The Rock & John Cena will team up at Survivor Series to face The Miz & R-Truth.
This will be The Rock’s first WWE match since he retired at WrestleMania 20 back in 2004.
Also expected the show is a WWE title match between Alberto Del Rio & CM Punk. We’ll find out next week if that match is official.
WWE Survivor Series 2011 takes place on Sunday, November 20, 2011 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Arda Ocal caught up with WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart, who discussed WWE’s upcoming Greatest Rivalries – Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart DVD, his relationship with Earl Hebner following the “Montreal Screwjob,” his time in World Championship Wrestling, and more. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
Where he ranks his time in WCW
“Where would I rank my time in WCW? Right in the toilet. It was a waste of time. There were so few highlights.”
Has Bret made peace with Earl Hebner and thoughts on his “Damn Right I Did” T-shirt referencing the “Montreal Screwjob”
“I don’t have any hard feelings towards Earl, but if I was in his shoes I wouldn’t have done what they did.”
Thoughts on the Survivor Series match format
“In truth I never liked the Survivor Series format, I thought it was a waste of time.”
Hart adds that he prefers the King of the Ring.
The video interview is available here.
Mick Foley is auctioning off tickets to the Survivor Series in New York City and lunch with the Hardcore Legend himself, with proceeds going to Hurricane Irene victims.
His latest blog has now been posted on RealMickFoley.com. Here’s an excerpt:
“Yes, I am setting up a pretty decent auction, with 100% (minus mailing costs) going to help out Vermonters suffering in the wake of flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. This might not be my very best stuff, like the Cactus Jack leopard boots and Hell in a Cell shirt, since that type of auction reminds me of Daffy Duck playing the harp, having emerged the victor in the big bump contest with Bugs Bunny – acknowledging Bugs’s accolades; sadly saying “I know, I know, but I can only do it once” on his way up to heaven. Still, this is going to be a good auction; it’s going to raise some money for some people who really need it, and it’s going to show the wrestling community in a favorable light – which is always important to me. With the exception of a couple of big items, like the Survivor Series vacation package, most of these items should come in under the $100 mark, making them a possibility for far more fans. Wait, check that – the historic Foley Juggalos ICP jersey I wore for this past Gathering might bring in some serious cash. One might have to be a Big Money Hustla just to get his/her hands on it! Yeah, I know, that was weak.”
For all of Mick’s latest blogs, videos, events, and more – visit RealMickFoley.com. You can also follow Mick Foley on Twitter @RealMickFoley.
The Rock Returns to the ring at Survivor Series
EXCLUSIVE: Which Big Names are Planned for the Huge Survivor Series Match This Year?
It’s already been announced that The Rock will be making his in-ring return to WWE at Survivor Series for the first time since WrestleMania 20 – as he teams with his scheduled WrestleMania 28 opponent John Cena.
According to a reliable source who has provided us with several accurate scoops in previous months, Rock and Cena will be teaming together as part of a blockbuster main event match at Survivor Series that will see a “Team WWE” vs. “Team Anti-WWE.”
The anti-WWE team is not fully known at this time but will feature “future endeavored” superstars such as Kevin Nash, The Miz and R-Truth. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has also been rumored to be a member of the Anti-WWE team.
Team WWE would feature The Rock, John Cena, Triple H and at least one more “mega star” – with The Undertaker and even “Stone Cold” Steve Austin discussed as possible participants.
While Steve Austin coming out of retirement for this match is a long shot, Austin’s involvement would take the star power and signifcance of this match to unprecedented heights.
Our source was quoted as saying, “The Rock and Cena feud has been featured on screen and on twitter. Stone Cold and Punk rivalry has been acknowledged as well, it would be a great fit they get everyone together.”
The source did say they feel if Austin was to be on this team with Punk at Survivor Series, the chances of him performing in a big singles match at WrestleMania 28 would e significantly. Austin has never ruled out getting in the ring again but wants things to be the right situation. The Undertaker would be the more likely option as most in the company are expecting him to come back sometime in the next couple months to get ready for WrestleMania.
— WWE is scheduled to hold a Raw live event at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. The event takes place five weeks after the Survivor Series.
— Japanese wrestler Taishi Takizawa, 26, was spotted at Thursday’s Florida Championship Wrestling show in Tampa, Florida.
— Randy Orton is featured on the cover of the latest issue of The Wrestler.
— King Kong Bundy has been added to Legends of the Ring XIII, which takes place Saturday, October 8 at the Crowne Plaza Monroe, New Jersey. Visit www.legendsofthering.com for more information.
WWE issued a survey yesterday regarding their planned WWE Network launch next year to select mailing list subscribers. The survey suggests that WWE’s “classic big 4” pay-per-view events would be included in the channel at no additional cost.
