wrestling / Video Reviews
Hall’s WWE Survivor Series 2014 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Survivor Series 2014
Date: November 23, 2014
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 12,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield
So this is kind of a big one as it’s time for the Authority’s fate to be decided. The main event is the traditional Survivor Series match with Team Cena facing Team Authority. If Cena and company win, the Authority loses…well, authority, but if Cena and company loses, everyone on the team, save for Cena himself, is fired. Quite the stakes so let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Fandango vs. Justin Gabriel
Rosa Mendes is here with Fandango and dances before the match. The arena appears to be mostly empty, with far more empty seats than fans, making me wonder why they didn’t just wait another fifteen minutes to do this match (or just drop it altogether). Fandango knocks him down to start and take sit outside for a drop onto the apron. Back in and Fandango sends him into the corner but Gabriel gets in a springboard kick to the face. The top rope Lionsault connects but Fandango clotheslines him back down. A Crash Landing sets up the Last Dance to give Fandango the pin at 3:20.
Rating: C. The idea here was to show that Fandango was back and possibly new and improved, which is something that has worked for so many years. Fandango is someone who had the athleticism, but there is only so much you can do with that much of an over the top gimmick. Gabriel could have been any warm body here and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
Kickoff Show: Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro
Swagger has Zeb Colter with him. Before the match, Cesaro talks about how important it has been for Switzerland to stay neutral over the years…but tonight he’s making the smart choice by picking the Authority. He goes to say it in five languages, but Swagger cuts him off. Colter and Swagger pick Team Cena tonight and accuse Cesaro of brown nosing. They go with the grappling to start, with Cesaro getting in a gutwrench suplex. The double stomp is countered into the Patriot Lock but Cesaro sends him into the corner to escape.
We hit the chinlock and Cesaro grinds away a good while (well, a good while in a short Kickoff Show match). Swagger fights up and grabs a German suplex, followed by a kind of powerslam. The Vader Bomb is blocked but Swagger reverses the counter into another Patriot Lock. That’s reversed as well and Cesaro rolls some German suplexes. Swagger is back up though and reverses into the Patriot Lock for the tap at 5:35.
Rating: C+. Good enough here, with Swagger getting a win in a quite the rarity. Swagger is someone who could have been a bigger deal but the World Title reign put him on a level he wasn’t ready for and it never really worked otherwise. Cesaro was in the same spot he would stay around for years, which was quite frustrating more than once.
The opening video focuses on the main event, as set up by Vince McMahon. No other matches are even mentioned and…well, why would they be?
Here is Vince McMahon to bring out the Authority for an opening chat. They waste no time in sucking up to Vince but he calls them off to bring out John Cena. Vince recaps the stakes and Cena asks if he’ll have to throw the Authority out if they lose tonight. HHH mocks Cena, saying he’s going to be responsible for a lot of people losing their jobs tonight. Then those people will be ignored and forgotten about.
Cena’s teammates have everything to lose. Stephanie makes it clear that they’ll be running the show from Connecticut, even if they’re not here. Stephanie: “Isn’t that right dad?” Apparently not, as they’ll have desk jobs and that’s about it, which has Stephanie looking a lot more worried. Actually Vince has changed the contract, saying that only Cena can bring the Authority back. Stephanie likes this and says it gives her team more incentive to win. Cena says there is no chance of that happening. This was very long.
With that, we’re sixteen minutes into the show. Why that opening segment couldn’t have been done on Raw is beyond me, but I’d guess a big need of filler.
Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Goldust/Stardust vs. Damien Mizdow/Miz vs. Los Matadores
Goldust/Stardust are defending and this is one fall to a finish. Stardust and Fernando start things off but Miz runs in for a quick rollup. Miz is pulled over the ropes so Mizdow does a flip of his own, fulfilling his stunt double requirements. Jimmy comes in to work on Fernando’s arm before Jey gets to grab a headlock. Jey gets tossed outside so Stardust can grab a gordbuster.
The fans want Mizdow but Stardust is having none of that, instead stomping away on Jey. That’s broken up and it’s finally off to Mizdow, but Goldust tags himself back in to stomp on Diego. Stardust explains that the fans want him instead of Mizdow before sunset flipping Goldust, which sends Diego flying off a German suplex.
Back up and Diego gets over to Jimmy for the tag and house is cleaned, with Jey coming in to help fire off the superkicks. Fernando breaks up the double dives though and Goldust’s powerslam gets two on Jey. The Usos are sent to the floor and Stardust hits the Falling Star, followed by El Torito being thrown onto the pile. Back in and we get something like a Tower Of Doom, followed by Jey’s Superfly Splash. Miz tags himself in though, only for Mizdow to do the same and steal the pin and the titles at 15:24.
Rating: C+. There were good parts of the match, but as usual it got a bit too clogged up. With so many people involved and a lot of time, they had a lot of spots of people just coming and going. At the same time, the fans wanted Mizdow to do well here and he got the win and the titles so it couldn’t have gone much better.
Adam Rose (Remember him?) and the Bunny play with toys and agree to settle their differences in a match with them. The Bunny wins but Slater Gator come in to mock them. A tag match is made for later.
