By Chris Shore

Superstars on WGN America
Taped in Manchester, England.

[Q1] The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Michael Cole and Josh Matthews welcomed us to Superstars. They hyped Kaval vs. Drew McIntyre…Zack Ryder made his ring entrance. Yoshi Tatsu was out next. Wait, he’s still on the roster? Color me surprised…

1. Yoshi Tatsu defeated Zack Ryder at 13:05. They bumped around for each other to start. Ryder hit a hangman move on the top rope and tossed Tatsu to the floor. He hit a slam on the floor and rolled Tatsu back in the ring to hook in a chin lock. You know, because the crowd wasn’t dead enough.

Tatsu hit a Sunset Flip for two, but Ryder came right back with a forearm shiver and a belly to back for two. Vince must have not made the trip because Matthews and Cole bickered like little girls. Geez. Ryder hit a suerplex for two and sole exasperation into the break…[C]

A video hyped the John Cena Experience DVD. I shit you not…Back at 10:44, Ryder worked a rest hold. Ryder went to the second rope and jumped off, but Tatsu reversed into a power bomb and went on the attack. He hit a flipping back elbow for two. He whipped Ryder to the corner and charged in, but Ryder got the feet up. Ryder setup for the Rough Ryder, but Tatsu ducked and hit the Shining Wizard for the win…

[Q2] The NXT recap video aired…The announce team hyped the main event…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Cole slept through the wrong segment. This match almost put me to sleep. In my defense, about 13,000 people were also asleep in Manchester, and they were live! It wasn’t a terrible match. It’s just that nobody cares about either guy. I seriously thought Tatsu had been released, why would I care about him wrestling. That was a long 15 minutes. I hope it picks up.

A video hyped Survivor Series by recapping the Nexus/Cena history and asking “What will Cena do?”…Ezekiel Jackson made his entrance to a pretty good pop. Primo was out with A.J…

2. Ezekiel Jackson defeated Primo (w/A.J.) at 2:56. Zeke shoved Primo and then did some Hogan flexes. Primo got in a cheap shot, and Zeke threw him across the ring. Primo hit several kicks and worked a front chin lock. Zeke lifted him up and tossed him. He hit several clotheslines and then his finisher for the win…

[Q3] The announce team hyped the main event…The first commercial was for Knucklehead…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Squash. Yea! Am I the only one who really, really wants to see Knucklehead?

Video showed Manchester, England as Todd Grisham and Matt Striker took over on commentary. They ran down the Survivor Series title matches and setup a Kane hype video…Drew McIntyre made his long ass entrance to a very mixed, but incredibly loud, response. Wow, that had to be a rush for him…[C]

Kaval made his ring entrance…

[Q4] 3. Drew McIntyre defeated Kaval at 14:41. The first minute of this match happened in the last quarter. McIntyre broke dirty in the corner and beat on Kaval. Kaval came back and hit a flying kick and a reverse hurricanranna. McIntyre slid to the floor and Kaval hit a axe handle from the top rope on the floor. McIntyre rolled back in the ring and Kaval hit kicks for near falls. McIntyre reversed a whip into a toss in the air and knee to the gut…[C]

Back at 7:49, McIntyre worked a rest hold while a video recapped him hitting a gut buster on Kaval during the break. McIntyre stomped Kaval in the corner, then rolled to the floor to work his gut in the post. He dragged Kaval to the floor and hit a suplex from the floor onto the apron. Cool spot.

McIntyre worked heel strikes and taunted Kaval. Kaval came back and hit a series of kicks for a near fall, but McIntyre hit another gut buster. McIntyre tried to hit a Future Shock from the apron to the stairs, but Kaval blocked it and McIntyre tossed him to the floor. Kaval hit a rolling Liger kick on the stairs. He tried to follow with his stomping finish, but McIntyre moved and hit his DDT for the win…

Shore’s Slant: That was barely passable. The crowd was dead, and it just never felt like a big deal. I have to say, I’m not real impressed with Kaval right now. I think it is more of the WWE style than it is him, but there’s a reason Gerard Way doesn’t sing country. I’ll have more to say tomorrow in the hitlist. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you then.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com with whatever is on your mind.

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