Imagine a 24-hour cable network that was run by The WWE. It featured a mix of WWE-made programs, including new shows, repeats of Raw and SmackDown from USA and Syfy and “classic” or “historical” programs featuring shows from different promotions like classic WWE footage, WCW, ECW, NWA, AWA, etc. from years past.
It would have two new weekly WWE live in-ring shows (wrestling), but not SmackDown or Raw.
It would have a daily live in-studio viewer interactive show similar to SportsCenter.
Additionally, this network would include WWE’s “classic big 4” pay-per-view events including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series and Royal Rumble to the lineup at no additional cost. Rather than having to pay for them, they would now be specials with the same match quality you’re used to seeing on pay-per-view for no additional cost. These 4 events would only be available on The WWE Network.
In addition to The WWE Network, you would receive approximately 30 additional channels including NFL Network, NBA TV, Biography Channel, Fox Business Network and Fuel TV.
How interested would you be in upgrading your service for an additional $7-$12 per month to a tier which would include the WWE Network described above?
The official WWE website confirmed Friday evening that The Rock will be returning to the squared circle at the Survivor Series on November 20. He will be participating in a Traditional 5-on-5 Tag Team Match at the show.
Their statement reads: “WWE sources have confirmed that The Rock and John Cena will be a part of a Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Tag Team Match.”
The Rock indicated earlier in the day on Facebook that he would be aligning with Cena at the Survivor Series as he posted the promotional poster for the event with the headline reading: “The Rock and John Cena Join Forces. Never Before. Never Again.”
The Rock announced today on Facebook that he and John Cena will be joining forces at WWE Survivor Series on November 20th from New York City’s Madison Square Garden:
“I’m not waiting til Wrestlemania 28…
I’m coming to Survivor Series in November and ELECTRIFYING New York City like never before!
TEAM BRING IT – BOOTS TO ASSES.”
The recently released WWE Survivor Series Video Promo stated that The Rock would be in the house – but now it appears The Rock will actually be getting back in the ring. As reported here earlier this week, WWE has been pushing very hard to get The Rock to wrestle at Survivor Series.
Rock also posted a new version of the Survivor Series pay-per-view poster which reads, “The Rock and John Cena Join Forces: Never Before, Never Again.”
WWE officials are reportedly trying very hard to get The Rock to wrestle at Survivor Series in November.
Original plans called for The Rock to appear at the 25th anniversary show and participate in some sort of angle, but not wrestle until WrestleMania 28.
Something has changed in the past 2 weeks and now WWE is ready to jump the gun and give away Rock’s in-ring return 6 months before his showdown with John Cena next April.
As previously reported, there has been talk of doing a best of 3 series between Rock and Cena.
Whether or not The Rock will wrestle at Survivor Series has been a controversial topic behind the scenes in WWE this past week.
(Source: f4wonline.com)
WWE and The Rock have each commented on the 25th annual Survivor Series selling out in less than 90 minutes.
WWE posted the following statement on Twitter regarding the sell-out, noting that fans should keep trying the Ticketmaster website because new tickets will be made available in the coming weeks:
“In less than 90 minutes, the WWE Universe sold out this year’s Survivor Series. The 25th anniversary of the event, being held at New York City’s famous Madison Square Garden, will feature an appearance from John Cena’s WrestleMania XXVIII opponent, The Rock. Fifteen years after making his electrifying WWE debut at Survivor Series, The People’s Champion returns to MSG for the first time in eight years!”
The Rock also commented on his Twitter:
“Get ready: @WWE – Survivor Series sold out in 30 min! I promise to ELECTRIFY MSG like never before. #TeamBringIt”
WWE Survivor Series takes place on Sunday, November 20th. The staff of SEScoops.com (webmaster Mike, the Solomonster & Noah Mark) will be there to witness The Rock’s return to MSG in person. Will you be there? We’ve got a thread going right now on the SEScoops Facebook Page for fans who are going to Survivor Series – click here to join the conversation.
— Tickets went on this sale morning for the Survivor Series at Madison Square Garden and instantly sold out.
The pay-per-view event, which will feature an appearance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, takes place November 20, 2011. It will be the first WWE pay-per-view to take place at the reconfigured venue.
— Beth Phoenix announced on Twitter that former WWE Diva Cherry has launched an account on the micro-blogging website. She can be reached at twitter.com/FmrDivaCherry.
Cherry made first wrestling related appearance in two years at last month’s “A Hot Summer’s Night” event in Essington, Pennsylvania.
— A Raw live event is scheduled for April 20, 2012 in Paris, France as part of WWE’s WrestleMania Revenge tour.
source: PWInsider.com
Check out this promo video for WWE’s upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view on 11/20 from Madison Square Garden.
