WWE Superstars TV Report
October 29, 2009 - Week 29
Taped the Week of October 26
Report by James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

I'm covering the replay of WWE Superstars currently airing on WGN. So, follow along with the replay of the show, which started with Jack Swagger coming out to the ring for the opening match from the Raw brand. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcomed us to the show and said Swagger is still undefeated since making a vow to go undefeated in 2009. Primo then came out and Cole said he had a chat with Swagger, who said his streak is still in-tact despite Team Raw losing at Bragging Rights.

1 -- JACK SWAGGER vs. PRIMO COLON

Swagger with the early amateur holds that always seem to be just thrown out there instead of being part of Swagger actually trying to wear down Primo and take control for a few minutes. I'm not expecting Lou Thesz or Danny Hodge out there spending 15 minutes executing a hold then pausing then executing another hold, but Swagger seems to lose control of those holds early on that the crowd has been trained not to taken seriously. Crowd was hot for Primo tonight, though, and Swagger played a good heel feeding off their cheers to beat up on the lovable Primo. Swagger took a chinbreaker from Primo at 4:00, but Swagger came back with a lariat to the back of the head for a two count. Swagger tried to follow with a seated splash, but Primo moved. He then hit a flying Tatanka chop off a springboard to begin a full-fledged attack, but no three count. Primo tried to follow with a springboard cross-body, but Swagger blocked and nailed a big boot right to the face. Impact of the move took the wind out of the crowd, then Swagger dropped the gutwrench powerbomb for the pin and the win. Afterward, some of the defiant males in Buffalo cheered for Swagger's W. He then paraded around the ring in victory to make sure everyone knew about his win.

WINNER: Swagger in 6:00. Good match. Repeat was shorter than their previous Superstars singles match in August, but at the same level. No pun intended here, but Swagger has some swagger back after getting a rub being associated with Team Raw lately. There was just a different vibe to his character in this match, as if he carried himself more like a star and not a mid-carder who is stuck looking up at the glass ceiling. (*1/2)

Backstage: They showed Kelly Kelly on the way to the ring. She has Alicia Fox on the other side of the break.

[Commercial Break]

Video package: They came back for a video recap of the Jon Cena-Randy Orton Iron Man match at Bragging Rights. Gotta love the facial expression on Randy Orton during the still shot of him pressing the buttons on the pyro trying to blow up Cena.

[Q2]

2 -- KELLY KELLY vs. ALICIA FOX

Standard start with Alicia in control before Kelly made her comeback. Without Gail Kim in there to right the ship, the action fell apart during Kelly's comeback. Also, the result wasn't like last week for Kelly against Gail, as Alicia blocked Kelly's handspring elbow in the corner with her axe kick for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Alicia in 4:00. To recap the Raw Divas pecking order, it's Alicia, Kelly, and Gail Kim based on Kelly defeating Gail on last week's Superstars. Based on this logic, looks like Melina vs. Alicia for the Divas Title on the horizon. (1/2*)

Backstage: Hart Dynasty's Tyson Kidd and D.H. Smith were shown backstage talking to Mike Knox. Perhaps Dr. Knox will impart some wisdom to HD since they haven't beaten Cryme Tyme in...well...forever.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Zack Ryder came to the ring for ECW's contribution to the show. ECW announcers Josh Mathews and Byron Saxton were shown on-camera along with their 7/11 cups from Summerslam. Tyler Reks then came to the ring to a strong piped-in reaction. Different look with the hair pulled back. A significant upgrade over his recent generic look.

3 -- ZACK RYDER vs. TYLER REKS

Announcers drew attention to East Coast (Ryder) vs. West Coast (Reks) as Ryder took control early on in this one. We've seen this match-up before, which captures the repeat nature of the show this week. Reks made a comeback at 3:00 and delivered his "Ride The Wave" elbow drop for a two count. Crowd not quite at the recognition stage for Reks's signature move. Reks then missed with a corner attack and Ryder nailed the Zack Attack for the pin and the win. Ryder back in the win column after losing the #1 contender match to Yoshi Tatsu last week on ECW.

WINNER: Ryder in 5:00. Good win for Ryder, who looked like a star here. Reks should just happy to be on TV at this point until WWE figures out a consistent storyline for him. Match was fine with Ryder delivering hard-hitting offense to keep viewers interested. (*)

[Q3]

[Commercial Break]

Announcers: Todd Grisham and Matt Striker officially debuted as the Smackdown brand announcers to roll footage of a Big Show Superstars video profile. They followed with a recap of Team Smackdown winning at Bragging Rights thanks to the turncoat.

In-ring: R-Truth let us know what's up as he came to the ring for the main event six-man tag match. Lots of kids responding to Truth. Let's grab a break.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Cryme Tyme came to the ring to hook up with Truth for the six-man tag. The white guys then came out consisting of Kidd, Smith, Knox, and Natalya leading them to the ring. Begin tongue-in-cheek analysis: See how WWE just simplifies storylines into simple black and white issues so the kids can connect and engage? Also of note, it appears Shad has fully recovered from jobberitis.

[Q4]

4 -- CRYME TYME (SHAD GASPARD & JTG) & R-TRUTH vs. HART DYNASTY (TYSON KIDD & D.H. SMITH) & DR. MIKE KNOX

The two smallest men in the match, Tyson and JTG, started the match to set a quick pace for the action in the main event. Tyson then tagged in Dr. Knox, who entered and locked up with JTG, who didn't back down. Striker noted he didn't back down, but it's perhaps not wise. Grisham noted that Shad appears to have fully recovered from the flu. Enter shad to work on Knox, who missed with a clothesline and took a shoulder tackle, but Knox stayed on his feet. Knox then yanked Shad to the mat to begin working him over with HD's encouragement. Grisham called him an evil kinesiologist. At least he's not an evil dentist. Kane and Knox would make an interesting tag team, though. Knox threw Shad to the floor after an exchange and they cut to break.

[Commercial Break]

A reversal here, as the babyface Shad was in control of the heel Knox back from break. HD then took control and Smith went to work on Shad with mat holds, including a Camel Clutch in center ring. Shad broke free, but Tyson tagged back in and landed a kick strike to Shad's back. Knox back in via tag at 11:00 as JTG tried to rally up for Shad. Knox had enough of Shad and knocked JTG off the apron, which gave Shad an opening to land a slam that put both men on the mat. Truth then tagged in for the first time in the match and did his dance routine that riled up the crowd. Action broke down as JTG tried to line up a splash on the floor, but Smith clotheslined him and threw him to the outside.

Back to Truth and Kidd, who traded nearfalls until Truth created movement with his spinning fist smash, the Lie Detector, for the pin and the win. Kids in the crowd then danced along with Truth's music to celebrate the win. Post-match: A typical scene with Cryme Tyme standing tall in the ring as Hart Dynasty complained and pointed fingers from the outside to close the show.

WINNERS: Truth & Cryme Tyme in 13:00. Good tag match. Nice mix of athleticism and size. At the end, though, there might have been different dance partners, but it was the same ending with Team Cryme Tyme finding another win over Team Hart Dynasty. At some point in this match, I pictured WWE bring back the Cruiserweight Title headed up by R-Truth, who looked like the top star in the match. WWE could have a nice division with Truth, Kidd, JTG, and the occasional appearances by Bourne and Chavo from the Raw brand. Establish the heritage of the belt with Rey Mysterio giving a rub to the title as a former CW champ, play some old-school WCW and Smackdown clips, and make it mean something again as an every-two-months PPV feature to give WWE fans an "X Division" change-of-pace worth paying money to see. (**)

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