WWE Superstars results
November 10, 2011
Taped in Liverpool, England
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

1 - JUSTIN GABRIEL vs. CURT HAWKINS

I was curious why they put this match on, given that Hawkins is supposed to have a broken ankle. Pre-match, Hawkins tucks his cane under the ring apron. Striker says that ref Scott Armstrong is too old to notice. Hawkins ducks out of the ring, then come in to chain wrestle with Gabriel for a bit. Some quick back-and-forth and Gabriel has Hawkins in an armbar. Hawkins gets out and goes on offense, but Gabriel blocks and armdrag and catches Curt with a leg sweep to regain control. He sends Curt to the outside and gets a big corkscrew plancha. Hawkins attacks Gabriel back in the ring, Gabriel sends him outside but sells a leg injury.

[ c - Raw gets ROCKED ]

Hawkins in control back from the break, and he's continuing to work the leg. Gabriel rolls through a single-leg crab to get back on his feet. Kicks and a forearm get him a knockdown, and he slips out of a suplex. He dodges Curt in the corner and gets a roundhouse for two. Hawkins with his funky bodyslam, but Gabriel catche shim on the ropes and turns it into a side slam of sorts which gets two. He tries to go to the turnbuckle but the leg injury slows him and Hawkins meets him there, and nails a belly-to-back suplex from the second rope for two. Nice variation on the superplex. Hawkins retrieves his cane, but Gabriel with an enziguri to the head before he can use it, so the ref lets the match continue. Gabriel goes up top for the 450 Splash for the win.

WINNER: Justin Gabriel in 10:00. Okay match, but they were heavily selling injuries, which slowed the pace down a bit. Hawkins is a good in the mid-card to put over opponents, and Gabriel has some real upside.

[ c - Survivor Series ad ]

2 - ALEX RILEY vs. MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY

McGillicutty needs to lose the backwards cap - it makes him look like a goofy frat boy. McG wins and early lockup and Riley looks dismayed. There's some early back and forth, but Alex gets in some decent offense. McGillicutty kicks his leg and then a kick to the head. McGillicutty with fists in the corner and a cover gets two. He retains control for a stretch. Riley's trunks are ripped and he's half hanging out in the rear. Riley turns it around with basic power offense. Spinbuster, but A-Ry shows off instead of covering. Riley dodges a kneelift and grabs McGillicutty and hits his finisher for the win. He's heavily selling the leg.

WINNER: Alex Riley in 8:00. This was just out there. McGillicutty really needs someone to carry him in matches, and it seems like Riley is lacking something for the audience to invest in.

[ c - Survivor Series ad ]

3 - DANIEL BRYAN vs. WILLIAM REGAL

Daniel Bryan has new music, a rock version of Ride of the Valkyries, like if Trans-Siberian Orchestra did it. I fully expect this match to excel, and I may have to take back my declaration of the Trent Barreta-Tyson Kidd match from NXT as the Match of the Month front runner.

[ c - WWE Network, "WWE's Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart" DVD ad ]

William Regal gets a sick pop in his hometown, but some goofy, "such a man, a real man" music then interrupts him and he busts out laughing. He can't keep a straight face for the remainder of his entrance. Regal in the face corner. Earlier in the show, Striker talked up the teacher-student relationship here.

Bryan wins an early lock-up against the bigger Regal, and they break. They trade wrist locks. Regal eventually rolls through, surprisingly enough for his size, does a leg takedown, and moves to a brief submission hold after failing to get the Regal Stretch. More wrist locks and Regal dodges a dropkick and wags his finger. Bryan with a waistlock but Regal gets out with a wristlock. The crowd is loving this, and really is enjoying the chain wrestling. Brief "Bryan" chant, and they trade European uppercuts. Regal backs off at the ref's command. Test of strength which Regal wins and forces Bryan to the ground. Bryan kips up, hits kicks, then with a belly-to-back suplex. Regal goes outside and Bryan does his knee-first jump from the apron. Bryan lets Regal recover on the outside.

[ c - Smackdown ad ]

Bryan his Regal in a chinlock. Regal muscles out and takes Bryan to the corner. He promises to be a good boy after the ref backs him out, and Bryan with a big series of kicks to put Regal in the corner. Bryan twisting up Regal's leg in the ropes, then dropkicks the leg. Bryan with kicks to the knee and Striker points out Regal's taped knee. Regal with the exploder suplex to turn things around, but Regal is selling the leg and slow to get up. Regal with a sort of reverse cravat but he breaks it to start punching Bryan in the head. Regal gets mean and the crowd cheers.

Regal with a series of kneelifts in the corner, but Bryan catches it, takes Regal down by the leg, drops to the ringside, and slams Regal's leg onto the ringpost. He repeats the attack and Regal tries beating feeling back to his lef. Bryan with a knee drop and torqueing on the leg. Regal kicks out, but Bryan gets the leg again and moves to a sing leg crab variant. Regal kicks him away again, and a second time and third time when Bryan grabs the leg. So odd to hear "boo" and "yay" from the crowd not for punches or kicks, but for submission hold attempts and escapes. Regal turns it around, takes Bryan down, and drops a big elbow drop. They trade uppercuts, but Bryan surprises Regal with a roundhouse kick to play up being the heel. Bryan slaps on the LeBell Lock and Regal taps immediately.

Post-match, Bryan claps it up for Regal, and Regal shakes Bryan's hand. Bryan encourages the crowd to cheer Regal.

Winner: Daniel Bryan in 10:00. Very good match if you enjoy technical and submission wrestling. I enjoyed previous matches between these two a bit more, but I just loved this crowd giving Regal the hometown treatment and buying into a submission and chain wrestling battle. I give the Barreta-Kidd match a slight edge for excitement factor, but you should hit this one up on replay as well.

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