WWE Survivor Series 2011: Aftermath & Discussion

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Survivor Series - November 20, 2011

1. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison for the WWE United States Championship - Very good, competitive and well paced match to start the ppv off with. The crowd is already hot and are very pro Ryder. Morrison got himself some nice heat from the crowd whenever he went on the offensive. The match in and of itself was pretty back and forth with both wrestlers getting in some nice offense. Vickie helps save Dolph at one point by placing his foot on the ropes. The ref sent her back from the ringside area, she screeched, the crowd popped and all was right with the world. At one point, Ziggler hit’s the Zig Zag for a great near fall. The ending comes with JoMo going for Starship Pain only for Ziggler to get his knees up just in time. Ziggler comes up and hits another Zig Zag, this time for the win at the 11 minute mark. Damn fine effort from both wrestlers and considering the talks of JoMo possibly leaving very soon, I thought his presence in this title match instead of Zack Ryder gave it a nice little dash of unpredictability. After the match, Vickie came out and did her “Excuse me“ bit before Ziggler got on the mic. His time on the mic was brief, but it was solid stuff and Ziggler has shown consistent improvement on the mic. Ryder‘s music hits and he comes out to a big pop and cleared Ziggler from the ring. Maybe this will lead to Ziggler actually having to face Ryder later on tonight? ***1/4

2. Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres for the WWE Divas Championship - The Lumberjill stipulation of the match was unnecessary as the other Divas had little interaction in the match. I guess they were mostly just eye candy. The match in and of itself between Beth & Eve was actually pretty solid with a great finish. Beth Phoenix hitting the Glam Slam off the top looked really sweet and gave Beth the pinfall victory at the 5 minute mark. The match was quick, painless and good for what it was. **

The Rock - Not to sound like Michael Cole, but this interview was pretty much Vintage Rock. He did it backstage and gave the already energetic New York crowd a shot in the arm. The Rock talked about the WWE’s past and put it over well as well as MSG in and of itself with some of the great moments from its past like the first Ali-Frazier fight. I actually laughed when they censored Rock saying “WWF”. It’s just ridiculous. Of course, Rock turned his attention to Cena and spent the next little bit insulting him and got the crowd chanting “lady parts”. The Rock singing the broadway classic “New York, New York” was a little much. Didn’t suck or anything, I guess The Rock is just really laying in on thick for New York. Thumbs Up

3. Team Orton vs. Team Barrett - I thought this was an enjoyable match with, overall, really good booking. The only real complaint I’ve got is Dolph Ziggler being eliminated in about 2 minutes. That makes me believe that they’re gonna do Ziggler vs. Ryder later on. At any rate, some fun action going on during the match and Sin Cara took a nasty spill to get counted out for Team Orton’s first elimination. The crowd was definitely pro Cody Rhodes and I was pleasantly surprised to not only see him eliminate Mason Ryan, but to do it in a clean and very decisive fashion with Cross Rhodes at the 9 minute mark. Kofi Kingston had a decent showing for himself and hit his usual fun offense before Wade Barrett eliminates him via Wasteland about the 14.5 minute mark. Sheamus gets eliminated via DQ by basically going medieval on Jack Swagger’s ass and refusing to break at the 5 count. Orton picks the scraps and Swagger gets eliminated. Afterward, Orton hits some of his signature stuff on Cody Rhodes until Hunico is able to make the tag in. He manages to springboard right into an RKO and gets eliminated. Orton eventually manages to hit the RKO on Cody but Barrett catches him in Wasteland for the win. Team Barrett wins with Wade Barrett & Cody Rhodes as the survivors a little past the 22 minute mark. Not an incredible match, but a very good one in which Cody Rhodes & Wade Barrett had strong performances, Rhodes especially. Sheamus was protected by getting DQ’d and Orton lost nothing really as he was a victim of the numbers game. ***1/4

4. Mark Henry vs. The Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship - Overall, I enjoyed this match. It followed the pattern of Henry matches that’ve told good stories and coupled in with some hard hitting offense. The match was slow paced but I don’t see how anyone could have expected otherwise with two 400 pound men wrestling. These two simply can’t go at the pace of Ziggler vs. JoMo or the Survivor Series tag match. There were a couple of cool spots including Mark Henry ramming Big Show through the barricade outside, which made for a nice dramatic moment as Show was able to make it back in before the 10 count. Big Show also hit a big flying elbow off the top rope that the crowd popped big for, even starting a “Randy Savage” chant. It took Show a while to get stable on the top but the move still looked cool and Henry looked good kicking out of it. The match ends via DQ when Henry hits Show with a low blow as Show is going for the WMD at the 13 minute mark. Henry then did the bit where he put Show’s ankle in the steel chair and tried for the Vader Bomb but missed. Show then delivered the WMD and them did a leg drop on the chair. Henry sold it well, even screaming “shit” at one point that had to be censored. I’m not all that wild about the ending, but I see why they did it. They’re holding out for one more match between Henry and Show, probably at TLC. I did enjoy the match overall. The live crowd wasn’t into most of it but I thought the match told a good story and both these guys did work really hard and did their best following two fun, much faster paced matches. **1/2

5. Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship - Justin Roberts introducing Howard Finkel as CM Punk’s “personal ring announcer” was a cool touch. It’s good to see Finkel again and I’d personally love to hear him announcing more matches. The match in and of itself was excellent, much better than I was expecting to be perfectly honest. Some great back and forth action from Punk & Del Rio, some cool spots here and there and a couple of really nice near falls. The match really kicked up several notches in the last 5 minutes or so. Del Rio eventually locks in the armbar submission that provided some great drama for a bit until Punk was able to get to the ropes. The ending eventually comes about the 17.5 minute mark when Del Rio taps out to the Anaconda Vice. Del Rio really sold the move well, raking and pulling at Punk’s face in the hopes of breaking the hold but he does tap out. Punk wins and is the new WWE Champion. The crowd pops huge and is definitely behind Punk. I’m surprised they didn’t wait until TLC to put the title on Punk but I can’t complain at all. Great ending to what turned out to be a great match. ***3/4

6. John Cena & The Rock vs. Awesome Truth - The match in and of itself was solid but overall disappointing. This was a great opportunity to give a rub to The Miz & R-Truth by having them go over Cena & Rock but it didn't happen. Some good action in the match and the crows was beyond hot for it. It's almost been as good as the crowd in Chicago for the MITB ppv. Rock & Cena ultimately do pick up the win when Rock hits the People's Elbow on The Miz to pick up the pin at the 22 minute mark. As The Rock celebrates in the ring, he motions for Cena to join him. They jaw for a bit before Rock ultimately hits The Rock Bottom on Cena. Rock continues to pose and the show ends. **3/4

