Last week, I expressed my discontent at a possible Hell in a Cell PPV. Not even a day after I posted that, the WWE changed the PPV “No Mercy” to “Hell in a Cell.’ Well that didn’t take too long, now didn’t it?? I also said last week that I wouldn’t watch the PPV if they changed it. Honestly, no matter how much I disagree with the decision to have this type of show, I’ll probably watch it anyway. I mean, if I can sit through three hours of The Bash where the main event is A Crappy Stage of Hell, then I can do anything!

As I also mentioned last week, I wasn’t in the Live Blog because I was at the Yankees game. It was awesome there, and my Yanks pulled out a win, with Mariano Rivera getting his 500th save. I even got to see him get a walk! Anyway, I was able to watch the PPV the day after. The Bash, like Wrestlemania, was basically a one-match show with a few decent matches thrown in. Here are my thoughts:

ECW Championship Scramble: Tommy Dreamer def. Christian, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, & Finlay

The PPV opened up with this match, and I agree with that decision. Swagger and Christian started things off and showed us the great chemistry they have in the ring. Fortunately, Henry was the last one in, giving us less time of having to watch him. It was funny seeing him slowly trying to get to the top rope. The work in this match was very good, and although I’m not a huge fan of the Scramble match, I thought this one was well done. In terms of my rating system, this match tied for the second best of the night, along with the WHC match.          ***1/2

Mask vs. Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio def. Chris Jericho

I was very surprised that this match was second on the card, since it deserved to replace the John Cena vs. Miz match. Wow. This match was freakin awesome. Everything about it was just great. The ending of the match, with Mysterio having the second mask on, was a great way to end it. When it first started, I wondered if they could outdo their previous PPV matches. Well they outdid it, and then some. I desperately want to give this match a five star rating, but I can’t do that. In my mind, the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels bout stands as the only match I would give five stars this year. However, this match comes in as a very close second. Match of the night right here, and second best match of the year.          ****3/4

No DQ Match: Dolph Ziggler def. The Great Khali

This match wasn’t that great, but what did you really expect with Khali in it? Kane returned to a nice pop, and although he played the heel by attacking Khali, he still got cheers. With all the time and service that Kane has given to the company, it’s extremely difficult to build him up as a heel. At this point in his career, either bring the mask back or keep him face. Ziggler built momentum by picking up the scraps that Kane left. Khali did as good as he could with his mobility.          *1/2

Triple Threat Unified Tag Team Title Match: Edge & Chris Jericho def. Legacy and Carlito & Primo

I, like many others, was desperately hoping that Christian’s music would hit after Edge’s and the two would finally reunite. The look on Edge and Jericho’s faces when they were being completely ignored during the match was pretty funny. The fact that they were there, however, took away from the actual wrestling between the other two teams. Hopefully, this win will finally start to rebuild the tag team division. Now all we need are a few more teams!          **1/2

Women’s Championship: Michelle McCool def. Melina

McCool became the first woman to win both the Women’s and Diva’s championships in a decent match. Melina’s flexibility always impresses, but her run as champion was somewhat stale. McCool has come a long way and deserves to be champion. My only disagreement here is that I feel Mickie James should have held the honor as the first woman to hold both titles. Either way, job well done by Michelle.          **

World Heavyweight Championship: Jeff Hardy def. CM Punk via disqualification

This match started off pretty slow, but as it progressed, I started liking it more and more. This was an excellent wrestling match with a good finish. I knew Hardy couldn’t win when he took too long to cover after the Swanton, but I didn’t expect them actually restarting the match. The fans were pissed off that Punk got himself disqualified after his “eye injury,” but it was a perfect way to continue the slow heel turn. The fans loved the Hardy attack after the match, which was exactly the reaction creative was going with here. I’m looking forward to some more matches between the two.          ***1/2

John Cena def. The Miz

This was terrible. After all the talk by Miz, it only took six minutes for him to get destroyed by Cena. Not only that, but why is this match so late on the card?? This should’ve been second or third, not second to last. I liked the beginning of the match and I liked how The Miz gained control, but after another couple of minutes it was all over. They really couldn’t have given this match at least another five minutes? Poor booking here, and another up and coming star has been knocked down a peg.          *1/2

A Crappy Stage of Hell: Randy Orton def. Triple H

So the first two stages of hell were over in about five minutes, due to HHH’s genius idea to get himself disqualified. The stretcher match had a couple of decent spots in it, like the DDT from the stretcher, but I would much rather have the LMS match on this PPV. This main event really bored me, although the work rate was okay. In the last three stages of hell match, HHH and HBK took close to thirty minutes to finish the first two falls. Here, the whole thing was over in about twenty minutes. I liked this feud in the beginning, but it’s quickly becoming stale. Get them new opponents please!          **1/2

For the second straight PPV, I went 4-4 in my predictions. It’s not terrible, but I’m in desperate need of getting over .500 at Night of Champions. But for now, it’s time for another week of WWE Superstars!

King and Cole welcome us to the show after the pyros, meaning that the Raw portion of the show will be finished within the first eight minutes. Awesome!

