wrestling / TV Reports
Tremendous Tirades 11.24.13: WWE Survivor Series 2013
Introduction
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.
WWE SURVIVOR SERIES 2013
Survivor Series Match: Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Antonio Cesaro, and Jack Swagger vs. Cody Rhodes, Goldust, The Uso Brothers, and Rey Mysterio: To be completely honest with you, this was the match I was looking forward too the most on the show. Everyone (minus Rey because he hasn’t been around) has been working hard lately and delivering good to great matches. They have also worked together a lot for the past few months, and have developed a lot of chemistry. The match is also idea for bringing Rey back, because they can protect him, and he can take it easy and play the hits to please the crowd. Judging from the booking of Smackdown, I could see the heels going over. They could likely use this as a showcase for Reigns, who they are high on, similar to how they did for Orton. The teamwork of the Real Americans seems to improve on a weekly basis, maybe not important to some, but I wanted to say it, because those guys have worked hard to become a real team. The Usos got good spots early, Cesaro got to swing both Usos, and Rey did some of the hits. The faces eliminated Ambrose, Cesaro and Swagger, making me feel good about my Reigns theory. It did filter down to Reigns vs. Rey and Goldust at the end Reigns would prevail as the sole survivor. It should be noted that he also got great crowd reactions for using the spear to eliminate each guy, especially the finish. Overall this was a very good was to kick off the PPV. Lots of good action, very little down time, and the showcase of Roman Reigns went off very well. Also, I have no issue with the Ambrose elimination being first and so soon. They have teased Ambrose being cocky about still being a champion, and Reigns showing disapproval, that elimination was important to the Reigns story being told. I do hope that they take their time with him and do not pull the trigger too soon. He still needs seasoning, but has a ton of potential. Again, this was a good way to kick off the PPV; a good match and a well told story with Reigns. I love that I get to type this next statement, “THE WWE TAG TEAM DIVISION CONTINUES TO DELIVER!”
Match Rating: ***¾
IC Title Match: Big E Langston © vs. Curtis Axel : This is the old immediate rematch following Langston taking the title on Raw. The crowds hate Axel, and not in the good pro wrestling way, they want him to go away. They seriously need to get Langston away from him as soon as possible. Langston won, as he should have, in a fine but forgettable match. Langston they got to cut a post match promo, playing to the crowd shamelessly, straight from the Mick Foley “Cheap Pop” playbook”.
Match Rating: **
Survivor Series Match: AJ Lee, Tamina, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, Aksana, Kaitlyn & Rosa Mendes vs. Nikki Bella, Brie Bells, Cameron, Naomi, Natalya, Eva Marie & JoJo: This was pretty much what you would have expected from this match. Tons of quick eliminations, leading to AJ and Tamina left on the regular Divas team to face Natalya, Jo Jo and Nikki Bella. People are apparently watching Total Divas, because they hated Eva Marie. Tamina destroyed Jo Jo, allowing AJ to pin her, and leaving Natalya alone. She overcame the odds, with some help by Nikki taking out an already eliminated Tamina when she tried to attack, and won the match. I would imagine that gives Natalya a title match at the next PPV. It was very rushed, but wasn’t bad and looks to have set up a title match. EDIT: Cole noted later in the show that Nikki was never eliminated. Since she basically disappeared, and they announced Natalya s the winner, I assumed she was. My apologies.
Match Rating: **
Ryback vs. Mark Henry : They had a short back and forth match, which Henry won clean with the world’s strongest slam because that’s what he does. It was OK but was also something they could have saved for Raw, considering they struggle to fill the three hours. Henry is scheduled for matches with Randy Orton on some upcoming house shows, make of that what you will.
Match Rating: *½
World Title Match: John Cena © vs. Alberto Del Rio: This is a rematch from last month, which saw Cena return and win the title. With Cena going without his sleeve brace tonight, and the build to the match, the easy story is for Del Rio to focus on the arm. They didn’t. They instead told the story that Del Rio knows Cena much better, and was able to counter a lot of Cena’s trademark moves to kill the momentum Cena was trying to build. This match felt long, not bad, but didn’t keep me excited or involved. Also, the crowd gives no fucks about Del Rio. They like chanting “let’s go Cena/Cena sucks,” but they don’t care about Del Rio at all. I don’t blame them, because there hasn’t been reason to care about him for a long time, but it took away from things. In ways I actually liked what they were doing from the work/storytelling aspect, as it was different from what I expected, but again it felt as if it was dragging at times. When people do not buy into a challenger having a chance at all, the crowd reaction can really have a negative effect on things. Overall this was a good match, but it just felt as it was missing something to make me care.