Overall Show - Very solid outing tonight in my view with generally great action all around. Ziggler vs. JoMo was everything I was hoping and I thought there was a nice little bit of unpredictability about the match given JoMo's questionable future. The Divas match wasn't much to write home about but a great spot to end it. The traditional Survivor Series match was a lot of fun with Barrett & Rhodes having great showings for themselves. Henry vs. Show was a good effort in my view with a couple of really cool spots. The match was slow paced at times but both men worked hard and told a good story. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio was a surprisingly great match, much more than I expected. I gave the match an extra quarter star for the unexpected & pleasant surprise of Punk winning the title. I figured we'd have to wait until TLC but I've got no problems with it. The main event was anti-climactic in my view. Cena & Rock vs. Awesome Truth was, all in all, a very solid tag match but it didn't do anything for Truth & Miz at all and nothing especially great happened. The Rock did look smooth and crisp inside the ring, the guy's still got it and it's pretty obvious. I think many of us were expecting or hoping Cena would turn heel tonight, it didn't happen. The Rock just ultimately got the best of Cena. I think WWE missed a good opportunity to create a HUGE moment here and the anti-climactic finish did pull the show down somewhat. Still, from top to bottom, Survivor Series delivered a very solid 3 hour ppv and it did give us The Rock's first wrestling match in 7 years. Maybe there'll be more to this Cena situation in time but who knows. It's disappointing, but letting it ruin the whole show is pure nonsense.

Grade: B+

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Really enjoyed Survivor Series tonight and the MSG Crowd was a Big Highlight with Chants for The Rock,Daniel Bryan,Macho Man,CM Punk,Zack Ryder,and even Cody Rhodes got one too.

Dolph/John Morrison-Good way to kick things off with Dolph keeping his US Title. Kinda thought Morrison would win but no biggy. I liked Ryder coming out and taking out Ziggler.

Beth/Eve-An ok Divas Title Match but I liked the Glamslam for the finish.

Team Orton/Team Barrett-A Fun SS Elimination Match here but its too bad Sin Cara got hurt which sucks. Barrett & Rhodes the Sole Survivors im fine with,everybody looked good in it.

Mark Henry/Big Show-This Match was not bad and I loved Big Show's elbow drop,that was so cool. Mark taking the cheap way out to keep the WHC was a little surprising and I was hoping Daniel Bryan would Cash in MITB.

ADR/CM Punk-Maybe the MOTN here & CM Punk winning the WWE Title was very cool. Loved Howard Finkel doing Punk's introduction as well plus Punk jumping into the MSG Crowd was funny.

Rock/John Cena vs Awesome Truth-Liked this Match with Rock looking excellent in his Return and he still has it.

Overall a Solid Survivor Series from top to bottom.

 

[Notorious718]

I'm very happy about Punk winning the title. It was a pleasant surprise for me as I was actually expecting Del Rio to go over and have a rather long title run. But I've been underwhelmed with Del Rio as champ so I've got no complaints in that regard. I think their match was great and made up for the rather anti-climatic tag team main event. While the match itself was solid, it was kind of a let down for all the hype it got. It also would've served as a fantastic way to give Miz and Truth a major rub. Cena and Rock wouldn't have lost anything by losing the match, especially if they lost via implosion in their ranks. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed by Awesome Truth losing. But the match itself was solid and the crowd was very into it and that's always a good thing. In addition, I was expecting ring rust by Rock but I was pleasantly surprised by him. His in-ring performance far exceeded my expectations.

Can't really comment on the rest of the matches sadly because I didn't catch them.

 

[stephenjpunk317]

That crowd was a great selling point for most of the night. I think I was definitely disappointed with the ending though. I love the Rock, but just to see him get a quick win, and one up Cena seems like the safe finish. I understand now you can build till Wrestlemania, but is the Rock going to be around till then? Or will we have to wait till a week before Wrestlemania for him to come back?? Also I think that the Miz and R-Truth could have been going somewhere, but now I'm not sure that will happen. So where do you go with them? I know we'll get Punk and Del Rio at TLC. Probably Big Show and Mark Henry at TLC, so things are shaping up there. But overall, just wanted a more intense finish, and one that really makes us tune in tomorrow.

 

[Yesiamaduck]

I really didn't enjoy tonights Survivor Series, it just did next to nothing for me.

Dolph Ziggler Vs John Morrison -> The match seemed like a quality opener, except one little thing the constant We Want Ryder chants... why the fuck wasn't Ryder Booked in the match : ** 1/2


Lumberjills: Started off abysmal... got it's act together a wee bit with a sweet finnish... but it'd be stupid to recommend this match. 3/4*


Survivor Series Match: Right guys won & convincing performances with both Barrett and Rhodes. I called something right by going to my mate 'Sin Cara is wearing all right, he's going to be written off' and shive ma timbers he was , whilst it wasn't a BAD match it felt awkward and you can tell it's been rushed together with many of the original competitors (I would imagine) either injured or on drugs *3/4

Mark Henry Vs The Big Show: Now this is what I expected when this feud first started... a slow uninteresting overlong match. 3/4*

CM Punk Vs Del Rio: FINALLY something good! This match would of been brilliant if CM Punk hadn't no sold his arm for the finish and celebrations. But it was a good entertaining match. ***1/2

The Rock/Cena Vs Awesome Truth: Told a story and The Rock can still go, but everything else about it fell flat. The novelty of seeing the Rock wrestle had all but worn off for me by the time he delivered his peoples elbow and the match had an awkward pace to it. The ending was uninspired on so many levels, and the post match stuff (of which no focus was given to Miz and Truth) gave the most uninspired feud segway ever. THIS WILL ONLY BE SAVED IF CENA REACTS IN A BELIEVABLE MANNER TOMORROW. ** (* if Cena comes out and acts all goofball corny as if nothing happened tomorrow)

Overall: I'm putting this show just above Over The Limit and Crapitol Punishment, but it was still very bland and at times poor stuff, but worst of all it had glimmers of what it could have been. 4/10

 

[HBK_EDGE]

Morrison/ Ziggler: Great match Ziggler has it and is going to be big time very soon. Morrison don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Divas match: All you can expect from a Divas match with a great spot to finish it. The match achieved what it needed to.

Team Orton vs Team Barrett: Great match showcasing the future talents of the company. Everyone involved was pretty good. Sin Cara getting hurt sucked. Conan 2.0 got too much ring time, but other than that everything was pretty good. Shameus, Barrett, Rhodes, and Zigler are four guys who could carry the company in the future and all had great nights.

Henry vs Show: Slow but the crowd really carried it. Had some good spots but the finish wasn't exactly what I wanted to see. Decent

Punk vs Del Rio: Great match with the result that should of happened. It is time for Punk to get the belt and let him carry the company. Too over not to. I don't get how people say Del Rio isn't good in the ring the guy can flat out sell and work with the best of them in the company. Top notch match and the main event in my mind for the true wrestling fans.

