justin Roberts started the show at 7:30 p.m. sharp with the National Anthem and gave a run down of the show.
(1) New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Jesse James) beat Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow at 9:15. Both Gunn and James still have it. They both were able to hang with Rhodes and Sandow and make it an enjoyable match as opposed to other recent Legends matches. Gunn hit his finisher on Rhodes for the win.
(2) Brodus Clay (w/Cameron and Naomi) beat David Otunga. Otunga came to the ring and did a little flex show. Clay won with the splash in about two minutes. Jack Swagger than came out a challenged Clay.
(3) Brodus Clay beat Jack Swagger. Clay won again in two minutes with the splash.
(4) Divas champion Eve Torres beat Kaitlyn at 7:03 to retain the Divas Title. Kaitlyn showed off her strength the entire match with powerslams and suplexes. Eve was hugging the referee in a "provocative" position to escape Kaitlyn to set up the end if the match. Eve then won with the neckbreaker.
(5) Santino Marella beat Tensai at 7:17 with the Conbra after Tensai blocked the first attempt. This carried the stipulation that the loser had to sing a Christmas carol to be decided by fan vote.
Vickie Guerrero came out and announced that Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer won the vote. Tensai yelled to Vickie that he is Jewish. Before starting, Tensai sang the Hanakuh song from the SNL skit with Adam Sandler. Tensai didn't sing too badly; after every line, loud "What?" chants led him to stop.
(6) The Shield beat The Miz & WWE tag champions Daniel Bryan & Kane at 20:34 in a six-man tag match. The crowd went crazy for Daniel Bryan with Yes! chants during Bryan's entrance and throughout the match. Ambrose took offense from all the faces before Reigns pulled Ambrose away and The Shield took over. All three went to town on Bryan until Kane hot-tagged and cleaned house. Kane went to chokeslam Ambrose, but Reigns blind-tagged and speared Kane. Kane chokeslammed Reigns, but Rollins broke up the pin. Miz tagged in, tried Skull Crushing Finale, but was ambushed by Rollins and Ambrose. Kane and Bryan were knocked to the outside and Shield hit their triple powerbomb finisher on Miz. Reigns then pinned Miz for the win.
The 2013 Hall of Fame was announced to take place at Madison Square Garden. It was announced that tickets could be purchased after the show or any time before the public at Ticketmaster.com with code word "Famous."
Following the announcement was an intermission. My brother and I watched TNA Impact on the monitors that we "couldn't touch." Of note, the C.M. Punk "Knees To Faces" shirts were flying off the shelves. Also, we spotted John Laurinaitis working the soundboard.
(7) The Usos beat Prime Time Players at 6:13. Usos won with the double top-rope splash. I am really sad that the PTPers changed their theme song.
(8) U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro beat Zack Ryder at 9:04 to retain the U.S. Title. There was a cool moment where Ryder jumped off the top rope and Cesaro caught him and turned it into an inverted powerslam. Cesaro won with the Neutralizer.
Next were the two main events. Paul Heyman came out and ran down MSG. He talked down about the Knicks and Rangers. He then name-dropped Bruno Sammartino, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock, and Ryback, and said they can all kiss his ass. Heyman called himself the badest man in NYC before Ryback came out to an insane reaction.
(9) Ryback beat Paul Heyman (w/out C.M. Punk) at 3:05 in a N.Y. Street Fight. Five seconds into the match, The Shield came out and jumped Ryback. Rollins set up a table in the corner for the triple powerbomb, but Miz and Team Hell No came and chased off The Shield. That left Heyman looking at a downed Ryback. However, Ryback almost instantaneously hopped up and Shell-shocked Heyman for the win. Ryback left the ring, but came back to powerbomb Heyman through a propped-up table.
Next was Cena vs. Ziggler in the main event. Ziggler was given more of a mixed reaction than Cena, who received mostly cheers and by far the loudest pop of the night.
(10) John Cena beat Dolph Ziggler (w/A.J. & Big E. Langston) at 21:48 in a steel cage match. Cena went for an early pin, but the ref did not go down to count. Cena tried to ask for a different ref, but Ziggler went to escape so Cena cut him off. 10 minutes in, Ziggler was on top of the cage, Cena followed and they traded punches until they both went back in. Ziggler knocked down Cena and was tuning up the band for Sweet Chin Music, but Cena reversed and hit the Shuffle. Cena then had a clear exit out the door, but Langston slammed the door on him. Ziggler then went to the door numerous times and each time he got closer and closer, but Cena pulled him back in. The third time, Ziggler went to the door, Cena went up the cage got to the top and kicked the door in Ziggler's face.
Cena again tried to escape, but Langston grabbed a chair and started swinging it, so Cena went back inside. Ziggler was waiting for him and pushed him into the referee. With the referee knocked out, Langston entered the ring and squashed Cena and did his finisher on him. He then pulled Ziggler on top of Cena and the referee counted two-and-seven-eighths. Then, A.J. came in the ring and smacked Cena in the face. But, Cena kissed A.J. Langston entered the ring again and pulled Cena off A.J. and held on to him for Ziggler. Ziggler went for the superkick, but Cena moved and Langston ate Ziggler's boot. Cena gave Ziggler the Attitude Adjustment, and it was good for the win.
Justin Roberts then closed the show and wished the crowd a good night at 10:21 p.m.
Berglund's Analysis: Awesome show with a hot, near-sold-out crowd. I was afraid it was going to be a bad show after the Christmas break, but it was very nice and worth the money (I didn't pay for the tickets). After the show, I waited for all the Superstars to leave and only Titus O'Neil and Brodus Clay stopped for the fans.
Loudest Pops:
- Cena
- Ryback
- Daniel Bryan
- Zack Ryder
Most Heat:
- Paul Heyman
- Dolph Ziggler, A.J., and Big E. Langston
- Vickie Guerrero
- Rhodes Scholars
@ "The Uso Brothers"
