12/28 WWE Raw in Pittsburgh results: Kane vs. John Cena, C.M. Punk vs. The Miz in a cage, Jerry Lawler vs. Jack Swagger, Howard Finkel works the show, Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres for the WWE Divas Championship

WWE Raw live event
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Report by Dot Net reader Bill Holtz
 
I have been a wrestling fan so long that I saw Bruno Sammartino defend the WWWF title many times when I was a kid. I also took my son to the Summerslam that had the great ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, and the King of the Ring when Mankind took those insane bumps from the cage. We attended those events at the now closed Pittsburgh Civic Arena.
 
So this was the first WWE event that I attended at the new Consol Energy Center. I don't have a point of reference but I was surprised by the crowd. One third of the building was closed off by the entrance ramp but the floor was full as was the main bowl. The upper deck was half open and there were quite a few people up there. People were in the luxury boxes as well. It seemed to be a big crowd for a Wednesday night house show.
 
Howard "The Fink" Finkel's voice asked us to rise for the national anthem. I thought it was a tape but I was surprised that the legendary Fink was ring announcer for the night. He is like The Miz - awesome. There was a 5 minute commercial on the jumbo tron touting how popular WWE is and the charity work they perform.
 
The show started with the Miz saying he was from a real town - Cleveland.  He explained that the Steelers could not beat the Ravens because Troy does shampoo commercials and Hines Ward is learning the fox trot for Dancing with the Stars - funny. If you attack the Steelers, you get instant heat in Pittsburgh. R-Truth attacked Miz by way of the crowd and then said a few words.
 
1. Dolph Ziggler won a battle royal to earn a U.S. Title match. The curtain jerker was a 10 man battle royal with the winner to face Zack Ryder later. The ring looked real small with all 10 guys in it. Santino appeared to win until it was realized that Dolph Ziggler went under the rope and stayed out until it was time to eliminate Santino as he was basking in the cheers from the crowd.
 
2. Beth Phoenix defeated Eve Torres to retain the WWE Divas Championship. The next match was Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres. One Bella was a ref and one was timekeeper. They got more time than Divas get on TV. Eve would have been champ if the Bella didn't hurt her arm on the third count. One might think the Bella ref was less than fair. Beth won with the Glam Slam. It was a decent diva match with only one noticeable missed kick by Eve. After the match, the Bellas were beating down Eve until Sindey Crosby - oh wait that was Kelly Kelly in a Sidney Crosby shirt - to make the save. Kelly is pretty and tough.
 
3. Alex Riley defeated Leo Kruger. Next Alex Riley face planted Kruger from South Africa for the win. Poor Leo, he had no video and nobody knew him. Before losing, he informed the crowd he is the greatest African athlete, which caused a "USA, USA" chant to break out.
 
4. Jerry Lawler defeated Jack Swagger. The King rolled up the All American American - Jack Swagger for the win. People love the King. The King mocked Swagger's jog around the ring after executing a hip toss which the crowd enjoyed.

5. Santino Marella beat David Otunga. Santino won with that ridiculous cobra. The fans love Santino's act, though.
 
6. Zach Ryder beat Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) to retain the United States Championship. Vickie saved Dolph but was sent to the back after the ref saw her place Dolph's foot on the rope to end the count. Vickie has so much heat that I couldn't even hear her before the match. I heard "Excuse Me" and then the crowd went crazy - hilarious. Ziggler won the belt but somehow the ref saw Ryder's foot on the rope after Fink announced a new champ. Somewhere Dusty Rhodes was proud. Ryder won quickly after the match restarted. Ryder is way over in Pittsburgh.
 
7. John Cena defeated Kane by DQ. Kane lost to Cena by DQ after jabbing Cena in the stomach with a chair. The Cena sucks chants were not as strong as the ones in Chicago on Monday. In his jumbo tron video, Kane was bald and unmasked still.
 
During intermission, the Fink pushed the Reunion movie, the Royal Rumble, and souvenirs.
 
8. C.M. Punk defeated The Miz in a cage match to retain the WWE Championship. The final match was CM Punk vs. the Miz in a steel cage. However, you could still lose by pin-fall or submission. Punk pinned Miz after hitting his finisher. It was an entertaining back and forth match. After the victory, Punk slapped hands with the entire first row. He went up the ramp and back down the ramp. He did it for quite a while. It was very classy and the fans appreciated it.
 
Notes: The wrestlers were into the matches and it was a fun show that the crowd enjoyed. The Fink no longer announces the times for the length of the matches. Punk and Cena shirts seemed to be the biggest sellers.
 
Biggest Pops
CM Punk
John Cena
Zack Ryder
Kane - that turned to boos
Santino - I don't get it
 
Most Heat
Miz
Vickie