WWE "World Tour" house show
January 22, 2012
Las Cruces, N.M.
Report by John Fletcher, PWTorch reader

(1) Sheamus won a battle royal to earn an Intercontinental Title shot later in the show. In the match were Sheamus, Ryback, Drew McIntyre, Santino, JTG, David Otunga, WWE tag champs Epico and Primo, Mason Ryan, R-Truth, and Alex Riley. Sheamus won after eliminating Skip and Otunga after they double-teamed him for a bit.

(2) IC champion Cody Rhodes beat Sheamus via DQ; Rhodes retained the IC Title. Sheamus lost by DQ by overdoing the Irish Hand Grenade in the ropes. Sheamus landed the Brogue Kick afterward.

The third match was for the U.S. Title. New champ Jack Swagger challenged anybody from the back to come out and face him. R-Truth came out.

(3) R-Truth beat U.S. champion Jack Swagger in a non-title match. The match was pretty fast-paced and solid. Truth won the U.S. Title with his finisher, or so it seemed. Otunga came out to congratulate R-Truth, but also said that the match was in-fact non-title. Truth handed the belt back after a stare down, and Swagger celebrated while selling the effects of his loss.

(4) Kelly Kelly & Eve beat Divas champion Beth Phoenix & Natalya with special guest referee Brie Bella. Pretty short match, with a few blown spots. Kelly won after a Rocker Dropper on Natalya.

The next match was scheduled to be Wade Barrett vs. Ted DiBiase. Wade promo'd on Randy Orton, saying that he would throw him down five more flights of stairs to make sure he never walks again if he shows up on Smackdown. DiBiase came out, but only stood in the entry-way and gestured toward the back. Randy Orton's music hit to a gigantic reaction, and he ran down to the ring and started beating on Barrett, who then tried to escape a couple times through the crowd, but Orton kept pulling him back. Kofi, Primo, Epico, Santino, and Alex Riley came out to pull Orton off Barrett and restore order. Barrett slinked to the back, and Primo, Epico, Kofi, and A-Ry got RKO'd for their trouble.

(5) Big Show beat World Hvt. champion Daniel Bryan via DQ; Bryan retained the World Title. Bryan spent most of the match either rolling out of the ring or working Big Show's leg. When Daniel Bryan came off the top rope for his dropkick, Big Show caught him with the Knockout Punch. David Otunga and Drew McIntyre then ran down and interrupted the pinfall apropos of nothing. Big Show gave them a double chokeslam for their trouble. After Big Show went to the back, Bryan woke up and celebrated his title retention.

(6) John Cena beat Kane via DQ. A slow and plodding affair, but very popular with the crowd. Kane got DQ'd for hitting Cena with a chair, then he chokeslammed him. Kane started to leave, but then came back, only to get AA'd by Cena.

(7) WWE champion C.M. Punk beat The Miz to retain the WWE Title. Solid match, with Punk generally getting beaten up with a few false comebacks, including his high kick for a nearfall and kicking out of the Skullcrushing Finale. The match ended with Punk scoring with the GTS for a pinfall. Afterward, Punk spent time walking around ringside to slap hands with fans and work the crowd.

Most Cheers:

C.M. Punk
Randy Orton
John Cena

Most Boos:

Cody Rhodes
Wade Barrett
Daniel Bryan
(Miz and Kane both got mixed cheers/boos)

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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