As we’ve been reporting, local ads in New York are promoting that The Rock will be “returning to action” at Survivor Series. For the latest on whether this means he’ll actually be wrestling, check out:
As we’ve been reporting here on SEScoops.com this week, it’s being advertised in New York City that The Rock will be “returning to action” at WWE Survivor Series in November.
According to one of our WWE sources, contrary to what’s being advertised, The Rock is not currently scheduled to wrestle at Survivor Series. Expect The Rock to be heavily involved in the show and somehow get physically involved with John Cena, but he won’t be wrestling.
WWE is treating Survivor Series as the “kickoff” to the build towards WrestleMania 28. It’s been stated in recent months by both The Rock and Vince McMahon that Rock will be appearing at “several” upcoming WWE PPVs – including the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber.
The Figure Four Weekly Newsletter reports that there has been talk of doing a best-of-three series between The Rock and John Cena. It’s not official yet, but there’s a chance we’ll see Rock vs. Cena at WrestleMania and then two more post-Mania PPVs, including SummerSlam 2012 in Los Angeles.
A popular topic of discussion backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings was that WWE creative is planning to continue the current CM Punk – Triple H storyline through the fall – with November’s WWE Survivor Series to feature a big “Team Punk vs. Team Triple H” match.
According to WWE sources, Team Punk would feature CM Punk, Colt Cabana and possibly the Kings of Wrestling – Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero. Kevin Nash would be one of the members on Team Triple H.
With the NFL’s Monday Night Football going head-to-head with RAW each week, WWE is banking on the Punk – Triple H storyline to carry ratings for the next few months.
– SyFy writer Nora Zuckerman wrote on Twitter that former WWE Superstar Edge will appear on next week’s episode of Haven and a few more episodes this season.
– Paul Bearer announced on Twitter that former WWE referee Dave Hebner is undergoing heart surgery this morning.
– A SmackDown taping will be held at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday, December 6.
– Former WWE champion John Bradshaw Layfield has posted his latest video blog. In this installmnent, JBL responds to fans who say that RAW’s Money in the Bank winner Alberto Del Rio stole his gimmick:
— Sunny made a surprise appearance at last night’s Raw live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City as the 2011 WWE Hall of Famer was the special guest referee for a tag team match pitting Kelly Kelly and Eve vs. The Bella Twins. The twin duo attacked Kelly and Eve following their loss, but Sunny fended them off.
— It was announced at last night’s Raw live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City that the 2011 Survivor Series would take place at the venue on November 20.
— Evan Bourne celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday.
source: PWInsider.com
— The preliminary buy figure for this year’s Survivor Series is in the 240,000 to 250,000 range, according to World Wrestling Entertainment’s corporate website. The number is up from the previous year, which drew 225,000 buys.
— Tuesday night’s live episode of SmackDown on the USA Network garnered a 2.5 cable rating, the program’s best mark since September 12, 2008.
— Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly vs. Lay-Cool is the only match being advertised by WWE.com for tonight’s episode of WWE Superstars. David Hart Smith vs. Zack Ryder and The Usos vs. Yoshi Tatsu and Darren Young will also take place on the show.
source: www.f4wonline.com
— WWE Studios’ The Chaperone starring Triple H is slated for a brief theatrical release in February before its released on DVD and Blu-ray.
— The 2010 Survivor Series DVD features footage of The Miz winning the WWE Championship from Randy Orton the day after the pay-per-view event. The Blu-ray version will also include the previous week’s “Old School” episode of Raw in its entirety.
— All January, WWE Classics on Demand celebrate the most memorable “Fantastic Firsts” in sports-entertainment history.
source: PWInsider.com
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Ross spoke at length about Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Finish of the Main Event: “The conclusion of the Survivor Series seemed to provide more questions than answers regarding the focal point of the promotion, the free or fired stipulation put on John Cena. One has to assume that there will be significant follow up on this matter on Monday Night Raw from Orlando. Will we be surprised at what we hear on Raw? Will Cena indeed be leaving WWE? How could Cena be reprieved?”
Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler: “Good to see Kaval compete in a WWE PPV bout after all his year’s of paying his dues. I like Kaval’s style and have always been a fan of Ziggler’s in ring work. Dolph had some excellent bouts with Rey Mysterio a year or so ago and I feel that Kaval could also really light it up versus Rey down the road.”
Morrison vs. Sheamus: “Morrison vs. Sheamus featured two men that WWE has seemingly advanced more at this time than some of the aforementioned athletes and Morrison upsetting Sheamus surprised me. I did not see that one coming which made the match end up being more enjoyable. IMO Morrison has a ‘touch’ of a young HBK in him in some shape, form or fashion and we can only hope that some day Morrison will be compared to the legendary Shawn Michaels in more detail. However, there are miles to travel before that might happen as performers like HBK come along once in a generation if we’re lucky. Nonetheless, the more physical Morrison is the better I personally like him as opposed to the more ‘finesse’ version of Morrison. John was very physical at Survivor Series.”
