WWE Superstars TV Report - June 27th 2013

A show that had Miz, Barrett, Cesaro and Ryder in the ring and Alex Riley on commentary. This bucked the trend after the last few weeks of poor content.

We kick off with Miz coming out. Tony Dawson is joined by Alex Riley who is on commentary for the first time in recent memory. He replaces Matt Striker whose contract wasn’t extended last week and is now taking independent bookings. He’s been paid through August because he doesn’t have the 90 day no-compete clause like other in-ring talent. It’s a blessing for this show that he’s gone but Dawson needs to improve and quickly. Out next is Wade Barrett; a SmackDown-calibre match starts Superstars this week!

Match 1 – The Miz v Wade Barrett

Miz beat Wade Barrett in 8:52 via submission. Riley does a good job putting over the three-way from Payback for the IC title and makes this match up sound relevant and current. Unfortunately, it isn’t. They lock up and hit the ropes. Barrett shoulder barges Miz to the floor and they circle each other with heat from the fans. Miz hits a headlock takedown and Barrett uses a head scissors to power out. Barrett is at his best when he’s brutal and looks stiff – here, he hits elbows on Miz in the corner that look stiff but Miz doesn’t sell them well. He hits a face buster on Barrett, followed by a drop toe hold and, as Barrett rolls out of the ring for a time out, we go to a break.

Barrett is in control after the break and hits a drop kick on Miz for a 2 count. He hits stiff punches on Miz and then traps him in the ropes to hit him with knees to the chest. He looks at his best here. Riley made me laugh here, “Barrett has the personality of a wet mop: he’s either extremely angry or focused”. Made no sense whatsoever. Barrett gets a two count and hits elbow drops and a rear chin lock in frustration at not being able to get the three. Miz then powers out and begins his comeback.

Miz hits a running high knee out of an Irish whip followed by a big boot. He then hits his running corner clothesline, a double axe handle from the second turn buckle for a 2 count. He goes for the Skull Crushing Finale but Barrett blocks, hits the Winds of Change for another near fall. Miz then escapes from Waste Land and gets another near fall.

The finish is really good: Miz begins to work over the left knee of Barrett, softening him the figure four. Barrett powers out but Miz manages to lock it in and Barrett taps to a big pop from the crowd. This built to a good end but was otherwise a house show standard bout.

Then it’s the Raw Rebound – we get the awesome Punk and Heyman segment. They’re both tremendous, particularly Punk. No idea why the crowd weren’t into this. Then we’re shown the end of the Bryan and Orton match with the handshake.
Out comes Zack Ryder next. This new hair style makes zero difference, he’s the same geek that no one in WWE cares about. He’s followed by Antonio Cesaro with Zeb Colter who cuts a promo on Ryder and the fans. He claims that Ryder is a lay-about and asks “woo woo woo you know it, what is that, some kind of code to the Chinese?” I can’t believe he can get away with saying things like that on TV.

Match 2 – Zack Ryder v Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro pinned Ryder in 4:01. Cesaro hit a cool gut wrench suplex early on that just emphasised how strong he is – what’s most impressive about him is the ease with which he pulls off these moves and the control he’s capable of wielding. For someone who is only 228 pounds, he’s freakishly strong. He then hits a scoop slam off an Irish whip and does his signature two-footed stomp on Ryder. He then settles into a rear chin lock.

Ryder takes some knees to the chest in the corner but manages to block, power out and hit a face buster – his go to move. He then hits the second rope, springboards onto Cesaro and hits a swinging DDT. As Cesaro is stirring he hits the Broski boot and covers him for a near fall. Cesaro locks in a sleeper and then turns it into a swinging sleeper hold - where he swings Ryder round and round whilst maintaining the hold - and then plants him in the Neutraliser and the win. Cesaro covers him in the Gadsden flag. A decent, short match but I can’t help think, poor Cesaro and poor Ryder - what does the future hold for these two at WWE? 

The show ends with a tremendous video package of Cena and Henry’s build for Money in the Bank.

WWE Payback 2013 Review

WWE Payback
All State Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Sunday 16th June 2013

Curtis Axel v The Miz v Wade Barrett (c) for the Intercontinental Championship

The announcers put over how Axel was fighting for the IC title on Father's Day and it felt like a babyface push. Early on there was an ECW chant from the crowd that couldn't have been less appropriate with these three in-ring performers. Surely after this, Barrett is due a proper push - he's at his best when he does brutish strength.

Axel is ok in the ring, nothing more, nothing less. He really just needs a character and then they could really start to make him into a star. He has everything else going for him: he's tall, has good genetics, and has all his dad's moves in his locker. The Chicago crowd give a huge pop for the Perfect Plex and this crowd are awesome from the word go. I loved the finish, the steal. The look that Axel gave to his dad up in heaven was worth the match alone. I really hope that he makes this title important again. Cody tried. Punk did it under Heyman with the WWE title, let's hope the Heyman factor works for Axel here.

Kaitlyn (c) v AJ Lee for the Divas Championship

After such great reviews and press for the women's match at that last TNA ppv, you could see that they were trying to put on a good show here. And actually this was very good. I really like AJ, she's nothing special in the ring but she has the character. Kaitlyn, on the other hand, has no charisma but can work. The big spot here was the black widow submission and Kaitlyn's spear that Lee sold like she'd been cut in half.

Afterwards Kaitlyn was booed out of the building and they teased a breakdown. AJ Lee will be a good champion and its hard to believe that given the push they've given her, and how incredibly weak the Divas division is at the moment, that she's never been champion.

Kane v Dean Ambrose (c) for the United States Championship

When Kane came out for this match and it really felt like he was going through the motions. At 46, he's been around in WWE for so long now and mid card ppv matches against up-and-comers are not really anything special for him now. Sadly, this translated into a match that was really nothing special. Kane just isn't the right man to face for anyone on ppv. He produces decent matches but I can't honestly remember the last 4 star match that he had with anyone.

