Richard Reacts To Last Night's WWE Survivor Series Pay-Per-View

Last night WWE delivered in a big way with their Survivor Series pay-per-view. No matter how good or bad things are going in WWE I think that everyone always looks forward to Survivor Series based on the fact that it is a “big four” pay-per-view. I don’t say this often but I felt like last night’s pay-per-view was worth my time and money (granted I split to PPV cost with Ryan, but I still had $20 at stake) to watch. The return of Edge in the Hell in a Cell made for entertaining television as the show was dominated with some very solid wrestling throughout. There were some things that I could have done without (the Divas match) but there was a lot that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you are a WWE fan this show is a must-see, if you missed it, I would suggest checking out the replay.

I applaud WWE anytime that they open a show with a title match and that is what they did last night. Opening things up with CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison was not only a way to get the crowd going early but it was a way to finally get Joey Styles welcome us to a pay-per-view, sometime that I feel like he deserved. The match in itself was nothing spectacular, but it had some very solid spots. Say what you want about Miz and Morrison but Punk can sell moves and sell them well. Everything he did in this match was solid and when a guy like Punk comes out and works this hard to start the event I think it gets everyone in the back fired up. I’m glad WWE didn’t jump and put the title back on Morrison (quite frankly I feel like his gimmick is extremely boring) but I’m also glad that they let Punk pin Miz instead of playing out one of the other scenarios.

The 10 Diva Tag Team match was a disaster just as I expected. I don’t understand the point of this match. If WWE is going to use divas with minimal wrestling ability (Layla, Kelly Kelly) then they need to make it a gimmick match and sell it as sex appeal. If they want to do something as far as wrestling is concerned they need to showcase their premiere talent such as Beth Phoenix and Mickie James. There is no way to go in-between and that is what WWE tried to do with this bout. I felt bad for Melina who slipped on her ring entrance, but the whole split isn’t near as sexy with her new ring attire.

Cody Rhodes is on his way to becoming a successful superstar in WWE. WWE Creative makes a lot of bonehead decisions but the way that they are booking Rhodes is right on point with how I feel it should be. I felt like it was too early to put the World Tag Championships on Rhodes and Holly but I loved how well the match flowed. Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch have proved that they can work and this match was a lot of fun to watch. Rhodes hit an incredible dropkick during this one, he almost reminded me of Randy Orton when he connected.

The backstage promo with Team Triple H was funny. I loved how WWE referenced the past, even bringing up the Katie Vick angle with Kane. I cringed at the thought of the storyline but I thought it was humorous to bring it up. Triple H’s DX type humor made for an interesting segment that I thought was a good lead-in to the bout.

The Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match was good up until the finish that I didn’t understand. There were good spots throughout this one, Rey Mysterio really shined when he used his quickness to oppose Umaga. Mysterio proves every pay-per-view how special of a talent that he is but the way that he was able to work with someone as big as Umaga and make it look believable is remarkable and speaks volumes about him as performer. I enjoyed Triple H’s work against Kennedy but Finlay vs. The Game really stood out. It was mentioned in the bout that it was the first time the two had ever faced off and Finlay proved even at his age that he is one of the better workers in WWE. The finish to this match really made me scratch my head. Team Triple H is immediately the underdog going in a man down but how are they able to “overcome the odds” and not only win the match, but win the match with Jeff Hardy and Triple H both surviving? I was expecting some kind of swerve with Matt Hardy being off of the match but didn’t get it. I guess I expected the match to be dominated by Team Umaga and cleaned out at the end by Triple H, creative surprised me and went with a finish that didn’t make a lot of sense.

Before Hornswoggle vs. The Great Khali, Vince McMahon cut a backstage promo that I found to be very risky. I know McMahon doesn’t care what he says but when he said that he had went up against the US Government before and won and may have to go up against them again, I was stunned. Why would McMahon put more heat on himself than there already is? I know controversy creates cash but that comment was arrogant and not very smart. I feel like the last people that I would want to piss off is the US Government, but what do I know?

Like most of you, I was dreading Hornswoggle vs. The Great Khali. I hate when WWE takes up pay-per-view time for pointless gimmick matches, so I went into this one irritated. It didn’t last long and I liked the fact that they used Finlay even though it didn’t make any sense. I’m not sure where they plan on going with the Horny angle but it’s getting lame. I understand why WWE went to comedy with the angle once Kennedy was suspended but it’s gone on too long. It’s too bad Kennedy got suspended when he did as I felt like this angle could have legitimized him as a major player in WWE. Did anyone else notice the smartass laugh that Michael Cole let off when JBL told him that Hornswoggle was a former Cruiserweight Champion? Was he laughing at WWE creative for putting the title on Horny or was he laughing because Cruiserweights don’t mean anything in WWE?

Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels put on another good match. Orton is a legitimate Champion as far as his work in the ring is concerned. Some of his promos do come off as forced and he isn’t the most charismatic guy around but I really like the way he handles himself in the ring. Orton delivers a dropkick with so much precision it is one of the best if not the best in all of professional wrestling. I liked all of the true wrestling holds that Michaels did in the match and at times though he was actually going to make Orton pass out. I was surprised and a little upset when Michaels hooked Orton in the Crossface as I was even hesitant to type it into the live coverage. I couldn’t help but get some pretty bad thoughts in my head when Michaels locked it but hopefully that is something that will heal in time. I enjoyed Michaels using the Sharpshooter just for the anniversary sake and felt like the match ended the way it should with Orton going over the Heart Break Kid. WWE kept the feud going with HBK hitting Sweet Chin Music on his way out of the ring.

The Hell in a Cell stole the show. Up until this point I felt like the show was solid but not really worth $40, but I knew that Undertaker and Batista would work hard. Batista and Undertaker didn’t disappoint and had a very physical and believable match. I like how there was blood and how Edge showed up to “screw” the finish for a good ending. There were some spots that were so physical and stiff I really thought Undertaker was legitimately hurt, especially those involving the ring steps. Undertaker’s Tombstone on Batista in the ring on the ring steps was incredible and proved he is still one of the elite. If you do not watch the rest of the show make sure you see this match. This match had everything that a wrestling fan desires and is worth going out of your way to see it.

All in all Survivor Series was a good pay-per-view that should satisfy most WWE fans. There were some things that it could have done without as I noted above but the event delivered on so many other aspects it made it very enjoyable. If you are a marginal fan you may not want to fork out the cash for the replay but if you are a WWE fan it is a must-see.

Richard can be contacted at richard [at] grayinternet.com

Richard Gray is a professional wrestling journalist and frequent contributor to Rajah.com. He has been covering the world of professional wrestling since 1999 and has had the opportunity to cover ground breaking stories such as the demise of ECW, the WCW buyout, the Benoit tragedy, and more. For more on Richard check out his web site at WrestlingNewsWorld.com.