History of Survivor Series with KB

[The Brain]

I enjoyed Survivor Series 2010. Some things didn’t go the way I would have liked, but I still found it to be an enjoyable show.

Daniel Bryan vs. Ted Dibiase was a solid opener. Bryan is typically going to give you a good match when he’s out there and it was nice to see Dibiase in the US title picture. The problem I have here was a lack of build. Dibiase attacked Bryan six days prior to the ppv and here he was getting the title shot. Even if there wasn’t going to be a more creative way to build the match it should have at least been done sooner. Make me look forward to seeing the match instead of just throwing it at me a week before the ppv. Good match despite the poor build.

I really liked the Morrison vs. Sheamus match. I thought it was very solid. Even though I liked the match I would have preferred a traditional elimination match. These two could have captained a team against each other. There were plenty of choices for each team that would have made sense. Then they could have had their singles match at the next ppv. So while the booking didn’t go the way I wanted I did enjoy the match.

Kaval vs. Ziggler: see Bryan vs. Dibiase.

Only one traditional match was disappointing but at least it was a good one. I would have bet money that Masters and Reks would have been eliminated within the first three minutes. Sometimes guys look bad getting eliminated so quickly and it hurts the match. I’m glad they didn’t go that route. Everyone got a respectable amount of time and I think everyone looked good. I was disappointed to see Del Rio go out so quickly. I would have liked to either see him survive or pull a Honky Tonk Man and run out when he was outnumbered. That’s nitpicking though. Good match.

I really should go into a divas match with an open mind but typically I don’t care too much. Nothing really stood out here except the surprise return of Beth Phoenix.

I have to admit I wasn’t paying close attention to Kane vs. Edge. I wanted to check how my fantasy football team was doing. I guess that tells me these guys failed to draw me in. I just couldn’t get into this feud. I don’t mind the finish too much. It just sets up the next ppv for a stipulation. I just find it funny when a ref counts a double pin. I would just assume not count in a situation like that.

The tag titles served its purpose. It was filler before the main event and got the other members of Nexus a chance to shine. I’m sure wrestling Triple H for the title two years ago at Survivor Series to teaming with Santino is not exactly the direction Kozlov wanted to go, but it beats being wished well in future endeavors.

I wasn’t really into the main event. I have no complaints about the build or the stipulation. The match itself seemed lackluster. I know this whole thing was about Cena, but it would have been nice if he wasn’t the main focus for the entire match. Barrett and Orton were just going for lame covers to see what Cena would do. Because of that it didn’t have the flow of a normal match. Cena’s counts should have been focused on early and late. The middle should have been more of a normal match.

Overall it was an enjoyable show. I’m glad they decided to keep Survivor Series. It’s too bad Taker wasn’t able to appear at his 20th anniversary show but what can you do?

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I liked this year's Survivor Series and it felt important plus im glad they are keeping it. Too bad Undertaker missed his 20th anniversary but that didn't hurt the Show at all to me.

Daniel Bryan/Ted Dibiase-Good Opener with Bryan taking a nasty bump on the outside. Maryse looked Hot as usual and glad Daniel Retained the US Title.

John Morrison/Sheamus-I really liked this Match as well with both guys getting in some great offense. I liked Morrison winning w/o the Starship Pain this time.

Dolph Ziggler/Kaval-Loved this Match and it really showed the importance of the IC Title. Dolph barely Retains but Kaval should get another shot at it.

SS Eliminaton Match-Fun Match here,loved the stuff with Cody Rhodes going bezerk after Kofi slapped him twice in the face. Del Rio getting knocked out was interesting,I thought he was going to sneak back in and win but had no problem with Rey & Big Show being the Survivors.

Laycool/Natalya-All I can say is Congrats to Natalya on winning the Divas Title and welcome back Beth Phoenix.

