WWE Superstars Results
November 3, 2011
Report by: Jason Namako of Wrestleview.com
Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s recap of WWE Superstars. If you are all ready, the intro has hit, Adelitas Way is playing the opening theme, and let’s get on with the show!
We kick of things this week with our lone Smackdown match, with announcers Jack Korpela & Matt Striker.
Justin Gabriel vs. Jinder Mahal
Before the match begins, Mahal cuts a promo in his native Punjabi language. Unfortunately, I do not have my Punjabi translator on me to translate what he said, so with that out of the way, the bell sounds and we are underway.
Lock-up and Mahal with a knee to the gut. Mahal with another knee to the gut, then setups for a suplex. Gabriel counters and goes for an O’Connor Roll, however Mahal holds on to the ropes to prevent that from happening. Mahal misses a clothesline, and Gabriel crucifixes Mahal into a Sunset Flip for a nearfall. Gabriel with an armdrag into an armbar. Mahal gets back to his feet and Irish whips Gabriel. Mahal goes for a hiptoss, but Gabriel counters and sweeps out Mahal’s leg, but only gets a 1 count. Gabriel wrenches Mahal’s arm, then Irish whips him to the corner. Gabriel charges and connects with a running forearm that sends Gabriel out onto the apron. Gabriel goes to head up top, but Mahal catches him with a knee that sends Gabriel crashing to the outside.
Mahal goes out after Gabriel and drives him backfirst into the ring apron. Mahal rolls Gabriel back into the ring and gains a nearfall. Mahal locks in a rear chinlock, as the crowd tries to get behind Gabriel. Gabriel gets back to his feet, and breaks Mahal’s grip with back elbows. Gabriel with a right hand, but misses a roundhouse kick, and Mahal scores with a back suplex for a nearfall. Mahal chokes Gabriel across the ring ropes, and then drives a succession of knees into the sternum of Gabriel. Mahal talks trash to the fans, then Irish whips Gabriel and catches him with a back elbow for another nearfall. Mahal sends Gabriel hard into the turnbuckles with an Irish whip. Mahal talks more trash to the fans, then connects with a neckbreaker for another nearfall. Mahal locks in a cravate as the crowd tries to will Gabriel back into this match. Gabriel gets back to his feet, and tries to break Mahal’s grip with back elbows, but Mahal drives right back down to the mat with a club to the back. Mahal underhookes Gabriel, and connects with a butterfly suplex. Mahal takes a little bit too much time taunting the crowd, and misses with a knee drop, allowing Gabriel a chance to recover. Gabriel picks himself back up in the corner as Mahal prepares to charge. Mahal charges, but misses with a running knee.
Gabriel connects on some kicks, and then nails Mahal with a spin kick to send Mahal to the mat. Gabriel with an Irish whip, Mahal reverses, but as Mahal prepares for a back body drop, Gabriel tiger flips off the back of Mahal, and connects with another spin kick. Gabriel goes for a springboard moonsault, but Mahal rolls out of the way. However, Gabriel was able to land on his feet, but misses a clothesline. Mahal setups for the Sands of Time, but Gabriel counters with back elbows. Mahal misses a clothesline, and Gabriel hits a STO. Gabriel rolls out to the apron, and heads up top.
Gabriel hits the 450 Splash for the victory.
Winner: Justin Gabriel by pinfall (450 Splash)
-Commercial-
Back from commercial we go to the RAW portion of this week’s show, with announcers Josh Mathews & Scott Stanford.
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Tyson Kidd
Lock-up and Tatsu with a waistlock. Kidd counters with a hammerlock, but Tatsu counters with one of his own. Tatsu with a side headlock, into a takedown. Kidd counters with a headscissors, and we have a stalemate. Lock-up and Kidd with a wristlock. Tatsu counters out, using the ropes to backflip, and armdrags Kidd down. Tatsu goes for his roundhouse, and Kidd scurries to the corner to avoid it. Another lock-up and Kidd brings Tatsu over to the corner. Kidd begins to break, but then nails Tatsu with a right hand. Tatsu spins Kidd around and fires back with a flurry of forearms, kicks, and right hands. Tatsu then chokes Kidd in the corner, before the referee has to move him away. Kidd gets back up, and Tatsu wrenches out his arm. Tatsu then drives Kidd’s arm across his own shoulder. Tatsu wrenches out the arm again, and chops Kidd down. Tatsu maintains the grip and chops Kidd back down. Tatsu still has the grip and Irish whips Kidd. However, Kidd reverses but Tatsu springs to the middle rope. But Kidd sees it and dropkicks Tatsu in the back of the legs, sending him crashing to the outside.