“Sheamus is a keeper, without question, whose best days are obviously still ahead of him even though Sheamus has had a taste of what it’s like to be WWE Champion. And, yes, I get the fact that Sheamus is the first “Irish born WWE Champion.” Got it. Check. 10-4.”
WWE announced this afternoon on the company website that United States Champion Daniel Bryan will defend his title against Ted DiBiase tomorrow night at the Survivor Series.
The match was advertised on Ticketmaster.com earlier this week before WWE made the match official today.
The officially announced card is as follows:
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett (with John Cena as the special guest referee)
Should Barrett win, Cena is freed from The Nexus. Should Barrett lose, Cena is fired from WWE.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge vs. Kane (c)
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kaval
WWE United States Championship Match
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Ted DiBiase
WWE Divas Championship Match
Natalya vs. Michelle McCool and Layla (c)
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (c)
Survivor Series Elimination Match
Rey Mysterio, Big Show, MVP, Kofi Kingston and Chris Masters vs. Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and Tyler Reks
Sheamus vs. John Morrison
In an apparent error, there is a banner ad on the front page of WWE.com advertising a Two Out Of Three Falls Match between Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio for Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. However, no such match has been announced. A bout pitting Team Mysterio against Team Del Rio in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match is still advertised for the event on the website’s Survivor Series section.
by The Solomonster (thesolomonster@gmail.com)
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This Sunday marks the 24th annual WWE Survivor Series from Miami, Florida. While I thought about doing another preview and predictions-style editorial, it’s not a card that has inspired much in the way of excitement. In fact, before Raw this week, we knew all of three matches on the show. It feels slapped together like most other WWE pay-per-views these days and it’s hard to believe that once upon a time, Survivor Series was considered one of the “Big Four” annual shows. That may no longer be true, but I figured it would be fun to celebrate its history by choosing one match (and only one!) from each of the last 23 shows to highlight, right here on SEScoops!
As for the criteria, I’m not necessarily picking the “best” match on each show. This is all very subjective, of course, but I’ve chosen to go with matches that stand out to me the most either because they were simply GREAT or are often unfairly overlooked for other classic matches. Let’s pick one and be done!
Strike Force, Fabulous Rougeaus, Killer Bees, Young Stallions and British Bulldogs
vs.
The Islanders, Hart Foundation, Demolition, Bolsheviks and New Dream Team
These early shows were completely made up of Survivor Series elimination matches. Much like a newlywed couple, they were entirely faithful to the concept before getting bored and cheating with regular singles and tag bouts a few years later. What makes this so unique is that each team is comprised of five actual tag teams (you know, when WWE actually had more than just the Hart Dynasty and Usos), so this match is quite the monstrosity with 20 men out there. But it’s easily the best thing on the show.
The Rockers, Powers of Pain, British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation and Young Stallions
vs.
Demolition, The Brain Busters, Bolsheviks, Fabulous Rougeaus and The Conquistadors
Much like the year prior, they’ve taken ten tag teams and lumped them together into one Survivors match. And much like the year prior, it’s easily the best thing on the show. One thing that really strikes you is the sheer number of managers that WWE had in its employ at one time. In this match alone, you’ve got teams managed by Bobby Heenan (who I’m fairly certain managed 48 guys at once), Mr. Fuji, Jimmy Hart and Slick. Anyway, I had completely forgotten that The Conquistadors were called Uno and Dos, which is so incredibly awesome, how could you go wrong picking this?
The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts and Demolition)
vs.
The Million $ Team (Ted DiBiase, Zeus and The Powers of Pain)
The thing I loved about these early Survivors matches was that you had team names. I mean, regular tag teams in WWE these days (the ones that are left, anyway) don’t even have real team names. This is where I’ll give TNA credit, at least they have teams like the Motor City Machine Guns and Beer Money. What was the last cool team name in WWE? Anyway, this show was full of great team names (Roddy’s Rowdies, The Enforcers, The King’s Court), but this is the match I remember vividly. They got rid of Zeus real quick here because, well, he was fairly limited in what he could do. In fact, all he really did was choke people and that’s sort of illegal. He had Hogan flat on his back about 3 minutes into this and was choking the life out of him, prompting a hilarious scene that saw referee Earl Hebner violently wrench back on Zeus’s head, trying mightily to pry him off the Hulkster to no avail. When Zeus shoved him away, that was enough for the disqualification. The rest of this was fairly standard stuff, but I always enjoyed seeing Hogan in there with DiBiase because when you really stop and think about it, we never got to see them square off much on TV. They never had a big PPV singles match together.
