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Edge, World Heavyweight ChampionKane, and Paul Bearer Promos
Still a waste of time and the only huge thing about the show I dreaded. What did these accomplish? Edge got his rematch for TLC, but continued to do the same crap he did last week. They COMPLETELY ruined Kane's monster persona that now no one can take him seriously. They did not even bother to mention the ending to their match at Survivor Series, which is disappointing even though it wasn't good. I like Paul Bearer with Kane, so I hope this isn't the end of him on television. Kofi Kingston def. Jack Swagger (King of the Ring Qualifier) This was a hard decision (for me) to decide the Match of the Night between this bout and the main event, but I'm going to have to go with this one. The crowd wasn't into it in the beginning, but really got fired up with all the close counters towards the latter half of the contest. I've said every time these two meet: a big feud should happen. Kingston and Swagger work SO WELL together it amazes me, and should be an excellent rivalry for a title. Awesome finish that basically came from out of nowhere. It was unpredictable on who would win seeing they are both great rising talents, and Kingston should be an excellent addition come Monday. Alberto Del Rio def. Big Show by Count-out (King of the Ring Qualifier) Exactly like expected: boring. It's not Del Rio's fault, it's just mostly Show's for being a boring wrestler with a fun character. Typical finish so it would seem logical, but NICE knockout punch. I'm very glad Del Rio is being entered in the tournament rather than Big Show, who doesn't need it at all. Drew McIntyre def. MVP (King of the Ring Qualifier) Decent match. They fought last week, so there wasn't anything really that new. It was too short, so they weren't giving a lot to work with. But an okay finish nonetheless. Again, unpredictable on who the winner would be, but I really thought MVP would win. McIntyre's participation in the King of the Ring tournament on RAW should be interesting, and it's down the middle if the push is back on for the Chosen One. Kelly Kelly def. Michelle McCool What is there really to say about the match itself? It was a minute long. Well, I like Kelly Kelly won seeing she was in her hometown. I really like that Beth Phoenix is back, but what can they really do with her feud with Lay-Cool if neither of them have the title? Smackdown only has 5 Divas, so they should try to incorporate Natayla in the alliance with Beth to make it seem a little more worthy. Hornswoggle, Rosa Mendes, and Swagger Soaring Eagle Promo Stupid and pointless. Moving on. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes def. Rey Mysterio (King of the Ring Qualifier) Great match. The beginning had more flashy spots more than the contest overall, but these two still have good chemistry. This win does wonders for Rhodes (hopefully), and he makes a great addition to the KOTR, rather than Mysterio who doesn't need it. I was expecting the Alberto and Mysterio feud to continue, which is great seeing that a Ladder match is very likely for their rubber match at TLC. Final Review No Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler? No Kaval? They must have been running low on time so they cut them from the show, which is disappointing since I wanted to see what was next in their feud. However, this was a good show that was very wrestling-heavy, which is always a good thing. This was an excellent way to hype the King of the Ring tournament for RAW, but TLC is coming fast. Only if the Edge and Kane feud will loosen up on the promos, then Smackdown will improve for the mean time. Thanks for reading Bleachers! Curt Hawkins def. Trent Barreta
Seeing as this was a rematch from last week, I thought we would see the same things we saw last time. I was wrong. Both men got good reactions and the crowd was hot throughout the match for both. This was hands-down Match of the Night. I admit that Trent Barreta has potential and had some awesome spots in that match. I got complaints last week that I was bashing Barreta, and I apologize. I can see he is better as a singles wrestler to really shine. But, with a possible tag team with Hawkins brewing, would it be a step down or up for both men that are striving on their new singles career? Good booking for Hawkins to pick up the win this week so he doesn't look weak. These two have great chemistry, and I would love to see this relationship continue on Superstars or Smackdown. Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov def. Zack Ryder and Primo This was a mediocre, boring contest that was only used to get Santino and Kozlov more momentum, no matter how much this tag team doesn't make sense. The finish was obvious, and Ryder and Primo were only used as helping tools yet again, which disappoints me. At least we didn't see this odd team of Marella and Kozlov face the Usos for the fifth time. Mark Henry def. The Usos (Handicap) In the second rematch of the night, I had low expectations for this match. This got more time than their last encounter together three weeks ago, so it made a fun bout. Mark Henry and the Usos looked good, and was a better main event than it turned out to be. The double splash was great, and a nice finish with the fans cheering on Henry's dominance. Final Review Even though it probably bombed in the ratings due to being on Thanksgiving (the ratings are already bad as it is), it turned out to be a fun show that went by fast. When I saw the line-up, there were no major stars and only contests that would bore. The superstars gave it their all, and the show was definitely better than last week surprisingly. Not many people watch Superstars, so why don't develop more feuds on the show to make it more enjoyable? MVP def. Drew McIntyre
