WWE Superstars Recap
May 20, 2010
Toronto, Ontario and Ottawa, Ontario (both in Canada)
Commentators: Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler (Raw). Todd Grisham and Matt Striker (Smackdown)
Report by: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
This is no typo, WrestleView students! Mr. V is doing a one-time only WWE Recap as the substitute to Mr. Jeff Springer. I would like to thank Jeff for the opportunity and I hope that all of you enjoy it. Tomorrow, I will go back to doing my ROH recap for the previous Monday.
With that said, as Jeff would say whether you are on RAW or Smackdown on Thursday Nights we are all Superstars!
Match #1: Vladimir Kozlov vs. Santino Marella
Santino got a HUGE reaction from the crowd. Remember, Santino is from Mississauga, Ontario (Once home of the Ice Dogs of the OHL).
Before the match officially began, Marella grabbed a hold of the microphone and said the crowd reaction was nice. He then addressed a couple things to Kozlov. First he discussed changes and wanted Kozlov to be his tag team partner. Marella then ripped on William Regal and mentioned that they both trained in MMA. Marella then did his Cobra and his Leg Sweep. Marella said that Kozlov was strong and he was so fast that he made sounds when he punches.
The crowd chants for Marella once again. Marella told Kozlov that one thing in common was that they came overseas to become WWE Superstars. Marella then did some “USA” chants and he got booed immensely for that. Marella then tried to cover it up and did a “North America” chant, but no dice from the crowd. Marella then referenced a Rocky movie about how Americans and Russians can become friends after fighting. Marella then said once he dropped the mic they could do two things. The first choice was that they could fight. The second choice was to leave the ring and become a great tag team. Marella then mentioned that Chris Bosh (The highly coveted NBA free agent who in fact played in Toronto last year) would leave as well.
Goose Mahoney, MY favorite referee, called for the bell and immediately Marella tried to avoid Kozlov’s attacks. Though Marella tried to be nice, Kozlov clobbered Marella with a few headbutts to the chest and the first match was quickly over…
Finish: Vladimir Kozlov draped the Iron Curtain on Santino Marella and secured the quick pinfall victory.
Winner via Pinfall: Vladimir Kozlov
Grade: D (would be INC, but I was entertained at the start)
Tonight’s Main Event: Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian. All is right in the world.
Hype for Over The Limit. Edge vs. Randy Orton was featured.
Top 25 Big Man List on WWE.com plug. I read the list and I do not agree with this at all!
Match #2: Goldust vs. William Regal
In a contest between two highly-skilled veterans, both Regal and Goldust picked parts of the opponents’ body and addressed them for the majority of the match. Goldust attacked Regal’s wrist a good bit, while Regal attacked the chest and back area. The match was stopped at one point because Goldust was bleeding at the side of the face. The highlights of the contest were the Scoop Slam and the way he was countering most of Regal’s moves. The highlights for Regal of course were his ability to apply hold and the Regal Plex. The finish, you ask?
Finish: Goldust countered the Knee Trembler and hit the Final Cut on William Regal. Goldust got the pinfall victory and one more victory than many of us thought he would get after he got drafted to RAW.
Winner by Pinfall: Goldust
Grade: C (leaned towards a C+)
We then see a brief recap of NXT from last Tuesday. We watched Michael Tarver’s last words and blamed WWE Management for his departure. As for Daniel Bryan, he heard about politics and he said he was a self-made man. Then there was one man who ripped on him and it was Michael Cole. Bryan then approached Cole and verbally and physically kicked his f’n head in! It was beautiful.
NXT…The Final Four…Elimination Next Week! My bet is Heath Slater.
Match #3: Cody Rhodes (w/ a new jacket) vs. Chris Masters
This contest featured a powerful Chris Masters and a re-invented Cody Rhodes. In this contest, Masters demonstrated better ring poise and power. Rhodes was technical and really worked Masters’ left arm. Rhodes dominated the match with attacks to the arm as well as punches and ground work. Masters was strong with shoulder tackles and clotheslines. However, in the end Masters attempted the Masterlock but could not get it locked in…
Finish: Instead of the hold being broken, Rhodes grabbed hold of Masters and hit the Cross Rhodes and secured the pinfall victory. Surprisingly a good match.
