November 21, 2010
-From Miami, FL. Our hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Matt Striker.
United States Championship:
Daniel Bryan © vs. Ted Dibiase (with Maryse)
They exchange some wrist holds and the lights go out as Bryan nails a drop-kick. The lights are back as Bryan kicks Dibiase square in the gut. Dibiase suplexes Bryan over the ropes to the floor. Double axe handle off the top by Dibiase! Dibiase absorbs some hard shots but pummels Bryan back into the canvas. Cue the chinlock! Bryan desperately hits a running drop-kick. Bryan forges a comeback and dumps Dibiase to the floor for a suicide dive! Bryan seems to injure his shoulder in that spot. Bryan scores a missile drop-kick anyway. Dibiase blocks the Labell Lock and nails a hard clothesline. Bryan counters Dream Street but runs into a spinebuster. Back superplex by Bryan! Dibiase rebounds with a slingshot into the turnbuckles. Bryan counters into the Labell Lock. Dibiase taps at 9:53! Bryan was making the entire WWE mid-card look good during this period, **¾. Winner and still United States Champion: Daniel Bryan
-Bryan poses on the stage when he’s ambushed by The Miz and Alex Riley. Miz clocks Bryan in the head with his Money in the Bank briefcase and strolls to the ring for a promo. Miz compares the Miami Heat to Nexus, proclaiming them both mediocre. There’s some cheap Heat for you, pun intended. Miz says he’s tired of carrying his briefcase and it’s only a matter of time before he cashes in.
-Video recap of John Morrison saving Santino Marella from a Sheamus beat down. For his troubles, Sheamus ambushed Morrison backstage with the Brogue Kick. Sheamus is interviewed by Josh Mathews about the accusation that he’s a bully. Sheamus says this isn’t about being a bully, it’s about Morrison’s jealousy. He doesn’t plan on shoving Morrison’s head in a toilet or locker, but plans on breaking his will.
Sheamus vs. “Mr. Hardcore” John Morrison
I seem to recall these two having a great chemistry in the ring together, so this could be good. Morrison uses his “hardcore training” to aggressively brawl with Sheamus as the bell rings. Morrison sends Sheamus crashing to ringside for a corkscrew senton. Sheamus shifts the momentum by driving Morrison into the guard rails. Cue the chinlock! Morison takes a beating but counters on the top turnbuckles. Sheamus rolls through Morrison’s cross body and nails a power slam. The Brogue Kick misses and Sheamus eats an enziguri. Morrison forges a comeback but Sheamus comes back with the backbreaker. Morrison slingshots Sheamus into position for a side Russian leg sweep. Sheamus knocks Morrison off the turnbuckles by attacking the leg. Sheamus viciously whips Morrison over his shoulder by the injured knee! Half Crab by Sheamus! Morrison goes for Starship Pain but it’s blocked. The Celtic Cross is blocked and Sheamus hangs himself on the ropes with a Brogue Kick attempt. Morrison delivers a combination of kicks to gain the pinfall at 11:08. These two had a unique, great chemistry against each other. I wish this feud had gone places, ***½.Winner: John Morrison
-John Cena still has his sad face on backstage. R-Truth thinks he has a solution to Cena’s problems. Truth thinks he should be at ringside for the WWE title and arrange for Randy Orton to suffer an accident. Cena rejects this idea, as he has to be able to look himself in the mirror. He plans on calling the match down the middle, no matter what. Truth isn’t buying it and storms off.
Intercontinental Championship:
Dolph Ziggler © (with Vickie Guerrero) vs. Kaval
Kaval is getting this shot due to winning NXT season 2. Kaval is aggressive in the early going, and throws some chops. Ziggler slows things down with some methodical offense. Kaval delivers a back handspring cross body and lights up Ziggler’s chest. A Vickie distraction allows Ziggler to dump Kaval on the turnbuckles to regain control. Kaval makes a comeback, delivering a series of quick attacks. Standing moonsault by Kaval! Sick kick to the head by Kaval isn’t enough for the win. Ziggler catches Kaval on the top for a sleeper! Kaval counters but lands on his feet on a corkscrew attempt. Ziggler pops up with the Fame-asser! Kaval counters with a springboard kick to the head! They trade pinning predicaments until Ziggler pulls the tights for the win at 9:31. This was quite good while it lasted. Sadly, Kaval would once again prove to be his own worst enemy and quit WWE shortly after this event due to his lack of push. The booking in this match seemed to indicate that things would have worked out for Kaval had he stuck around, **¾.Winner and still Intercontinental Champion: Dolph Ziggler
-Todd Grisham interviews Jack Swagger backstage about his role on Team Del Rio. Swagger feels that as the only former World Champion on the team, he should be the captain. Cody Rhodes interrupts, claiming he saw Swagger getting rejected access into a Miami club. Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, and Drew McIntyre show up and they seem to be on the same page. Del Rio says the bickering is boring and they should all be concentrating on destroying Rey Mysterio.
