vicious kick to the back of Daniel. He hits another dropkick and another follow up kick just to make sure the rookie gets the message. Back suplex connects, and a neck submission is applied. Bryan tries a swift rollup but gets a near fall. Jericho takes back control with an enseguri. One count. Jericho continues the beatdown as Striker is ringside interviewing Wade Barrett. Striker asks Wade what he is learning, and he responds with quality. Striker asks again and Wade is STILL LEARNING QUALITY. Meanwhile, Bryan avoids a charge and Jericho goes shoulder first into the ring post. He hits a bunch of kicks and a leg sweep that Jericho fails to execute properly. He hits a running knee and gets a near fall. Mathews says Daniel is world-renowned and Cole FLIPS OUT. That’s weird. Anywho, Bryan tries a springboard moonsault but lands on his feet, and after a nice exchange, he connects with a big lariat. Two count. Daniel hits a big forearm and Jericho goes rolling to the outside. Bryan gets poised for the suicide dive and goes for it. Although he hits Jericho, the champ was able to counter and throw Bryan into the side of the announce table in a spot that looked like it could have cracked a couple of ribs. That was sick. I’m in pain after watching it. Daniel gives us that classic grimace and gets Jericho back in the ring, although he has a disgusting welt building on his left side. Props to you Mr. Danielson, or Mr. Bryan, or whatever we call you. Jericho tries the Walls, but Bryan makes a really nice counter into what I want to say is a modified Indian deathlock (please correct me if I’m wrong). Jericho is screaming in pain and really selling hard to make us think he’ll tap. Eventually he’s able to crawl to the ropes. Bryan takes too much time, and when he goes to grab Jericho he gets hit with the Codebreaker. Jericho takes his time and locks in a modified Walls, to which Bryan taps immediately.
Winner: Chris Jericho

After the match, Miz is LIVID and he furiously attacks his rookie, who is probably already in immense pain from the sick bump he took earlier.

That was seven minutes of some pretty damn awesome wrestling. There were a couple of weird spots in there, but what do you expect from two guys who are locking up for the first time ever. Bryan is going to get a lot of respect backstage for the bump he took against the announce table. Jericho did an excellent job of giving Bryan long two counts and really selling that submission hold. There was no way that Bryan would win, but they did their job in convincing me that the contrary could actually happen. This could be a future Wrestlemania main event.
***

At the end of the show, Striker stands backstage with the six remaining rookies hyping the future of the business.

Show Rating: A-

The Good: I’m giving this show such a high rating because of the actual concept of it. I was looking forward to seeing what NXT would be like and it really is a show that I would watch every week regardless of whether or not I had to write about it. It looks like Miz and Bryan will be the top pairing on the show, and that alone is something I’d love to see week in and week out. Plus, the main event between Bryan and Jericho was seven minutes of superb wrestling, and if we get anything near that every week, I’ll be satisfied.

The Bad: While the tag match was okay, the thirty second encounter between Otunga and Young was just retarded. If you want to build dissension within a pairing, don’t do it at the expense of the rookie. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened here. Now to the WWE fans Young just looks like an idiot who stumbled on the wrong show. They better re-do this fast and give him a strong match next episode.

The Ugly: Dear Heath Slater, It’s great to see you charismatic and everything, but that dance you do is RETARDED and has earned its rightful spot in my ugly section. If you’re going to do that, at least wipe the goofy grin off your face. Kthanks. Much love, Rob Manisero

My Top Ten WWE Matches of the Year

1. Smackdown WHC Elimination Chamber          WWE Elimination Chamber
2. Raw WWE Championship Elimination Chamber          WWE Elimination Chamber
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio          Smackdown   1/22
4. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk          Smackdown   2/12
5. Royal Rumble Match          Royal Rumble
6. U.S. Championship: The Miz vs. MVP          WWE Elimination Chamber
7. John Morrison & R-Truth vs Chris Jericho & Drew McIntyre          Smackdown   1/22
8. Christian & Kane vs. William Regal & Ezekiel Jackson          ECW   1/26
9. WHC: The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio          Royal Rumble
10. Unified Tag Title Match: DX vs. Jeri-Show          Raw   1/4

Later.

Chris: Hey everyone and welcome to the second fully loaded edition of the Fatal Four Way where the WNW blogging staff team up to bring you our WWE predictions. Lets hope I can continue my flawless streak of predictions with the second WWE pay per view offering of 2010!

Chris: In my opinion Elimination Chamber is a really crappy name for a pay per view. No Way Out sounds a whole lot better, and since it had become an Elimination Chamber pay per view anyway, the name change seems pretty pointless. I will discuss these gimmick pay per views further in this week’s Smackdown blog! Anyway looking at this card, there are only four matches slated so that screams for at least one, maybe two matches to be added during the course of the event. As I mentioned in my Rumble Review I think this is a terrible way of pushing talent and advertising an event but there you go. I fully expect the tag titles to be defended by Show-Miz, maybe against The Worlds Strongest Tag Team, as well as something to go down involving Batista seeing as he is not on the card. Whatever happens only the advertised matches will count towards the WNW blog writers challenge as how can we predict something we don’t even know is occurring! Enough chatter on with the predictions!

Paul: So here we are for the next edition of what in honour of the blunt obviousness of PPV names these days I am unofficially calling “Prediction Blog of the predictions for WWE PPV matches by four bloggers of the blog section of the wrestling news website Wrestling News World”, not quite as catchy but maybe someday it will roll off the tongue. This year No Way Out has been rechristened Elimination Chamber for well, the elimination chamber matches. I’ve generally thought the build wasn’t what it should be, but it hasn’t been too bad for a show that most people look past, as we get closer to Wrestlemania. It’ll be interesting to see some new faces in the main events, but I’m also wondering what they’ll fill the card out with, with only four matches announced on WWE.com, and also what part Shawn Michaels will play.