Kane/Edge-An alright World Title Match with a slow and methodical pace but that didn't bother me too much. Wasn't big on the double pin but that sets up a Rematch maybe at TLC in December.

Nexus/Santino & Kozlov-Nexus Retains the Tag Titles but a good bridge in between the 2 Main Events and it got Gabriel & Slater a chance on a Big PPV to shine.

Orton/Barrett-I liked this Match overall for the most part and liked the curveball of Cena counting down Barrett for the 3 to let Orton Retain the WWE Title. So now lets see what comes of this.

Overall an enjoyable Survivor Series and a 8/10.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Survivor Series 1993
Date: November 24, 1993
Location: Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,509
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

I know this is an old thread, but it was on WWE On Demand this week and I figured I'd share something I found hilarious. This past week on Raw, R-Truth caught some flack for being out of shape because he took a drink of water. King said that he had never seen anything like that before. But while watching this yesterday, Shawn Michaels took a swig of water during his match I think right after Owen was eliminated. I have never heard anyone accuse Shawn of being out of shape.

But yeah, this show had some fun stuff but for the most part it was pretty weak. That horseshit with the Doinks was probably the single stupidest thing I've ever seen in the 90's, and that's saying a lot. The opening bout was good as was the RNR Express/Bodies match, but overall it was a very lackluster card.

 

[texans420]

I will say this much about Survivor Series 91, it might not be the best wrestling ever after the first match, but I'll always watch that show just because Hennan and Monsoon that night had one of the best nights ever on commentary. Might not be the most watchable wrestling-wise but very easy on the ears from the commentary standpoint from start to finish.

 

[theHeadliner]

WWF Title: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels[/U]

After Shawn’s intro, we go to the back for an interview with Bret. Since winning the belt he’s defended against Mountie, Berzerker, Rick Martel, Papa Shango and Virgil. And people have the nerve to ask why his first reign wasn’t taken seriously. Bret talks about how thankful he is for what he’s done and how he’s gotten this far. This had the potential to be a great promo, but Bret just wasn’t that good on the mic yet, which is understandable.

It fit his character really well as he was supposed to be the best pure wrestler in the world and while he couldn’t talk he could go in the ring. That’s what he did, and it worked very well. Like I said, this was a huge gamble for the company as they had no clue how to do a big show without Hogan or Warrior. This could have sunk the company for Vince, but thankfully he stuck to his guns and put two of his best young guys out there.

Bret gets a solid pop but not huge. Vince of course tries to make it sound bigger than Hogan ever got. Heenan gets in a great line. Vince says that Bret is likely the most scientific champion of all time. Heenan in his most condescending and annoyed voice says wrong. Vince asks who. Heenan: Flair. He sounds so snobby and annoyed here that it’s perfect. They start with a lengthy feeling out period, which makes sense here and works well since both of these guys can do just about anything.

Also, at this time Shawn doesn’t use the kick as his finisher, but rather a weird suplex move. The kick is in his arsenal but it’s just a run of the mill move. He’s kind of like a rookie MMA Brock Lesnar. He had everything else but he couldn’t finish people. Bret gets a hammerlock and Shawn actually taps but since it’s 1992 no one gets that. Damn maybe he’s more like Lesnar than I thought. Heenan mentions he gets paid a lot of money to do his job.

Vince’s “I’m sure you do” response is full of sarcasm which again is funnier now given that we know he signs Heenan’s checks. Given that this is a pretty long opening part of the match, the fans are staying into it which is a very good thing. Shawn uses that same rolling counter for a hip toss that he’s used before and it’s still completely awesome. Vince really likes talking about how Bret won the title.

How they evolved into what they became just five years later amazes me. We pick up the pace a bit which makes the match more interesting. Granted it was fine before but now it’s a bit better. Bret takes the standard momentum turning bump of having his shoulder hit the post at full speed.

Shawn shifts into a standard heel offense and this is working pretty well. These two have a natural chemistry between them and it’s never once failed to deliver at least a very good match. Even the Montreal match was at least good before the ending.