A DQ finish really isn't the finish to give a Chicago crowd, particularly against Kane. This was a dumb finish, too. I'm glad that Ambrose retained, though. He'll be a great US or IC champion in this company but he's destined for great things. I hope to see him with Punk before too long.

Dolph Ziggler (c) v Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Title

This felt like a double turn. The crowd were great for this one and really made Ziggler feel like a star and the title feel like a big deal. Ziggler took loads of head shots and sold that he was woozy. I thought that they literally just did this with Hunter? They teased that the ref was going to stop the match and Ziggler sold so well that he came across as a sympathetic hero. Ziggler in a role where he has to sell is awesome so they booked this really well.

Del Rio came across as a brutish heel, which is what he is best at. He looks dangerous, foreign and slimy and he smiles at the crowd's boos. You could really see he was a heel here when he went outside, stalking Ziggler and AJ and then he booted the Divas title out of his way.

There were tons of near falls for the finish, like most WWE big card ppv matches these days. The pop at the end for Del Rio's win was probably only for the fact that they saw a title change live. Ziggler was awesome here.
Chris Jericho v CM Punk

It is such a pleasure to see CM Punk back. WWE has missed him and the product has missed him. I've missed his wrestling, his promos, his character, his freshness, his look. He's just the only top guy they have right now who is really worth watching every week.

As these two locked up, there was a great little sly grin from Punk. Heyman was great here: he watched on with his chin aloft, pouting, like a proud father - Punk is his guy; Jericho was his guy. The announcers sold that Punk wasn't "in ring shape" but I got the sense that Punk was selling that and that he was playing up to it. When he hit his runner knee he, with maddening eyes, shot a look to Cole and with a gestured peace sign shouted, "vintage Punk!" God if I was Cole, I'd be so pissed off.

There was a beautiful chain from Jericho putting on the Walls of Jericho into Punk powering out into the Anaconda Vice. Heyman was great again here. Punk teased that he was disappointed in Heyman and it was so great. As Heyman climbed the stairs, Punk looked at him in numb disbelief as if to say "what are you doing". It was perfect.

The first GTS and kick out was almost at WrestleMania Undertaker levels. The crowd by this point were so into it. The second Walls of Jericho really looked like it was it - Punk had nowhere to go but like a good plucky babyface, he found a route out. The finish was really great and felt fresh. I've never seen Punk do it before. Next up has to be a turn on Heyman and take a match with Lesnar at Summerslam. I don't know what they should do with him at MITB, possibly stick him in the Ladder match.

Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns v Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton

Very good match, but with time cut back; it wasn’t as good as many of their television matches. They were in a tough spot, having to follow the previous match, because WWE usually puts a buffer match in that kind of a situation when they feel a match will be blow away. The Chicago crowd was super into Bryan, more than anyone on the show except Punk. You could see they were going relatively short since Orton started doing a lot of his late match spots early, like the powerslam off the ropes and draping DDT. Reigns did this great looking superman punch on Orton outside the ring. They worked over Orton until he made a comeback with an exploder suplex on Rollins into Reigns, hot tagging Bryan.

The finish saw Reigns spear Bryan, but then Orton gave Reigns the RKO. Rollins then gave Bryan a flying curb stomp for the clean pin. The idea was that since Bryan had made Rollins tap out twice on TV in the previous week, in the singles match and trios match, that Rollins needed to be the one who beat Bryan here, and that Bryan would be fine beating Orton the next day. Orton walked out on Bryan after the match. Should be good to see what they do with these two next.

8. John Cena (c) v Ryback in a Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship

They opened with a lumberjack match. The first time Cena went out of the ring in front of the face lumberjacks, nobody touched him. Then Ryback threw Cena to the heel lumberjacks, who all beat him down and then threw him in. Ryback threw Cena to the heel lumberjacks again. Crowd was chanting “RVD” here. Cena was booed heavily. Cena threw Ryback out of the ring but the heel lumberjacks wouldn’t touch him. Cena went up for a plancha. At first, he slipped off the ropes, but got back up and dove off. It was this awesome scenario because you had 31 guys falling like a set up domino thing. The funny part was that everyone went down almost as a group as the person in front of them went down. Somehow, Titus O’Neil and Sin Cara weren’t touched, so they had to go down from nothing on a delay. The finish saw Cena go for the STF, but Ryback powered out and hit the shell shock for the pin.

Next was the tables match. This was similar to the match they’d been doing at all the shows the last few weeks to get ready. When Ryback hit a spear, there was a loud “Goldberg” chant. Ryback pressed Cena overhead this time. Outside the ring, Ryback threw Cena into the steps. He threw the steps at Cena, who moved, and the steps went through a table. Ryback later threw the steps at Cena a second time, he moved and the steps went through a table set up in the corner. After a spinebuster and meat hook clothesline, Ryback brought in another table. He went for the shell shock, but Cena got out and hit the Attitude Adjustment through the table to win.

The third match, an ambulance match, started with more “Goldberg” chants. Ryback cleared out the American announcing table and power bombed Cena through it. Fans chanted “One more time.” Then came the dueling Cena chants with the girls for Cena drowned out by the “Cena sucks.” They ended up brawling by the ambulance. They destroyed the ambulance. Cena threw Ryback into the back door. Cena opened the back door and pulled out about a dozen crutches. Ryback punched through a gimmicked window. I guess he really did want to be Goldberg. The front door was opened and Cena threw Ryback into it, knocking the front door off its hinges. Cena hit Ryback with the door. Cena tried to push him into the front seat with the broken door but Ryback head-butted Cena. Ryback threw Cena onto the hood. Ryback pulled off part of the fender and hit Cena with it twice. Cena backdropped Ryback on the hood. I think they expected the windshield to break, which it did crack a little. Cena climbed to the roof and hit Ryback with the ambulance siren. They ended up both on the roof. Ryback had a crutch but Cena got it from him, hit him and gave him an Attitude Adjustment on the roof. Ryback went through the roof, meaning he was in the ambulance, for the finish.

