So I was watching the bulk of Raw last Monday, and as the show unfolded, I was thinking to myself one thing: Wouldn’t these championship story lines be really great in the non-PG era?? When two triple threat matches were announced for both major titles with the two top tag teams in the company, I was a definite supporter of the idea. Sure, these tag teams consist of four big guys put together on teams, but both have shown great chemistry over the past few months. While I enjoy this change in pace in the type of storyline we are seeing, some of the stuff I saw on Monday night was leaning towards changing the TV rating to G. Things on the Smackdown side are okay; things on the Raw side are basically centering around Hornswoggle. Okay, I get it, the kids love him and what not. But can we please keep him out of the title picture?? Have him feud with Chavo every week for the next two years and I can tolerate that. The Raw storyline is starting to make the actual title nonexistent. The whole Cena DX Hornswoggle skit was just not cutting it for me.

Imagine the kind of things we could get out of a joint feud like this back in the attitude days. People would be beating the bloody hell out of each other, invading other shows, interfering in matches and laying people out with chairs, and other crazy things that only that kind of rating can provide. This storyline is good, but it is so heavily watered down that when HHH goes ape shit on HBK I won’t really care. I don’t think that will happen at Survivor Series, but they better start getting a little more serious if they want some of the fans to take the two main matches of a Big Four PPV seriously.

On another note, I am definitely looking forward to catching Smackdown over the weekend and watching the Undertaker and Chris Jericho going at it for the first time. Also, the triple threat tag team match on Raw this coming Monday should get these feuds over the edge. Seeing HBK and Taker in the ring together for the first time since WM25 will most likely give any wrestling fan goosebumps.

But right now it’s Thursday, which means WWE Superstars time!

A little change of pace this week with Grisham instead of Cole opening show. The main event is a shocker, but that is only because it’s from Raw for the first time in awhile. This week it will be MVP going up against Ted DiBiase.

Match #1: Matt Hardy vs David Hart Smith
Hardy gets a very nice pop from the UK crowd while Smith doesn’t receive nearly the same treatment. The bell rings and Smith goes straight to the armbar. He works over the left arm a bit before Hardy reverses into a side headlock. Both men go for the shoulder block, both stay on their feet, and Hardy gets right back to the headlock. Hardy gets a couple more punches in but gets sent chest first into the corner. Smith hits a splash in the corner and an uppercut. Neck submission hold applied. Hardy fights out, connects with a boot to the chin and follows it up with a neckbreaker. He goes up to the second rope and hits a leg drop. Two count. Both men end up fighting outside of the ring. Hardy rolls Smith in and goes to the top rope but gets distracted by Kidd on the outside. Smith takes advantage and hits a nicely executed superplex. Both men are holding the back of their necks as we head to a break.

Smith is working over the back of Hardy’s neck. Now he goes to the abdominal stretch. Hardy fights out and hits some punches to the back, but Smith gets control right back with a quick powerslam off the ropes. Two count. Smith hits a suplex and bridges out for the pin, but only gets a near fall. Smith gets up and hits another power move with a back suplex. Another two count. Smith works over the lower back some more with a submission maneuver. Smith puts Hardy on the top rope in a position to hit a big back suplex. Hardy elbows away and knocks Smith down to the canvas. Hardy goes for the moonsault and sort of connects. He overshot the mark a bit and ended up hitting a head butt to Smith’s chest. Decent spot either way and a long two count ensues. Hardy hits a flurry of strikes and a lariat for a two count. He goes to the second rope and hits an axe handle to the back of the neck. He tries for the Twist of Fate but gets tossed away. He ends up hitting the Side Effect after an exchange. Verrrry long two count there. Kidd gets up to the apron and Hardy lays him out, but he turns around and eats a gigantic boot to the chin. The ref isn’t going to put up with any crap and he sends Natalya and Kidd to the locker room. Smith tells them to get around and turns right into a small package. Hardy holds on long enough for the three count and the win.
Winner: Matt Hardy

Now that is what I call a good opening match. Both guys really brought out some high spots and good wrestling to make this match an excellent opener. I can’t help but be impressed with the way David Hart Smith works. Both him and Kidd are pure athletes and excellent wrestlers, and it is definitely translating into the squared circle of the WWE. Hardy seemed to have picked it up here, and even though he overshot the moonsault, his work rate was still more than solid. Really good stuff from both guys, just enough outside interference, and a high quality TV match. I’m a little split with just how good I want to rate this match, but I think I am going to give it a pretty good one and most likely a spot on the top ten list.
***1/4

Hey, my favorite segment of the show is just so good that I fast forward right through it.

Mr. WOOWOOWOO is on his way to the ring to face Shelton Benjamin.

Match #2: Zack Ryder vs. Shelton Benjamin
Not many people can be considered legitimate with that entrance music, but Ryder has been impressive in the ring in past couple of months. He’s brought a little eye candy too in the form of Rosa Mendes. Shelton gets a nice little pop, which he more than deserves for his always stellar in-ring work. Both men exchange clubbing blows to start things off, with Ryder getting the advantage and tossing Benjamin out of the ring. Shelton runs back in and gets the old ground-and-pound attack going. He hits a nice back suplex but ends up getting thrown to the ground after missing a splash in the corner. Neckbreaker from Ryder connects for a near fall. Neck submission hold applied. Rosa looks very seductive on the outside as Ryder gets another near fall. He goes right back to the submission hold. Shelton is in an awkward position, making him look like he’s being born on the spot. He finally gets out of the predicament but Ryder hits a leg lariat off the ropes. Two count. One more neck submission hold applied. Shelton gets to a vertical base and tosses Zack off. Shelton grabs Zack and hits a nice belly-to-belly suplex. Man the word of the week is definitely suplex. Come to think of it, that could be another feature at the end of the blog. But anyway, Shelton builds momentum with some knockdowns and a springboard crossbody from the corner. Two count. Shelton is looking for a powerbomb, but Ryder gets to the ropes and propels both of them to the outside. Ryder tries to get back in but Shelton kicks him into the security barrier. Rosa goes to check on Zack. He gets back up and is completely hypnotized by Rosa. He forgets there is even a match going on and gets counted out.
Winner: Shelton Benjamin (via count-out)

