1/16 Main Event Box Score

- Match Times: 35:48 bell-to-bell (34:15 last week). Longest Match - 23:42 (Orton vs. Cesaro).

- Streaks: Usos - 4 match winning streak (carried over from 2012), Prime Time Players - 4 match losing streak.

- Show Results: (1) Randy Orton beat U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro via DQ in a non-title match. ... (2) The Usos beat Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil & Darren Young).

***

WWE Main Event Results
January 16, 2013
Taped 1/15/2013 in San Antonio, Tex.
Aired on Ion Television
By Michael Cupach, PWTorch contributor

[Q1]

-WWE open.

-Main Event music video followed by full pyro. Michael Cole welcomes everyone to Main Event on Ion. Cole and The Miz are at the announce table and they are on the road to the Royal Rumble, which is part of the road to WrestleMania.

-Randy Orton makes his way to the ring, and Cole notes that he has had a problem with The Shield the last few weeks, but last Monday Orton got a little revenge.

Antonio Cesaro is out next, waving an American flag. A clip from Raw is shown where Cesaro interrupted MizTV where Ric Flair was his guest. Flair teaches Miz how to put the Figure Four on Cesaro! Miz calls it a honor to learn the Figure Four from Flair.

1 - United States champion ANTONIO CESARO vs. RANDY ORTON – non-title match

Headlock from Orton to start, but Antonio scissors the head to break free. Headlock from Cesaro, and Orton reverses into a drop toehold and then both guys stalemate. Both men jockey for the advantage, but end up tying each other up in the corner. Cesaro cheap-shots Orton when the ref calls for a break. Lou Thesz Press from Orton, then he unloads on Antonio until the ref pulls him off. European uppercuts from Randy, and he tries a pin, but Cesaro kicks out. Both men brawl around ringside - Cesaro drops Orton on the barricade and then rolls him back into the ring. Cesaro rolls into the ring and then rolls out the far side to get a break. Orton goes out and gets whipped into the steel stairs as Main Event cuts to a break 5:12 into the action!

(Commercial)

Main Event is back at just past 8:00 with Cesaro still in control. Orton tries to make a comeback, but Antonio Cesaro cuts him off with a big forearm to the face. Gutwrench gets a two count for Cesaro, as Miz says that even he is impressed by moves like that! Cesaro chokes Orton out on the middle rope, then hangs Orton up on the top rope. Cesaro makes a rare trip to the top rope, Orton trips him up and tries a superplex, but Cesaro headbutts Orton back to the mat.

[Q2] Cesaro jumps off the top rope with an axe handle smash, then goes into a chinlock. Cesaro has a huge American flag on his trunks, nice touch! Miz claims that he is scouting Cesaro tonight, looking for chinks in his armor. Powerslam by Cesaro, who tries a pin, but Orton kicks out at two. Back to the chinlock by Cesaro. Orton counters out again with a series of side elbows, Orton then runs into a knee from Cesaro. ANOTHER chinlock has me on the edge of my seat. Orton fights out again and dropkicks Cesaro. Superplex by Randy Orton connects at 13:45 and the crowd is coming alive! Orton tries putting Cesaro away, but Cesaro isn’t ready to be counted out yet. Both men are catching their breath on the mat as Main Event cuts to a commercial!

(Commercial)

Orton and Cesaro are slugging it out when Main Event comes back from break, 17:30 into the match. Orton wins the battle of fisticuffs, then Cesaro puts Orton (and me) into a sleeper hold! Orton side-suplexes out of the sleeper and the ref starts to count both men out. Orton is up at six and he starts slugging it out again with Cesaro. Cesaro busts out some European uppercuts and then whips Orton into the corner. Orton explodes out with a clothesline and a powerslam, the crowd is hot! Cesaro counters out of a DDT, but Orton manages to hang him up on the top rope for a nearfall.

Orton starts stalking Cesaro. He kicks him in the face, tries again, but Cesaro powers Orton into the air and catches him with a massive uppercut on his descent! Amazing! Headbutt by Cesaro, he goes back up top and tries another axe handle, but Orton catches him mid-air with a dropkick! Rope-assisted DDT by Orton hits. He calls for the RKO, but The Shield appears from out of the crowd. The surround the ring and The Miz leaves commentary to help out Orton. The Shield tease retreating, but they charge the ring to cause the DQ!

WINNER: Randy Orton by DQ in 23:42.

Post-match, The Shield use the numbers game to take out Orton and Miz. They triple powerbomb Orton and leave both men laying in the middle of the ring as Cesaro watches from the outside. The Shield go back out through the crowd.

[Q3] Cesaro rolls back into the ring and hits Miz with the Neutralizer. Cesaro celebrates his triumph as the crowd boos. He gets his American flag and waves it with his foot on Miz’s chest.

Mike's Reax: I liked the Smackdown match a whole lot better. This one was slow to start and had way too many restholds. They also booked then into a corner with both guys needing wins and both guys would have suffered from a loss, so a run-in, screwjob ending was the only way to end this one. The match started to get going at the end, I’ll give it that, and it made me want to see The Miz get his hands on Cesaro.

-Up next, The Rock and C.M. Punk rumble on Raw!

(Commercial)

-Raw Rebound featuring the Rock Concert and the brawl between Punk and Rock that ended the show.

-The Prime Time Players make their way to the ring, and they are in action next. Cole notes that The Miz isn’t on commentary anymore. Instead, Brad Maddox joins him at ringside.

(Commercial)

[Q4]

-The Usos do their Samoan War Dance entrance.

2 - THE USOS vs. PRIME TIME PLAYERS

Titus and Jimmy starts things off. Titus backs him into the corner and unloads on him. Maddox does JR mannerisms and Cole tells him to knock it off. Jey is tagged in and The Usos double-team Titus. Jimmy is tagged back in, but Titus powers him into the heel corner and they double team Jimmy. Jimmy rings the arm of Darren Young and tags in Jey, who comes off the top rope and hits Young. Jey mocks Darren Young, then tries a running knee in the corner, but Titus pulls Young to the floor. The Usos baseball slide both Players and Main Event goes to break at 3:00.

(Commercial)

Darren Young and Titus are working over one of the Usos when Main Event comes back. Jey Uso is tagged in and Jimmy holds Titus while Jey nails him with a running forearm in the corner. Jey fights off both Players on the apron, but gets overwhelmed by Titus. Tag into Young, and they double shoulder block Uso. Young kicks Jey in the gut and then puts him in a neck vise. Northern Lights suplex by Darren Young gets a two count - you don’t see that move too often! I’d like to note how obnoxious Maddox is on commentary, as he is purposely calling the action wrong and trying to go to break when it isn’t time.

Darren Young is back in, and he clubs on the Uso and puts him in a chinlock. Brad continually calls Cole “Mike.” Jey makes a comeback, then sends both Players to the floor and makes a hot tag to Jimmy. Jimmy is house of fire - he kicks Young in the stomach and then puts him down with a Bubbabomb. Titus breaks up a pinfall attempt, but Jey tosses O’Neil out of the ring. Jey is tagged in, and he puts Darren Young away with a top rope splash!

WINNERS: The Usos by pinfall in 12:06.

Mike's Reax: Maddox made that match brutal. That is all.

-Interestingly, no match is announced for next week as Michael Cole signs off awkwardly.



Thank you for reading, make sure to check out my reviews of Smackdown each and every week, also follow me on Twitter @MJCupach where I tweet live during Raw and WWE PPVs. I am also a frequent guest on the FTWPodcast, go to FTWPodcast.com for more details!

[ME photo credit David Campbell (c) PWTorch.com]

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