WWE Superstars Recap, August 27, 2009
Taped on Monday, August 24 in Las Vegas and Tuesday, August 25 in Phoenix
By Alexander Coleman
-Before the show begins, The Miz is plugged along with WWE Superstars during the end credits of “America's Funniest Home Videos.” He is “AWESOME!” WGN America tells us to “Expect Everything.”
-WWE opening.
-Superstars opening.
-Pyro!!!
-Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduce us to Superstars. They hype Finlay vs. Mike Knox vs. Dolph Ziggler as tonight's main event—provided by Smackdown—with the winner going to Breaking Point to challenge Rey Mysterio. Well, that was the plan but the Wellness Policy has doubtless changed things.
-Jack Swagger and Primo are given introductions. Cole and Lawler put over the idea that Swagger needs to find himself back on a winning track after taking the loss at SummerSlam. Turns out putting MVP over at SummerSlam was the correct decision, since he was immediately thrown into a program with JeriShow the next night.
-Jack Swagger vs. Primo
Decent “Primo!” chant to start. Swagger with a waistlock takedown followed by an armbar. Primo tries to power out but Swagger kicks him in the gut. Back to the mat with the arm hold. Primo powers back out with a flip, and then delivers several kick strikes. Primo's rally continues with a legsweep kick and a legdrop. That gets Primo two. Primo with an armbar of his own. Swagger pushes Primo into the corner and knees him in the gut. A clubbing blow to the back of the head sends Primo down. Another kick, and Swagger whips Primo into the opposite corner, only to run into a headscissors takedown from Primo. Swagger backdrops Primo onto the ring apron, and Primo gives Swagger a shoulderblock to the gut and flips himself back into the ring. Primo runs off the ropes, Swagger misses a lariat, but Swagger flapjacks him down on the next try. A stomp on the mat. Swagger whips Primo into the opposite corner, which Primo conveniently sells like a gun blast that sends him perfectly back-first on the mat for Swagger's Vader Bomb. Swagger connects, but rather than go for the pin, he does some push-ups. Swagger with a waistlock on the mat. “Primo!” chant. I'd say it's time for them to figure out something for Primo to do, because for whatever reason, fans want to cheer him. Primo with some elbow strikes to get out of Swagger's hold, they both get up, Primo delivers a punch or two, runs off the ropes, but Swagger kicks him and applies an abdominal stretch. Cole points out that the abdominal stretch is a submission maneuver. Lawler and Cole talk about how Swagger's been in a rotten mood since losing at SummerSlam. Primo finally reverses Swagger's abdominal stretch into one of his own, but that lasts for about one second and Swagger throws him to the apron. Primo hangs onto the ropes but Swagger elbows him down to the floor. Swagger soaking in some heel heat as Cole speculates as to what will happen next.
-Commercial break.
Swagger whips Primo into the ropes and backdrops him onto the mat. Cole says Swagger has been dominating Primo throughout the commercial break. Clubbing blow to the back by Swagger on the mat. Swagger applies a modified Rings of Saturn hold on Primo. “Primo!” chant starts up again. Primo slowly gets back up, kicks Swagger in the gut, comes off the ropes and a backdrop attempt by Swagger is countered into a sunset flip for only one. Swagger grabs Primo's legs, which gets Swagger a two count, then catapults Primo face-first into the top turnbuckle. Swagger looking for another Vader Bomb and it only finds canvas as Primo rolls away. Primo goes up to the top rope with a high flying chop, Primo runs off the ropes and connects with a spinning elbow, a lariat follows that and Primo is “all fired up!” according to Cole with a dropkick. Springboard crossbody from the middle rope results in a two count for Primo. Primo reverses Swagger's lariat attempt and swiftly applies a side Russian legsweep that looked like Bret Hart's. One, two, no.