Kidd goes out after him, and Irish whips Tatsu hard into the ring apron. Kidd taunts the crowd, then rolls Tatsu back into the ring. Kidd drives his elbow across the nose of Tatsu, then picks him up and hits a snap suplex for a nearfall. Kidd locks in an underhook submission, as the crowd tries to will on Tatsu. Tatsu gets back to his feet, but Kidd knees him in the gut and clubs him across the back. Kidd with an Irish whip, but misses a clothesline and Tatsu crucifixes him for a nearfall. Kidd gets right back up and drills Tatsu with a back elbow. Kidd with a snapmare takeover, then kicks Tatsu hard in the back. Another snapmare by Kidd, and another kick to the back. Kidd chokes Tatsu in the ropes, then hits a neckbreaker for another nearfall. Kidd locks in a seated surfboard, with his knee across the back of Tatsu’s neck. Crowd wills on Tatsu, who gets back to his feet, and whips Kidd down to break the hold.
Kidd misses a clothesline, and Tatsu nails him with a chop. Tatsu hits a couple more chops to knock Kidd down. Tatsu with a scoop slam, and goes up top. Tatsu connects with an overhand chop for a nearfall. Tatsu goes after Kidd, but Kidd counters and drives Tatsu facefirst into the middle turnbuckle. Kidd hits a spin kick to the gut, and goes off the ropes, preparing to hit his running dropkick to the temple, however Tatsu catches him and jackknife pins him for a nearfall. Both men charge, and clothesline each other as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial as Tatsu nails Kidd with a succession of chops in the corner. Kidd tries to shove Tatsu away, but Tatsu nails a succession of kicks to send Kidd back to the corner. Tatsu charges and hits a Yakuza Kick, then gains a head of steam and nails Kidd with a running kick to the chest for a close nearfall. Crowd chants for Tatsu as he heads up top. Tatsu comes off, trying for his top rope spinning heel kick, but Kidd catches him and locks in the Sharpshooter. Tatsu tries to power out, but to no avail as Kidd screams for him to tap. Tatsu tries again, and this time is able to crawl over and reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Kidd chokes Tatsu on the bottom rope, but misses with a slingshot leg drop as Tatsu moves out of the way. Kidd on the apron, as Tatsu nails with a shoulder thrust. Tatsu goes for the roundhouse, but Kidd ducks and nails him with an enziguri kick to the back of Tatsu’s head. Kidd goes for a springboard elbow drop, but Tatsu gets the feet up. However, Kidd saw it coming in mid-air, and changed direction on the way down, landing on his feet. Kidd setups for the Sharpshooter again, but Tatsu blocks it, grabbing on to Kidd’s foot. Kidd tries to turn it into a half crab, but Tatsu reverses it into a roll-up for a nearfall.
Kidd charges, but Tatsu nails him with the roundhouse for the victory.
Winner: Yoshi Tatsu by pinfall (Roundhouse)
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, we go to the RAW Rebound, highlighting The Muppets as this week’s guest hosts before we get to our main event.
Main Event: “The Prince of Parkour” John Morrison vs. “The Great American Nightmare” Drew McIntyre
Lock-up and Morrison with a side headlock. Irish whip by McIntyre, and he nails Morrison with a back elbow. McIntyre taunts Morrison, but then Morrison single-legs McIntyre down. Morrison goes for a front facelock, but McIntyre is able to get to the ropes. Lock-up and McIntyre with a knee to the gut and a club across the back, sending Morrison to the mat. Headfirst goes Morrison off the top turnbuckle, but as McIntyre goes for a right hand, Morrison counters with a forearm. Morrison with another forearm, but McIntyre comes back with a kick to the gut, and then a straight right hand. McIntyre hits a jumping stomp across Morrison’s face, then hits a forearm. McIntyre goes for a scoop slam, but Morrison counters and goes off the ropes, but McIntyre catches and drills him with a big boot for a nearfall. McIntyre nails a couple of right hands while talking trash to Morrison. McIntyre goes for another right hand, but Morrison counters with a jawbreaker. Morrison comes off the ropes and connects with a rana that sends McIntyre to the outside. Morrison goes out after him and setups for something. Morrison springs off the steel steps, looking to hit a somersault attack, but McIntyre ducks and Morrison lands on his feet. Morrison though recovers and connects with a dropkick. McIntyre rolls under the ring to avoid Morrison. Morrison tries to go after him, but it was all a setup as McIntyre grabs on to Morrison’s arm and drives him shoulder first into the steel bars under the ring apron. McIntyre rolls Morrison back in and gains a nearfall. McIntyre stomps on the injured arm of Morrison, then pulls on it using the ropes as an advantage. McIntyre begins to break, then kicks at the ropes, doing more damage to Morrison’s arm. McIntyre places Morrison on the top turnbuckle, then slaps him out of sheer disrespect. Morrison fights back with forearms, and connects with the Flying Chuck that sends McIntyre to the outside. Morrison, however, is still clutching to his injured shoulder and his previously injured neck as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, as McIntyre has Morrison locked in an armbar, working over Morrison’s injured shoulder. Morrison tries to fight back with some right hands, but McIntyre shoves him away. McIntyre misses a forearm, but as Morrison comes off the other side and tries to slide under McIntyre’s legs, McIntyre catches him and viciously curb stomps Morrison hard to the mat for a close nearfall. McIntyre begins to get frustrated, as he mounts Morrison and rains in right hands. Crowd begins to chant for Morrison to try and will him back into this match. Irish whip by McIntyre, but as he setups for a back body drop, Morrison counters him with a kick to the chest. McIntyre charges, and Morrison sidesteps him, sending him over the ropes, but McIntyre is able to grab onto the ropes and land on the apron. McIntyre tries to grab a hold of Morrison, but Morrison drills him with a Pele-style kick.
