February 10, 2012
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
Report by Mohammed Al Housani.
The following are results from Day 2 of 3 of the WWE Raw World Tour in Abu Dhabi.
Just like the first day of the tour, Justin Roberts introduced the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim Raw GM, John Laurinaitis, to a chorus of boos. He welcomed the fans to the event and said it was an honor to be here in the United Arab Emirates. He pitched both main events coming up tonight and promised a surprise for C.M. Punk.
(1) U.S. champion Jack Swagger beat Alex Riley via submission to retain the U.S. Title. Riley was the first wrestler to come out and received an even bigger pop than last night. I don't know if it was because he was the first babyface out, or people genuinely like him here. Jack Swagger was booed and heckled throughout the match. He played to the crowd well and attracted loud boos every time he did it. He won the match after catching Riley with the Anklelock submission. Lots of "Swagger Sucks" and "Riley" chants throughout the match.
(2) Michael McGillicutty beat Drew McIntyre via pinfall. Drew came out first and dissed the crowd, asking if they understood English. He said he had been through a 14-hour flight and barely had any sleep, so he wanted everyone to be quiet while he was talking. Then, he said it doesn't matter anyways because tonight the losing streak ends and he cannot wait to leave this backwards-thinking country (ouch). He promised that he will not lose. Michael McGillicutty came out and you could tell he was amped up and ready to tear it down. Many people probably didn't know it was the anniversary of his father's death, but you could tell based on him using many of his father's signature moves throughout the match, ending with the infamous Fisherman Suplex, or for this occasion, the Perfect Plex. There were many "Let's Go Michael" chants during the match. The crowd also chanted "Loser" to Drew after the match was over.
(3) WWE tag champions Primo & Epico beat Santino & Mason Ryan via pinfall to retain the WWE Tag Titles. Santino was very popular with the crowd, as he is everywhere. This match was almost the same as last night with slightly different comedy spots. Formulaic tag team match. Mason played the big man role and Santino played the face in peril being double-teamed by the tag champions up until the hot tag. Unlike last night, it was Mason Ryan who took the pinfall. A lot of "Santino" and "Let's Go Ryan" chants throughout the match.
Before the next match of The Miz vs. R-Truth, Miz came out to a big pop, but proceeded to turn the crowd on him by telling them to be quiet and listen to how great he really is. He said he was a former two-time U.S. champion, four-time Tag Team champion, two-time Slammy Award winner, and WWE Champion. He said he is a huge star. He said he has accomplishments neither the crowd nor R-Truth have. He also said that he brought R-Truth up to main-event level, but he failed even when riding his coattails to get to the top. This started a "What" chant from the crowd, which Miz replied to with his signature "Really" question. What happened next was a memorable "What" vs. "Really?" duel that you had to witness live to see how great the exchange was. I hope WWE cameras caught it on tape. He then promised to embarrass R-Truth next. Unlike last night, Truth showed up to his old crowd-pleaser entrance, singing "What's Up," which the crowd happily joined in.
(4) R-Truth beat The Miz via pinfall. The match was slow to start with Miz and Truth playing to the crowd in their own way. Truth would scream to one section, "What's Up," and get one back, while Miz went to that same section and wondered, "Really?" This match had the most heat of any match up to this point and was also the best in-ring action to this point. Truth hit the Lie Detector for the pin and the win.
[Intermission]
(5) Chris Jericho beat Kofi Kingston by pinfall. Jericho did the same entrance and trolling he did last night. Kofi made his entrance and attacked Jericho before the bell sounded, selling the post-match Jericho attack he suffered last night. In the middle of the match, Jericho caught Kofi with the Lion Tamer and Kingston reached the ropes to break the hold. Jericho managed to kick out of Trouble in Paradise closer to the end. In the end, Jericho pinned Kofi with the Code Breaker. I wonder if there will be a rubber match tomorrow night.
(6) John Cena beat Kane via pinfall in a No DQ match. Cena received a monstrous pop coming out. Even louder than last night. Unbelievable how popular this guy is for a crowd that has only seen him on TV. Unlike last night, though, the dueling chants of "Let's Go Cena / Cena Sucks" were much louder and prevalent. The match involved chairs, stairs, guardrails, and a microphone, and was all over and around the ring. Cena kicked out of the chokeslam, and Kane broke the STF by reaching the ropes. In the end, Kane brought a chair to the ring and it backfired when Cena kicked it into his face and hit the Attitude Adjustment for the pin and the win.
Post-match, Kane said he wasn't done with him and challenged Cena to a Tables match tomorrow night to wrap up the tour. (Cena and Kane were advertised for a tag match on Day 3.)
Next was the main event WWE Title between C.M. Punk and Dolph Ziggler. Punk got the second loudest pop of the night, after Cena, but I still say he was as popular as Cena based on the number of t-shirts in the crowd. Before the match could begin, John Laurinaitis came out and said that he promised he would surprise C.M. Punk and here he is. He had two surprises. (1) Appointing his Legal Counsel, David Otunga, as the special ring enforcer for the match. (2) He is making this match two-out-of-three falls (since it wasn't mentioned before or during the show live). Punk was really enjoying himself here, playing to the crowd and slowly taking his shirt off to milk the crowd and keep them guessing to which section he would throw it to. When he finally did, he channelled the Rick Rude Dance before throwing his shirt to the crowd.
(7) WWE champion C.M. Punk beat Dolph Ziggler 2-1 in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain the WWE Title. Punk got the first fall rather quickly with a roll-up. Ziggler got the second fall after countering the GTS with a Fameasser. Towards the end of the match, there was a ref bump and Punk caught Ziggler with the Anaconda Vice and he tapped, but there was no ref. Otunga brought in another ref and was talking to him on the live mic and telling him to be fair and call it right down the middle, while the ref had his back to the ring. While Punk was distracted by what was happening outside the ring, Ziggler caught him with the Zig-Zag and Otunga sent the ref to the ring for the count, but Punk kicked out. Otunga was furious at the ref and got into the ring and berated him. Then, he turned his attention to Punk and got in his face, but got a GTS for his troubles. Punk then hit the GTS on Ziggler for the final pin and win.
What happened after the match was very memorable to the people who were still in the stadium. Punk thanked the crowd and said that this crowd is one of the best crowds he has ever wrestled in front of live (which is a big compliment given where he has wrestled in the past) and that tonight and last night were unbelievable. He said he can't wait to do it again tomorrow and promised that WWE will be back in Abu Dhabi again. He then went ringside and was given a turban to wear as tribute to the people of the United Arab Emirates. He actually looked like Sabu wearing it. What a memorable end to the show.
Overall, I thought Day 2 was a better show than Day 1. The crowd was livelier, crazier, and louder than the first day, and the wrestling was top-notch. Even John Cena vs. Kane was a great match. How will they top this on Day 3?
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