Rock/Cena vs Awesome Truth: (Mainstreamers Main Event)

Don't get all the negativity this match accomplished exactly what it needed to accomplish. Why does everyone want a rub for Miz and Truth? What do yo expect them to go over clean? Only purpose of this going in was to further Cena and Rock and that is what it did. When they announced that the opponents were Truth/Miz it should of been obvious they were going to play the Washington Generals to Rock and Cena. The outcome is what I expected no big shock but no disappointment either.

I'd give the total show a B+

 

[SmarksAreIgnorant]

Ziggler vs Morrison *** Good opener, Ryder at the end was great and the crowd were just begging for it.

Pheonix vs Eve ** It would of been a star but that glam slam from the top rope deserves a whole star

Team Orton vs Barret *** Very glad both Barret and Cody were left standing. Glad management are high on these two.

Heny vs Show ** Boring, like the chants in the crowd

CM Punk vs Del Rio **** MATCH OF THE NIGHT. I would give it just under 4 stars but Punk winning makes it four stars

Rock/Cena vs Awesome Truth ** 1/2 Abizzmal ending. Rubbish.

Overall, the opener, SS traditional match were good but Punk vs Del Rio made the ppv.

 

[metalbass]

The crowd was real hot tonight, but did Survivor Series deliver?

Ziggler vs. Morrison was a good match. Good back and forth action throughout. I'm surprised Ziggler retained but I think it's for the best considering Morrison's long losing streak and the fact he doesn't look like championship material right now. Having Zack Ryder come out was a nice touch. *** 1/4

Eve vs. Beth Phoenix was pretty lacklustre IMO and the lumberjills didn't add much of anything to the match. There was a couple good spots thrown in and I really liked the glam slam from the top rope (even if Eve had to reposition a few times to set it up.). * 1/2

Team Orton vs. Team Barrett was ok. I've been real disappointed with Sin Cara and thought he would be a lot better than what he is. He gets caught up in the top rope and takes a nasty fall attemping a suicide dive and he's done probably for a few months. I liked Barrett and Cody being the survivors. They both looked like credible main eventers. Sheamus being DQ'ed doesn't hurt him in the slightest. ** 3/4.

Big Show vs. Mark Henry was decent for what it was. I jumped out of my seat when Big Show hit the elbow drop from the top rope. The crowd killed me on this one though when they started chanting 'BORING!'. You're not going to see hurricanranas, 450 spashes, moonsaults etc. from these guys and the crowd really should have taken it for what it was I thought. I however didn't care for the intentional DQ by Henry but the aftermath was done well, however I was really anticipating a Daniel Bryan sighting but it never happened. ***

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk was the match of the night, which really isn't to say it was close to a 5 star match, but they both worked pretty well. Seeing the Fink being introduced as CM Punk's personal ring announcer was a nice nostalgic touch. Punk eventually catches Del Rio in the anaconda vice from a kickout. It was a good touch to see Del Rio scratching and clawing at Punk's face before tapping out, and now we got a new WWE champion! The title's going to be more interesting now. *** 1/2.

Rock and John Cena vs. Awesome Truth was rather bad in my opinion. There was way too much stalling on both sides and no real flow to the match. Rock looks like he can still go though. Cena gets beat down through most of the match with a few near falls, then Rock cleans up and eventually wins with the People's Elbow of all moves (ugh!). Afterwards Cena goes to leave, gets called back in the ring to celebrate, Cena half asses it and gets Rock Bottomed and the Rock continues to end the show. **

Overall Survivor Series was ok, but nothing truly memorable which is kind of disappointing for the 25th Anniversary. The big 4 look like they're being outshined by the 'lesser' PPV's this year.

Overall: C.

 

[[cL]]

Only got from the end of the Team Orton/Team Barrett match on. I didn't care about that one so much anyway though. Really only cared that:
Mark Henry Retained,
CM Punk won....
and the development of the fued between Rock and Cena....
Which, and I may be 100% wrong, but again, most of us were looking for a Cena turn tonight. But I think, its not going to be an instant turn. I think that its going to be a turn that slowly happens. ANd I think that the This is your life, segment along with what happened tonight at the end of the match is going to be what leads to it. I mean think of it, has anyone ever seen Cena fade to black the way he did tonight? Not me...I'm not a betting man, but I do believe that within the next couple of weeks, he is going to make the turn.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

Don't get all the negativity this match accomplished exactly what it needed to accomplish. Why does everyone want a rub for Miz and Truth? What do yo expect them to go over clean? Only purpose of this going in was to further Cena and Rock and that is what it did. When they announced that the opponents were Truth/Miz it should of been obvious they were going to play the Washington Generals to Rock and Cena. The outcome is what I expected no big shock but no disappointment either.

Agree. The whole point of the main event was to build the cena/rock and give the ppl a taste of the rock in ring action.

Why should miz/truth go over rock/cena considering the way those two have been booked the past month?

I love how marks always love to think for the young guys and the future of the company. eg. morrison should be champion, del rio should be champion, ziggler is hof for sure blah blah.

Young guys should be push and receive rub, but not in an abrupt way.

 

[HBK_EDGE]

Agree. The whole point of the main event was to build the cena/rock and give the ppl a taste of the rock in ring action.

Why should miz/truth go over rock/cena considering the way those two have been booked the past month?

I love how marks always love to think for the young guys and the future of the company. eg. morrison should be champion, del rio should be champion, ziggler is hof for sure blah blah.

Young guys should be push and receive rub, but not in an abrupt way.

People constantly complain about the Mania main event with Miz going over, then asking for the same thing tonight. It is confusing to me.

Now keep in mind Im not saying it was perfect but it wasn't terrible the Rock looked great in the ring and it furthered the feud. If you turn Cena heel now the luster of it could easily be worn off by Mania.

 

[Jenna.]

I actually just came back from MSG and what an amazing ppv Survivor Series was!

Well overall most of the matches were not that exciting, but the two main events delievered in a big way.

One thing in the elimination match, from where I was sitting it look like Sin Cara hurt himself pretty bad the way he landed. He definitely messed up that flip he did.

I'm disappointed in the Big Show and Mark Henry match. It was very dry and as it picked it up it ends in a dq. Waste of time.

I could imagine what the crowd sounded like on tv because in MSG it was so loud I even think I lost my voice from yelling...it was that crazy.

I am sooo happy for CM Punk he deserved this win in a huge way, and the crowd ate the shit up.

Now with all that said, I never thought I see the day where I actually got to see The Rock wrestle live. EVER. Tonight is a night I will never forget. From the moment they showed Rocky do his backstage promo to him leaving the ring, the whole arena showed how much we love the guy. Say what you want, but no wrestler. NO WRESTLER can compare to The Rock. The impact that he made tonight was remarkable. The way he moved around the ring...absolutely amazing, like he never left. Lmao as the crowd chanted "You still got it" He mouths back "You damn right I still got it." Lol.

