1/2 Main Event Box Score

- Title Implications: U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro beat Great Khali to retain the U.S. Title.

- Match Times: 19:42 total bell-to-bell time.

- Streaks: Great Khali 6-match winning streak snapped carried over from 2012.

- Quick Results: (1) U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro beat Great Khali to retain the U.S. Title. ... (2) Kofi Kingston beat IC champion Wade Barrett in a non-title gauntlet match.

***

WWE Main Event Report
January 2, 2013
Taped 12/30/12 in Richmond, Va.
Aired on Ion Television
By Michael Cupach, PWTorch contributor

[Q1]

-WWE open.

-Main Event opening music video and pyro in the arena. They pan the crowd as Michael Cole welcomes everyone to the first Main Event of 2013! In the middle of the ring, Cole and The Miz introduce the show and break the news that tonight, they will get an answer on whether or not C.M. Punk will defend his WWE Title against Ryback on Monday.

-Michael Cole and The Miz talk about Antonio Cesaro and Great Khali’s match, then throw to a highlight package of Cesaro successfully defending his U.S. Title again all comers and showing off his deceptive strength.

-Antonio Cesaro makes his way to the ring. He has a microphone and he complains about the video just shown. He called it “thrown together” and “cheap.” He wants a video with sophistication and class, wondering where the orchestra is. The Miz interrupts and tells him to stop complaining about everything. He calls him Swiss Miss and asks him to leave the country and go back to Switzerland. Michael Cole breaks up the bickering and gives his opinion that Cesaro hasn’t faced anyone the size of Khali yet and will be in for a challenge tonight.

-A video package for Great Khali is shown. His highlights include kissing women, dancing, and standing still.

-Backstage, Matt Striker is with Khali. He is about to ask a question when Hornswoggle waddles in to call him the next U.S. champion. Natalya comes in next and she compares Khali to her uncle, Bret Hart. Striker tries shooing her off, but she asks him if he had enough water, did his yoga, stretched, and carbed up. Khali stops her, tells her that she worries too much, and starts a "USA" chant.

Mike's Reax: Natalya comparing Khali to Bret Hart made me sick to my stomach. If I were Bret, I would kick her out of the family for a month to think about what she said.

-Back in the ring, Cesaro holds up the title and calls the USA the United States of Antonio.

-Khali makes his entrance. During his entrance, Cole replays Khali winning the battle royal last week.

-Great Khali vs. Antonio Cesaro is next!

(Commercial)

-Oh man, my cable went out and magically came back when the match was over…shucks.

[Q2] [Q3] [Q4]

-You’re not buying that, are you? Okay, I’ll do this for the readers...

1 - U.S. champion ANTONIO CESARO vs. GREAT KHALI – U.S. Title match

Khali catches Cesaro’s leg and backs him into the corner and pounds him down. Hornswoggle and Nattie are ringside cheering Khali on. Khali slaps Antonio on the chest in the corner and then clotheslines him to the floor. A "USA" chant breaks out while Cesaro stalls outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Cesaro fails to get any offense going, Khali chops him back out of the ring.

[Q2] Hornswoggle cheap-shots Cesaro behind the refs back. Cesaro chases Swoggle but gets cut off by Natalya. Great Khali palms Cesaro’s head and pulls him into the ring. Cesaro goes to the floor on the other side of the ring and hangs Khali up on the ropes when he reaches for Antonio. Cesaro goes to work on Khali's knee. Cesaro grapevines the leg and drops elbows on it. Khali fight sout of the hold, but Cesaro doesn’t let him to his feet by kicking him in the face. Spinning toehold by Cesaro on Khali, who pounds on Cesaro to break the hold again.

Cesaro goes to the top rope and jumps onto Khali's injured leg and goes back to grapevining the knee. This is Khali’s kind of match, he just lays there, pretty sweet gig there. Antonio Cesaro continues to stomp on Khali and then plays to the crowd. Khali powers out of a pin attempt and Cesaro rolls to the floor and scares off Hornswoggle and Natalya. Khali makes it to his feet and fights off Cesaro on one leg as Main Event goes to commercial 6:20 into the match!

(Commercial)

Back at 8:15, Cesaro hangs Khali up on the ropes again. He tries going for the knee again, but Khali backs him into the corner and chops away some more. I believe that is called Punjabi Violence! Khali calls for the Khali Chop, but Cesaro ducks and springboard elbows Khali to the mat. Cesaro tries to pick up Khali for a Neutralizer, he gets him up, and puts Great Khali away!

WINNER: Antonio Cesaro retains at 10:05 by pinfall.

Mike's Reax: Pretty much what I expected match-wise, but it was impressive to see Cesaro lift Khali for his finisher like that.

-In the ring, Matt Striker gives Cesaro props and mentions Cesaro’s disdain for America. Cesaro corrects him to say that he doesn’t hate America, he is saying he is superior to Americans. He calls America the land of opportunity and says he will take what he wants because Americans are soft. Cesaro then challenges The Miz to a match and tells him to stop hiding behind a announce table. The Miz makes a bald joke and Cesaro tells Miz that he disgusts him because he is only worried about how his hair looks instead of being focused on how Cesaro just beat a giant. The Miz then defends Americans by saying that Americans are the toughest people around. He calls Cesaro track-suit wearing Euro-trash. The Miz changes his catchphrase to say “You’re in America and it’s AWESOME!” Cesaro holds up the title and heads to the back.