A great ppv overall. One of the best this year. Extreme Rules was good but not as top to bottom as this. Great to see where they go next into the summer and MITB and SummerSlam.

WWE Superstars TV Report – 20th June 2013

Matt Striker’s last ever WWE show saw two average matches and some awesome Raw Rebound.

We kick off R-Truth coming out. Tony Dawson is pushing the moniker “the sun tan superman” for Truth now. Either this will completely disappear next week or he’ll be Paul Heyman’s new guy on Raw next – see Michael McGillicutty: labelled ‘big country’ by Dawson three weeks ago on Superstars, now Intercontinental Champion.

Out next are the Prime Time Players, with Darren Young representing the duo tonight for the match up against Truth.

Match 1 – R-Truth v Darren Young

R-Truth pinned Darren Young in 7:41. Dawson and Striker talk about Darren Young’s hair, Dawson claiming that Young says it takes two and half hours to have it trimmed when he goes to the barbers. Striker points out that “urban barbers” are “the place to be”. It’s a wonder he’s been released… The two lock up and the first thing Truth does is mess up Young’s hair. Apt timing. He then slaps him, too. What a bully and a heel.

This is not the first Superstars opening match where there’s no hard cam. I can only assume that this is because it is yet to be set up for the Raw taping that takes place after but it’s weird to watch; comes across as some really glossy HD Indy taping where guys can’t work that well. Truth does about 5 hip tosses in this bout but weirdly botches two in quick succession. Striker actually groans when he misses the first, realises his error and sells that Darren Young is a heavy guy. The second time it happens, they claim Truth must have sustained tendon damage in the match.

There’s a great spot where Truth is back dropped on to the apron by Young – it looks really stiff and gets a great heel reaction from the fans. Young rolls Truth back into the ring and hits him with a northern lights suplex for a 2 count. I swear this was the first time I have ever heard Tony Dawson call a move and he chose this one. Young gets some good heat here and dances his millions of dollars dance while Titus blows his whistle and shouts “what’s up R-Truth? What’s up?” The guy is money. Truth powers out and hits Young with a spinning heel kick and a gourdbuster for a 2 count.

O’Neill hits the apron but R-Truth hits him with a European uppercut to see him off. He turns round, blocks Young and hits the Lie Detector for the pin. A decent match.

We get a great Money in the Bank promo video next. No doubt about it, this and Extreme Rules are the best B shows. Then it's the Raw Rebound - we get the awesome Cena and Henry segment and the Bryan and Orton match with the stoppage.

Out come Cameron & Naomi next. They’re followed by Layla and Natalya. Presumably Cameron and Naomi are playing heels here? If so, I’d guess this is E! Divas show related.

Match 2 – Cameron & Naomi v Layla & Natalya

Layla & Natalya pinned Cameron & Naomi in 4:24. The match starts with Cameron and Layla in the ring who produce some nice mat wrestling. Cameron hits a nice fireman’s carry into a head scissors on Layla. Layla puts on a headlock as Dawson reminds us that these two are both former NBA cheerleaders to which Striker replies “oh yeah, you’re really over with the cheerleaders”. I hope Dawson’s not married and if he is that his wife wasn’t paying attention.

Although the hard cam is up and running for this match, there are lots of drop cuts to the crowd in the early stages of this match. I’m really not sure why. Cameron hits Layla with her rear end out off the ropes and gets a two count. In next is Natalya who rolls up Cameron for a 2 count. Cameron then applies a wrist lock which is reversed and Natalya applies a head scissors. Natalya is a great mat wrestler. The two face off, Cameron hits Natalya with a big slap and dances (finally showing her heel side in this match) but then Natalya slaps her back harder.

Their partners pile into the ring and we get a momentary brawl before the referee calms things down. When they have returned to their corners, the ref makes Natalya and Naomi shake hands. Seriously. They do and then as soon as Natalya turns her back, Naomi hits her from behind. Layla tags herself in and hits her with a standing kick to the back of her head for the win. A finish really out of nowhere.

The show ends with a video package of Punk v Del Rio from Raw followed by Lesnar’s attack.

 

WWE Superstars TV Report - June 13th 2013

A show that had two fairly dull matches for the second week running; a show that built up Payback for Sunday in Chicago; and a show that makes me wonder how long Zack Ryder will stay in WWE.

 

We kick off with Cameron and Naomi coming out and dancing to introduce Brodus Clay and Sweet T. His graphic still says Tensai but Tony Dawson announces him as Sweet T – I assume this name is like the Funkasaurus is for Brodus. For some reason these two men are wearing each other’s warm-up outfits. This wasn’t explained.

 

Out next are the Prime Time Players, with Titus O’Neil representing the duo tonight for the match up against Tensai/Sweet T. This is ideal Superstars fodder.

Match 1 – Tons of Funk v Primo and Epico
 

Titus O’Neil pinned Tensai in 7:04. The two lock up and exchange tests of strength. Titus gets angry with Tensai’s goofy smile and boots him in the midriff, scoop slams him, lands a leg drop and hits a low leaping shoulder block for a 2 count. Dawson and Striker are jabbering about Payback and the Three Stages of Hell Match – Striker inventing a back story about lumberjack matches. Tensai hits a hell of a messy German suplex to put O’Neil  over the ropes and out of the ring as we go to a really early break.

