James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (7.0)

Solid episode of Superstars with four singles matches, including a very nice 10+ minute main event match between Chris Jericho and Goldust. Jericho gave Goldy a lot of offense and WWE made Goldust seem like a big star. It will be interesting to see how WWE utilizes Goldust on the Smackdown brand going forward. This was a good sign. I just don't see how much they can do with him with the current gimmick and look, though. The gimmick is limited to a mid-card slot, but I would be hesitant to see what would happen if they dropped the gimmick. It's one of those things where he can find some longevity on Smackdown using the current gimmick, but he won't advance beyond the mid-card.

William Regal worked well with Evan Bourne and I would like to see a longer match between the two. Bourne's character is built on being resilient, while Regal plays an offensive-minded bruiser. They could go 15 minutes and tell a really nice story on Raw. Regal being on the offensive throughout the match, then suddenly taking one knee strike and the Air Bourne seemed unrealistic for the finish. Same thing with the Mike Knox vs. Kane finish where Knox was dominating, then Kane suddenly hit a chokeslam for the win. I wasn't buying it and that took away from two matches.

The opening match of Kofi vs. Chavo was a nice little contest with Chavo being able to showcase some offense and Kofi being the focal point as they try to rebuild his character after cooling off on him. The blood stoppage didn't take away from the match too much, but I dread the day a big match is about to finish and WWE suddenly has to stop a match. I thoroughly agree with stopping for blood as a health precaution, but they need to find a consistent way to stop a match without killing the momentum of the action.

Shane McKinley, PWTorch.com Contributor (4.5)

Well, apparently Micheal Cole got into a fight with a girl over a snow shovel when he was five years old. Har har. A simple Superstars, with Kofi, Evan and Kane all getting "rebuilding"
victories to pump them up before Wrestlemania. Too bad the matchesweren't very good. They still don't know what to do with Evan Bourne, as he ekes out a win against the very, very, very old-school William Regal.

Matches stopped for blood killed the Kofi-Chavo momentum, and my boy Mike Knox got the shaft again. Sigh. Funnest match of the night was Goldust vs. the World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho. Goldust didn't have the smoothest of matches, but it's definitely a testament that his character still gets over even after all this time. Suitable wrestling action with a weird but nice treat at the end.

Jon Mezzera, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)

I'm not sure why I should bother reviewing Superstars any more. I feel that I am putting more effort into a one page Hits & Misses column each week than WWE puts into promoting this show. This is nothing new, but the notion was driven home this week when Superstars had more Superstar power than it often does with matches involving Kofi Kingston and the World Champion Chris Jericho (when was the last time the WWE Champ or World Champ wrestled on Superstars?). You would think those matches would be worth mentioning on Raw this week as a way of drumming up interest in the show.

A larger audience would have been nice for guys like Chavo Guerrero, Evan Bourne and Goldust who all put in good efforts in their matches. None of this effects my score. It was a good show, but it could have been better. There were two good matches, Guerrero vs. Kingston (which would have been much better if they hadn't paused the match in the middle to close a very small cut over Guerrero's eye) and Jericho vs. Goldust. The other two matches were solid. It was a pretty entertaining hour.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (6.5)

Show started off well with Chavo vs. Kofi. Nice to see Chavo get something to do. The match stoppages for blood don't really bother me and add some realism to the match. I don't know how they'd be able to do it without killing the momentum in the match though. Just something we'll have to accept, I guess. Like James, I would really like to see an extended Bourne vs. Regal match. Their clash of styles could make for a fun bout. But I'm not counting on it happening.

Knox vs. Kane was the one throw-away of the evening. Kane got a good, quick win to prop up his MITB chances, but if no one watches it, how much effect does it really have? The main event was more proof that Goldust can be a player if WWE booked him correctly. There's a way to make the Goldust character work, even in WWE's PG environment. Again, I'm not holding my breath, but I feel better with him on Smackdown, where they nurture the mid-card, as opposed to Raw.

We suggest these recent related articles...

PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman

METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 10/4 & 10/7: IWGP World champ Okada vs. Roderick Strong main event, plus Briscoes vs. Time Splitters, more from "Field of Honor," Overall Reax

MCMAHON'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 10/7: TNA Title Series kicks off, Bound for Glory fall-out, more; Overall Reax