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.