The Million $ Team (Ted DiBiase, The Undertaker, The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine)
vs.
The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart)
Yes, this was the show with the giant egg. But it’s also remembered for being the first appearance of The Undertaker, managed by Brother Love. He didn’t last as long as you might think in this match and was counted out after beating the blubber out of Dusty Rhodes, but he looked impressive in delivering his first Tombstone to poor Koko B. Ware. Bret Hart was the real star of the show here as he went all the way to the end with DiBiase and had the crowd buying into all of his near falls. Bret had dedicated the match to his brother Dean, who passed away just 24 hours earlier from kidney failure. Not sure if he requested off this show in light of his brother dying, but if he did, he was obviously turned down. Not to worry, Bret. You did good here. Dean would be proud.
The Gravest Challenge
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Undertaker, WWF Championship
This is the night WWF got a rude awakening from its fans. It was obvious that Hogan was not nearly as beloved as he once was and fans were getting tired of his shtick. Undertaker received a fair share of cheers, especially at the end when he scored the three count. The match itself was horrible and largely consisted of Undertaker choking Hogan in different positions for extended periods of time (I was going to make a joke about Zeus and Undertaker forming a team called The Chokers, but the Dallas Cowboys already have that name, so I won’t do it). The best part of all this was the fan dressed as Hogan in the front row. You see, this man was a rather unlucky charm for the Hulkster as, not only did he appear here when Hogan lost his title to Undertaker, but he was also front and center when Hulk lost the title to Yokozuna at the King of the Ring in 1993 and was squashed right out of the WWF. In fact, the only lasting mental image I have of this guy is of him leaning over the guardrail with a sad look on his face like his dog was first shot, then backed over by a Jeep. I’m convinced he was hiding somewhere in the Skydome, too, when Hogan lost to The Rock at WrestleMania 18.
Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels, WWF Championship
I used to hate this show with a passion because it was the first time they abandoned the concept of elimination matches (well, they had one) and basically adopted the format they use today. But it has since grown on me and this match is a big reason why. In fact, it may be my favorite Bret vs. Shawn match as it had the perfect length to it (unlike the Iron Man match), a clean submission finish (unlike Montreal) and was very well worked. It was unique for two reasons: one, it was a CHAMPION vs. CHAMPION match with only Bret’s WWF Title on the line, and two, it was never supposed to be that way, let alone the MAIN EVENT of the show. I mean, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, two guys who were wrestling tag matches less than 2 years earlier, in the final match of a WWF pay-per-view? That was unheard of back then. But you see, when you start cracking down on steroids, shit happens. Bret shockingly won the title from Ric Flair about a month or so earlier because Vince wanted the belt on someone who didn’t look like a gassed up monster, and Shawn won the Intercontinental belt from the British Bulldog on “Saturday Night’s Main Event” just a few weeks before the show after Davey Boy was fired for drug-related reasons. I still remember WWF Magazine’s own preview for this show listing Bret vs. Shawn as an undercard match for no titles, while Bulldog was to defend his belt against The Mountie. Sucks to be The Mountie, but not the fans as we were treated to one hell of a main event. Plus, Bret celebrated with Santa to close the show!
The Hart Family (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bruce Hart and Keith Hart)
vs.
Shawn Michaels and his Knights (The Red Knight, The Blue Knight and The Black Knight)
If you’re wondering why HBK would have his own team of medieval knights, allow me to explain. Jerry Lawler was to be the captain of that team as he had been feuding with Bret for months, but he went and got himself in some legal trouble. Michaels, who was still on suspension from what is believed to have been a steroid failure, was reinstated and this was his first match back. Family Feud host Ray Combs did the intros to this match and was quite annoying. It’s also marks the first and only time in his WWE career that Bret Hart wore a singlet with no pants. The match itself was very good and, most importantly, was the starting point of the Bret/Owen sibling rivalry. Leave it to Shawn Michaels to stir up shit with the Hart family.
Chuck Norris. Enough said.
The BodyDonnas (Skip, Rad Radford, Tom Prichard, and The 1-2-3 Kid)
vs.
The Underdogs (Marty Jannetty, Hakushi, Barry Horowitz, and Bob Holly)
I’ve always been a fan of the Wildcard Match concept used on this show, and Bret Hart certainly carried Kevin Nash to a very good main event (and a noteworthy one with Diesel’s infamous f-bomb and heel turn), but I was going to go with the all-women’s elimination bout featuring Alundra Blaze, Aja Kong, Tomoko Watanabe and others as I remember it being a great match. However, after seeing the match again recently, that match was fucking horrible. Blown spots galore, which shocked me considering the talents involved, and many moments where the girls just looked totally lost in there. Instead, we’ll go with the opening match, or as I like to call it, Rise of the Curtain Jerkers. This was a really fun match that saw the crowd go crazy whenever Hakushi was in the ring (not nearly enough) and start up a “BARRY!” chant for Horowitz, which just goes to show that you CAN truly get anyone over if you try hard enough. I also chuckled everytime Mr. Perfect would refer to him as “Horriblewitz”. Good stuff here.