Unfortunately the cameras cut off, but after The Rock gave Cena a Rock Bottom (epic) he cut another promo. He barely could get a word out because we just kept chanting different things. Lol someone yelled out Don't cry Rocky! He goes don't cry? I'm The Rock shit..and he goes New York must got some good weed, lmao crowd went nuts. But he just went on and on how he didn't do this for money then he said well I'm not gonna lie the money is pretty damn good but I did this to entertain you guys and thank you blah blah. I'm still on cloud nine actually.

One of the better ppvs this year. I don't know if it was because I was there live, but I really enjoyed it. I give it a B+

 

[MillionDollarMan]

and I have to tell you it was a great time. I know people are complaining about the main event, but it did what it was supposed to, build the tension between Cena and Rock as well as showcase that the Rock could still mix it up in the ring.

The chants all night were epic. Starting off with the opening match you knew that MSG wouldn't let you down. Booing Morrison and constantly chanting "We Want Ryder" was awesome and it was great seeing Ziggler play off the crowd by doing the "Woo Woo Woo" fist pump a couple of times during the match. After the match during Ziggler's promo you couldn't hear a thing because of how much the crowd was chanting for Ryder. Then when he came out, it was just a quick beat down, but it worked and make the crowd happy.

The diva's match did what it was supposed to do and watching Beth crush Eve from the top rope was pretty impressive.

Next up the 5 on 5 elimination match didn't seem to flow too well and I actually was pretty nervous as I had a bet with a friend that Orton wouldn't eliminate all the opponents with a RKO. After Sheamus got DQ'd I though I was screwed, but thankfully he kept up the beatdown and then it was even sweeter when Orton was pinned allowing Barrett and Cody to survive. I think it was a good idea to have Ziggler eliminated quickly because every time he was in the "We Want Ryder" chants started again and it could've taken away from the match itself.

During the Show - Henry match it was time for a bathroom break as it was just too slow and plodding for my tastes. It was amazing watching Show go to the top rope for an awesome elbow starting the first of the two "Randy Savage" chants of the night. He looked really uncomfortable trying to get up there and I thought he was going to back out considering it took him about a minute to get settled. It also seemed to be a perfect time to at least get Daniel Bryan on the card since the crowd really wanted to see him at various points, especially at the end of the match.

CM Punk was the perfect elixir to heat the crowd back up as this was a true smark crowd and were extremely pro-Punk. His tribute to Savage was great as well and the 2nd of the 2 times that "Randy's" name was chanted. The ending was perfect and the first time I've seen someone submit to the Vice. It looked like Del Rio was desperate to get out of the move, but just couldn't take it anymore and was done. Crowd loved it and Punk seemed to really enjoy himself.

Lastly, people were don't seem to understand how much legitimacy the Rock brings to the main event when he's in there. The crowd was eating up every thing he did during the match. When he was whipping ass the crowd was chanting "don't tag him" to make sure Rock would stay in instead of Cena. When the Rock hit that beautiful fisherman's suplex the crowd loved it. We constantly chanted his name and that he "still has it." Just a great time. It was clear that Cena knew there was nothing he could do to win the crowd and while there was a strong kiddie contingent that tried to chant for him, they were overwhelmed by the smarks everywhere tonight.

As a non-event note, the pre-party at the Hooker was a great time and LaBar and Isenberg did a credit to themselves and everyone there by mingling and engaging people. They took plenty of pics with people, answered questions, got a good video for their CSR show of the crowd chanting CSR repeatedly. It was a fun party and a good way to gear up for the show itself. Good job guys.

 

[GodlyTwins]

Am I the only one who thought that Rock was waiting for Cena to turn? It seemed like Cena had a choice on whether he would turn heel or not. I have a feeling that tomorrow night he will give a heelish promo on being sick and tired of being booed out of arenas everynight. He will talk shit about Rock and he might actually turn heel tomorrow night.

I have been wrong on many of my predictions, but I have a gut feeling that Cena will turn tomorrow on Monday Night Raw, IF if if if if if The Rock is there.

 

[justinept]

I thought it was a bad pay-per view, a total let down. I could understand that some people might have enjoyed it, but I certainly wasn't one of them.

The Ziggler/JoMo match was solid, but I couldn't understand why it happened. The only purpose served from Ziggler's post-match promo was to get Zack Ryder involved. Perhaps the WWE could have just gone with a Ziggler/Ryder match. Those two have been working together. It would have made sense. And that the WWE sent Ryder to the ring after the match seemed to indicate that the WWE knew the fans wanted to see it.

The traditional Survivor Series match was a total cluster fuck, most likely because Sin Cara was supposed to have more involvement. From the moment he badly botched his spot - earning himself a future endeavor in the near future... - the match just seemed to go down hill. Shaemus's elimination made ZERO sense. The only reason I could think he got DQ'd was because the guys in the back didn't want him to get pinned. The only saving grace in the match was that Rhodes and Barrett both walked away looking strong.

The Big Show/Henry match needs to never happen again. Giant vs. Giant hasn't worked in 20 years. The crowd wants action and two giants usually struggle to give the crowd what it wants ... unless they do something crazy like implode a ring.

The Punk/Del Rio match was solid, but nothing special. I'm not one of those people that believes a guy needs to have a title to solidify his spot, so it never bothered me that Punk wasn't champ before tonight. That said, even though this match was good, it was pretty forgettable.

As for the main event, well that was just a disgrace. I understand The Rock is the most popular guy in the history of wrestling. I understand that his return to the ring was a big deal - but I don't understand why his return had to completely overshadow the participation of the company's best tag team. Miz and R-Truth have been pushed pretty heavily in the past few months, and I think that push has been pretty successful. Yet, this past month, they were completely pushed aside to get an answer to a question nobody cared to ask: "Can The Rock and John Cena work together as a team?"...

Does anyone care that Rock and Cena won? Did it do anything to help anybody? Did John Cena come out looking stronger? No. Did Miz and R Truth come out looking stronger? No. In fact, all three looked weaker at the end of the night because The Rock simply dominated. So now, you have three top guys looking weaker in favor of a 40-year old star from yesteryear that wont even show up on TV for another two months. Cena will recover from this. He always does... But Miz and R-Truth... where do they go from here?

Some people have asked, "Did you really expect Awesome Truth to win?" ... and to that, I answer "No. But Rock and John Cena squabbling should have allowed them to win." A win for them would have made them look even stronger. It would have intensified the feud between Rock/Cena because Cena would have ruined The Rock's return to the ring.

 

[Foshinzo]

I thought the main event was fine.

I mean, who really cared about Awesome Truth, at that point? These two were only ever put in this match to do a job, and they should just be thankful that they were the ones who got to stand in the ring with Rock. I'd say anyone in that locker room would have walked through coals to get in that spot, and they should feel honored that they were the ones that got the opportunity.

The ending was anti-climactic, but I'll go on record as saying the post-main event reindeer games helped sell the Rock/Cena feud. Cena now has an opening to play the villain a little bit in this feud without being the full-blown heel, and I think that's what WWE wants. They're not dumb, they know Miami won't collectively give Cena the time of day, and they also know that Cena shouldn't just go full heel, because that almost skews the impression they want to leave; they want it to be Hogan v Rock, not just another heel v face Mania blow-off match.

