Paypress testing

Tag: superstars

  • Off-air notes from WWE Raw plus Superstars spoilers

    Submitted by Jeff Caldwell and Chris Featherstone from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

    – Shining Stars d. Breezango

    The Stars cut a heel promo on the city before the match, and won with a dropkick/leg sweep combination on Fandango.

    – Usos d. The Ascension 

    Usos come out to a chorus of boos. Crowd becomes split after their chant, and even more in favor of them when the Ascension comes out. “Let’s go Usos!” chant during the match. Usos win after the top rope splash from Jimmy to Konnor.

    **********

    Crowd was moderately into the show with the biggest pops (in descending order) going to New Day, Enzo/Cass and John Cena.

    It may just be me but I didn’t remember there being so many commercials on the TitanTron during the show. Basically any time a commercial break was made and wasn’t during a match, there was a commercial break on the TitanTron. It seemed a lot more than usual, but it never killed the crowd.

    The only thing that may be of note that may or may not have made the show was during the 16-man tag. What I think happened was during a commercial break, the guys really were just supposed to entirely stop what they were doing and essentially stand around doing nothing after some integral spots were blown. I can’t remember ever seeing a match look more like it went to commercial than this one. Half the guys standing outside the ring looked dazed while the other half stood in the ring looking dazed. It was like one of those typical spots where you expect a dive to take place but it never did.  

    Enzo and Cass & John Cena vs. The Club

    Dark match after the show wasn’t promoted, so I think it caught much of the crowd off guard and many left during it. It was a good match although a bit sloppy, and the crowd was awkwardly quiet during much of it to the point Anderson was taunting the crowd by putting one finger to his mouth to signal for them to hush to which there was little reaction. 

    I think this feud will be a fun one because much of the crowd actually boos The Club, and Enzo and Cass are actual babyfaces people cheer. Cena got the pin and won the match, then proceeded to celebrate with a kid from Make a Wish.

  • WWE Superstars spoilers & other RAW live notes

    Thanks to Chris

    The following notes are from RAW in Tampa, FL, Monday night.

    Superstars TV results:

    – Dolph Ziggler was announcing Superstars with Tom Phillips and David Otunga this week.

    – Golden Truth beat The Ascension in about five minutes when Goldust got Victor with the Final Cut.

    – Baron Corbin def. Jack Swagger with the End of Days in about seven minutes.

    *********

    – After Raw, the Club and Seth Rollins surrounded Dean Ambrose when Big Show, Enzo, and Cass came out. It turned into an 8-man tag that broke down into everyone hitting finishers with Big Show pinning Anderson with the chokeslam.

    – During Raw, the reactions for John Cena were far and away louder than for anyone else. It wasn’t close.

    – The crowd lost steam with Kane being the mystery opponent for Miz and never really got fully back into the show at that point. Given that it was Florida, a lot were expecting Finn Balor or Nakamura since they were both seen around the arena earlier.

    It was interesting that they were not offering refunds for Roman Reigns not appearing as if Cena or Austin were pulled from a show in the past, they would offer refunds.

    – Shane McMahon was also advertised but wasn’t there.

  • WWE Smackdown, Main Event & Superstars spoilers: AJ Styles vs. Heath Slater

    Notes from Leon Peters and Peter Troiano from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY

    Superstars:

    – Jack Swagger defeated Tyler Breeze. This was a fun 10-12 minute match. Swagger won clean pin via Swagger Bomb

    Main Event:

    – Ryback defeated Fandango after the Shellshock.

    Smackdown (airing Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.):

    – AJ Styles defeated Heath Slater (with Axel, Dallas & Rose in his corner).  Even with the building still not full, there was a big reaction and chants for AJ. Clean pin for Styles with the springboard forearm.

    – D-Von Dudley (with Bubba Ray) defeated Jey Uso (with Jimmy Uso) after hitting a spinebuster.

