WWE Survivor Series Review - The Rock Electrifies, CM Punk Wins WWE Title

The Big News: The Rock returned to the ring after a seven year absence and both led his team to victory and laid out his partner John Cena with a Rock Bottom to close the show. Meanwhile CM Punk become the new WWE champion after an excellent tussle with Alberto Del Rio, Big Show trapped Mark Henry's leg in a chair following a frustrating DQ victory in their World Heavyweight Championship clash and Wade Barrett led his team to victory against Team Orton in the Traditional Survivor Series Tag match. Live from Madison Square Garden Opening video package dominated by the allure of Rock and Cena teaming for the first time. The target audience appeared to be consumers with low attention spans as the tagline €œnever before, never again€ was repeated approximately every ten seconds. John Laurinaitis then welcomed everyone to a show that was not only the 25th anniversary of Survivor Series but also the tenth anniversary of his stay within the company. I'm not sure that anyone but his immediate family cared about that announcement. United States Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler defeated John Morrison via pinfall Some great wrestling in a match that was unfortunately marred by the unwavering Zack Ryder chants who the crowd obviously wanted to see take on Ziggler instead of Morrison. Because of this no amount of great selling, offence, reversals or emotion could do anything to change the fact that few in attendance cared and most in fact booed the challenger in his quest for the title. In the ring however it was still ten minutes of sublimely timed action which was centred around Dolph's attempts to lock his opponent in the sleeper hold. On the first attempt Morrison countered into a clothesline with Dolph then springing back to his feet and rolling his opponent up for a near fall. Dolph then attempted an inverted supplex but Morrison backflipped back to his feet in an awesome display of athleticism. Dolph then went for another sleeper which Morrison reversed into a sleeper of his own before taking Ziggler to the mat with a tornado DDT with Vickie putting Dolph's foot on the ropes to break the three count. The ref then ordered Vickie to the back as Morrison and Ziggler tried to outdo one another with a series of exciting near falls. Dolph got a two count with the fame asser before Morrison set up Ziggler for the starship pain. Ziggler blocked the finisher attempt with his knees though and hit the zig zag for the win. *** Post-match Dolph Ziggler got on the mic to boast before Zak Ryder came out to a great ovation and took out Dolph with his finisher. Beth Phoenix defeated Eve via pinfall in a lumberjill match to defend the Divas Title Another solid outing from the pair resulting in a spectacular finish. Eve dropped Beth to start and caused the Glamazon to evacuate the ring in disgust after teasing some booty popping. Kelly Kelly and some faces on the outside threw the champ back in and Eve continued her momentum with a nicely executed standing moonstruck. Beth fought back catapulting Eve into the bottom rope and trying to set up a glam slam which Eve reversed into a triangle choke. Beth wormed her way out of the submission but Eve took her down with the scissor kick and prepared for her moonsault finisher. Beth knocked her off the ropes however and then got her opponent in position for an epic top rope glam slam to defend her title. ** ½ Post-match the face divas tended to an unconscious Eve whilst Natalya hugged Beth inside the middle of the ring. Still no early signs of a face turn for Natalya. Silly changing room segment with Otunga telling Punk that upon John Laurinaitis' orders he wanted him to apologise to Cole for putting him in the Anaconda vice on Raw. Punk said that he would think about it. Time here should have been used wisely for Punk to talk briefly about what becoming champion again would mean to him. Rock then cut a great backstage promo in which he put over the history of his involvement with the Madison Square Garden arena from watching his father and grandfather in the stands to making his debut there in 1996. He then insulted Miz, Truth and Cena in turn before doing a little medley of his catchphrases. Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes were the sole survivors as Team Barrett defeated Team Orton in the Ten Man Traditional Survivor Series Tag Match Well worked match. They played out the story that the faces were a tight unit to start in contrast to the scattered heels with Ziggler being eliminated first with an RKO and Team Orton clearing the ring following a nine man breakdown. The tables were then turned however when Sin Cara failed to clear the ropes during a double dive to the outside alongside Kofi Kingston and ended up badly damaging his knee, an incident that saw him unable to continue and took Orton's team off guard whilst giving Team Barrett the strong psychological advantage as they used a variety of gang mentality tactics to further eliminate their opposition. First of all they got rid of the strength advantage of Team Orton by outwitting Mason Ryan. Hunico was being manhandled by the Welshman but managed to make a sneak tag to Rhodes who came in and surprised Ryan with a mid rope kick accompanied by the cross Rhodes finisher. Barrett's men then drew Kofi into their web by repeatedly attacking him from the outside knowing that it would elicit a response from the high flyer who valiantly fought off his rivals only to find himself caught in the ropes after going overboard with his instinctive, heart over head offence. This left him prone for a big kick from legal man Barrett followed up by a Barrier wasteland for the elimination. The heels then expertly wound up Sheamus by repeatedly interrupting the Irishman during his exchange with Jack Swagger causing a frustrated Sheamus to get himself disqualified for continuing to beat the hell out of Swagger whilst he was in the ropes. I can't stand that rule in general but