Sorry about the lateness of this write-up. It’s been a rough week.
Well that’s enough of that. Onto “The Superstar Report:”
Heath Slater vs. Tyson Kidd
Slater & Kidd exchange rear waist-locks, Slater gets an arm takedown which he counters with a head-scissors hold, Kidd kips-up to escape and we have our first stalemate of the night folks. Or day, I’m not sure when these shows are taped. Headlock by Slater, Kidd pushes him off, Slater comes back with a shoulder block, yadda yadda yadda. Slater backs Kidd into a corner during a collar-and-elbow tie-up, punches him in the gut and puts him in a hammerlock. Kidd walks him over to ropes, climbs onto the apron between the top and middle rope, re-enters underneath the middle rope and uses it to apply a hammerlock of his own. The ref tells him to release it so Kidd kicks the middle rope for some extra pain. Slater gets an arm-drag and finds himself in a key lock, I think. Slater gets to his feet, pushes Kidd to the ropes and knees him in the midsection to break the hold. Kidd gets Irish-whipped and slides under a right hand before using a wheelbarrow pin to get 2. Slater takes another arm-drag and finds himself on his stomach in an arm-lock. Kidd runs the ropes after being pushed off and takes a knee to the gut which causes him to do a front flip. Slater stomps him a few times and knocks him down with a right hand. Slater sends Kidd to the ropes but lowers his head too soon and gets kicked in the mush. Slater stumbles into a corner and Kidd tries to follow with an avalanche splash but Slater moves and Kidd hits the top turnbuckle chest-first. A neck-breaker gets 2 for Slater. Kidd is pushed out of the ring and Slater celebrates by terribly-strumming an air guitar as they head to commercial.
Kidd is trapped in a headlock as we rejoin the match in progress. Slater is thrown off but comes right back with a jumping leg lariat which gets 2. Slater uses mounted punches to keep Kidd grounded. He plays the ref a note from the air guitar then digs his right knee into Kidd’s back while simultaneously applying a chin-lock. Kidd struggles to break free so Slater uses a knee drop to the back before applying a headlock. Kidd continues to fight which prompts Slater to use several elbow strikes to the neck before reapplying the hold. Kidd gets to his feet and lands a pair of right hands to the gut but Slater cuts him off with another clubbing blow to the back of the neck. Kidd flips out of a backdrop suplex attempt, ducks a right hand and connects with a pair of roundhouse kicks to the right thing before downing Gabriel with a jumping back kick. Kidd lands another J.B.K. to the gut and a running dropkick gets 2 for Kidd. Slater reverses a whip but gets caught by Tyson’s backflip-kick-to-the-apron thingie which is immediately followed with a gamengiri. Tyson climbs to the top, Slater recovers, hops onto the middle turnbuckle and power-slams him! Kidd rolls to the floor so Slater has to throw him back in and gets a pair of 2-counts. Kidd stumbles into a corner and Gabriel beats him down with right hands. Kidd catches Gabriel running with an elbow and another gamengiri. Slater falls onto the bottom rope, which puts him in the perfect position for a springboard guillotine leg-drop! Both men struggle to get back to their feet and Tyson executes a diving flipping neck-breaker to get the win @ 9 min. & 29 sec.!
Natalya vs. Layla
For the love of all that is holy will someone please get Layla some new entrance music?! Fuck is it horrible. Anyway Natty shoves Layla down and front kicks her in the chest. Natty picks her up by her hair and smacks her which pisses Layla off. Layla performs an arm-drag after being sent to the ropes but doesn’t let go of the arm. She spins Beth around on the mat and puts her in a modified la mahistral cradle for 2. Nat does a fancy forward-flip from her back and Layla front kicks her in the stomach and delivers a slap of her own then applies a head-lock. Nat elbows her way out of it and lays down after sending Layla to the ropes. Layla passes over her but quickly hops back to the original side and does a lil’ dance. Nat is not pleased with the tomfoolery and goes on the attack but gets hung on the middle rope with a drop-toe-hold. Layla smacks dat ass (Natalya’s, not hers) and does a few more dances. She even does her own version of the spinarooni. Nat fells besmirched and the 2 run at each other and do that hair-pulling-face-buster thing and Layla gets back up first unfazed because…wrestling…logic…and knocks Nat back down with a lariat. Layla scores with a kick to the gut and a triangle springboard cross-body to get 2. Nat roles to the apron and complains that she doesn’t have to stand for this; Layla walks over and causes Nat to fall to the floor by shoving her butt into her face. Layla goes for a baseball slide but Nat pulls the banner on the apron back to catch her and wails on her with right hands and a kick to the previously injured right knee. Back in the ring Nat grabs the hair and drives the back of Layla’s head into the mat. Then she grabs the legs for a catapult but instead of propelling her into a corner she lands face-first on the mat instead. So was that a catapult face-buster? Yeah I think I’ll call it that from now on. Where was I? Oh yes, so Nat smacks Layla’s ass, stomps her in the back and covers her which much to my surprise only gets 2. Nat stands on Layla’s left hand for a few seconds before stomping on it. She then places Layla in a bow-and-arrow lock. Layla guts it out for 24 seconds before escaping and pinning Nat for a 2-count. Layla tries a front kick, Nat catches her leg and pulls her in but Layla quickly turns this into a victory roll which gets 2. Nat quickly responds with a discus lariat but only gets 2. Nat picks Layla up for a suplex, Layla flips out of it and rattle Natty’s brain with a roundhouse kick for the 1-2-3 @ 4 min. 33 sec. I liked what I saw from Layla. Is she actually a competent wrestler now? Time will tell….