    – Dean Ambrose defeated Erick Rowan (with Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman) after hitting Dirty Deeds. Bray and Strowman went backstage after their entrance.

    There was no post-show dark match. It was a long night of wrestling and people were drained by the end.

  • Smackdown New Year’s Eve edition spoilers, Reigns and Ambrose vs. Sheamus and Owens

    Smackdown New Year’s Eve edition spoilers – 12/31 (taped Tuesday 12/29)

    By John Athridge

    The crowd is pretty full for a Smackdown. The hard camera side is basically full at least.  I missed the first two matches, but I was told that Darren Young beat Curtis Axel in the dark match.

    Main Event

    R-Truth beat Heath Slater. 

    Titus O’Neil beat Adam Rose.

    ‎Jack Swagger submitted Stardust with the ankle lock in about 10 minutes.  They worked awfully hard for a Main Event match.

    Smackdown

    ‎Show opened by replaying the Vince arrest angle from last night.  They announced the main event of Reigns and Ambrose vs. Sheamus and Owens.

    New Day came out to celebrate New Year’s Eve. They said their New Year’s resolution was nothing because they are perfect. They said the people needed to change because they didn’t vote for the New Day for the Slammies. They read a list of resolutions for the people so they’d finally appreciate the New Day. Mildly funny.  ‎The Lucha Dragons came out.  They argued and challenged the New Day for a match even though Sin Cara is injured. The Dragons then brought out the Dudleys for a 6 man match.

    The Dudleys and Kalisto beat the New Day when Kalisto pinned Kofi. The Dudleys then put Xavier Woods through a table with “Happy New Year” spray painted on it.  

    During the commercials, they played New Year’s wishes from various wrestlers.

    Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae) beat Goldust in a short match. Summer then said they had a huge New Year’s announcement. Tyler said that starting in the New Year, the two of them would be going their separate ways. But they left the crowd with one last “Gorgeous Selfie”.

    Backstage, Bo Dallas was giving out New Year’s Re-Bo-lutions (including telling Curtis Axel to start wearing deodorant). He ran into Dolph Ziggler. After a few insults back and forth, they announced a match between them later. 

    Braun Strowman and Luke Harper (w/Erick Rowan) beat the Usos. Strowman got the submission after some quick interference from Rowan.  

    They announced John Cena’s return to Smackdown for next week.  

    Alicia Fox and Brie Bella ‎beat Tamina and Naomi when Brie pinned Naomi after a couple of minutes.

    They announced that there will be a house show in DC on Sunday March, 27th. Thought we were getting the go home Raw before Wrestlemania here, but apparently not.  

    Dolph Ziggler beat Bo Dallas with a superkick after selling for a few minutes. Not much else to it.

    Reigns came out to a decent reaction, but nothing spectacular. Ambrose seemed to get louder cheers.

    Reigns and Ambrose beat Sheamus and Kevin Owens by DQ when Owens pulled Reigns out of the ring and crotched him on the ring post after about 10 minutes. Owens and Sheamus beat down Reigns and then Ambrose. Owens was about to powerbomb Ambrose through the announce table when Reigns recovered to give them both Superman punches. Reigns and Ambrose then posed on the announce table. Got a decent reaction, but not much of a main event.  

  • WWE Superstars results: Fandango comes ‘home’, Dudleys team with Ryback

    The Big Takeaway:

    The Manchester crowd made this show infinitely better. Fandango was like a hometown hero in his win over Bo Dallas and The Dudley Boyz and Ryback were hugely entertaining in their win against The Ascension and Stardust.

    Show recap:

    Fandango beat Bo Dallas (3:48)

    Fandango comes out to a huge pop with literally everyone doing the Fandango; to the untrained eye, you’d think he was one of biggest stars in this company. It must have been a gigantic ego boost for him. They lock up and Dallas locks in a headlock. They chain until Dallas runs into a drop kick. They lock up again and this time Dallas slips round and uses an O’Connor roll for a two count and this means its victory lap time. Of course, it is scouted by Fandango who clotheslines Dallas out of his boots.