Match #1: Santino Marella vs. The Brian Kendrick

Santino’s music hits first and the fans are loving the man with the unibrow. The Brian Kendrick is out next, dancing his way down to the ring. The bell rings and Santino starts things off with a Primo-like somersault, which of course is nowhere near as agile as Primo’s. Kendrick goes for a big kick but misses and the fans are LOVING it. Kendrick takes control as the fans boo him. He locks in a headlock but Santino reserves it into his own side headlock. Kendrick tries to fight out but Santino quickly gets back into the headlock. The Brian gets to the ropes to break the hold. He goes to kick Marella but Santino catches him and connects with punches. Unfortunately he keeps blabbering on before his last punch and Kendrick is able to knee him in the sternum. Kendrick goes to throw Santino over the top but Marella holds on. He tries to skim the cat but Kendrick catches Marella’s leg and drives it down on the ropes. Kendrick continues working on the leg of Santino. He mocks Santino, screaming at him and slapping him in the face. Santino’s finally had enough and connects with a couple of superhuman punches and an elbow, followed up by a hip toss. He walks towards Kendrick in the corner but The Brian connects with a huge kick. He goes for the pin but Santino grabs the ropes, much to the delight of the crowd. Kendrick briefly argues and goes for a quick pin, but Santino makes an innovative counter into a pin attempt of his own and gets the upset win.

Winner: Santino Marella

After the match, Santino has plenty of fun outside the ring by attempting to shake Kendrick’s hand and playing his little air trombone that he keeps in his back pocket.

This match wasn’t that great, but the fans loved getting behind Santino and his antics. It’s a shame to see The Brian Kendrick only being seen in matches like these on WWE Superstars instead of being used on other brands where his talent can really shine. Whatever happened to that tag team partner he was looking for? It seems like he has stopped that search and decided o lose to Hornswoggle and Marella. Santino is such a comedy act, and for all the talking he does, some of the moves he makes in the ring show signs of him being a pretty decent wrestler.           *

Our main event for the evening is World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs. Edge in a non-title match. Suh-weet!

Match #2: John Morrison vs. Charlie Haas

Haas is already in the ring when we return to the show, which gives him a 99.9% chance of losing the match. Morrison is out next to a nice pop, and now that percentage of losing has gone up to 100%. We get a video recap of Morrison’s win over Punk last Friday in an excellent match. They lock up to start the match with Haas pushing Morrison to the ropes and hitting a couple of elbows. Morrison fights back to hit a couple of arm drags and a standing dropkick. Haas is on the outside and Morrison hits another dropkick through the ropes. Morrison grabs Haas and walks up the steel steps but Haas pushes Morrison, who goes chest first onto the top step. Back in the ring, Haas continues to work on the chest and torso of Morrison with a couple of kicks and a scissors-like submission hold. Morrison fights out with forearm shots and some innovative kicks. he hits a clothesline and a dropkick, followed by a running knee for a two count. Haas hits a couple of knees to Morrison’s chest and goes for a third, but Morrison avoids it and hits the Moonlight Drive. He then hits his finisher, Starship Pain, for the three count in a quick, fast-paced match.

Winner: John Morrison

This match wasn’t given much time at all, but the wrestlers did well with what they had. Haas got enough offense in to look somewhat credible, but this was basically a glorified squash for Morrison. His creative moves in the ring continue to impress, and with his recent win over CM Punk, maybe we’ll be seeing him in a title match when Night of Champions rolls around.          **

Backstage, my favorite wrestler of all-time is making his way to the ring for the next match. You guessed it; it’s Mr. WOOWOOWOO, Zack freakin Ryder.

Match #3: Zack Ryder vs. Tyler Reks

You gotta love Ryder for being able to put those trunks on each and every time he goes to the ring. Ah, the beauty of trying to keep your job! We get the debut of a new superstar, surfer dude Tyler Reks. He has a good look, but we’ll see how it translates into the ring.Ryder mocks Reks, which pisses off Mr. Surfer Dude. After a headlock from Ryder, Reks hits a flapjack for a quick count. Ryder gains control with a strike to the face and a few vicious kicks in the corner. One count. Zack applies a headlock, but Reks fights out with a neckbreaker. He hits some strikes to the face, followed up with a sliding punch to the abs and a clothesline. Reks throws Ryder face-first to the mat but only gets a two count. Ryder regains control with a jawbreaker but quickly loses it after an elbow from Reks. Tyler tries to go to the top but Ryder kicks him off the ropes. Zack drags him towards the middle of the ring and hits the Zack Attack for the win.

Winner: Zack Ryder

This is another match that would’ve been just a squash match if Tyler didn’t get in that much offense. For his first time in the ring, he looked pretty decent. I don’t know how far that gimmick will get him, but hey, look at Zack Ryder’s! No matter how much I watch that guy, I will never be able to take his WOOWOOWOO seriously. So as much as they try to build him up with semi-squash matches on my show, it still won’t do the trick.          *1/2

Every week on WWE Superstars, we get to see a promo video for a specific superstar, which are always done so well. This week, it’s Christian’s turn. He has so much promise in the company and I can’t wait to see him move to Raw or Smackdown.