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Sycho Sid, WWF Championship
Oh Madison Square Garden, how I love thee. If you take this match and put it in any other building, I don’t think it would have HALF the heat this match had, and Shawn Michaels likely would have received a warmer welcome. But, as it was, New York hated the dancing babyface and booed him out of the building, while openly embracing the challenger. I know Bret Hart and Steve Austin had a much better match, but this is a spectacle that I never get tired of watching. HBK carries Sid to one of the best matches of his career and loses the title, ending the “Boyhood Dream” and, in my opinion, marking the unofficial start to what would become the Attitude Era. This was during the period where Michaels had Jose Lothario following him around wherever he went, so when Sid grabbed a TV camera and SMASHED Jose in the chest with it (he didn’t belong up on the apron!), that was quite the shocking moment. Jose fakes the best heart attack ever on the floor and as Michaels tends to him, Sid takes that same camera and smashes it over the back of Shawn’s head, muttering an audible “Fuck you!” not once, but twice! One powerbomb later and Sid is your champion. Take note of wrestling superfan Vladimir in the front row (where else would he be?) who looks like he could not be happier to see an old man murdered as he high-fives and hugs the new champion on his way out. If you’ve never seen this match before, it’s worth going out of your way to watch if for no other reason than to see what wrestling crowds were once like.
Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels, WWF Championship
I seriously had to rack my brain to remember a single match other than the main event of this show. Well, that’s not really true. I do vividly remember Kane wrestling Dude Love in the darkness with that stupid red light, but I can’t choose that match because it wasn’t particularly good. Truth is, it’s a damn shame this match ended the way it did because Hart and Michaels were well on their way to having one of the better matches the two of them have ever had together. So, we’ll go with this one because, quite frankly, I don’t think the finish of this match has been debated NEARLY enough in the last 13 years.
Steve Austin vs. Mankind, Deadly Game Semi-Finals
It was the first (and only) single elimination tournament for the WWF Title since WrestleMania 4 a decade earlier. I look back fondly on the “Deadly Game” motif, including the awesome theme song, and that gigantic skull entranceway. That being said, there’s not a single match from this tournament that I would rate above 2 ½ stars, which means I’m going to have to go with Steve Austin vs. Mankind in the Semi-Finals by default. This is the match where Shane McMahon turned heel for the first time and flipped Austin the double bird after refusing to count the fall. It’s also the match where Mankind’s pants fell down around his ankles as he was Stunnered by Stone Cold. Foley would make it to the Finals before being “screwed” and Rock began his first of many runs with the gold. It’s also the only Survivor Series to this day to not feature a single, traditional elimination match. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Stasiak
It’s the in-ring debut of our Olympic Hero! I can’t get over how much smaller Kurt looked in this match as compared to one of his matches, say, in 2003. Fans in Detroit have the audacity to start a boring chant not long after this match starts, which I totally agree with – Shawn Stasiak was a fucking boring wrestler. The best part of this was Kurt basically stopping the match to get on the mic outside and berate the crowd, an instant recipe for heel heat. Match was nothing, but for historical purposes, this is the one that stands out the most on this show. Had Triple H not had Rikishi run over Stone Cold, that Triple Threat main event would have been one hell of a battle. I just want to vent real quick and deliver a hearty “Fuck you!” to WWE for the blatant bait-and-switch they pulled with that. That’s no way to treat your audience.
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Undertaker’s Pants, WWF Championship
Could it be? Our Olympic Hero makes the list for the second straight show? Oh, it’s true! You don’t need me to tell you how awesome Kurt Angle is, but after just one full year on TV, it’s scary how good he already was. Hell, he was the WWF champion! This was billed as Undertaker’s 10th anniversary, but he wore the most RIDICULOUS pants I think I’ve ever seen. They were either snakeskin leather or something he ran over on the way to the show. I could barely concentrate on the match without being fixated on those ugly pants. How Kurt Angle was able to keep a straight face throughout this bout, I’ll never know. But it was a pretty good match with an incredibly clever finish. You see, Kurt has a brother named Eric who, from a certain distance, looks very much like his sibling. They pull the ‘ol switcheroo at one point and Undertaker delivers a Last Ride Powerbomb on who we THINK is Kurt before going for the cover. Referee Earl Hebner counts two before halting his count and the crowd has no idea what’s going on. Some people see Earl and automatically think “screwjob” all over again. But Earl saw Eric’s face and was smart enough to realize you can’t count a fall on someone if they aren’t even in the match. Kurt sneaks up behind Undertaker and rolls him up for the pin before high-tailing it out of the arena in hilarious fashion. Speaking of fashion, let us not speak of those pants ever again.