    Back in the ring, Dallas uses the top rope to choke Fandango, hits a big clothesline for two and then starts working him over with knees to the back. Dallas puts on a rear chin lock and Fandango is able to get out with a side suplex. Fandango then gets the heat with clotheslines and uses his newly acquired Randy Orton scoop slam. Fandango then goes up top and they tease the superplex but Dallas is fought off and Fandango hits The Last Dance for the win. The finish was kind of out of nowhere, but the match was never going to live up to that stellar reaction.

    The Dudley Boyz & Ryback beat The Ascension & Stardust Neville (7:43)

    This is all very whacky, but it sort of works and this is the ideal show for it. In the markets that this still gets TV airtime, this is very much aimed at the younger demos and so, no, we didn’t get tables. Konnor and D-Von lock up, “we want tables” chants immediately echo around the arena. Bubba Ray then tags in and runs right into a big boot. Konnor tags in Stardust, who ceremoniously strips off his glove and uses it to slap Bubba Ray round the face. This act of heinous disrespect makes Bubba Ray so mad that he hip tosses Stardust and then does the Dusty elbow on him, complete with Dusty moves and gyrations. This was great. Then the ring fills, and The Dudleys hit the 3D on Viktor and the babyfaces stand tall as we go to a break.

    When we get back, D-Von and Stardust are in and D-Von now plays babyface in peril for some time. Viktor blind tags in to take out D-Von and stomps away on him. Konnor comes in and they double team on D-Von. Konnor then works over D-Von in their corner until Stardust comes in to take over with kicks and stomps on him. Stardust leaps outside and teases going for a table, mockingly whipping the apron up and miming looking for one. He then comes off the top rope with a double axe handle. Then he knocks Bubba Ray off the apron but then runs into D-Von who uses a backbreaker and is finally able to give the hot tag to Ryback.

    Ryback takes out everyone, Viktor and stardust take press slams and Konnor takes a huge powerbomb. All three do the “feed me more” together while the numbskull heels get to their feet and stagger into triple meat hook clothes. Then they do the Whassup on Viktor followed by a crowd lead “D-Von, get the tables!” They hit the 3D on Viktor for the win. This was goofy, house show fun in front of a great crowd. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

  • WWE Superstars results (10/23): Stardust & Zack Ryder put on a good match; Heath Slater v Fandango

    The Big Takeaway: Zack Ryder returned to Superstars to put on a good 8-minute match with Stardust. Fandango is back, albeit at the bottom of the barrel. No Xavier Woods on commentary this week.

    Fandango beat Heath Slater (4:35)

    Fandango looks like he’s dropped a few pounds, he comes out looking very lean and lithe. Heath Slater, meanwhile, is sporting some serious beard growth. No Xavier Woods this week, more’s the pity. Byron Saxton takes his place, more’s the pity. They lock up and a clothesline by Fandango knocks Slater off balance but he blocks Fandango and thrusts him into the turnbuckle. He puts on a headlock, they run the ropes and Fandango goes down by the shoulder barge of Slater.

    They chain wrestle until Slater runs into a drop kick. There’s no hard cam until the second match so watching feels a little chaotic this week. Slater is clotheslined over the top rope and Fandango follows up with a springboard over the top rope onto Slater. They roll back in and Fandango Flair chops Slater in the corner. Slater cuts him off with a high knee and then lands him with elbows on the mat. After a kick out at two, Slater puts on a rear chin lock. Fandango gets out but is put back to the mat by Slater who uses a heel kick. Slater goes back to the chin lock.

    Fandango gets the heat with an atomic drop followed by a back drop, chops, punches, a European uppercut, forearms and then side Russian leg sweep. This was all very Bret Hart, actually. Fandango goes up top but gets punched by Slater. Slater goes for the superplex but it is blocked and Fandango hits the Last Dance for the win.

