1/20 WWE in Binghamton, N.Y.: Reigns gets mostly cheered in defeating Owens, Strowman vs. Zayn, Seth vs. Rusev, Swann vs. Neville vs. Perkins

WWE LIVE EVENT REPORT – RAW BRAND
JANUARY 20, 2017
BINGHAMTON, N.Y.
REPORT BY RYAN WOODFORD, PWTORCH READERS

(1) Cesaro & Sheamus defeated  New Day and Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson and Enzo & Cass. Exciting, fun four-way tag for the belts to start the night. Major audio problems. Half the ring entrances had no music or mic sound. Enzo & Cass didn’t have their music to enter.  Enzo did his mic work without sound and got the crowd to shout his shtick. Impressive there.  New Day got the crowd going with their antics, did the wave, twerked.  New Day had a giant blow up Booty O’s cereal box at their entrance. Overall, decent work in the ring by these guys.  Enzo got tagged in at one point of the match, did his dancing thing before entering and tripped over the bottom rope, fell to the mat. Clumsy moment for Mr. Amorre. Lots of laughs from crowd and the wrestlers. Sheamus and Cesaro were showcased in this one to be the better “wrestling” team.  They both tossed around Anderson at the end with their finishers and got the pin.

(2) Rich Swan defeated Neville and T.J. Perkins. Triple Threat match for Cruiserweight title. Neville did a promo on the video screen prior to the show starting. Neville really pushing the heel vibe. He is clearly the better wrestler. Perkins acted more like a cheerleader towards Swan, than a competitor. Least impressive match of the night. Would’ve preferred a 1 on 1 match.

(3) Big Show & Sin Cara & Golden Truth defeated The Shining Stars & Curtis Axel & Titus O’Neal. Eight-man tag match with a grab bag of wrestlers. Big Show got a huge pop entrance and acted very humble throughout. Crowd got some Big Show chants going to show support. R-Truth had the energy in the ring and with the crowd. Goldust did some work in there as well. Axel did well as the villain of the match, was hoping for more heat from the other three heel competitors, but didn’t. Big Show finish with chokeslam to Titus.

(4) Seth Rollins defeated Rusev. Lana did some mic work to begin, bashing our town and the USA, called us all “failures.” Then Rusev came out and didn’t talk. A major disappointment. Seth entered, working the crowd, got great cheers. Match was mediocre at best, Rollins used his acrobatic moves to his advantage, Lana grabbed the ref and got tossed, Rollins hit the Pedigree and rolled up Rusev for the three count to win. Rollins spent a lot of time giving high-fives and shaking hands after the match. He even signed a bunch of autographs.

Intermission

(5) Bayley & Sasha Banks & Alicia Fox defeated Charlotte Flair & Dana Brooks & Nia Jax. Bayley was clearly the highlight here as she came out to the ring with Sasha and Alicia playing Bayley’s entrance music. Was very surprised Sasha didn’t enter solo to her music. Crowd loving Bayley and Sasha. Most signs of the night were clearly from these two women. Bayley-to-belly on Dana for the win.

(6) Brawn Strowman defeated Sami Zayn. Cat and mouse game until Brawn got the better of Sami. Quick match.

(7) Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owen in a non-title street fight. Main Event was promoted as a Universal Title match, but changed to a street fight, non-title match. Owens got his normal boos and cheers upon entering and showed up and challenged fans who were heckling him. Entertaining guy!  Owens was on fire with the mic, belittling the crowd and criticizing Mic Foley for making this a street fight. Praised Stephanie for no apparent reason. Roman came out to mostly cheers and had the crowd throughout the match. Kendo sticks and chairs were used well. Reigns threw Owens through a table, speared him through another for the three count. Great house show match. Reigns working his way around the gates giving high-fives, autographs.

FINAL NOTES: Arena was 80-85 percent full to capacity. It was a fun atmosphere. The crowd wasn’t really that impressive with the cheering, but seemed to be entertained for the most part. Only heel to win was Braun Strowman. I was hoping for Jericho to sneak in on the main event.  Best pops: 1. Big Show, 2. Bayley, 3. New Day, 4. Rollins, 5. Reigns… Best heel reaction: Owens. Merchandise winners: New Day, Enzo & Cass, Cena, Sasha, Bayley.

NOW CHECK OUT THIS PRIOR WWE LIVE EVENT REPORT: 1/8 WWE Raw in Mobile, Ala.: Braun vs. Sami, Reigns vs. Owens, Big Cass vs. Rusev, Swann vs. Perkins, six-woman tag match