WWE Superstars Report
November 24, 2011
Taped in Pa.
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[Q1] Scott Stanford opened the show announcing Ezekiel Jackson vs. Tyson Kidd as the main event. Nice to hear his voice is still around, but where has Jack Korpela been? His picture is still on WWE's site and I think he's better than Josh Mathews on commentary.

1 - TED DIBIASE vs. DREW MCINTYRE

Pre-match, Drew comes out looking like he just found out that someone stole his car or something, taking out some aggression on the apron. There's a little DiBiase chant going on, makes me question what he does at those "DiBiase Posse" things. Ted escapes and reverses an early lockout and takes Drew to the mat. Ted continues with chain wrestling, including an interesting arm drag into a sideways jackknife pin. Ted with a number of different leverage pin attempts. Drew slaps Ted, causing Ted to get aggressive. DiBiase clotheslines McIntyre from the ring, then actually does a suicide dive through the ropes. Very impressive for a guy who is billed as about 70 lbs. more than Daniel Bryan. On the outside, Mac manages to wheelbarrow DiBiase face-first into the apron. Again, impressive.

[ c - WWEShop.com ]

Back from beak, McIntyre is kicking the stuffing out of Ted. There's a sweet spot where Ted tries the "leap over the person charging in the corner" trick, but instead of running into the ring post, McIntyre slides and does a Pele kick to DiBiase's gut, sending him flying. Very innovative. McIntyre covers for two and then moves to a seated abdominal stretch. Ted jawbreakers his way out, and then from nowhere comes out with a crucifix pin attempt, good for two. Gutbuster from Drew coming out of the cover, then he drags Ted's head over the apron, goes outside, and starts beating on Ted's chest. He drapes DiBiase's face over the second rope and playfully kicks it. Drew starts to paintbrush Ted on the mat, but Ted comes back with slaps. Drew with a Big Boot to put Ted back down. More "DiBiase" chants.

Drew to the second rope, but Ted counters with a dropkick on the whiffed move. both men are down and the ref gets to seven before they both get up. Ted with punches, atomic drop, and a running high knee or dropkick. Ted with the turnaround clothesline for a convincing nearfall. Ted is rocking a moustache, of note. McIntyre creams Ted when Ted tries something from the second rope. They trade moves, and Drew pulls out a wheelbarrow into a front suplex for two. Drew maintains control in the corner, but Ted reverses a suplex attempt into Dream Streets for the win.

WINNER: Ted DiBiase in 13:00. This was a very believable match. Unpredictable in the finish, and a number of spots from both men where they looked like they were wrestling in a Cruiserweight style. I was really impressed here, and if you get a chance, this match is worth a watch. Nice length. McIntyre does a good job at making others look good, while he's been on a losing streak he's managed to retain credibility, and he always looks like he could actually win the match. Both men should be putting this match on their highlight reels.

[Q2]

2 - ALEX RILEY vs. MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY

Funny crowd shot of a girl in Macho Man shirt and Broski sunglasses going nuts for Alex Riley. The same fans in classic C.M. Punk shirts that cheered Ted DiBiase are cheering for Alex Riley. McGillicutty is so dull, he can't even get the vocal males to prefer him to the face. McGillicutty tosses his hat at Alex to divert his attention, then kicks him into the corner. Alex is angry and goes ape on Mike. Alex with strong offense, including Ten Punches in the corner followed immediately by a DDT. McGillicutty dodges a charge and Riley eats ringpost. McGillicutty kicks his head as Riley rests, and then hits a big dropkick. McGillicutty takes elbows to Riley and settles into a headlock.

Riley headbutts out and drops big bombs on McGillicutty, who counters with a neckbreaker. They trade rights and McGillicutty knocks him down again. Back-and-forth, but A-Ry gets a spinebuster and his floatover DDT but it's only a nearfall. Riley looks angry, but McGillicutty dumps him outside. As Mike tries to come trough the ropes, Riley hits a dropkick and goes to the apron. McGillicutty grabs the ropes to get up, and Riley pulls off a springboard sunset flip but McGillicutty sits down to pin Riley for the win.