at least there was some good emotive build towards it in this case. After being eliminated Sheamus took Swagger to the mat with a brogue kick leaving Orton to pick up the scraps with the pinfall. When the viper looked up however he saw himself cornered by three men and realised that the odds were very much against him. Rhodes squared off with Orton and tried to pull of the same trick with Hunico by making the sneak tag but Hunico's springboard offence was countered into a mid air RKO for the seventh elimination of the match. Barrett and Orton then squared off as Rhodes entered the ropes only to eat an RKO for his troubles. The distraction was enough however for Barrett to catch Orton in the Barrier wasteland and win the bout as captain. Ziggler's early elimination aside, this was a very enjoyable, solidly booked multi-man which protected Sheamus and Orton whilst still giving the rub to the rising heel survivors. *** ½ Del Rio was flirting with the Bella Twins backstage until being interrupted by John Laurinaitis who wanted his assurance that he was fully focused on his match later in the night. Del Rio responded by saying that this would be the first of many title defences that he would enjoy in Madison Square Garden. Big Show defeated Mark Henry via DQ (Mark Henry retained his World Heavyweight Championship) Another match where the crowd were intent to cheer for everything except for the two participants inside the ring with chants for both Daniel Bryan and The Undertaker emanating throughout the arena on occasions throughout this big man tussle. Given what these two are capable of inside the ring, this was however another well orchestrated fight with both men playing their role to perfection. Big Show brought good energy with his unflinching determination and Henry was suitably aggressive as the heel monster. In the early stand off exchanges this dynamic worked really well as Show took a flabbergasted Henry to the mat and Henry got his confidence back after throwing Show into the ropes. Show then stirred up the fans with a waistlock takedown and a massive arm drag which sent Henry scampering to the outside. The fans then lost interest though when Henry got the heat on Big Show by working on his leg for an extended period of time causing at one point an embarrassingly loud €œboring€ chant which aroused my sympathy for the two competitors. Show fought back to his feet with some headbutts and an elbow before calling for the chokeslam but Henry managed to get his bearings back and reversed the move into a worlds strongest slam for the near fall followed up by a worlds strongest splash and I guess what should be called a worlds strongest elbow for two more near falls. Show then tried to get some respite by rolling outside the ring but Henry followed his giant competitor and threw him headfirst into the ringpost before shoulder tackling him through the barrier to elicit a €œholy shit€ chant from the awoken crowd. Henry returned to the ring and ordered the ref to start counting for a hopeful count out victory. Show , being the heroic face though, emerged just in time and took down his opponent with a superkick after Henry had tried to climb the rope. Show then went for the same tactic by climbing the top rope himself with Henry laid prone inside the middle of the ring. Show was clearly struggling to maintain his balance on the ropes but this was one of those great moments in wrestling where the genuine and lengthy struggle it took for a 500 pounder to settle himself in a precarious position made the top rope elbow that he eventually landed all the more dramatically satisfying as a consequence. Show then pumped himself up a second attempt at the knockout punch but Henry ducked for cover and landed a desperate low blow for the DQ win. ** ½ Post-match they set up what will most likely be a chairs clash at TLC as Henry attempted to hit his top rope chair assisted splash only for Big Show to move out of the way and get some revenge by planting Henry's leg in the chair and taking him out with a legdrop. Against the odds I'm really enjoying a rivalry which is resulting in what I feel are the best verbal and physical performances of both men's long standing wwe careers. Barrett was in the back giving an interview to Matt Striker about how the Barrett barrage was now in full effect when he was interrupted by Miz and Truth who proceeded to deliver a horribly written comedy promo linking together pigeon crap and their opponents Rock and Cena. CM Punk defeated Alberto Del Rio to become the NEW WWE Champion Following a series of locks and holds Punk scared his opponent through an early attempt of the Anaconda Vice as Del Rio managed to slide to the outside to regain his composure. Back in the ring Punk got the better of the champ again with a hip toss causing Del Rio to depart the ropes for a team talk with his ring announcer. Punk then used this opportunity to jump out at Del Rio with a sweet suicide dive. Del Rio got revenge after Ricardo Rodriguez slapped the straight edge superstar causing Punk to chase him on the outside leaving Del Rio to dive through the ropes and plant Punk with his boots. Del Rio continued the assault with some double axe handles and a modified arm bar but after suffering a stiff kick Punk still had the wherewithal to avert Del Rio's running boot, the momentum of which sent the Mexican tumbling once more to the outside. We were then greeted with the familiar cheering/booing face heel square off with Punk coming out the winner and taking Del Rio down with a clothesline, neckbreaker, high knee and springboard clothesline before attempting a GTS which Del Rio countered into a backstabber. Punk got back on top to execute his Macho Man Elbow drop before tuning up the band to call for another try at the GTS. Del Rio countered however into the crossarmbreaker as Punk struggled for a while before making his legs to the ropes. A tremendous go home sequence then emerged with Del Rio thwarting another GTS attempt only to be knocked down by a big