Fab Five WWE Matches of the Week 10/5-10/11

1. Yoshi Tatsu v. William Regal ECW 10/6

ECW is my favorite of the WWE shows, it really is presented like this little territorial wrestling show with a self contained roster of greenish guys with three really great wrestlers. It is like watching Memphis TV with Christian, Regal and Goldust in your Lawler, Dundee and Mantel roles with Ryder, Tatsu et all as your New Generation and Brickhouse Brownish guys. It is so awesome that in 2009 I get to watch a TV show built around William Regal. This was a pretty fun match, first part was kind of an entertaining train wreck with Regal constantly tying his shoes, and several awkward moments. Still I love watching Regal perform so much, that I will take an ugly Regal match over a perfectly executed John Morrison match any day of the week. I love how Regal is perpetually aggressive, he doesn't do a move and then do another move, he is always grinding his elbow across the jaw, throwing short little shots to the body, just constantly moving. Post commercial break, this got really good as both guys just started laying into each other, I am not a huge Tatsu fan, but he knows that if he is in a match with Regal he had better bring it. Finish was pretty cool too, they have really gotten over the high kick as a finish, but Regal comes out of the match with a legitimate gripe. Wouldn't mind seeing this match a bunch more times.

2. C.M. Punk v. Batista Smackdown 10/6

This was a match all about distance. Punk was able to keep himself on the outside and maneuver Batista into uncomfortable parts of the ring. Trapping him between the ropes and landing the jumping knee, or tricking him into losing by countout. Punk would dart in and out landing shots, but when Batista caught him he would get punished. He caught the bodypress for a powerslam, caught a high knee for a spinebuster. You don't often see these kind of David v. Goliath matches worked with a face Goliath, but it was done really well. I thought Batista looked great here, picking his spots, executing his stuff well, hitting some big power offense. These guys clicked, I want to see some main event matches between the two.

3. Ted DiBiase v. Evan Bourne Superstars 10/5

One big advantage of the WWE adding Superstars to their line up is that when wrestlers like Bourne disappear into the RAW pit, they still can occasionally show up and have a good match. DiBiase has spent much of his push matched up against Helmsley and Michaels and those guys are pretty much automatic FF material for me, but I enjoyed him here. Pretty basic offense, but Bourne is one of the better bumpers in the world. Man that clothesline take was insane. Good timing on all the comebacks, and there were definite moments where I bought the upset. I hope Bourne gets stuck here a bunch more times.

4. Christian v. Zach Ryder ECW 10/6

This is the third match these two have had, and they have developed a nice rhythm with each other. This was a little more back and forth then the other two, without a really long Christian body part selling section. I enjoyed the back and forth though, as we got some cool moves we hadn't seen before. Ryder's quick Tiger Driver, the cool plancha by Christian, the big over the top rope bump. We didn't get a clean finish, but I did love the Regal crew coming in and demolishing everyone. Badass way to keep the story going.

5. Rey Mysterio v. Chris Jericho Smackdown 10/6

This really had the feel of a Malenko v. Guerrerro match on a random WCW Thunder episode. Two guys who have worked each other a ton, including some big time matches, having an entertaining, but sort of meaningless match. During their feud, you really got a sense that both guys were coming up with interesting cool things to do in every match. Here the just cribbed a bunch of older spots together. I think Jericho may be hurt, as he as looked way slower in the last couple of weeks, I also thought there was a bit too much somersaulting, it got a bit dancy at points. Still it is Rey Mysterio, the best wrestler under 40 in the world in a longish singles match. There is a lot to love, I especially dug the finish, nasty temple kick, 619 and awesome looking springboard splash, he just floated in air. Still more excited to see what Rey does with Batista next week.