WWE Superstars TV Report – 9th January 2014

This week’s WWE Superstars opens up with Natalya coming out, mixing with the fans posing for the cameras. This show is going to be on the WWE Network, everybody, so some of you might be able to watch what I’m writing about every week. And with highlights such as poor Divas matches and the likes of Ryback killing Dolph Ziggler with a clothesline, that is a mixed blessing, I’m not going to lie. Summer Rae is out next to face Natalya. Last time out, she was an excellent heel.

Natalya v Summer Rae

They lock up and immediately, Rae goes for a cover, Natalya goes for a backslide reversal but both only manage two counts. Natalya applies a leg lock and as Rae powers out, she is put into a headlock. This is all pace as Rae reverses and applies a headscissors on the mat. Natalaya kicks her and runs off the ropes into a missile drop kick and goes for the cover, getting two. Rae hits her with a spinning kick, and Natalya kicks out at two – Natalya gets up and clutches her nose.

Rae poses to the crowd and then uses her long legs to push Natalya into the turnbuckle, then she hits the kick again and again gets a near fall. She shouts abuse at her and the lands a leg drop and applies a leg lock that Natalya is just able to counter. The announcers claim that Natty may have a broken nose. She doesn’t. Rae misses a kick and Natayla starts to get the heat with clotheslines and then a snap suplex and a scoop slam. Again she’s only able to get a near fall.

Rae comes back and plants Natalya’s head to the mat and continues to work over Natalya’s left leg until she is tossed over the top rope. When she comes back in she runs in to Natayla who double-legs her, applies the Sharpshooter and makes Rae tap. Finish came out of nowhere.

This was a nothing little match that was given no time. Summer Rae will be good if they give her ring time, her range of moves is already way above anything that the likes of Aksana or Tamina offer.

Winner: Natalya via submission (4:05)

The Raw Rebound is next – we’re shown the opening segment with Flair, Orton and Cena and then Brock Lesnar ‘breaking’ Mark Henry’s arm and the angle to build the Big Show match for the Rumble. Two things: 1) Cena and Orton at the Rumble is such a letdown 2) what a waste of Brock Lesnar.

Dolph Ziggler is out next on WWE Superstars, he looks in an energetic mood. The latest on Dolph was that he passed the Impact testing anyway, so good news there. Ryback comes out and I’m reminded that he was the last to be eliminated at the Rumble this time last year. Dolph was World Champion last year. 2013 was quite the downward spiral for these two…

Dolph Ziggler v Ryback

They lock up and Dolph is thrown around by Ryback. Ryback does a Hogan hand to the ear at the ropes, which was weird. Hogan v Ryback at WrestleMania would be new levels of horrible. Ryback chases Ziggler around the ring but Ziggler is too quick. Ziggler rolls outside and high fives A-Ry. Ryback beats him down with forearms and then hits him with a snap suplex. He toys with him on the mat and kicks and stomps on him, punching him to the ground. 

They run the ropes and this is the spot where Ziggler gets hit. It looks nothing actually. Dolph runs and it looks like he’s going to duck the clothesline but Ryback kind of skims the top of his head and then Dolph just goes face-first into the mat, dives under the bottom rope and just lies on the floor looking completely out of it. He looks knocked out, he’s groggy, his eyes are glazed over and he desperately tries to get to his feet. It looks really bad; clearly not a work and we go to a commercial.

After the break, Ryback has Dolph in a front face look and crazy Dolph is up and leaping around like a complete fool. Ryback slingshots him face-first into the turnbuckle and Ryback hits him with a splash and then keeps hurting his head with kicks and a rear chin lock. Why would you do that to a man who is clearly not well? He thrusts him into the corner and then smacks him with Flair chops. Again, just finish it early; put this man out of his misery. He chokes him out of the middle rope, and then uses a suplex, holding him there for legit 30 seconds. This is beyond cruel now; he lets all the blood rush to his head! Dolph kicks out at two.

Dolph makes a brief comeback, dodging a charge to the corner and then hitting the Famemasser. Of course, Ryback kicks out at two and then gets up and hits a meat hook clothesline, puts Dolph on his shoulders and hits the Shellshock for the win.

Huge credit to Dolph for being able to continue with the match but, my God, Ryback is a horrible piece of work. He really could have changed up his offence in order to care for his colleague but, no, he just went ahead and hit him in the head, choked him out and held him in the air so that all the blood could rush to where the pain was for half a minute. Seriously, what a dick.

Winner:  Ryback via pinfall (7:30)

The show finishes with a video montage that edited together: the Pipers Pit segment with The Shield, the end of the Punk v Reigns match and the return of Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts.