By Ryan Kester

WWE Superstars
Aired April 28 on WWE.com
Taped Monday and Tuesday in Greensboro and Raleigh, N.C

Jack Korpela and Matt Striker welcomed us to Superstars as Tyson Kidd and Trent Barreta made their entrances. The announcers hyped the main event of the evening, Natalya and Gail Kim vs. Alicia Fox and Melina.

1. Tyson Kidd defeated Trent Barreta via submission in 10:54. Kidd started the match with Barreta in a hammerlock until Barreta powered out with a legsweep. Barreta then hit a rolling senton and tried to start his offense but Kidd countered. This led to a few seconds of counter after counter until Kidd finally connected with a shoulder block.

Kidd then dropped and locked Barreta in a chinlock. When Barreta escaped, Kidd sent him into the corner and worked him over with a series of kicks. Then, Kidd hit a snapmare and kicked Barreta in the spine before locking in another chinlock.

Barreta eventually battled back again only to take a suplex from Kidd. Kidd went right back to the chinlock yet again, and Trent had to fight back out. This time, Barreta managed to hit an arm drag on Kidd and got some offense in with a dropkick and a European uppercut. He lost control, however, when Kidd reversed a hard Irish whip to the turnbuckle. He then choked Barreta on the ropes. When he walked away after the ref made him break the choke, Barreta ran across the ring and attempted to hit Kidd with a cross body but he missed and the show went to commercial… [C]

Back from commercial, Kidd had Barreta in a seated abdominal stretch. Barreta worked his way out of the maneuver only to be hit with a very impressive pumphandle gutbuster from Kidd. Kidd then stomped Barreta a few times before going with back to his new rest hold of choice. Again, Barreta tried to work his way out of the hold and Kidd attempted to hit him with a back suplex. However, Trent rolled through and nailed Kidd with a kick.

Trent then hit Kidd with the Gobstopper running knee and a springboard missile dropkick. He attempted to go for the Dudebuster DDT but Kidd threw him off. Kidd ran the ropes and Trent followed him so that Kidd turned around just to get nailed with a clothesline that sent him over the top rope and onto the floor. Trent darted across the ring and did Undertaker’s dive over the top rope to flatten Kidd on the outside. Trent threw Kidd back into the ring and covered him for a near fall.

Kidd fought back and attempted a series of roll-ups that all ended in two counters before throwing Trent into the corner. He lifted him on the top rope and went for a huracarana but Barreta reversed it into a sunset flip and almost scored the pin. Moments later, Kidd scooped Trent’s legs and locked in the sharpshooter to get the submission and the victory.

The announcers then hyped the main event again… [C]

Ryan’s Rant: Kidd can join Natalya for being a former member of the Hart Dynasty that I just don’t get. People like them both, but I fail to see anything redeemable about the guy. There’s no flow, rhyme, or reason to his move set, and he flat-out bored me with how many rest holds he used during that match. Plus, the guy has an adult male’s face but his haircut looks like it belongs on a preteen. It makes it very difficult to take a heel as a serious threat when he looks like such a goof.

Back from commercial, Zack Ryder made his entrance as Scott Stanford and Josh Matthews checked in at ringside. David Hart then made his entrance and was, for some reason, wearing a white cowboy hat.

2. Zack Ryder defeated David Hart Smith via pinfall in 10:37. The two started off by locking up and letting go of each other several times in a row. Eventually, Ryder hit Smith with a legsweep and locked in a front guillotine choke. Smith fought out and responded by hitting an arm drag and instantly transitioned it into an armbar.

Ryder eventually worked his way out and Smith hit him with a shoulder block and a belly-to-belly suplex. He then lifted him up for a great stall suplex and got the first near fall of the match. Smith clotheslined Ryder over the top rope and threw him back into the ring. As smith tried to reenter, Ryder kicked him in the gut and threw him into the steel post. Smith writhed in pain as the show went to commercial… [C]

Back from commercial, Ryder had Smith locked in a side headlock. Smith fought his way out and hit a side suplex on Ryder and threw him into the corner. He charged, but Ryder thwarted his attack with a bog boot. Ryder then hit a hangman’s neckbreaker on Smith and locked in a crossface but didn’t utilize his legs to lock down one of smith’s arms.

