January 7 , 2013 Monday Night RAW results The January 7 , 2013 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE ' s RAW brand , which took place on January 7 , 2013 at Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa , Florida . Summary . One week later , and it looks like Dolph Ziggler ’ s still stewing over the suspect slop that was dumped on him from above on New Year ’ s Eve , bringing his 2012 to a messy end and humiliating The Showoff just days after his biggest victory over John Cena to date . Still , Mr . Money in the Bank wasn ’ t quite so riled up that he was willing to buy into Cena ’ s continued jabs , standing firm in the face of the Cenation leader ’ s opening address when Raw descended upon the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa , Fla . While Cena rained insults down upon The Showoff , Ziggler stuck to his guns and tossed a few barbs of his own in the direction of the 10 - time WWE Champion , ultimately declaring for the Royal Rumble and promising to do whatever it took to keep Cena from winning . When it came time to answer Cena ’ s challenge for a one - on - one bout in Tampa , though , The Showoff drew the line and turned the Cenation leader down outright . Somewhat unfortunately for Dolph , though , Big E Langston took that exact opportunity to break his silence and accept Cena ’ s challenge on behalf of his boss . We ’ ve got to hand it to the big guy : He ’ s a man of few words , but he sure does make them count . Dolph Ziggler ’ s sour mood looks like it ’ s going to extend into 2013 after The Showoff fell short in his attempt to avenge the embarrassment he suffered at John Cena ’ s hands in a No Holds Barred Match . Ziggler stormed into the contest early , looking for some payback against the Cenation leader for dousing him with doo - doo on New Year ’ s Eve . But Cena stood firm in the face of The Showoff ’ s speedy onslaught and eventually claimed revenge of his own after AJ Lee ’ s interference forced the referee to expel her and Big E Langston from ringside . With The Showoff isolated , Cena surged forth and swung the momentum back his way , kicking out of nearly every move in Ziggler ’ s arsenal . Cena seemed on the verge of finally paying The Showoff back for his ill - gotten victory at WWE TLC : Tables , Ladders & Chairs . An unfortunate incident nearly derailed the contest for Cena , though , after he inadvertently knocked out the referee by tossing Ziggler into him while powering out of the sleeper hold . With the official incapacitated , Langston stormed the ring and dropped Cena once again . But the attack by Ziggler ’ s monstrous lieutenant wasn ' t enough to keep Cena down . The Cenation leader ultimately powered out at the count of two when a replacement ref arrived , unleashing a final Attitude Adjustment on Mr . Money in the Bank to bring Raw ' s first match of 2013 to its close . Kaitlyn ’ s pursuit of the Divas Championship continues to come up short , as the beautiful bruiser once again challenged Eve for the butterfly - emblazoned title and once again walked away with a technical victory that notched her the “ W , ” but not the championship . In this case , it was Eve who willingly called off the contest despite dominating early on with her ground game and technical expertise . Once Kaitlyn rallied back , though , the Gracie - trained jiu - jitsu expert clearly wanted no part of her persistent challenger and vacated the ring after just a few minutes of action . Eve ’ s departure awarded Kaitlyn the victory via a count - out , but stopped the title from changing hands all the same . One championship pursuit that seemed to turn a corner was Team Rhodes Scholars ’ endless chase of the WWE Tag Team Championships , as the brainy bros knocked off Team Hell No in a non - title match in Tampa . The tandem of Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow has long pursued Kane & Daniel Bryan ’ s twin titles , and while they ’ ve typically come up just short of Team Hell No , the Scholars pulled off the tag upset in the Sunshine State . Kane & Bryan took control of the bout early on , isolating Sandow in a mirror of the Rhodes Scholars ’ own divide - and - conquer strategy , but the intellectually gifted grapplers proved that patience is indeed a virtue and turned the tide after Bryan tweaked his knee . Capitalizing on the submission expert ’ s injury , Rhodes quickly tagged in and went to work . Rhodes escaped Bryan ’ s last - ditch attempt at a small package and pounding the “ No ! ” man with Cross Rhodes for the win . Heath Slater ’ s 3MB may be hard at work in the studio , but it was Randy Orton who racked up the hits against the band ’ s frontman Heath Slater in the Tampa Bay Times Forum . Slater made a name for himself in 2012 as a Superstar who wasn ’ t afraid to take on some of WWE ’ s Legends , but Slater felt the wrath of the original Legend Killer in Florida as Orton attacked him early and often in the short , physical contest . Slater took it to Orton as best he could by targeting the former WWE Champion ’ s recently separated shoulder , but The Viper would not be denied in his unmanning of Slater . Toughing it out through Slater ’ s strategy , The Apex Predator shook off the red - haired rocker ’ s offense ( and the interference of 3MB ) before lashing out with an RKO to bring Slater ’ s evening to an unceremonious end . No encores necessary . The Barrett Barrage rolled through its Italian opposition in the Tampa Bay Times Forum when Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett collided with Santino Marella in a grudge match that had come about following an unceremonious interaction between the two earlier in the locker room . Santino was fighting for the honor of Ricky “ The Dragon ” Steamboat , who Barrett had the temerity to insult backstage , but The Milan Miracle ’ s noble gesture ultimately fell short in the face of Barrett ’ s onslaught . With the WWE Hall of Famer at ringside , Santino seemed poised to pull off the upset for a brief period , but the champion rallied by dodging The Cobra and unleashing the Bull Hammer on an unsuspecting Santino . The strike put The Italian Stallion down for the count but Barrett stopped short of mixing it up with Steamboat himself , snidely exiting the ring and displaying his championship in victory . Lightning struck twice for the mighty United States Champion when Antonio Cesaro battled The Great Khali in a reprise of