Sweet T is in control when we return, using wrist locks to wear him down. O’Neil powers out with punches and then clotheslines him over the top rope. Outside Brodus argues with Darren Young to tease that the match will simmer over. It doesn’t. Titus comes out to roll Tensai back in. O’Neil dominates Tensai who is now for some reason busted open on top of his head. On this show it will be interesting to see how they avoid showing blood. Their answer, cuts to wide shots of the crowd. Dawson and Striker don’t make reference to it.

Tensai hits a much better German suplex and starts to overpower O’Neil, punching him into the corner and then out of nowhere hits a running knee and catches him with a big boot. He climbs the ropes and Darren young pushes him off while the official is distracted by Brodus Clay who is up on the apron. Titus pins him for the win. Poor match. Its looking like these two teams will be programmed with each other. 

We get an awesome CM Punk promo video to hype his return. No doubt about it, he’s been missed. Then it’s the Raw Rebound – we get the opening Vince/HHH segment and subsequent family stare down with Steph, followed by Daniel Bryan vs Seth Rollins.

Out comes new look Zack Ryder to a good pop. Only a matter of time before he has enough a leaves WWE, I’d say. Out next are 3MB, led by Heath Slater. Drew looks better and better the more he gets into this gimmick.
 

Match 2 – Zack Ryder v Heath Slater

Heath Slater pinned Zack Ryder in 4:04. Ryder gets a “woo” chant going early and these two lock up. Slater gets the early heat, shoulder blocking Ryder to the mat who then comes back and hits a face buster. Ryder climbs to the second turn buckle and is immediately distracted by Drew and Mahal. Slater whips him off the ropes by grabbing his left leg and gets a 2 count.

They lock up for some holds, Slater uses a rear chin lock which Ryder powers out of only to be hit by a single leg drop kick by Slater. Another near fall follows and you can see where this is going and that this match is going to run short. Ryder runs into a raised boot and takes another 2 count and Slater returns to the rear chin lock.

Jinder and Drew are encouraging and trash talking at the apron while Zack hits another face buster and then a missile drop kick as he gets some heat to set up for the Broski boot. As he does so, Jinder and Drew hit the ring and Zack runs them off. He goes back to the boot, misses and crotches the bottom rope so that Slater can get up and plant the Smash Hit (DDT) for the win.

The show ends with a video package to promote Ryback and Cena for Sunday’s ppv, Payback.

WWE Superstars TV Report - 6th June 2013

A show that had two fairly dull matches; a show that indicated that Rosa Mendes must still be in rehab; and a show where Tamina Snuka got a concussion.

The show kicks off with Cameron and Naomi coming out dancing to introduce Tons of Funk. “We’re counting down to Payback” says Tony Dawson. That won’t matter to anyone on this show; they won’t get anywhere near that card.

Out next are Primo & Epico to new music. It really suits them. Primo looks like he has bulked up a bit. Mendes isn’t with Primo & Epico as she’s still not back from her rehab stint. Apparently, Tons of Funk have a new finisher that they will unveil tonight called the “Boomshakalaka”. They don’t.

Match 1 – Tons of Funk v Primo and Epico

Tons of Funk pinned Primo & Epico in 7:16. Clay and Primo start off. Amusingly, Tony Dawson says that they have been working on things at ‘TOFU’ (Tons of Funk University). I really can’t imagine these two rotund individuals come across tofu very often. Clay’s new move is delaying his scoop slams so that he can show off how easy it is for him to hold his opponent in the air. It's as underwhelming as it sounds.

Tensai gets the tag and headbutts the Primo in the mid section and they trade armbars. Tensai hits his reverse nelson suplex, also holding it for as long as he can, for a 2 count. Primo rolls out of the ring to regroup as we go to a break.

Primo and Brodus are now in the ring and they trade holds. Primo tries to work his way free, but gets suplexed. Meanwhile, Dawson and Striker are continually discussing anything but what is happening in the ring – Payback and social media are the main topics. Apparently, Sweet T is ‘very active’ on Twitter. Great. Clay throws him to his cousin’s corner, so he gets a tag that lets Primo & Epico take over with a chop block to weaken Tensai and senton for 2. A huge dropkick from Epico stops Brodus’ comeback attempt, and Primo& Epico hit an impressive dual suplex.

Brodus rolls away from a splash attempt by Primo and both crawl to make tags. A trademark cannonball by Tensai leads to a pin attempt that Primo breaks up. Brodus also uses a headbutt to the mid-section to clear the ring. Tons of Funk hit a move called ‘Bad Intentions’, a double snap swinging neckbreaker, which apparently is one of the moves they developed at ‘TOFU’. A senton from Tensai gets the 3 count for Tons of Funk. A nothing match used to warm up the crowd before the Raw tapings start.

The Raw Rebound is next showing the McMahon’s segment from Monday followed, for the third week running, by The Shield and Team Hell No match.

Out comes Natalya followed by Tamina. Dawson talks about how she received an SUV from her cousin, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – quite the way to put over a heel!

Match 2 – Natalya v Tamina Snuka

Natalya beat Snuka via submission in 4:47. It was feared after the match that Snuka may have suffered a concussion. The Divas lock up and Tamina wins the early moments until Natalya flips out of an armbar and hits a firman’s carry slam into a sharpshooter attempt but Tamina rolls out of the ring. The crowd are impressed by Natalya’s work here. Lots of talk about these two being second generation stars which lets Dawson and Striker to talk about Curtis Axel and more unrelated stuff from Raw and social media.

Tamina then beats up Natalya outside the ring, rolls her back in and dominates for some time with holds and strikes. Natalya then works her way out of a rear chin lock and is hit by a lariat but rolls out of the way of a knee drop. Tamina then does the same pair of moves again, this time hitting a leg drop for a 2 count. Natalya then powers out of a Fujiwara armbar, hits Tainina with a stiff slap and then executes a neckbreaker but doesn’t go for a pin. The two then ‘run’ the ropes (but they barely leave walking pace) and this time Tamina hits a swinging neckbreaker. 2 count but Natalya kicks out.

