WWE Superstars - February 22, 2013
by Scrooge McSuck
- With the addition of Main Event to the weekly lineup of television, Superstars, the previous home to the top midcards matches on television, seems to have taken a serious hit in quality, only airing two matches and extensive replays of big angle development on Monday Night Raw. For some reason, I felt like watching an episode, after roughly four months since last checking it out.
- Matt Striker and Tony Dawson are handling commentary for all the action. I guess Scott Stanford is out? I don't know who Dawson is, but I'm sure he's done NXT for WWE, and I'm too lazy to check.
Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre (w/ Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal):
You know what 3MD should do? Hire Great Khali as their bodyguard... I dunno, it's better than having him be a stupid, dancing babyface who occasionally wrestles. So much for that "Dream" Match of Sin Cara vs. Rey Mysterio, eh? Maybe at WrestleMania XXX, they'll do Sin Cara vs. El Generico (or as WWE would brand him, El Uncreativo). We dim the lights, because Sin Cara matches are contested under them at pure random. Sin Cara with kicks to the leg, followed by a body scissors takedown. McIntyre throws him down on a sack of potatoes, and boots him in the face. Sin Cara counters something off the ropes, taking McIntyre down with an arm dag. They end up fighting on the apron, with Cara leveling McIntyre with an enziguri, and then Slater interfering, pulling Cara off. McIntyre fireman carries Cara back onto the apron, and throws him into the ring, over the top rope, for a two count. He slaps on a modified Octopus Hold, but Cara fights free, only to be thrown down with a powerbomb while attempting a hurricanrana. McIntyre with a charging big boot for a two count as we take a break.We come back from commercials with McIntyre taking Sin Cara down with a delayed suplex for a two count. Sin Cara fights back with elbows and kicks, but gets knocked down with a charging forearm. McIntyre continues to pound away, and slaps on a chinlock. Sin Cara with another failed comeback attempt, and this time we get a lazy version of the crossface chicken wing. McIntyre goes for a sidewalk slam, but Sin Cars counters with an enziguri. He comes off the top with a handspring back elbow, followed by a hurricanrana. Superkick connects to the chest, and a top rope body press gets a two count. McIntyre catches him coming off the ropes with a side slam for a two count. He goes for a powerbomb, but Sin Cara counters with a facebuster. Plancha to the outside is caught by 3MD, but a baseball slide ends up taking them all out. Suddenly, the referee throws them from ringside, to which Sin Cara celebrates with some air guitar. McIntyre with a sneak attack, but a basement dropkick takes the knee out, and a running head scissors spike finishes McIntyre off at 9:34. Solid action throughout, with everything looking crisp. I only mention the latter because of the reputation of Sin Cara being a tad bit sloppy. Would've made for a very acceptable secondary Main Event match.
- Lengthy recap of the John Cena/CM Punk confrontation from Monday Night Raw. In short, CM Punk whined about being screwed again at Elimination Chamber (he did have the match won, Rock hit a referee and didn't get DQ'ed), and John Cena more than willingly offered up his shot at the Rock at WrestleMania XXIX, to shut Punk up once and for all. Until last night, I figured this might go either way, probably down a path to a triple threat... now a possible return has me thinking "Cena wins". I don't get Cena's motivation, either. Why put the title shot on the line? There was hardly any tugging at the cape to warrant it.
- More Recaps! Vicki Guerrero introduces Brad Maddox as the new Assistant to the Supervising Manager of Raw, or whatever the title is. Oh, and then Vince McMahon showed up via pre-taped promo and threatened to kick Paul Heyman's ass, this week, on Monday Night Raw. WATCH RAW!
Naomi & Cameron (w/ Brodus Clay) vs. Natalya & Alicia Fox:
I guess with the complete lack of rasslin' ladies, the Funkadactyls are being pushed into a more active wrestling role when it comes to television. I'm not sure what to think of that, but it can't be much worse than, say, Kaitlyn vs. Aksana Part 17. All four women are technically faces, for those wondering. Poor Natalya... I know certain members of the Hart Family have a reputation for carrying broomsticks to good matches, but a broomstick, mop, and dust pan? Nattie starts by working a wristlock on Cameron. They do a counter sequence until she grabs a headlock, then comes off the ropes with a shoulder tackle. Criss cross sequence ends with an arm drag from Cameron, followed by a monkey flip. Nattie with a knee to the midsection and a clothesline, then sits on Cameron for a one count. Looks like Nattie and Fox are heeling it up here. Cameron gets sent to the buckle, and Alicia with a Northern Lights for two. I guess the Diva and Women's Championships don't share the same heritage, despite a unification, as I'd like to dispute the claim of Alicis being the first African-American Champion (Jacqueline/Miss Jackie, 2000). Nattie with an airplane spin, because it's awesome. Naomi eventually gets the hot (and only) tag, and shows off her trampoline skills. She takes Alicia down with a head scissors, but blows whatever she was trying and covers up by... dancing? Ok. Alicia goes for a sunset flip, but Naomi blocks, sitting across the chest. She comes off the ropes with a diving elbow for a two count. Nattie and Cameron take it to the floor, as Naomi finishes Alicia off with a springboard body press at 5:02. Aside from Naomi's botch, this match had no right to be as good as it turned out to be. Maybe they should push Cameron as the worker of the team, rather than Naomi, who's clearly all flash and no sizzle.- We end the episode with the Rock revealing his new WWE Championship BELT. I still get a kick out of CM Punk throwing the old, spinner piece of crap down at John Cena, then pointing at Rock and screaming "I want THAT one", like a little, spoiled, brat.
Final Thoughts: I didn't expect to enjoy this episode so much, but I've been proven wrong yet again. I honestly was checking it out for Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre, which did deliver, but the Diva's Tag Match was surprisingly good, and even the heavily recapped stuff from Monday Night Raw was worth checking out again. I don't figure to check Superstars out too often, other than a from time to time basis, but this week is definitely one worth checking out.
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