They continue the debate over who is stronger which never was answered I don’t think. Heenan, talking about Shawn, says this man is hot. Where’s Becca when I need her? I love how Vince orders the referees around. I wonder if he criticizes them about it later on. They kind of mention that Bret has won the Triple Crown but they don’t call it that. Pedro Morales had already done it so they can’t really say much about Bret.

Bobby goes to some classic insults about Bret’s family, which are likely what he was best at. We’ve been in this chinlock far too long now as Shawn just doesn’t have the variety in his offense to be able to pull off a nearly half hour match like this is. Given another year or two though he easily could, but he just wasn’t there yet. It seems that all he knows are rest holds, which I guess he’s using to just stall for time.

That’s fine I guess, but he needs to do some standard stuff in between them to prevent it from becoming boring. Heenan’s random talk of Razor and Flair is amusing. He played the role perfectly. You can tell Vince just can’t keep up with Heenan on the mic and it’s great to hear. Of course, Vince believed he was ten times the commentator that Gordon Solie was so who cares apparently.

Now that we’re out of the rest holds we’re turning it up a bit and now we’re getting good. Shawn of course gets hit with a sling shot which is one of his standard bumps that always works. Vince mentions that Bret has what a champion is made of. Vince, they’re both champions. Of course that’s not mentioned, so I guess even back then the IC Title was being buried. Damn I love that Russian Leg Sweep that Bret does.

For some reason Vince says what is going on. Well Vinny, it’s called a wrestling match. You might have seen one before but apparently not. The referee gets bumped in the corner but is up about 3 seconds later. I think that was unintentional. There’s just something missing from this match and I can’t put my finger on it. What I guess it is would be that neither of these guys are really huge stars yet.

Yes Bret is world champion, but he’s held it for such a short time that he’s still kind of viewed as a midcard guy. That’s what happened to Eddie during his run with the belt and it’s a hard thing to shake off. It’s a good match, but still there’s just an x factor that isn’t there. I think it’s a combination of Bret not going for the legs and Shawn having no finisher to end things with.

Today he would have the kick that he could hit from nowhere. He it looks like both guys are hoping to hit a rollup or something, and that’s what I think is missing. Shawn gets tied up in the ropes but is out in time for Bret to miss some big move and kind of get crotched. Apparently Bret is running himself too thin and whoever fights him next will beat him.

In the exact same ending to regulation time in the iron man match, Shawn misses a top rope dropkick and Bret gets the Sharpshooter to end this. That’s interesting that they would use the exact same ending sequence for regulation in the Iron Man match. And here comes…Santa Claus? What the hell? Yes, Santa is coming down the aisle, the night before Thanksgiving. What in the hell? He puts a Santa hat on Bret’s head as it starts snowing in the arena.

I think I’m in one of X’s trips as this makes zero sense. Maybe it’s not snowing. Vince says it is but I don’t see any of it. Oh there it is. Vince says ho ho ho as we end it. After it ends, Bret is with Santa and he says he wants big and bad opponents for Christmas. That’s kind of cool I guess, but still, WHAT THE HELL?

Rating: A-. The lack of a Shawn finishing move here really hurt things. There was never a moment where you really felt that Shawn could pull it off because even though he sets for the suplex at one point, it’s a freaking belly to back suplex. Why should that be considered special?

It wasn’t and thankfully he changed to the kick…a few years later. Other than that, this was a good match. It’s not great, but it’s certainly worth seeing. These guys would go on to have classic after classic, but this one is really forgotten I think.

Overall Rating: C+. Well it’s better than anything that this show has done since the first one, so it gets a passing grade but not by much. This just flat out wasn’t that great. There’s two very good matches in the double main event, but the rest of the show is just above average at best. It was a gamble and it worked, but it didn’t feel like the Survivor Series at all. It worked, but not great like I said. It’s recommended though, but not very strongly at all.