their physical title bout on last week ’ s WWE Main Event . The Swiss Superman ’ s mantle was not up for grabs this time , but The Punjabi Giant was out for retribution all the same . Khali went to his time - honored strategy of crippling chops and power moves in his attempt to unman the U . S . Champion , but Cesaro stood firm and once again rallied for the victory . In the bout ’ s final minutes , Cesaro went to work on Khali ’ s knee and hit an airborne variation of the Very European Uppercut , throwing the big man off balance before executing the Neutralizer on the towering former World Champion to bring the bout to an emphatic close . Not to be outdone by his friendly rival Randy Orton , Sheamus got his own licks in on a member of 3MB only a few days after he and The Viper butted heads on SmackDown . Whereas Orton faced Heath Slater in a match , however , The Celtic Warrior stepped into the ring against Jinder Mahal . Regardless of the bandmate , though , the result was ultimately the same . Mahal was game for his bout and hardly withered in the face of the former World Heavyweight Champion . But Sheamus never truly allowed Mahal to find his rhythm , shaking off 3MB ’ s attempt to swing the match . He ultimately cut Mahal down with a thundering Brogue Kick . The victory elevated The Celtic Warrior to victory and put 3MB at 0 - 2 for the evening . Your move , Randy . It was a long time coming , but WWE Champion CM Punk finally faced feeding time in the Tampa Bay Times Forum , battling Ryback one - on - one in a Tables , Ladders & Chairs Match for Punk ’ s WWE Title that was originally slated to go down at WWE TLC in December . Punk ’ s unexpected trip under the knife delayed the contest for a full month , but with The Straight Edge Superstar cleared by WWE medical officials , the champion ’ s brief reprieve from his ravenous challenger was finally at an end . And make no mistake , Ryback was nothing if not very , very hungry when he finally stepped into the ring against Punk . Ryback literally came out swinging against the champion , tenderizing Punk with body shots and vicious blows from the steel steps , but Punk took advantage of the unique stipulation to fortify his counterattacks . Punk battered Ryback with chair strikes to soften him up for his signature kicks , but Ryback had a similar strategy . He matched Punk shot - for - shot with his own chair and , at one point , delivered a bone - crunching suplex to Punk that drove the champion , back - first , onto a prone ladder . Punk rallied from the brutal assault to set up a ladder in the center of the ring , but Ryback seemed to irrevocably take control of the bout when he slammed Punk atop the ladder and then dropped him through a table , leaving the champion incapacitated and the title within reach . But right when the beast scaled the ladder , the arena lights cut out . When the lights returned , they revealed The Shield , who stormed the ring . The trio unleashed a beating on Ryback , executing the triple powerbomb and allowing Punk to scale the ladder unscathed . Against all odds , the WWE Champion survives , extending his historic reign by yet another day . Next stop : the Royal Rumble . Big Show ’ s reign of terror rolled into 2013 when the World Heavyweight Champion followed up his shellacking of poor Ricardo Rodriguez with a resounding win over Kofi Kingston , the recently dethroned former Intercontinental Champion . Looking for a rebound win one week after losing his title to Wade Barrett , Kingston couldn ’ t catch a break when he squared off against The World ’ s Largest Champion . “ The Wildcat ” didn ’ t even have a minute to get going before Show leveled him with an immediate KO Punch , cutting Kingston down and kicking off his own 2013 on a high note . Finally , it ’ s come down to this : WWE Champion CM Punk and The Rock , in the ring one - on - one . And while the first 2013 encounter between the two ( and their first faceoff since Raw 1 , 000 back in July ) was only a verbal one , the atmosphere was still pulsating with electricity and animosity as their WWE Title bout at the Royal Rumble drew ever nearer . Before The Rock could address the people , however , CM Punk took the opportunity to drop another “ pipe bomb . ” In his own words , the term has been misinterpreted since that fateful 2011 night in Las Vegas . “ Pipe bomb ” has taken on the meaning of a tell - all missive , but to the champion , it is simply the truth . And the truth is , despite his efforts , Punk found that life in WWE had not changed much , and claimed that talented Superstars such as himself were still subject to the whims of an audience he believed to be fickle and ill - informed . In that vein , Punk snarled that he did not succeed because of “ the people ” who suddenly rallied to his side : He succeeded despite the “ system ” that had been established to keep him and his ilk down , and the fans who supported it in the first place . “ I have beaten you , ” Punk said to the Universe , the establishment , to anyone and everyone his words could reach . “ I have stomped you out under my oppressive boot and I ’ m gonna do the same to The Rock because I don ’ t care if he ’ s back . You do not get to win . ” At that point , The Rock had enough . The Brahma Bull ’ s music hit and for the first time since July , The Great One stalked down to the ring and wasted little time in addressing the champion ’ s comments . “ Twenty days , ” The Rock said , addressing the number of days Punk has until the fateful WWE Title Match between the two at the Royal Rumble . “ Twenty days . Time ’ s up . ” What followed was a proverbial clash of the titans on the microphone , as Punk ’ s bilious rhetoric clashed with Rock ’ s patented braggadocio . After a tense back - and - forth , The Rock laid his own personal truth bare . His own “ pipe bomb , ” if you will . “ The Rock is back to entertain them , The Rock is back to stop you , and after 10 long years , The Rock is back to win that , ” he said . Punk countered with a response that had no shortage of malice , but The Great One would not be deterred . “ Twenty days , ” Rock warned again . “ Time ’ s up . ” And before Punk could reply , The Brahma Bull struck with a Rock Bottom , leaving the WWE Champion in a heap on the canvas and sending an unmistakable message to The Straight Edge Superstar . Welcome to 2013 , WWE Universe . It ’ s gonna be quite the year . Twenty days .