    Stardust beat Zack Ryder (8:00)

    Stardust comes out with The Ascension, who are in full ring gear. There are immediate “Cody” chants. Zack Ryder gets a tepid reaction but looks in great shape – actually, when doesn’t he? A cartwheel from Stardust starts things off as they then exchange arm rings. Ryder gets the early going here, though; he hip tosses Stardust and then gets his legs up in the corner to block the charge and then uses a cross body quickly into a cover for two. Ryder then immediately tries a victory roll also for two. Stardust cuts him off with some knees to the gut and Ryder goes down. Ryder hits a facebuster out of nowhere and so Stardust bails as we head to a break.

    Ryder hits a beautifully timed drop kick when we return. Stardust goes outside on to the apron and when Ryder follows gets slammed right onto the apron. Ryder takes the bump on his knees otherwise it would he seriously sucked. The ref counts Ryder to four before Stardust goes outside to grab him to throw him back in, and then stomps on him. Something went wrong somewhere here as Stardust stopped short and just postured to the crowd. I can only presume that Ryder wanted a few more seconds to recover from the apron bump.

    Stardust puts on an abdominal stretch by Stardust and then uses the post to stretch Ryder. After more knees to the gut, Ryder smacks Stardust and both men go down. Ryder gets some hope with elbows, a clothesline, but then a second rope missile drop kick is side-stepped by Stardust who then goes for a suplex. Stardust reverses it into a neckbreaker. We get a near fall and then Stardust hits Ryder with a Rock Bottom for two. The finish sees Ryder drop toehold Stardust into the turnbuckle and follow it up with the Broski boot but Stardust crotches Ryder and so is able to put on the Queens Cross Bow for the win. This was a good match.

  • WWE Superstars results (10/9): Cesaro, the great entertainer, on Superstars again

    The Big Takeaway: Cesaro was extremely entertaining in a 3-minute squash against Adam Rose. The Prime Time players beat The Ascension in a decidedly average main event.

    Cesaro beat Adam Rose (3:30)

    I mean it really shouldn’t be baffling in this company, but it really is – why is Cesaro on this show working with Adam Rose? The klaxon sound that they use at the Royal Rumble goes off, Cesaro’s music stops and Adam Rose appears on the ramp with a mic. He claims that Cesaro can’t “string a sentence together” and completely buried them both by asking “how does it feel to be here competing against Adam Rose” while the likes of Rollins, Kevin Owens are “megastars”?

    Cesaro’s response to all this is to wait for the bell and then absolutely annihilate Rose with a running European uppercut to the corner. He follows this up with a press slam a la the Ultimate Warrior, where Rose just lands on his face, and then another uppercut. Rose dodges a third and then comes off the second rope with a missile drop kick into a cover for two. He begins to work over Cesaro’s neck and back with clubs and blows and then locks on a rear chin lock. Cesaro throws him off but charges into an elbow.

    Rose is now doing the stomps that Shawn Michaels used to do before a super kick. He hits Cesaro with one and then goes for an airplane spin to mock Cesaro’s giant swing. Cesaro scoffs at it, no selling it and does a 36 rep giant swing which he slows down as if he’s going to stop at about 30 reps and then just picks him up and carries on. Cesaro is such a great entertainer; the crowd is just eating out of the palm of his hand. He then puts on the Sharpshooter for the win. To his credit, Adam Rose was good here too.

    The Prime Time Players beat The Ascension (8:47)

    Viktor and Darren Young lock up and test each other’s strength back and forth until a headlock takedown by Viktor breaks things up. Young slaps a headlock on and an arm ring by Viktor is reversed into a hammerlock by Young. Viktor runs into an elbow and tags in Konnor, who comes in to no sell everything and then shoulders Young to the mat. A blind tag from O’Neil brings him in to match up to Konnor’s brawn – he shoulder barges Konnor and scoop slams him and then hits him with a leg drop. Konnor rolls outside and Viktor comes in to start on O’Neil. He gets belly-to-back suplexed on the ring apron by Young, which looks like it really sucked, and we head to a break.