Swagger comes back out of nowhere with a belly-to-belly suplex. Swagger is the anti-Cena. He sweats a lot. Swagger grabs Primo on the mat and appears to be looking for his Gutwrench Powerbomb. Primo blocks it and reverses Swagger's attempt into a rollup for two. Swagger grabs Primo and holds him in the corner. Punches to Primo. A whip into the opposite corner but a charge finds only a pair of Primo's boots. Primo up to the top rope, Swagger immediately rolls away, Primo's apparent chop attempt finds nothing and Primo tweaks his knee. Swagger with a vicious lariat from behind and the Gutwrench Powerbomb finishes Primo off at approximately 13:00.
Winner: Jack Swagger in 13:00. Swagger goes to the floor and grabs the house mic. “You are looking at the only Superstar born to be United States Champion. So, Kofi Kingston, you better forget about everyone else, because the only person you need to worry about is the two-time, two-time, All-American American, and future United States Champion, Jack Swagger!” Swagger with a big smile. He taunts some people in the crowd. This was a rock solid TV match from both men, though Swagger looked awfully tired and out of wind near the end. Wonder what that post-match promo means for what was before a very linear storyline of The Miz climbing up the Raw roster to confront Kingston at a future date. One day, when Swagger is truly, resoundingly over, his tease of the Gutwrench Powerbomb into the abdominal stretch is going to make people “ooh” and “aah.” (**¼)
-Ask the Divas segment.
-We see Shane Helms walk into a room and, oh my goodness, a second later he comes out and he's The Hurricane! Astonishing!
-Commercial break.
-The Rise and Fall of WCW DVD is plugged.
-Hurricane Helms and Paul Burchill with Katie Lea Burchill are given full ring introductions. ECW announcers Josh Matthews and Matt Striker introduce us to the ECW portion of the telecast. Striker points out the appropriateness of Matthews declaring that Breaking Point is brought to us by the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.
-The Hurricane vs. Paul Burchill with Katie Lea Burchill
Snapmare by Hurricane, armlock, Burchill with a shoulderblock knockdown. Hurricane gets Burchill in a compromising position and kicks him in the gut with his legs outstretched. Hurricane with some more offense, and a clothesline sends Burchill to the floor. Hurricane goes for a crossbody splash from the ring to the floor but Burchill moves out of the way. Burchill goes on offense with a side headlock in the ring. Falling neckbreaker by Burchill. One, two, no. Burchill with a standing reverse armlock, Hurricane powers out and a Lou Thesz press into fists follows. Burchill goes for a splash in the corner but Hurricane counters with the European uppercut. Hurricane holds his arm up. A lariat attempt misses and Burchill delivers his Styles-esque double pele kick to Hurricane for two. Hurricane with some more basic offense and he goes for the Shining Wizard but Burchill roll to the outside. Hurricane follows him and sets up a suplex from the apron to the ring but Katie grabs Paul's leg and Hurricane is given a hangman by Burchill on the top rope. Schoolboy rollup gives Burchill the victory.
Winner: Paul Burchill in 5:00. I'm just not very impressed by this pairing. Something is missing. However, this match was better-paced than their recent contest on ECW, which was too long for its own good. The right man went over here. We'll see how the rubber match plays out. (¾*)
-Tonight: Dolph Ziggler vs. Mike Knox vs. Finlay! Winner takes on Mysterio at Breaking Point! Or maybe not.
-Commercial break.
-SummerSlam is revisited.
-Did You Know? WWE is the King of Content. They will create more original hours of TV this year than HBO and Showtime put together. This week's Did You Know? tidbit is rudely interrupted by a video package about The Undertaker. Guess that is the de facto Superstar Profile of the Week. That Taker is such a rebel. Who is he paying off to turn out the arena lights at the Staples Center, play his music and now interrupt this Did You Know? segment?
-Jim Ross and Todd Grisham talk about how shocking Taker's return at SummerSlam was. They then hype tomorrow night's Smackdown main event inside a steel cage between Jeff Hardy and CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. How many times has a guy who everyone knew was going away for a while had their last match be a brutal cage match? The Rock comes to mind immediately, the night after WrestleMania X-7.
