WWE Main Event / Superstars 2016 Thread

[Niners Fan in CT]

Naomi is making a run at March Madness 2017.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

In Emma's next round, I'm definitely going to be using the improvement of Zack Ryder as an argument. Good match with Breeze, and some sweet new offence - nice pop, and a believable near fall off the Eye of the Hurricane. The double knee counter right into the EL BRO DROP was swish too. Rooting Emma appears to be doing all sorts of good things for his confidence, and that's a pretty manly beard to boot. Crowd are way into him - I think #ZackDaddy is kinda a tribute to Bagwell, and he's definitely very, very solid in that kind of role at this point. Whether that can be transferred on to a bigger stage I am not sure, but I wouldn't put him on any release lists.

 

Match against The Miz was good too, with a nice finish. It put over both guys pretty well, and I think they may have been testing him out.

 

There's still things he could do better, but he's really getting it together.

[Charlie M.]

Main Event 3/2 #179

 

Brie Bella, Natalya & Paige vs. Naomi, Tamina & Summer Rae

They tease some dissension between Team BAD and Summer Rae prior to the match and early on she tags herself in only to lose the advantage. Natalya clearly seems to be directing traffic for her team. Lana makes her way out to ringside for this one to continue her storyline with Brie. Eventually Natalya is the face-in-peril leading to Brie getting the hot tag. The match breaks down into everyone coming in and hitting a move on someone else until Brie rolls through a crossbody and taps out Naomi with the Yes Lock in 11 minutes. C+. Felt like they were just killing time for much of the match and it really wasn't very heated.

 

Heath Slater vs. Ryback

Social Outcasts do their promo with Axel doing his YEE! bit and going nuts on Slater to pump him up to take on Ryback. Slater tried to be super aggressive to start which was nice but Ryback did his mounted punches and hit the Shellshock for the win in like 2 minutes.

 

The Ascension vs. The Lucha Dragons

They pretty much get the heat on Sin Cara from the beginning with clubberin' and chin locks. The finishing sequence after the hot tag to Kalisto was really good with Kalisto hitting all his offense, the Dragons hitting some double team combo moves and getting the win in 4 minutes. C+. Kalisto looked great here.

 

Zack Ryder vs. Stardust

This feud must continue! Stardust cut a promo on Zachariah Ryder prior to the match. He frustrated Zack in the early going and they teased the Broski Boot but Stardust bailed and elbowed him to take control. Stardust countered a Rough Ryder into a power bomb for a nice near fall. He tried a superplex but Zack knocked him off and hit his flying elbow for what easily could have been the finish. Stardust countered Zack and hit the Queen's Crossbow for the win in 12 minutes. B. I liked this one as they made an effort to mix things up just enough to keep it fresh.

 

 

Superstars 3/4 #360

 

Neville vs. Viktor

A rare look at Viktor in singles action. Quick match as Viktor hits his few moves early, grabs a chin lock, Neville fights back and hits the Red Arrow for the win in 3 minutes. C. Nothing to really see here.

 

Summer Rae vs. Natalya

Natalya outgrapples Summer to start, goes for an early Sharpshooter but Summer winds up taking over. Summer applied some holds. Nat made her comeback. They did a sloppy double knockdown spot. Summer kept going for an indian deathlock and finally Natalya countered it into the Sharpshooter for the win in 10 minutes. C+. They tried hard but it was probably too long for Summer but she earned the opportunity with some good showings recently.

