2010 Fab Four 1/18-1/24

William Regal v. Christian ECW 1/19

Cannot complain about getting this two weeks in a row. Not as good as the last match, mainly because there wasn't much of a finish run, but damn was the wrestling great. This had the same structure as every Christian match, but had different spots. They do a very cool greco knuckle lock sequence, and Regal may have been even more brutal in this match then in the previous week. At one point he counters a backslide by mule kickin Christian in the calf and elbowing him in the back of the head. He also does the headkick into the metal post, which really looks like it should put a guy on the shelf for a month. The run in finish was abrupt, as it didn't even break up a pin fall. Still if this is their last singles match against each other, it was a heck of a swan song.

Finlay v. Batista SD 1/19

Pretty much a violent Batista squash. Finlay is the worlds greatest Mike Boyette as he opens up with a couple of big right hands and then gets brutally smashed. No reason an old ass man should be taking the kind of bumps he was taking here. Thrown over the ringside table, hurled like a dart into the wall. Not the best use of Finlay but it is something he does really well.

Week 3 Rankings

1. Regal- Not much competition this week, but he was a murder machine
2. Finlay- Fun, if short performance
3/4. Rey/Punk: Both weirdly AWOL from in ring stuff, Punk's head shaving of Serena was some creepy awesome shit though.

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2010 Fab Four 1/11-1/17

ECW Battle Royal ECW 1/12

Battle Royals are Battle Royals. Punk wasn't the focus of this at all, although he did have some nice battle royal near falls and took a big bump when he was eliminated. Ezekiel Jackson looked like a total beast in this though. I hope he doesn't get RAWed when ECW folds.

William Regal v. Christian Superstars 1/12

This was the US match up of the year in 2009, great match after great match, and we get another corker in 2010. Regal was brilliant here, I loved how he and Christain chain wrestled with the arm during the opening part of the match. He looked like Negro Navarro. Then we get our requisite Christian big bump (which was fucking nasty looking) and then lots of different spots teasing the killswitch. Christian works a very formula match, but Regal is so great you can plug him into any formula and it will be awesome. He does so many little things well, everyone is going to eat a Christian missle dropkick, but no one takes it as well as Regal. Everyone is going to counter the killswitch a couple of times, but no one is going to do it as slickly and fluidly as Regal. Man given some time he really is the fucking best.

CM Punk/Luke Gallows v. Great Khail/Matt Hardy v. Cryme Tyme v. Hart Dynasty SD 1/12

Short match with Punk not really in it much. Khali and Luke Gallows were the focus, with both looking fine. As a Mean Street Posse fan from way back I am happy to see the Gas Mask back as a finisher.

Rey Mysterio v. Batista SD 1/12

This was a steel cage match, and a total blast. Rey is one of the best Steel Cage wrestlers ever, as he is so good at using his agility and speed to climb around the cage like a jungle gym. Batista was really good as the douchebag bully tossing around the little kid, but getting caught. Finish was really great with Rey worming himself out of the Batista bomb and flying out of the ring. A little short, but the shortness kind of played into the story they were telling.

Week 2 rankings

1. Regal- You give him 10+ minutes and he is damn near unbeatable.
2. Rey- Second by a hair, I love climbing a cage Rey, but a little less then punch you in the face Regal
3. Punk- Two matches, but really backroundy in both
4. FInlay-AWOL for the week

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2010 Fab Four 1/4-1/10

There was a point where I was watching all of the WWE TV and PPV and doing a top five for the week. With Black Terry Jr. uploading every tiny indy from Mexico, I don't really have the time or inclination to do that. Still the WWE has four legitimate wrestler of the year candidates, so I am going to review Rey, Punk, Finlay and Regal every week and rank their performances.

CM Punk v. Mark Henry ECW 1/5

Punk is the come out of nowhere guy in this competition. He was completely off the radar in 2008, turns heel and has a really great 2009, and his new sleaze bag gimmick really ups the stakes in 2010. Punk is a guy with great timing, bumps and shtick and semi-questionable offense. That package works so much better as a heel. The parts of this match where Punk was controlling were a bit weak (although I did love him yelling "Your not so strong now" and elbowing Henry in the head), but he was great trying to run away when Henry had his leg, and flopping around from Henry's awesome headbutts. I am not so sure about that high kick finish though, and I kind of wanted this to be better.

Finlay v. Mike Knox Superstars 1/5

Finlay and Regal are clearly going to be the dark horses in this race. Neither will probably have many PPV showcase matches, hell Regal might get stuck back on RAW when ECW folds. Still the addition of Superstars means we are still likely to see great under the radar matches like this. These guys had an awesome feud in 2008, and Knox is really one of Finlay's best all time opponents. Just a nasty little fight like it always is. Finlay eats a brutal powerslam on the floor, and Knox works over the small of the back. I really liked the end run, as we had close near falls, and a fun fake out before the Shillelagh shot. I could watch these two beat on each other every week.

Rey Mysterio v. Batista SD 1/5

Both Rey and Batista were really great in this match, unfortunately it was really shit upon from up high by goofy booking. Still the actual work was awesome, Rey doing a magnificent job sticking and moving and getting caught. I loved all of different ways he was sneaking in kicks, especially him knocking Batista off the top rope. Batista was also great as a douchebag, and had really good timing on all of his offense. Still the darkness and gong finish kind of threw some stink on this match

Week 1 rankings

1. Finlay- Got a chance to show all of his nasty bag of tricks
2. Rey- Really close second, great performance hampered by booking
3. Punk- Shtick and bumping were great, offense left a bit to be desired
4. Regal-AWOL for the week

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