Kendra: I’m very much like Richard in that I’m not big on gimmick matches and the Elimination Chamber is very much a gimmick match. On the other hand, I give Eric Bischoff huge props for this lasting testimony to his brilliance and it’s one of the best gimmicks around. I have completely enjoyed every Elimination Chamber Match I’ve seen and am looking forward to this PPV. Maybe I can redeem myself by picking some winners!

Rob: The Fatal-Four Way is back at it again as we get ready for the final PPV before Wrestlemania, WWE Elimination Chamber. We’ve got elimination chambers with plenty of intrigue and possible surprises around them. Edge was the shocker last year by losing one title and gaining the other, so there is no telling what might go down this time around. The undercard isn’t exactly eye-popping, but it has the potential to deliver a couple of decent matches. Let’s get to it.

Chris Predicts: Intercontinental Championship Match: Drew McIntyre © vs Kane

Ever since John Morrison won the triple threat match to qualify for he Elimination Chamber, these two have been embroiled in a pretty decent TV feud and I think this match should make for a decent opener (although I wouldn’t be surprised to see them open with a Chamber match as they have done in previous years) Drew McIntyre is becoming one of the most dominant and aggressive heels in WWE and I think a big win over an established veteran like Kane will go a long way in getting Drew over as legitimate in the eyes of casual fans. I had hoped this would be a filler match at Wrestlemania to put both men on the card and that still might happen. Either way, there is no way in hell Kane is going over here as he does not need the Intercontinental Title at this stage in his career and Drew needs to keep his momentum rolling.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre (Retains Intercontinental Championship)

Paul Predicts: Intercontinental Championship Match: Drew McIntyre © vs Kane

The rematch nobody wanted to see, and I am not looking forward to this. The horrible double count out that was on TV and haunted house shows doesn’t fill me with anticipation either. I can’t see them taking the title off Drew especially not for someone like Kane. Kane has also historically been used as a difficult to beat monster that nobody can get past, that a young guy finally gets past, as a way to get the new blood over. I expect this to be the same, although with Wrestlemania around the corner and no Money in the Bank match for the mid card guys to go into, you never know, this feud MAY CONTINUE.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre (Retains Intercontinental Championship)

Kendra Predicts Intercontinental Championship Match: Drew McIntyre © vs Kane

It’s nice to see Kane in a PPV match, but I highly doubt he’ll win. Drew hasn’t been IC Champ very long and Kane just hasn’t been pushed very hard lately. Personally I think Kane should be in the Elimination Chamber, but since the removal of his mask, he just hasn’t done as well with the WWE. I think this is horrible as Kane is one of my favorites and very entertaining in the ring and on mic, no matter his character – heel or face. While this match should be an enjoyment, I don’t see it being anything special as I believe it will won’t be booked as well as it could be.

Kendra’s Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre (Retains Intercontinental Championship)

Rob Predicts: Intercontinental Championship Match: Drew McIntyre © vs Kane

This spot definitely could have been better filled up with either a tag title match or a U.S. title match, both of which have been built more thoroughly. MVP vs. Miz would definitely benefit from a planned PPV match, but instead we are given this IC title contest. I think we can guarantee an at least decent bout here given the fact that Kane is involved. He always works well in the ring and does his best to make his opponent look good. Drew has greatly matured during his feud with Morrison and that will continue into Sunday. I wouldn’t be surprised to see McIntyre get the clean pin over the Big Red Monster.

Rob’s Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre (Retains Intercontinental Title)

Chris Predicts: Divas Championship Match: Maryse vs Gail Kim

This match finally takes place after the injured Melina vacated the title nearly two months ago. Maryse showed plenty of promise and improved a huge amount when she was on Smackdown but since moving to RAW has failed to impress, and has been involved in some truly awful matches. Gail Kim is one of the best female workers in the world, but as the saying goes you cant make chicken salad out of chicken shit and I think this match is going to be a stinker and probably completely kill the crowd. We haven’t been given enough of a reason to care about either competitor and whilst this would be the perfect opportunity for WWE to put a woman that could actually wrestle over on PPV but if you look at the potential opponents for Gail (Katie Lea, Jillian and Maryse) or for Maryse (Eve, Kelly Kelly, The Bellas, Gail) it’s a pretty good indication of where this one is going. Plus Vince is reportedly very high on Maryse’s look and sadly in the world of WWE Women’s wrestling that is what counts.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Maryse (New Divas Champion)

Paul Predicts: Divas Championship Match: Maryse vs Gail Kim

Well this is another match that will be awful. Maybe even comically bad in this case. Maryse can’t wrestle end of, and Gail Kim botches pretty much anything that moves. Aish. Anyway, I guess WWE really digs Maryse’s look and character (her character being pretty good I guess) she’ll get the title.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Maryse (New Divas Champion)

Kendra Predicts: Divas Championship Match: Maryse vs Gail Kim

This should be a decent match. Maryse has greatly improved in the ring over her time in WWE and Gail Kim is one of the best Divas in WWE. The problem is that I think WWE will go with what they think is beauty over the woman who can really throw a match. Personally I think Kim has everything needed to become Champion, but I don’t write for WWE. Sadly I feel Maryse will go over Gail Kim and feel Kim will again be buried in the middle of the Divas with no chance at gold.