 

 

Main Event 3/9 #180

 

Tyler Breeze vs. Zack Ryder

Breeze really sells the power of Ryder at the start taking a couple powders to the outside. Zack gets sick of it and hits his dropkick through the ropes. Back inside Breeze uses the ref as a distraction so he can take over on Zack. They do a cool spot where Breeze gets clotheslined out and Zack goes for a plancha but Breeze pulls the apron out and Zack crotches himself on it. Don't think I've seen that one before. Breeze focused his attack on the ribs of Zack and they worked a couple spots around that including a double crossbody and a near fall off a back stabber. Breeze countered the Rough Ryder but ran into Zack's knees and Zack hit the EL-BRO DROP for the win in 11 minutes. B+. Zack is so much better now than when he was actually at his most over. His babyface comebacks are among the best in the company right now, IMO. He's developed more of a mean streak when he's on offense and the beard definitely helps. Even the crappy announcers have picked up on his increased intensity. Could a heel turn work for Zack as a way to freshen him up on the main roster?

 

Social Outcasts cut a promo about losing to Ryback. Bo is their last hope. He gets squashed in 2 minutes by Ryback.

 

Paige & Natalya vs. Naomi & Tamina

Double suplex by the babyfaces on Tamina early on. Paige hits a cannonball dive onto Tamina on the floor and mocks Naomi's dancing. She also does the whip. She needs to stop doing that. Match got a bit sloppy in the middle and there seemed to be some miscommunication on a couple things. Eventually Natalya got the hot tag and the sharpshooter on Naomi but Tamina broke it up. She wound up eating a discus clothesline but Naomi hit the Rear View and got the pin in 11 minutes. C+. There always seems to be something a little off about women's tag matches in WWE to me. Can't quite pinpoint what it is but I usually find myself disappointed in them.

 

 

Superstars 3/11 #361

 

The Miz vs. Zack Ryder

Miz grinds on his chinlock instead of just sitting in it like some people (you know who you are). Nice touch as Zack slaps himself as he tries to clear the cobwebs and fire up for his comeback. Miz kicks out of the EL-BRO DROP, counters the Rough Ryder and hits the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin in 6 minutes. C+. A condensed version of a better longer match that they could have had.

 

The Ascension vs. The Usos

Does anyone in WWE wear more stuff than the Usos? From what I can tell they've got facepaint, grills, t-shirts, shorts, flaps on their shorts, compression pants, elbow pads, wrist tape and knee pads. Credit to the Ascension for attempting to show a little personality in this match by mocking the Usos dancing. They did a nice tease of the hot tag before cutting it off. Jimmy finally gets it and there's superkicks, a big dive and the Superfly Splash for the win in 10 minutes. C+. I contemplated skipping this match but it was actually not bad at all. Ascension need to do more clubberin and less chinlocks.

 

 

TLDR: Watch Zack vs Breeze (ME 3/9).

 

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

I agree the Miz/Ryder match would have benefited from more time, but I still thought it was a good showcase for both guys. Breeze and Ryder fight on Superstars again this week.

[ErinQuinn]

Another really fun Ryder-Breeze March this week

[ErinQuinn]

Alright, I'm just going to imagine the Breeze-Ryder series was to qualify for the WM IC title match, booking backwards!

 

Swagger vs Breeze this week on Superstars, should be enjoyable if they have time

 

and more Ascension-Lucha Dragons...just do Viktor vs Kalisto, please, no more tag matches

[Jamal]

We get Paige and Naomi in a short match on Main Event that's really just to set up Emma and Summer Rae joining the tag match at Mania. I just wish some of this would get played out on one of the main shows but I'll take what I can get lol 

[Charlie M.]

Pre-Mania catch up.

Main Event 3/15 #181

Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension
Go right into getting the heat on Kalisto. Sin Cara gets the hot tag but Konnor pulls him off the top rope to the floor and we go into a second heat sequence. Kalisto’s really good on the apron. Some nice teases of the hot tag in this segment until Kalisto finally gets it and goes wild monetarily until Konnor cuts him off. Ascension hit a nice double pumphandle powerbomb thing on Kalisto. Sin Cara wipes out Viktor with a dive. Kalisto hits the Salida Del Sol on Konnor for the win in 10 minutes. B+. Best Ascension match ever?