The finish saw Tamina try to go for a Samoan drop but when she is lifting Natalya up on to her shoulders, she loses control of her. You could see Tamina grimace as she loses control of her. Natayla slides down her back and has the quickness of thought to turn her over into a sharpshooter for the finish.

The nothing show ends with Curtis Axel and John Cena from Raw with Ryback’s post-match beat down of Cena.

WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries In Wrestling History - DVD Review

A countdown list of the top 25 rivalries in all of wrestling history would be quite the DVD collection. Sadly, WWE thinks that they are wrestling so there are some omissions here to say the least.  However, what's missing from this release is not our concern; what is on this DVD, I have to say, is tremendous.

Each feud here gets an advocate, not the usual series of nobodies or fringe performers who had nothing to do the day they were filming. Instead, just one person provides the analysis and narration. And it’s fantastic. It really works. (Much of the fun of this set came from trying to predict who would cover the feuds.)

Renee Young (Paquette if you're in Canada and watched her on The Score) makes her debut as host on a WWE DVD collection and carries us through the list. She brings a certain amount of grace to the screen but has a style that may grate after a while. For a start, her material is woeful and you would be wise to fast forward through her interludes. For reasons that are loosely explained by Young, this list has been linked to science: graphics show molecular bonds; the green screen behind Renee shows floating tiles of chemical elements such as 'rubidium' and 'nickel'; the chyrons show odd letters of star's names as elements from the periodic table; Renee wears a white coat and the list is split according to the amount of 'chemistry' that the two engaged in rivalry commanded. I bet it was a fun day at the office the day they came up with that one...

Chemistry

#25 - Triple H vs. Mick Foley

Road Dogg covers this one and he's a good starting point. "Mick was Hunter's proverbial paper bag" he says as we're shown a montage of pure physicality. This was a rivalry that showed the hardcore side of HHH and the lengths that he was prepared to go to in the ring. There was a lot of hardway blood in these matches but I'd guess plenty of juicing too. These two had a real contrast in styles but the feud produced some good matches. I'd say top 25 might be high but there are far worse in this collection.

#24 - Tazz vs. Sabu

An extremely articulate Shane Douglas takes us through this rivalry; his second appearance on a WWE DVD in as many months - his appearance on Foley's latest release was very welcome. Shane puts over how this feud started in the dressing room and had some legit elements: Tazz was the badass, Sabu the high-flying, risk-taker. This feud was built properly over time and culminated at ECW Barely Legal 1997 where the fans clearly invested in it as it was billed as legacy v legacy. "It was everything that ECW was meant to be" Douglas says "Sabu brought his brand of organised chaos." At this point, this DVD is starting to become full of horrible extended scientific metaphors that are quite irritating and unnecessary.

#23 - Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero

It is great to see Vickie Guerrero here out of character. She rarely does this sort of thing and talks engagingly over early footage of Eddie and Rey using their Lucha style in WCW. The feud picks up during the LWO days in WCW where Rey rejects the approach from Eddie whose promos are great even then. Fast forward 7 years and they win the tag championships in the WWE on SmackDown. There's a lovely glimpse of them coming to the ring as babyfaces at Tribute to the Troops before we're shown their WrestleMania 21 match which is a fantastic contest. The custody ladder match ends the rivalry at SummerSlam 2005 where Rey's son Dominic is involved, "their work at this point was untouchable," Vickie remembers.

#22 - Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher

Mick Foley is the perfect advocate for this segment. "I tried to mimic Brody: think of me but with more athleticism and a meaner streak" he says, "this is the feud that you would show to your cynical friends." Even today, it still feels like they brought a level of realism to this rivalry but they always juiced in their matches, "it has to be the best blood feud of all time" Mick reckons. There's an incredibly iconic image that is repeated a few times during this segment of Abdullah bleeding and biting the middle rope, looking insatiable and Mick tells the story about he used to work people in college, telling them that Abdullah the Butcher was his dad. A born worker! There's no need for stupid scientific metaphors here, Mick is extremely erudite.

#21 - Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper

Oddly, Ted DiBiase jr talks this one up. He essentially comes across as a simple guy without a great deal of insight into this rivalry but the coverage is short and quite poor on this feud. Mean Gene sound bites really tell the story here as we see footage of the birth of Hulkamania - Hogan the virtuous hero v Piper, his antithesis, the narrow-minded antagonist. The MSG tapes are always great to see but I couldn't get over how DiBiase actually finishes this segment saying "that's what I want to do for the fans one day" in reference to Hogan's appeal at this point. Surely, he can't believe that that's even remotely possible?

Radioactive

#20 - CM Punk vs. John Cena

WWE does a great job packaging this feud into a bite-sized chunk and who better than Paul Heyman to put this one over. They show Punk in Chicago at WrestleMania 22 and claim that this feud started there. Of course that's poetic licence on their part but this is still tremendous in the way that it's put together. We see the 'pipe bomb' promo, Money in the Bank 2011, SummerSlam, Punk in Yankee pin stripes all woven together by Heyman's narration. Punk looks 10 years younger even just 2 years ago, it’s crazy how much being the top guy has aged his face. There are some great lines here from Heyman who describes Punk's appearance in Chicago as "the villain in his hometown, loved beyond all description". This gets cut short but is awesome. Arguably this was more about Punk's character developing than it was his rivalry with Cena but it belongs in this set.

#19 - Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar

Interestingly, Bret Hart describes this rivalry about two men that he never had the chance to work with. He's always welcome but does have a tendency to generalise or be slightly vague at times. He describes Brock as "a refrigerator with a flat top" which is somehow crudely beautiful and he really puts over how amazing it was that these two as "two of the top amateur wrestlers in the US" were able to make the "tough transformation". Brock never gives you a so-so match and their WrestleMania 19 match was wonderful; Bret loved the "amateur flavour" that the match had says that it elevated both of them. He mentions Brock's move to UFC directly and says that matches like theirs are what he misses about wrestling.

