Superstars: Really, It’s Still Around
May 1, 2015
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty
Oh what a night! Why’d it take so long to see the light? Seemed so wrong, but now it seems so right! WWE Superstars is one of those programs you completely forget about until you’re actually watching it. Even if you’ve seen it before, odds are you’re not watching it on a weekly basis. There’s even a chance somebody saw the title of my column and asked, “Really? Superstars is still around?” My name is Mark Adam Haggerty, back again to answer to your question: “Really, It’s Still Around.”
Superstars is a little easier to watch than Main Event, as the former is available on the WWE Network each and every week. Main Event however, is currently on a one-month delay, and only available in the United States through a Hulu Plus subscription. Tonight’s episode of Friday Night Superstars kicks off with Byron Saxon and Rich Brennan at ringside, and tag team action inside the squared circle.
The opening bout pits the Primetime Players—Titus O’Neil and Darren Young—in two on two competition against the familial duo of Los Matadores. Titus begins against Diego, and the big man earns the upper hand through a powerful onslaught of power slams and back breakers. Los Matadores turn the tables through a rousing round of trickery, punctuated with a high angle drop kick to Titus O’Neil. Fernando tags into the match and works on Titus’s left leg with stiff shots, and by grape-vining it to the point of nearly snapping. The Matadores double team the big man, but Titus is finally able to get to Darren Young. Young enters the match like a house of fire—whatever that means—and hits Los Matadores with hard right hands, a big clothesline, and a phenomenal suplex. The end came for Los Matadores when Darren Young lifted one unnamed masked Matador and dropped him across his knees for an inverted backstabber. The Prime Time Players pick up the victory, much to the dismay of Los Matadores and El Torito.
We get an enormity of advertisements for upcoming WWE Network shows, as well as past programs that we might very well have missed. After that is a King of the Ring recap, with clips from each round, leading to the moment Bad News Barrett became the first King of the Ring in five years. Then we get some John Cena; I’ve noticed that no matter the show—Superstars or Main Event—there’s always a segment featuring Cena. I guess it’s true what they say: “Brock sells, but Cena draws.” This week, it’s John’s altercation with Alexander Rusev from Monday Night Raw where they began laying the seeds for a Lana-face-turn and the emergence of “CJ.” I often times ponder the kayfabe lengths that Rusev and Lana would really have to go to, in order to hang the Russian flag above the ring in an adversarial fashion.
The main event of Superstars is always around seven minutes long, but begins about 20 minute before the end of the program. That’s because the show is never allowed to end with an original match, such as tonight’s “main event” between the Lucha Dragons and the Ascension. It’s peculiar how this show only features two matches, and both are tag team bouts. But given the recent state of the WWE tag team division, I certainly can’t complain about an abundance of viable undercard teams on the roster. We saw four tag teams tonight, none of whom are holding championship gold or even in contention for a title. This main roster wrestling match between the Lucha Dragons and the Ascension is interesting, because it was the Lucha Dragons who defeated the Ascension for their titles down in developmental, after Konnor and Viktor established a record setting reign. The ‘Dragons have been arguably more successful since arriving on the main roster, but the Ascension can still be seen a hell of a lot more than some solo acts. Where is Zack Ryder you guys? He’s GOT to be hurt. The action is intense as the Ascension throws power and might at a team known for their fast pace and highflying acumen.
There’s a quick commercial for the WWE app—IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING MATCH ON THE NETWORK— and when we return, Konnor of the Ascension is in control. Kalisto manages to get away from the domineering brawlers, but to no avail as Konnor and Victor begin to double-team the smaller-statured Superstars. Sin Cara enters the match and sends both members of the Ascension flying over the top rope. Sin Cara and Kalisto follow up with a double dive through the ropes and onto their opponents. The ‘Dragons brought the action back inside the squared circle, where they finished their rivals with a modified powerbomb by Sin Cara and a Senton Bomb by Kalisto.
I really enjoy Superstars and Main Event, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy whatever the next C-String series happens to be. The action on Superstars doesn’t get bogged down by hideously nonsensical story lines, and the outcomes are far less predictable than more visible bouts on Raw or Smackdown. A solid two matches from the “Revolutionary Force in Sports Entertainment.” Until next time this has been Mark Adam Haggerty, thanking you for continuing to read my work both here at Cheap-Heat and at Daily Wrestling News. Please follow me on Twitter and LIKE me on Facebook. And be sure to check out my weekly podcasts available every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—exclusively at www.Cheap-Heat.com.