Match Rating: ***
CM Punk & Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family (Rowan and Harper) w/Bray Wyatt in a rocking chair: This is a very interesting match here. Punk and Bryan are stars, and can afford a loss because they are so over, and the Wyatt Family really needs a good in ring outing and signature victory. Also, if the Wyatts have a bad performance in there with Punk and Bryan, that will not bode well for them. Harper banged up his knee when Bryan his a suicide dive, but he was able to continue. Punk ran wild on a hot tag (not Daniel Bryan hot tag great, but really good) including a dove onto the floor onto Rowan and Wyatt, and then the big elbow drop on Harper. Punk and Bryan scored the victory following a GTS to Harper. The crowd was great for the match, even through the slower parts, which is always a good thing. While I feel it was a case of caring more about Bryan/Punk than the Wyatts, they were hot for almost everything they did, giving a good energy to the match that most tonight haven’t had. I thought in his first major PPV match Rowan looked solid, he still needs work and is a bit limited, but he was fine. Harper works very well with Punk and Bryan, and when you add in the hot crowd, the match clicked well and is helping the PPV rebound. I personally felt the Wyatts needed to win, but they looked good overall. The follow up, as always, will be important.
Match Rating: ***½
WWE Title Match: Randy Orton © vs. The Big Show: The boring chants were out in the early minutes of this match, which is never a good thing. Orton survived a chokeslam, tried to run and we got a ref bump. They brawled outside for a bit, and Show got the KO shot. When they returned to the ring, Triple H appeared with Stephanie and Kane. The distraction allowed Orton to hit an RKO, followed by the concussion kick for the victory. This was not good as the main event of the show. It felt very flat, and was overall one of the worst WWE “PPV main events” on a long time. At least they didn’t go with the predictable reliving of the screw job.
Match Rating: *
At the end of the day, this was a below average PPV. It peaked with the opening match, Cena and Del Rio was again fine and the Punk/Bryan vs. Wyatts match was also good. But other than that, the show largely felt flat to me. The IC Title match was there, the Divas match was there, Ryback and Henry was there, and all together didn’t add much to the show. When it was all said and done, we look to be back to Orton vs. Cena in WWE’s attempt to recreate Austin vs. Rock. With all due respect to both, who I think are good and, they are not Austin and Rock, no matter how much WWE wants them to be. Catch the opening Survivor Series tag as well as Punk/Bryan vs. Wyatts, the rest you can skip; especially for the $50 or so price tag. Show Rating: 5.5 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale… 0 – 0.9: Torture As a reminder, this is not a basic “how good was the show” number like a TV show, as I have always felt that a PPV is very different from a regular show. I have always judged PPV on how they built to a match, the match quality, crowd reactions to matches and angles, the overall booking, how the PPV leads into the future, PPV price and so on and so forth. I have added this in here for an explanation since so many have asked, and I have previously discussed it on podcasts. I understand that this may seem different, but that is how I grade. Obviously your criteria may be different. |
Larry Csonka is a Pisces and enjoys rolling at jiu jitsu class with Hotty McBrownbelt, cooking, long walks on the beach, Slingo and the occasional trip to Jack in the Box. He is married to a soulless ginger and has two beautiful daughters who are thankfully not soulless gingers; and is legally allowed to marry people in 35 states. He has been a wrestling fan since 1982 and has been writing for 411 since May 24th, 2004; contributing over 3,000 columns, TV reports and video reviews to the site.
Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it…TO CSONKA’S TWITTER!
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma
More Trending Stories
- Booker T Weighs In On Rhea Ripley’s Injury, Wants Hardy Boys Back In WWE
- Tony Khan Weighs In On Warning From Oklahoma Athletic Commission Over Nyla Rose Match
- Backstage Update on WWE’s Plans for WrestleMania 41, Possible Move to March or May
- Jim Ross Recalls Dustin Rhodes Being Fired From WCW For Not Following No-Blood Policy