Kendra’s Predicted Winner: Maryse (New Divas Champion)

Rob Predicts: Divas Championship Match: Maryse vs Gail Kim

It is about time that Gail is getting recognized in a serious championship feud. The whole insulting in French thinking doesn’t make this very intriguing, especially when King is just drooling all over her bilingual talents all the time. Gail had a nice divas match with Katie on Superstars, but unless Maryse has significantly improved in the ring, this PPV match will probably be of less quality. Unfortunately, I have the feeling Maryse will be taking the title, although she is not deserving of it. Hopefully I get proven wrong.

Rob’s Predicted Winner: Maryse (New Diva’s Champion)

Chris Predicts: Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship: Sheamus © vs Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Triple H vs Kofi Kingston vs Ted DiBiase

Looking at this match it is exciting to see some stars of the future having their first shot at the main event. I think Kofi and Ted will take their ring work to another level come Sunday night and I am looking for big performances from both of them. I think this match has been built pretty well on RAW, and I like how Sheamus is defiantly coming across as more dominant now (pity Randy still wouldn’t put him over cleanly) I think the biggest story of this match will be Ted eliminating Orton and the subsequent aftermath of this. Kofi will probably be taken out early on, if his recent showings are anything to go by, and as I mentioned Ted and Randy will take care of each other so that leaves Triple H, John Cena and Sheamus. I think what would work best here is for Sheamus to outsmart both men and let them tear each other apart and pick them off. Cena has his feud with Vince/Batista to attend to at Wrestlemania and whilst I fully expect to see Sheamus vs Triple H, I certainly hope the Irishman is still holding the belt come Mania. Sheamus has grown on me as a champion and taking the belt off him here serves no purpose whatsoever other than to give Triple H another landmark Elimination Chamber win. I also think having Sheamus pin both Cena and Triple H, however dirty the tactics, will go a long way to establishing him as legitimate in the eyes of the fans.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Sheamus (Retains WWE Championship)

Paul Predicts: Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship: Sheamus © vs Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Triple H vs Kofi Kingston vs Ted DiBiase

Now this one I do find interesting, as to who will walk out champion. Triple H has won here the last two years straight to go into Wrestlemania title matches, and he also doesn’t randomly need the title again at least for a couple of months yet (or perhaps to beat Sheamus). Randy Orton could be a possibility if they really want to get behind Ted DiBiase. I’m kind of ruling out Kofi as another filler guy. Cena is kind of possible but I don’t think they want to bring the title into his and Batista’s inevitable Mania match. I think Triple H doesn’t need the win here and can go onto challenge anyway. I think that Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase will either go into a three way with Cody Rhodes, or a three way with Sheamus, with Sheamus having the title, but what I most expect to happen is for Sheamus to get the shock win here and have Triple H beat him at Mania. Just because that young gun Triple H really needs this push to cement his spot.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Sheamus (Retains WWE Championship)

Kendra Predicts: Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship: Sheamus © vs Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Triple H vs Kofi Kingston vs Ted DiBiase

I’m trilled to see Ted and Kofi in this Elimination Chamber. I feel both of them have great futures ahead of them, because of or in spite of Randy Orton. Honestly, both deserve to be main event talents and have been proving that over and over. Even in saying this, I don’t see either of them winning this match. I do see more problems arising between Ted and Orton, escalating the dissension in Legacy and hopefully leading to their feud. I also don’t see HHH or Cena winning this, but they should add some interesting flavor to the entire mix of seasoned and younger wrestlers in this match. In the end I see Sheamus winning and retaining in this match. It’s been predicted that he’d hold the strap going into WM and I don’t see any change in that plan on the horizon.

Kendra’s Predicted Winner: Sheamus (Retains WWE Championship)

Rob Predicts: Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship: Sheamus © vs Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Triple H vs Kofi Kingston vs Ted DiBiase

If I were to pick one EC match that I am more looking forward to, this would not get that honor. The most interesting intertwined story in this chamber is that of the dissention between DiBiase and Orton. It is very difficult to see exactly where this storyline is going, but hopefully we get a much clearer picture after Sunday. I would love to see DiBiase eliminate Orton with a rollup or something, causing the Viper to be infuriated and take out his frustrations. Either way, I can’t see either of them winning the match. Don’t expect Kofi to last too far after getting ripped apart by Orton. Cena is embroiled with other issues at the time and he probably won’t win either. That leaves us with HHH and Sheamus. It seems at this point that creative is set on going into WM with Sheamus as the champ, but Trips’ ego could interfere with those plans. Nonetheless, I think Sheamus will retain, and I hope it isn’t in some sort of cheap fashion.

Rob’s Predicted Winner: Sheamus (Retains WWE Championship)

Chris Predicts: Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title: The Undertaker © vs R-Truth vs John Morrison vs Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

Something I forgot to mention in my WWE title pick was that I expect to see Edge on guest commentary for both chamber matches as whilst I do not think he will wrestle at the show, he will defiantly make his presence felt. The big story behind the excellent build up to this match is John Morrison’s kayfabe leg injury. In my mind we will get some sort of backstage skit where a doctor advises Morrison not to compete but he will try and gut it out only for Shawn Michaels to take him out on the way to the ring and force his way into the Chamber match (just as Edge did last year) Whilst this is a tough break for Morrison, it gives us the tantalising prospect of at least one Morrison vs HBK match on the next couple of weeks of WWE TV as well as setting up the big Undertaker vs HBK II clash at Wrestlemania. I think this match is going to be really awesome and probably worth the price of ordering on its own. I expect some big performances from Truth and Punk to make up for the banged up Rey and Taker whilst I think it is an impossibility for Chris Jericho to wrestle a bad match. I think Rey and Punk will take care of each other whilst Taker eliminates whichever of them is left standing and Truth before Michaels and Taker duke it our for ten minutes with Taker eliminating Shawn only to turn right into a Codebreaker from Jericho for the title winning pin. This is an exciting match up an I cannot wait to see how it goes down!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho (New World Heavyweight Champion)

