Survivor Series, after dismal results last year, was wiped off the WWE PPV slate. With the eight or ten man tag matches lacking importance, especially with Bragging Rights the month before, WWE had no real purpose to the show… until they remembered 1997. Survivor Series 1997 is, of course, the famed Montreal Screwjob where Bret Hart lost the title to Shawn Michaels when Vince McMahon, breaking Kayfabe, had the referee ring the bell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u74i7IkMcSw
This lead to an overuse of the Screwjob angle over the years, recently seen in TNA and WWE where CM Punk managed to beat the Undertaker in a screwjob style finish. This kind of major turn has become a major hallmark of Survivor Series, which has mostly been ignored for the past few years. This year, however, WWE had a screwjob worthy of Survivor Series and just couldn’t get rid of the concept: The John Cena Heel Turn.
WWE Survivor Series 2010 Preview
WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett with Special Referee John Cena: The Nexus have tortured Cena since their arrival on WWE Raw until, finally, their leader Wade Barrett beat Cena to force him to join them. Barrett wants the title and has agreed to grant Cena his freedom is he helps him get the belt from champion Randy Orton. Meanwhile, R-Truth and The Miz are both sticking their nose into the story.
What should happen: R-Truth should turn and Wade Barrett should win, only for a newly freed Cena to attack Barrett and Miz to cash in Money in the Bank in the confusion to get the title. This should lead to the new heel stable of Truth, Miz and Cena.
What will happen: I think WWE will get gun shy on Cena immediately before the planned turn, so he will stay face, but besides that Truth will still turn and Miz will still cash in during the confusion.
World Heavyweight Champion Kane vs. Edge: Kane finally beat Undertaker, leaving him devoid of challengers. Well, Edge is surely a challenger as the only top Smackdown face really ready for this feud besides Big Show… and no one wants to see that after Kane vs. Undertaker. There’s also some nonsense about Edge kidnapping Paul Bearer, but that totally undermines his hatred of all things stupid…
What should happen: Edge should win and face Alberto Del Rio or someone interesting in a ladder match at next months TLC PPV.
What will happen: Kane will win and Edge will still get the ladder match next month with him, but there will be some kind of shenanigans.
WWE Tag Team Champions Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov: Umm, because there was space on the show? If they want these Nexus guys to learn, they might want to put them against talent that can work, not Santino and Kozlov.
What should happen: Team Nexus should dismantle the comedy duo and win the title. Santino and Kozlov do not need to be near a title.
What will happen: Nexus will win after interference, either from the rest of Nexus or Sheamus…although I have the sinking feeling Santino’s push means he gets the title and Nexus begins to fall apart here after Wade is screwed in the main event.
John Morrison vs. Sheamus: Sheamus is a bully and wants to beat on Santino, while Morrison is a good guy and defends Santino. Excellently, this finally feels like the elevation of Morrison and a really good test for both men who can easily steal the show from a match quality standpoint.
What should happen: Sheamus should win after a match very similar to those Triple H used to have with Jeff Hardy, leading to re-matches.
What will happen: The match will be shakier than we’d all like, and Morrison will likely sneak out a victory and Sheamus will destroy him post-match to keep this going.
Divas Championship Handicap Match LayCool vs. Natalya: LayCool have been screwing over Natalya in a numbers game for awhile now, so they’re just flat out having a handicap match now.
What should happen: Natalya should win when Beth Phoenix returns to help her out-maneuver LayCool. That should, ideally, lead to a feud with Layla and Michelle for a few months, culminating with Natalya vs. Beth at Wrestlemania.
What will happen: Natalya will lose and get beatdown when Beth returns to save her.
Elimination match of Team Mysterio (Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Chris Masters and Big Show) vs. Team Del Rio (Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, and Tyler Reks): Del Rio is a jerk who pisses everyone off, so the faces have basically united against him with the result being the lone traditional Survivor Series match of the evening, and it’s wholly inconsequential.
What should happen: The heels should straight smoke the faces, only losing Reks. They could really use the credibility bump.
What will happen: I’m pretty sure Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio end up the final two with Del Rio continuing his super push with a win.
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval: Kaval beat Ziggler once and has a title shot for winning WWE NXT Season 2, so he’s cashing it in to try and beat Ziggler again. This match should be awesome.
What should happen: Kaval should win. Ziggler doesn’t need the belt any longer, as Vickie guarantees him heat and he’s established at this point. We can then build to a US vs. Intercontinental Title Unification with Kaval vs. Bryan for Wrestlemania or, at worst, the Royal Rumble.
What will happen: Ziggler will win thanks to Vickie and we’ll do this match again next month. I still think the end-game is the same.
To Buy or Not to Buy: This show is all but must-buy. Not only do we have the huge Cena-Barrett-Orton storyline, but Morrison vs. Sheamus and Kaval vs. Ziggler are both potential show stealers. We even have nostalgia with the old-school SurSer match. Sure the tag match and World Title match are a bit throaway, but the rest of this one is pretty stacked, with even the Divas match likely featuring a major return and turn for the division.
Be sure to check back Sunday for Pulse’s show coverage and Monday for my own report card on Survivor Series 2010!