Now, Cena gets to walk into Mania as the jealous babyface that has a good reason to be pissed because Rock humiliated him for no reason and even cost him the title the year before, and Rock is the conquering hero babyface, who has returned to prove that he's still the best and he doesn't care for the guy who talked shit about him after he left.

People have their reasons to love and hate both guys, so I'll say that the main event worked fine. We got to see the Rock work his magic, we got to see the E advance the Mania feud, and overall, it was a good show.

The only thing left I have to say is that Sin Cara sucks. How do you hurt yourself that badly doing a suicide dive, something he practically does in his intro? This guy needs to be fired. He can't stop botching on live national television, he has already violated the wellness policy, and now he's hurting himself doing basic high-flyer moves. Just end the embarrassment, WWE. I'm sorry to be so hard on the guy, but it's getting to the point where I wonder why he's bombed, so hard.

 

[Foshinzo]

I thought it was a bad pay-per view, a total let down. I could understand that some people might have enjoyed it, but I certainly wasn't one of them.

The Ziggler/JoMo match was solid, but I couldn't understand why it happened. The only purpose served from Ziggler's post-match promo was to get Zack Ryder involved. Perhaps the WWE could have just gone with a Ziggler/Ryder match. Those two have been working together. It would have made sense. And that the WWE sent Ryder to the ring after the match seemed to indicate that the WWE knew the fans wanted to see it.

The traditional Survivor Series match was a total cluster fuck, most likely because Sin Cara was supposed to have more involvement. From the moment he badly botched his spot - earning himself a future endeavor in the near future... - the match just seemed to go down hill. Shaemus's elimination made ZERO sense. The only reason I could think he got DQ'd was because the guys in the back didn't want him to get pinned. The only saving grace in the match was that Rhodes and Barrett both walked away looking strong.

The Big Show/Henry match needs to never happen again. Giant vs. Giant hasn't worked in 20 years. The crowd wants action and two giants usually struggle to give the crowd what it wants ... unless they do something crazy like implode a ring.

The Punk/Del Rio match was solid, but nothing special. I'm not one of those people that believes a guy needs to have a title to solidify his spot, so it never bothered me that Punk wasn't champ before tonight. That said, even though this match was good, it was pretty forgettable.

As for the main event, well that was just a disgrace. I understand The Rock is the most popular guy in the history of wrestling. I understand that his return to the ring was a big deal - but I don't understand why his return had to completely overshadow the participation of the company's best tag team. Miz and R-Truth have been pushed pretty heavily in the past few months, and I think that push has been pretty successful. Yet, this past month, they were completely pushed aside to get an answer to a question nobody cared to ask: "Can The Rock and John Cena work together as a team?"...

Does anyone care that Rock and Cena won? Did it do anything to help anybody? Did John Cena come out looking stronger? No. Did Miz and R Truth come out looking stronger? No. In fact, all three looked weaker at the end of the night because The Rock simply dominated. So now, you have three top guys looking weaker in favor of a 40-year old star from yesteryear that wont even show up on TV for another two months. Cena will recover from this. He always does... But Miz and R-Truth... where do they go from here?

Some people have asked, "Did you really expect Awesome Truth to win?" ... and to that, I answer "No. But Rock and John Cena squabbling should have allowed them to win." A win for them would have made them look even stronger. It would have intensified the feud between Rock/Cena because Cena would have ruined The Rock's return to the ring.

I'll try my best to create a genuine response to your points.

1) I think they're trying to build Ryder up huge before they put the strap on him. This was just a match designed to get both guys over. Ryder got to have his moment with the home crowd, and Ziggler continued his title run with a good win. Ziggler isn't ready to drop the strap, and Ryder can wait to get it. They very well could save it for WrestleMania, at this point. Ziggler needs the belt right now, with how clustered it is at the top. If they save him for when there's an opening, he very well could take the strap off of a guy like Punk and get a legit run out of it. People will still love Ryder months from now, and with that, this match made sense, to me.

2) I'll give you the 5 v 5 match. I tried to take away that at least the heels won, but the match wasn't very good. I'll agree to that.

3) I've already posted about the main event, but I'll just sum up my feelings: I thought the main event did what it was supposed to do. You ask if anyone cared that Rock & Cena won...did anyone care that Awesome Truth was in it?

I thought the match built a story between Rock and Cena, and now Cena has a great reason to be a jealous ass to Rock, so he doesn't have to go full heel for the match in order for the boos to make sense. They justified Miami hating him, I think.

I'm pretty certain that the only reason Awesome Truth is still together was to job to Cena and Rock. I think they could go with a Miz face turn after this, if they squabble and R-Truth blames Miz for getting pinned, or something like that. I think expectations were just really high for this match, but it did it's job. The finish wasn't spectacular, but it was still fine.

I do think I see where your disapproval comes from, but I respectfully disagree. This whole show was only like, a three out of five, for me, but the big matches went over fine. I was most upset with the Mark Henry/injury thing. If he has to vacate the title or something like that, then that will be idiotic, to me. It'll be an excuse to put the belt on Wade Barrett, or something. Still, I thought the show was alright, so I'll stand up for it.

 

[loojceeb]

The PPV was great all the way until the ending of the show.

JOMO vs Ziggler being on the card was disappointing and the crowd showed it too. Obviously, WWE management just pulled this match out of no where because they were lacking matches. Everybody was upset that Ryder wasn't even on the card and brought the "we want ryder chants". But even as disappointing as the card looked, the match was awesome. These are two of the most athletic superstars in the WWE today. Great move sets and trading blows. There were a few close near falls and also gave me a heart attack thinking that Morrison might just win, I mean I do like Morrison and he deserves a title but Ziggler is hot right now more than any body as a mid carder besides Cody Rhodes. And of course, Ryder should be the one to win the US title if anybody was to win. But over all, probably second best match of the night.
[9 out of 10]

Divas Match Boring....until Beth Phoenix does Grandslam *or is it Glam slam* from the top rope, bam! That gave a boost to the match. [4/10]