Paul Predicts: Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title: The Undertaker © vs R-Truth vs John Morrison vs Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

This one is difficult to predict as with the alleged current plan, it seems like Jericho is the only option. However, there are two things to consider. Jericho, until he beat The Undertaker (which is admittedly a big deal) had no momentum, and it is also so obvious, that it probably wont happen, because WWE are dickheads and wont let it. The other option is (I’m ruling out R-Truth, John Morrison, CM Punk and Rey, because at this moment in time at least, they are not Wrestlemania champions) is Undertaker retaining, but I don’t see that happening, unless WWE is going to make Taker and Shawn keep going past Wrestlemania, with both allegedly wanting to take time off like they did last time. So I’m going to take a risk and not go for something not in the match like a Shawn win, and just plump for Chris Jericho.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho (New World Heavyweight Champion)

Kendra Predicts: Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title: The Undertaker © vs R-Truth vs John Morrison vs Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

I also believe this Elimination Chamber has a nice mix of seasoned and younger wrestlers. Even though Morrison is not as injured at he announced on Twitter, I wonder if something is going to happen here with HBK. HBK has been trying so hard to get into this match, this could be an easy switch for him. I wouldn’t put it past HBK to either push Morrison for his slot in the match or force his way in somehow. I will be completely shocked if we don’t see HBK involved in some way. About the wrestlers who are actually slated to be in this match, I can’t wait to see how R-Truth fares in this match! I also hope Rey doesn’t push himself too hard and injure himself more. The same goes for Taker. I see Jericho, Punk and R-Truth carrying a lot of this match and in the end Jericho taking the win. If Taker and HBK are going for round two at WM and they’re grooming a Jericho and Edge feud, then this is a perfect way to start it off. Of course Edgewill want to go after the title and he’s raving mad at Jericho right now. It just makes the most sense. But then again, when have any of the wrestling companies booked matches in ways that make sense?

Kendra’s Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho (New World Heavyweight Champion)

Rob Predicts: Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title: The Undertaker © vs R-Truth vs John Morrison vs Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

The number one issue we have to look at here is the condition of John Morrison. After what happened on the most recent edition of Smackdown, it is very possible that he might not participate in the title match. Also, as I write this there are only four scheduled matches on the card, and with Batista and HBK both absent, I predict that a match between the two to determine who will replace Morrison in the chamber. If that happens, I see HBK getting the nod as the replacement, making this group of six that much more interesting. Morrison won’t win, and we can count out Truth as well. Punk is a long shot considering his involvement with the Straight-Edge Society, and it would be tough to give it to Mysterio with his current condition. That brings us down to Undertaker, Jericho, and a possible HBK as a replacement. I feel like if Shawn were involved he would get so caught up in going after Taker that he would lose sight of winning the title. But that is all speculation considering he probably won’t even be in the match. If it comes down to Taker and Jericho, I think I would give it to Y2J. Michaels-Taker could be for real with the both of them taking time off afterwards, and Jericho-Edge is getting to be one of the hottest feuds going. I’ll give it to Jericho, making him a 6-time champ.

Rob’s Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho (New World Heavyweight Champion)

Chris: That is all for another edition of the Fatal Four Way. Now before anyone says anything yes I know we all have exactly the same picks but on paper this PPV looks pretty easy to call so lets see if we are right. I should have my Elimination Chamber review up in the wee hours following the pay per view (as long as my guest blogger is able to write at that point) As always I sadly wont be able to be a part of the Live blog as I order the WWE webstream and trying to watch that and take part in a Live Blog on a 14” laptop screen is a visual nightmare. However non premium members can follow my live reactions on Twitter: www.twitter.com\WNWsChrisJacks I hope you all enjoy the show and have a great week!

Paul: Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Shawn Michaels, and to see where we’re left going into Wrestlemania after this show. Hope you guys have a great whatever you’re doing, and until next time, I have been Paul Smith.

Kendra: It’s nice to see WWE elevating some of their younger wrestlers to main event status. They really need to prepare for post WM when a number of their old workers take time off or retire completely. This is a very exciting time in wrestling and WWE. We have not seen a turnover like this since The Rock, Austin, HHH and Angle pushed their way through to become main event talents. It will be interesting to see which of these younger wrestlers will be around for the long haul and these Elimination Chambers are a big step in the direction of these wrestlers becoming the starts they’re destined to be. I can’t wait to see how they fare in these dangerous matches.

Rob: We are officially one PPV and five weeks away from Wrestlemania, and the Elimination Chamber will go a long way into painting a clearer picture for what that will look like. Of course the Elimination Chamber does not look as intimidating without blood, but that’s the world we live in today. I’m looking for some quality matches this Sunday and some good storyline building for the grandest stage of them all. Later.

Welcome to the WWE Superstars Write-Up!!

One thing I want to quickly address is a topic of hot discussion on my ECW post concerning the MIz “mentoring” Bryan Danielson, or these days Daniel Bryan. From a wrestling standpoint, this will definitely be a case of Bryan teaching Miz a thing or two about how it’s done. In terms of character, however, I feel like the Miz will definitely be able to help there. The Miz is one of the best talkers in the company right now and my helping to really improve Bryan in that aspect, that will really give him a boost to the top with his already stellar wrestling capabilities. In the long run, this pairing will prove to be hugely beneficial for the both of them.

Also, while I’m enjoying the concept of the gimmick PPVs, some of the choices are confusing me. I mentioned this on the comment board, but I’ll talk about it briefly here as well. For one, I think MITB should stay at Wrestlemania and nothing else. The very recent announcement on WNW about the match being scrapped from WM definitely is disappointing to me. The MITB match always provides some of the best moments of the night and WM is the best place for it. But I can understand why they would change things, since the match has become so successful. WIld Card doesn’t get me interested, and since when is the Fatal-Four Way match good enough to get its name on a PPV? War Games anyone? I’d rather see Backlash than Wild Card or Fatal-Four Way for sure.

Show time.

Cole and King open the show and let us know that the main event, from Smackdown as usual, will be Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox.

Match #1: Evan Bourne & Primo vs. Carlito & Chavo Guerrero
All four of these guys can move pretty quickly and have shown chemistry in various singles matches, so I’m looking forward to a very nice contest here. Bourne and Carlito to begin the match. Bourne starts off hot on the offensive with a couple of kicks, an arm drag and a clothesline. Two count. Carlito gets Bourne towards his corner and tags in Chavo. The ref has to back him out of the corner and that allows Carlito to get a couple of cheap shots in. Bourne is able to stay bridged out of a possible pin attempt and get out of the predicament with a head scissors. He hits a couple of vicious kicks and a dropkick for a one count. Chavo fights back with a back suplex for a near fall. Bourne hits another flurry of kicks and gets the tag to Primo. He builds up momentum with some strikes and a dropkick. He goes to the apron for a springboard move but Carlito pushes his brother down to the canvas. He then gets officially tagged in and starts a meticulous assault. Primo throws a few lefts and hits a springboard crossbody for a two count. He hits an elbow but Carlito throws him over the top as we head to commercial.

Chavo has a neck submission hold applied. He breaks the hold and hits a spinning splash on the lower back for a near fall. Primo sidesteps a right hand and counters with a side Russian leg sweep. Chavo takes out Bourne before the tag is made and hits Primo with a Gory bomb. The pin attempt is broken up by a scrambling Bourne. Carlito is in and he goes right to the neck/back submission hold. Primo elbows and kicks his way out but misses a leg drop. Both men make tags and Bourne is on a roll. He hits some fierce offense, takes out Carlito, and ends it with a vicious kick to Chavo’s back. Carlito breaks up the pin attempt, but Primo gets involved and hits the Backstabber on his bro. Chavo tries the Gory bomb again but it is countered into a rollup for a near fall. Bourne hits a knee to the chin, and goes up and connects with Air Bourne. Done.
Winners: Evan Bourne & Primo

This turned out to be a nice little tag match that delivered offense we usually don’t see these days. The one thing that sticks out in my mind was Chavo’s use of the Gory bomb. I liked the exchanges between the brothers, as they seem to step it up when in the ring together. All four men can have a decent bout with anyone and they definitely showed some nice work in this one.
**1/2

HOF video for the next inductee into the Class of 2010, Antonio Inoki.

Match #2: Gail Kim vs. Katie Lea Burchill
King pointed out that Maryse wasn’t saying very flattering things to Gail in French for the past couple of weeks. Well that’s a huge surprise! Gail starts off quick with a fast pin attempt and an arm drag. She avoids a charge but ends up going shoulder first into the ring post. That sounded like it hurt just a bit. Two count. Katie intelligently applies a submission hold targeting the shoulder. Gail tries to fight out but instead gets hit with a shoulder breaker for a near fall. The targeted assault continues as Katie sends Gail’s shoulder into the top turnbuckle. Another submission locked in. Gail fights out of another shoulder breaker attempt and hits a couple of quick clotheslines and a springboard crossbody. Near fall. She hits a charge in the corner and a missile dropkick for a long two count. She tries her finisher but it is countered with an enseguri to the injured shoulder. Katie tries to continue the offense but Gail counters with her finisher and picks up the victory.
Winner: Gail Kim

After the match Maryse appears on stage and gives her adversary a rousing round of applause.

This was a better divas match than the stuff we usually get from the WWE. It was short but it told a simple yet effective story and I wouldn’t have minded seeing it go another couple of minutes. Gail obviously gets the win there to help build for her championship match this Sunday. Katie looked fine in defeat and is underrated somewhat in my opinion.
*3/4

Grisham and Striker leads us into a nicely done video about the Elimination Chamber.

Match #3: Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox
These two had a match that I can vaguely remember a few months ago on Superstars and it made the top ten list for 2009. Repeat? I hope so. Knox starts off with the power game as Grisham displays unordinary vocabulary for the viewing crowd. Rey tries to pick up the pace but runs into a massive clothesline. Leg drop connects for a near fall. Rey hits a hurricarana but gets clocked with a massive boot. Sick backbreaker finds the mark. Submission hold then concentrates on the lower back. Rey is up but goes right back down with a clothesline. Near fall. Rey sets up Knox for the 619 but he rolls out of the ring. Rey hits a dropkick through the ropes and tries a seated senton, but he gets caught and thrown back first into the ring post. He writhes in pain as we go to a break.

