Superstars on WGN America
Taped in Sheffield, England.

[Q1]The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Todd Grisham and Matt Striker welcomed us to Superstars. They hyped the DiBiase/MVP main event…Matt Hardy made his ring entrance. The Harts were out next…

1. Matt Hardy defeated David Hart Smith (w/The Hart Dynasty) at 11:54. The men traded headlocks to start with Matt taking the early control. Smith reversed a whip to the corner and Matt went in face first. Smith took control and seemed to be moving at about 95% speed. He hit a sloppy clothesline in the corner, followed by some weak strikes. Matt fought out of a chin lock to hit a encroacher and second rope leg drop for two. Hardy sold like he was still hurt. He went to the top rope and Kidd caused a distraction. Smith hit a superplex and they recovered into the break…[C]

Back at 7:00, Smith locked on an abdominal stretch. Matt fought out and battled Smith in the corner. The ref pulled Matt back and Smith broke dirty. Smith hit a Northern Lights suplex for two, followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Smith worked elbows to the back and locked in a rest hold. Matt fought out and Smith set him on the top. Matt knocked Smith to the mat and hit a moonsault for two. Hardy hit a neckbreaker for two. Hardy tried for Twist of Fate, but Smith pushed out. Hardy hit Side Effect instead for a near fall.

[Q2]Kidd distracted Matt again and the ref banned them from ringside. As they argued, Matt rolled up Smith for the win…The Ask a Divas segment was next…Backstage…damn…Zack Ryder was shown making his way towards the ring. Rosa joined him…[C]

Shore’s Slant: I am so conflicted about this match. It started off real slow and sloppy, but they got it going good at the end. Smith jobbing broke my hart, but at least it wasn’t to JTG again. So much good, so much bad. Even when creative gets it right, they get it wrong. That takes talent.

Back from commercial, Ryder and Mendes made their entrance as Josh Matthews and Byron Saxton took over on commentary. Benjamin was out next…

2. Shelton Benjamin defeated Zack Ryder (w/Rosa Mendes) by countout at 5:14. Ryder started out with quick aggressive control. Benjamin fought back and whipped Ryder to the corner. He charged in and Ryder moved. He slammed Benjamin and covered for two and slapped on a chin lock. Rosa played with the hair on her breast while watching two grown men roll around in the ring. I’m conflicted. Benjamin fought out, but Ryder hit a leg lariat for two and went back to the rest hold.

Benjamin fought out and hit a belly to back throw. He hit several strikes and a springboard elbow for two. Benjamin went for a power bomb and dumped Ryder over the top rope. Ryder held on and both men spilled to the floor. Rosa checked on Ryder and he got distracted by her and the ref counted him out. The bell rang and Ryder got in the ring confused. Benjamin hit Pay Dirt for good measure…

[Q3]The announce team hyped the main event…[C]

Shore’s Slant: This match was just getting warmed up when they ended it. Both these guys can work well, yet neither is tops on the stick. The only thing I hate worse than Ryder’s gimmick is his current storyline. It’s boo, boo, boo if you ask me.

Back from commercial, a Sheamus video played…Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler took over on the headsets and ran down the Survivor Series card…Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Legacy. They trashed MVP and Henry and Ted promised to beat MVP tonight…[C]

Shore’s Slant: If you are wondering where Chris Masters vs. Primo
Is, Our correspondents said it was a dark match, but Powell insisted it was taped for the show. Send the hate mail to dotnetjason@gmail.com.

Back from commercial, a video package recapped Kyle Bush winning while driving the Raw car last week…Legacy made their ring entrance. MVP came out with Henry…

[Q4]3. MVP (w/Mark Henry) defeated Ted DiBiase (w/Cody Rhodes) at 13:57. DiBiase broke the forst lockup dirty, but MVP fought back and took control. MVP hit an early clothesline and knee drop for two. He cinched in a headlock and Ted fought out. MVP whipped him to the ropes, but Cody grabbed Ted’s feet and he rolled to the floor. MVP hit a suicide dive to take out both men. He rolled back in the ring and posed into the break…[C]

Back at 6:57, MVP rolled up a small package for two. DiBiase stood in the corner and MVP ran in. Ted moved and MVP hook his leg on the top rope. He spilled MVP the floor and then worked him on the rail and post. He rolled MVP in the ring for two and mounted him to land punches to the face. Ted worked the left arm from the post spot and scored several near falls..

DiBiase worked the arm in the corner and broke on four. The ref admonished him and Rhodes worked the arm on the post again. DiBiase hit a big clothesline for two and went back to the arm. MVP fought out an did his hip toss. They traded blows and MVP got the best working only one arm. He hit the face buster and pumped the crowd up for the Ballin elbow. MVP tried for the Drive-By, but DiBiase escaped with a kick. Rhodes tried to grab MVP and got leveled by Henry. MVP reversed a move into a small package for the win.

Shore’s Slant: Solid but limited match to end the show. Both men did well. Like the other matches tonight it was a slow warm up that meshed well by then end, but it was also the best of the night. My only complaint is the pain I feel when I look at the two men in the ring and realize how much more they should both be right now. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you tomorrow for Smackdown.

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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