boot. De Rio then capitalised on a Rodriguez distraction to take Punk down with a roll up but Punk countered the move into the anaconda vice. A despairing Del Rio tried to rake Punk's face to break the hold but eventually the pain barrier proved too much and he tapped wildly to lose the match and his championship. The start dragged a little with some very obvious spot calling on Punk's behalf but it got really awesome the longer it went on and the concluding moment with Del Rio's villainous attempt to break the hold backfiring was quite wonderful. **** Post-match Punk then indulged in a five star celebration by diving carefree into different sections of the crowd and proudly holding up the belt as if he was the happiest man in the world. The Rock and John Cena defeated Miz and R-Truth via pinfall As expected the crowd went crazy for The Rock and booed the living hell out of John Cena. As The Rock prepared to lock horns with The Miz there was an atmospheric sense of anticipation that has not been felt in the company since Shawn Michaels prepared to lock horns with Taker in his final match. Rock didn't let himself down either catching Miz in a headlock and taking him to the mat with a super smooth pinfall. He then dealt Truth some similar punishment as a €œYou've still got it!€ chant vibrated around the arena. Goosebumps worthy stuff at this point. It then quickly became the usual Cena tag match however when after a brief flurry of offence he suffered an interminable beat-down from the two heels with The Rock pacing impatiently on the outside and the crowd becoming increasingly impatient for him to return to the ring. Meanwhile Rock appeared indifferent to the beating Cena received and refused to get involved even when the action spilled right in front of his nose. Cena finally got back into the match when he reversed a Truth charge into an Attitude Adjustment and tried to crawl towards The Rock towards the tag. Miz got his tag first though and intelligently rushed in to knock Rock off the apron before turning his attention on Cena. As Rock recovered to his feet on the outside Truth took him down again and threw him up onto the barricade. Truth then tagged in to beat on Cena but missed a crucial legdrop leaving Cena free to make en electrifying hot tag to The Rock. Rock planted Mix with a DDT took out Truth with a Rock Bottom and then locked Miz in the sharpshooter. Truth broke the hold but Cena took Truth to the outside giving Rock the opportunity to drop the people's elbow on Miz for the pinfall. *** Far from a perfect wrestling match and it would have been fun to see more reluctant tag team partner interplay i.e. Rock and Cena tagging themselves in but this was really all about the spectacle of Rock being back in the ring and doing what he does after a seven year absence and on that note it worked a charm. Post-match Cena walked up the ramp not wanting to partake in Rock's celebration but Rock called him back to the ring. Rock then insulted Cena by making him address the fans in the same manner as himself knowing that he would be greeted by thunderous cheers and Cena by thunderous boos. They then appeared to trash talk for a while before Cena turned to leave only to have his arm dragged around by The Rock who knocked him to the mat with a rock bottom to end the show.

Verdict:

This was an eventful edition of Survivor Series which successfully raised a number of questions as we head towards the road to Wrestlemania. The number one issue is how the WWE are going to go forward in following on from what was a very humiliating night for John Cena. If his response is to merely come out on Raw and smile it all off like he usually does then the Survivor Series main event and the post-match drama that came after it will feel like a waste at least from a dramatic perspective. Now more than ever Cena needs to demonstrate an intense verbal response and draw attention to The Rock's ego, the same ego which made icons in the vein of Triple H and Shawn Michaels take him for granted as an opponent and also show some more layers to his one dimensional character by telling the crowd why they should all respect him and how it angers him to be booed out of a building like Madison Square garden. Hopefully in the aftermath of Survivor Series business will take a more serious turn and Rock and Cena won't have to indulge in comic antics and an endless plethora of inane twitter references. It was fun to see Punk and Del Rio steal the show in their WWE title match and though I dislike the constant title changes I feel that the right decision was made as Punk is currently an established star who deserves a meaningful face run whilst Del Rio simply wasn't drawing enough heat in his role as champion. A drop down to the upper mid card after his likely TLC re-match with Punk would be the best solution for Del Rio who despite playing his character magnificently and being one of the company€™s best workers was clearly pushed too soon in a headline position. Henry and Show appear to have their TLC match set-up in what should be an emotive feud ender whilst I am also intrigued as to where the WWE will take Barrett and Rhodes following on from their win over Team Orton. In 2009 Kofi Kingston was a rising star in a similar position to those two men who eliminated Orton to become the sole survivor only to then see his push derailed and quickly forgotten about. Hopefully lightning won't strike twice there. The only low point of the night was Ziggler and Morrison trying to wrestle through Zack Ryder chants but the overwhelming positive in all this is that Ziggler's next united states title defence pretty much writes itself and they can actually turn Zack's petition into a fully fledged storyline in the build up. After all It's going to be hard to ignore Ryder after that kind of unique New York response. Survivor Series was a very good PPV which both reminded people of The Rock's greatness and provided a few reminders as to how special some of its more underlooked talent are also. ****