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Verizon Center – Washington, D.C. – Sunday, November 22, 2009
Michael Cole, Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, and Matt Striker are on commentary.
~MATCH #1~
Team Miz (The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus & Jack Swagger) defeat Team Morrison (John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Finlay & Evan Bourne) in a Survivor Series Elimination Match at 20:55. Miz is the current United States Champion, and Morrison is the Intercontinental Champion, so they make sense as the captains. After some standard back and forth to start, Bourne scores the first elimination when he hits Ziggler with the Air Bourne to eliminate him at 4:00. McIntyre immediately evens the score by hitting Bourne with the Future Shock DDT for the elimination at 4:15. The crowd gets juiced to see Finlay battle Sheamus, but they don’t get to see much, as Sheamus delivers a brutal Brogue Kick to get the pin at 5:15. The match settles down a bit from here, with everyone getting some ring time. Morrison evens the score when he hits Starship Pain on Swagger to eliminate him at 13:10. Sheamus helps Miz deliver the Skull Crushing Finale on Benjamin to eliminate him at 15:00. Things get even worse for Team Morrison when McIntyre eliminates Hardy with the Future Shock DDT at 17:00. Morrison faces three-on-odds now. Team Miz wears Morrison down, and Sheamus puts the IC Champion out of his misery with the Pale Justice to get the win. Miz, Sheamus, and McIntyre survive, which is a good crew. This was the right choice for an opener, showcasing some new blood and making everyone look good, even if they lost. The eliminations made sense in the storyline too, and the right team went over.
Rating: ***¼
~MATCH #2~
Batista defeats Rey Mysterio at 6:50 via referee’s decision. The heel turn Batista executed a month before this match is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen. This is an obvious clash of styles, with an extreme size differential. Mysterio flies all over the place but can’t put Batista away. Batista fights back and hits a Batista Bomb, but he doesn’t go for the pin. He hits another Batista Bomb, and then a third. The referee stops the match and the crowd pops! That was exactly the right match to have for this storyline. Batista looks like a killer coming out of this, just like he should. Good stuff here.
Rating: **½
~MATCH #3~
Team Kingston (Kofi Kingston, Christian, MVP, Mark Henry & R-Truth) defeat Team Orton (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk & William Regal) in a Survivor Series Elimination Match at 20:50. It doesn’t take long for Orton to score the first elimination, getting rid of Henry with an RKO in just 0:55. Punk continues the advantage for his team by eliminating R-Truth at 3:15 with the Go To Sleep. Christian does his part by eliminating DiBiase at 5:10 with a sunset flip. Regal is next to go when MVP kicks him in the face and scores the pin at 7:00. Orton distracts MVP when he’s about the hit Rhodes with The Play of the Day, and Rhodes hits Cross-Rhodes and eliminates him at 10:30. Rhodes is next to go when Christian hits him with the Killswitch and gets the pin at 11:40. We’re two-on-two now, and Orton catches Christian with an RKO to eliminate him at 13:40. Kingston is facing long odds now. Even so, Orton avoids Kingston just to be a dick. Punk controls Kingston for several minutes, and when Orton tries to stick his nose in Punk executes an O’Connor Roll, which Kingston reverses to eliminate Punk at 20:35! Orton tries to sneak in but Kingston blasts him with Trouble in Paradise to score the final elimination! Very good match here, with a lot to like. The structure of the eliminations worked for the participants involved, and Kingston going over super strong was great to see. This should’ve been a star-making performance for Kofi Kingston, but WWE just refused to go further than this for whatever reason.
Rating: ***½
~MATCH #4~
World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker defeats Chris Jericho and Big Show in a Triple Threat Match to retain the title at 13:40. Undertaker has been the Champion since 10.4.09, and this is his third defense. Jericho and Show are the current Unified WWE Tag Team Champions, but there’s been some tension in recent weeks with this match on the horizon. Despite those differences, Jericho and Show spend a fair amount of time working together in the early going. But with stakes as high as they are here, that is bound to not last, and both men try to polish off Undertaker and take his title. Late in the contest, Show knocks his own partner out with a WMD. Show then goes for a Chokeslam on the Undertaker, but the Champ reverses it to the Hell’s Gate and Show taps out! Neither Jericho nor Show seemed like much of a threat to the title at this point, but their chemistry together and interactions helped make this fun stuff.
Rating: ***¼
~MATCH #5~
Team Mickie (Mickie James, Melina, Gail Kim, Eve & Kelly Kelly) defeat Team Michelle (Michelle McCool, Layla, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox & Jillian) in a Survivor Series Elimination Match at 10:40. It doesn’t take long for the first elimination, as Kelly pins Layla after the K2 at 1:15. McCool quickly evens the score with a Faith Breaker on Kim to eliminate her at 2:05. ¬¬¬Eve takes Jillian out with a top-rope sunset flip at 3:35. Phoenix then hits Eve with the Glam Slam to eliminate her at 3:50. She follows with the same move on Kelly to take her out at 4:05. It’s three-on-two now, but James quickly remedies that by pinning Phoenix with a crucifix at 5:00. Fox comes in and James eliminates her with a Thesz Press from the top rope at 6:30. McCool is on her own now and she fights valiantly, but Melina counters a Gory Special into the Last Call to score the win. Mickie James and Melina survive. This was fine for the most part, just a bunch of divas pinning each other with transition moves and the occasional signature move or finisher thrown in. It was too short to get much of anything going.
Rating: **
~MATCH #6~
WWE Heavyweight Champion John Cena defeats Shawn Michaels and Triple H in a Triple Threat Match to retain the title at 21:10. Cena has been the Champion since 10.25.09, and this is his first defense. Michaels and HHH enter together and stand on the same side of the ring across from the Champion. The odds seem to be stacked against Cena here. The bell rings and Michaels hits HHH with an immediate Sweet Chin Music! Totally didn’t see that coming. The shocked look on Cena’s face is great too. All three men get in some offense on each other, trading control back and forth. Striker actually says at one point: “and this is why we fall in love with this craft.” The finisher parade begins HHH throws Michaels to the floor and then Cena locks HHH in the STF! Michaels comes back in and breaks it up by putting Cena in the Crossface! Cena stands up and has Michaels in position for the Attitude Adjustment but Michaels battles out of it. The tenacious Champion takes Michaels down and puts on the STF! Michaels makes it to the ropes. He gets back to his feet and levels Cena with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels hits HHH with Sweet Chin Music as well, and the momentum sends him to the floor but HHH landed on Cena! The referee turns around and by then is only able to get a two-count. Back on their feet Cena lands the Attitude Adjustment on HHH. Both men are down as Michaels pulls himself back in the ring. Both Cena and Michaels crawl toward HHH to make a cover and they both put an arm over him but HHH kicks out. Everyone goes for finishers and Michaels lands a Sweet Chin Music on HHH! Cena then hits Michaels with the Attitude Adjustment and he lands on his partner. That’s enough for Cena to get the pin. What a great match. The beginning was amazing, the ending was great, and they did some creative Triple Threat spots in the middle. Also, the action almost never stopped and everything flowed together perfectly. This match doesn’t get enough love.
Rating: ****½
A2Z Analysiz
This is a surprisingly terrific show, with nothing below two stars and a tremendous main event on top. I’m a sucker for old school Survivor Series matches, so your mileage may vary, but I had a great time watching this show again.