    Viktor and Young are in together as we return. Young gets whipped into the corner and does a flip bump over the top rope. Outside, Konnor launches Young into the barricade and the ring apron. They come back in and he covers him for two. Young plays the babyface in peril as they double team him. Young is bleeding from his right shoulder. He goes for a victory roll up, but as he is doing it Konnor blind tags in on the way through. Konnor comes back in and leg drops Young and stomps on his face. Konnor puts on a chin lock and Viktor comes in. They use the ropes to slingshot Young and then go back to the chin lock.

    O’Neil eventually gets the heat on Konnor. He steams in and shoulders barges Konnor to the mat and then clotheslines him, following it up with a big boot. He does his triple backbreakers on Viktor and then slings him aside. He charges at Konnor in the corner with a splash and then powerslams him. The pin broken up by Viktor, who is sent outside. As Titus turns round, he eats a big boot from Konnor and then his pin attempt is broken up by Young. Young and Viktor send each other over the top and when Konnor misses a charge to the corner, O’Neil capitalizes with the Clash of the Titus. A nothing match, it was what it was.

  • WWE Superstars 9/25 TV results & recap: Jack Swagger vs. Adam Rose, R-Truth vs. Heath Slater

    By James Cox, WrestlingObserver.com

    The Big Takeaway: Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose and his ever-terrible new gimmick while R-Truth dismissed Heath Slater in a quick, entertaining bout. Xavier Woods is still the best thing about this show.

    R-Truth beat Heath Slater (3:34)

    They opened things up by exchanging wristlocks. Things quickly break down, however, in to an impromptu dance off. This is pretty much the formula for the 4-minute R-Truth match on Superstars. A quick hip toss from Truth sees him then mount Slater in the corner for punches on the second rope, but he is crotched. Slater takes over with his own punches, until a slap from Truth throws him off his balance. Truth kicks him in the guts but then runs into a scissor kick, which floors him. After stomps from Slater, he slaps on a chin lock and then covers Truth for two.

    Truth then gets the heat with clotheslines and a heel kick, followed by the Lie Detector for the win. All through Slater’s offense section Woods was putting over the fact that Slater was a one-time beat the clock winner against Seth Rollins on Raw and so should be in for a title shot. When Rich Brennan was incredulous at one stage in the match, Woods just quietly remarked in mock-disgust, “there’s so much you need to learn about this industry”. He’s fast becoming very good in the role.

    Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose (7:57)

    My god, this Adam Rose gimmick. He came out for his usual pre-match promo, looking like he’d actually make a pretty good third wheel in The Vaudevillians on NXT, moaning about how he was going to “poop” all over the WWE Universe’s party. It would have been terrible on a really bad Indy card that had no TV. It really has no place here.

    They lock up but Rose immediately goes to ropes to break off and Swagger then grabs him and hits him with a belly to back suplex. Swagger then runs into Rose’s elbow, and he slaps on a headlock. When Swagger gets out, he uses a side headlock takedown and then runs through Rose with shoulder barges and uses a huge lariat to send him over the top rope. Swagger leads the crowd in a “We the people!” as we head to a break.

    Swagger is dominating as we return, punching Rose in the corner. He then tosses Rose over the top rope, but he lands on the apron, and Swagger turns round to find Rose using the top rope to choke him. Rose then takes over and lands elbows, steps on his throat and applies a sleeper hold. When Swagger gets out, Rose grabs his hair and throws him to the mat.

    Rose continues to work over Swagger with kicks and punches. He lands a double knee drop and then goes back to a rear chin lock. He turns this into a sleeper and Swagger manages to use the turnbuckle to force Rose off. Swagger then gets the heat with huge clotheslines, a Swagger Bomb and then covers Rose for two. He then double legs and goes for the Patriot Lock, but gets posted.

