January 7, 2013 Monday Night RAW

Monday Night RAW

Promotion	WWE
Date	January 7, 2013
Venue	Tampa Bay Times Forum
City	Tampa, Florida
Previous episode	December 31, 2012
Next episode	January 14, 2013

The January 7, 2013 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's RAW brand, which took place on January 7, 2013 at Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.

Episode Summary[]

Dolph Ziggler vs John Cena[]

One week later, and it looks like Dolph Ziggler’s still stewing over the suspect slop that was dumped on him from above on New Year’s Eve, bringing his 2012 to a messy end and humiliating The Showoff just days after his biggest victory over John Cena to date.

Still, Mr. Money in the Bank wasn’t quite so riled up that he was willing to buy into Cena’s continued jabs, standing firm in the face of the Cenation leader’s opening address when Raw descended upon the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. While Cena rained insults down upon The Showoff, Ziggler stuck to his guns and tossed a few barbs of his own in the direction of the 10-time WWE Champion, ultimately declaring for the Royal Rumble and promising to do whatever it took to keep Cena from winning. When it came time to answer Cena’s challenge for a one-on-one bout in Tampa, though, The Showoff drew the line and turned the Cenation leader down outright.

Somewhat unfortunately for Dolph, though, Big E Langston took that exact opportunity to break his silence and accept Cena’s challenge on behalf of his boss. We’ve got to hand it to the big guy: He’s a man of few words, but he sure does make them count.

Dolph Ziggler’s sour mood looks like it’s going to extend into 2013 after The Showoff fell short in his attempt to avenge the embarrassment he suffered at John Cena’s hands in a No Holds Barred Match. Ziggler stormed into the contest early, looking for some payback against the Cenation leader for dousing him with doo-doo on New Year’s Eve. But Cena stood firm in the face of The Showoff’s speedy onslaught and eventually claimed revenge of his own after AJ Lee’s interference forced the referee to expel her and Big E Langston from ringside. With The Showoff isolated, Cena surged forth and swung the momentum back his way, kicking out of nearly every move in Ziggler’s arsenal. Cena seemed on the verge of finally paying The Showoff back for his ill-gotten victory at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.

An unfortunate incident nearly derailed the contest for Cena, though, after he inadvertently knocked out the referee by tossing Ziggler into him while powering out of the sleeper hold. With the official incapacitated, Langston stormed the ring and dropped Cena once again. But the attack by Ziggler’s monstrous lieutenant wasn't enough to keep Cena down. The Cenation leader ultimately powered out at the count of two when a replacement ref arrived, unleashing a final Attitude Adjustment on Mr. Money in the Bank to bring Raw's first match of 2013 to its close.

Eve Torres vs Kaitlyn[]

Kaitlyn’s pursuit of the Divas Championship continues to come up short, as the beautiful bruiser once again challenged Eve for the butterfly-emblazoned title and once again walked away with a technical victory that notched her the “W,” but not the championship. In this case, it was Eve who willingly called off the contest despite dominating early on with her ground game and technical expertise. Once Kaitlyn rallied back, though, the Gracie-trained jiu-jitsu expert clearly wanted no part of her persistent challenger and vacated the ring after just a few minutes of action. Eve’s departure awarded Kaitlyn the victory via a count-out, but stopped the title from changing hands all the same.

Great Khali vs Antonio Cesaro[]

Lightning struck twice for the mighty United States Champion when Antonio Cesaro battled The Great Khali in a reprise of their physical title bout on last week’s WWE Main Event. The Swiss Superman’s mantle was not up for grabs this time, but The Punjabi Giant was out for retribution all the same. Khali went to his time-honored strategy of crippling chops and power moves in his attempt to unman the U.S. Champion, but Cesaro stood firm and once again rallied for the victory. In the bout’s final minutes, Cesaro went to work on Khali’s knee and hit an airborne variation of the Very European Uppercut, throwing the big man off balance before executing the Neutralizer on the towering former World Champion to bring the bout to an emphatic close.