WWE Superstars
May 14, 2009
Dayton, OH/Columbus, OH
Report by: Mike Tedesco of WrestleView.com
?Yes, sir, we promised you a great Main Event?? The WWE video leads us into the show.
The Superstars video plays and we immediately hear Rey Mysterio’s music. Jim Ross and Todd Grisham welcome us to the Smackdown portion of Superstars and they?re joined at the announcer’s table by John Morrison.
Our Main Event will be Big Show vs. Hornswoggle. Since Vickie Guerrero made John Cena compete Monday in an exhibition match, she’s returning the favor for Big Show. Not quite an even match-up.
Rey Mysterio vs. Shelton Benjamin
The referee calls for the bell and the match begins. They circle the ring and lock up but Benjamin quickly turns it into a waist lock takedown. Mysterio fights up but Benjamin executes a waist lock takedown throw and Mysterio quickly rolls out of the ring.
Mysterio takes his time getting back in the ring and when he does they lock up and Benjamin quickly gets him in a headlock. Mysterio whips him off but gets shoulder blocked. Benjamin goes into the ropes, over Mysterio, then Mysterio leap frogs him, and Benjamin stuns him with a stiff kick to the midsection. Benjamin goes for a back suplex but Mysterio back flips and lands on his feet. Mysterio gets a waist lock but Benjamin turns it into one of his own. Mysterio then runs towards the ropes and the momentum causes Benjamin to fly to the outside.
Mysterio gets on the apron and hits a beautiful hurricanrana on Shelton Benjamin on the floor! Nice bump! The referee is counting them out so Mysterio throws Benjamin in the ring. Mysterio gets on the apron and springboards off the top rope for a cross-body but Benjamin counters it into a nasty rib breaker! Benjamin stomps Mysterio’s ribs before putting him in the corner and pounding him until the ref makes him back up. Benjamin front suplexes Mysterio onto the top rope and leaves him hanging there. Benjamin then kicks Mysterio in the face and Mysterio goes off the top rope to the outside, near the announce table.
Shelton Benjamin eyes John Morrison from inside the ring before dragging Mysterio in from the outside. Benjamin hits a snapmare and gets a one count. Benjamin locks on a seated waist lock, concentrating on the ribs. Mysterio fights up and elbows out. Benjamin counters a whip into the corner and charges but Mysterio moves and drop toe holds Benjamin into the middle turnbuckle. Mysterio goes into the ropes, gets on Benjamin’s shoulders, goes for a hurricanrana roll-up but rolls through, and kicks Benjamin in the head, giving him a two count. Mysterio dropkicks Benjamin into 619 position and goes for it but Benjamin kicks him in the ribs as he’s executing it! Mysterio falls to the outside, giving us a chance to go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Mysterio’s body twisted in an abdominal stretch. Mysterio eventually elbows out and goes into the ropes only to get a flapjack for a two and a half count. Benjamin locks Mysterio in a leg scissors, really cinching in on the ribs. He also locks on a headlock. The crowd gets behind Mysterio and he elbows out of the hold. Mysterio kick Benjamin in the ribs and goes into the ropes only to get a knee in the ribs. Benjamin continues the assault on the ribs and whips Mysterio back into his knee. Benjamin gets a lateral press for a two count.
Benjamin locks on a seated abdominal stretch and Mysterio looks really roughed up. Mysterio still fights out of it and breaks it with a kick to the head. Benjamin continues clubbing Mysterio and somehow it looks like Mysterio has tweaked his knee. Benjamin whips him into the opposite corner and charges into Mysterio’s boots. Mysterio goes to the top rope for a moonsault but Benjamin crotches him and Mysterio winds up in the Tree of Woe. Benjamin goes for a shoulder thrust but Mysterio sits up and he hits the ring post.
Mysterio now positions himself on the top rope and comes off with a seated senton. Mysterio ducks a clothesline and springboards off the second rope with a cross-body for a two count. Mysterio now goes for a wheelbarrow but Benjamin counters into a sick German suplex for a near fall! Benjamin pushes Mysterio into the corner and walks into a pair of back elbows. Mysterio springboards off the second rope with a moonsault block but Benjamin catches him and goes for a slam but Mysterio counters into a tornado DDT! Mysterio dropkicks Benjamin into 619 position and Mysterio hits it! Mysterio then springboards off the top rope with a splash and gets the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Rey Mysterio
Match Rating: ** ?