Back submission hold applied in the center of the ring. He uses a hard Irish whip to inflict more pain and applies the torture rack. He sends Mysterio down for another backbreaker and it gets a long two count. Bear hug cinched in. Rey finally fights out and lets Knox’s momentum carry him over the top rope. Mysterio heads to the top and hits a nice seated senton. Both men get in the ring before the ten count. Rey hits a springboard leg drop but Knox kicks out. Knox is able to get the best of an exchange and hit that devastating running crossbody, but Rey kicks out at two. Rey avoids a big knee, sets up for the 619, and connects. Big crossbody and Rey picks up the hard-fought win.
Winner: Rey Mysterio

Every move that Mike Knox hit seemed to have a huge impact. His backbreaker, big boot, and especially running crossbody all were vicious and could keep anyone down for three. Rey had to battle for this win but he definitely earned it in a very nice main event. If Rey is hurting as much as they say he is, he certainly does a nice job of overcoming the pain. He still moves awfully quick in there.
**3/4

Superstars delivered with a nice episode this week, which saw a good main event, an exceptional tag team match, and, yes, even an above average divas match. It is a shame that Gail has not been involved in a real championship feud for this long, because she can be someone who can revive the women’s division. Rey is amazing for being able to work so well through his pain and getting hit with those high impact moves from Knox.

The match of the night was Smackdown’s Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox and this week’s episode of WWE Superstars gets a grade of B+.

The return of the top ten list will officially be here next week. Also, depending on how NXT goes next week, that blog may feature an overall top ten list for the whole company. Personally, I like having the Superstars-exclusive top ten match since it gives you readers decent matches to look out for that you might not have watched otherwise.

2010 Matches of the Week

1. Smackdown 3
2. Raw 2
3. ECW 2

Later.

Welcome to the ECW Rundown!!

So this week an era comes to an end, and that is most likely a good thing. While ECW always provided decent wrestling at times when Raw was being overly stupid, the renovated version just never really gained momentum. I, like Richard, am really looking forward to NXT, since it is an innovative concept that will hopefully show much more than just what goes on in the ring. ECW should be remembered for the times when it actually was Extreme Championship Wrestling and not for the WWE product that became of it. This change is something that should have been done earlier.

TNA is going up head-to-head against Raw every Monday, with live shows every other week. When these two went against each other on January 4th, the quality of both shows was increased. WWE can say they do not care all they want, but when it comes down to it, I expect Raw to be elevated.

Oh and by the way WWE, way to drop the ball on The Pope, or formerly known as Elijah Burke. This guy showed on Sunday why he could be an exciting champion for TNA.

Show time.

Josh and Byron talk about the show and let us know that we will learn the cast of NXT later on in the night. But for now, it’s tag team title time.

Unified Tag Team Title Match: ShowMiz vs. Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust
ShowMiz is out to their nicely mashed-up entrance theme. The face team is out to Yoshi’s music, looking to pull off the huge upset. Goldust and the MIz to start things off. Goldust hits a couple of swift shoulder blocks for a one count. He hits an inverted atomic drop and tags in Yoshi, who gets in some double team offense reminiscent of Miz and Morrison back in the day. Yoshi is moving very quickly as he hits a couple of running crossbodies and a rollup for a near fall. Goldust is in and gets a one count before Miz rolls out of the ring. Miz runs around the ring and tags in Show. Goldust never realized it and he gets grounded with a headbutt. Show stares at a prone Goldust as we head to commercial.

Miz has a neck submission hold applied on Goldust. He powers away from Miz and both men make tags. Yoshi desperately tries to use his kicks to hurt the big man but he gets hit with a huge slap to the chest. He gets one more slap for his troubles. Show destroys Yoshi and tags in Miz. Another submission applied. Show gets tagged in and he basically throws Miz into Yoshi. Submission locked in. Show breaks the hold and hits another headbutt before making a tag. Miz hits his patented clothesline in the corner with a little help from Show for a near fall. Yoshi flails away and is able to connect with a spinning elbow. Yoshi gets the tag and Goldust is a house of fire. He hits a boatload of offense ending with a snap powerslam. Goldust breaks the pin after seeing Show start to get in the ring. Yoshi tries to take on the big man but he gets thrown to the outside. Show then hits a big punch to the gut of Goldust while the ref is looking at Yoshi. Skull-crushing finale connects. It’s over.
Winners: ShowMiz

That was an obvious ending, but Yoshi and Goldust put up a pretty decent fight. Things started pretty quickly as both faces were really stepping it up for this final episode. The ending was a little flat, however, and I kind of wished they gave Yoshi and Goldust a little more offense at the end of the match. Nonetheless, ShowMiz retains in a solid title bout.
**1/2

Josh and Byron talk about NXT some more and we get a couple of graphics showing teams of pros and rookies. The two teams shown are Chris Jericho & Wade Barrett and Matt Hardy & Justin Gabriel.

Tiffany is backstage addressing ECW for the final time. She plugs NXT some more until she is interrupted by Zack Ryder. Zack wants to know why he’s not involved in the ECW title match. Tiffany brings up the fact that Zack already lost to Christian, and Rosa starts spewing Spanish at the GM. Tiffany says she doesn’t care what language the question is in because the answer is still no. Zack says it’s Extreme Rules and he can interrupt the match if he wants. Woo. Woo. Woo.

Nice little segment there to get Zack some TV time and also foreshadow a possible interference on his part in the title match. Could Ryder cause Christian to lose his title? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Another graphic shows us that MVP will be mentoring rookie Skip Sheffield.