Team WWF (The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and The Big Show)
vs.
The Alliance (Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and Shane McMahon)
There is something inherently wrong with the parting image of what began as a WWF vs. WCW “war” being The Rock pinning Steve Austin. So goes the famously botched “invasion” of 2001, which culminated in this match at Survivor Series where the losing group would die off forever. Kurt Angle, who had defected to The Alliance weeks earlier, was a mole all along as he assisted Team WWF to victory. Best match on the show, but leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think of what might have been. Sigh.
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Big Show, WWE Championship
The very first “Elimination Chamber” match was on this show and was great for two reasons: (1) Shawn Michaels got one last run with the title, and (2) RVD nearly killed Triple H with a Frog Splash. Of course, RVD was eating burgers at WWE’s Times Square restaurant the following month during the next PPV, so maybe it wasn’t so great for him, but I digress. This right here was my favorite match. It was mostly comprised of Brock Lesnar (still a heel, mind you) tossing the 500-pound Big Show all over the ring at will and getting cheered at MSG like the biggest babyface since Hulk Hogan. He actually delivered a German Suplex and a Belly-to-Belly OVERHEAD Suplex to Big Show. Take a moment and let that sink in. This was also the first time Lesnar ever hoisted up Big Show to deliver his signature F5 slam, which was one of those moments where time seemed to stand still. It should still be on every WWE highlight reel for the next 50 years. If he would have pinned Show right there, it would have been the perfect finish. Of course, they had to go and fuck it up by having Paul Heyman turn on Brock and align with Big Show, who goes down as the man to hand Lesnar his very first defeat. Dumb finish aside, it wasn’t very long, but this was fantastic stuff.
Team Bischoff (Chris Jericho, Christian, Randy Orton, Scott Steiner, and Mark Henry)
vs.
Team Austin (HBK, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley)
This won’t be the only time in this list where I talk about how great Shawn Michaels was at wrestling psychology. That was on full display here, and as good as many of the other players in this match were, none were better than Michaels. The stipulation was that if Steve Austin’s team lost the match, he would leave WWE. So when it all came down to HBK, with Michaels wearing one of his best crimson masks, it was mesmerizing how he had the fans hanging on his every move. In the end, he could not overcome the odds (take notes Mr. Cena) and as a result, Steve Austin was forced to leave WWE forever! I guess forever in WWE time is 4 months since he was back as a referee at WrestleMania. This may have been the last, truly great Survivor Series elimination match.
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. Christian, Intercontinental Title
Here are two of the most under-utilized performers in WWE history. They went out there and had the best match on the show. What a surprise. They even gave them some decent time as this match went about 13 minutes or so. Keep that in mind when you consider they gave an Undertaker vs. Heidenreich match almost 16 minutes on the same show.
Triple H vs. Ric Flair, Last Man Standing
This is perhaps the best battle I’ve seen these two men have. The Greensboro match on Raw had more emotion, but this was simply a bloodbath. In fact, I’m pretty sure Ric Flair lost all of the blood in his body, which makes it all the more remarkable that he was able to function when this was over. Flair survived three Pedigrees, but the sledgehammer was too much and the King of Kings reigned supreme. You don’t see matches like this in WWE anymore, so if you’re a newer fan or simply a fan of the old school, check this out.
Mr. Kennedy vs. The Undertaker, First Blood Match
The amount of blood here pales in comparison (see what I did there) to how much we saw the year prior, but nothing compares to the absolutely SICK chairshot delivered by Undertaker to Kennedy after the match to get his heat back. It was difficult to watch back then, let alone now with everyone on concussion-watch 24/7. Ironically, as I write this, Ken Anderson is at home recovering from a severe concussion caused by an errant chairshot to the back of the head.
Randy Orton (c) vs. Shawn Michaels, WWE Championship
This was a one-man show starring Shawn Michaels. I suppose I’m not giving sufficient credit to Orton here, but the psychology in this one was masterful and it’s all because of HBK. Per the rules of the match, Michaels was not allowed to use his signature Superkick, yet he still went out there and had the match of the night. He took us on an emotional rollercoaster with his mannerisms, his pained facial expressions, the near falls, everything was done to perfection. There’s a reason Michaels himself has stated that this is one of his favorite matches of his entire career, and it’s a prime example of why the wrestling ring is a darker place for no longer having him in it.