Paige vs. Summer Rae
Lana comes out about a minute in. Summer takes over for a bit, Paige makes her comeback. Lana with the distraction but Paige reverses a rollup for the win in 4 minutes. C. Match was really just there for Lana to come out and kick Paige in the head after it.

Sami Zayn vs. Stardust
A rematch of their Roadblock encounter that most people were disappointed with. If you didn’t like how much Sami gave Stardust in that match you probably won’t like this one either. This one was a better match, though. Stardust controlled most of it with Sami getting a spot in here and there. Zayn blocked a superplex, tried a sunset flip powerbomb that got blocked but then hit the Helluva Kick for the win in 13 minutes. B. Solid but a little boring, honestly.

Superstars 3/18 #362

Natalya vs. Summer Rae
Summer showed some decent viciousness working over Nattie’s leg. Summer hits a spin kick for a near fall, freaks out, misses a legdrop and Nattie puts her in the Sharpshooter for the submission in 6 minutes. C+

Zack Ryder vs. Tyler Breeze
This was more of a showcase for Zack as Breeze was only on top for a little bit. Breeze slammed Zack’s leg against the post early and went back to it later but Zack countered. Zack hit a Broski Boot on the floor. Breeze did get a couple nice nearfalls including countering a missile dropkick into a powerbomb. Zack won with the ELBRO Drop in 9 minutes. B. Good action but I enjoyed their previous match more.

Main Event 3/22 #182

Zack Ryder vs. Stardust
Here we go again with this. Stardust busts out the fake knee injury spot to take over on offense. Zack gets rolling but Stardust counters a broski boot by backdropping Ryder out to the floor. Disaster Kick misses, superplex block, Elbro Drop finishes it in 4 minutes. C+. These two have good chemistry but this was really short.

Paige (w/Alicia & Natalya) vs. Naomi (w/Tamina & Lana)
Quick match before Emma and Summer run out to attack Alicia & Natalya. Naomi taps Paige in 3 minutes. C.

Sin Cara vs. Ryback
Short match that had a fairly long chinlock by Ryback. Sin Cara made a brief comeback but Ryback hit the Shell Shock for the win in 3 minutes. C.

Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas vs. Kane & Big Show
Basically an extended squash/comedy match. Outcasts briefly get the heat on Kane but only long enough to lead into the finish with Big Show pinning Axel in 10 minutes. C. Way too long for what this was.

Superstars 3/25 #363

Tyler Breeze vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger posts himself allowing Breeze to take control. Really worked a facelock to try and get the people behind Swagger. He eventually powers his way out and goes into his comeback. Breeze cuts it off and gets a series of nearfalls off some counters. Swagger gets the Ankle Lock almost out of nowhere for the win in 6 minutes. C+. Worked differently from some of their previous matches. Could have used more time.

US Champ Kalisto vs. Konnor
Kalisto trying to go after the legs. Gets posted when he takes out Victor on the floor. Konnor did a couple pretty vicious slams where he threw Kalisto’s feet into the ropes. Kalisto uses some kicks to create space. Nice dive onto Viktor and hits the Salida Del Sol for the win in 7 minutes. C+. Pretty standard big man vs little man but the best I’ve seen Konnor look.

Main Event 3/29 #183

Ryback vs. Fandango
Fandango actually got a little more offense than you’d think but it was mostly just a showcase for Ryback. Nothing really notable about this one. Ryback wins with the Shell Shock in 8 minutes. C

Superstars 4/1 #364

Tyler Breeze vs. Jack Swagger
Breeze hits a nice dropkick to the knee and kicks Swagger in the face off the apron. Breeze was on top for a lot of this match. They did a good tease of a typical Ankle Lock finish but Breeze actually got out of it and hit this nice Tornado DDT for a nearfall. Swagger won with the Swagger Bomb for a change in 9 minutes. B. Really good work here and these guys never seem to have the same match twice.

