U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz (Pre-Show) | January 27, 2013 WWE Royal Rumble 27/01/2013

U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz (Pre-Show) | January 27, 2013 WWE Royal Rumble27/01/2013

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Newly equipped with a Figure-Four Leglock bestowed upon him by a WWE Hall of Famer, The Miz will look to become a three-time United States Champion when he battles titleholder Antonio Cesaro on the free Royal Rumble Pre-Show event this Sunday. The Pre-Show will stream live on WWE.com, YouTube.com/WWE and Facebook.com/WWE at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT, a half-hour before the pay-per-view gets under way.

The arrogant Swiss Superman, who insists his problem is less with America and more with the “lazy” Americans who don’t make use of the opportunities they’re afforded, caught The Awesome One’s ire when he interrupted a very special edition of “Miz TV” on Jan. 14. Bringing to a halt The Miz’s joyously nostalgic interview with two-time Hall of Famer “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Cesaro dampened the mood by portraying the two suited former World Champions as emblematic of all that is wrong with the United States.

The U.S. Champion’s insults did nothing to endear himself to either Superstar; Flair unleashed chops and whipped the titleholder directly into a Skull Crushing Finale by The Miz. The “Nature Boy” then began to set up for his famed Figure-Four Leglock, only to stop midway and hand it off to The Miz, who finished the spinning toe hold and locked in the grapevine in a symbolic passing of the torch.

Two nights later on WWE Main Event, Cesaro delivered a receipt. While wrestling Randy Orton, the Swiss Superstar first mocked The Miz by using moves from his arsenal against The Viper. The match came to an abrupt end when The Shield attacked Orton, prompting The Awesome One to leave the commentary desk and enter the fray, where a numbers disadvantage resulted in an unprovoked Neutralizer to The Miz.

With so much bad blood between them already and championship gold on the line, it is safe to say The Miz will be in attack mode this Sunday. Can The Swiss Superman, who’s looked otherworldly at times during his five-month title reign, muster victory against a peeved Miz, a former U.S. Title holder himself? Don’t miss out on all the action when the free Royal Rumble Pre-Show streams live this Sunday at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT.