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-- 10/8 WWE Superstars Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Cryme Tyme vs. Hart Dynasty. Worst: Sheamus vs. Shelton. Tonight was a solid but underwhelming edition of Superstars. DiBiase gave a nice heel sincere "support my downed partner" promo before his match with Bourne. Thankfully Bourne wasn't completely buried but a loss is still a loss. WWE continues to woefully improperly use Bourne, who could do nicely in the U.S. Title chase. Sheamus vs. Shelton had a lot of potential, but fell pretty flat with the storyline shoulder beatdown. The DQ finish protects Sheamus for later, but this wasn't a good first match. Cryme Tyme and the Hart Dynasty had another good if chaotic match. But Cryme Tyme-Hart Dynasty is becoming the Orton-Cena of Smackdown; when does it end? At least this time the Harts got a chance to speak and did a god job. Assuming ears were eyes, if you blinked you may have missed what sounded like another hint at an impending DX-"JeriShow" showdown. The teaser match was a good one. Not sure how Jericho will trash DX in a way that's different from his usual. I'm hoping Big Show can stay with it as he looks almost as big as he did when he left WWE.

Justin James of Columbia, S.C., IT professional/author (5.0): Best Match: Cryme Tyme-The Hart Dynasty. Worst Match: Benjamin-Sheamus. What a boring episode of Superstars. Where was the star power? The tired Cryme Tyme–Hart Dynasty feud is not main event quality in my book, even if the in-ring action itself was good as always. The DiBiase-Bourne match was well done, but I hate the booking. Bourne's credibility is really shot. All he has now is "endurance" and even that doesn't go very far when a heel gets a clean pin after a 10-minute beating. I liked DiBiase's pre-match promo, though. It was well done. DiBiase's in-ring facial expressions and body language are very good. He has grown tremendously and should be proud of himself. The Benjamin-Sheamus match was an absolute disappointment. Why? Booking. Instead of putting on the athletic clinic I had been expected and anticipating for a month since their initial brawl, I was "treated" to a stereotypical "heel beats pre-injured face, but losing by disqualification for not honoring a rope break" match. What a waste of the talent that both performers brought into the ring! I suppose it's to help flesh out the feud, but I really, really wanted to see this one. The pre-match interview with The Hart Dynasty was pretty good, but the feud ran out of gas a long time ago. They went back and forth for no reason, and it's too late to inject reason now. The match itself was good, and I do appreciate the attempts to give D.H. Smith some more personality, even if it is a bit weird. Natalya is great in her role; note that she is the only "manager" who gets much airtime during matches and it's because she is playing her part to perfection. The quote of the week came from my wife at the end of the Raw Rebound: "I'm sick of watching Cena and Orton fight, and I don't even watch the show!" She might catch 15 minutes of Raw, plus the Rebounds during ECW, Superstars, and Smackdown (all of which she watches most of most weeks, but does not pay them much attention), and just seeing the constant feud in the Rebounds has annoyed her. WWE, that's a bad sign.

-- 10/8 TNA Global Impact Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Sabin/Shelley vs. Naito/Yujiro. Worst: 3D vs. MVPs. If only the regular Impact show was more like this one. This is not to say that it was a great show, as I remember the matches being more under control last year. There wasn't nearly the chaos and extra bodies in the ring during matches. Unlike last year, there were no singles matches shown. Just like last year, there were the tidbits that made the show unique, such as interacting with the wrestlers over the sea to make the event seem like a big deal. There was also the post-match promo by Shelley done in the style like post-playoff interviews for major sports. The eight-man tag match was pretty decent if for nothing else than to see the Ric Flair counterpart, Chosu. The Guns vs. No Limit was a high-spirited fun match that held together better than the other two matches. Team 3D vs. The MVPs just didn't flow very smoothly to me. I would have scored this special edition higher if not for one thing: except for the eight-man tag, this was a spoiled show. We know now that 3D has already picked up #22, and The Guns carried around the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles for a bit. I hate spoilers; messes with my reviews if something in my judgment is tainted. Would have been nice to see some non-title matches in the next edition so continuity isn't so violated.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on these shows for a "TV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Superstars and Impact, click here.

[The Big Show art credit Cory Gould (c) PWTorch]

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