WWE house show results
March 18, 2012
New York City at Madison Square Garden
Report by Mike Omansky, PWTorch correspondent

The arena was sold-out - totally packed. There were two false title changes, with the GMS reversing decisions. Overall, a very strong show with no bad matches.

(1) Zack Ryder beat The Miz. Ryder scored the pin after a Rough Ryder. Solid match. (**)

(2) WWE tag champions Primo & Epico (w/Rosa Mendes) beat Kofi Kingston & R-Truth to retain the Tag Titles. Initial finish: Kofi scored a pin, but the ref didn’t see a foot under the ropes. The faces were announced as new tag champs, but John Laurinaitis came out, as he saw the foot under the ropes. The match was re-started. Primo then pinned Kofi with a backstabber to retain. Surprisingly good match. (**)

(3) U.S. champion Santino beat Jack Swagger (w/Vickie Guerrero) to retain the U.S. Title. Santino with the Cobra and pin to retain. Again, a false finish in this match. Swagger pinned Santino using the ropes for leverage, then Teddy Long came out and said he saw the feet on the ropes, and ordered the match re-started. Laurinaitis then came out and started arguing with Long. Hornswoggle ran to the ring, bit Swagger on the backside, and Swagger, distracted, walked into the Cobra. Fun match. (*1/2)

(4) Alberto Del Rio beat Mason Ryan via submission. Del Rio with the armbar in less than a minute. Squash.

(5) Triple H & WWE champion C.M. Punk & Randy Orton beat Chris Jericho & Dolph Ziggler & IC champion Cody Rhodes in a six-man tag match. Best match of the night. Hunter Pedigreed and pinned Ziggler for the win. Punk and Orton took turns being beaten up by the heels. Jericho tagged in twice when Punk was at a disadvantage so he could work him over. Hunter was in once early, then came in for the finish while Punk and Jericho battled back to the dressing room. Punk returned, but Jericho did not. (***)

(6) Divas champion Beth Phoenix & Natalya beat Kelly Kelly & Tamina Snuka. Beth pinned Kelly with a powerbomb. Eve was out before the match and told the crowd she knows what she did to Ryder was wrong and she wants to win the crowd back. Decent Divas match. (*)

(7) World Hvt. champion Daniel Bryan beat Mark Henry and Big Show in a three-way match to retain the World Title. Usual match with Bryan either getting bounced around or running for a cover. Finish: Show chokeslammed Henry, but Bryan attacked the legs from behind. Bryan then pounced on Henry for the pin. I have seen this one before. (*)

(8) John Cena beat Kane in a Last Man Standing match. Mixed reactions for both wrestlers. The match was good for what it was. Most of the time, Kane would bring in a weapon and bash Cena, who would get up at the count of nine. Kane used a chair, the bell, a microphone, and a table. Finish: Kane brought in a second table, set it up, but Cena caught him with the Attitude Adjustment to smash him through it. Kane couldn’t beat the ten count, giving Cena the win. (Same finish the previous two nights.)

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

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