This past Monday Night, as wrestling fans everywhere enjoyed a smashing episode of Monday Night RAW on the USA Network, it was announced that WWE’s Friday afternoon WWE Network show, WWE Superstars, would be no more.
Did you hear that? That was the collective sound of nobody caring. Superstars had long outstayed its’ relevance, and for the past few years was pretty much just two dark matches put on TV to fulfill international television contracts, along with a bunch of recaps of Monday Night RAW.
Of course, the deepest of wrestling nerds had continued to watch, hoping that maybe they’d catch some kind of hidden gem. And sometimes that happened. But usually it didn’t. Superstars would mostly feature guys with no direction (think: Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Jinder Mahal, the Social Outcasts, Los Matadores) in endless matches against each other that didn’t matter and just seemed to be there to prove why these fellas won’t be big stars anytime soon.
These matches would typically be sooooo painfully basic, your WWE-style 101 match, which can be the most homogenized, gross thing in pro wrestling. Lockup, chain wrestle, face gets offense, heel takes over, chinlock, brief comeback, chinlock, comeback, finish. Nothing more, nothing less. No spark, no surprises. They were like the Hallmark Christmas movies of pro wrestling without the campiness.
The epitome for this type of match for me was Zack Ryder vs. Heath Slater from December 4, 2015. Just watch this piece of shit. Both guys would go on to do some awesome stuff in 2016, including an amazing match on Main Event just a few months later, but in the context of Superstars they had the dullest, most empty match possible.
The reason there are any fond memories of WWE Superstars probably has to do with its’ initial run, which ran from the mid-80s through the 90s and had Razor Ramon and IRS squashing fools left and right. But that was another era, and is not this Superstars.
This incarnation of Superstars debuted on April 16, 2009, on WGN America, before the WWE Network was a thing. As WWE tends to do when they debut new shows, they really tried for a bit. The first episode had The Undertaker vs. Matt Hardy, Christian vs. Finlay, and Cody Rhodes vs. Shane McMahon. What a card!
For a while, the hook with Superstars was that you’d get to see matches between guys who wouldn’t normally wrestle each other – main eventers vs. midcarders, or sweet workers like Rey Mysterio and Christian having long matches against guys the main shows didn’t have time for.
But then WGN America decided to stop airing Superstars. And it went to the international markets, WWE.com, and Hulu. Sometimes the only way to watch it was going to one of those weird Indian websites that put up every WWE show and have people aggressively complaining in the comments section if a show goes up late. Once the WWE Network debuted, Superstars was a part of that too. What a perk!
And usually, the matches were crap and basic. Lots of Tyler Reks, JTG, and so much Michael McGuillicutty. Sometimes though, you would get a gem. When they were trying early on, there was a lot of fun stuff actually – 10+ minute matches without any TV angle bullshit. And there were some cool pairings throughout its’ run that you’d only see once or twice, like Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd or Rey Mysterio vs. Tyson Kidd or lots of guys vs. Tyson Kidd.
Sometimes it wasn’t even how great the match is, but the novelty of it – you only get to see Undertaker and heel Matt Hardy work a solid 10-minute match, or Daniel Bryan working any long matches in 2011 here.
So, goodbye Superstars. I’m not sure if you will be missed. But thanks for the memories. Below I have listed a bunch of Superstars Matches Worth Watching, which I’ve been tracking on 1053 Ridge since the start of the year but go all the way back to Superstars’ debut here.
You can find most of these via Google/YouTube/RuTube/DailyMotion, though some you might only be able to find a few minutes of. As I write this, the WWE Network has every Superstars going back o February of 2014.
If there are any I’ve missed, I implore you to let me know @1053Ridge.
Godspeed, Superstars. Godspeed.
The Undertaker vs. Matt Hardy (4/16/09) – A fun little match that set the tone for the returning Superstars before the big stars realized they didn’t want to work it.
Christian vs. Mark Henry (5/14/09) – This is only like 5 minutes but it’s both guys in their prime and pretty awesome.
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho (5/21/09) – Jericho takes on CM Punk back when Punk still liked wrestling.
Randy Orton vs. Primo Colon (7/30/09) – Maybe the last of the main eventer vs. midcarder superstars matches, and oh how sad that is. Primo sells his ass off, and Orton taking the Primo comeback (complete with CARTWHEEL!) is so great. Awesome lead-in to the RKO too.
Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox (8/6/09 and 2/18/10) – Not just one but TWO matches exist where Rey Mysterio and Mike Knox go over ten minutes. This is why we mourn Superstars. Knox is a capable big guy but nobody ever got much out of him … but pop him into the Rey shtick and it’s awesome.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Finlay (9/17/09) – Classic Finlay here, a real fight with a young excited fella in Dolph. Probably the match where all the boys in the back realized Ziggler could be great.
CM Punk vs. John Morrison (10/15/09) – These guys always had good chemistry; at some point they felt like the next Bret and Shawn before everything blew up. There was an ECW Title match that was better but this is fun. Plus The Miz is on commentary.
Chris Jericho vs. Finlay (11/5/09) – Total Dream Match… babyface Finlay vs. prime heel Jericho. These two having a shoving match is living breathing art. Jericho does a Dragon sleeper at one point. Very cool stuff.
Chris Jericho vs. Goldust (3/4/10) – Oh my god is this good. Goldust on his seventh Comeback Tour vs. Jericho who was World Champ heading into Mania. Jericho reacting to Goldust being a weirdo and then being a dick anytime he gets a move in is so great. FUN!!!
Rey Mysterio vs. Tyson Kidd (3/25/10) – Did this fucking thing only happen once? Are you kidding me?? This goes over 10 and has Rey and Kidd trading holds, running the ropes, Kidd doing power spots, Rey looking pissed off as all hell when he overcomes the odds against Kidd and his Hart Dynasty buddies on the outside. Tremendous.
William Regal vs. Goldust (8/26/10) – Do I even need to write anything here? Watch this.
Drew McIntyre vs. Chris Masters (8/26/10 and 5/12/11) – There was a moment in professional wrestling history where the Internet Wrestling Community (back when you could still say that) thought Chris Masters was one of the best wrestlers in the world. These matches are the reason why. SELLING. A. BODY. PART.
Curt Hawkins vs. Trent Baretta (10/14/10, 11/25/10 and 12/9/10) – Just great chemistry between these two… all three of these matches are fun. Baretta could be so good and Hawkins is the right kind of guy to work with him.
William Regal vs. Darren Young (10/21/10) – Nothing blowaway great but watching Regal work with green babyface Darren Young is a treat.
Drew McIntyre vs. Kaval (11/11/10) – I mean this match happened. It actually happened twice, once on Superstars and once on SmackDown. And this is fun. Real physical, and Ki does a rolling koppou kick up the stairs. UP THE STAIRS!!!
Daniel Bryan & Gail Kim vs. Tyson Kidd & Melina (3/24/11) – Yeah, Bryan and Kim were boyfriend and girlfriend at one point and it was super awkward. This might be as good as a Mixed Tag gets without some kind of crazy angle behind it… Bryan vs. Kidd is always great, Kim is good, and Melina was really putting it together in her last year with WWE.
Trent Baretta & The Usos vs. Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater (6/3/11) – In an era when the cruiserweight did not exist in WWE, this was a fantastic damn match. A bunch of young guys given almost 15 minutes to do their thing and their thing they did.
Daniel Bryan vs. Drew McIntyre (8/25/11) – Even though Bryan had just won Money in the Bank, WWE still didn’t really seem to have many plans for him. So he had a few sweet matches on Superstars. Drew was starting to get on a roll despite them doing nothing with him in 2011 too. He is vicious here, and Bryan sells his ass off.
Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater (9/8/11) – Another fun Bryan on Superstars match … he beats the tar out of Heath Slater and it is wonderful.
Daniel Bryan vs. William Regal (11/10/11) – They had a match on RAW that wasn’t much, so this is the best Bryan vs. Regal we got in WWE. Regal gets the Man’s Man theme played for his entrance. They milk the shit out of every hold, Regal does an amazing sell off a knee from Bryan on the outside, and Bryan beats on Regal’s leg while Regal sells his ass off. Real. Goddamn. Men.
Antonio Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd (5/24/12) – Yeah, this match happened. Cesaro had just debuted. Lots of fun power stuff from him. Neat-o!!!
Hunico vs. Justin Gabriel (6/14/02 and 7/11/12) – Superstars wasn’t much in 2012 but these are your hidden gems, with two high-flyers that had nothing going on going out and killing it. The front cradle bomb off the top rope finish on the June one is out of this world.
Natalya vs. Naomi (7/4/13) – Back when it seemed Naomi was there to do nothing but shake her ass for Brodus Clay, you got this reminder that she could wrestle. Solid little match.
Santino Marella vs. JTG (9/20/13) – This is the match where JTG does the best sell of the Cobra ever, and for that it deserves mention.
