5/24 Kester’s WWE Superstars Live Coverage Review: R-Truth and Kofi Kingston vs. JTG and Michael McGillicutty, Zack Ryder vs. Heath Slater, and Antonio Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd

By Ryan Kester

Superstars on WWE.com
Taped earlier in Richmond, Virginia and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

1. Antonio Cesaro (w/ Aksana) vs. Tyson Kidd. Kidd outwrestled Cesaro in the opening minute, but Cesaro quickly battled back and hit a nasty gutwrench suplex. Cesaro continued his assault and Kidd got a few hope spots.

Kidd eventually caught Cesaro with a kick and hit a flurry of offense. Kidd hit a blockbuster for a near fall before going for his submission finisher. Cesaro pulled on Kidd’s ear and reversed a tornado DDT into a flying European uppercut. Cesaro followed with his finisher for the 1-2-3…

Antonio Cesaro defeated Tyson Kidd in 6:28.

Ryan's Reaction: These two got more time than they usually would and Cesaro got a chance to show off some more of his move set. Kidd got in a few spots, but this match was all about Cesaro.

[C] 2. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston vs. JTG and Michael McGillicutty in a non-title match. Truth and Kingston controlled JTG in the early going. McGillicutty got a cheap shot in on Truth and the heels took over with quick tags as they wore down Truth.

Truth eventually got a hot tag to Kingston, who blitzed through his move set on McGillicutty and set up for Trouble in paradise. JTG dragged McGillicutty from the ring, so Kingston followed with a dive…

[C] Back from the break, Kingston continued to work over McGillicutty. JTG distracted Kingston long enough for McGillicutty to regain control. The heels went right back to working over their babyface opponent.

Kingston managed to return the hot tag to Truth, who ran through JTG. Truth had the pin off of a DDT, but McGillicutty broke the pin. Kingston took care of McGillicutty and Truth hit JTG with Little Jimmy for the pinfall victory…

Truth and Kofi Kingston defeated JTG and Michael McGillicutty in 11:06.

Ryan's Reaction: Pretty standard WWE tag team stuff. They all did their parts well, but there was nothing special about that match.

[C] The Raw Rebound focused on John Cena’s feud with John Laurinaitis and his new buddy Big Show…

[C] 3. Zack Ryder vs. Heath Slater. Ryder controlled the early action and the crowd cheered for his offense. Ryder connected with a dive to the outside.

Slater connected with a huge kick that sent Ryder to the floor…

[C] Back from the break, Ryder had a hope spot but Slater maintained control. Slater locked in a rest hold.

Ryder fought out and managed to gain some momentum off of a flapjack. Ryder connected with the Broski Boot. Slater tried to steal a win with a dirty roll-up but Ryder kicked out.

Slater hit a neckbreaker for a near fall. Slater set up for a superplex but Ryder head-butted Slater off, followed by a dropkick form the second rope. Ryder went back up top but Slater followed with an exploder powerslam for another rear fall.

Moments later, Ryder connected with the Rough Ryder to put Slater away.

Zack Ryder defeated Heath Slater in 10:22.

Ryan's Reaction: Good stuff from these two, especially in the home stretch. Ryder has talent, but he needs a massive gimmick update if he’s going to be more than a crowd-favorite undercarder. The same can be said for Slater, but he doesn’t even have a crowd reaction to speak of. Overall this was an okay edition of Superstars. Nothing terrible, but nothing terribly entertaining, either.

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.