Matches to Watch: Lucha Dragons vs Ascension, Zayn vs Stardust (ME 3/15), Ryder vs Breeze (Superstars 3/18), Breeze vs Swagger (Superstars 4/1)

[Jamal]

Another good Paige/Emma match on Main Event. Only complaint was some audible spot calling from both, which makes me wonder why they don't edit that out. But an otherwise fine match up. 

[Greggulator]

Kevin Owens apparently grabbed and broke Rich Brennan's phone on Main Event this week.

[Dolfan in NYC]

3 hours ago, Greggulator said:

Kevin Owens apparently grabbed and broke Rich Brennan's phone on Main Event this week.

<3 <3 <3

[Dolfan in NYC]

KO also apparently likes Total Divas:

https://vid.me/gm4U

[NikoBaltimore]

Goes without saying, but I just adore Kevin Owens.  Shit talking heel that does stuff because he can?  Yes, please!

[Patrick B.]

Fun Ryback-Sandow match on Superstars.  Amazing how over Sandow continues to be despite being all but invisible on TV lately.

[Patrick B.]

Main Event's highlights were Bo being his usual cheeseball self and Kevin Owens declaring himself the king of headlocks.  Good times.

Bo:  "You guys are really flippin' my omelette right now!"

[The Natural]

Owens vs. Ziggler on Main Event is one of my favourite TV matches this year. Headlock Master! King of Headlocks!

[Charlie M.]

Back with the HEADLOCK MASTER, Heath Slater being awesome and a shockingly good match with Kane & The Big Show against Braun Strowman & Erick Rowan!

Main Event 4/5 #184

New Day vs. The Ascension. Big E gets Viktor and slaps him in rhythm to get the New Day Rocks chant going. E launched Kofi over the top into a dive. Ascension took Kofi to Chinlock City. Big E got the hot tag, they worked in a spot for Xavier to play Francesca II and New Day got the win in 10 minutes. Beginning and end were fine. B-

Baron Corbin squashed Fandango

Paige vs. Emma. The story going into this match was that Paige didn’t take Emma seriously. Emma establishes early that she’s willing to cheat. They mess something up and Paige literally goes, “Sorry.” Paige took a lot of the match early until Emma dumped her over the top to floor. Another really audible spot calling moment on that one. The match picked up here as Evil Emma took charge on the “concussed” Paige. Eventually Paige hit a superkick and a RamPaige DDT for the win in 15 minutes. B. Couldn’t really go any higher with them being off in the early going but from the bump to the outside onward it was a strong match.

Superstars 4/8 #365

Fandango vs. Ryback. Ryback did a lot more playing to the crowd during this one while Fandango worked babyface. Ryback didn’t do a lot of his “new moves” that annoy me so that was a positive. Pretty basic match with Fandango getting a brief comeback and one big nearfall before Ryback finished him with the Shell Shock in six minutes. C+

US Champ Kalisto vs. Bo Dallas. Social Outcasts do a promo before the match getting over the Bo Train. Crowd made this fun by doing some chants using Bo like “Heyyy we want the Bo Train” and “Bo’s Gonna Kill You!” Bo took an amazing bump off a springboard dropkick where he wound up flying through the ropes out of the ring. Match itself was decent. Kalisto took out the Outcasts while hitting the Salida Del Sol in 7 minutes. B-

Main Event 4/12 #185

US Champ Kalisto vs. Heath Slater. They did a neat sequence where Heath cut off Kalisto with a big knee and joined the Bo Train only to eat a baseball slide dropkick. Kalisto then went to dive onto all the Outcasts but did the Tiger Mask deal where he stops himself. Slater sneaked out and nailed Kalisto from behind to take over. Tremendous! Kalisto started his comeback after Heathy Baby did an extended dance and missed a kneedrop. There was a nice nearfall where Slater countered Kalisto’s finisher into a huge spinebuster. They teased a distraction finish but Kalisto kicked out. Finally he knocked Axel off the apron while hitting the Salida Del Sol for the win in 12 minutes. B+. Heck of a little TV match between these two. Heath Slater is so damn good.