Before I get to the match, I was impressed with MVP's promo with Alberto Del Rio. When Alberto is done feuding with Rey soon enough, a good feud with MVP (maybe overt the IC Title) will certainly help both of them. It was a decent match, but it wasn't as great as it could have been. McIntyre's spotlight has really shot out as of late, so he treated it as a sideshow in this match. Impact-full finish with the Drive By Kick. Really glad to see this finisher make its return. Jack Swagger def. Chris Masters Mediocre and useless contest. Masters never defeats anyone at a higher rank than him, so why should I be surprised? The finish was predictable, and was really something that should stay on Superstars. Kaval def. Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler (non-title) Fun match, but wasn't really solid because it was so short. I understand that it was short to save the real match for Sunday, but it was still a nice preview. I was psyched to see Kaval get his first win, and it seemed like the crowd did too. It would be lame for Kaval to win on Smackdown only to lose at Survivor Series, so I hope WWE doesn't drop the ball on Kaval. This looks to be a standout contest on Sunday, but it should have been hyped a while ahead of time to make the feud seem more worthy. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes def. Kofi Kingston Since Kaval and Dolph Ziggler's match didn't go long, I'm making this Match of the Night. This is the first time these two have fought to an actual winner, so it was something that was unpredictable and fresh. Both men hit a lot of great spots, and the end was especially suspenseful. I loved how the Cross Rhodes came so suddenly, and made it more unpredictable. I would have liked to see Kofi Kingston win since he needs more wins nowadays, but I can see that Cody won to make the Team Advantages equal at 2-2. It also gets heightens Cody's chances of being put in the IC Title angle if Kaval wins Sunday. Co-Divas Champions Lay-Cool def. Natalya and Kelly Kelly Terrible match, and did nothing to sell their feud for Sunday. First off, Natalya was pinned in a tag team match, so how can she expect to win in a Handicap match at Survivor Series? Natalya has no choice but to win on Sunday. The division needs new opponents and feuds, and burying her will be the end of Natalya. Horrible booking done so far. Big Show def. Tyler Reks OK, was this really necessary? Obviously, this made Worst Match of the Night. Why didn't WWE have Swagger vs. Show and Reks vs. Masters? That would have made more sense. Reks gets these wins for nothing? Just to let Big Show make him look very, very weak and put an end to his undefeated streak? Disappointing. Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio Went to a No Contest / Big Show and Rey Mysterio win Battle Royal I know Mysterio is hurt, but ANOTHER battle royal? They just had one on RAW for the Bragging Rights pay-per-view with the same format. This match was even worse. If this Sunday marks the end of the Mysterio vs. Del Rio feud, I don't want it to go out like this. I was hoping for a Ladder Match at TLC, but it seems unlikely with Mysterio having a minor injury. This match did nothing to sell Survivor Series. It was very predictable to see Big Show and Mysterio to win again, and pushes the heels down further if they don't win Sunday. Edge, Kane and Paul Bearer Promos Don't get me wrong, I love Edge, but these little segments were not funny. I think I actually felt bad for Bearer for being tortured. These promos were ridiculous, so how the hell does it make me want to see Edge vs. Kane? Good acting by Kane, but REALLY? Kane cries?! I think hell has frozen over. Final Review Overall, the show made me want to buy Survivor Series even less. The entire hype for the pay-per-view over the last month has been terrible, even adding FIVE extra matches at the last minute. The Advantage Challenge matches were useless because none of the men are feuding except for the Captains, so the match seems like filler to get them on the show. The only hope left is that the matches themselves aren't as bad as the build-up. Chavo Guerrero def. JTG
I would say this match was mediocre, but it was also pointless. These two are never on television, so why should we care? The finish was the only good part of the match, and the rest was predictable since we've seen this match a few times before. Giving the win to Chavo was the better choice, seeing as Eddie's anniversary was last Saturday. Different, but good facial look for Chavo by the way. Trent Barretta def. Curt Hawkins Yet another mediocre match, but only because of the high-flying persona these two have. They work well together, but didn't they work together in the same exact match a month ago? Hawkins got no reaction, which kills me, seeing as he could be something great. Of course Baretta gets a little reaction even though he is going nowhere in his career. The finish was botched, but that wasn't the biggest problem. Why the hell did Baretta win? It baffles me why Caylen Croft, the other half of the Dudebusters, was released and not Baretta. Unless Baretta gets some kind of mega singles push (please don't), then this was terrible booking. Don't be surprised if you see either or both of these men soon. Yoshi Tatsu def. Primo Most of it was botched, and even though the crowd was kind of in to it, I was bored out of my mind and I'm still making this the Match of the Night. By my count, this was the fifth time we've seen them fight in a singles match on Superstars. The finish was decent, but I'm glad Tatsu got the win here, seeing he has more potential than Primo. The best part was CM Punk commentating, he has a future job at the announcers' table when he's done wrestling. Melina and Gail Kim def. Maryse and Alicia Fox The four lost Divas who have lost so much potential because of Lay-Cool. The match wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good. So yet again, like the other matches, I'm going with the term "mediocre." The only highlight of this match was CM Punk at the announcers' table. I can't even remember the match finish because I was so distracted. Final Review Worst show in a long time. Usually there is at least one good match on every week, but not this time. Each match was played out before and not good because of it. The matches went by quickly, and I'm glad because the hour went by quickly and I couldn't take anymore of it. Like previous weeks, WWE should go back to the format of having at least one or two good mid-carders on the show to make it seem worth watching. |
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