This allowed Smith to fight out of the hold rather quickly, but he was quickly met with a back elbow and a leg drop from Ryder. After a quick two count, Ryder tried to hit another hangman’s neckbreaker, but Smith saw it coming and reversed it into a backslide for another two count. Ryder regained control with a jawbreaker before going to the top rope. Smith caught him and hit a huge superplex on Ryder.

Smith then went nuts hitting Ryder with shoulder blocks and clotheslines galore. Eventually, Smith connected with a big boot on Ryder, did Hogan’s ear gesture, I kid you not, and a leg drop off the ropes. He went for the pin but didn’t get it, so Smith decided to go for the Sharpshooter. Ryder avoided the hold but got hit by a powerslam. Smith tried going for the hold again but Ryder kicked him off. Then, using the distance, Ryder ran at Smith, hit the Rough Ryder, and scored the 1-2-3.

The announcers hyped the main event… [C]

Ryan’s Rant: I’m going to see a Sharpshooter attempt in every match on this show. Ugh. Ryder surprised me in this match with his technical skill and he really played to the crowd throughout this match. Smith now makes my disdain for former hart Dynasty members complete because he is just as disjointed as Kidd. Instead of just looking like a fool, Smith acted like one. No one on his level should ever be imitating Hogan, especially considering he is a top guy in the other wrestling promotion. Ryder has a lot of potential, and I like that he can hit his finisher out of nowhere. That helps a guy his size get over. I can only pray that WWE does not waste the momentum this guy has made for himself over the past few months.

Back form commercial, the announcers set up the Raw Rebound, which covered the WWE Draft. The announcers then ran through the Extreme Rules card, and Melina and Alicia Fox made their entrances… [C]

Back from commercial, Natalya and Gail Kim made their way to the ring...

3. Natalya and Gail Kim defeated Alicia Fox and Melina in 4:15. Natalya and Melina started the match with Natalya quickly going for a school boy rollup. She then tried to hit Melina with a stall suplex but Fox ran in and pulled Melina down. Natalya chased Fox from the ring and turned around into a running kick from Melina.

Melina distracted the ref as Fox choked and beat Natalya in the corner. Alicia then tagged into the match and hit a snapmare and an absolutely beautiful northern lights suplex on Natalya. Melina tagged back in the match and accidentally hit Alicia with a kick when Natalya moved. Melina pounced on Natalya and locked in a dragon sleeper hold.

Eventually, Natalya stood up and threw Melina off of her. Melina got up, turned around, and flew halfway across the ring after Natalya launched her with a back body drop. Natalya made the hot tag to Gail, who worked over Alicia, who had also tagged into the match. She hit her with a huracarana, a running shoulder into the corner, and a missile dropkick from the top rope. Kim went for the pin but Melina broke up the three. Alicia and Melina set Kim up for a double-team move, but Natalya thwarted their efforts. This allowed Gail to hit her finisher, Eat da Feet, and score the pinfall and the victory.

Ryan’s Rant: If you’re going to do a quick Diva’s match, that’s how it should be done. Excellent work all around and there was not a botch, or a stupidly early Sharpshooter attempt, in sight. Alicia deserves some credit, as she just performed the best northern lights suplex I have seen in years. Overall, it was a decent enough show, but Kidd and Smith are both absolutely boring. They need a personality transplant, or they need to be allowed to work with gimmicks that are more in line with their personalities. If that’s what is already going on, then they should really just be future endeavored, as their current forms are like watching paint dry. Thank you for following along with me and I’ll see you all next week.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or find me on twitter at @Ryan_Kester.

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