wrestling / TV Reports
Csonka’s WWE Survivor Series 2014 Review
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As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.
“FOR ONLY $9.99 MICHAEL!”
WWE Survivor Series 11.23.14
OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Tag Team Title Match: Miz and Sandow defeated Usos, Goldust and Stardust © and Los Matadores @ 15:20 via pin to become the new champions [**¾]
~ Team Natalya defeated Team Paige @ 14:30 via pin [**]
~ Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose @ 14:00 via DQ [***¼]
~ Adam Rose and The Bunny defeated Slater Gator @ 2:30 via pin [NR Under Three Minutes Long]
~ Divas Title Match: Nikki Bella defeated AJ Lee © @ 0:30 via pin to become the new champion [NR Under Three Minutes Long]
~ Team Cena defeated Team Authority @ 43:00 via pin [****]
Opening PPV Talky Bit: Listen, we all know my feelings on the show opening talking. I dislike it on TV, and I loathe it on PPV. This was a segment that they either A) should have run on Raw to add some spice to the build or B) advertised Vince appearing on the pre-show to draw people to that. It would have been better than the “reintroduction” of Fandango or Swagger vs. Cesaro part 75. Like most of these segments, it served a purpose, but comes off as the same old same old because they do it all the damn time.
Tag Team Title Match: I actually like all four teams involved, they are different and can entertain. I was looking forward to the match a lot, but felt it underachieved a bit. It felt sluggish and slow in the bad way in the middle. The beginning felt solid, but then it just felt slow because they were stretching what was likely a good 11-minute plan into 15. The ending part was well done and picked up the pace, which was appreciated, but I had hoped for more. They continued the tease all match long with Sandow not getting into the match, which was done well. My thought was that is Miz and Sandow won it had to be Sandow winning to infuriate Miz, who would then take all the credit. The crowd loved Sandow, they loved that he won and Miz looked pissed. He then took both titles and celebrated while Sandow had to pantomime in the other corner. So we had a good overall match, I liked the title change and felt that the Miz/Sandow dynamic played out well so it ended up as a good combo platter to open the show as far as the in ring goes.
Team Natalya vs. Team Paige: I felt that the Divas match was a solid outing. It had some hiccups at times, and similar to the opener felt a little long. I was glad to see the ladies get some actual time, but you have to make sure that they have the tools (match layout) to go that long. Some hiccups and some stalling held back my enjoyment of this a bit. Also, I have no issue with the face team doing the clean sweep here. I know some felt that it “buried” Paige, but she was left alone and allowing Naomi to look good and get some momentum was needed to get some fresh momentum on someone new in the division. Again, not bad and at times pretty entertaining, but it could have benefited from losing a few minutes.
Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose: Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose, by DQ on this show, and I felt that they showed that they can work together pretty well. Thankfully they worked this match like there was some hate and drama, with Ambrose attacking right at the bell, no lock up shit because he hates this man. That’s the kind of thing I can appreciate. The DQ was caused by Wyatt bringing a chair into the ring, and Ambrose using it and then destroying him with chairs, tables and burying him under them and standing tall on a ladder. They clearly were setting the stage for TLC, and that was confirmed latter when WWE announced that they would face off in a TLC match on that show. The match was good, and they set up next month so I really don’t have a lot of complaints with this.
Adam Rose and The Bunny vs. Slater Gator: This match was added to the show when the teams involved had a backstage segment involving a WWE toy shill segment. Yup, they were filling time. The wrestling wasn’t very good, and this was all about causing more drama between Rose and the Bunny. The Bunny got the win and got carried away by the Exotic Express while Adam Rose looked sad. This was nothing but a filler segment, which would have been better placed on TV. The set up was horrible. This really should have been in the “death spot” because the crowd always reacts in some way to the Adam Rose entrance/exit. Also it was a late bullshit addition that no one cares about. Nikki vs. AJ should have had a better position, whether it was short or not.
Divas Title Match: I know a lot of people didn’t seem to like this, but I actually did. As much as I can dislike quick title changes, I think I get what they are doing. Brie is almost free from being Nikki’s slave for 30 days. I have theorized in the build to the PPV that Brie would actually help Nikki win the title to make her sister happy. Brie isn’t turning heel, because in a few days she’s free and can then go back after Nikki, only now Nikki has the title. Brie can now fight not only for revenge, but also for the title. Did it involve a completely awkward diva on diva kiss, yes, but I think its part of a bigger story. Also the call back to AJ kissing D-Bry and him losing to Sheamus in 18-seconds was actually well done by commentary. Since they were forced into the death spot, they at least kept it quick and as long as they follow up on it properly, I don’t have a problem with what they did.
Team Cena vs. Team Authority – Sting Debuts: This main event wasn’t perfect, but I felt that they did more right than wrong here and overall I enjoyed the last hour of the show. There was a lot of overbooking with all of the shenanigans, and that was expected going into the match with the big stipulations that were set for it. As long as you do not do this all the time, and wait for something big like this, i can roll with overbooking and shenanigans. I liked the Big Show turn, it will keep Cena preoccupied until Rumble and also played into the mind games that the Authority played on team Cena. He thought that they were in trouble, and decided to bail and save his ass, and I can roll with that. Also, team Cena wins he is safe, but has to deal with the people he turned on. Authority wins and he’s golden, he played both sides. Cena being taken out early was also good, since we got the focus on Ziggler. The fans have wanted it and they got it and responded well to him fighting for his life. I felt that they did a great job with Ziggler, sure you have to suspend your disbelief a bit as he overcomes Kane and Harper, but I am willing to do that because it was entertaining and told a good story. They have been so hot and cold with Ziggler, but this was a great night for him. You HAVE to follow up with him. The guy stays over with shitty booking, but the performance was great and needs to be built off of. If they make the mistake not to, then he was just the guy to take a beating. You have to take the chances to make stars, and Ziggler worked hard and connected with the crowd again, take the chance.
And then there’s Sting. Sting was always labeled the conscience of WCW, always fighting for what was right. The Authority is running wild on WWE forever a year, screwing people over and over again. Sting makes the big debut; he stops the evil that is Triple H and leaves. The stand off, while maybe a bit long, was received well and felt like a big moment. So much for the people that said that WWE fans won’t know who he is. I felt that they did a good payoff with ending the Authority angle, and introducing Sting. Hell, they chanted “this is awesome” for their standoff. The fact that they got the big reaction played into the overall package of the angle and the story that they were telling in the match. Overall this was a very good main event presentation, and coming out of this we could easy get the following:
~Cena vs. Show
~Harper vs. Rowan
~Ziggler vs. Rollins
~And eventually Triple H vs. Sting
* End scene.
* Thanks for reading.
I did like the tag title change and stuff that they are doing with Sandow and Miz, the dynamic is good and feels fun. I liked the Divas title change. AJ felt stale, and while I don’t think that Nikki and Brie will bring new life, it makes sense coming out of the slave storyline. Naomi had a really good showing, and hopefully they can get ready to position her to be a player in the division. Also I enjoyed Wyatt vs. Ambrose and the fact that they locked them into a TLC match already. It was simple and made sense.
Finally I felt they did a lot of good work with the main event. The match was good, the story was good; we got the debut of Sting and the end of the Authority’s reign of terror and several potential matches coming out of it. Also you have another chance to really get behind Ziggler after another great performance and the reaction from the crowd.
The early part of the show was a bit slow and under whelming, but the main event paid off well and secured a good rating for the show. It delivered where it needed to, but I’d hope that they don’t get into the habit of putting on one match shows, because not every show will have a great performance and or surprise to pull a mediocre event into a good show. But that’s just my opinion.