Team Natalya vs. Team Paige
Natalya, Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi
Paige, Cameron, Layla, Summer Rae
Survivor Series match. Paige takes Natalya down to start and Natalya is back up with some knees to the ribs. Commentary ignores the match to talk about Jerry Lawler’s horrible teams over the years. Emma comes in to roll Layla up as Lawler tries to figure out if cordless phones still exist. Paige comes back in for some hard knees to Emma in the ropes and it’s Cameron coming in to screech a lot.
The fans want Mizdow but settle for Cameron hitting a splits legdrop into a double arm crank on Emma. That’s broken up and it’s off to Naomi for a high crossbody. Everything breaks down and Naomi rolls Cameron up for the elimination at 6:16. Naomi hits a quick splash and it’s off to Fox for a triple crossbody. Fox suplexes Layla for two and hits a quick tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for the elimination at 9:30 to make it 4-2.
Natalya comes in with the discus lariat to Rae but Paige gets in a cheap shot from the apron. The Emmamite Sandwich crushes Rae in the corner and the dancing Emma Lock gets rid of Rae at 12:03. Paige is left alone and gets suplexed hard. The Rear View and a hammerlock driver finishes for Naomi at 14:35 to complete the sweep.
Rating: D+. The fact that I forgot who was on which team multiple times shows you the issues with this era for the women’s division. They’re trying hard and there were good spots in there, but it’s just a bunch of stuff happening with little in the way of flow or structure. The idea of Paige being left alone was fine, but the division clearly needed a relaunch, which was coming next year in a huge way.
Tyson Kidd gets up on the ropes to celebrate. You might not have known he was there as he didn’t do anything, which is the entire point. The winners dance in celebration.
We look back at the return of Fandango on the Kickoff Show.
The Kickoff Panel talks about the main event.
We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt. Ambrose was facing Seth Rollins in the Cell when Wyatt interfered to cost Ambrose the match. Now Ambrose is back to get revenge, partially because Wyatt kept bringing up Ambrose’s father being in prison. This didn’t sit well with Ambrose and they’re fighting tonight.
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
They go right to the brawl to start (shocking I know) and Wyatt is knocked out to the floor early on. Ambrose hits a shot off the apron to drop Wyatt again but he’s able to send Ambrose into the steps. Wyatt crushes Ambrose’s hand on the steps and then elbows him in the face back inside. Some right hands put Ambrose on the floor again, where a double clothesline drops both of them.
Back in and Ambrose wins a slugout and hits a bulldog, followed by a mockery of the upside down pose. Ambrose knocks him down again and goes up, where he knocks Wyatt off the top. The top rope elbow is cut off but Ambrose’s Rebound Lariat is countered into a release Rock Bottom for two. Ambrose is right back up with the top rope standing elbow (Lawler and JBL LOVE that one) for two but Wyatt hits one of the hardest clotheslines I’ve seen in a good while to cut him off.
The release Rock Bottom onto the steps drops Ambrose again and Wyatt appears to be crying. He grabs a mic and asks why it has to be like this. They could have ruled the world together because they’re special. Wyatt grabs a chair and throws it to Ambrose before dropping to his knees ala the John Cena match. Wyatt: “PUNISH ME!” Ambrose does indeed hit him with the chair for the DQ at 14:01.
Rating: C+. They didn’t bother with the wrestling part for the most part here and that’s what it should have been. The idea here was to go with the violence and carnage, which is where they both tend to shine. The ending was absolutely set up for the rematch and while annoying, they gave me enough of a tease that I wanted to see them go even further.
Post match Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds onto the chair. Wyatt is put on a table with Ambrose elbowing him through it. Another table is put over Wyatt and Ambrose beats on it with a chair. Ambrose throws in a bunch more chairs before grabbing a ladder. Said ladder (and it’s a big one) is set up and Ambrose poses on top to wrap it up. Did I mention Tables, Ladders And Chairs was next month?
The Authority gives their team a pep talk. They get rather serious, talking about how if the members are champions (Luke Harper and Rusev), they won’t be for very long, but if they aren’t, they never will be. This is everything for them, so be ready.
The Bunny/Adam Rose vs. Slater Gator
Rose orders the Bunny into the corner, allowing Slater to hit a side kick for two. Slater comes in for some backbreakers but Rose avoids a charge in the corner. The Bunny comes in for some dancing, followed by a middle rope dropkick for the pin at 2:35. Rose leaving his hand out for the tag and having a stunned look on his face is hilarious.
The Bunny does the Trust Fall and leaves with the Rosebuds as Rose is still stunned.
Roman Reigns joins us via satellite as he’s recovering from an injury. If he was there, he would cock his fist and make it rain in that b****. Whenever he gets back, he wants to get his hands on Seth Rollins and that should be back around this time next month. The fans are…moderately interested.
Team Cena confirms that they’re ready. Erick Rowan does a Rubik’s Cube while wearing his sheep mask.
Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
Bella, with Brie Bella, who is her servant, is challenging. The bell rings, Brie gets on the apron and kisses AJ, allowing Nikki to forearm AJ down. The Rack Attack gives Nikki the title at 34 seconds. Brie is VERY happy to help her sister after hating working for her for weeks.
Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt are set for a TLC match at TLC.
Long recap of the main event, which is basically the Authority wants to run everything, Cena and company are fighting back, let’s have a match, as per Vince McMahon’s decision.
Team Authority vs. Team Cena
Authority: Seth Rollins, Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, Rusev
Cena: John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, Big Show, Ryback
HHH and Stephanie McMahon give their team one more pep talk…and Henry charges into the WMD to give Show the pin at 50 seconds. Harper offers a distraction on the floor and it’s Rollins trying to come in. Show chops him out of the air and brings in Rowan, who is ready to face Harper, but Rollins tags himself back in. Rollins is taken into the wrong corner and Ryback comes in to power him into various corners.
Kane comes in and gets Thesz pressed, followed by a splash to give Ryback one. Rusev comes in and gets caught with the Meathook but the Shell Shock is broken up, allowing Kane to boot Ryback in the face. Everything breaks down and Rollins Stomps Ryback, setting up the Machka Kick to give Rusev the pin at 8:11.
Rusev hammers on Show and Harper grabs the gator roll but Show powers out again. Ziggler comes in to pick up the pace but Kane side slams him down for a chinlock. Some hard knees to the ribs and a fall away slam give Rusev two and he plants Ziggler again but everything breaks down.
We hit the parade of knockdowns and Rollins is backdropped over the top onto a bunch of people. Rusev powerbombs Ziggler onto the same pile and Rusev puts him onto the announcers’ table. A big splash misses and Rusev crashes through, with Ziggler beating the count so Rusev is counted out at 21:02 (of note: Cole was another level of annoying here, saying the same lines two or three times in a row for the entire sequence). Back in and Cena cleans house on Kane but Harper breaks it up. Rowan comes in Rollins knees him in the face, allowing Harper to hit a heck of a discus lariat for the pin at 24:14.
Then Show turns (?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!) on Cena with the WMD and Rollins gets the pin at 25:11. Show shakes HHH’s hand and, as the legal man, walks out at 26:30. We’re down to Ziggler vs. Kane/Rollins/Harper and Ziggler is mostly done. Stephanie’s over the top celebration is rather hilarious, including her horrible dancing as Cena leaves. Back in and Ziggler manages to knock Kane backwards, setting up a high crossbody. A quick Zig Zag gives Ziggler the pin to get rid of Kane at 29:35.
Harper comes in and kicks Ziggler down for two, followed by a nasty sitout powerbomb for two. Ziggler is back up and manages a rollup (with jeans) for the pin on Harper at 31:35, leaving us with Ziggler vs. Rollins. They quickly head outside with Rollins hammering away but Ziggler is back in with a DDT for two (with HHH jumping onto the apron). Rollins’ buckle bomb gets the same but he misses the Stomp, allowing Ziggler to hit a Fameasser for two. J&J Security come in but Ziggler fights them off, setting up the Zig Zag for two.
HHH pulls the referee and Ziggler beats up J&J, with Stephanie being knocked off the apron and onto HHH. Rollins is back up with another buckle bomb, but Ziggler hits another Zig Zag. There’s no referee so a second comes in, only to have HHH cut him off. HHH hammers on Ziggler and hits a Pedigree, with Rollins being put on top. Another referee comes in….and we have crow noises.
Then, in one of the biggest surprises in a LONG time, STING actually shows up in WWE after about thirteen years of waiting after the end of WCW. HHH and Sting have the big staredown until HHH swings, earning himself a Scorpion Death Drop. Sting puts Ziggler on top of Rollins (as they’ve been out cold for at least five minutes) and the pin at 43:05.
Rating: B+. It’s weird to have a show built around one match and that one match be built around pretty much one moment and it worked pretty well. Having Sting, as in the one last big name to never show up here, of all people arrive was huge and my goodness the place went nuts. The rest of the match worked well enough with Ziggler in the Shawn Michaels role, including being mostly done for a LONG time while the big segment was going on. It was meant to be the big focal point of the show and that was a success.
Post match Cena comes out to hug Ziggler and HHH and Stephanie realize what is going on. Stephanie loses her mind of course and screams that it’s not over and she doesn’t accept it to end the show. And then it wouldn’t really matter as Cena had to bring the Authority back in about a month anyway and most of his partners were fired, only to be brought back to make the whole thing a big waste of time.
Results
Fandango b. Justin Gabriel – Last Dance
Jack Swagger b. Cesaro – Patriot Lock
Miz/Damien Mizdow b. Goldust/Stardust, Los Matadores and Usos – Superfly Splash to Goldust
Team Natalya b. Team Paige last eliminating Paige
Bray Wyatt b. Dean Ambrose via DQ when Ambrose used a chair
The Bunny/Adam Rose b. Slater Gator – Middle rope dropkick to Slater
Nikki Bella b. AJ Lee – Rack Attack
Team Cena b. Team Authority last eliminating Seth Rollins