The bell wakes him up, kind of like Festus, and he freaks out a bit. He gets back into the ring and turns right into some Paydirt. Rosa looks very concerned and rushes to Zack’s side.

These two could probably have an excellent match together, but this was more of just making Zack and Rosa an item in ECW. It is a shame that Shelton will never get to see the main event picture, because he could really light it up in the ring. As for Zack, he is learning in the ring and learning quickly. ECW has some nice talent with these two on the show.
**

Promo video = Sheamus. Cole and King are in the house and they run down some of the matches on the Survivor Series card.

Josh Mathews is backstage with Rhodes and DiBiase. Josh wants to know about the happenings from the VIP lounge on Raw. Cody says they were just being honest because what defines you are your actions. He says Ted will definitely win tonight. DiBiase rips on MVP’s past a bit and talks about flashy jewelry. DiBiase says he’s the only one who is ballin since his dad is the MIllion Dollar Man. He says no one on Team Kofi impresses him. He looks forward to giving MVP a beatdown.

Match #3: Ted DiBiase vs. MVP
Main event time from the Raw side of things. DiBiase makes his way out with Cody to the wonderful chorus of boos. MVP gets a ballin pop for his entrance, and he is accompanied by the World’s Strongest Man. They really wear way too much red. Some nice mat wrestling kicks off this match. They make their way over to the corner, where DiBIase starts landing punches and kicks. MVP comes back with a clothesline for a near fall. He gets some more offense in with a backdrop. Two count. The attack continues with a scoop slam and a knee to the face. Another two count. Neck submission hold locked in. DiBiase fights out and Cody pulls him out of the ring to avoid any more damage. MVP doesn’t like it and hits a suicide dive on both of them. Commercial time.

MVP gets a quick rollup locked in for a two count. He goes for a drive-by kick in the corner but misses and gets his leg caught in the corner. DiBiase lifts him up and tosses him out of the ring. DiBiase follows him to the outside and slings MVP’s left arm into the security barrier and the ring post. They get back in the ring and Ted gets a two count on a pin attempt. He goes right to work on the arms. He connects with a boot to the face for a near fall. Submission hold applied. MVP tries to fight out but gets hit with an armbreaker. Two count. MVP is now writhing in pain from the centered assault. Cody takes advantage when the ref was distracted and sends MVP’s left arm crashing off the ring post. Two count. MVP punches away with his good arm but ends up running into a big time clothesline. Another two count. A long two count. Submission hold applied again. MVP fights out and is able to use a belly-to-belly throw to buy some valuable time. He connects with some rights, an elbow and a facebuster. MVP is feeling it now and his ballin elbow finds the mark. Now he’s looking for the Playmaker. DiBiase counters out of it but ends up walking into a big boot to the face. Longggg two count. Cody tries to get on the apron and distract MVP but Big Mark grabs him and tosses him into the ring post. MVP counters a neckbreaker attempt into a rollup and picks up the victory.
Winner: MVP

It was a big of an abrupt ending, but the match was solid nonetheless. DiBiase did a good job of focusing his attack on the left arm, and unlike some wrestlers, MVP actually sold it. Both men are good workers in the ring and both have the ability to be in the main event picture in the future. MVP should probably be there now, but that’s another story.
**3/4

Whenever Superstars only has three matches, it seems to deliver more than usual. This week’s episode was no different. The opening match between Hardy and Smith was excellent, and will find a spot on my top ten list. Shelton and Zack was done more as an angle builder between Rosa and Zack, but they could have a great match if given the time to do so. MVP and DiBiase was also very good, and on most other nights, it would be the match of the night. It seems, however, that Smackdown just cannot lose.

The match of the night was Smackdown’s Matt Hardy vs. David Hart Smith and this week’s episode of WWE Superstars gets a grade of A-.

I really am not biased towards Smackdown…the show just tends to kick ass every week!

Matches of the Week

1. Smackdown 17
2. ECW 4
3. Raw 3

My 2009 Top Ten WWE Superstars Matches

1. Chris Jericho vs. John Morrison      06/11/09
2. U.S. Championship: Kofi Kingston vs. MVP vs. Matt Hardy      06/25/09
3. John Morrison vs. CM Punk      10/15/09
4. Dolph Ziggler vs. Finlay vs. Mike Knox      08/27/09
5. Christian vs. Paul Burchill      09/17/09
6. Matt Hardy vs. David Hart Smith      11/12/09
7. John Morrison vs Kane      07/23/09
8. Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox      08/06/09
9. John Morrison vs. David Hart Smith      08/13/09
10. Cryme Tyme vs. The Hart Dynasty      10/08/09

Who got the boot: CM Punk vs. Edge from the episode airing 07/02/09

Later.

Tags: david hart smith, Matt Hardy, MVP, PG is crappy, Shelton Benjamin, Ted DiBiase, zack ryder