-Dolph Ziggler is introduced. He grabs the mic and talks about how Mysterio's win at SummerSlam was a fluke. He says after he beats Finlay and Knox, he's going to Breaking Point “to become the new Intercontinental Champion... unless my name isn't Dolph... Ziggler.” He stands in the ring as we go to break.
-Commercial break.
-WrestleMania XXV will receive its world television premiere this Saturday night.
-We return with Mike Knox halfway down the aisle to the ring. After he gets into the ring, Finlay is introduced. You've got to feel bad for WWE sometimes. Here they try to make Superstars feel more important this week with a match to determine a Breaking Point bout, and Mysterio has to go and get caught with whatever he was caught with to spoil it. How about this? Next week give us some CM Punk on Superstars, please.
-Dolph Ziggler vs. Mike Knox vs. Finlay
Announcers continually hype the eventual Breaking Point match that this contest will shape. Or would have shaped. Three men stare at each other to start. Finlay scurries to the outside and Ziggler follows. A tough shot to Ziggler by Finlay and Knox follows them and beats on Finlay back in the ring. Big running splash in the corner by Knox. Big powerslam by Knox gets him one or two before Ziggler interrupts. Knox with a few blows to Ziggler. Whip into the corner and another big splash, this time to Ziggler. Finlay clotheslines Knox out of the ring. He stomps Ziggler. Gives Knox another kick and follows him to the outside. Knox tastes ringside guardrail. Then he dines on the ringpost. Ziggler with a running baseball side kick attempt but Finlay repeats their Smackdown spot and traps Ziggler in the literal apron. Finlay pounds away. Goes for ap in in the ring but Knox interrupts. Knox stomps Finlay and then gives Ziggler a punch. Kick to Finlay. But Knox turns around into Ziggler's dropkick. Knox to the outside. Finlay with some European uppercuts to Ziggler. Finlay with a huge lariat. One, two, no.
Knox is still on the outside and a slugfest erupts between Finlay and Ziggler. Lariat sends Ziggler down. Kneedrop leads to a one count. Finlay tries to set up a superplex but they kind of botch the spot... Knox returns and gives Finlay the electric chair from behind. Knox is getting better at the facial expressions right now. Ziggler with a huge legdrop attempt from the top turnbuckle but it finds only canvas. All three men down as we depart.
-Commercial break.
-WWE Superstars Encore is hyped vis-a-vis Captain Charisma, the Pontiff of the Peepulation, Christian. He tells us to “Expect... Everything...”
-We return with Knox firmly in control kicking and kneeing a fallen Ziggler. Finlay is given equal treatment by Knox. A stomp sends Finlay to the outside. Ziggler with some punches to Knox, followed by mini-dropkicks to Knox's left kneecap. Ziggler with a DDT or suplex attempt but it's not happening until Finlay helps and they both suplex Knox. Predictably, Ziggler and Finlay can't agree as to who should pin Knox, so that leads to Finlay throwing Ziggler's to the outside. Cannonball splash by Finlay leads to a two count. He kicks Knox. Two elbowdrops. Another two count. Ziggler is just getting on the ring apron and Finlay baseball slide kicks him “into next week,” according to Grisham, to the floor. Finlay works Ziggler over but Knox follows them and pounds away on Finlay. Finlay eats ring apron as Knox then pursues Ziggler. Ziggler fights back with some punches but Knox shoves Ziggler into the ring apron back-first. Knox grabs Ziggler by his beautiful, sweaty hair. Knox throws Ziggler into the ring but Finlay is already there and he kicks Knox away. Ziggler and Finlay knock each other out on their feet with colliding heads. And Knox impresses everyone with a big, running crossbody splash on both men. Pin attempt yields no victory for Knox, however because Ziggler interrupts the count to save Finlay and himself. Finlay back in control with the Running Hills drop on Ziggler. One, two, no, Ziggler moves his right shoulder up. All three men selling exhaustion.
