Today on WWE Superstars, the star of Z! True Long Island Story faces off with the Milan Miracle as Zack Ryder takes on Santino Marella. It's a former #1 contender to the WWE Title facing a former Intercontinental Champion! Then, on "A Midsummer's Nightmare" edition of Impact Wrestling, Mr. Anderson defends the TNA World Championship against Sting. Can Sting add another run with the title to his impressive resume, or will the newest member of Immortal retain against the Icon? Read on for my thoughts on the shows as they happen!
Plenty of references to Ryder's YouTube show.
That logo on Ryder's tights is a link to his Superstar page on WWE.com.
Not a bad match at all.
Haha, I love Ryder getting his little sign-off in at the end.
The Usos are getting a match with the tag team champions? That should be a bigger deal than it is. It wouldn't surprise me if they end up as the next champions.
Two Long Islanders in a row tonight.
Barrett in another potential squash match? Interesting. That could be a sign of big things coming up for him.
And that's what I get for thinking this was a squash match. I thought that Pumphandle slam attempt was going to be the end of it.
Nothing wrong with that match, though it didn't make me think of Barrett as as much of a dominant force as last week's match did. He was knocked off his feet a number of times, and looked in danger of losing.
I feel sorry for whomever has to read through the responses on Facebook and Twitter. Some of them are pretty bizarre.
I thought of this the other day when reading people's responses to why WWE isn't as popular as it once was, and suggestions on improving ratings/PPV buys. One that stuck with me was giving midcard titles and feuds more importance. This is a perfect example of a feud that isn't being pushed as important. McGillicutty and Otunga are theoretically the top tag team in WWE (as champions) and they're in a match that only airs in international markets and on WWE.com that wasn't even advertised during Raw. It should be a big deal when they compete, and a big deal for their opponents to be in the ring with the champs. A boxing or MMA champion surely wouldn't be put in such an unimportant place without any mention on the other shows.
I think Nexus is going to need some new music when Punk leaves.
Fine tag match. I see new champions on the horizon.
I had forgotten Beth Phoenix and Maryse were on the same brand.
I liked the spot with the jacket to start the match. Brought us right into action.
I liked Maryse stealing the headband, too. Nice heel move. Sometimes it's the little things that make the impression.
Another good Superstars match. I'd rather see these two compete for the title and the Bellas vs. Kelly be put on this show. BUT the WWE Universe picked Kelly to win the fan vote, so that's what we got.
Calling him "Phil" is stupid I think, since they've never established that name for him.
Punk's a natural entertaining heel.
I'm a bit surprised they kept the references to Cabana and Gallows in, especially since Cabana didn't work in WWE under that name when he was there most recently (he had a few "enhancement" matches as Cabana, but when he had a contract, he was Scotty Goldman).
That segment's still weird in a "who's the real bad guy here?" way.
Well, that's a wrap for Superstars. On to A Midsummer's Nightmare (which is officially just Impact Wrestling).
How many 1980s wrestling fans really thought a 2011 wrestling show would start with Hulk Hogan.
I like Abyss' tuxedo. Pretty funny.
Well that's an odd tux for Anderson.
I'm setting the over-under for how long Anderson lasts in Immortal at 3 weeks.
It's weird to have Sting and Bischoff talking about their pasts when there's got to be a good part of the audience who isn't familiar with WCW's history. It's been quite a while in wrestling time.
Wow. This gets weirder every week.
That was a fine match. Generally if I don't have much to say on something, it means I liked it.
Thank goodness we didn't end up with "both Roode and Joe score points" from that finish. It was a bit convoluted, but at least we didn't get a reversed decision or anything. At least not yet.
That segment was ok except for, of course, the cameraman.
Let me guess, Devon's kids will turn on him and end up with Dinero?
So many spots. So little long-term meaning.
That could be the most generic entrance video and theme of all time. Aries didn't even get his name on it.
Ugh. Another flippy match.
Yeah, that whole segment felt Bush league.
Austin Aries' TNA debut? They specifically announced him as a returning X-Divisioner in the tournament to win a contract.
Yeah, we know, Shannon. We just saw it. I guess they assume that X-Division fans have ADD and that's why they want to see so many flashy moves.
Not a bad setup from Madison and Tara. Not bad at all. Though I doubt that they'd do this match tonight if it was really the end of the feud (since it's been absent from the show so much, they could probably just move to something else).
How many former ECW guys will be on the show in Philly?
Cool video package for the most part.
Madison's come a long way from being Beautiful Person #3.
I was kind of hoping it wouldn't be in its little cage in the box, but it makes sense that they wouldn't want it to potentially escape.
That was good. Got a little overly dramatic at the end, though.
That cameraman must be pretty good at hiding if Magnus didn't see him. I don't know if that will ever stop looking stupid.
Angle vs. Anderson would be fairly fresh and I'd like to see it again. Angle vs. Sting on the other hand, feels like it's been done enough times that there isn't anything they can add to the feud. They've fought for the title; they've fought in personal battles; what else is there to do?
People liked that Empty Arena match?
Jeff's segment with Karen was hilarious. It turned unintentionally so when Jeff was carried off by Sting's associate.
Anarquia's promos feel somewhat forced. At least his accent does.
Oh right, duh, no Sarita here due to her facial paralysis. Not really bad.
Bad promo segment from Kendrick and Shelley. Didn't make me want to see them face off in the least.
Wow, another important show next week. I wish they gave a little longer to that rundown, but at least they're promoting matches for the show.
At least Gunner went down with a fight.
Sting and Fortune? That works for me.
Maybe Sting's entrance video should be updated for his new look?
I still don't see Anderson at Sting's level. Granted, Sting has a LOT of main events and World Title reigns to compete with. One of these guys would be a main eventer in WWE, and one wouldn't.
Wow, Sting's definitely looking like the better guy here.
Sting being in the Deathlock reminded me... what happened to Jackson James as the possibly heel referee? If he was in the match, I wouldn't have been shocked by another Montreal Screwjob reference.
A technical classic this isn't.
I thought he had him with the Mic Check there.
Oh boy. Ref bump time.
So much for passing the torch to Anderson.
This is just bizarre. There are wacky endings and there's this weird stuff.
WHAT? So, first they put the title back on the 52-year-old Sting, who definitely doesn't need the boost in credibility because he's been there plenty of times already, and then it's all a plot by the supposedly neutral Angle? Another former feud of former WWE/WCW main eventers instead of building up some of the newer guys who are more likely to be active in a couple of years, and it's between two "good guys" to boot.
It's like it's just too tempting for them to try to go back on who drew money in years past instead of using those guys to try to make new draws. I'm entertained by Sting's current character, and Angle's still got a good deal of his magic left, but at some point they're not going to be able to rely on them and they'll be left with a bunch of people who've been background players and treated as inferior to the older stars.
I could go on, but that's really the gist of my complaint. I'm not even an Anderson fan, but at least he was someone different holding the title. I'm not going to slit my wrists over it or anything, though. Things will change eventually.
Anyway, that's all for Thursday's shows. I'll be back tomorrow for Smackdown, and a news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
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