Team Orton vs Team Wade This match was the best match of the night, I loved everything about it except for Sin cara botching and putting his career as risk. Unfortunately, he tore a tendon so he won't be back for another 6 months, I was really looking forward to a Hunico and sin cara trading of moves. But sadly, Sin cara doesn't know how to stop botching. I loved how, Ziggler go eliminated first and I was disappointed too, I thought he would be one of the last but understanding that he just go beat up JOMO and Ryder, it was good. Then Cara got messed up so the match had to lose some time. Loved how Mason Ryans got eliminated and did not eliminate anybody. And omg, did you guys hear those great fans of NYC *Best fans out of the whole year, even better than Chicagos* they were Chanting Cody Rhodes! Cody Rhodes! His pop was as loud as the Rocks. I also loved Cody Rhodes new theme and look, legendary and classical like the 90's. But the match ended with wade barret doing waste land on orton, I liked it how orton didn't come out on top beating every else like how Cena beat Nexus. I was happy that wades team beat ortons but I thought it would of been better if Rhodes was the one who pinned Orton, coming from their recent feud. Rhode needed a pin on orton so that he can move on to maybe even a main event picture. Well here how I would of ended the match, Cody rhode gets RKO but near the ropes and he gets hit but then rolls to wade and tags him right before orton gets to him, then wade comes in and gets orton's 4-5 moves of doom and gets hit with an RKO. Wade gets pinned then Cody still staggering, comes in and gets an RKO too but this time cody doesnt fly in the air, he holds onto orton and catchs orton on the mat and then pulls orton back up and hits the Cross rhodes *because orton's body would be positioned for the finisher already*. But thats my imagination of it, but over all best match of the night. [10/10]

Henry vs SHow Slow boring match, even had the chant of "Boring" but it was awesome hearing chants of "Lets go Chocolate" haha and hearing cheers for Henry. And an Epic Flying 500 lb elbow from the big show but was expecting a top rope powerbomb or another superplex with all the hype of reinforcing metals to the ring. But the match ended quick and with a low blow. Disappointing ending but at least mark is still champ. [6/10]

Punk vs rio Great match, everything was great but not as good as I though It would be. I still think Del Rio should of kept the belt til TLC, just to build up the tension and the screw over job of John Laurinaitis. Overall, solid match [8/10]

Rock/Cena vs R awesome/Awesome Truth The match started out great, the Rock showcasing his skills in the ring to rub it in Cena's face. Rock still has it! And hes in the best shape of his life. Cena show cases too, gets booed haha. Then the match went into a typical cena match going in for a hot tag. I liked that cena and rock were both messing up each other's flow and that made the match look a little bit more entertaining. With this script, I thought that Cena would either walk away or hit Rock with an AA as a pay back for WM, leaving Rock to get pinned by miz or truth. And this is a heel turn for Cena Or even if Cena and Rock won, I thought it would of been great when they were trying to out pose each other, they would do a HBK and Hogan ending. Where Rock comes down and gets AA. But instead Rock does the rock bottom on Cena? Its kinda confusing and weird because the Rock doesn't really need a question mark at the end, because the fans are still going to cheer for him even if he was a heel. But Great beginning, crappy middle, and horrible ending. [6/10]

On a side note, the crowd was awesome, they were cheering Heels (Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Henry, Barret, and Beth Phoenix) and booing faces, just really nice and honest. This was the best crowd I've seen this whole year. And they had some of the funniest chants such as "Lets go Chocolate" for Henry and "Lady Parts". Haha just funny, I'm surprised they didnt chant "Anal bleeding" or even r truth's "Pigeons crapping" or even maybe "Pigeons can't talk". BUt overall, best crowd of the year. [20/10]

This ppv overall had a [7/10], Don't know what WWE is doing with their scripts but they better make it good for WM.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Did some of you watch the show? Phoenix vs Eve was pretty damn good and they both had a great effort. If you didn't like the show because Cena didn't turn heel....that's like not liking your science class because the teacher tells you the earth isn't flat but round.

Overall an extremely good show.

Ziggler vs Morrison. Great match, lots of falsies, I love that NYC wanted Ryder, whoever, you can't book to the smarks, Ryder's time will come and him coming out was a nice little treat for them.

Phoenix vs Eve, as said, very solid. Phoenix is awesome, the finish was great.

Team Orton vs Team Barrett, exactly what I said it would be, fun. I LOVE that NYC likes Cody. Any of you smarks that think you're doing the cool smarky thing and thinking Cody is bland, well the NYC crowd likes him, and they're about as smarky as it gets. Great match, lots of action and fun.

Show vs Henry. Got some boring chants, but being the pros they are, started bumping around and the NYC crowd popped for the falsies and Show's elbow. I liked the finish, everything here was good. Funny that in front of a smarky crowd, chain wrestling is over and 2 big guys acting like big guys is "boring" in the midwest it's the polar opposite. You try to chain wrestle in front of a crowd in Oklahoma City, they're bored, you let 2 big guys slug it out, they eat it up.

ADR vs Punk, great match as expected. The finish surprised me honestly, I thought there were a few more false finishes left in it. I didn't mind it though, Punk was mega over and this was a great match. Interesting to see what he does with his character now that he has the belt.

Rock/Cena vs Awesome truth, someone said "too much stalling".....it's the return...of...the fucking Rock. You work the crowd. Which they did. This was nothing more than a teaser for Rock/Cena and a way for Awesome Truth to get recognized. Rock kinda looked like a douche because he didn't bump for anyone, Cena does all the work. Cena's acting at the end is awesome. Rock had a ton of energy as usual and so did Miz/Truth. Perfectly booked for what it was supposed to be.

If you had a problem with Survivor Series, it was likely because something you wanted to happen didn't happen. Which is markish and you should stop. Or at least criticize something for a reason other than "this should have happened". You aren't booking the show, you don't know what's going to happen next. Talk about what did happen.


O, and the NYC crowd "cheering heels and booing faces" is about as "original and honest" as some trendy 20 year old college fuck listening to to brostep that he thinks is dubstep.

 

[Iversen]

1. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison for the WWE United States Championship - Very solid match to open the competition andd the crowd were hot throughout. Although I did feel kind of sorry for Morrison who was getting zero attention due to the crowd wanting Ryder. Anyway these two performed exactly how I'd expect them too and started the show brilliantly. The Ryder beat down at the end to shut the fans up was exactly what was needed. 3/5

2. Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres for the WWE Divas Championship - This match felt clunky and like they were just both a second off their timings. Finish was nice though. 2/5 (raised one for the finish)

The Rock - This was fun, I imagine even more so if you were actually there. Broke up the matches a bit and gave the Rock some more mic time which with him not working a full schedule it a good thing. 3/5

3. Team Orton vs. Team Barrett - Good booking. Rhodes looked like a star here, Sheamus was protected due to the DQ, Orton was a victim to the numbers game and Barrett's new push was continued. Was sad Ziggler went out so early but with him pulling double shift along with the Ryder attack he's kind of protected too. Match itself was good fun as they usually are. Having Ryan lose clean to Rhodes suggests that while he's in for a push he's not top priority yet. Yea so fun match can't complain and the right guys went over. 3/5

4. Mark Henry vs. The Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship - Started slowly and the crowd began to turn against them but I don't know what the hell they were expecting? The crowd being hots awesome but it can be annoying with things like this. Anyway another good match between these two that towards the end just shot into life. Big Shows elbow was great and I seriously thought he was going to fall off the top turnbuckle as he tried to get his balance. The Savage chant added to it as well. Looks like the feud will continue and I have no problem with that because I really think Henry should hold the title to Mania. 3/5

5. Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship - Having Fink introduce Punk was great. I wish the fucking commentary team would have shut the fuck up for it though. Just plain annoying and I'm really getting to the point where commentary is putting me off watching WWE. Get it sorted Vince. Anyway back on topic the crowd were obviously massively pro Punk. Match itself was actually really good. Punk and Del Rio and both talented guys and they showed it with a very well wrestled match. The last 5 minutes in particular really picked it up a notch and I liked the finish. Punks celebration was also pretty awesome. 4/5

6. John Cena & The Rock vs. Awesome Truth - Match was nothing special and went down pretty much how you'd expect it to with Rock getting the hot tag and winning. Rock looked good though and I guess that's all that matters. Awesome Truth have been an afterthought all along in this feud and it's a shame. Wasn't Miz world champ not that long ago? Seems like forever. Not much more to say the post match shenanigans kind of continued the Cena Rock story but not that much. 3/5

Overall Show - Solid, solid outing by WWE and by PPV I've seen since MITB. Divas match was the only match I didn't enjoy on the card and even it had a good ending so can't complain. I feel Cena Rock could have had a lot more involved in it but it didn't so I guess we'll just have to wait for that. Punk having the title again also isn't a bad thing as he makes it feel important unlike Cena who now adays just seems to win it for the sake of it. Overall great show I was impressed.

Grade: B+

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Was wondering if anybody else noticed that after Rock posed the last time while Cena was still in the ring that Cena said " When I go to turn around, spin me round and hit me with the fucking rock bottom"

I'm not sure if that's what he said. They would likely have something like that planned ahead of time. You wouldn't want something as big as Rock hitting the Rock Bottom on Cena to happen without people knowing. Vince could have said "don't touch each other at all, I want the crowd to be begging for it" and if they do that, it kinda kills whatever future plans they would have. Then again, it's rock and cena so what is Vince going to do? "You guys make me a lot of money but..."

I thought they were both still in character with Rock trying to belittle Cena and Cena not wanting to hear it but trying to be the nice guy he is listening anyways.

 

[The Champ]

Hey guys. I was live in the Garden at Survivor Series, and I thought I'd share my experience at one of the most fun shows I’ve ever been to and my first since “Monday Night SmackDown” in April 2010.

First off, the Garden crowd was riled up from the moment I got there at about six o’clock. I somehow weaseled my way to the front of a ridiculous line/blob at the t-shirt stand outside the arena so I could buy the new Cena shirt. (I also got the Rock one later.) Then we waited for about half an hour to get in as people started the most ridiculous chants for every random wrestler they could think of. I started to think that some of these guys wouldn’t even have any energy left for the actual show.

There were some “We Want JR” chants in my section following the commentators’ entrances. Yes, we do. Cole got nuclear heat and Booker and Lawler both got nice pops.

The dark match was Santino, who got a big pop, vs. Jinder Mahal. Meh match while Mahal was on offense, but Santino coming back and hitting the Cobra to win it was awesome.

One thing specifically that I want to point out – Zack Ryder is over. The “We Want Ryder” chants started before the show and continued all the way through the end of the U.S. title match. When Ryder finally came out, the place EXPLODED. The only two people who got a pop like his all night were Punk and Rock – how’s that for company? (Although the fact that there were still “We Want Ryder” chants in later matches is concrete proof that some fans will never be satisfied.) Oh, and Ziggler actually got a lot of cheers too (this was one of those crowds that liked to cheer heels). Morrison certainly didn’t though. Wrong place, wrong time for the guy on possibly his last WWE pay-per-view. Oh well. Very good match overall though, with a lot of neat false finishes and a strong defense for Dolph.

Divas was okay. Kelly and Eve got booed, DoD got cheered. The crowd chanted “You Can’t Wrestle” at Eve, which I rolled my eyes at as I’m sure it came purely from the fact that she’s a Diva Searcher. She’s also unbelievably hot in person. The crowd was bored for most of the match but the Glam Slam spot got everyone to come alive. Really cool.

Rock’s first promo certainly got the crowd alive. The man knows how to work the stick, and the fans hinged onto his every word. But it would get even better later on.

I went to get a soda during the five on five as I already had quite the dried up vocal chords. However, the cool thing about where I was sitting was that the soda and snack counter was actually right behind the last row of seats, without even having to go through a door. So I was still able to catch most of the match. I hated when the fans chanted “You Fucked Up” at Cara, I found that extremely disrespectful as it was clear that he was legit hurt. Crowd popped big for Sheamus, Rhodes, and Orton (although Orton actually had a few boos scattered here and there). Team Barrett’s win got a nice reaction as well. This was pretty good for a filler, “keeping tradition” match.

Show vs. Henry was another one where the crowd was pretty bored. The “Sexual Chocolate” chant was absolutely hilarious though. I also heard some D’Lo Brown chants, which was funny. Eventually, it just turned into the crowd chanting for random people again, with “Undertaker” being one of the biggest. I’m not sure if Kid’s assessment that everyone actually thought he would come out is accurate, though. Seemed more like wishful thinking to me. Anyway, Big Show’s elbow was awesome but the finish was lame. Huge Daniel Bryan chant after the match and following Show’s attack on Henry. It wouldn’t have been the right move to have him cash in, but it sure would have been fun to see live.

Punk vs. Del Rio, from the entrances to the end, was great fun. Howard Finkel got a great reaction when he came out. Then everybody went crazy again when Punk’s music hit. There were some people yelling his catchphrases, some chanting his name, and some singing the song. Great stuff. He was one of the only faces who the crowd was very solidly behind, as there were only a few Del Rio fans. This was definitely match of the night for me. Huge chants of “Randy Savage” before Punk’s missed elbow drop attempt and again after he connected.

Then we have my personal mark out moment of the night – Del Rio tapping to the Anaconda Vise. WOW, what a moment. The cheers were ridiculous. CM Punk chants were everywhere. And the way he was so pumped that he jumped into the crowd twice to celebrate was the icing on the cake. I hadn’t seen Money in the Bank when it happened because I was on vacation, so this was basically that moment for me. The guy sure as hell deserves it for the excellent work he’s done this year. Best in the World. (Well, except for Cena…)

At this point, I had no idea how I was going to have enough energy left to mark out for Rock during the main event. Somehow I had just enough, though. Everyone sung along with Miz and Truth’s song, and then Cena came out. Once again, I had to sit there rolling my eyes as the Garden booed him out of the building. Which I knew was going to happen, but some people around me took it to a ridiculous level (“Cena swallows,” “You’re a sack of shit!”). I mean, come on, you can boo the guy without being vulgar for no reason. TGO even told me later that there was a “Fuck You, Cena” chant that I hadn’t heard. I loved the MSG crowd most of the night, but this was the big exception.