Finlay with a kick to Knox but Ziggler takes his opening and pounds away on Finlay. Whips Finlay into the corner, goes for his big running splash that I don't think will ever connect and he misses yet again. Finlay with an armbar but that is quickly interrupted by Knox delivering a big boot to Finlay's face. Knox with a double underhook suplex to Ziggler. Knox goes after Finlay but he eats two boots to his face in the corner. Finlay with a big lariat off the middle turnbuckle but that only gets two. Finlay kicks Knox around. Knox grabs the shillelagh but his efforts to use it are turned around by Finlay's Celtic Cross. But Finlay is disallowed from pinning Knox by Ziggler grabbing Finlay and throwing him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Ziggler gets the victory by pinning Knox, who was felled by the Celtic Cross. JR and Grisham talk up Ziggler's presence of mind and cunning. Looks like Smackdown has a new blonde, “Opportunistic” heel now that Edge is both out and almost surely returning as a babyface. Ziggler grins ear to ear on the ramp as he looks at the fallen Knox and Finlay. Show concludes with a shot of Ziggler beaming as his music plays in the background. JR and Grisham do the hard sell for the cage match on Smackdown one more time as we are now out.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler in 14:00. Excellent, “bruiser” triple threat match. Interesting to see Ziggler play the outmatched “smaller” heel against the imposing Knox and Finlay as contrast to his matches with Mysterio. Just about perfectly booked, as it elevated the three guys in the ways that mattered: Ziggler continues to look smart, Finlay looks as tough as nails (and I don't care if he's 106, he can still go and he brings something different to the table) and Knox was given plenty of offense to make himself look credible as being a ruthless monster who belongs in the IC Title hunt. (**¾)
Summary: Now this is more like it. 32 minutes of wrestling. What if Raw delivered 64 minutes of wrestling? Would the world stop spinning on its axis? Two very solid or excellent television matches with a harmless, shorter one thrown in for good measure. And the filler was surprisingly down, as there was no “Raw Rebound” or any such other silliness. Taker got some face time, and SummerSlam was talked about a lot, but the focus is already on the road to Breaking Point and on Superstars we get to see the respective hunts for the two big brands' respective secondary titles play out. Have a great weekend, everyone.
Related Posts:
- Raw Recap, 9/14/09
- Raw Recap, 8/31/09
- The Return of the Raw Recap, 1/04/10
- Raw Recap
- Over the Limit Recap
Tags: 24, Batman, Bret Hart, CM Punk, DVD, ECW, Edge, House, Jeff Hardy, Michael Cole, Miz, MMA, RAW, Smackdown, Sting, The Rock, TV, Undertaker, Vader, WCW, Wrestlemania, WWE
Isn’t this the first match Paul Burchill has won in his current identity? I honestly don’t remember the last time he won.
I’m really pleased that they’re starting to build a storyline around Swagger and Miz wanting the US title. This is exacly what those two and Kofi need – none of them are ready for the top tier but they should be getting the chance to shine in the mid-card. Then they can have main events on Raw where those guys team with main eventers (e.g. Cena/Kofi vs. Orton/Swagger) so that fans start to see them as potential stars. That’s what Smackdown has been doing to perfection in the past few months and it’s such a simple formula.
JLAJRC: I could have sworn I saw Burchill score a victory on ECW way back in April against someone, but maybe I’m wrong. He looked strong in the match, but at this moment I can’t remember who he was wrestling and what the finish was. But you’re right, he almost never, ever wins.
thebeast, completely agree. My only quibble is they already had The Miz positioned well as the upstart heel challenging the top face in the company and they seemingly blew it off in dissatisfying fashion. Unless they are taking a long-road perspective with it and building Miz up, let’s say, over the course of the next six or seven months and bringing back around to make a stronger showing against Cena or possibly even beat him. His rematch with Cena the night after The Bash was a step in the right direction, but in any case…
Cena/Kofi vs. Orton/Swagger would make for a potentially fine future Raw main event.