10 Fascinating WWE Survivor Series 2012 Facts
Make Roman's debut look strong.
As years have gone by, there's a common theme to a lot of the Survivor Series events. Many are decent but wholly unmemorable shows. Other than the nostalgia of seeing elimination matches in the vein of the old school events, many recent Survivor Series' have had the "you didn't miss anything" critique in the aftermath.
The 2012 show would've been more of the same had it not been for three debuts at the end. Yes, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns burst onto the WWE scene clad in all black, the trio soon to be known as The Shield making their first mark. After The Undertaker in 1990 and The Rock in 1996, it was long overdue for Survivor Series to birth future main event talent.
The rest of the show ranged from enjoyable (the elimination bouts) to forgettable (the undercard title matches). Overall, you can combine the two for a proper critique: enjoyably forgettable, or forgettably enjoyable. The 2012 Survivor Series will be remembered almost solely for The Shield's debut, and that's all well and good. For many shows, the parting shot leaves the most lasting impression, and the fact that all three Shield members are hugely relevant five years later speaks to the effectiveness of said parting shot.
Here are ten facts about the 2012 Survivor Series you may not have known.
10. The Crowd Was A Major Disappointment
The 2012 Survivor Series took place at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN, a city that has held at least one of each Big Four pay-per-view except for the Royal Rumble. In 2008, SummerSlam in the same venue drew a sliver under 16,000 fans for the season's biggest event. The 2012 Survivor Series by comparison would greatly pale.
Four years and three months after drawing 16,000 to the same building, WWE managed only 8500 for the 2012 Survivor Series. When your attendance for a "major" pay-per-view is only half of what you did four years previously, that's a bad sign.
The Wrestling Observer noted that one respondent claimed many fans in his section had gotten in for free. The Observer also reported there being many ticket giveaways in the run-up to the show, through radio contests and the like.