Catching Up: 2010

I was on vacation for the last couple weeks, so I missed everything. Trying to cram and get caught up real quick, and I figured I'd post some thoughts on stuff that stuck out.

John Cena vs. Justin Gabriel - Raw 9/6/2010


Wouldn't call this a great match or anything, but I wanted to point to it because I thought Cena was really stellar in this match. Gabriel isn't a guy I'd call great, but he does bust out some pretty nifty stuff. Still, the reason this match stuck out was because of how willing Cena was to sell for him, and because of how much Cena was willing to give. Cena plays the superior veteran in the early parts, taking Gabriel to the mat and controlling him. I really like Cena in this role-- he's not a stellar mat worker or whatever, but all his mat exchanges look good and realistic and engaging. But then Gabriel catches Cena with an average-looking cheap-shot forearm, but Cena sells it so well that it comes across as a really awesome moment. Cena makes all of Gabriel's average offense look fantastic. Gabriel just kinda goes through some "cool moves" rather than putting together anything focused, which prevents this from being as good as it could have been, but he does display that he has a pretty decent arsenal of stuff he can hit competently. Also, Cena busts out his biggest move to put Gabriel away, which I thought was nice of him.

I'd call this a match worth checking out if you're bored, or interested in seeing how good Cena is these days, or wondering what Gabriel can do. Nothing great, but enjoyable.

William Regal vs. R-Truth - Superstars 9/9/2010


These two had another match on Superstars a little while back, and it was fine but not great. Same for this one, but Regal raps before the match, which was awesome. Match consists of Regal trying to make garbage offense look credible for a little while, followed by Regal getting nasty and working a full nelson really well, followed by Regal jobbing. It was fine.

Goldust & Gail Kim vs. Primo & Jillian - Superstars 9/9/2010


Man, I'd really love to see a Goldust/Primo singles match. Their exchanges are so fun here. Starts out as all Goldust, rocking Primo with a really fun flurry. Primo's selling is all fun and old-school and goofy and great, and then he tags out. Jillian and Gail do some stuff that isn't fantastic, but there are fun moments when the boys interfere. Gail hits a nice looking dropkick from the top on Primo, and she also takes a cool bump through the ropes when Primo pulls the middle rope down. Then they do the hot tag, and Dustin womps on Primo, and it's freaking awesome. Dude looks so fit and hits the best inverted atomic drops. Primo sells that move brilliantly, too. Finish is awesome, too-- super great, fluid counters by Goldust. Probably not a must-see, but I can't imagine anyone not enjoying the Dustin/Primo exchanges in this match. I'd probably pay $5 to get them to air a 10-minute singles match between those two.

Drew McIntyre vs. Kaval - Smackdown 9/10/2010


Wow, this was fun. Only went about 4 minutes, which was kinda sad because if they'd doubled that time, this probably could've been a top 10 match for the year, but it was still fantastic for what it was, which was a super fun and smart sprint with fantastic selling by Drew and great strikes by Kaval. Dude busts out tons of swank kicks and counters that I'm not going to bother trying to recap. Basically, Kaval rocks Drew in the ring, but on two occasions, Drew goes to the outside to use his surroundings to take control. I really like how he does that-- definitely adds a consistent theme to his matches, and it's becoming a part of his character. First spot is really great and something I don't recall seeing-- he suplexes Kaval from the floor onto the apron, and it looks reckless and disgusting. Kaval comes back, going for a rana, only to get caught and launched upward. He lands on the top rope and hits a sweet kick. Really tremendous spot. He goes for the STOMP, but Drew rolls to the outside. Kaval goes for another rana, only to get caught and whipped into the barricade. Really awesome, sets up the finish.

Great short match, and I'd love to see something longer between these two.

CM Punk vs. The Undertaker - Smackdown 9/10/2010


These two had a good promo at the start of the show to set up the match and make it seem more important. Punk sends the SES away, showing that he wants to win this on his own. Taker comes out selling all his injuries or whatever. He's actually really good at conveying this sort of exhaustion, but Punk is the star of this match. His mannerisms and facial expressions are totally awesome. He comes out looking smug and confident because he knows Taker is hurt. He dodges a few times but eventually gets caught and rocked, and he sells Taker's early arm work really well. But then Taker slips on Old School, which was a nice way to communicate that he wasn't healthy, though I would've liked to see Punk take control on his own.

Still, he's awesome after the break, working Taker's arm using the same stuff Taker used against him, and asking, "How do you like it?!" Really tremendous spot, and Punk's control is good. But, honestly, I thought there was too much Taker in this match. It should've been mostly Punk on offense, dominating, but it felt like Taker got a lot in. Not that his offense looked bad-- it was fine, and stuff like Punk selling the leg drop on the apron was really great-- but given the whole injury angle, I thought it should've been structured a bit differently, especially considering Taker was going over. Also didn't dig the finish: an injured Taker eats a GTS but still has enough magical dark power to come back with a Hell's gate? Psh. Held the match back from being really great, and I thought it made Punk look weak. He couldn't even take control of the match on his own, which made him seem a notch below an injured Taker when he should really be the top heel in the company. Too bad.