Sin Cara vs. Justin Gabriel (9/4/14, 9/11/14 and 9/18/14) – Three matches in a row of Justin Gabriel trying to figure out how to work with Mistico … some fun stuff is peppered all over these.
Paige vs. Emma (12/4/14) – Probably their best main roster match together.
Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. Los Matadores (4/23/15) – Fun little tag match, with the Matadores being the good hands they are and Cesaro doing spots with El Torito.
Luke Harper vs. Jack Swagger (5/7/15) – Hoss war, baby. Holds. Strikes. Luke Harper’s dirty ass shirt. Good stuff.
Cesaro vs. Luke Harper (6/25/15) – A pairing I wish we’d see more of. You could tell these two were excited to work each other. Harperana!!!
Neville vs. Heath Slater (7/9/15) – This is like a five-minute match but kind of a blast. Neville is reliably awesome and Heath trying to keep up with him is hilarious.
Neville & The Lucha Dragons vs. Stardust & The Ascension (9/3/15) – This match happened quite a bit on a few different platforms but was always fun.
Kalisto vs. Viktor (10/29/15) – Always enjoy when Viktor gets a singles match against a guy who can go. This is that.
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz (1/22/16) – Not any good, but just a reminder that this match happened nine months before their epic feud and kind of sucked.
Mark Henry & Jack Swagger vs. The Ascension (2/5/16) – This could’ve main evented a Mid-South show… Ascension do their beatdown and Henry and Swagger are a tremendous babyface team. Great opening tag type of match.
Zack Ryder vs. Stardust (2/12/16) – The Theme Park Friends collide in a fun little match on the Zack Ryder Comeback Tour.
Natalya vs. Alicia Fox (2/19/16) – This is during Alicia’s Temper Tantrum run and is a fun match… Natalya wrestles, Fox loses her shit.
Neville vs. Viktor (3/4/16) – Another Neville 5-minute special, and Viktor is a solid guy to work that match.
The Usos vs. The Ascension (3/11/16) – The Usos as babyfaces were getting really stale at this point, but they still don’t get enough credit as a rock solid WWE tag team. Here’s why.
Natalya vs. Summer Rae (3/4/16 and 3/18/16) – Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that Summer Rae can work.
Zack Ryder vs. Tyler Breeze (3/18/16) – I’m pretty sure Zack’s run on Superstars in this timeframe is why he got the Mania moment. I mean yeah, being a team player and stuff, but he was really fired up leading up to Mania and having a bunch of good matches.
Kalisto vs. Konnor (3/25/16) – Kalisto was a superworker for the first quarter of 2016 and here he has what has to be Konnor’s best ever singles match (with apologies to the King of 1053 Ridge).
Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin (6/17/16 and 7/1/16) – Swagger had some of Corbin’s first legit good main roster stuff.
Becky Lynch vs. Summer Rae (7/15/16) – Becky the Superworker has a great match with the underrated Summer Rae… think this was the match that made me realize how good Becky is at getting a complete match out of like 5 minutes of TV time.
Sami Zayn vs. Curtis Axel (7/15/16 and 8/12/16) – Zayn is Zayn, Axel is aggressive, and the Social Outcasts do their thing. Crowd was way into both of these.
Jack Swagger vs. Rusev (9/2/16) – Think this is my favorite match of the whole Superstars run, and might be my favorite Rusev/Swagger match. Rusev is still selling a big spear from Reigns, so sells his ribs on everything he does. So many great little things, like Rusev knocking Swagger off the apron every time he tries to re-enter to buy time. Rusev’s reactions and facial expressions here are the best. Big bumps and desperation by Swagger. Amazing finish. Legitimately awesome match.
Sin Cara vs. Braun Strowman (9/16/16) – Braun’s first good singles match, so good that they repeated it on RAW. Cara flies all over and Braun does some great cut-offs.
Neville vs. Curtis Axel (10/7/16) – And one more Neville 5-minute special… Axel’s stuff is on-point and Neville does a couple balls-out things. Crazy re-positioning by Neville for the Red Arrow too.
Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke (11/4/16) – Alicia Fox has a way about reminding you that she’s great every six months or so. Big time intensity for this match… another women’s match this year that felt like more of a fight than most men’s matches.
Curtis Axel vs. Bo Dallas (11/25/16) – The final Superstars match and of course it’s the Social Outcasts colliding. Bo has a couple nice bumps here, Axel is a weirdly awesome fired up babyface, and they have themselves a nice little match.
