By James Cox, WrestlingObserver.com
The Big Takeaway: Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose and his ever-terrible new gimmick while R-Truth dismissed Heath Slater in a quick, entertaining bout. Xavier Woods is still the best thing about this show.
R-Truth beat Heath Slater (3:34)
They opened things up by exchanging wristlocks. Things quickly break down, however, in to an impromptu dance off. This is pretty much the formula for the 4-minute R-Truth match on Superstars. A quick hip toss from Truth sees him then mount Slater in the corner for punches on the second rope, but he is crotched. Slater takes over with his own punches, until a slap from Truth throws him off his balance. Truth kicks him in the guts but then runs into a scissor kick, which floors him. After stomps from Slater, he slaps on a chin lock and then covers Truth for two.
Truth then gets the heat with clotheslines and a heel kick, followed by the Lie Detector for the win. All through Slater’s offense section Woods was putting over the fact that Slater was a one-time beat the clock winner against Seth Rollins on Raw and so should be in for a title shot. When Rich Brennan was incredulous at one stage in the match, Woods just quietly remarked in mock-disgust, “there’s so much you need to learn about this industry”. He’s fast becoming very good in the role.
Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose (7:57)
My god, this Adam Rose gimmick. He came out for his usual pre-match promo, looking like he’d actually make a pretty good third wheel in The Vaudevillians on NXT, moaning about how he was going to “poop” all over the WWE Universe’s party. It would have been terrible on a really bad Indy card that had no TV. It really has no place here.
They lock up but Rose immediately goes to ropes to break off and Swagger then grabs him and hits him with a belly to back suplex. Swagger then runs into Rose’s elbow, and he slaps on a headlock. When Swagger gets out, he uses a side headlock takedown and then runs through Rose with shoulder barges and uses a huge lariat to send him over the top rope. Swagger leads the crowd in a “We the people!” as we head to a break.
Swagger is dominating as we return, punching Rose in the corner. He then tosses Rose over the top rope, but he lands on the apron, and Swagger turns round to find Rose using the top rope to choke him. Rose then takes over and lands elbows, steps on his throat and applies a sleeper hold. When Swagger gets out, Rose grabs his hair and throws him to the mat.
Rose continues to work over Swagger with kicks and punches. He lands a double knee drop and then goes back to a rear chin lock. He turns this into a sleeper and Swagger manages to use the turnbuckle to force Rose off. Swagger then gets the heat with huge clotheslines, a Swagger Bomb and then covers Rose for two. He then double legs and goes for the Patriot Lock, but gets posted.
Rose stomps his foot a la Shawn Michaels as if to set up for Sweet Chin Music. Instead of a super kick, it sets up a fairly meager low kick to take out Swagger’s left leg. Rose uses a DDT, and comes off the top rope with a big flying double axe handle to Swagger’s back. Swagger kicks out of the cover at two. Woods makes this infinitely more fun by throwing himself into the drama of it all, going crazy on commentary. Rose goes up top again but this time is caught in the Patriot Lock and he taps instantly.