Traditional Survivor Series match:
Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Chris Masters, Kofi Kingston, and MVP vs. Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez), Dashing Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, and Tyler Reks
The crowd is waaaay into MVP tonight, but Rey starts the match anyway. Del Rio immediately tags in Cody Rhodes, who squares off with Mysterio. Del Rio picks his spot to tag in and take advantage of a weakened Rey. MVP gets a tag and takes control of Alberto. Kingston and Masters get quick tags, but Del Rio tosses Masters into enemy territory. Team Del Rio make quick tags to overwhelm the Masterpiece. MVP gets a needed tag and unloads on McIntyre. Del Rio trips MVP and holds his feet so McIntyre can pin him at 5:35. That was unwise booking. Masters counters with a jackhammer on Del Rio, but the Masterlock is countered. The cross arm breaker finishes Masters at 6:40. A fresh Big Show enters the match and Del Rio orders Swagger to face him. Swagger shoulder tackles Big Show, making Del Rio think it’s safe to enter. Show is on his feet quickly, and Del Rio forces a tag to Drew. Del Rio eats a KO punch anyway. Show unloads on McIntyre. Show slams Kingston onto Drew! Del Rio is being helped to the back as Rhodes and Kingston square off. Cody gets slapped and throws an epic tantrum, and has to check a mirror to make sure he’s still dashing. Kingston slaps him again and tags in Big Show. The KO punch finishes Rhodes at 10:53. Reks knocks Show off his feet with a tackle! Show gets isolated by Team Del Rio. Show fights Swagger’s ankle lock and makes the hot tag to Mysterio. Swagger counters 619 but Rey counters the ankle lock. Reks makes a blind tag but Kingston reenters and unloads. High cross body by Kofi but Reks kicks out. Reks puts Kofi in a tree of woe but Kofi counters to eliminate Reks at 15:03. Swagger tries to put Kofi away quickly and they counter finishers. Kofi taps to the ankle lock at 15:50. Show plows through Swagger. Rey perches on Show’s shoulders, but McIntyre breaks the spot. Rey rebounds and hits Swagger with 619. Mysterio succeeds in a splash off Show’s shoulders to finish Swagger at 17:30. McIntyre is alone against Big Show and Mysterio. Drew eats 619 and a choke slam from hell. Show pins Drew at 18:07. Just like at Bragging Rights, this was a fast-paced, entertaining elimination match, with little to no downtime. These are hard to screw up, ***.Survivors: Big Show and Rey Mysterio
-Randy Orton is staring at the WWE Championship when he’s approached by Josh Mathews. Orton is sick of talking about John Cena, and needs to think about beating Wade Barrett. If Cena screws him out of the title, he’s going to wish he was fired after what he’ll do to him.
Divas Championship:
Michelle McCool © and Layla vs. Natalya
Yes, the title is being defended in a handicap match, so what? An aggressive Michelle takes control of Natalya and makes a quick tag to Layla. McCool assists, pulling Natalya off the apron for a rough landing. Natayla counters with a double suplex! Michelle misses a running big boot and gets dumped over the guard rail. Natalya outsmarts LayCool, countering their double team attempts. Michelle taps out to the Sharpshooter at 3:35. Cool moment for Natalya, *½.Winner and new Divas Champion: Natalya
-Natalya is still having her moment when she’s jumped by LayCool. Beth Phoenix makes her return from injury and puts a hurting on Michelle and Layla. Beth and Natalya embrace and it’s stunning to actually see that the writers put more than five minutes of thought into Divas division.