The Abraham Washington Show
Wonderful. Last episode of ECW and we still get this. Abe and Tony are in the ring for this edition of the most boring talk show I have seen in….well, ever. The crowd boos the hell out of him, and rightfully so. Abe screws up the city they are in and Tony is just having a ball over there in the corner of the ring. Abe says that once the show is over, he will become a free agent (and hopefully stay that way for years to come). Apparently Lebron and Kobe aren’t even as big free agents as Abe is. He plus NXT, just like everyone else has been doing tonight, and now he is ready to introduce his final special guest. He introduces himself as the biggest star in the company. Awesome. He starts to interview himself until Shelton’s music interrupts. Abe rips on Shelton a little bit, but then he realizes he can’t wrestle. Shelton tells him that the show sucks and the crowd applauds. He starts talking about free agent status until Archer enters the scene. Abe tries to keep things apart but Archer just wants to say that if Shelton is on the same show as himself, there are going to be serious problems. Enter Croft and Barreta. Apparently we are all wondering where Barreta and Croft are going to end up, but they are interrupted by Mr. Vladimir Kozlov. Surprisingly, he gets a semi-decent pop. He talks Russian in everyone’s face, and once Archer brings up the fact that we’re in America, they start going at it. Kozlov and Shelton take care of everyone else. They shake hands and pose in the ring.

Well this was done to get just about everyone screen time on the last episode. Thank god Abe didn’t get to interview himself for that long or else I would have just stopped watching. Having Shelton and Kozlov shake hands is a good way to get the Russian over, but what’s the point?

Another two pairings are announced: Carlito & Michael Tarver and The Miz & Daniel Bryan (what a lame name). Christian will also be in on the action, mentoring rookie Heath Slater.

ECW Championship Extreme Rules Match: Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson
These two should definitely give us a good bout for this last match ever on ECW. Christian grabs a mic after entering the ring. He talks about returning to the WWE and saying that some people saw that as a demotion. Instead, ECW feels like home to him. He gives props to Tommy Dreamer in a very nice gesture. He enjoyed mentoring young stars and liked it even more as the longest running current champion in the company. He says he will always be proud of what he was a part of. Even more, he will be proud to have been the last ECW champ. Commercial time.

Another graphic show us that CM Punk will be mentoring rookie Darren Young.

Big Zeke is out looking dominant with William Regal by his side. Savannah does the formal introductions and we are ready to go. Zeke showcases his power early but he gets hit with a right and ends up outside the ring. He beats up on Christian a little, throws him back in the ring, and grabs some weapons. Zeke gets to the apron but Christian uses a few rights and a kendo stick to get him back to the outside. Ryder gets involved and attacks Christian from behind. It fails, as he ends up walking into a flapjack right onto the trash can. Christian disposes of Zack, but Rosa gets into the ring and bitchslaps the champ. At that point Tiffany comes running down the ramp and spears Rosa. She gets her outside the ring and yells at Rosa and Zack to get out of here. They back up the ramp in pain as we head to a break.

Christian heads to the top rope but Zeke shoves him off and down to the floor. Zeke follows and throws him into the security barrier. He rams Christian into the steel steps and tries to hit him with the trash can, but it is avoided. Christian dropkicks the trash can right into Zeke’s face. Zeke regains control and throws Christian shoulder first into the steps. After a little exchange, Zeke sends Christian right through a shopping cart. Pin attempt back in the ring gets a near fall. Christian avoids a charge and hits a kick from the apron into Zeke’s face, with a trash can lid sandwiched in-between. He follows up with a crossbody from the top rope for a near fall. Zeke fights back with a big takedown of Christian + garbage can and that gets another two count. Zeke heads under the ring and grabs a table. Regal helps him, but once they put the table on the apron, Christian dropkicks the table into both of them. He gets Zeke back in the ring for a two count. Zeke throws Christian down into the table on the canvas and gets a long two count for his efforts. Now he sets up the table and looks to put Christian through it with a superplex. Christian almost counters with a tornado DDT through the table but Zeke pushes him away. The champ grabs a kendo stick and starts swinging away. He chases Regal to the back with an obvious limp and continues the assault. Flying elbow connects. He looks for the Killswitch, but Regal runs back and gets involved. Christian avoids a running knee and hits the Killswitch on him. He turns around and Zeke grabs him and hits his finisher through the table. And we have a new ECW champ!
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson

I definitely enjoyed that match, and although there was plenty of outside influence, I thought it was done well. Surprise of the match was Tiffany hitting the vicious spear on Rosa. Both men worked exceptionally well to deliver nice spots and give us a good ending match. Zeke will go down as the last ECW champ, but hopefully this just means Christian is ready to be seriously elevated on another brand, preferably Smackdown.
***

Josh and Byron talk a little bit more about NXT and show us one more graphic, which tells us that R-Truth will team up with rookie David Otunga. The last moment of ECW shows Regal and Jackson posing on the ramp, ECW title in hand.

Show Rating: B+

The Good: Both of the matches were enjoyable, and it was good to see the ECW roster get face time on the last episode in one way or another. And Tiffany is finally getting fiesty!

The Bad: The Abe Washington show is a given here, but hopefully that was the last of him and his stupid talk show. I sort of feel bad for Tony Atlas. Nothing else was bad on the show, even with me being picky.

The Ugly: ECW in the WWE era is the winner here. Like I said before, there is no way this compares to the ECW of old in terms of extreme. The PG era really doesn’t help much here. But ECW was the place for good wrestling matches and decent feuds with up and coming stars. And while it will be missed, we look forward to NXT.

Later.

Welcome to the WWE Superstars Write-Up!!

One quick note: I’m getting curious about the whole John Morrison situation. He comments on his official Twitter, which was just made a couple of days ago, saying that his ankle was broken in three places. Instead, he is on the international tour for the next four days. Is WWE actually building a subtle storyline through Twitter? It’s very possible this whole thing could be a ploy, which would be used to enter someone else into the Smackdown EC. The first option on that list would be HBK, but I might be even more intrigued with a possible Christian entry. All speculation from me, but then again, getting ideas out there is my job.

