Hiya!
It used to be WWE’s pay-per-view during Thanksgiving would headline some sort of elimination team bouts until all members of one team is totally eliminated. It made sense. I mean, it is called “Survivor Series” after all! They still do these “traditional” Survivor Series matches but they seem to have fallen out of favor to the more typical matches. It seems strange that the elimination-style matches aren’t the focus of Survivor Series anymore.
But this shift doesn’t mean that the pay-per-view is bad automatically. A pay-per-view is judged by the quality of the matches it has. So, let’s get right to it!
Match #1: Roman Reigns vs Alberto Del Rio (Semi-Finals match for the WWE Heavyweight Championship)
The result is a no-brainer because, well, it’s Roman Reigns! The WWE has been trying to groom this guy to be the Heavyweight champion one of these days!
But, even though it’s pretty obvious Roman Reigns is going to best the current United State Champion, I’m more in it for the action! And the opening bout was pretty good! Not great, mind you. The entire match was highly entertaining, especially at the tail end of the bout. The finish came after Del Rio released a modified cross-arm breaker that uses the ring ropes. Del Rio then climbed the corner and misses a chop. Roman takes advantage and hits a spear for the win.
Both wrestlers did perform a lot of their trademark moves but it felt like both performers, especially Roman Reigns, didn’t want to do anything too risky, which made sense since Reigns will have to compete again later tonight. Still, pretty decent opening match.
Rating: 6 of 10 spears for the quick win
Match #2: Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens (Semi-Finals match for the WWE Heavyweight Championship)
From one semi-finals match to the next!
I had better hopes for this match since I really like both Superstars here a lot more than Roman Reigns and Alberto Del Rio. Ambrose and Owens are really entertaining in the ring and both of them aren’t afraid to hurt themselves in an effort to entertain the crowd. Ambrose was fun to watch throughout the entire thing as usual. But I have to give credit to Owens as he really knows how to get heat! At one point, Owens cinched Ambrose in a chinlock and yelled “Chinlock City, baby!” What a weird reference to Brock Lesnar! In hindsight, maybe the match seemed more brutal because, by the end, Ambrose’s trademark black wifebeater was in tatters.
The finish was also pretty creative. Ambrose squrimed out of Owens’ finisher, the Pop-Up Powerbomb but gets hit with a superkick. Owens attempts his finisher again but Ambrose reverses into Dirty Deeds. Three seconds later, Ambrose is moving to the finals!
Really good match and far more entertaining than the first match of the night. I do wonder if Ambrose had another shirt in his bag, though?
Rating: 7 of 10 torn wifebeaters
Match #3: The Lucha Dragons, The Usos and Ryback vs. The New Day, Sheamus and King Barrett (Traditional Survivor Series match)
First, shoutouts to Xavier Woods’ new do!
It’s FABULOUS!
Honestly, if it weren’t for The New Day and their fantastic mic work, I wouldn’t really care for this match at the least! I just love The New Day and their antics! I do feel kind of sorry for Sheamus since, well, he tried to be funny… but he just isn’t. But he does seem to be carrying something of significance with him. Hmmm…
Anyway, the match was essentially a weird mishmash of high-action spots. It was pretty entertaining for the most part. There were a lot of high-flying, with even Ryback joining in the fun! I mean, when was the last time you ever saw Ryback dive off the top turnbuckle to the floor? Never! Besides that one spot, The Big Guy was overshadowed by all the high-flying action.
It looked like the heel team had full control of the match until Sheamus tagged himself in. After Big E was eliminated, The New Day helped Big E to the back “for medical attention”, essentially abandoning Sheamus. The rest of the fan favorites then ganged up on the Money In The Bank contract holder to win it for their team.
Honestly, this was entertaining until the very end. The New Day leaving seemed to take all the heat away from the match. It did establish The New Day as a pure “bad guy” team but it led to an incredibly disappointing ending to an otherwise great match.
Rating: 6 of 10 fabulous pompadours
Match #4: Charlotte vs Paige (WWE Divas Title Match)
Best thing about the match? No Bella Twins! Yay!
Sadly, I’m not feeling Charlotte at all ever since she entered the WWE main roster. I understand why they gave her the title because, well, her stint in NXT proved she can pull of really good matches. However, it seems like the WWE is forcing Charlotte and, to a certain degree, Paige, to tone down the brutality they displayed while they were in NXT. And this Divas Championship bout was no exception. Nothing was particularly memorable about this match.
