Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's Superstars and Impact Wrestling.
Superstars:
NXT Season 1 reunion! I'm very pleased by how far both men have come since those days. Young continues to be a very fluid wrestler, and the pairing with Titus is working pretty well. Gabriel on the other hand: Wow. He's become very solid. I could definitely see the criticisms of him as a "one-move wrestler" back in 2010, but he's worked his ass off to add to his repertoire. With the right partner, he could be deadly. Obviously him teaming with NXT's Sami Zayn would be a good combination of explosive offense, but should WWE bring him up this early? He's very impressive both on the mic and in the ring, but maybe he could still learn some things down there. Also from NXT, Leo Kruger would make sense from the "they're both South African" perspective as well as a combination of fast offense and... I'm not sure exactly what you'd call Kruger's style. Corey Graves and Conor O'Brian just got some new partners, so I'm not sure I'd want to mess with that. As for the main roster, the obvious choices are Kofi and Sin Cara. But what about Hunico? He could come back under a new gimmick (maybe masked?) as a babyface. Quite a talented performer and I think they would make a nice team. Anyway...
I know last time I complained about 2 Colter promos in 2 days, but I really liked this one. I hope they don't scorch the earth with them at any rate.
Cesaro is at a whole 'nother level from some guys I've seen. Another awesome match. Ryder continues to show that he's got talent as well. I wouldn't mind a Ryder and Hawkins reunion to give them something to do. Would they be the top tag team? No (Neither, likely, would any of those Gabriel pairings). But they work together well and are young, hard-working superstars. Between having them do almost nothing and giving them a semi-regular role (where they could theoretically build a fanbase again), I've got to go with the latter.
Impact Wrestling:
Funny stuff with Bully talking about Brooke.
I liked the opening segment. I bet there were some upset members of the IWC when Bully referred to Sabin as "little". I'm hoping Abyss is the 5th member of the Mafia.
If Russo was still here, I bet there'd be a lot of complaints about the Jokers' Wild concept. It is pretty gimmicky.
Fine opening match. I'm guessing they've got so much to do that the match needed to be short. Always cool to see Joe tap a fool out.
I liked the post-match. I hope we get AJ vs. Joe for the title someday.
Yep, lots of stuff to do tonight. So-so match to keep things going.
Not a bad segment with Bad Influence, Aries, and Roode. I just don't like a reference to "heels". Another thing that people would hate if Russo was involved but is cool if Daniels and Kazarian do it.
I like the little backstage segments setting up matches, even if it's just a Knockout stretching. Sometimes it really is that easy to set something up.
That was really silly. I enjoyed it in some ways, but they got a little cutesy for my tastes.
Not a bad post-match.
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BROTHER. YOU KNOW HOW WWE IS OPENING UP A PERFORMANCE CENTER TO BUILD NEW STARS, JACK? WELL, WE'RE GOING TO KEEP FOCUSING ON THE '80S AND '90S GUYS HERE, BROTHER. AND HEY, DUDE, MAYBE WE CAN PICK UP SOME MORE WWE CAST-OFFS WHEN THE NEXT BATCH OF RELEASES COMES AROUND. Can you tell that I'm really tired of seeing the Hogans? I think the McMahons and Hogans should have their own spin-off with each other so I don't have to see them on WWE and TNA.
Can't complain too much about that Aces segment. I can't exactly say that I'm looking forward to DOC vs. Knux. I liked both guys in WWE, and think DOC could have been used better, but I'm not sure if I should be hyped for this.
Dear God. This is exactly what I point to when I say that less can be more. I felt like I was watching "101 Dalmatians": spot after spot after spot. Yes, it was very impressive from a physicality standpoint. But it felt like it was just an excuse for them to beat the hell out of each other and do innovative moves. It was like a hockey game where the players reluctantly stop fighting in order to try to put the puck in the net. The fact that they cared less about the contract than about dishing out more punishment tells you all you need to know about whether this was a match between two people who want to be champion, or two stuntwomen who happened to end up in a wrestling arena.
Kind of funny with Sting's cell phone.
I kind of expected Styles to win for some reason. I guess maybe it will be a come-from-behind thing if he wins the BFG Series. It's got to be tough to root for a babyface who never wins. Magnus vs. Roode was pretty sweet. Magnus winning the Series would be cool by me, but Styles makes the most sense.
That was a pretty cool ending to the show. This is by far the most interesting Sabin has been as a character. Nice surprise with Rampage in the MEM. I'd be a little shocked if he gets in the ring soon.
More wrestling coming up.
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