#18 - Randy Orton vs. Triple H

Cody Rhodes. With moustache. Wearing moustache t-shirt. Yet speaking out of character. Brilliant. "There was a genuine discord between Randy and HHH" he says, remembering that when he was with Orton in Legacy the heat on Orton was "nuclear" and people would shout some pretty horrendous abuse at him. This all built to the WrestleMania 25 crescendo which was a real fight and brawl. The family of course were all involved, as we're shown Orton punting Vince and Shane and RKO'ing Stephanie. Unfortunately, Orton's promos are extremely wooden here but the student vs the teacher gimmick worked well in this one.

#17 - Verne Gagne vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Gene Okerlund describes this, the biggest rivalry in AWA. These two were really different characters: Verne was the professional with amateur flare who made great comebacks, while Bockwinkel was flashy and extremely articulate in his promos. Gagne, as Okerlund points out, was "really rough in his promos. He was naïve and really fumbled his way through them". They drew really well in places like Denver, Milwaukee and Chicago and Mean Gene says that there was a real trust between the two of them in the ring. There's some great footage in use here of what was a 20 year rivalry, all told. This deserves to be this high.

#16 - Mankind vs. The Undertaker

"This was a battle of other-worldly creatures" Jerry Lawler beams, "who had out of the ordinary matches that were somehow fitting, yet ground-breaking". Lawler talks us through Hell in a Cell mostly and is full of praise for this match. Interestingly, Jerry claims that for the infamous Hell in a Cell match Undertaker was working on a fractured ankle and thought that it was a needless match for a feud that he thought had already run its course. "It is the most astounding thing I've ever seen and is the most memorable night I've ever had as a commentator". We are shown snippets from the Burried Alive match from In Your House and brief glimpses of the Boiler Room Brawl but this was a feud that kept people guessing and deserves its place here in the top 25.

Underground Laboratory

Renee cuts back in here but I literally zoned out. Her material is utterly BRUTAL and completely tiresome at this point.

#15 - Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven

Serial talking head and ECW-survivor, Joey Styles starts this one at the Singapore cane match between Dreamer and Sandman where is character was changed from the pretty boy to the sympathetic hero. Raven was the outcast; the tortured, twisted villain and Styles explains the summer camp backstory with Beulah McGillicutty (Trisa Hayes) who turns on Dreamer. This feud went on for 2 years, in which time Tommy continually lost via unfair means. Raven's promos are great in the build up to their last ever match, before he moved to WCW, at Wrestlepalooza 1997. Heyman never wanted Tommy to win but it really was the right call. This "exemplified ECW".

#14 - Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

Given the quality of their last two matches, I'm shocked that this is as low as it is. Cena and Edge is somehow higher than this. Michael Hayes gives some great insight into this one, "one the greatest achievements of my career was being part of the Shawn v Undertaker matches at WrestleMania" and you can see why. He discusses his role as a producer (which he refers to as more of a 'coach' role) and slates that the "build to that match [WrestleMania 25] may have been the greatest ever." This is all so well put together. The footage is awesome and it comes across as such a huge deal in this montage form. Hayes comments on those wonderful crowd reactions where people believed that Undertaker may lose the streak to Shawn. There's some lovely backstage footage of the retirement angle between them at WrestleMania 26 here as well. This is just a great piece of editing.

#13 - Triple H vs. The Rock

A very excitable Billy Gunn talks us through this one, "it’s difficult because I knew who they were then and I know what they've become now". And he's right. Looking back at Rocky Maivia and the blue blood, Hunter Hurst Helmsley, is quite a far cry from where they are now. We see the Rocky beat HHH for the IC and then we're shown lots of The Nation v DX segments from Raw. Little is made of their Iron Man match at Judgment Day 2000 and this feels like it’s too high up the list - possibly this was more about who rather than what.

#12 - John Cena vs. Edge

Edge's first main event spots with Cena in 2006 were nothing to write home about but if anyone is going to then Lita is the person to put them over. She says that their best work in this period was at the house shows where they were let off the leash a little and not under pressure from cameras. Cena always describes Edge as the "Einstein of this business" and I suppose this feud shows more of Edge's adaptability as a performer as fans are made to choose sides given that they dislike the babyface, Cena, even at this stage. The New Year's Revolution 2006 cash in by Edge is fun to see again, as is seeing Edge being thrown into the Long Island Sound after he has slapped John Cena sr. in the face. A feud that elevated Edge but is ultimately way too high up this list.

#11 - Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
  Clearly a huge Randy Savage fan, CM Punk is a fantastic choice to discuss this rivalry. Punk tells it as if it was Hogan that was the problem here, calling him "the most despicable man ever". The use of Elizabeth in the pre-WrestleMania 5 build was fantastic and they show footage of Hogan helping Savage to win the pervious year "even though he didn't need his help". Biased Punk is great. Promos from both are awesome and their natural chemistry with Gene Okerlund made the build far stronger than it might have been, he really gets the best out of these two. The briefly touch upon their "less magical" feud in WCW, showing Hogan's chair shot on Savage which mirrored Honky Tonk Man's guitar smash from over 10 years before. A great choice, articulated by a wholly suitable advocate.

Combustible

#10 - Tully Blanchard vs. Magnum T.A.

Renee builds this up unnecessarily. You have to surmise that in their minds they assume that fans buying this set would be unnerved to see two men they've not heard of in the top 10. Sometimes it’s nice to be credited with more than that but Dusty Rhodes is the ideal voice for this powerful NWA rivalry. Mangnum was intense and charismatic while Tully was the great performer and perfect villain. Both deliver tremendous promos given that, as Dusty puts over, their hatred was legit - Magnum was married to Tully's ex-wife and raised his kids. "There was always an unease backstage" but it produced some fantastic matches, culminating in the I Quit match in a steel cage at Starrcade 1985. "This match had brutality that couldn't be shown today". This match is on the DVD set and is a must-see. Baby Doll (Nickla Roberts) was the perfect valet, too; this feud had everything. The finish is as hardcore is it gets.

