WWE Raw's 20th Anniversary took place on Monday January 14th, 2013. Not only is tonight's WWE Raw the 20th Anniversary, but it is also the second to last WWE Raw before the Royal Rumble. Tonight's show will highlight the upcoming Rock versus CM Punk main event match. Here are the results from WWE Raw's 20th Anniversary episode.
Vince McMahon Promo
Fittingly, Vince McMahon opens the 20th Anniversary of WWE Monday Night Raw. Mr. McMahon talks about all the accomplishments of the WWE and calls himself a genius. McMahon announces Dolph Ziggler versus John Cena in a steel cage for later in the evening. The "Worlds Largest Athlete" Big Show interrupts Mr. McMahon. They replay the title change from Smackdown. Alberto Del Rio makes his way to the ring to confront the Big Show. Crowd erupts into a "si" chant. The Big Show challenges Alberto Del Rio to a championship rematch at the Royal Rumble. The two fight around a bit, and Del Rio stands tall at the end. The promo was a bit long and tedious at times, but it made Del Rio look like a big star and the crowd seemed behind the Mexican aristocrat.
Wade Barrett pins Randy Orton
WWE Raw returns from commercial and Wade Barrett is in the ring awaiting his opponent Randy Orton. The Viper gets a good reaction from the Houston crowd. Orton hits the Thesz Press early on and the two proceed to the outside. Orton lifts Barrett into a back suplex and lands Barretts shoulder on the guardrail. When Raw returns once again from commercial, Wade Barrett is in charge and has Orton in a chinlock. Orton comes back with his signature powerslam and backbreaker and DDT spots. Wade Barrett hits the Bull Hammer and gets a shockingly clean pin on Randy Orton. The match itself was average, and could have really delivered if given more time.
Kane defeats Damien Sandow
Typical short television match, just furthering the angle between the two teams. Sandow gets pinned following a chokeslam from the Big Red Monster. The two teams will be wrestling each other at the Royal Rumble in two weeks.
Mick Foley Promo
Mick Foley is announced as the first member of the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame. Foley comes out wearing his Cactus Jack t-shirt and black jacket. Foley looks fairly well and all cleaned up. The Shield interrupt before Foley can even begin his speech. Ryback attacks The Shield, but The Shield get the best of him. Sheamus and Orton run in and make the save. This segment was more entertaining than what Foley would've produced alone.
Kaitlyn captures the Divas Title from Eve
It was announced earlier in the show that if Eve was counted out or disqualified, she would lose her Divas Championship. Kaitlyn dominates the match early with Eve running from the ring. Eve finally takes over. Eve manages to wrap Kaitlyn in a nice submission move but Kaitlyn makes it to the ropes. Kaitlyn ends up giving Eve a spear and winning the Divas Championship. This was a surprisingly entertaining match with the crowd solidly behind home girl Kaitlyn.
CM Punk beats Funkasaurus via submission
The WWE Champion CM Punk arrives to a chorus of jeers from the Houston, Texas crowd. Brodus Clay gets on top of Punk quickly, Punk has some very patriotic tights on, which is a strange color scheme for a heel. Punk manages to hit 2 standing neckbreakers before settling into a neck crank. Brodus comes back with a T-Bone suplex. CM Punk scores the win after a flying elbow drop and Anaconda Vice. This match is what one would expect. Punk looked good.
Over the Top Rope Challenge
in anticipation of the Royal Rumble in two weeks, WWE Raw presents and over the top rope challenge match. Sheamus battles the three man team of 3MB. Obviously the 3 teammates team up against Sheamus. Slater ends up winning the challenge after the two eliminated members reenter and help eliminate Sheamus. This was a very time wasting segment, but it got over the fact that anybody can win the Royal Rumble.
Miz TV with Ric Flair
Ric Flair is a guest on the MIZ TV segment, which ends up being a filler segment meant to introduce some of the past WWE Raw catch phrases. Ric Flair seems drunk and just a crazy old man. Antonio Cesaro comes out and runs down Miz and Nature Boy. Miz tries to play tough guy with Cesaro, and it comes off very forced. Flair attacks Cesaro with a couple chops and Miz drops him with his finisher. Miz does the figure four to Cesaro to end the mind numbing segment.
Daniel Bryan taps out Cody Rhodes
In a fairly quick bout, Cody Rhodes loses to Daniel Bryan by submission. The Rhodes Scholars team lost both of their matches tonight, which would indicate that they will most likely win the WWE Tag Team Championship at the Royal Rumble in two weeks. These short matches are dragging down the show.
John Cena pins Dolph Ziggler
As announced earlier in the evening, tonights main event is a steel cage match. John Cena comes out to a thunderous applause. Dolph Ziggler goes straight to climbing the cage, but Cena catches him. Ziggler doubles up on a neck breaker but isn't able to keep the former multi time champion down. The two go back and forth with neither getting the best of the other. When WWE Raw returns, Cena is scaling the cage but Ziggler catches up and the two trade punches seated atop of the cage. Cena hits his Five Knuckle Shuffle and follows it up by smashing Dolph's face into the steel mesh. Ziggler is able to lock in a sleeper hold, and John Cena carries Ziggler to the top rope and drops him onto his back. As Cena goes to crawl out of the cage, Big E. Langston cracks Cena in the face with the door. Ziggler is hitting Cena with everything and he keeps kicking out. Looks like Superman. AJ Lee starts climbing the cage from the outside and Big E Langston jumps in. Cena hits Langston with the briefcase and gets the pin. Good main event.
The Rock Concert
The Rock comes out last at around 11:00 PM to do his rock concert. The crowd is hot for his return. The Rock presents the usual rock show gifts. Trying to be humorous and make fun of his opponents. His first crack was at Paul Heyman and Vickie Guerrero. He eventually calls out CM Punk and an all out brawl ensues.
The 20th Anniversary Raw episode was a lot less exciting than expected. It seemed like all the matches were rushed, and other than the main event cage match, they were terrible. The build up to the WWE Royal Rumble was good, but overall the show was slightly less than average.
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