-Cole goes back to Raw on Monday when Wade Barrett won the IC Title.

-Kofi Kingston will be on Main Event for a interview, next!

(Commercial)

[Q3]

-On Raw last Monday, C.M. Punk’s physician said that he can’t compete on Monday. Vince McMahon came out and told Punk that WWE trainers will evaluate him instead. Back at the announce table, Michael Cole plays a Tout from one of WWE’s trainers who said that Punk is healthy to compete and he will defend his title against Ryback in the TLC match on Raw!

-Kofi Kingston joins Cole and Miz. Kofi says that Barrett got the upper hand on one night, but when they have a re-match, he will regain his IC Title! Barrett comes out and has a problem with Kofi calling his win last Monday a “one-time thing.” Kofi calls Wade a tremendous competitor, but Kingston made one mistake and it won’t happen again. Kingston calls the title part of his blood and DNA because he is a four-time champion. Kofi wants the title back, but Wade tells him that the title deserves to be around the waist of a real fighter and someone with prestige. Wade says that he has had broken noses, punctured lungs, and shattered ribs and that makes him championship material. Barrett then challenges anyone backstage to a gauntlet match so Kofi can see up close how everyone falls to the Barrett Barrage!

-Raw Rebound featuring Dolph Ziggler and A.J.’s toast from last Monday. John Cena crapped on Ziggler, then dropped crap on him from the ceiling. Talk about burying Dolph…

(Commercial)

[Q4]

2a - IC champion WADE BARRETT vs. YOSHI TATSU – non-title match

Tatsu throws some kicks, but Barrett nails him with the Bullhammer to put him away.

WINNER: Wade Barrett in 0:12.

2b - WADE BARRETT vs. JTG

Barrett starts off by pounding away on JTG in the corner. Barrett whips JTG into the far corner and follows up with a charge. Slam by Barrett into a chinlock. Kofi says that he had no regrets taking on a difficult contender on Raw and losing, as he respects Barrett for doing a Gauntlet match tonight. JTG gets some offense going with a dropkick. He tries mounting him in the corner, but Barrett shoves him off and puts him away with the Bullhammer.

WINNER: Wade Barrett by pinfall in 1:59.

2c - WADE BARRETT vs. JUSTIN GABRIEL

Gabriel charges the ring and keeps Barrett down with a series of dropkicks. Main Event goes to break with Barrett reeling.

(Commercial)

Justin Gabriel is keeping the pressure on the champion, arm-dragging him across the ring. Gabriel with a series of kicks on Barrett, but Wade shrugs them off and clotheslines Justin to the floor. Barrett rolls to the floor and rams Gabriel into the apron. Barrett exchanges words with Kofi and then takes Gabriel back into the ring. Forearm to the head of Gabriel looks eerily similar to the Bullhammer, but it doesn’t put Gabriel away. Submission hold by Barrett, but Gabriel fights to his feet. Wade then mule-kicks him and puts him down with a pumphandle slam. Barrett chokes Justin on the middle rope, he then knees him in the face and then big-boots him to the floor. I love that sequence when he does it, as it looks stiff.

Barrett retrieves Gabriel and rolls him back into the ring. Big elbow from the top rope by Barrett, who can’t put Gabriel away. Justin and Wade trade blows, and Gabriel has him rocking and reeling and then muay thai kicks Barrett to knock him down. Springboard cross-body by Gabriel gets a two count on Barrett. Moonsault by Gabriel doesn’t do the job, either. Kofi makes sense on commentary by saying that he won’t give any strategy for his re-match with Barrett because Wade can watch this show and know what he is going to do. Barrett nails Gabriel with a Bullhammer out of nowhere to get the win.

WINNER: Wade Barrett in 6:40.

2d - WADE BARRETT vs. KOFI KINGSTON

Kofi surprises Wade and hits him with his signature spots and then puts Wade Barrett away with Trouble in Paradise.

WINNER: Kofi Kingston by pinfall in 0:46.

-Replay shows Kofi kicking the sweat off Wade Barrett's face! Michael Cole plugs the IC Title re-match this Friday on Smackdown. Plus, next week on Main Event, Sheamus takes on Dolph Ziggler in a Raw re-match.

-Kofi is celebrating on the stage as Main Event fades out.

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. On New Year's Day, I was a guest on the FTWPodcast and we reviewed 2012 for almost two-and-a-half hours! Go to FTWpodcast.com to listen – episode 145.

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

We suggest these recent related articles...

CALDWELL'S TOUGH ENOUGH REPORT 8/11 - Week 8: Cena returns to WWE TV, contestants have a match in front of NXT roster, more

CALDWELL'S TOUGH ENOUGH REPORT 8/4 - Week 7: Latest cut, Prime Time Players guest-star, Amanda Swerve, more

CALDWELL'S TOUGH ENOUGH REPORT 7/28 - Week 6: Latest elimination, Hogan replaced, Miz ruins everything, WWE stars appear, more