WINNER: Michael McGillicutty in 8:00. The match itself was decent. Riley showed great promise and the sunset flip was nuts for a guy his size. That said, the wrong person won here. I don't think McGillicutty has any upside right now, while Riley has a lot of promise.

[ c - "WWE '12" ad ]

3 - TRENT BARRETA vs. JINDER MAHAL

I hope they give this lots of time. Jinder Mahal has a very unique style that I enjoy watching, with crisp execution and he has a good look too. He also carries himself well in segments. Pre-match, he cuts a promo in Hindi. And, Trent Barreta is one of WWE's unappreciated gems.

Jinder leads off with hard knees to the gut, Trent comes back with a snap huracarana then his elbow from the ropes. Trent goes to the turnbuckle for his corkscrew moonsault, and in the "HOLY COW" moment of the night, the cameraman sitting at the bottom of the turnbuckle catches it as Mahal pushes Trent so hard off the turnbuckle that he lands into the barricade. This is something you see sometimes and it looks high impact, but the camera angle just made it look like Mahal airmailed Trent back to Long Island. Great work from the production team.

Scott Armstrong checks on Trent while Mahal sends him back into the ring and covers twice. Trent is selling hard and Mahal sends some hard boots into the ribs. Jinder with a gutbuster which gets one, then moves into the abdominal stretch. Barreta looks like he's going to cry, and Mahal abuses his ribs when he tries to get out.

[Q3] Striker calls Mahal the "Punjab Punisher," which I like. Mahal places Baretta on the turnbuckle and looks for a belly-to-back suplerplex, which Trent elbows out of. Barreta stays up top and nails his corkscrew moonsault for a nearfall after a slow cover. They are both slow to get up, and Barreta goes back on the attack with chops, but Jinder cuts him off with a knee to the gut. Mahal shrugs off a Dudebuster DDT attempt and Barreta sells the rubs. Mahal with a Camel Clutch and Trent taps out.

WINNER: Jinder Mahal in 8:00. Wow, that was a really fun match! Like the first match, there was no way to know who was going to win based on the booking, the two fighting styles contrasted so well together. I don't think I've seen a Trent Barreta match I didn't like, and Jinder Mahal has a lot of in-ring talent too.

[ c - "The Reunion" DVD ad ]

4 - EZEKIEL JACKSON vs. TYSON KIDD

After the entrances, they cut to break.

[ c - Smackdown hype ]

Kidd tries to chain wrestle Jackson, but Jackson powers out. Matt Striker with the announcing line of the month, says that Kidd told him that last week they spent too much time talking about Twitter and not enough time talking about the match (very true, as I mentioned in last week's report!) and that Kidd will kick Matthews in the face if they do it again this week. I'd like that to be a general rule. Matthews no-sells it. In the ring, Kidd struggles to gain traction. He tries a springboard move, but Jackson plucks him off the top rope and does a number of overhead presses. Kidd slips out and takes Jackson down by the knee. Jackson grabs Kidd by the throat and sends him into the ropes, and gets a big back body drop. Easily eight feet of air there.

Kidd kicks the feet out of Zeke again, then with a dropkick to Zeke's head. Jackson throws Kidd out of the ring on the kickout. Kidd hotshots Jackson on the ropes and then chokes him in the ropes. Tyson with a guillotine leg drop on Jackson who is draped through the ropes, then a springboard elbow drop for two. That was his finisher in his ECW debut. Kidd with a chinlock that looks laughable on Zeke. Zeke gets out but eats boots on a charge. Kidd with a tornado DDT for two. Kidd back to the chinlock. Jackson stands up but Kidd holds on until Jackson backs into the corner. Jackson with a back elbow, then the corner clotheslines, and punches on Kidd, nearly drawing the DQ. Belly-to-back suplex from Jackson, then he picks Kidd up for the torture rack, Kidd taps out.

WINNER: Ezekiel Jackson in 5:00. I can't believe they kept Big Zeke, but let Chris Masters go. Not even Tyson Kidd could make Ezekiel Jackson watchable. I guess Kidd "looked good in the loss" by hanging with Zeke for five minutes. I would rather have seen these five minutes go to a Divas match, and the Barreta-Mahal or DiBiase-McIntyre matches as the main event.

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