Mysterio limps to the back with the Intercontinental title. Benjamin gets out of the ring and he and John Morrison go face to face. Benjamin goes for a right hand but Morrison blocks it and lays him out with one punch. Benjamin slithers away as Morrison puts his sunglasses on and leaves. It should be noted that John Morrison was great on commentary, really driving home his new ?nice guy? persona.
The give the ?Tale of the Tape? of the Hornswoggle vs. Big Show match. It’s hilarious to see the difference in shoe sizes: Big Show is an 18 6E boot while Hornswoggle is a mere 5 ? inches. This should be interesting.
Backstage, the World’s Strongest Man is warming up with Tony Atlas. He?ll compete against Christian next.
-Commercial Break-
They play a really terrific Superstars video of Batista. This is a really great, unique addition to the show.
Josh Matthews and Matt Striker welcome us to the ECW portion of Superstars. The ECW Champion will be in a non-title match against Mark Henry.
Mark Henry vs. Christian
The bell sounds and the match begins. They lock up and Henry immediately powers Christian down on his face. Henry goes for a big stomp but Christian rolls out of the way. Henry goes to locks up but Christian surprises him with a waist lock. Henry backs him into the corner and hits a back elbow to Christian’s face. Henry clubs him down and stomps him a few times. Henry whips Christian hard into two turnbuckles and Christian goes down to the mat. Henry kicks Christian and steps on his face, using the ropes for support. Henry picks him up and lays him out with a big right hand. Henry sends Christian into the ropes and Christian ducks two clothesline attempts but can?t duck a kick to the midsection. Henry hits a big kick to the face and Christian rolls out of the ring. Henry slides to the outside and Christian quickly slides in. Henry attempts to come back in but Christian hits a baseball slide. Henry looks flabbergasted as we go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Christian held in a neck vice. Christian gets a desperation kick to the head to break the hold but Henry quickly bounces back with a big stomp. Henry locks back on the neck vice.
During the break, Christian charged Henry on the outside and got annihilated with an avalanche. Henry then gorilla pressed Christian into the top rope and Christian fell off the apron into Henry’s arms, and Henry slammed him into the ring’s edge.
Back to live action Henry still has the neck vice on but Christian fights up and punches out. Christian charges into a clothesline and Tony Atlas cheers on from outside. Henry covers for a two and a half count. Christian gets in the corner and kicks Henry a few times before jumping off the second rope into a bear hug. Henry holds it on for a while before picking Christian up and slamming him into the corner. Henry covers for a two and a half count. Henry stands on Christian’s chest and uses the ropes for support. Henry hits a shoulder thrust in the corner and backs up for a charge but Christian moves.
Christian gets the crowd into it as he lays in some right hands, goes into the ropes, and hits a clothesline the doesn?t move Henry. Christian goes back into the ropes for the same result. Christian goes for a whip but Henry doesn?t move and instead whips Christian into the corner. Henry charges into Christian’s boots and Christian comes off the middle turnbuckle with a missile dropkick. Christian goes to the top rope now and floors Henry with a missile dropkick. Christian covers but Henry presses him off at the two count!
Christian goes for the Kill Switch but Henry doesn?t budge. Christian goes into the ropes and gets turned inside out with a clothesline. Henry covers with for a CLOSE two and a half count. Henry goes for a gorilla press but Christian slides off and lands on his feet. Christian goes to the corner and Henry charges into his boot. Christian goes for a tornado DDT but Henry simply slams him back into the corner. Henry backs up, taunts the crowd, and charges into Christian’s boot. Christian goes for a diving sunset flip but Henry doesn?t move and instead goes for a standing Banzai drop but Christian moves, jumps off the second rope with a cross-body block and covers Henry for the win! This was a good match!
Winner by Pinfall: Christian
Match Rating: **
Christian quickly bolts out of the ring as Henry looks upset in the ring. Christian grabs his hunk of silver and backs up the ramp.
Still to come tonight is the strange match-up of Big Show vs. Hornswoggle.
-Commercial Break-
Did you know that WWE Television programs can be seen in 465 million homes worldwide ? more than the NBA, MLB, and the NFL combined? Don?t they hit us with that ?fact? every week? Get some new material!
It’s time for the Raw Rebound, brought to us by WWE Mobile. My only question is what were Rhodes and DiBiase waiting for? Orton was getting whooped the whole time while they were ?out of commission? only for them to run out like nothing happened to save Orton. I don?t know ? between the two second ?no contact? rule, Cena competing after they said last week he?d be cleared to compete only at Judgment Day, and that Main Event, Raw, in my mind, left a little more to be desired. I think they should just do these Raw Rebounds with the Santino Marella skits.
