9/1 WWE House Show Results Melbourne, Australia: Punk/Bryan, Cena v Show/Laurinaitis Main Event..

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Arena_Reports_10/article_64786.shtml

WWE Raw house show results
September 1, 2012
Melbourne, Australia
Report by Cam Buchanan, PWTorch correspondent

Just a few notes about the WWE Raw tour in Melbourne, which was the fourth year in a row that I have seen their show. Last year, I ended up driving 20 hours to see the Melbourne show and having a 14-hour train trip to see the Brisbane show. Thankfully, this one was a bit of an easier one!

Apparently, this was a sold-out event, which would mean about 14,000 people. It's always a pretty lively crowd with loads of kids! There was a big pop for Justin Roberts as he entered.

(1) Brodus Clay beat Jack Swagger in 7:30. Clay opened things up with Naomi, only, despite the usual audio asking us to welcome both Funkadactyls. Swagger is a brilliant heat magnet in-person. He got in a fair bit of offense, including two Vader Bombs and an anklelock. This could be a pretty good mid-card feud.

After Clay's win, he called some kids in to dance. Far better than the usual painful dance-off!

They, WWE played a video promo of The Miz claiming his challenger tonight (Alex Riley) betrayed him last time he was champ. In the video, Miz put A-Ry over as "the hardest worker in sports entertainment."

(2) Layla beat Rosa Mendes in 5:45 to retain the Divas Title. Rosa desperately tried to get heel heat, but she had a hard time because she comes across as too nice! There was a fair bit of comedy stalling, but the action was okay after that. When was the last time you saw a neckbreaker in a Divas match?

(3) IC champion The Miz beat Alex Riley in 11:30 to retain the Intercontinental Title. Miz did a live promo beforehand that attracted so much heat! It was so well-done that the crowd was really amped to see A-Ry come out to shut him up. Very clever if you ask me. Overall, this was a very entertaining match that told a great story, and Miz won with the Skullcrushing Finale. This could be a great feud for A-Ry to get back into the TV mix. Also, a good way to use Miz to elevate a new star while the top title isn't involved, and they have a back-story.

(4) Zack Ryder beat Tensai. Ryder got his own pyro, too! He won in 1:45 with his finisher out of nowhere after Tensai dominated. It felt a bit strange to me. Ryder is so over, it felt criminal to give the crowd only two minutes of him. Tensai, on the other hand...

WWE then replayed the Triple H retirement speech on the screen.

(5) WWE tag champions R-Truth & Kofi Kingston beat Primo & Epico to retain the Tag Titles. The challengers came out with Rosa and looked a bit too happy despite her earlier title loss. Truth did his own intro with a re-worded rap dedicated to Little Jimmy. Kofi made his own intro with full pyro. The faces won after the false finish, which drew out A.J. She was wearing a business jacket with wrestling tights and Chucks! She re-started the match, which ended soon after with a double pin. The match went a solid and entertaining 13 minutes.

Afterward, Truth did a promo asking if the crowd accepted Little jimmy. But, apparently Kofi didn't... until the crowd convinced him to. Weird, but funny!

Justin Roberts did the merch promo and promoted Night of Champions before intermission. A mild detail, but he could have promoted the WWE Title match as "the winner of tonight's bout" rather than Punk vs. Cena. It kind of gave away the ending of tonight's event.

(6) Santino beat David Otunga in 8:20. Otunga was introduced as a graduate of Harvard, no weight or hometown. It fits the character, I guess. But, he entered to crickets! He did his posing to Olympic-style classic music. Still crickets! A kid behind me said he officially hated him. Maybe that's supposed to be the response... Santino on the other hand got a great pop!

(7) WWE champion C.M. Punk beat Daniel Bryan with the GTS to retain the WWE Title in a 24-minute match. Punk came out clearly as a face to this crowd. It was just great to watch, but here's a few little things of note: Someone in the crowd had a sign saying "Vegan Power." There was a cool spot where Punk "Hulked up" and did the Hogan leg drop. Bryan delivered a superplex and cleanly transitioned into the No! Lock. Really sweet to watch. Overall, it wasn't a technical classic, but a very entertaining match none-the-less. They told the Bryan anger management story really well.

The main event was announced as a two-on-one handicap match, but John Laurinaitis came out in a suit. He took the mic and introduced Big Show, who came out sans pyro and goatee! It makes him look younger, which was probably the intention. Cena came out to the biggest pop and he was announced at 251 pounds, which means he's bulked up a bit. And, he had different shoes only going ankle-high. Just a side note!

(8) John Cena beat Big Show & John Laurinaitis in 11:45 in a handicap match. Johnny started, but immediately tagged in Show. He played the weak and opportunistic heel while Show did all the work. Cena eventually won with the Attitude Adjustment.

After the match, Big Johnny attacked with a chair, but Cena countered with another AA. He finally took the mic and thanked the sold out crowd to send them home happy! Say what you want about Cena, but there's no denying his star power. I have heard about the early days with Hulk Hogan and how a second show was never as impressive as the first. This is the fourth time I have seen Cena in action and you do not get that feeling with him. He certainly earns his keep for the company and the fans.

Overall, this was a pretty good show. They had a hard act to follow, as the tour last year was in the lead-up to last year's MITB PPV fresh off Punk's "pipe bomb" promo.

Biggest Pops:
- Cena by a mile followed closely by C.M. Punk
- Santino
- Zack Ryder

Most Heat:
- Miz and Swagger did it without any effort and Bryan was just awesome in his role.

How long are they going to keep this Cena vs Show/Laurinaitis angle at House Shows?

probably for awhile, match 7 sounds cool.

^ I agree it sounded like the best match by far.

WhatAboutBigBob wrote:: How long are they going to keep this Cena vs Show/Laurinaitis angle at House Shows?

I have no idea they need to stop with JL wrestling he fucking sucks!

I'm glad Ryder is so over. He deserves it, for all the hard work over the past year and a half.

» 8/30 WWE House Show Results Brisbane, Australia: Punk/Cena/Show Main Event, Bryan/Ryder, Miz/A-Ry
» 6/1 WWE House Show Results: Punk/Bryan Main Event, Cena Handicap Match, Rollins Wins Over Crowd, 4 Title Matches
» 7/21 WWE House Show Results Sioux City, Iowa: Punk/Bryan/Kane Main Event With A.J. Involved
» 1/15 SD House Show Results Prince George, B.C.: D-Bryan v Big Show Main Event etc
» 8/3 WWE House Show Results Jacksonville, FL.: Cena/Show, Punk/Bryan Street Fight Title Match