The 25th annual Survivor Series returned to the most well know and loved arena in the world, Madison Square Garden and it truly put 'Boots to Asses'.
SS for me was the best PPV WWE has produced in a long time and the main reason for this was the lack of mic work and the focus on what we watch the product for...WRESTLING!!
Don't get me wrong, when the likes of CM Punk, The Rock and Zack Ryder touch the mic they are golden, but recently all they have done is mic work and it became a 'their bark is worse than their bite' situation as they very rarely backed up what they were saying.
SS stepped away from this and focused strictly on the in ring action which was a refreshing change.
DOLPH ZIGGLER (C) VS JOHN MORRISON - US CHAMPIONSHIP
I had high hope's for this match as I recently saw Ziggler and Morrison preform live and they easily stole the show at the UK house show I was at. Not only this but it has been rumoured that Morrison is leaving on bad terms with the company shortly and was being buried so to see him thrust into a title match at SS had me hoping that they were trying for one finale push..however Morrison was once again used as a jobber to build heat on Ziggler for the inevitable Ziggle/Ryder showdown at TLC. Although this was the case Ziggler and Morrison still had an excellent match with ring work that most main event superstars could not rival, we had false finishes, excellent reversals and some great high spots.
Winner and Still US Champ...DOLPH ZIGGLER.
BETH PHEONIX (C) VS EVE - WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP
This match was turned into a lumberjill match a few days ago in what could only be an attempt to make a failing diva's match seem more interesting. As talented as some of the diva's are there is a strict lack of charisma from most of the female wrestlers in the WWE and so not much could be done other then have the addition of a dozen pretty and scantily clad female surround the ring. The match was pretty standard although won with an impressive high spot of the Glam Slam from the top rope.
Winner and still champ...BETH PHEONIX.
5 ON 5 SURVIVOR SERIES MATCH
TEAM BARRET(Wade Barret, Cody Rhodes, Hunico, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler) VS TEAM ORTON (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, Sin Cara)
Although this match played exactly like one would expect a typical SS elimination match to go, it was hindered by a few problems. Firstly Ziggler had to pull double duty as Christain was injured during the UK tour, and so he was eliminated very quickly. Sin Cara was eliminated early due to a botched somersault over the ropes in which he seriously injured his leg and will be out of action for at least 6-9 months, because of this the match seemed to rely on improvisation until the finale segment which was rather good. As Orton was the only member of TO left against 4 remaining member of TB, he pinned an already down Swagger and as Hunico went for a flying cross body was caught on the RKO and eliminated also. This left Orton with Rhodes and Barret to contend with and while he put in a good effort and hit the RKO on Rhodes the numbers game got the better of Orton and he was taken out by the Wade Slam.
Winners...TEAM BARRET (Wade Barret and Cody Rhodes not eliminated)
MARK HENRY (C) VS BIG SHOW - HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Going into this match I was quite looking forward to this as unlike most rushed story lines at the moment the Henry/Show feud has been playing out and building for months now and this gives the match what so many others lack these days...a back story and a good build. The match was a back and fourth show of strength between Henry and Show who took turns overpowering each other. This built towards some great spots at the end of the match including Henry tackling Show through the barrier (followed by chants of Holy Shit!) and an absolutely epic elbow drop delivered from Show to Henry with a massive impact that got the crowd chanting for the late legendary Randy Savage. The match was abruptly ended when Henry purposefully delivered a low blow to Show and was disqualified.
Winner..BIG SHOW (titles do not change hands via a DQ)
ALBERTO DEL RIO (C) VS CM PUNK - WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
This is the match I most looked forward to due to CM Punk, for months he has probably been the WWE's top drawer yet has been criminally underused. The match opened great with Cm Punk inviting his own personal ring announcer (hall of famer Howard Finkle) however I was slightly disappointed with the match as it was your standard Punk/Rio showdown with both guys getting their trademark match moves in. I was happy with the ending as they avoided having a win with the well know finisher and had Punk use the Anaconda Vice to have Del Rio tap out.
Winner and new WWE Champion....CM PUNK.
On a side note although I was uninspired by the match I feel making Punk the champion is a good move for the company and if used correctly Punk could bring back some of the entertainment that has been missing as of late.
THE ROCK & JOHN CENA VS AWESOME TRUTH
Easily the most anticipated match of the last year and it wasn't a let down in many respects, firstly Rock was in the best shape of his life and definitely not rusty in the ring, he put the smackdown on both Truth and Miz while barely breaking a sweat and no one could tell he hadn't been in a ring in over 5 years. Also refreshing was that for the first time in 5 years Cena was not made out to be an invincible guy, as WWE obviously wanted Rock to look good, all of Awesome Truth's beat downs were on Cena, it was a delight to watch the over promoted Cena finally be a Jobber for the smaller guys. It's worth noting that Cena also got the biggest boo's of the night. The match was won when Rock delivered the most electrifying move in all of entertainment 'The People Elbow' delivered with more impact then ever seen. The Rock truly electrified the crowed. After Awesome truth had left Rock goaded Cena back to the ring and had a 'cheer off'. The Rock getting deafening cheers while Cena got unanimously booed by the NYC crowed...If WWE are not planning on turning Cena heel then I don't think theres any hope as Cena draws more heat now as a face then most heels at their prime.
Overall Survivor Series 2011 has been the best PPV I have seen this yeah and will be hard to beat. Let's hope CM Punk new entertainment era bring back a little love not seen since the attitude era.
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