#9 - The Undertaker vs. Kane

Jim Ross makes an excellent point right off the bat here: Undertaker in 1998 was a fan favourite, who is 7ft tall, 300lbs. In order for him to be a fan favourite, you have to put him jeopardy. How do you put a 7ft tall, 300lbs man in jeopardy? The answer was Kane. 6ft 10, legit, 325ilbs, lean, extremely intelligent and hungry. Ross said this feud worked because Kane had a huge amount of respect and deference towards Undertaker and followed his lead. It also worked, he says, because of "long-term planning" - there's a term we don't hear much these days in WWE. This was a well-told story that built the anticipation between two wrestlers who enjoyed competing, culminating at WrestleMania 14. Ross says what was more impressive was how athletic their matches were from "two super-heavyweights" because people didn't expect that; "Undertaker made Kane what he is today" Ross argues. Is that reason enough to put this rivalry so high? They didn't give this enough time and they briefly showed the latter day matches in 2009-10 that weren't nearly as good, but didn't reference them in Ross' narration.

#8 - Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz

I can't help but feel that this was a great set of matches, rather than a great feud. Rivalry in the ring, yes. A personal rivalry, not so much. I was delighted to see it on the list and so high and the ever-dulcet tones of William Regal take us through this one. In these three-way tag matches, you had great athletes, all prepared to put their careers on the line for the purposes of entertainment. Regal says that he knows for a fact that they went into "WrestleMania 2000 not knowing whether this might be their last in this industry". The three matches took place around a special time for tag teams and at each match they tried to top the last. I don't think tag wrestling has been as strong since and some of the spots here are now infamous. Regal says he takes "no pleasure in watching Edge's spear on Jeff" because it was watching a friend doing something far too dangerous. Good rivalry with ground-breaking results.

#7 - Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair

Shawn Michaels is a perfect advocate to this feud. He spent a lot of time in Flair's company in the last decade and got to hear a many stories about his time feuding with Dusty in AWA. Ric was treated as the new guy by Dusty when he first started, he had to carry his bags, learn the ropes and Shawn remembers how Dusty once shaved Ric's head on the road as a rib. But these two had a fantastic relationship and were two of the best promos ever. Ric was the rich success-story who bullied you with it; Dusty was the common "thon of a plummer" and "this was Stone Cold and Mr McMahon 25 years before". In the ring, the really delivered and frequently. Their experience meant that matches were awesome and this deserves to be top 10.

#6 - Von Erichs vs. The Fabulous Freebirds

Surprised to see this one so high and in all honesty after watching this segment I still wasn't convinced. Ric Flair is a delight on commentary here but remembers how sad it was when the Von Erichs, one-by-one, died tragically because they had so much talent. The feud, Ric says, "was awesome": for the Freebirds you had Michael Hayes in his prime as the mouth piece with Gordy as the enforcer and "Buddy who was lucky to be there!" They would face hugely talented athletes in the Von Erichs, with Kerry "the one blessed genetically", and they would sell out every night. Footage is good here and there are some great Michael Hayes promos interwoven amongst some fairly dull, babyface Von Erich verbiage. Not convinced but a well-produced segment.

Quintessential Elements

#5 - Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock

Of all the people to put this one over: The Miz. The footage and the promos from these two does the storytelling for him, so he gets off lightly. The Slammys from 1997 where Stone Cold rips Rock a new one is tremendous and their feud for the IC title really makes you long for when those mid-card titles had some relevance. Beyond these early exchanges, much of this feud was between the Coperate Champ, The Rock, and Stone Cold, the anti-hero. We have footage of the monster truck, the beer truck, the zamboni, the belt being thrown off the bridge and WrestleMania matches from 17 and 19. "Rock was more Hollywood, while Stone Cold was more Texas rattle snack" states Miz. Jesus. Anyway, of course this was a big deal that took place when the company was at its peak and deserves to be top 5.

#4 - Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan

The Big Show more remembers this through sentimentality then he does for any other reason. He wishes he could have met Andre and that he's "heard stories from Taker" about what he was like. But every time these two were on TV it was an event and with Bobby Heenan as Andre's mouth piece, this couldn't fail. Footage of the contract signing is so funny; Hogan's acting is dreadful as he starts to shake and turns from red to purple with 'anger'. At WrestleMania 3 we're shown former friends, now bitter rivals in front of 97,000 as Hogan's slam on Andre turned him into a superhero over night. As the feud moves on to Main Event 1988 with DiBiase in tow, this gets even more exciting as the twin refs are shown and Hogan's shoulder is off the mat. A great rivalry from the archive that is so high because of what it drew.

#3 - Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat

I was delighted to see this rivalry so high and we're thrown a curve ball in Tommy Young, who delivers the narration on this. He's fantastic, speaking with real passion and insight into this feud as both a referee and as a fan. Young says people queued up to ref them but he was lucky enough to be picked more often than not. These two men were in such fantastic shape during these years and Tommy remembers how Ric would try to blow Steamboat up but that he would give him a little wink to show him that he was more than a match for him. "Their timing, fluidity and smoothness were a sight to behold in the ring" Young remembers, "after 25/30 minutes they'd only just be getting going." The New Orleans Super Dome match was a rarity at this point because it was a 2 out of 3 falls match which was pretty uncommon in 1989 so footage here is great. The crowd were 50/50 because Flair's ability was getting him over despite being a heel. A great feud that is beautifully analysed by Tommy Young.

