1/26 Kester's WWE Superstars Live Coverage Review: Beth Phoenix vs. Brie Bella, Kofi Kingston vs. Michael McGillicutty, and Tyson Kidd vs. Jinder Mahal

By Ryan Kester

Superstars on WWE.com
Taped earlier in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

Tyson Kidd was all smiles and he clapped the hands of ringside fans, so he's apparently a face again.

1. Jinder Mahal defeated Tyson Kidd in 5:03. Mahal got in Kidd's face to start the match. Kidd hit an early flurry of flashy moved, but Mahal managed to catch Kidd on the ropes and he slammed him to the mat to take control.

Mahal began targeting Kidd's neck with knee drops before hitting a butterfly suplex for a two count. Mahal locked in a rest hold.

Mahal transitioned the hold into a back suplex, but Kidd rolled through and got a two count. Kidd went right back to his offense, and he hit a springboard leg drop on Mahal. Kidd ascended the ropes and flew in a beautiful moonsault spot, but Mahal rolled out of the way.

Mahal hit an STO on Kidd and followed with the Camel Clutch. Kidd tapped moments later... [C]

Ryan's Rant: That moonsault was absolutely gorgeous. I would have no issue seeing that on a routine basis. I am excited to see Kidd back in a babyface role, as WWE did nothing with his heel run and his heel style could get boring from time to time. Kidd's a bit rusty with his flashy offense, but he could easily fill the void left by Evan Bourne after a few weeks of improvement. Mahal did his spots well, but WWE has been so start and stop with his push that it becomes difficult to invest much enthusiasm in what he's doing.

The announcers set up a lengthy video recap of Kane dismantling Zack Ryder and the aftermath of their match… [C]

2. Beth Phoenix defeated Brie Bella (w/ Nikki Bella) in 2:58. Phoenix absolutely dominated Brie in the early going, but Nikki pulled Brie out of harm's way and Phoenix got wrapped up in the ropes.

Brie went to work targeting Phoenix's neck. Brie locked in a rest hold. Phoenix managed to fight her way out, hit a slingshot suplex, and set brie up for the Glam Slam. Nikki hopped on the apron, so Phoenix threw Brie at her. Phoenix then hit the Glam Slam on Brie to pick up the victory… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Meh. Good work from Beth and Brie bumped well enough, but WWE's women's matches have been given so little attention that it's hard to get really revved up about them. On top of that, this was a heel vs. heel match, so the crowd was absolutely sitting on their hands.

The Royal Rumble By the Numbers video package aired, and the announcers ran through the card for the PPV… [C]

3. Kofi Kingston defeated Michael McGillicutty in 10:50. The two worked some chain wrestling to start the match, and they traded control back and forth several times.

McGillicutty hit a few shoulder blocks and started jawing with Kingston. Kingston fought back and hit a pendulum kick. Kingston followed with a high-angle flying cross body for a near fall. Kingston dumped McGillicutty to the floor and followed with a dive. McGillicutty sold the impact as the show went to break… [C]

Back from commercial, McGillicutty caught Kingston with a hanging neckbreaker. McGillicutty choked Kingston in the corner before locking in a rest hold. McGillicutty continued to target Kingston's neck.

Kingston eventually hit McGillicutty with an enziguri. After catching his breath, Kingston ran through his move set and hit the Boom Drop. Kingston set up for Trouble in Paradise. McGillicutty avoided the kick and tried to follow with a dropkick, but Kingston batted him out of the way.

As McGillicutty tried to stand, Kingston hit the S.O.S. McGillicutty grabbed the bottom rope to break the count. McGillicutty attempted to hit the McGillicutter, but Kingston slipped through, ran the ropes, and hit McGillicutty with Trouble in Paradise for the 1-2-3.

Ryan's Rant: Decent match that got much better at the end. Everything McGillicutty does continues to do nothing for me, but Kingston put on quite a show in this match. Overall, this was a decent to solid edition of Superstars. There was still way too much time being wasted by a Raw replay, but the wrestling was entertaining enough. Nothing that you really need to go out of your way to see, but there's enough here to entertain if you need to kill some time.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter at @TheRyanKester.