ADDED:
#8 - Drew McIntyre vs. Chris Masters - Superstars 5/12/11
One of the best possible pairings. These two had a great one on Superstars last year (8/12/10), and this was about on the same level as that. D-Mac comes out cocky and smirking, so Masters rocks him and teases the Masterlock early. McIntyre takes control by grabbing Masters's leg from the apron and wrapping it around the post: a cool spot that played off McIntyre's stolen-from-Finlay use-the-environment shtick, which always rules. Then we get several minutes of a guy with brutal and creative offense beating on a guy with top-notch limb selling. So of course it works. Masters has been great for a while, and the way McIntyre continues to improve amazes me. Not just his offense & bumping, which have both become incredible, but he communicates frustration so much better now than he did a year ago, and here, he takes another leap forward by busting out some impressive athletic spots. Masters boots him out of the ring when he goes for a figure-four, but McIntyre goes through the ropes and lands on his feet, which looks cool. Then he slaps the table in frustration, which looks great and costs him because it gives Masters enough time to go back on offense. Best part of the match: McIntyre hits a beautiful dropkick and then kips up. It looks amazing. Finish is good, too, and I should've talked about Masters's selling more because it's brilliant, and McIntyre takes off his knee pad to make it look extra vulnerable. Also worth noting that Masters has gotten very good on offense. He really wails on dudes with chops & such.
ADDED:
#12 - Evan Bourne vs. Drew McIntyre - Superstars 5/19/11
A little 6.5 minute masterpiece. Drew powers Bourne down but Bourne squirms out with quick mat stuff. McIntyre tries to bully Bourne throughout the opening: he hits a shoulder block and gloats; he slaps Bourne in the face after putting him on the turnbuckle, but Bourne comes back with quick arm drags, including a leaping drag off the second buckle, which looks awesome. Bourne on offense rules, and McIntyre bumps great and communicates arrogance and frustration perfectly. Bourne also hits a beautiful rana and throws great kicks, but McIntyre finally kills him with a clothesline. Bourne does a backflip off the apron and dies. All in the first two minutes. Then McIntyre bullies Evan and throws a great big boot. They don't have the time to work great limb stuff like in the Masters match, but with McIntyre's size advantage, a bully segment works just as well. He hits a delayed superplex and shows off and wails on Bourne, who can make anything look like gold and gold look like god. They do a cool spot off the apron that leads to McIntyre eating steps and Bourne throwing a great flurry of kicks into the awesome finish. Bourne goes for another rana but pays because Drew learned something: he tosses Bourne into the buckle and hits the Future Shock.
ADDED:
#19 - Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder - Superstars 5/5/11
A pairing that doesn't get enough pimpage. Ryder is goofy but can work and has had multiple goodies with Bourne & Christian. Bourne is a treat here, leading Ryder through some slick mat exchanges. I'll go nuts for any chance to watch Bourne on offense busting out quick mat stuff. And then Ryder catches him going for a rana off the apron to the outside and smashes him into the barricade. It's worth reiterating that Bourne dies all the time, beautifully. And Ryder hits an awesome facewash. And these guys bust out cool counters together and time stuff great. This one didn't sizzle quite as much as their 5/27/10 match but was still plenty fun and worth checking out.
Best of WWE 2011: THE LIST
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