Michael Cole and Jerry ?The King? Lawler welcome us to the Raw portion of Superstars. They run down the Judgment Day card, which looks pretty good. Judgment Day, for years, has always felt a little weird to me. The last good one I remember was Judgment Day 2000. All the rest were kind of lackluster. Maybe this one will be the first really good one in nine years.
Hornswoggle and Big Show are seen warming up. Big Show is really into this one. They?re up next.
-Commercial Break-
As Big Show comes out we see the footage from Backlash of him Chokeslamming John Cena through that spotlight. That was an impressive spot. They then show Cena’s return the next night on Raw, costing Big Show a WWE Championship opportunity. Then we hear Vickie saying Cena won?t be cleared until two weeks at Judgment Day. We then see Big Show annihilate a defenseless John Cena, who couldn?t even lift his arms up. Don?t worry, next week he was just fine, wrestling Miz. Anyway, it?ll be Big Show vs. John Cena at Judgment Day and that should be a good match.
Big Show vs. Hornswoggle
Jack Doan calls for the bell and Hornswoggle looks terrified. Big Show motions his hand for Hornswoggle to come closer. Hornswoggle shakes his head ?no? as Lawler asks if this is an official match or an exhibition, just in case there’s a difference. The go ?nose to nose? and the height difference is laughable. Big Show looks down before grabbing Hornswoggle and gorilla pressing him. He teases throwing him over the top rope to the outside a few times before sitting him on the top rope. Big Show talks trash before backing up.
Big Show lays down and is going to allow Hornswoggle to do his Tadpole Splash. Hornswoggle goes for it and Big Show rolls out of the way. This is sad. Big Show viciously grabs Hornswoggle and puts him back on the top rope. Big Show teases that he’s going to do his Knockout Punch until Goldust’s music hits and he runs down to make the unlikely save. Goldust ducks a clothesline and digs into Big Show with some right hands, causing a disqualification.
Winner by Disqualification: Big Show
Match Rating: No stars
Big Show pushes Goldust down and goes to pick him up but Goldust stuns him with an uppercut. Goldust head for Big Show and Big Show clobbers him a few times before hitting a Chokeslam! Big Show stands over Goldust and locks on a modified Camel Clutch for a few seconds. Big Show leaves the ring as Goldust lies motionless in the ring. Hornswoggle runs in to check on him as Big Show backs up the ramp to end the show.
Quick Match Results
Rey Mysterio def. Shelton Benjamin (non-title)
Christian def. Mark Henry (non-title)
Big Show def. Hornswoggle via DQ
Bump of the Night: Mysterio’s hurricanrana on Benjamin on the outside!
Match of the Night: Rey Mysterio vs. Shelton Benjamin ** ?
Mike’s Thoughts
Rey Mysterio and Shelton Benjamin had a hell of a match. I definitely saw a bunch of spots where Benjamin really roughed up Mysterio. I liked the stiffness in the match ? I always like a little realism with my wrestling. Mysterio is a pro and definitely dished some receipts of his own and they had a really good match. I liked that they used this match-up to also get over John Morrison, who was on commentary. He’s really funny. I?m interested to see how Mysterio competes tomorrow night after seeing how roughed up he was tonight.
What a pro Christian is. This guy can have a great match with anyone, it doesn?t matter who, what size they are, or what skill level they are. Don?t get me wrong ? Mark Henry pulled his weight here but he definitely needed someone like Christian to bring it all together. Great classic ?face in peril? match here with Christian getting the good upset win. I like how they booked the ending and the entire booking of the match itself. All great stuff and just another example of why Tuesday nights are that much more enjoyable around 10 o?clock eastern.
What a Main Event (note sarcasm)! That match was just sad. I admit to being a Hornswoggle fan. When he makes those little scared faces and winces, he just tugs at my heart strings. It’s like beating up a baby. I?m not sure where I?m going with this? Anyway, Goldust running down to make the save was just as bizarre as the match-up was but I guess it makes sense. Hornswoggle is a leprechaun so why not have him be saved by a guy dressed in gold who implies that he could be gay or bisexual. Weird way to end the show!
This was a good edition of Superstars, except for our Main Event, which was just sad. Regardless of that, over the past month since the show’s been on, they?ve been really delivering some strong wrestling. I?ve enjoyed the first month.
Final Rating: ** ?
E-Mail ? MikeyT817@hotmail.com
Be sure to check out my Smackdown recap tomorrow!
Thanks for reading!