Apollo Crews beat Bo Dallas quickly and smiled a lot.

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler. The first 10 minutes or so of this match is built around Kevin Owens new claim that he is The Headlock Master. It’s basically Owens getting a headlock, doing some entertaining trash talking and Dolph fighting his way out before finding himself back in another headlock. It’s all good stuff and Dolph even sells his jaw throughout the match. Once Dolph finally breaks the headlocks for good with a back suplex, we get into some PPV quality stuff. Tons of counters and reversals based off knowing each other so well and it made for some convincing nearfalls. For two guys who overuse the superkick, they actually teased it and the one Dolph finally hit after he avoided the Pop Up Powerbomb was great. Owens then getting him after a roll up made for a nice ending. A+. Great stuff, definitely something people need to check out.

Superstars 4/15 #366

Ryback vs. Damien Sandow. Sandow remains over. They worked a smart match where Sandow’s offense came from outsmarting The Big Guy. Ryback hit the meat hook and the Shell Shock for the win in 5 minutes. C+

Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze. Remember when this was a feud for a minute? Breeze did a couple fun things early like hiding behind the ref to create an opening and trapping Ziggler in the ring apron and superkicking him. Felt like they were probably overselling exhaustion a bit too much but I’ll take that over not selling at all. Dolph dropped Breeze out of a rana and hit the superkick for the win in 9 minutes. B

Main Event 4/19 #186

Apollo Crews vs. Curtis Axel. I was expecting a squash so it was pretty surprising when this went through a commercial break. Axel in control was solid but I don’t think Crews really connects when he’s selling. Crews ran through his couple impressive moves before finishing it off in 8 minutes. C+. I don’t think these matches are doing anything for Crews.

Alicia Fox vs. Summer Rae. Mostly Summer in control, Fox got a brief comeback before Summer won with the Summer Crush in about 4 minutes. C

Kane & Big Show vs. Braun Strowman & Erick Rowan. The Wyatt Family are heels here. Kane gets the better of Rowan leading to the Big Show and Strowman squaring off. Braun flattens Show and laughs. They take turns working over Show and I liked Strowman yelling “SQUEEZE ROWAN SQUEEZE!” from the apron. Show reverses a suplex and makes the hot tag. This part was pretty good with Strowman shutting down Kane’s offense. Kane did the sit up and went for a Double Choke Slam but it got broken up and Strowman flattened Kane. We get a second face in peril segment this time with Kane building to Big Show getting the hot tag. They had a good little finish where everyone took someone else out until Rowan was left alone to take a Choke Slam but he blocked that. Kane came back in and they hit a massive double team Choke Slam on Rowan to end it in 12 minutes. B+. Shockingly enjoyable with more effort and thought put into it than you’d expect.

Superstars 4/22 #367

Big Show squashed Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas

US Champ Kalisto vs. Tyler Breeze. A rare time in WWE where Breeze is the bigger guy. They had a pretty generic match but Kalisto did bust out a 450 Splash. Kalisto hit the Salida Del Sol “out of nowhere” for the win in 6 minutes. C+. A little disappointing as there wasn’t much to it at all.

TLDR: Owens/Ziggler is must-see. Slater/Kalisto, Kane/Show vs Strowman/Rowan, Paige/Emma, Ziggler/Breeze are also worth a look.

[Greggulator]

The KO/Ziggler match is one of my favorite matches ever. KO's adamant pro-headlock stance is really funny. He also says things like "HE SAID YES! I HEARD HIM!" when having Dolph in a headlock and mentions Jerry Lawler's stunning shirt on several occasions, too. KO does these elaborate moves like he's setting something up, only to apply a headlock or chinlock. I was also very much a fan of his disbelief when Dolph broke a headlock, leading him to run into the corner screaming "No one breaks my headlock!" only for Dolph to dodge.