#2 - Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

A great honour for Dolph Ziggler to be given this one. He's an articulate guy and should be trusted with this sort of thing more often. We start back at The Hart Foundation v The Rockers in the 1990s where totally different styles produced "some classic tag team wrestling". Dolph points out how it was the subsequent IC title feud that was the "stepping stone" for both at a time when WWE would put emerging up-and-comers on that program. Interestingly, we get footage of their 'lost' ladder match which Bret always says was better than Shawn and Hall's match at WrestleMania 10. Dolph says, though, that he "studies to this day" their Iron Man match from WrestleMania 12 because "you can feel their animosity". The footage of Shawn breaking kayfabe and their shoot exchanges about "Sunny days" that leads into Survivor Series 1997 is well used here and Dolph explains that "the finish felt real" to him at the time. He wasn't sure as a youngster whether this was all a work and part of the planned entertainment or not. This great feud ends in reconciliation 12 years later, of course, on Raw and we see Shawn and Bret embrace before we're shown what was awarded number 1...

Nucleus

#1 - Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Mr. McMahon

The finest wrestling angle of all time between the blue collar worker and his cold-heated boss is narrated by non-other than VINCE RUSSO! He puts this over as "the perfect storm" where "the audience get to live out their fantasy through Stone Cold". This was a story that everyone could relate to between two top performers on a show that every week had the attitude of "we can top last week". We've seen it hundreds of times but we're shown the concrete car, the bed pan face smash, the multiple arrests, the beer truck, the 'bang 3:16' gun shot and yet there's no pay off in this segment. We're shown no match footage at all, it is all angles from Raw and Vince mainly discusses that it was a rivalry driven by ratings. Should we be shocked that Vince McMahon is at the top of the list of the greatest rivalries in wrestling history? No. It probably deserves to be at number 1 for many reasons but in-ring wrestling isn't one of them. 

WWE Superstars TV Report - 30th May 2013

A show that had Cesaro job to R-Truth; a show with some decent wrestling; and a show that was better for being recorded in front of a Canadian audience.

R-Truth comes out, the serial Superstars performer, and gleans some early cheers from this Calgary crowd. We cut to Striker and Dawson and I have to note here that Striker is wearing a horrendous tie. Unbelievably, Antonio Cesaro is out next. Wow, that’ll teach you to have a 4 star match on Main Event. If you get over in this company when they don’t have plans for you, it would seem that you get punished.

Match 1 – R-Truth v Antonio Cesaro

R-Truth pinned Antonio Cesaro in 5:17. Cesaro stormed to the ring, looking as annoyed as you’d think he would be after this treatment. He’s lost the thigh wraps and doesn’t hang around selling his gimmick. Just to add insult to injury, a ‘little Jimmy’ chant breaks out.

Weirdly, there was no hard cam for this match. Either it wasn’t ready yet or they didn’t want to show the arena as being as half full as it sounded at this point. The match starts with Cesaro toppling Truth with a double leg take-down and landing stiff punches. He garrottes Truth with the top rope and then suplexes him in the middle of the ring – he’s such a great technician; little things like this really highlight it.  

Striker and Dawson are really at new levels of talking utter rubbish during this match. Striker reliably informs us that Cesaro never eats dessert. They discuss their favourite music while Dawson rarely calls moves. Meanwhile, in the ring, Cesaro and Truth trade blows until Cesaro pings Truth into the ropes and hits him with a knee lift and a gut-wrench suplex for a 2 count. Truth seems to Hulk up at this point but Cesaro stops him with a modified rear chin lock. Truth works his way out lands a single leg running drop kick but Cesaro rolls him up for 2. Out of nowhere, Truth hits the Lie Detector for the pin. Unbelievable. I can’t believe that Cesaro is losing on this show to R-Truth now.

The Raw Rebound recaps Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel with Heyman to set up Punk’s return at Payback and then Team Hell No and The Shield’s match from Raw which was fantastic.

The Prime Time Players come out next. I don’t know what happened to Darren Young’s surgery plans; he was due to have a lengthy lay-off after WrestleMania but here he is still. Justin Gabriel comes out next to a decent pop followed by Sin Cara minus the mood lighting, thankfully. 

Match 2 – Prime Time Players v Justin Gabriel & Sin Cara

Justin Gabriel & Sin Cara pinned Prime Time Players in 7:40. The hard cam is now in use and so this now feels more like a glossy, family Superstars WWE match than some shaky indie taping. The match starts with Young and Sin Cara in the ring, with Young slapping him to get some heat. Sin Cara returns with kicks and an impressive-looking hurricanrana forcing Young and Titus to take a timeout.

Outside the ring, the Prime Time Players regroup but Young is hit by a baseball slide by Sin Cara. Sin Cara tags in Gabriel and neither announcer mentions the ridiculous ‘darewolf’ moniker that they gave him a few weeks ago, so I think we can assume its dead. Gabriel works over Young in the corner, hits a drop kick just as a ‘we want Titus’ chant starts up. Funnily enough, this chant coincides with their decision to go for a break!

After the commercials, Young is now in control and Titus tags in but to no heat. He should have got a hot tag here but it wasn’t built properly. Titus hits stiff European uppercuts on Sin Cara who goes for a cross body, is caught and hit with several backbreakers by O’Neill who tosses him aside like a rag. This then becomes quite a pedestrian match until the finish.

Sin Cara hits an enziguri so that he can tag in Gabriel who runs wild; he plants Young with a spinning headlock, Sin Cara hits another cross body on Titus from the top turn buckle outside the ring so that, inside, Gabriel can hit the 450 splash on Young. He slightly overshot it but the finish was still the best original content on Superstars this week.

Another fairly nothing show this week. I’m still in shock that Cesaro was a) on the show at all and b) lost to R-Truth. The Raw Rebound ended the show; Cena and Curtis Axel’s segment from Monday night.