Team HBK (Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Cryme Tyme and The Great Khali)
vs.
Team JBL (John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Kane, MVP, John Morrison and The Miz)
Nothing overly special about this match, but from top to bottom, it was a really well-worked Survivors match. If you’re into shock value, you probably liked Edge winning the WWE Title in the Triple Threat with Kozlov (really) and Triple H. If you’re a loyal resident of the CeNation, you likely enjoyed John Cena’s return title victory over Chris Jericho. Each irritated me in their own way, so they basically negated one another.
John Cena (c) v. Shawn Michaels v. Triple H, WWE Championship
Shameful. In a word, that describes this match. Not the match itself, which was actually really good, but the buildup to it. You may recall it involved a little, green midget and a shitload of comedy. Yes, because what better way to promote your PPV main event with three of your biggest stars than with JOKES. Sure enough, this show was such box office poison, it nearly resulted in the end of the Survivor Series name altogether. Best moment was easily HBK superkicking Triple H out of the ring at the very start, which caught pretty much everyone off guard. From there, it was your standard WWE Triple Threat formula, which is more like condensing three mini-matches into one, but what we did see was great stuff.
I must confess, after about Survivor Series 2002, my brain began to malfunction while trying to come up with worthy matches from the remaining 7 shows. For many of them, YouTube was a great refresher for me, but really, it’s indicative of a larger problem. For one thing, Survivor Series as a pay-per-view has lost much of its luster from the days in which it was conceived. The elimination tag bouts were something unique and became an annual tradition that people would look forward to. Now, WWE might toss one out there for nostalgia like they’re doing again this year, but the show has essentially become just another last minute, haphazardly-assembled PPV offering. Add to that, we’ve already seen multi-man elimination tag bouts at Summerslam and Bragging Rights this year. Secondly, there are so many hours of weekly WWE programming on TV these days that shows like Survivor Series, by design, cannot possibly mean as much as they once did. It’s simply the nature of the business now. When people think of the traditional “Big Four PPV’s”, if you had to pick one show that truly did not belong anymore, this would be the one. I’m happy Vince McMahon changed his mind and decided to stick with the Survivor Series moniker, for its rich history if nothing else, but when I take a step back, I can fully understand why he would have made the decision to axe it. When he said this show was obsolete, in many ways, he was right.
So what do you think of this list? What are YOUR favorite Survivor Series matches and moments? Let your voices be heard in the comments section below!
Ticketmaster.com is advertising two matches for Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view that have yet to be officially announced by WWE.
Advertised for the event is an Intercontinental Championship bout between Dolph Ziggler and Kaval. This match was made official at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings, where Kaval announced he’d be cashing in his open title shot (from winning NXT Season 2) against Ziggler on Sunday.
Also advertised by Ticketmaster is Daniel Bryan defending the United States Championship against Ted DiBiase.
With those matches set, here’s the updated card for Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series PPV:
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett (with John Cena as the special guest referee)
Should Barrett win, Cena is freed from The Nexus. Should Barrett lose, Cena is fired from WWE.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge vs. Kane (c)
WWE Divas Championship Match
Natalya vs. Michelle McCool and Layla (c)
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (c)
Survivor Series Elimination Match
Rey Mysterio, Big Show, MVP, Kofi Kingston and Chris Masters vs. Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and Tyler Reks
Sheamus vs. John Morrison
WWE Survivor Series 2010
Several new matches were added to Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on this week’s RAW. Here’s the updated card:
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett (with special guest referee John Cena)
(If Barrett wins the WWE title, Cena is free to leave Nexus. If Barrett does not win the WWE title, Cena is gone from WWE)
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kane (c) vs. Edge
WWE Tag Team Title Match
Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel (c) vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov
Survivor Series Elimination Match
Rey Mysterio, Big Show, MVP, Kofi Kingston and Chris Masters vs. Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and Tyler Reks
Sheamus vs. John Morrison
WWE Divas Championship Match
Michelle McCool (c) vs. Natalya
BE HERE on Sunday, November 21st for our LIVE COVERAGE of WWE Survivor Series!
– Local advertising in Miami, Florida is hyping that Kane will defend the World Heavyweight title against Edge at Survivor Series on November 21st.
– RAW Diva Melina is not very popular with WWE officials recently, according to f4wonline.com. No word yet on what caused the heat on her.
– SEScoops reader Carl Dantes sent in the following up date on Shawn Michaels:
Shawn Michaels and Keith Mark of MacMillan River Adventures will be at Devils Lake, North Dakota all week filming an episode for The Outdoor Adventure Foundation, Inc. They will also be hunting with a few children and young adults with cancer and other life threatening illness and disabled veterans.
Check Out: Shawn Michaels & Wife Appearing On Hunting Show (Pictures)