Today on WWE Superstars, it's a clash of international performers when Ezekiel Jackson goes one-on-one with Jinder Mahal. Then, on Impact Wrestling, we hit the final stop on the road to Genesis. Jeff Hardy, James Storm, and Abyss team up against Kurt Angle, Bully Ray, and the TNA Champion Bobby Roode!Also, the Knockouts Tag Team Titles are on the line when Mickie James and Traci Brooks challenge the champions. It's a good day for wrestling. Read on for my thoughts on the shows as they happen.
Air Boom starting the show. I'm very ok with this.
Stanford amuses me for some reason. Wouldn't mind him on Raw or Smackdown.
Very impressive by Bourne as always. Can't believe I used to dislike this guy in the ring.
Glad that they found something to do with Primo and Rosa Mendes. They were really lost at sea there for a while.
I'm liking Epico. Not amazing per se, but I'm glad he's on the roster. Always good to see some talented fresh blood instead of the same old, same old.
Nice match here. They play off of each other pretty well.
Very good action from both guys here. Why don't more people watch this show?
Good pinfall sequence.
No complaints here. Good match in the athletic, young, and talented midcard.
Mason Ryan vs. JTG. Doesn't look solid on paper (screen).
The Mount Rushmore thing was kind of goofy, but entertaining.
Wales must be pretty boring, then.
Mason's a big guy, and obviously strong, but it looks like they put him on the main roster too quickly. Not much going for him in the ring. Then again, it could be argued that he's kind of an "attraction wrestler" who just needs to show up and dominate.
Those graphics are outdated: Zeke has hair now, and Jinder wears the turban (and has facial hair).
And now Yoshi has the mask!? So confusing.
Kidd and Tatsu are going to have to pull out something different this time. How many times have they fought now?
That was a pretty awesome kick. So far, so good.
Good dragon sleeper spot.
And good spots with the ropes. Kidd's a pretty varied talent and you don't see that much.
And good finish.
I really like Jinder's motions and gestures. He's a good fit for his character.
Ha. I don't guess they realize (or care) that Ezekiel's not from the U.S..
I like the contrast of characters, as explained by the commentators. Story is a magnificent thing.
It's much easier for me to get behind Zeke than Mason Ryan due to his experience.
Good stuff here, though in a very different fashion from Bourne vs. Epico.
I like the Mike Tyson comparison.
I thought we were going to get an ending with the Torture Rack.
Wow. That's a former ECW and Intercontinental Champion, and a powerful man at that. Jinder just made him tap out.
And now, on to Impact Wrestling.
I like Sting being the authority figure moving things along. Very glad he's ok with being kind of on the sidelines.
Kind of funny that Hardy has one side of his face painted on the shirt, and the other in reality.
I can really buy Sting as an accepting figure given his real-life history alluded to.
Scumbag Roode: Sees your touching redemption moment. Interrupts it.
Good promo from Roode. Glad he's getting a shot at being the top heel.
Scratch that. Great promo.
He's gotten World Title shots in TNA in the past, but not from Sting.
I like that Roode and Storm are getting a lot of the talking time here, being positioned with and against the credible veterans.
Also, Abyss is treated as a serious threat.
Monsters' Ball used to be pretty wicked. The gimmick was that the competitors were locked up in a room without food or light for 24 hours beforehand.
Damned solid segment. Looking forward to that match based on the story. It wasn't just "throw these people in a match because they've got matches Sunday".
Ha. They must be pretty quick making that graphic.
Nice line-up. Glad they promote the matches in advance in the first segment. Maybe WWE should do that?
If I want to see women in bikinis, there are a LOT of places I can go and shows I can watch.
Traci actually has been wrestling for a while.
What? That was... wow.
Ideally, this match will leave James/Kim unsettled so people will want to see it Sunday.
I thought Mickie had her for a second there. Not much to say during this one.
This is better from some matches I've seen from the Knockouts lately.
Traci's doing pretty well covering up her disability.
That's a terrible finisher name. I get the pun, but come on now. Why not (and I wish I could take credit for this one) Sole Food?
Gunner vs. RVD should be good. Gunner could use the boost from working with the veteran.
Oh, Sting...
This could really elevate Gunner or kill his momentum.
Good selling of the finals of the tag team tournament. Video and promos. This show's been a lot better lately.
Kind of odd for Garett to just kind of show back up after that big injury angle. And as a referee nonetheless.
Heheh... they might should have re-worded that.
They've got a good story going for Garett. I hope he makes the most of it.
Another EY and screechy Knockouts segment. My two least favorite things in all of the company.
Good little match from a storyline standpoint, but it seems that RVD's best work is behind him for the msot part.
It's kind of unfortunate that RVD's become kind of... commonplace for me after seeing him wrestle so many times in the past 10 years or so. It really colors my perception of him.
He can still go, though. I like the clash of styles.
Kind of a scary moment with the apron.
Ha. Of course it's RVD who stops his momentum. That's kind of his thing, now.
Well he almost made up for it. Kind of funny that they didn't call Pat Kenney his wrestler name.
Solid pre-match promos. Good set up for the main event and Sunday.
Good expressions from everyone on the way to the ring. Four unique gimmicks that are distinguishable.
Sorensen's got some skills.
I like this one so far. Not the clustermess of some X-Division matches of years past.
Good story here.
He does have some fancy moves.
Sorensen's no slouch either. Wow.
Sorensen had to have known Ion was going to tag in there.
Good ending! I like this storyline.
I also like that this is feeling like a 2-hour wrestling show instead of a bunch of segments thrown together.
What... am I watching!? I need a shower after that segment.
I'm partially hoping for Joe to stomp a mudhole in Magnus, but there might be something in this pairing worth keeping them together for a while.
Ahh, Joe vs. Styles. Those were the days.
If Magnus does team with Joe, I guess maybe Mark Haskins could replace him in the British Invasion? Rob Terry's with Robbie E still. Just looking to use people who are under contract.
A Samoan bathtub you say...
I like the commentary team putting the talent over. This is something WWE still has a ways to go on at times.
Magnus has got some potential. Hard to believe he was stuck in midcard hell with some weird gimmicks over the years.
Interesting... Kazarian finally has a chance to be an interesting character.
Joe/Magnus vs. Morgan/Crimson might not have been my first choice for the title match, but I think they can do some good with that premise.
Some good merch ideas there.
Good little brawl to set up for Sunday. This show's almost completely different from some of what we've seen in the past.
This match is going pretty well. Good psychology by everyone.
I think they've got something in Abyss finally being a monster again.
Ray, Hardy, and Angle can still work.
This one's really heating up. Great job by everyone getting the crowd into it.
I've always been kind of partial to the "match descends into chaos" ending heading to a big PPV.
I thought Abyss was going for the Angle Slam for a second there.
GREAT ending. Looking forward to Genesis. Hopefully Storm, Roode, and Abyss get positioned as the future of the industry there.
That's all for Thursday's wrestling. I'll be back for Smackdown tomorrow and a news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
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