I don't know why HBK's offense seemed to lag behind in this match, and that he didn't have much variety as a heel. I know he was just getting into his singles career but when he was in the Rockers he had plenty of good and versatile offense. Maybe its cus he wanted to slow his work rate down while being a heel, cus a lot of the fast, high flying stuff would have gotten him over with the fans in a good way, not in a heel way.

 

[Cub McCallister]

If I can I would like to rebook the 2007 Survivor Series Ppv because I feel that it could of been done so much better in my opinion such as:

1) Cm Punk (C) Vs John Morrison Vs RVD Vs The Miz Vs Bobby Lashley Vs Elijah Burke
Six Pack Challange Elimination Ecw Title Match. Have this match take place as te opener with elimination style rules and have Punk retain the title to give the ecw roster a good showing.

2) Team Mickie James Vs Team Beth Pheonix
10 Diva Elimination Match. Stays the same.

3) Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch (C) Vs Holly & Rhodes Vs WGTT Vs London & Kendrick
World Tag Team Title Four Corner Elimination Match. Add two more tag teams to the match and have Holly and Rhodes win the gold at the Ppv by eliminating the champs last.

4) Dreamer, Sandman, Mahoney & Cryme Tyme Vs Dykstra, Carlito Regal & Deuce & Domino
10 Man Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match. Have Carlito and Dykstra the survivors of the match to push the younger talent on the roster.

5) Randy Orton (C) Vs Shawn Michaels
Wwe Title Match. Stays the same.

6) Team Triple H (HHH, Hardy Boyz, Mysterio, Kane) Vs Team Kennedy (Kennedy, Umaga, MVP, Marcus Cor Von, Finlay)
10 Man Survivor Series Elimination Match. I would keep Matt Hard in there and replace daddy v with Cor Von and take the fight to triple hhh and give him a push and I would make the survivors of the match Mr Kennedy and Marcus Cor Von, it would be a much better match then the one tha happened tbh, I would of pushed Kennedy high in 07.

7) The Undertaker (C) Vs Batista
World Heavyweight Title Hell in a Cell Match. I would have Batista win the title at Surivor Series with help from Edge and I'd have Taker have a good reign from Mania up to Survivor series and get screwed out of the title by edge.

That's my Ppv and I think it could deliver.
This stays the same with Edge interfering at the end

 

[kanefan00]

survivor series 2002 was pretty good. and that's the only one I w.

 

[Cub McCallister]

I would like to try and rebook the 2000 Survivor Series card because I feel that there should of been more Elimination matches such as:

1) K-Kwik, Steve Blacman, Al Snow & Esse Rios Vs William Regal & The Mean Street Posse
8 Man Tag Team Elimination Match. Have this as an opener with Regal being the sole survivor.

2) Test, Albert & Lo-Down Vs The Acolytes & The Hollys
8 Man Tag Team Elimination Match. Have this instead of the other one with T & A as the surivivors.

3) Kane Vs Chris Jericho
No Dq Match. Make this a No Dq Match with the same results.

4) The Radicalz Vs D-Generation X
8 Man Tag Team Elimination Match. Keep it the same except have X-Pac in the match instead and have them come out to the DX music with Benoit and Malenko as the survivors.

5) Ivory (C) Vs Lita Vs Molly Holly Vs Trish Stratus
Fatal 4 Way Elimination Womens Title Match. Add Holly and Trish to the match and make it an elimination match with Ivory winning the match.

6) The Rock Vs Rikishi
Singles Match. Have Rock win by dq to keep Rikishi going strong.

7) Kurt Angle (C) The Undertaker
WWF Title Match. Stays the same.

8) The Dudley Boyz & The Hardy Boyz Vs Edge & Christian & The Right Too Censor
8 Man Elimination Tag Team Match. Stays the same.

9) Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs Triple HHH
No Dq Match. Stays the same.