World Heavyweight Championship:
Kane © vs. Edge
Edge brings an empty wheelchair to the ring to play mind games with Kane. Edge immediately slaps the face, as his strategy seems to be pissing Kane off as much as possible. It takes Kane a few minutes to get his head in the game and drop Edge gut-first on the ropes. Cue the methodical Kane beat down. Edge nails a desperate flying cross body and counters Kane’s flying clothesline. Edge forges a comeback but flies into an uppercut. Edge plants Kane for a near fall but walks into a side slam. Kane crotches Edge on the ropes and delivers the flying clothesline! Kane counters the spear and nails the choke slam. Edge blocks the Tombstone and nails the spear for the apparent win at 12:45. The referee hands the title to Kane though, as apparently Edge’s shoulders were down too. Seriously? This was on par with Kane’s awful Undertaker matches, *¾.No contest
-Kane is so outraged that he attempts a choke slam on the floor. Edge blocks and seats Kane in the wheelchair. If this were a 2005 Smackdown feud, you just know they’d be having a the “first ever wheelchair match” on the next Smackdown-only pay-per-view to do a hilariously low buyrate. Edge drives the wheelchair with Kane through the barricade.
-Wade Barrett gives John Cena a prep talk in the locker room. Cena warns Barrett that he knows exactly what he’s doing. They are playing up a potential Cena heel turn.
WWE Tag Team Championship:
Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel © (with David Otunga, Michael McGillicutty, and Husky Harris) vs. Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov
I’ve seen some lame tag teams in my day, but this Kozlov/Marella team just about takes the cake. Santino takes Slater down, prompting a quick tag to Gabriel. Kozlov tags himself in and plows through Gabriel. The Nexus manages to isolate Kozlov. Santino is the one to get a hot tag, so you know they’re in trouble. Kozlov tackles Gabriel, but Nexus distractions allow Slater to plant Marella for the win at 5:08. This was complete and utter filler, *.Winners and still WWE Tag Team Champions: Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel
-The Nexus are sore winners and kick Kozlov and Marella to the floor. They’re interrupted by the anonymous Raw General Manager, so something really stupid is about to happen. Michael Cole reads the proclamation that Nexus is banned from ringside during the WWE Championship match, otherwise the entire group is indefinitely suspended. I never understood why the obnoxious, hated-by-all, Raw GM would make baby face decisions. Did the creative team not realize how despised this angle was?
WWE Championship:
Randy Orton © vs. Wade Barrett (Guest referee: John Cena)
If Barrett does not become WWE Champion, John Cena will be fired (Nexus owns his contract). They start things off in typically slow fashion. Orton delivers an explosive clothesline to gain some measure of control. Cena pulls an aggressive Orton back, giving Barrett the opening he needs. Barrett becomes too aggressive as well, and it’s Orton’s turn to take advantage of Cena’s officiating. Barrett reverses a whip into the ring steps and retakes control. Cue the methodical Barrett beat-down! Orton slugs his way into a comeback. Barrett desperately tries to cut off Orton’s momentum until finally connecting with a clothesline. Flying elbow drop by Barrett and a pump handle slam. Barrett blames Cena for the lack of 3 counts, inadvertently giving Orton a window to nail the spike DDT. Barrett comes back with Waste Land, but Orton gets a rope break. Barrett shoves Cena for not counting to 3. Cena shoves Barrett into an RKO and Orton gains the pinfall at 15:10. Another middling outing between Orton and Barrett, but the real story here was Cena’s conflict, **¼.Winner and still WWE Champion: Randy Orton
-It begins to sink in that Cena is out of a job. This also means that Cena is out of Nexus! The cavalry runs in and attacks but Cena and Orton fend them off. Cena hands the WWE title to Orton in an apparent passing of the torch moment. We would never see Cena again… at least not until the next night on Raw.
Final Thoughts: This show set the table for some big things, but would have required WWE to take some risks that they weren’t willing to take. Cena being “fired” ended up going nowhere and he ended up not missing a single episode of Raw. Also, Orton would drop the WWE title to Miz the very next night. Those developments kind of make this Survivor Series a bit irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Thumbs in the middle, thanks to a strong under-card.
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