Both men get back to their feet, as Morrison nails McIntyre with 2 running clotheslines, and a running dropkick. Morrison, fired up, connects with the Moonlight Drive for a close nearfall. Morrison setups for Starship Pain, but McIntyre is able to roll out of the way to the outside. McIntyre tries to catch his breath, but Morrison with a head of steam goes over the turnbuckles and connects with a twisting corkscrew plancha onto McIntyre on the outside. Morrison rolls McIntyre back into the ring, and begins to clap his hands, then his knees, measuring McIntyre for something. Morrison goes off the ropes, and connects with the Shining Knee. Morrison goes for a cover, but McIntyre is able to get his foot on the bottom rope before the referee can make a 3 count. Morrison tries to go after McIntyre on the apron, but the referee prevents him from doing so. This allows McIntyre to nail Morrison with a big boot for another close nearfall. McIntyre can’t believe it, and then unloads on Morrison with a succession of jumping stomps to the face. McIntyre goes for a suplex, but Morrison counters and goes off the ropes. McIntyre tries to catch him for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but Morrison counters and goes for a DDT. McIntyre shoves him away and connects with a sitout spinebuster for another close nearfall. McIntyre tries for another cover, but gets another nearfall. McIntyre is wondering what he has to do to win this match, then nails Morrison with a clothesline in the corner. McIntyre brings Morrison out and goes for a short-arm clothesline, but Morrison counters and hits a C4 for another close nearfall. Morrison can’t believe it as both men go to the apron. Morrison with a flurry of strikes to McIntyre but as he goes for a kick, McIntyre ducks and Morrison’s leg hits nothing but the steel ringpost. McIntyre comes back in, but only gets another nearfall as Morrison clutches his left foot.
McIntyre goes for a powerbomb, but Morrison tries to fight out. McIntyre lifts him off, allowing Morrison to land on his feet, but also his injured leg which Morrison instantly grabs. McIntyre kicks Morrison square in the leg, then underhookes him and connects with the Future Shock DDT for the win.
Winner: “The Great American Nightmare” Drew McIntyre by pinfall (Future Shock DDT)
McIntyre celebrates his victory, while Morrison clutches his leg in pain as we go to credits.
My Thoughts
I thought this was a pretty good episode of Superstars this week, something you all should definitely check out.
Remember before when I said the past couple of episodes were solid, but didn’t have that “Oomph” match that we were accustomed to seeing from Superstars, well we got it this week with Yoshi Tatsu and Tyson Kidd, who put on a really good match. These two have great chemistry with one another, Kidd plays a good cocky heel, and Tatsu is very good as a babyface. They have had similar good matches on NXT earlier this year, which I know NXT recapper Grash can attest it, and this one was just as good. I tip my cap to those for putting on a very entertaining and fun match.
Another match I thought was pretty good was the main event of Morrison & McIntyre. Now don’t get me wrong, this to me was a complete and utter McIntyre carry job, due to the fact that he has gotten so good in the ring over the last year, its incredible. However, I have to say that Morrison did a good job here of playing a sympathetic babyface, selling the shoulder and leg at the end, getting the crowd behind, and while he did pull off some of his usual flashy stuff, it was done in a matter that made it work in the context of the match, and if he can continue to do that, then he will hopefully change a lot of our opinions about him.
The opener of Gabriel & Mahal was solid, and Gabriel fits a lot better as a babyface than as a heel. He does a good job on the sell, and is starting to show some babyface fire, but he needs to keep that up so he get the crowd behind him, or he is just going to wind up being nameless babyface #3. Mahal IMO, has improved by being on Superstars and getting to work long-form matches, a far cry from the squashes he did on Smackdown that were not so good. This has helped him improved in a great deal and at least proven to me that he does have a place on the main roster.
Overall, a really good episode of Superstars, after many weeks, they finally got out of their rut and put a fun and entertaining hour of wrestling and I definitely recommend you all checking it out.
My Grade: B+
Well, that will do for me this week. I want to thank you all for reading and I will see you on Monday with the Ring of Honor & FCW Recaps. See ya next week!