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The following report was published on PWTorch.com five years ago this weekend. Send results of current live events you attend in the format below to pwtorch@pwtorch.com.
WWE Raw house show results
January 11, 2013
Austin, Tex. at the Erwin Center
Report by Kevin Deitz, PWTorch correspondent
My wife and I went to our first WWE live event in four years on Friday night. My wife is more of a casual fan, so she was disappointed that she only recognized a few wrestlers. However, she did love John Cena, C.M. Punk, and Santino. The Frank Erwin Center was almost three-fourths-full, which I figure isn’t bad for a house show. Austin loves wrestling.
First out was C.M. Punk to a big face pop that quickly turned to a mixed reaction. Punk taunted the crowd and talked about how the crowd should show him more respect because he loves wrestling in Houston, which got the first major heel heat of the night (more on that later). Punk decided he was taking the night off, but was stopped by Vickie Guerrero, who came out to her usual routine which elicited boos. It seemed most people didn’t know whether to boo or cheer for her. She set up a tag team main event of C.M. Punk & Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena and Ryback.
(1) Brodus Clay beat Jack Swagger. Standard Brodus squash. Swagger got a small amount of offense and some stalling with the crowd, but it was mostly formula. Local kids danced with Brodus and the Funkadactyls afterward.
Antonio Cesaro cut a promo over the house screen on Americans and how they should be proud that he is their United States champion. Justin Roberts announced that Cesaro would defend the United States Title later on against the Miz.
(2) Zack Ryder beat Leo Kruger. Ryder came out to a great reaction, but no one knew who Kruger is. A pretty decent back and forth match that Ryder won with the Rough Ryder.
The Shield cut a promo on Team Hell No over the house screen. Their chemistry doing promos as a group is improving. They criticized Team Hell No being called a team, and the promo ended with Reigns screaming “Believe in the Shield!”
Vickie Guerrero came back out to give the fans the choice between a 2/3 Falls match or a Street Fight for the United States Title match. Voting was done through Twitter or text.
(3) Kaitlyn beat Tamina. Kaitlyn came out to a good pop, being that she is from Houston and was wearing a Longhorns tank top. This was pretty hard-hitting for a Divas match and the crowd was invested. After a few nearfalls, Kaitlyn won with a gutbuster, which looked pretty legit painful. Best Divas match I have seen in a while.
(4) WWE tag champions Team Hell No beat The Shield (Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins w/Roman Reigns) via DQ to retain the Tag Titles. Bryan was out first to a good reaction with the Yes/No routine. Kane out next to a bigger reaction, which surprised me. Shield came through the crowd to good heat. Ambrose and Rollins worked the match, while Reigns played the enforcer. This was a good back and forth match. Lots of “Let’s Go, Goatface!” chants. The finish came as Kane chokeslammed Ambrose, and Reigns attacked Kane for the DQ. The Shield started a beat down on Bryan and Kane, but were foiled by Ryback, who sent them packing.
(5) Santino beat Tensai. This was a comedy match. The crowd loved it, especially my wife. Moment of the match came when Santino broke a bear hug by giving Tensai double wet willies. Santino won with the Cobra. Tensai no-sold it at first and then fell like a tree. A funny bit after the match was when Tensai was walking to the back, Santino would do the trumpet and Tensai would turn to look back and Santino would pretend that he was innocently standing in the ring.
(6) U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro pinned The Miz in Street Fight Rules to retain the U.S. Title. The stipulation was decided by the audience. Cesaro came out to decent heat with new American flag ring gear, while waving the American flag. Miz was out to a good pop and shook the hands of a Guardsman in uniform to play up the angle. This was the match of the night, and the crowd seemed impressed with Cesaro’s power moves. The first weapon was a kendo stick that both men eventually used. Cesaro eventually went to look under the ring and brought out a table, which elicited applause from the audience. Cesaro slid the table back under the ring to massive boos, but Miz eventually put the table in the ring. After some nearfalls from both men, including Cesaro slamming Miz through the table in the corner of the ring, Cesaro won out of nowhere with the Neutralizer.
The advertised WWE Title match of Punk vs. Ryback was changed to a tag match with Cena and Ziggler. Ziggler came out first with Big E. Langston and A.J. to good heat. Cena came out to the pop of the night. A funny moment came during Cena’s entrance. When he went to do his usual run and slide into the ring routine, suddenly, Punk tried to tackle him and missed.
(7) John Cena & Ryback beat WWE champion C.M. Punk & Dolph Ziggler. Punk and Ziggler were in comedy mode to start the match, both trading tags as to not be the first to face off with Ryback. Lots of back and forth with the bulk of the match being wrestled by Cena and Ziggler. Another funny moment came when Punk escaped the ring after a beating and jumped into Big E. Langston’s arms. The referee got THE major heel heat of the night when he did not see Ryback tag Cena. While the referee was trying to corral Cena out of the ring, Langston came in and hit Ryback with his finisher. Eventually, Langston and A.J. were sent to the back. The finish came when Cena hit Ziggler with the AA.
All in all, a decent show that pandered to the kiddies who were in attendance. Not as good as my previous WWE experiences due to the tone of the show, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
Biggest Pops:
(1) John Cena, by far.
(2) C.M. Punk at the start of the show.
(3) Ryback when he saved Team Hell No from the Shield.
Most Heat:
(1) The referee in the main event after missing Ryback’s tag to Cena.
(2) C.M. Punk after the initial pop.
(3) The Shield / Antonio Cesaro. Crowd reaction was too close to call.
NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS FLASHBACK: 5 YRS AGO – TNA in Philadelphia, Pa. (1-5-13): Booker T, RVD, Roode, Jeff Hardy, Bully Ray, Aries, Mickie James, Chavo
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