    Rose stomps his foot a la Shawn Michaels as if to set up for Sweet Chin Music. Instead of a super kick, it sets up a fairly meager low kick to take out Swagger’s left leg. Rose uses a DDT, and comes off the top rope with a big flying double axe handle to Swagger’s back. Swagger kicks out of the cover at two. Woods makes this infinitely more fun by throwing himself into the drama of it all, going crazy on commentary. Rose goes up top again but this time is caught in the Patriot Lock and he taps instantly.

  • WWE RAW Brooklyn: Superstars results, return date, more

    Submitted by Mike Omansky

    — WWE returns to Barclays on Monday, 12/28 for RAW with a presale code of WWERAW.

    — WWE Superstars:

    – Zack Ryder def. Heath Slater after hitting the RoughRyder.
    – Los Matadores (with El Torito) def. Ascension after hitting the Backstabber and pin thanks to a distraction by Torito.

    — Post RAW:

    – The advertised six man tag main event didn’t happen. Lillian Garcia thanked fans for coming and that was that. 

    – Crowd was hot most of the night, except for the divas tag match. Chants included “CM Punk”, “We are awesome” and “boring”.  There were also several waves done by the audience.

  • WWE Superstars July 4 TV results & recap: Adam Rose v Fandango, The Ascension win!

    By James Cox, WrestlingObserver.com

    The Big Takeaway:

    The Ascension faced the Mega Powers for the umpteenth time, but beat them for once, with the crowd still enjoying the novelty of Axel and Mandow. Adam Rose and Fandango are still kind of feuding under the radar with Rose winning here, tweaking his character to try to get more heat.

    The Ascension beat The Mega Powers (4:28)

    Viktor and Mandow start in the ring together. Viktor runs into an elbow and Mandow quickly tags in Axel. Jimmy Uso on commentary is asked about how his brother is doing and noted that he is ahead of schedule but wouldn’t be back in action until the fall. Axel goes up top for ten punches on Viktor. This crowd love counting along. Mandow comes back in and the pair hit double back elbows on Viktor and then clothesline Konnor outside.

    Viktor comes back into the ring and Konnor tries to distract Mandow and Viktor takes advantage with a quick pin attempt. When it doesn’t pay off, Viktor uses stomps. The Ascension then start to use a series of quick tags, cutting of the ring. They use that half Boston crab/leg drop to the back of the head combination and Konnor goes for a cover and then puts on a rear chin lock.

    A double clothesline sees both men go down. Both make tags, with Axel getting the heat. He lands the big boot, tears his shirt and then takes out Viktor with an atomic drop and clothesline to send him packing. Mandow goes outside, but is rammed into the apron by Viktor and this distracts Axel. Konnor hits Mandow with a big boot and then they use the Fall of Man for the win.

    Adam Rose (w/ Rosa Mendes) beat Fandango (5:44)

    Adam Rose and Rosa come out to cut a pre-match promo. They finish each other’s sentences and have a pretty boring dynamic of being a ‘power couple’. They remind me of Laycool. Rose finishes by saying, “its all about Adam.”

    This is pretty short and quick for a Superstars main event at just under 6 minutes. Rose uses hip toss on the bell to try to fluster Fandango and postures to the crowd. Then they chain and run the ropes and a shoulder barge followed by a drop kick give Fandango the early going. He clotheslines Rose over the top rope and then hits a fairly graceful slingshot cross body on to Rose on the outside.

    Back in the ring a side suplex by Rose sends both men down. Fandango gets up first and uses an atomic drop and quick clotheslines to get him in control until Rose grabs him and lands a swinging neckbreaker to break up the charge. A DDT by Rose gets him a two count. Fandango retorts with a power slam and gets two.

    Fandango continues with Flair chops and then tries a backslide cover but can only get two. Fandango uses a sitout suplex slam and then Rosa distracts. Rose launches Fandango off the apron into the dasher boards. Rose brings him back in, and ends it rather suddenly with the Party Foul or, as he is now calling it, the Disaster Piece.