7/21 Kester's WWE Superstars Review: Zack Ryder and Santino Marella vs. David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, Evan Bourne vs. Primo, and Justin Gabriel vs. Tyson Kidd

By Ryan Kester

WWE Superstars on WWE.com
Taped earlier in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Minneapolis, Minnesota

1. Justin Gabriel beat Tyson Kidd in 4:20. Another dose of new music for Gabriel; looks like they are having him turn face. No manager for Tyson anymore. The two worked some traditional chain wrestling spots for the early going.

Tyson gained the upper hand when he countered a springboard attempt from Gabriel with a dropkick. Tyson started to work over Gabriel's neck and smiled at the crowd to some good heat. Tyson looks a thousand times better without the goofy haircut.

Tyson set into a series of rest holds that Gabriel eventually battled out of. Gabriel worked some great crowd-pleasing kicks on Kidd. Kidd battled back and put Gabriel in the corner, but Gabriel fought out with a kick. He then pulled a Sheamus and skinned the cat to the top rope and hit his 450 splash for the win… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Damn, Gabriel always hits that splash perfectly. Great match between these guys. I would have preferred to see a longer match, but they kept things at a great pace and put on an entertaining match.

2. Alicia Fox beat Natalya in 2:42. Alicia got in Natalya's face to start but Natalya shoved her back before working some mat wrestling on her.

Natalya wrapped her arms around Alicia's midsection and Alicia fought to get out. Natalya hit a huge stall suplex on Alicia for a great near fall. Natalya locked in a surfboard stretch but let her shoulders touch the mat and was almost pinned.

The Divas then exchanged slaps and had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. Natalya scooped the legs and tried to lock I the Sharpshooter but Alicia reversed it into a roll-up for the clean pin… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Jack Korpela sounds like he's going through puberty. He squeaked like a mouse during that entire match. Anyway, excellent showing from these two Divas. They could easily transfer this feud to Smackdown and WWE would see a much more enthusiastic reaction for their Divas contests.

The Nexus has new music, which they desperately needed, and McGillicutty has a new look. Now if they'd just let him has his real name. Zack Ryder came out to an explosion from the crowd. Santino came out to a similar pop.

3. Zack Ryder and Santino Marella defeated David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty in 5:45. Santino and Otunga started the match. Zack Ryder quickly tagged in and whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Santino tagged back in and went for the Cobra but was subdued by McGillicutty… [C]

Back from commercial, McGillicutty hit Santino with a dropkick. For some reason, I can hear the ref crystal clear. Otunga tagged in and continued to pick apart Santino. McGillicutty tagged in and the heels double-teamed Santino with kicks and punches.

Otunga tagged in and the double-team, failed, allowing Santino to get the hot tag to Ryder. Ryder nailed the Broski boot but McGillicutty broke the pin that followed. Otunga tried to hit Ryder with the Verdict but he reversed it into the Rough Ryder for the win… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Very good match. I enjoyed seeing Santino and Ryder work together. They seem to have fun in the ring while still coming off as a serious team and they absolutely lit the crowd on fire. This was much more like stuff I have seen from Colt Cabana and his use of comedy in wrestling versus the general camp we get from Santino, and it's a change I would welcome.

4. Evan Bourne beat Primo in 4:22. Primo got the jobber entrance o Superstars. Ouch. The two worked some chain spots without either one gaining an upper hand in the early going.

They exchanged huracaranas but Primo gained control when he reversed one of Bourne's head scissors attempts with a flapjack. Primo locked in an interesting hold that I am not sure the name of. It must be an Anaconda Vice.

Primo hit a stall suplex for a near fall. Bourne battled back with a few kicks and countered a roll-up with a Warrior's Way-like double stomp. Bourne hit a spinning heel kick and followed up with Airbourne for the 1-2-3… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Not the most memorable match in existence, but these two did a great job with the short amount of time they were given.

The remainder of the show consisted of them replaying the entire final segment from Monday Night Raw.

Ryan's Rant: I owe a hug to whoever decided to put the replays on last; saves me a ton of time. Overall this was a very solid show despite all of the matches being fairly short. Every single worker gave their match their all and it made for a very entertaining show that flew by.

Questions, concerns, comments, or criticism? Feel free to send me an email at ryan.kester@gmail.com or hit me up at Twitter via @TheRyanKester.