In fact, I would call the match sloppy in execution. There were a lot of spots, such as Paige rolling up Charlotte during an attempted Figure Four, that looked really slow. The match also felt incredibly long! The finish finally came with Paige tapping out to Charlotte’s finisher, The Figure Eight.
Sorry, ladies! This was a very disappointing match… and I think I’ve forgotten everything about it already!
Rating: 4 of 10… wait, there was a Divas match during Survivor Series?
Match #5: Dolph Ziggler vs Tyler Breeze
Well, this match came out of nowhere! This is a pure filler match just to take up some time before the two main events.
It’s such a filler match that WWE’s YouTube page doesn’t even have a clip of the match!
It was an okay match but definitely not of pay-per-view quality. At least both Ziggler and Breeze looked good and it did feel like they were trying to pull off a decent match with the time they were given. At one point, Breeze took a wicked looking dropkick while jumping off the second rope! Ouch! The finish came when Breeze escaped to the ring apron and kicked Ziggler in the shins before hitting… the Unprettier? When did he change his finisher?
Anyway, it was a decent match but was just too short. I think both of them could’ve stolen the show if they had maybe five more minutes to really show the fans their stuff.
Rating: 6 of 10 Unprettiers (No, really? When did this become Breeze’s finisher?)
Match #6: The Undertaker and Kane vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
He’s been competing in the WWE for 25 years? Why is his ring entrance still awesome?
A lot of the heat for me left when it was Luke Harper instead of Braun Strowman that competed in the match. Luke Harper may seem scary but he looks like a teddy bear compared to the monster that is Braun Strowman! It looked like The Brothers of Destruction dominated the majority of the match but they did have to pull a comeback by the end when Strowman interfered. The finish came after Undertaker and Kane chokeslammed Wyatt and Harper, respectively. One Tombstone Piledriver on Harper later, Undertaker gets the pinfall.
The match seemed pretty short to me. And honestly, a pretty average match. It was good to see The Undertaker dominate once again after the severe beatings he’s taken from Brock Lesnar in the past. Still, I expected more and the lack of Braun Strowman made it seem less challenging for The Brothers of Destruction, making it feel less awesome.
Rating: 6 of 10 awesome Undertaker entrances
Match #7: Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose (Finals match for the WWE Heavyweight Championship)
Remember when I asked if Dean Ambrose has an extra wifebeater? I guess he doesn’t! Heck, he was still wearing that ripped one from earlier throughout this match!
Anyway, seeing that this is the culmination of a tournament to crown a new WWE Heavyweight Champion, I was expecting a lot from this match. I’m sad to say I was really let down! Not only that, there were some moves that didn’t look clean, as evidenced by the “superman punch” Reigns supposedly hit when Dean leaped off the top rope. I didn’t know what happened until Jerry Lawler explained it to me!
The closing minutes of the match looked pretty good, with both Ambrose and Reigns escalating the brutality a bit, turning the entire thing into a beatdown. Reigns hits a spear from out of nowhere to win the WWE Heavyweight Championship!
This had the potential to be a Match of The Year, with the crazy Dean Ambrose pulling off some insane maneuvers and Reigns delivering some sick hits. But… why was it over so quickly? If it was a little longer, I would’ve been more impressed. But, of course, there was a reason why they had to end the match quickly, right?
Rating: 6 of 10 awkward Superman Punches
SURPRISE MATCH! Roman Reigns vs Sheamus (Sheamus cashes in Money In The Bank)
After Triple H tries to shake Roman Reigns’ hand and eats a spear, Sheamus blindsides Reigns with a Brogue Kick and cashes in Money In The bank! Roman Reigns kicks out but, as he gets up, Sheamus delivers another Brogue Kick, leading to a pinfall and a very short title reign for Roman Reigns.
How predictable!
The problem here is that it wasn’t a surprise. The instant Triple H got speared, everyone knew Sheamus was going to run in and cash in Money In The Bank for the title. And, goddammit, Sheamus is the WWE Heavyweight Champ again?
Rating: 4 of 10 obvious Money In The Bank cash ins
Overall Rating for the 2015 Survivor Series
This year’s Survivor Series didn’t seem to be able to get out of the blocks. Nothing really spectacular happened and not even the antics of The New Day could save this pay-per-view from being just average. The WWE just played it safe with Survivor Series, leading to a very lackluster show.
Rating: 6 of 10… I can’t believe they gave Sheamus the title again! Really? He’s just so booooooooring!
Byee!
What did you think of this year’s Survivor Series? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 