What I still did love was when The Rock came out and everyone came unglued from their seats. It was like the previous match hadn’t even happened with the energy that everyone still had. “Rocky,” “Boots to Asses,” every pro-Rock chant you can think of was in there at some point. After he started off the match, there was a huge “You Still Got It” chant, which he definitely did. The match itself was pretty slow and not great for most of it, but Rock coming in, cleaning house, and winning was the storybook ending to the pay-per-view that the crowd was looking for.

You can say what you want about an Awesome Truth win being the right decision, but there are rumors going around that Truth should have been suspended when Bourne was, and what kind of message does that send if they let him beat Cena and The Rock? Most of the crowd went home happy (although there were people around me grumbling about not being satisfied on the way out), and at the very least, it’s a near certainty now that Cena is winning at WrestleMania. At least I would hope so.

After all the hoopla with the posing and the Rock Bottom on Cena, Rock got on the mic and cut a really cool promo. There was one side of the arena chanting “You Still Got It!” and the other side chanting “Welcome Back!” and he told them to make up their minds. So then we chose “You Still Got It,” and then when that chant ended, the “Welcome Back” chant started up again. There was actually a “Let Him Talk” chant at one point because of how loud the crowd was. Rock said that he was appreciative of the reception and that it was the most special night of his WWE career. As he was getting a little emotional, someone yelled, “Don’t cry!” and he responded with, “I’m not gonna cry, I’m The Rock. Say that again and I’ll stick my boot right up your ass.” Then he ended by saying that his latest run has only just gotten started… “IF YA SMELLALALALALALALA! WHAT THE ROCK! IS! COOKING!”

Great ending to a great night with a great atmosphere. The Garden was alive, and once again, WWE delivered. The right people won each match for the most part, and there were huge mark out moments throughout the night that once again made me proud to be a wrestling fan. You better believe that if WrestleMania comes to the Garden in 2014, I’ll be there again.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I haven't seen anyone talk about this yet:

Am I just losing my mind or did they not announce this match? It seems like Awesome Truth's music hit, they came out singing "you suck" then Cena, then Rock, then the bell rang. No announcement of who the competitors were and what match it was. I dunno, I thought that was weird.

Although I liked seeing Punk win the belt and the Rock returning, I thought overall, it wasn't a great show.

 

[Cravendale]

I thought Survivor Series was extremely disappointing overall, i think wwe played it much too cautious in the match bookings.

Ziggler vs Morrison: Decent opener in terms of wrestling skill, but was obvious ziggler would retain and the ending was anti-climatic

Eve vs Beth: Ending was good for a divas match, thats all that can be said

Team Barrett vs Team Orton: Glad that Team Barrett won but Sheamus' elimination was a complete cop out from wwe and v.boring, him pointlessly DQ'd. Basically it was wwe saying suggesting that Rhodes and Barrett aren't good enough to eliminate Sheamus properly. Once it became 1v4 i lost all interest in the match because it was clear what was gonna happen. Oh and unlucky Mr Cara.

Alberto vs CM Punk: My favourite match of the night, two great wrestlers who's styles actually seemed to go well with each other. Enjoyed the match as a whole, pretty good back and fourth but the ending was again way too anti-climatic. I mean at least have alberto kick out of a GTS. It made Alberto look unessecarily weak having him tap after about 10 secs of the AV.

Show vs Henry: Almost fell asleep in the first half of the match but they just about recovered it with a couple of intriguing moves (namely Show's splash of the top lmao) before the completely pointless DQ. This means Show will no doubt get another title match probably on PPV which annoys me.

Rock & Cena vs Awesome Truth: Biggest let down of the evening. After Rock's exciting promo earlier in the night this was a total let down. Was good to see Rocky wrestling again but shame the match was as boring as it gets. Miz and Truth got very limited offence in before they were both destroyed. Made them look very weak. After Miz got pinned i was expecting a heated showdown and even a brawl between Rock/Cena but it never happened. Cena just got rock bottom'd, then just left. Disappointing to say the least. So much for the Cena heel turn

Overall i'd give it a 3.5/10- Massive let down, missed oppurtunity for WWE to properly build Rock & Cena's rivalry before WM28.

 

[justinept]

Did anyone notice the panels next to the Titan Tron last night? Each panel featured a star from the match that was being wrestled. Dolph had a panel during the opening bout, and Morrison had the panel on the opposite side. Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix each had a panel. During the traditional SS match, Team Orton was on one panel with Team Barrett on the opposite ... Yet during the main event, one panel was reserved for Cena while the other was reserved for The Rock.

And that should pretty much tell you how the WWE felt about the participation of Awesome Truth in that match. They were after thoughts. This match was about Cena, The Rock and nothing else. For the past few months, the WWE has been building Awesome Truth as a great team that was going to do whatever necessary to get top spots. In one night, they went from being a legitimate threat to being enhancement talent in a match that was as close to a squash match in recent WWE memory.

And for what? To build up a match that won't take place for four more months? To help build up a former star of yesteryear that won't show up on Raw for another three months?

Can someone please explain to me how building The Rock up as this awesome force is going to turn around business for more than one night? The true colors of those in the IWC are finally showing. A majority of you continually complain about hot shot booking ... about how younger guys get buried in favor of the established bunch ... about how the WWE simply tries to give you short-term shock value to increase a rating or a buy rate while not worrying about anything long-term that might increase their numbers for an extended period of time.

Well, complaints about Survivor Series could certainly fit into those categories - but instead of noticing it, most of you were just happy to see The Rock. Some of you have even tried to justify it by saying that "The Main Event did what it needed to do; it built up WrestleMania..."

It did no such thing. I can say with near certainty that no one is more likely to buy WrestleMania in March because The Rock and John Cena teamed up at Survivor Series. That match sold itself; an appearance by The Rock sells itself. Hell, WrestleMania's buy-rates were up last year because people wanted to see The Rock hold a microphone. Reports for SS this year all said that VKM was hellbent on getting 1 million buys for the pay-per view and brought The Rock in because Vince knew he would make that happen. Do you need any other proof that The Rock/Cena match at 'Mania would have sold big-time without this SS match? Then why did it need to happen the way it happened?

For those of you wondering if I thought Awesome Truth should have won last night, the answer is: Hell yes. It didn't need to be due to a turn or a double-cross, but it could have happened due to a miscommunication by Rock and Cena. That would have accomplished a hell of a lot more than a little rock bottom to end the show - and it would have added a lot of steam to the legitimacy of Awesome Truth moving forward.

The WWE needs to use these appearances by The Rock to help establish their current wrestlers. Those are the guys that will still be around for the next three months until Rock returns again. Those are the guys that will be around after WrestleMania when The Rock takes another 7 years off. A win by Awesome Truth would have helped those two ... and it could have enhanced the Cena/Rock rivalry.

Instead, we got two of their top guys getting buried ... their absolute top guy getting laid out ... and a guy we won't see or hear from for a few months standing tall at the end of the night.

You can tell me all you want that this match accomplished what it needed to accomplish. But you'd be dead wrong.