WWE Survivor Series 2011 Review
November 21, 2011
By Ricky Dozan
Survivor Series had a tremendous build up, and great hype behind it this year. Mainly because of the fact that The Rock was involved in the event. It was his first time wrestling in over 7 years. He was obviously a huge draw, and as a result, WWE drew a very high pay-per-view buyrate. Anyhow, below are the results from the big event.
Dolph Ziggler vs John Morrison - United States Championship
On the same level of their match on Raw a few weeks ago, this was a really cool way to kick off a PPV. Morrison didn't really have a chance, but it was still fun to watch. The fans were chanting for Ryder throughout the match, and it got annoying after awhile. This didn't seem to affect Ziggler and he keeps hold of his US belt after a Zig-Zag. Ryder comes out to a huge pop and attacks Ziggler after the bell.
6/10
Eve vs Beth Phoenix - Diva's Championship - Lumberjill Match
Eve's pretty terrible in the ring, and her execution of moves is atrocious. Beth carried her to a satisfactory match. I was originally going to rate this a 3.5, but the sweet Avalanche Glam Slam made me boost it up to a decent rating of 4. I'll give Eve respect for taking that dangerous move. Oh, and the Lumberjill stipulation played no part in the match at all.
4/10
Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, Sheamus & Sin Cara vs Wade Barrett, Hunico, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler - Traditional Survivor Series Match
I found this hard to care about because, much like last year's Survivor Series match, this match was just thrown together to get some guys on the card. This match also suffered from a terrible beginning. Sin Cara did a somersault over the ropes and hurt his ankle. He was taken out of the match and there was an awkward atmosphere going on in the ring. The heels dominated the match and it looked like the stereotypical 'good guy overcomes the odds' ending, with Orton defeating all the heels, but it wasn't to be. Barrett and Rhodes managed to beat Orton when the numbers game proved to much for Orton. The heels going over the single dominant face was a nice change for once. Despite it's awkward first 10 minutes, the match was pretty good. Much better that last year's match.
6/10
Big Show vs Mark Henry - World Heavyweight Championship
This match had the same formula as their last two PPV bouts, but I'm not complaining. The Madison Square Garden didn't seem too pleased with this match though. There were some loud 'boring' chants, which I found to be quite disrespectful. The crowd did get into the match near the end though. Show and Henry crashed though the barricades and the crowd exploded. From here on out, they were into this match. We got to see Big Show do a top rope elbow too. The match ended with a DQ finish when Henry low blowed Big Show. Weak finish, but good match. Expect this feud to continue.
6/10
CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio - WWE Championship
Two of the best in-ring workers in the WWE today, so you know this is going to be good. Plus, we got a cameo of Howard Finkel too. Del Rio works down Punk's arm for most of the match and Punk sells it perfectly, so it doesn't feel like Del Rio's control segments are just filler and a waste of time. The last five minutes are very back and forth and left me on the edge of my seat. Punk gets the win with the Anaconda Vice. The ending with Punk celebrating with the crowd felt like a real feel-good moment. The crowd was dying to see Punk win the title, and it would've been odd if he hadn't. He's extremely popular now, and it makes complete sense for him to finally receive a proper reign with the title.
8/10
John Cena & The Rock vs The Awesome Truth
It's great to seeThe Rock back in the ring and it doesn't seem like he's got any ring rust at all. He has even added quite a few new moves to his arsenal. The crowd atmosphere throughout the match was overwhelming. When Awesome Truth took control of the match and worked down Cena, the match took a bad turn. It wasn't very interesting and everyone in the arena was just waiting for Rock to be tagged in. When he finally got the tag, he puts them away with the first People's Elbow in 7 years. This did burry The Awesome Truth, but they aren't the stars of the show here. The match wasn't brilliant, but it was good to see Rock in the ring. This did a great job to build hype for WrestleMania 28.
6.5/10
Overall:
The second best PPV of 2011 behind Money in the Bank of course. Not a single bad match on the card. The crowd was explosive, and almost everyone got some sort of reaction. The PPV had a very solid build up as well; both thumbs up for Survivor Series 2011.