Alicia Fox vs. Tamina Review:
Fox is now a face, which I am okay with. Tamina stomps away at Fox in the corner, until Fox’s athleticism gets her a quick two count. Fox hits a few arm drags, and begins to work in the arm of Tamina. Fox gets flipped over Tamina’s back, and she connects with a kick to the face. Tamina gets a two count, and begins to work her ground and pound offense on Fox. Tamina keeps using her power, hitting a Rikishi-esque face buster while Fox is in the corner. Tamina puts Fox in a submission on her shoulders, and hits a throat thrust. Fox gets back on the offense with a arm drag and a few kicks. Fox hits three dropkicks on Tamina, and hits an elbow drop from the second rope. Tamina reverses Fox, hits a legdrop and sets up for a SuperFly Splash. She misses, and Fox hits an axe kick on Tamina for the win.
Reaction:
I was happy to see Alicia Fox show some progression in the ring. I look back at her matches, and she has improved her quickly. She has a world of athleticism and her timing was actually on tonight. Tamina continues to get buried, but she does has some talent as well. Besides from Phoenix and Natalya, Tamina is probably the next powerful diva in the company. I enjoyed the match because it gave us divas that rarely go one on one against each other. One is a ground and pound diva, while the other relies on her athleticism. Good timing, good mixture of offense, so this segment gets a B-.
Brodus Clay vs. Allen Turner Review:
Typical Brodus Clay match, where he pounds away at Turner. He hits a headbutt, and hits a legdrop onto Turner. Clay hits a T-Bone suplex, followed by a suplex. Clay lifts him up after a two count, and rams into him with a body splash, and hits his flying crossbody for the win.
Reaction:
Stop grunting, Brodus. We get that you are big, but the weird grunts and yells in the ring are too animated and too much to look at. His athleticism is shown again, and power. Turner could not weigh more than 200 pounds. Clay has a good 4 moves, hits them, and wins. The only notable thing Clay was different was the introduction of his new tights. This segment gets a D. He needs to stop being booked against nobodies. Zero offense from his opponents going over one month.
Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater Review:
Slater and Bryan start off fast, as Bryan works on the arm of Slater. Bryan, still on the offense, hits some elbows and forearms to the face of Slater. He applies a few different submission holds, and connects with a backbreaker. Bryan stretches out Slater and stomps on his knees. Bryan continues to dominate, with kicks to the chest and a two count. Slater reverses Bryan, and kicks Bryan in the knees. Slater applied a headlock onto Bryan and begins to take over offensively. He works on the legs of Bryan. Bryan attemps the LaBell lock, but Slater rolls to the outside. We get back from a break, as Bryan is thrown to the outside. Slater begins to brag in the ring, and hits knees to the back of Bryan. We see Bryan the tide, hitting a dive through the ropes onto Slater. Both men are down, as Bryan is the first to get up. Bryan goes up top, lands on his feet, and hits a flying heel kick onto Slater. We get more kicks to Slater, but Slater hits a nice inside out reverse body slam. Slater gets a two count, and both men are down. Both men exchange punches, and Slater gets another two count. Bryan hits a DDT, holds in a choke hold, as Slater taps out.
Reaction:
A great match from beginning to end. I bash Heath Slater because he is placed in matches where he is out of place. Let me clear it up, because Slater deserves credit. He is really, really good in the ring, but his character is bland, and does not have a stand out quality. Bryan is fantastic, as every match he adds a new wrinkle in his offensive moves. Whether it is another submission hold, or a way to reverse his opponent, Bryan continues to show why he is one of the best, if not the best, in the ring in the WWE. I do not love the idea of him being on Superstars every week, but as long as he does double, and sometimes triple duty, thumbs up for WWE for using him as much as possible. This segment, with the pace, the ability of both men, and the excellent mixture of submissions and unique offense, gets an A.
Overall:
A very solid show for WWE Superstars this week. Aside from the Clay squash, each match gave me something out of it. JTG and Ryan showed the youth and depth the roster has, and veterans like Hawkins and Reks can be utilized to an extent, hopefully as a tag team. We also got a peak into the future with Watson and O’Neil, both men who are athletic and capable of holding their own without prior exposure.( NXT does not count for me as exposure.) Tamina and Fox put on an above average divas match where two different styles actually worked and did not look sloppy or over protective of one another. Finally, Bryan and Slater put on a clinic of great bell to bell wrestling, as Bryan continues to impress me. The entire show gave me something to take out of it and think that the young guys, not sure specifically which ones, will be able to fill some space when needed a few years down the road as mid card and potentially a few main eventers in the future. This show, overall, gets a B-.
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