The match evolves into a very fun fast-paced match with both guys executing very crisply, especially with KO's frog splash. KO gets the win after the Pop Up through a reversal. Then, post match, he steals and smashes Rich Brennan's phone for no real reason.

A+++++

[Charlie M.]

Main Event 4/26 #187

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Zack Ryder & Fandango. Match is all Ryder & Fandango before the first break including a double dropkick off the apron. Anderson knocked Fandango off the top and Gallows hit a big boot on the floor to take over. Worked over Fandango for what seemed like an eternity. Ryder got the hot tag, got a few moves in but fell victim to the Magic Killer in 12 minutes. Very average stuff. Karl did look really good, though. C+

Dolph Ziggler vs. Viktor. I was hoping Ziggler would just squash him but instead they did your typical 3 minute TV mini match. It was decent enough and Dolph won with the Superkick. C+

Kevin Owens vs. Jack Swagger. Owens gave Swagger quite a bit of this match and took a great bump off a hard clothesline. KO had a great playing possum moment as he rolled to the outside, lured Swagger out and hit him with a superkick then tried to a countout win. Swagger rolling Owens into the Patriot Lock from the pop up powerbomb was very nice. Owens went to the eyes and hit the power bomb for the win in 14 minutes. Strong match with a few new wrinkles thrown in at the end. A-

Superstars 4/29 #368

D-Von Dudley vs. Zack Ryder. The most entertaining part of this match was Bubba being obnoxious on the outside. Otherwise it was exactly what you’d expect. Zack won with a roll up in about 5 minutes. C+

US Champ Kalisto vs. Tyler Breeze. Kalisto mixed it up a bit by hitting some of his flashy stuff right off the bat. Breeze gained the advantage going after Kalisto’s knee. Breeze attacked it effectively and Kalisto sold it really well. Kalisto’s one legged comeback was brief but well done. Breeze countered the SDS several times throughout the match but finally Kalisto managed to hit one for the win in 13 minutes. Much better than last week with more time and a story to tell. B+

[Go2Sleep]

I won't go to Gregg lengths to praise the Owens/Ziggler, but I do highly recommend it if you're a fan of Kevin Owens. You can tell he was like "Welp, I'm on Main Event, guess I'll do whatever I want."

Also shoots a rather large hole in the "wrestlers these days don't know how to work a hold" talking point.

[Roman]

The Destroyer must be proud if he sees Owens working a Headlock.

[Patrick B.]

Fine Ziggler-Stardust match on this week's Main Event, check it out.

Also, Sandow's final WWE matches on this week's B-shows.

[Charlie M.]

Main Event 5/3 #188

Titus O’Neill vs. Damien Sandow. Pretty standard stuff, Sandow gets the heat with some chinlocks, Titus makes his comeback and wins in 3 minutes. C

Viktor vs. Apollo Crews. Viktor going with red face paint this week. Incredibly generic again, Viktor sits in a headlock, Crews makes his comeback and wins in 5 minutes. C

Sin Cara vs. Baron Corbin. This one was a little better with Corbin in the bully role. Sin Cara got on a roll until Corbin threw him into the ring post and finished him off in 3 minutes. C+

Stardust vs. Dolph Ziggler. More of a psychology based match with Dolph outwrestling Stardust until Stardust sent him into the post. The damaged shoulder was the story of the match as Stardust kept on it and Dolph sold it pretty well. Stardust even made him pay a couple times for using the bad shoulder on offense. Stardust countered a bunch of Ziggler’s trademark offense but couldn’t avoid one Superkick which got it done in 12 minutes. B+. Dolph’s been doing some more interesting work on the C-Shows this year.