Next up is a Raw Rebound, highlighting Roidtista as the guest host and the three-on-one gauntlet match. Plus, we see a possible face turn from Mark Henry. If that’s Vince’s idea of freshening up the main event picture, then that is very disappointing.

After that, we see a recap of the events of the WHC match between Hardy and Punk at The Bash. We also see Punk sustaining that “eye injury,” so expect him to be selling that during this match.

Match #4: CM Punk vs. Edge

Punk is out first to a mixed reaction, although I think he’s getting a few more boos than cheers. He poses on the top turnbuckle as we go to commercial.

Edge is out after the commercial sporting his new tag team belts, and he gets a surprisingly nice pop to go with it. JR and Grisham keep calling them the Undisputed Tag Team Belts, when they’re actually the Unified Tag Team Belts. Edge gets near Punk’s eye in the corner to start off the match, and Punk tries charging at Edge for retaliation. They have a little stare down and lock up again. Punk connects with kicks to the side to knock Edge down and stomps on him. Punk hits a knee to the chest for a one count and locks in a submission hold, targeting the ribs. One count. Punk hits a few more knees, but Edge counters into a rollup for a one count. Punk regains control with a couple of more kicks to the ribs and picks up a two count. Edge fights back with a couple of strikes but Edge gets thrown to the apron. Punk kicks the legs of Edge to knock him down and then hits a baseball slide kick to send Edge to the outside. The announce team also mentioned Edge and Christian instead of Edge and Chris Jericho. It seems that a lot of people were hoping for that tag team! They get back into the ring as Punk favors the eye again. Punk charges at Edge but runs into a huge boot right into that injured eye. The ref briefly stops the match to check on Punk’s eye as we go to commercial.

Edge is in control on the other side of the commercial here on our main event on WWE Superstars! Punk tries to build momentum with some kicks but Edge hits a flapjack off the ropes for a quick one count. Edge continues the assault with a kick and a knee to the lower back. Edge locks in a submission hold as some in the crowd try to get behind Punk. Punk fights out with a flurry of kicks and a jumping heel kick. He hits a step-up enseguri in the corner but only gets two. Punk goes for a suplex but Edge reverses it into the Edgecution. Two count. I’m surprised they don’t call the implant DDT by that name anymore. But anyway, Edge is in the corner looking for the Spear. He charges at Punk but runs into a swinging neckbreaker. Two count. Punk is looking for a springboard but Edge avoids it. Edge turns around and runs into a quick powerslam, which gets another two count. Punk hits the running knee in the corner and goes for the bulldog, but Edge tries to throw him away. Punk ends up attempting the GTS, but Edge rakes the eyes and Punk rolls around on the floor in pain. Edge attacks Punk in the corner but the ref has to pull him away. Punk waves his arms at the ref and bell is rung. Punk is unable to continue, and Edge picks up a victory over the World Champ.

Winner: Edge (by forfeit)

Edge poses on the ramp as Josh Mathews gets into the ring with a mic. Mathews wants to know if Punk would’ve forfeited if this was a title match. Punk says he doesn’t want to forfeit ever, but he can’t compete if he can’t see. He is happy to give Edge a rematch, but his eye is in too much pain and he can’t continue. The fans are giving him a “You Suck!” chant as Punk’s music hits with a doctor checking out his left eye.

This was a decent match and a good ending to keep the injury and the slow heel turn going. It wasn’t the best match that these two have had, but it was good nonetheless. Although Edge was fighting as the heel, it seems that he was getting more cheers than Punk was. This progression is good news for the almost inevitable full heel turn. Once that happens, Punk will rank up there with Jericho as one of the top heels in the business. I’m interested to see how the Hardy Punk feud will be extended on Smackdown.          ***

This was not a great edition of WWE Superstars. I don’t mind having one glorified squash match a week, but two in a row is not going to cut it. I’d rather have three matches a week that are given more time than four matches that are somewhat rushed. I don’t like how The Brian Kendrick is being used. There are other guys with less natural talent than him that should be used in that role. The Morrison Haas match was okay, but it was used to build up Morrison some more. Tyler Reks showed some potential, but in this match he got just enough offense in for me to rank the match. I did like the ending of the Punk Edge match, and the wrestling was also pretty good. However, this week’s episode was definitely not as good as last week’s. Each week, the main events are good, but it is the other two or three matches that make the show. This week, they didn’t do enough.

The match of the night was Smackdown’s CM Punk vs. Edge and this week’s episode of WWE Superstars gets a grade of C+.

Smackdown has increased the lead in the battle of the brands on Thursday nights. Actually, Smackdown had the two best matches of the night! Unfortunately, that only gets you one point in this competition.

Matches of the Week:  Smackdown   3          ECW   1          Raw   1

Later.

Tags: Charlie Haas, CM Punk, Edge, John Morrison, Santino Marella, The Bash Fallout, The Brian Kendrick, Tyler Reks, zack ryder