Today on WWE Superstars we get a battle of former PPV main eventers. Former World Heavyweight and current United States Champion Jack Swagger tests his mettle against Little Jimmy's favorite superstar, R-Truth! Then, we head "across the pond" for Impact Wrestling, where Hulk Hogan will return. What will be the fallout from last week between James Storm, Bully Ray, Jeff Hardy, and TNA World Champion Bobby Roode? Read on for my thoughts on the shows as they happen.
I can't be the only one who finds it kind of weird that a lot of the people in the opening video for Superstars are never on Superstars.
Yoshi doing motocross sounds interesting.
Good contrast of styles here early.
Jinder's doing well for someone who hasn't wrestled all that long.
NICE butterfly suplex.
Spoiler alert: They will announce the Smackdown Elimination Chamber participants tomorrow night.
So, is Jinder going to feud with Khali more? Why haven't they mentioned the Rumble yet?
Good wearing down Yoshi for the Camel Clutch.
Yoshi has good fire in his comebacks.
OUCH. That knee to the back of the head was nasty.
Good little match. Jinder might be someone given enough time.
The phrase is actually wishing someone "the best in their future endeavors". The whole thing stems from the standard verbiage of WWE.com's notices when someone is released.
Two Alicia matches in 2 days? Bad WWE. Bad.
WWE's got to do an angle between the Bellas and Usos at some point, right?
No more booty shaking. Come on, now.
Let's just say there are a lot of Divas matches I'd have rather seen than that one.
K2? Isn't that banned by the Wellness policy?
Dear God. I hope we get some new video packages in the weeks to come. What number time have we seen this?
I'm sure that guy really knows whether or not Cena is fake in his role.
I'm a little surprised they let R-Truth use his real name for his Twitter handle, though I don't really expect someone to believe that he's "really named R-Truth".
That's "2-time, 2-time All-American American".
Jack Swagger's the man (when he's not doing painful Q&A videos).
R-Truth's ringwear is one-of-a-kind. No blending in there.
But... Tamina's a face!
R-Truth's offense is nice as well. He doesn't need to pull out a lot of moves to get reactions.
Good use of the ring and cockiness by Swagger.
NICE Swagger Bomb from the corner.
Also pretty good stuff late in the game. Both of these guys should have good years in 2012.
VERY good ankle lock spot, followed by the great ending. R-Truth's got something they can really make money off of.
And then there was Impact.
Nice set-up.
WOW. That's a pretty damned good crowd compared to what they usually get. It's a shame they can't go on the road and draw good-sized crowds more often.
Haha. Yeah, they don't like getting mixed up with other countries.
AWESOME promo by Roode and Ray to start things off. They work together well.
The current TNA product's connected with them so well that they're calling for perennial midcarder Devon.
It's kind of weird seeing a different set-up for the cameras and lighting.
Very nice reaction for Sting.
Glad Sting's passionate about the product.
I like that match for Against All Odds. Predictable part of the story, but in the "anticipated; they'd be crazy to go in a different direction" way.
You'd think the World Champion would be the second man he faced.
Ugh. What. Why? Stupid commercial.
That cop's not doing his job with the camera man hiding around the corner. I hate that SO much. I think I'd rather see Young/ODB than the "realistic" use of cameras.
Where are the championships?
That song's pretty awful.
That's a clever idea for a match!
UK Gladiators is in England, and is their version of American Gladiators. Very insightful commentary.
Pretty awesome double-team finisher.
Good match.
Nice camera shots to show the size of the crowd.
Some old-school TNA fans there.
Cornette Face sign. Edgy and original. What's next? "Fail"?
Big set up for the reveal. Obviously some fans have a pretty good idea who it is.
"Off the chain" was Roode's entrance music. Not nice to drop bad hints.
Now I'm starting to think it isn't Hogan, since they already said he'd be there and it was in doubt whether or not the trainer was.
At least Tenay knows that it's the bell, not the clock named Big Ben.
Since we don't see much of Haskins, this match will be pretty important. The video package was good at least.
I figured Taz would plug his dojo there.
There are some strong wrestlers from the UK, but I don't think there's just one place to go to learn how to wrestle.
Aries is good with his cockiness. He seems markedly better than he was in his earlier run in the company as Austin Starr.
Heel logic would say that if the fans are cheering you for being cocky, don't play to them any more. They should want to see you lose.
This match seems a lot more sizzle (impressive moves) than steak (nuts and bolts of wrestling) so far.
I like the fact that we're seeing different things in this match, but it's almost like that's the whole goal they have here.
Eh. Not bad. Lots of good action, but this was more "slam dunk competition" than basketball game.
After that scary SSP miss, he should be checked on by doctors and/or trainers.
Leather jacket club backstage.
I was hoping they'd keep these two apart (one-on-one) until Lockdown.
Nice ring psychology. Heels don't necessarily care about giving the fans a good match!
A Star Wars-themed Impact. I'm simultaneously very intrigued and very worried.
I was hoping they'd have had a video or something to sell how big this match should be. There's some real bad blood there.
I like the "Boo" "Yay" exchange.
Unsurprisingly, these two play off of each other really well.
As cool as that crossface counter was, I think that move is pretty much ruined forever for me. It brings up memories of something I never want to be reminded of during a wrestling show.
The Eye of the Storm's a pretty silly move.
Bobby Roode DOES NOT CARE about the rules.
Good ending to get more heat on Roode and Ray, and to set the stage for the other big match tonight.
I almost asked why Jeff Hardy couldn't make the save, but Hardy wasn't booked for the shows (possibly due to travel issues stemming from his record). That definitely throws a wrench into things.
Curious to see what level Tara can still go at at this stage.
Good strategy by Gail and Tara. This is what separates good in-ring performers from great in-ring performers.
Great moves by both competitors. Watch and learn, females-in-training.
Good match. Hopefully they'll be able to top it at the PPV. The champ's definitely in jeopardy.
At least we're fairly sure it's not Eric Young or ODB. I'd throw my computer if that happened.
Kind of weird hearing an nWo-based theme for face Hogan.
Poor Gunner.
But hey, the crowd's into it (unfortunately).
How that act doesn't get old to some people is beyond me. Then again, I didn't grow up with Hulkamania.
At least Hogan's not in the main event spot.
Remember that this is the guy who claims he could have played bass in Metallica.
Glad they're selling Storm's earlier beating.
Again... really... they're calling for Devon. Not going to lie. It's frustrating that so many fans are stuck in the past.
They've really set Storm up to get sympathy, and Ray to get heat. I wish Roode was the one beating down the injured Storm, since he's the champion and ideally the future of the company.
OH. Nice move pulling the tape off.
At least Roode's visible out here taunting him.
Hahahahaha. Clever. I wonder what other sports they'd play up elsewhere.
They're making Bully Ray a big deal here talking up who he's taken out. Could he be on his way to the title?
I like that Bully Ray doesn't use standard wrestling moves in a match designed to really hurt his opponent.
Good "using the crowd's energy" by Storm.
Wacky ending time!
Good advancement of the story. Everyone did well.
I wonder how many people in the UK like Star Wars.
That's it for Thursday's wrestling. I'll be back for Smackdown tonight, and a news post will be up later. Thanks for reading!
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