WWE Superstars Review – 8/5/16

Match #1

Neville vs Curtis Axel

Curtis Axel is using his old theme song again and Axel is still billed as ‘Mr Irrelevant’. Neville hits an enziguri early and goes for the Red Arrow but Axel rolls out of the ring before he jumps. However, as Axel is recovering, Neville moonsaults from the ropes to the outside onto him. Back in the ring Neville hits a springboard dropkick. Axel sends Neville into the corner and then hits a hard clothesline. Axel with a dropkick and a rest hold. Neville fights out and chops the hell out of Axel. Big kick combination culminating in a basement dropkick from Neville. Neville hits the Red Arrow for the victory.

Thoughts

It was fun for what it was but extremely short and Axel barely got any offense in. Shame this didn’t get the time that Axel/Zayn got from last month. This is generally the kind of show where you can see a guy like Axel get offense in and tell a story rather than just being there to take the loss.

Whole bunch of recapped segments from Raw.

Match #2

Jack Swagger & Sin Cara vs The Dudley Boyz

Sin Cara dodges some clotheslines and hits a springboard crossbody. Swagger comes in and out wrestles Bubba but gets clotheslined by him. Tag to D-Von but Swagger quickly regains himself and gives each member of the Dudleyz a belly-to-belly suplex. Swagger vaults Sin Cara over the ropes onto both Dudleyz. Back from the break and Bubba Ray bodyslams Swagger. D-Von heads up top for the WAZZUP but Sin Cara shoves him off. Swagger is about to go for the Swagger Bomb but Bubba distracts the ref and D-Von takes him out. Elbow drop from D-Von for two. Bubba Ray beats on Swagger while the ref is distracted. Bubba Ray works over Swagger’s leg before mocking him with “WE THE DUDLEYZ” and clubbing Swagger in the chest. Dudleyz beat down on Swagger in the corner. Bubba throws some punches and mocks Swagger but Swagger takes him down and makes the hot tag to Sin Cara. Diving crossbody to D-Von, followed by a springboard elbow from Sin Cara. Sin Cara sends D-Von out of the ring and then suicide dives onto Bubba. Springboard moonsault from Sin Cara for two as Bubba breaks up the pin. Bubba Ray sends Jack Swagger into the ring post but then accidentally clotheslines D-Von. Sin Cara takes out Bubba and climbs to the top. D-Von shakes the ropes and Sin Cara falls. 3-D by the Dudleyz and they get the win.

Thoughts

Fun match, I actually enjoyed it a lot more than the Swagger/Titus vs Dudleyz match last week. Using Swagger as the face in peril was very smart because he’s a great seller and can sell sympathy through facial expressions which is something Sin Cara is restricted in because of his gear. Dudleyz play great heels as always. Not the best match by any means but pretty solid.

Overall

I feel like each week the matches are getting shorter and short and that kind of worries me. If you’re going to make the matches so short, at the very least tape some backstage segments. It’s a 50+ minute show and we’re down to about 13 minutes of actual wrestling. From around January to June they were killin’ it just about every week but it’s been a bit disappointing, especially the last couple weeks. Neville vs Axel was very skippable but it’s also only about 3-4 minutes so they didn’t really have a chance. Dudleyz vs Sin Cara & Jack Swagger was fairly fun but nothing special either. Also Summer Rae’s undefeated streak continues.