Main Event: Justin Gabriel vs. Cody Rhodes
According to Striker this match was scheduled due to Rhodes claiming that he could beat any South African superstar and since Justin is from there, well that and gold medalist Cameron Van Der Burgh is currently busy (I’m confident that The Big Show will be jobbing to him at some point), he decided to accept that challenge. Cody uses a headlock takedown, Gabriel counters with a head-scissors hold and Rhodes kips-up to break the hold. They repeat the previous sequence then lock-up and Rhodes forces his foe into a corner. Gabriel switches positions and the referee forces a break. Rhodes asks Gabriel what he’s going to do and gets slapped for mouthing off! Someone get this man a mirror so he can make sure his face hasn’t been blemished. They engage each other again and this time it’s Gabriel who forces Rhodes to the mat with a head-lock takedown. Rhodes eventually gets to his feet and they do the push-off to-shoulder block thing with Gabriel as the aggressor. The ref forces another break after Rhodes is backed into a corner again. Cody throws a right but Gabriel ducks and attempts a backdrop suplex. Cody flips out of it and catches Gabriel with a drop-toe-hold which causes his face to bounce off of the bottom turnbuckle. Rhodes adds a few stomps for good measure. Gabriel punches Rhodes in the gut, Cody returns the favor and adds a few stomps. Gabriel throws Rhodes into the corner and lights up his chest with a knife-edge chop, he then adds a toe kick and a few elbow strikes to the beat-down soup. Rhodes reverses a whip and grabs Gabriel for an arm-drag. Justin flips to land on his feet (he stumbles a bit though) and executes a leg sweep that causes Rhodes to…flip forward.
Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
*ahem* Rhodes reverses another whip and throws Gabriel into a corner. A kick to the gut and a right hand makes Gabriel take a knee. Rhodes brings him out of the corner with an wrist-lock throw and locks-on the bicep cutter. 28 seconds later Gabriel gets to his feet and throws Rhodes off of him. Rhodes comes right back with a lariat but only gets 1! Rhodes applies another submission move to the Gabriel’s left shoulder. Rhodes is able to maintain the hold for about 35 sec. before he’s thrown to the mat. Gabriel ducks a right and takes Rhodes off of his feet with a jumping shoulder block. He follows it with a lariat then quickly hops onto a middle turnbuckle for a diving dropkick that gets 2. Rhodes rolls to the outside to take a break. Speaking of a break, Superstars decides to take one as well.
Rhodes is trapped in a crucifex pin which gets 1 as we jump back into the match. An inside cradle gets 2 for Gabriel. Rhodes gets snapmared and placed in a modified victory roll which gets 2. Rhodes takes an arm-drag and is placed in a shoulder submission. 14 sec. later Rhodes backs him into a corner to break the hold. Rhodes whips him to the opposite corner, well he attempts to but Gabriel throws him into it instead. Rhodes charges, Gabriel surprises him with the head-scissors and forces him over the top rope to the floor. Gabriel attempts a frankensteiner from the apron and gets powerbombed on the floor! Gabriel barely beats the 10-count and Rhodes puts the boots to him. A reverse suplex gets 2 for Rhodes. A kick to the gut and a right hand gets another 2-count for Rhodes. Gabriel is placed in another shoulder submission hold and tries to break free with right hands. Rhodes cuts him off with a knee to the gut, then he planks Gabriel on the top rope and kicks him in the gut again. Rhodes sets up Gabriel for the Alabama Slam but Gabriel turns it into a victory roll. Rhodes quickly jumps up and they bump heads. Both men answer the count at 7 and it’s Gabriel who gains the advantage with a flurry of kicks. Gabriel splashes Rhodes in a corner and floats over the top rope to the ring edge. He goes for a springboard move but Rhodes rolls to the outside. Gabriel joins him with a springboard corkscrew plancha! Rhodes says “Ow!” and it makes me chuckle. Gabriel throws him back into the ring and catches him in the back with a springboard dropkick which gets 2. Gabriel sits Rhodes on the top turnbuckle and they battle for dominance; Rhodes wins with a head-butt and reverse-suplexes Gabriel from the top but he only gets 2! Rhodes goes for a Russian leg sweep but Gabriel holds onto the top rope and Cody hits the mat hard. Gabriel lands with a springboard moonsault but only gets 2! Rhodes gets set in position for an S.T.O. but he elbows his way out of it and goes for the Beautiful Disaster, Gabriel ducks and uses a roundhouse kick, Rhodes ducks that and plants Gabriel with The Crossroads to earn the win at 11 min. & 58 sec (give or take a minute or two). This was a good back-and-forth bout that was good enough to be placed on the P.P.V. card. Oh, but who would want to see a competitive contest when we’ve got Ryback & Funkasaursus squash matches. Am I right folks? Don’t answer that.
Well that’s it for this edition of The Report. I’ll get the next one up sooner I promise!
Oh before I forget here’s a highlight video that I really enjoyed. Yeah it’s over nine minutes long but I thought it was put together rather well.
Survivor Series 2011 Highlights
Be safe out there folks.
