WWE Superstars TV Report
March 4, 2010 - Week 47
Taped the Week of March 1
Report by James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

The WWE show started with Raw announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introducing the show with hype for WrestleMania 26, leading to Kofi Kingston's music hitting to bring out Kofi for the opening singles match from the Raw brand. Chavo Guerrero then came out to oppose Kofi and start things off.

1 -- KOFI KINGSTON vs. CHAVO GUERRERO

The bell sounded and the audience chanted Kofi's name before Chavo and Kofi exchange mat holds, engaging in some chain wrestling. Nice opening sequence. Chavo then ducked a leap and took an elbow to the face for a two count. Chavo came up holding his left eye, which appears to be the spot where he took a cut over the eye. The ref then paused the match and put on surgical gloves to wipe down Chavo's cut. Apparently the medics aren't around for Superstars. Ref Goose closed up the cut and Chavo threw a towel away before kicking Kofi in the gut. Chavo then went on the offensive working over Kofi as the announcers talked about being in a fight as a kid. "Yeah, my next-door neighbor broke my nose - Liz," Cole said. "Liz?!" Lawler shot back. Ah, the self-deprecation from Cole.

Back to the action, Kofi escaped a hold by flipping Chavo to the floor before hitting a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Kofi went up top, but Chavo cut him off. Chavo then wanted a superplex, but Kofi blocked and knocked Chavo to the mat to nail a cross-body block for a one count. Kofi followed with chops and a dropkick, followed by a leaping chop and the Boom Drop. Kofi then started the handclap looking for the finish, but Chavo rolled to the apron. Chavo then caught Kofi with a half-Boston crab near the ropes and Kofi reached the ropes for a break. Both men came to their feet and Chavo suddenly ducked Trouble in Paradise. They appeared to edit it where two seconds later, Chavo walked into the TIP and Kofi scored the pin for the win.

WINNER: Kingston in 8:00. Nice match. Chavo is vastly underutilized in the ring and it's good to see him regularly featured on Superstars where he can show flashes of his wrestling skill, while still trying to enhance the opponent. (*1/2)

Announcers: Cole plugged World Hvt. champion Chris Jericho in action tonight against Goldust still to come in the main event.

Raw recap: They rolled footage hyping Raw this week with Vince McMahon vs. John Cena after they set up McMahon vs. Bret Hart for WrestleMania 26. Also, Criss Angel brings his act to Raw.

[Commercial Break. Naturally, a commercial for Hot Tub Time Machine before they guest-host in four weeks.]

WM26 video: They apparently needed to fill time, as they repeated the WrestleMania 26 video twice.

In-ring: William Regal was in the ring standing adjacent to the ropes with a condescending expression written on his face. Evan Bourne then came out to face Regal. This should be a good match-up.

[Q2]

2 -- WILLIAM REGAL vs. EVAN BOURNE

Regal started things off by over-powering Bourne before Bourne came back with a head scissors and standing dropkick. Bourne then tried a headlock and Regal fought the hold before ramming Bourne into the corner turnbuckle and hitting a clothesline to slow down Bourne. He followed with a back elbow smash before settling into a rear chinlock. Regal settled in here and continued to punish Bourne until the crowd rallied with a slow clap. Bourne broke free and hit a kick to the back, but Regal came back with a suplex. He tried to follow with the Knee Trembler, but Bourne hit a high knee smash. Regal then not-so-subtly rolled into position in the corner and Bourne went up top for the Air Bourne splash for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Bourne in 6:00. Fine match. The finish seemed to come out of nowhere, as they were building to a ten-minute match that was cut short at 6:00. Regal taking the pinfall after being on offense for a while didn't seem realistic, but the audience's eyes were shifted to simply focus on the Air Bourne finish. I'd like to see more from them with 10-15 minutes to work with. Obviously, that won't be happening, but a guy can dream. (*1/4)

Shawn Michaels DVD plug: They hyped the "My Journey" DVD coming out this month with 22 matches, a sit-down interview talking about his career, and his view on current and past stars.

[Commercial Break]

This Tuesday plug: Meet NXT rookie David Otunga. He's being mentored by R-Truth, but is their relationship falling apart? Find out on Syfy.

In-ring: Mike Knox was in the ring coming back from break. We heard a word from Smackdown announcers Todd Grisham and Matt Striker, who previewed a colossal collision coming up next. Out came Kane to face Knox in the big-man battle of the night.

3 -- MIKE KNOX vs. KANE

The announcers played this up as a Money in the Bank revenge match, as Kane qualified on Smackdown by defeating Drew McIntyre and Knox hasn't been given a chance to qualify. Knox hit a flying cross-body splash early on for a two count before landing a right hand smash to the face. Grisham then asked Striker to visually preview Hart vs. McMahon at WrestleMania. Striker hyped it as a brawl between boss and employee.

[Q3] Back to the action, Knox knocked Kane off the top rope with a big boot to the head and Knox began working over Kane. Knox went for a corner attack and Kane suddenly teased the chokeslam out of nowhere before connecting. Kane with the cover for the win and Knox was quickly eradicated.

WINNER: Kane in 4:00. Man, another finish that came out of nowhere and didn't help the heel taking the loss. It was the right finish to enhance Kane going into Mania, but I believe there's so much more they could be doing with Knox. (*1/4)

Up later in the main event: Chris Jericho vs. Goldust, who they officially confirmed as an official Smackdown brand wrestler.

WM26 plug: They aired an abbreviated version of the Johnny Cash-aided Michaels-Taker hype video for WrestleMania.

[Commercial Break]

Weekly Superstars video: They focused on C.M. Punk's cult-like Straight Edge Society this week. Plenty of Punk action clips and voice-overs from recent promos.

Announcers: Grisham and Striker were shown on-camera to break down the WrestleMania PPV line-up and sell the PPV being the one place where all of the questions will be answered.

Raw Rebound: They rolled footage from Raw with Shawn Michaels's speech on Taker's Streak, Triple H's pep talk, their failed tag match via Taker mind games, and Sheamus taking out Triple H after Michaels ran away to track down Taker.

In-ring: World Hvt. champion Chris Jericho smugly walked out to the ring for the main event after the break.

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

4 -- World Hvt. champion CHRIS JERICHO vs. GOLDUST -- non-title match

Back from break, Jericho shot Goldust a classic perplexed look as Goldust did his full ring entrance. Goldust sure received a lot of on-camera attention here. Goldust started on the offensive with two consecutive knock-downs to take Jericho to the floor. Goldust then paraded around the ring in control of the match as they cut to the final break of the show.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, Goldust missed with a corner splash and Jericho hit an enziguiri kick for a two count. Jericho then went to work taking Goldust apart before playing to the crowd to get the crowd into the action. Goldust tried a wild swing, but comically fell to the mat to sell the effects of Jericho's offense. Striker and Grisham talked NXT for a bit as Jericho knocked Goldust to the floor. Jericho then took a siesta in the corner by propping his body up on the top turnbuckle. Goldust re-entered and suddenly tried a small package, but Jericho kicked out and dropped Goldust with a clothesline.

They battled up top, Goldust knocked Jericho to the floor, and Goldust wanted a double axehandle, but Jericho countered with a mid-air dropkick. Jericho then settled into a chinlock before Goldust powered out and landed a clothesline followed by an uppercut. Goldust tried a bulldog, but Jericho blocked and hit a bulldog of his own. Jericho raised his hand in victory before attempting a Lionsault, only to have Goldust pop up to his feet and hit a powerslam for a two count. Nice sequence. Goldust tried the Curtain Call, but Jericho blocked and slapped on the Walls of Jericho. Goldust tapped out moments later and Jericho picked up the win.

WINNER: Jericho in 11:00 via submission. Really nice main event. They made Goldust seem like a big deal with the amount of offense he was given against the World champ. He's in good shape, his offense looked crisp for the most part, and he has a marketable persona from his longevity in wrestling. I can see where Jericho said on Twitter that he was very happy with the match. (**1/4)

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