WWE Raw house show results
January 18, 2013
Los Angeles, Calif. at Staples Center
Two-thirds of Staples Center was full on Friday night, which is good for a house show with a lot of the PG crowd. Of note, no Summerslam announcement was made.
(1) Brodus Clay beat JTG. Pretty much was a squash match. Clay won with the big splash and celebrated by dancing after the match.
(2) Jack Swagger beat Alex Riley via submission. Riley received a good pop from the crowd. Jack had more offense then Riley, and won with the anklelock.
Next was a video promo from U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro regarding his title match. He got a lot of heat from the crowd from this promo and it worked well.
(3) Divas champion Kaitlyn beat Tamina Snuka to retain the Divas Title. Kaitlyn retained after hitting the spear.
(4) Bo Dallas from NXT beat Damien Sandow via DQ. Sandow did some good mic work in the ring beforehand. Halfway through the match, Cody Rhodes interfered, which DQ'ed Sandow. Rey Mysterio then came out and helped the NXT star. This brought out Vickie Guerrero, who announced this is a tag team match now.
(5) Rey Mysterio & Bo Dallas beat Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow. Dallas got beat up most of the match. He made a hot tag to Rey, who dialed up 619 on Rhodes and Sandow, then hit the splash and got the win. Solid match.
Next was John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler. It was Fans's Choice, and the crowd chose No DQ match over 2/3 Falls. Cena came out to the biggest pop of the night. Vickie then came out and banned A.J. and Big E. from ringside.
- (6) John Cena beat Dolph Ziggler in a No DQ match. Ziggler did mic work as soon as the match started, then hit Cena twice with mic. The third time, Cena blocked and hit Ziggler with the mic. They then went outside the ring and worked their way up the ramp, where Ziggler suplexed Cena. Ziggler then grabbed his MITB briefcase, brought it into the ring, and nailed Cena with it for a two count. A chair was added next. Ziggler swung at Cena, who dodged it into shoulder tackles and a comeback attempt, but Ziggler stopped it and hit the sleeperhold.
Ziggler grabbed a chair again and this time swung and connected with shots to back, ribs, and face. Cena got rid of the chair and tried to make a comeback, but Ziggler hit his signature Fameasser for a two count. Cena then finally connected his his signature moves, but Ziggler countered the AA into a jumping DDT for another two count. When both men finally got up, Cena hit a random AA and pinned him for a two count. Cena then went outside the ring, grabbed a table, set it up leaning on the turnbuckle, and Ziggler grabbed him with his back turned and hit Zig-Zag for a two count.
Cena then applied the STF with the ref down and Big E. ran down to the ring, hit his finisher, and put Ziggler on top of Cena, but it only got a two count. Big E. then picked up Cena and attempted to throw Cena through the table, but Cena reversed it and threw Big E. through it. Ziggler then superkicked Cena for another two count. Ziggy decided to bring another table in. This time, he set it up in the middle of the ring, then turned around and took AA through the table for the win. Very good match, going 15 minutes.
[15-minute intermission]
(7) Zack Ryder beat Tensai. I didn't get to see this match because I was in a long concession stand line, but Ryder won the match.
(8) U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro beat The Miz to retain the U.S. Title. Miz entered to a huge pop. This was a solid match that went back and forth. Miz teased the Figure-Four leglock, then finally did it, which received a lot of Flair "Woooos!" Cesaro then made it to the ropes after the leglock. Miz attempted Skull Crushing Finale, but Cesaro poked Miz in the eye, then hit the Neutralizer for the win.
The main event was C.M. Punk vs. Ryback for the WWE Title. Punk came out first to a mixed reaction. Ryback came out to a good crowd reaction.
- (9) Ryback beat WWE champion C.M. Punk via DQ; Punk retained the WWE Title. The first five minutes had a lot of lock-up positions and entering and exiting the ring. When the match got going, Ryback dominated Punk with scoopslams, pushes, and throws. Ryback even did a Lou Thesz Press. Punk tried to grab his title and walk out to lose by count-out, but Ryback followed him and punched him back into the ring. Punk then got the upper hand with kicks and Shining Wizard.
Punk hit three axehandles in a row from three different turnbuckles to finally put Ryback down. Ryback got back into it and attempted a pumphandle powerslam, but Punk countered with a KO kick to the head that made Ryback roll outside ring. Punk called for the GTS back inside the ring, but Ryback countered into a powerbomb that got a two count. Ryback called for the meathook clothesline, but Punk grabbed the ref, which stopped Ryback. Punk then hit the GTS out of nowhere for a two count. After that, Ryback connected with a clothesline, then called for Shell-shocked, but Punk grabbed the ropes, went outside the ring, grabbed a chair, and hit Ryback with it, causing the DQ win for Ryback.
Afterward, Punk continued to hit him with chair until Ryback countered the last shot and hit Shell-Shock to send the crowd home happy.
Overall, a good house show. This was my ninth WWE live show, and I was not disappointed. I can't wait for WWE Raw in Las Vegas on January 28!
- Best Match: Ziggler vs. Cena.
- Worst Match: Brodus Clay vs. JTG.
- Biggest Pops: Cena, Miz, Mysterio, Riley.
- Biggest Heat: Ziggler, Cesaro, Vickie, Rhodes Scholars.
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