Chad Dixon sent this report in.
1-5-13 WWE Raw House Show
Columbus, GA
Columbus Civic Center
The show kicked off with Vickie Guerrero coming out to immediate heat and announcing the main event for the evening would be John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler and there would be a United States Title match where the fans would pick the stipulation via Twitter and text messages.
Zack Ryder & Brodus Clay d. Jack Swagger & Leo Kruger
The opening tag bout went back and forth until an eventual hot tag was made to Clay and he went on the offensive on both opponents. Ryder would come in to deliver a Rough Ryder to Kruger, while Clay hit a second rope splash on Swagger for the pinfall.
Alex Riley d. JTG
JTG controlled most of the match. Riley mounted a comeback later in the match where he hit a spinebuster, a second rope fallaway ddt, and a whisper in the wind like swinging ddt for the win.
Divas Title: Eve Torres d. Kaitlyn
This match seemed like it took forever to get under way. Kaitlyn was anxious to get to the champ, while Eve was reluctant to tie up. Kaitlyn dominated most of the match. Eve was able to counter a few of Kaitlyn’s move to slow the match down with headlocks and kicks while the challenger was down. The finish saw Eve receive a scorpion death drop and a spear, but was able to kick-out and for the second consecutive match, we saw a swinging ddt as the finisher for the match as Eve retained her title.
Ryback & Team Hell No d. The Shield
This match started as a typical Raw promo as Daniel Bryan came to the ring and The Shield’s music hit as they came from the crowd. Kane would run down to make the save until the 3 on 1 advantage took over. “Feed me more” chants filled the CCC until Ryback came out to the second largest, only to Cena, pop of the night and cleared the ring. The faces had the majority of the offense in this match. Bryan did take a lot of abuse. The Bryan/Seth Rollins’ spot got the crowd into the match after Bryan’s near 6 minute beatdown by the Shield. Rollins made the tag to Roman Reigns, who hit a weak spear on Bryan. The hot tag was Made to Ryback, who tried to put Dean Ambrose in the shellshock, but Reigns hit Ryback with a chair, causing a dq. Team Hell No helped Ryback take control over The Shield which led to the inevitable shellshock on Ambrose anyway.
Santino Marella d. Tensai.
All I can say about this match is……it happened. Santino went over with the cobra.
US Title/No dq: Antonio Cesaro d. The Miz
This match garnered the best reaction of the night outside of the main event with several near falls back and forth. The fans “voted” for a No DQ match, which was announced prior to the match. Cesaro used a kindo stick, chair, and teased a table spot. The Miz set up a chair in the corner and the finish saw Cesaro slam Miz through the table set up vertically in the corner and hitting the Neutralizer for the victory.
John Cena d. Dolph Ziggler
Cena came out to pop of the night. Ziggler was accompanied with AJ and Big E. Langston. Ziggler dominated most of this contest. Cena did mount a comeback midway through the match, but AJ entered the ring and distracted the referee while Langston hit Cena with a double ax-handle from behind. AJ & Langston were eventually ejected from ringside. Cena would lock the STF on Ziggler after the referee had been knocked down. AJ & Big E. would return. AJ slapped Cena, Langston hit him from behind to set up the finish. Langston held Cena so Dolph could hit him with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Cena moved, Dolph hit BEL and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment for the win.
Show Recap
Vickie got the most heat of the night, while Cena got the biggest pop. There weren’t a whole lot of Cena boo-birds and thank goodness for no Goldberg chant during the Ryback match. Ryback was over huge. Bryan received a good reaction and I thoroughly enjoyed his spot with Rollins. Columbus is notorious for having rather conservative crowds but the WWE was able to garner a good reaction from wrestlers outside of Cena on this card. I would say match of the night was the US title bout. It was a pretty solid card for a Raw House Show. I would have liked to see some mic work, but it was not expected.