January 21, 2013 Monday Night RAW

Monday Night RAW

Promotion	WWE
Date	January 21, 2013
Venue	HP Pavillion
City	San Jose, California
Previous episode	January 14, 2013
Next episode	January 28, 2013

The January 21, 2013 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's RAW brand, which took place on January 21, 2013 at HP Pavillion in San Jose, California.

Episode Summary[]

Vickie Guerrero In-Ring Segment[]

When it comes to Monday nights, Vickie Guerrero is the law, and the law is not mocked. So it was never really a matter of if she would choose to punish The Rock for his derogatory, Clapton-ized riff on her sartorial choices last week. Instead, it was a matter of what, exactly, Raw’s Managing Supervisor would cook up as suitable discipline for Rock’s crass (although melodic) remarks. With Paul Heyman — who was similarly skewered by The Great One last week in the style of Elvis Presley — at her side, Vickie laid down the law at the feet of The Great One and flexed her managerial muscle before the WWE Universe.

“While The Rock is here in San Jose, I have officially banned him from entering my arena,” Vickie decreed. “And if he thinks he’s going to enter my arena, he will be arrested by the San Jose police department!”

As if on cue, Vickie was notified that Rock had arrived and The Brahma Bull appeared on the TitanTron, blocked at the arena door by a contingent of five-0 under orders to keep him out of the building. Lest the WWE Universe think a little police presence would deter him, though The Rock promised he would still find a way into the ring.

“There is not an entity on this planet, there is not a force on this planet, that is gonna stop The Rock from entering this ring and electrifying The People tonight!”

Where Vickie sees a managerial mandate, The Rock clearly sees a challenge. And that challenge has been accepted.

Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz[]

Score one for The Showoff, as Dolph Ziggler knocked off the Ric Flair–endorsed Miz in the second Beat the Clock contest of the evening. Mr. Money in the Bank surpassed Randy Orton’s previous time in the process, setting his own mark as the pace to beat for the final contest. Miz and Dolph came out swinging, trading roll-ups and each shooting for a quick pin in the opening minutes of the contest, but Miz switched up the game plan by targeting Ziggler’s leg in an attempt to set up the Figure-Four Leglock. The Showoff fended off the maneuver by tossing Miz outside the ring, where Big E Langston lied in wait, but even that wasn’t enough to put The Awesome One away. The former WWE Champion built up a massive head of steam around the nine-minute mark and finally locked in the Figure-Four, but Big E Langston hauled Ziggler to the ropes while AJ Lee distracted the referee. The big man’s interference distracted The Miz long enough for Ziggler to put Miz down with the Zig Zag, setting the new Beat the Clock time at 10:56.

Kaitlyn vs Alicia Fox[]

The victory tour continues for the new Divas Champion Kaitlyn, who made short work of Alicia Fox in her first Raw match with the butterfly-emblazoned championship. Alicia made good use of her dynamic offense, throwing stiff kicks the champion’s way and locking Kaitlyn up in a sleeper. But The Hybrid Diva powered through Alicia’s attacks and struck with a spear, planting Miss Fox for the three-count. The win kicked her Raw reign off on a high note, but with Tamina Snuka watching backstage on a monitor, it appears Kaitlyn has another foe already waiting in the wings.

Wade Barrett vs Sheamus[]

With 10:56 as the time to beat, Wade Barrett and Sheamus squared off in a hard-hitting yet ultimately unsuccessful effort to Beat the Clock and claim the entry spot of their choosing in the 2013 Royal Rumble Match. The shortcoming was through no fault of their own, though, as the brawling Europeans were in the middle of a mighty bout when Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee and Big E Langston stormed the ring and interfered in the contest to keep The Showoff’s mark alive.

The contest was expectedly gritty for two Superstars whose backgrounds lie not in technical mastery but in knock-down grit, as Barrett and Sheamus traded blunt kicks and punches to kick things off. The Englishman had the match firmly in had at the five-minute mark, clobbering Sheamus with a kick to the gut that left The Celtic Warrior in a heap on the canvas. A pair of superkicks to Sheamus later and Barrett seemed the foregone winner, but Sheamus powered out of Wasteland and hit White Noise, flattening Barrett and setting him up for the Brogue Kick.

At that exact moment, AJ and Langston stormed the ring, distracting both men (though not laying a hand on either) and bleeding the clock down enough for Barrett to execute the Winds of Change on a preoccupied Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior managed to recover, but a last-minute Brogue Kick wasn’t fast enough to give him the fastest time. Victory, it seems, is Dolph’s, but The Showoff's fantasies of entering the Royal Rumble Match at No. 30 were short-lived: No sooner had Dolph begun to speak the number than Vickie informed Mr. Money in the Bank his entry choice would be between No. 1 or No. 2.