 

[Cub McCallister]

I would now like to rebook the 03 Survivor Series ppv:

Sunday Night Heat
1) Tajiri, Akio, Sakoda & Nunzio Vs Jamie Noble, Funaki, Ultimo Dragon & Shannon Moore
8 Man Elimination Tag Match. Have this on SNH with the heels winning the match.

Main Show
1) Team Angle Vs Team Lesnar
10 Man Survivor Series Elimination Match. I would keep this the same except add Mysterio to the match and have Cena and Benoit as the survivors of the bout.

2) Kane Vs Shane McMahon
Ambulance Match. Stays the same.

3) The Basham Brothers (C) Vs Los Guerreros Vs The APA Vs TWGTT
Wwe Tag Team 4 Corners Elimination Title Match. Add this one instead under elimination rules with the basham brothers winning to retain the titles.

4) Molly Holly (C) Vs Lita
Womens Title Match. Stays the same.

5) Rikishi, Hotty, Gowen, Jordan & Kidman Vs Henry, La Resistance, Richards & Venis
10 Man Survivo Series Elimination Match. Add this to the card and have Raw win the bout.

6) Goldberg (C) Vs Triple HHH
World Heavyweight Title Match. Stays the same. except have Kane interfere at the end and chokeslam Goldberg.

7) Vince McMahon Vs The Undertaker
Buried Alive Match. Stays the same.

8) Team Bischoff Vs Team Austin
10 Man Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match. Stays the same except put Batista in the match instead of henry and make it the main event.

 

[Cub McCallister]

I would like to rebook the 2010 Survivor Series ppv and try to make it look better from a booking stand point.

1) Ziggler, Ryder, Dibiase, Primo & Knox Vs Kaval, Truth, Henry, Goldust & Carlito
10 Man Survivor Series Elimination Match. Add this to the card and get all midcarders together and have Ziggler as the sole survivor.

2) John Morrison Vs Sheamus
No Dq Match. Make this a No Dq Match with Sheamus winning.

3) Phoenix, Kelly, James, Natalya & Eve Vs LayCool, Maryse, Fox & Melina
10 Diva Tag Match. Add this to the card with the faces as the survivors.

4) Rey, Kingston, Masters, Show & MVP Vs ADR, Recks, Rhodes, Swagger & McIntyre
10 Man Tag Team Elimination Match. Keep this the same.

5) Slater & Gabriel (C) Vs The Uso Vs Marrella & Kozlov Vs Gallows & Mercury
World Tag Team Title Four Corner Elimination Match. Add this to the ppv with the nexus retaining the titles.

6)Kane (C) Vs Edge
World Heavyweight Title Match. Keep this the same.

7) Cena, Otunga, McGillicutty, Harris & Sheffield Vs Bryan, Bourne, Smith, Kidd & Tatsu
10 Man Tag Team Elimination Match. Add this to the event and have Cena get eliminated because he refuses to cheat and have the nexus win by having all of the survive.

8) Randy Orton (C) Vs Wade Barrett
John Cena Special Guest Referee WWE Title Match. I would have Barrett win the title and have Cena turn heel.

 

[HollyWoodHale]

I would like to thank the OP for helping me get through my last week at work. I randomly stumbled upon this and after reading the first post, I immediately respected your insight.

Over the past couple of months I've watched every single WWE ppv from 86 to 98 (just finished WM14) which I think was a very good Mania!

Growing up, SS was always my favourite show and I was always rallying for more traditional SS matches but looking back on the early ones which I loved when I was younger, they weren't actually that good!

I got up too 95, so I will continue to read your reviews over the next week or so and I look forward too it.

Great post.

 

[DIReviews]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to think Survivor Series 1989 SUCKED.

 

[AnthonyM4]

I haven't seen every survivor series, but out of all the ones I saw 89 might be my favorite. In fact the first 5 shows were awesome IMO.