Winner by Pinfall: Cody Rhodes
Grade: C+ (leaned towards a C)
Hype for Over The Limit. Batista vs. Cena was featured in this match.
Thank you Fit for Rivals for the mediocre song for WWE’s Over the Limit. They had a rundown of a few of the matches for the Pay-Per-View.
Next: MAIN EVENT!!
Plug for WWE’s Best of PPV Matches 2009-2010 on DVD.
WWE Magazine Plug. John Cena is on the cover, oh great.
And Now…YOUR MAIN EVENT!!!!
Match #4: Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian
Christian got a HUGE pop from the Ottawa crowd! Good for him on this. WWE, take notice of him.
The contest featured two of the most underrated WWE Superstars on the Smackdown roster. Ziggler featured impressive mat work in the ring, while Christian’s offense was simplified and entertaining. Ziggler addressed Christian’s back and at times the kidney area. Ziggler’s leg lariat was solid and he only had one bad moment. Christian on the other hand, used all the ring space. He used the corners to hit the Flying Elbow and Missile Dropkick. He countered both of Ziggler’s finishing moves. He escaped the Sleeper hold, then held on to the ropes when Ziggler set up for the Zig Zag. After the failed Zig Zag, this happened…
Finish: As soon as Ziggler failed his move, Christian quickly responded with The Killswitch and covered Ziggler for the three count.
Winner via Pinfall: Christian.
Grade: B
Outro and now it was time for Impact!
Quick Results
Vladimir Kozlov def. Santino Marella
Goldust def. William Regal
Cody Rhodes def. Chris Masters
Christian def. Dolph Ziggler
Mike Hogewood did NOT slap his porpoise…oh wait…wrong recap!
Overall Thoughts
If you never read my ROH on HDNet recaps, this is the time where I present some thoughts on the show that I watched.
Santino Marella segment – I really enjoyed this promo. I found myself laughing a good bit. Marella really fed off the crowd and that added to the promo. Right now, Marella failed to woo Kozlov. But who knows, maybe they will be a tag team in the future.
Marella vs. Kozlov – It met its purpose. Kozlov had a choice, and he decided to walk alone. Good segment, but a squash match.
Goldust vs. William Regal – I expected this to solid, but I actually was a bit disappointed. It seemed really sloppy and I felt bad for Goldust. For once, Regal was the one that struggled. Goldust overall I would say was average. I think Regal needed a slower-paced match, while Goldust does wrestle a bit faster (as you seen on ECW).
Rhodes vs. Masters – I thought it was cool that Dusty’s boys won singles matches. This was a surprisingly good contest. Masters had improved a good bit on the last few Superstars appearances and showed to the viewers that he has staying power. Rhodes was just fantastic tonight. I could not complain as he knew what he could do with Masters and he did it very effectively.
Ziggler vs. Christian – This was fantastic. A Pay-Per-View quality match…on Superstars none the less. Like I said before, both were very crisp and worked well together. I just wished that they would main event a Smackdown because they had a heck of a program going. Let’s hope that both get titles before year’s end.
So, we overall had one solid promo and if you enjoyed wrestling this was a good show for you to watch.
The Raw contests were quicker and lacked a good bit, while Smackdown really made up for this show. For the first time in months, I have to say this show was the best of the week so far.
Overall Grade: B
Thanks for reading my only WWE Superstars Recap. Jeff Springer will be back next week with his own lesson plan.
Let me know what you thought about the recap. E-mail me: mistervwv@hotmail.com.
Facebook: Anthony J. Valvo (Pittsburgh, PA)
If you like my recaps please check out my fellow friends’ work on WrestleView.com. Honestly, you can’t find a better group of recappers out there.
Dave Stephens recaps Monday Night Raw
Josh Boutwell recaps TNA Impact
Mike Tedesco recaps WWE NXT and Friday Night Smackdown
Jeff Springer recaps WWE Superstars
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