Superstars Scrapheap

First off, anybody out there actually watch Superstars?

*crickets followed by tumbleweed*

Right so, on with the article then. . .

I noticed lately that the ratings for the show in question has been getting lower and lower every week, bit by bit. Of course, I ended up coming to the conclusion that Superstars has become just like Heat and Velocity before it.

What set it apart from those now defunct shows is that, at first, storylines with mid-carders such as Dolph Ziggler were teased out in the ring. Now that isn't the case anymore, but at least it gave people half a reason to tune in. Superstars is also more concentrated on the actual matches, whereas Heat was more of a Raw highlight show with meaningless matches in between that usually involved low carders like Val Venis or just complete jobbers who we'd never see again. Notwithstanding that, Chris Jericho has appeared on it several times as well.

The choice of commentators is also different. Whereas they used to put the likes of Todd Grisham, Josh Matthews, Jonathan Coachman (remember him?) and Jack Korpela (oh god) on the announce desk, WWE actually puts Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Matt Striker on commentary for this Thursday night programme. It's only a small thing, but it does matter to wrestling fans.

So on the basis of that evidence, it would seem as if WWE did put some stock in it at the beginning. But when I tune into it on Friday evenings (when it airs in Ireland) I don't get the feeling that anyone cares about this slot anymore (that is, of course, if anybody cared about it in the first place).

In all honesty, it's a bit of a black hole for any talent who are unfortunate enough to end up on it these days. Many of the wrestlers who now appear on Superstars, seem to be perpetually affixed to it. Chris Masters, for instance, returned a few short months ago to Raw, but ever since has wrestled solely on Superstars. Maybe that's a bad example, because I actually don't want Masters anywhere near my television screen to begin with.

If we take, say, Chavo Guerrero, who has been out of the loop since his feud with Rey Mysterio really. In the last month or two, however, Chavo has been missing from Smackdown! and is now on a "winning streak" on Superstars according to Grisham. I actually like Chavo, I've always been a fan of his. I've watched a few matches he had back in WCW and I think WWE have really missed the ball with this guy. He's so good, and yet he hasn't been used in the right way on so many occasions. I just don't see how the Santino and Kozlov double act makes it onto Raw, supposedly your flagship wrestling show for the week, when Chavo should at least have a good spot on Smackdown! instead of doing this crap.

Just as we see weekly in NXT, where Rookies are made to do idiotic tasks, it is yet another example of WWE misusing their talent.

Making New Ground. Sort Of.

Summerslam, the first Big Four pay-per-view in the lead-up to WrestleMania, is this weekend and there's one match in particular that I am very curious to see. . .

And before you ask: NO, it's not the Team WWE versus Team Nexus 7-on-7 main event I'm speaking of. Rather, it's the WWE Championship bout between Sheamus and Randy Orton that I'm looking forward to.

As you may remember, these two faced off for the same title at Royal Rumble in a lacklustre match-up. Back then these two men were on different paths to the ones they are on now.

Firstly, Orton was still a heel! Quite hard to believe it was such a short time ago. Secondly, he still had The Legacy tagging along with him. Thirdly, this was Sheamus's first title reign, so he was extremely green both in the ring and on the mic. 

Looking back, and it's very easy to be wise after the event, but I think it was fairly obvious at the time that Orton wouldn't be taking the title off The Celtic Warrior on this particular night. We all knew that the triumvirate he had with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. was nearing an end, so what sense would it have made to put the title on him so close to 'Mania? He certainly didn't elevate Rhodes and DiBiase to main event level, so there was never going to be a face-off between the three for the championship. It's never a good sign for what should be a big match when one can work out the finish with relative ease.

And lo' and behold, Sheamus won via disqualification after Rhodes attacked him.





The idea here, of course, was to speed up the division between Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase, while keeping the belt on the Irishman. Now, I've no problem with trying to progress an on-screen storyline, but I was seriously pissed off at the time with how WWE went about it in this instance. I don't think anyone buys a PPV to watch crappy finishes to headline contests such as these. It did nothing to generate heat with the audience for the Legacy feud and it certainly didn't give Sheamus any credibility as a champion, despite his squashing of the Viper afterwards. All I could think was, "this has transitional champ written ALL OVER IT."

Subsequently, Sheamus dropped the title to John Cena at Elimination Chamber,thus setting up a feud with Triple H, while Legacy finally split from Orton in the same match.

Sheamus lost to Trippers at WM, and while he eventually beat The Game at Extreme Rules, a win on the 'Grandest Stage Of 'Em All' would have given him the push of a lifetime -- nothing builds up a character quite like a victory over an established superstar at 'Mania. The Triple Threat match on the same card was enjoyable, as Orton gained the win by pinfall, but it wasn't the kind of ending that this rivalry deserved. Not looking great for these supposed main eventers so.

Fast forward five months, Sheamus holds the WWE Championship once again and Orton has since turned face. So, what's changed in the meantime? What's the difference between then and now?

Well, it would definitely seem as if Sheamus has grown in confidence as well as stature in the intervening months. He's become a lot smoother in the ring than he used to be and can now create genuine heat from the audience. He has undoubtedly improved since his first title reign in my estimation.

Orton, on the other hand, has been treading on new ground -- he's been living life as a fully fledged babyface! This was unthinkable after the ill-fated face turn following his split from the super heel faction Evolution. The lesson learned from that storyline was to keep The Legend Killer a bad guy -- until now.