Anywho, on to show.

The main event, from Smackdown, is JTG vs. Dolph Ziggler.

Match #1: Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger
Well Santino wanted Swagger, and now he’s gonna get him. His shirt is pretty awesome too. He grabs a mic and says he has a message for Swagger. He was attempting to put Santino out of action, and that gets him ANGER. He’s going to teach Jack such a great lesson that by the end of the day it will be Professor Santino. Swagger starts off by wrestling his match. Santino fights back with a dropkick and a dose of cobra to send Swagger to the outside. He mocks Swagger with push-ups, which infuriates the All-American American. Santino stays on the offensive with a drop toe hold, until Swagger knocks him out with a big right. Belly-to-belly suplex connects, followed by a hard Irish whip. Two count. He continually throws Santino off the turnbuckle, which is infuriating the Italian. He fights back with a bunch of strikes and a hip toss, with a split in the middle. The flying headbutt actually finds the mark but it only gets a near fall. He calls for the cobra, but it misses and Swagger counters with a clothesline. Gutwrench powerbomb connects. Finished.
Winner: Jack Swagger

Obviously we weren’t going to get much of a wrestling match with Santino involved, and it was one of his usual matches. I still find it a little funny, but for the first time I felt like he was a bit redundant. Swagger should be off doing other things besides fighting Santino, but it doesn’t surprise me considering the way he has been buried lately.
*1/2

Match #2: Zack Ryder (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. Christian
This is the last ECW match ever on WWE Superstars. Tear. Christian gets a huge pop upon entering, which makes me think that he should be entered into the EC just a bit more. They shove each other around until Christian slaps Ryder and uses a rollup for a near fall. He goes to the DEADLY side headlock. Ryder fights out with a back suplex. Christian hits a flapjack after a nice exchange and gets a near fall. He clotheslines Zack to the apron and dropkicks him to the outside. He teases a springboard suicide dive but Ryder starts to walk up the ramp. Christian goes to get him and brings him back to the apron. Ryder is able to counter and hit a DDT to gain the momentum and send us to commercial.

Neck submission applied. Ryder breaks the hold and hits a swift leg drop for a near fall. Christian tries a springboard sunset flip, but Zack rolls through and propels the ECW champ into the bottom rope. Two count. Ryder heads to the second rope but gets caught with a boot to the face. Christian heats up the offense with a forearm strike and a punch to the face from the outside. He heads to the second rope and hits a dropkick for another near fall. Ryder looks for his leg lariat but it is countered with a powerbomb. Another two count. Backdrop finds the mark but Ryder avoids a crossbody attempt. The leg lariat connects this time but it can’t keep Christian down for three. Killswitch attempt is countered with a rollup for yet another long two count. Pele-like kick connects, and that is followed up with a flying elbow and now Christian is calling for the Killswitch. He goes for it and hits it. That’s a wrap.
Winner: Christian

This match was slightly better than the bout they had on ECW last week. I say this every time, but I still do not see variety in Ryder’s move set. I really want to see it because he has the potential to be very good, but these good matches might only be because Christian is involved. When he moves on to another wrestler to feud with, then we will see the real Zack Ryder. But for now, him and Christian are putting on a couple of nice matches.
**3/4

Hall of Fame for the Million Dollar Man. After that, the Raw Rebound takes a look at the latest episode in the McMahon/Hart/Cena/Batista feud. The EC card up to this point gets a rundown.

Match #3: Dolph Ziggler vs. JTG
Dolph is out before the break, and JTG enters without his partner in crime, Shad. Both men hit scoop slams and end up in a draw. JTG hits a flying elbow and gets a one count. Dolph hits a couple of strikes and an elbow while continuously mocking JTG. He runs into a face plant and a swinging neckbreaker, which sends him rolling out of the ring. Commercial time.

Dolph is in control with a neck submission hold. JTG almost fights out but gets thrown back down to the canvas. One count. Dolph hits lots of elbows but still only gets a one count out of it. Another submission locked in. Dolph breaks the hold and hits a leg drop to the back of the head for still another one count. Running neckbreaker connects and still can’t even get JTG down for two. Third neck submission hold. JTG fights out, avoids a charge, and hits a nice neckbreaker. They exchange strikes until JTG gains the upper hand with a combo of takedowns and dropkicks. Mugshot connects but it gets a long two count. Ziggler counters a back suplex with a rollup for a near fall. JTG heads to the second rope and connects with a leg lariat, which seems to be the move of the day. Dolph gets his foot on the bottom rope before the three count. Dolph avoids a charge and connects with the Zig Zag, ending the main event.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler

I felt like things were getting a bit monotonous during Dolph’s beatdown, but I like the targeting of the neck and the offense from JTG. He keeps most of his moves innovative and that can make him fun to watch sometimes, although I never see him being a serious singles contender. Dolph has been seriously underused lately, which is a shame considering some of the matches he had against Mysterio and Morrison. Even his bouts with Kane were entertaining. Hopefully we see him back in a more serious feud soon.
**1/2

This week’s show was just okay, with two decent matches and a comedy act that is starting to get a bit old. Christian and Ryder put on the match of the night, but I am afraid that is due more to the work of Christian than anything else. Dolph should be moving up the ladder to other things, while JTG has an innovative move set but probably will not get very far as a singles competitor.

The match of the night was ECW’s Zack Ryder vs. Christian and this week’s edition of WWE Superstars gets a grade of B-.

2010 Matches of the Week

1. Smackdown 2
2. Raw 2
3. ECW 2

Later.