Superstars 5/6 #369

Damien Sandow vs. Darren Young. Sandow tried to play it a bit heelish here by upping the aggression but still got cheered for it. DY ran through his comeback and won with the Gut Check in 5 minutes. C

Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater. Heath can’t get anything going against Crews in the opening minutes but a distraction from the Outcasts allows Slater to take over. Crews wound up taking out everyone pretty easily and finishing off Crews with the toss power bomb in 10 minutes. C+. Still not overly impressed with Crews beyond the couple of nice moves.

Main Event 5/10 #189

Curtis Axel (w/Bo Dallas) vs. Big Cass. The Outcasts did a funny pre-match promo where they told some horrible jokes and laughed too hard at them. Big Cass cuts his own promo about them being sawft. He squashes Axel in a couple minutes. C

Stardust vs. Apollo Crews. They gave them some time to work a more competitive match as Stardust used the steps to damage Crews’ ribs. Finish was a bit abrupt as Stardust got his knees up on the standing shooting star press for a good nearfall but then Crews just hit the toss power bomb and won in 10 minutes. C+

Baron Corbin vs. Zack Ryder. Corbin stalls a couple times to get some heat. Corbin’s a bit bland when he’s in control for an extended period of time but Ryder works the underdog role well. The sequence that led to the ElBRO Drop was well done. Corbin drilled him with a hard elbow and hit the End of Days in 12 minutes. C+

Superstars 5/13 #370

Cesaro vs. Bo Dallas. Cesaro made this a lot of fun doing the Los Ingobernables pose and cutting off the Bo Train with an uppercut. Bo got a bit a heat but this was mostly a squash. Cesaro does the giant swing and wins with the Sharpshooter. B-

Stardust vs. Apollo Crews. Pretty similar to the Main Event match except Stardust worked the arm this time. Crews got the win with the toss power bomb again. C+

 

These shows were a bit of a slog to get through. Ziggler/Stardust and the Cesaro squash are really the only things worth checking out, IMO.

[Charlie M.]

Main Event 5/17 #190

Jack Swagger & Titus O’Neill vs. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas (w/Heath Slater). Titus and Swagger have some fun laying it in on Axel. A distraction leads to the Outcasts getting the heat on Swagger. Titus gets the hot tag and bodies are flying everywhere. Clash of the Titus ends it in 11 minutes. B-. This was perfectly fine tag wrestling. Swagger and Titus make for a good powerhouse tag team.

Apollo Crews vs. Viktor. The usual. Nothing really of note stood out.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Zack Ryder. A rare Main Event appearance by Del Rio. Stone Cold would appreciate the lockup in this one. Established right away that they both mean business tonight. ADR is particularly vicious dissecting Zack. He gives Zack some hope spots but this is primarily Del Rio in control. ADR makes the mistake of going back to the well and getting dropkicked by Zack leading to Zack’s comeback. They built to a couple good nearfalls at the finish before Del Rio hit the stomp for the win in 15 minutes. A. Quality intense matchup that built to a hot finish. I will never understand how WWE can't figure out how to make money with Del Rio. He's one of the few guys in wrestling who has an aura of believability and you could feel it from the second he locked up with Zack.

Superstars 5/20 #371

Jack Swagger & Titus O’Neill vs. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas (w/Heath Slater). Swagger does a good job of selling and building to the Titus hot tag. Outcasts get one save before Titus picks up the win in under 5 minutes. C+

Zack Ryder vs. Stardust. Somewhat fitting that Stardust’s time on the C-Shows comes to an end against Zack Ryder. Crowd was into this match a fair bit. Zack has an answer for everything Stardust tries until Stardust sends him shoulder first into the post. Cody stays focused on the shoulder. Zack does a good job selling it and getting sympathy from the crowd. Zack busts out a top rope frankensteiner and hits the Rough Ryder for the win in 10 minutes. B+. This was the usual good stuff between these two.

[NikoBaltimore]

Just an FYI since going to the show last night.  Superstars had Nattie/Summer Rae and Ryder/Victor.  The women's match was a decent but short, crowd was super into Nattie.  Nobody cared about Viictor, but they liked Ryder fine enough.