There were many sceptics who predicted that he would not be able to cut it as a so-called good guy, that he was just too hateable to make it work. And truth be told, he did struggle to connect with the fans at first and I felt this would end up much like Edge's short lived face turn earlier on this year. Over the past few weeks, however, he's been receiving huge pops from the crowd each and every time he steps into the ring. I reckon it would be fair to say that he hasn't been this over in quite a while. As a face, it would seem, Randy is loved by the fans.

But what does all this mean for their encounter this coming Sunday?

It's been asserted by other writers I've read and podcasters that I've listened to, that Sheamus is simply keeping the belt warm for Triple H, who will no doubt be looking for revenge after being attacked by The Celtic Warrior at Extreme Rules. If this is the case, I imagine the Irishman will gain the victory here, but it all hangs on the finish for me. If it ends in a non-finish or another DQ, it could potentially ruin a perfectly good contest. Hopefully it won't come to that.

My best case scenario is that Sheamus wins cleanly. Ultimately, though, these two guys need to have a good match. This PPV and their year almost depend on it.

Podcast Of The Week: Smart Wrestling Fan

Welcome to podcast number three in the POTW series!

If you've been following this column, you'll know that it is usually found on my main blog, The Novelty Act, but this week I wanted to do something a little different and, considering the content, felt it deserved to be posted on The Unfinished Article.

As the mere existence of this particular blog will suggest, I'm a big wrestling fan. Unfortunately, it's not terribly easy to follow pro wrestling in Ireland unless you have Sky Digital, which I don't. Instead I must catch up on the week's WWE action every Sunday morning on Sky1 or watch it illegally on the Internet. That's where the AWARD WINNING Smart Wrestling Fan comes in. . .

SWF is a weekly wrestling review show that airs every Tuesday and subsequently podcasted on Wednesday. The show is hosted by "Smart" Joe Negron and Max Laughton, who is affectionately known to listeners as The Dshban. Notwithstanding that, Dshban co-hosts the show all the way from Australia. Even more incredible in my mind is the fact that he's only 18, a mere two months older than myself!

Dshban meets Layla at a WWE signing in Australia

Joe Negron and his other hobby -- video games.

I had never been one for wrestling podcasts until I found SWF. For months before then, I had been a subscriber to the CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go, which is how I came across Joe Negron's SWF, but that was about it. You see, most wrestling podcasts are far shorter (SWF is usually an incredible three hours long) and rather than run through all of the week's action from each show in full, they tend to skim through the finer details. SWF, on the other hand, covers each show on their programme, from NXT to Raw and even TNA iMPACT! They even covered Chris Jericho's game show, Downfall, while it was on the air and towards the end of each show there is a brief recap on the week's Ring Of Honor.

Joe and Dshban don't just cover the week in pro wrestling though -- they cover it with considerable proficiency, which is why it's considered one of the best podcasts around by their fans and separates it from many other ones as well. They know their wrestling, that's for sure, but they also don't enter the obnoxious smarky territory that can be a real turn-off for the casual listener. They're not afraid to give their opinions either, as can be seen by this clip where Joe criticises TNA:

That extract is from a slightly old episode sans Dshban, but it is Joe at his best -- himself and Dshban are not afraid to tell it as it is, and they certainly don't shy away from criticising TNA. Of course, it is argued that they let each other go a bit too far with their antics, but I think that's a matter of opinion. I, for one, find it amusing and enjoyable.

So beloved of SWF are their fans, that they go to great lengths for one of their favourite shows. Some of them make one-off or weekly donations in order to keep the show running from week to week. . .

. . . some fans create fantastic artwork in dedication to the show. . .

. . . some fans even go as far as composing songs!

These creative fans have made such an emotional investment in SWF, because it is simply one of the most enlightening (as enlightening as pro wrestling can be) and entertaining podcasts around! Three hours can be a bit much for even the best of us, but it definitely grows on you as you begin to listen in on a weekly basis. Like I said before, I never was one for wrestling podcasts/radio shows. But now, whenever I finish one episode, I want to be able to download the next one right away!

And if you just so happen to be a big fan of SWF, then you can help out the show while looking good at the same time by purchasing some merchandise at Café Press.

You can also help the show by buying items from Joe's Crazy Auction Store (ebay) or his Amazon wishlist.


iTunes Description:

Joe Negron and Dshban discuss the week in Pro Wrestling. WWE, TNA, ROH and MORE.

Joe Negron and Dshban bring you show number 267 of the AWARD WINNING Smart Wrestling Fan Wrestling Review Show. Monday Night RAW, Friday Night Smackdown, TNA Impact, NXT, Lucha Libre USA, Ring of Honor, Mr. Mutant Larry's Song, and lots more!

 
If you want to find out even more about Smart Wrestling Fan there are plenty of places for you look. Their official website is brilliant and there are plenty of links there too, of course. Undoubtedly, they have a fan page on Facebook, so you can join up there and take part in the forums. Join SWF on Stickam as well, which is where the show is broadcast live every Tuesday.
 
 

 
 Related Podcasts:

Chikara Podcast-A-Go-Go
Smart Video Game Fan
Pro Wrestling Ponderings
Angry Marks
A Wiggly World 
We Talk Games
Pro Wrestling Report
Off The Ropes