WWE PPV Review: Survivor Series 2012

Last night's PPV may have been the most crucial WWE event of the entire year.  Find out why in my review after the jump!

 

 

Match 1:: Traditional 5 on 5 Survivor Series match: Team Clay (Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara & Rey Mysterio) vs. Team Tensai (Tensai, Titus O'neil, Darren Toung Primo & Epico w/Rosa Mendes)

Glad to see the tag team division getting some shine on one of the big four PPVs.  A lot has been done to establish these teams and lumping them together in a traditional Survivor Series match is the perfect way to open the show.  From an in-ring standpoint, it wasn't the best thing I've ever seen, but it got the job done.  You got what you expected here.

Mysterio, Kidd, Gabriel and Sin Cara all survive after 25:00 via. pinfall by last eliminating Darren Young

 

Match Rating: ***

The high flying foursome made for one of the more dominant teams in Series history

 

 

 

Match 2:: WWE Divas Championship match: Eve Torres(c) vs. Kaitlyn

Eve Torres has been a godsend for the Divas division for me.  I just find her matches much more enjoyable and her character and timing are a step above most of the other women on the roster.  This match should be mentioned amongst the best women's matches of the year and the same could be said about a lot of Torres' matches as of late.  Kaitlyn was impressive as well, but an attempted pre match assault by Aksana softened her up and made it easy for Eve to walk out still Divas champ.

 

Eve Torres defeated Kailtyn after 7:01 via. pinfall following The Heart Breaker

 

Match Rating: **3/4

As condescending as she may be, Torres has been a more than worthy Divas Champion thus far

 

 

Match 3:: United States Championship match: Antonio Cesaro(c) vs. R-Truth

This match was just OK.  Cesaro has been great ever since he became United States Champion, but this match did nothing for either competitor.  The crowd never really responded to anything they did and that killed a lot of the action for me.  It also didn't help that no one really expected Truth to be able to pull the upset victory here.  A solid TV-style match, but it's definitely one I'll skip when I grab the DVD.

Antonio Cesaro def. R-Truth via. pinfall after 6:54 following The Neutralizer

 

Match Rating: **1/4

Even in a throwaway match, Cesaro never ceases to impress

There was a passable segment between Vickie Guerrero and AJ .  AJ is using photshopped photos of Vickie in an attempt to humiliate her.  I'm not the biggest fan of the storyline, but I never complain when AJ is on my TV screen.  The whole back and forth was just a setup for Tamina running interference and attacking AJ.  This could turn in some very good matches so I'm not complaining if that's the route they're going.  Vickie's heat could provide useful to further enhancing Tamina's career and her shift to the darkside is more intriguing than pretty much everything else in this segment. 

Aside from the fact that her willingness to wear that outfit has even Vickie at a loss for words

 

Match 4:: World Heavyweight Championship match: Big Show(c) vs. Sheamus

This match wasn't as good as their classic at Hell In A Cell last month, but it was still a good piece of storytelling.  They worked the David vs. Goliath story here and the unique thing about it is the David in this case is a 6'4" 267lb Sheamus.  I've never seen the Great White have his ass handed to him this way, so I was actually very into the action.  Add in their fantastic chemistry and the fact that they had some amazing spots (such as Sheamus hitting Show with an unbelievable electric chair drop) and this feud has turned in two very good matches and it has fully restored my interest in both Sheamus and Big Show.  I'm on board with whatever these two are going to do next because their on track to winning the Feud Of The Year award come year's end if they keep it up.

Sheamus def. Big Show after 14:46 via. Disqualification.  Big Show is still your World Heavyweight Champion

 

Match Rating: ***1/2

If I were Dolph Ziggler, I'd think very carefully about my approach to cashing in that MITB contract

 

 

Match 5:: Traditional 5 on 5 Survivor Series match: Team Ziggler (Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, David Otunga, Alberto Del Rio & Wade Barrett) vs. Team Foley (Randy Orton, The Miz, Kofi Kingston and the WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan)

There was a lot of good that came out of this match.  It's easily one of the better 5 on 5 tags the WWE has produced in recent years.  The slow build of The Miz' face turn has been very well done and the crowd was solidly behind the awesome one.  The flow of the match was great as you really felt as if it could go either way for the entirety of the match.  The final minutes were particularly special.  Orton and Ziggler are always fantastic together and they turned in an electric finishing sequence that had the crowd on the edge of their seats.  Orton appeared to have slipped back into Viper mode and he even was setting Ziggler up for the Punt Kick until Ziggs countered with Sweet Chin Music a superkick.  Great finish to an exciting matchup.

Dolph Ziggler became the sole survivor after 23:45 by last eliminating Randy Orton 

 

Match Rating: ***1/2

"It's Not Showing Off If You Can Back It Up"

John Cena is making his way to the ring sporting a cool new T-shirt.  Ladies and marks, it is now time for our

MAIN EVENT

 

 

Match 6:: WWE Championship match: CM Punk(c) vs. Ryback vs. John Cena

If you've been following this blog for a while then you know that I hold CM Punk in the highest regard.  Believe it or not, there is a method to my markness though so let me elaborate.  CM Punk has been champion for 365 days up until this point and not ONCE has it felt stale or boring.  He has managed to evolve from face to underdog to main event heel all while consistently turning in some of the finest performances of the year.  He is one of the WWE's elite.  That being said, Ryback is the year's breakout star and Cena has taken on the role of seasoned veteran with the sort of grace you want from the top face of your promotion.  Both Punk and Cena integrated Ryback into their legendary rivalry without it feeling awkward and made him look like an absolute BEAST in the process.  I mean seriously, Cena sold Ryback's finish for like ten minutes.  I loved the bit where both men worked together to eliminate Ryback from the match as they realized that neither of them is going to be able to single handedly keep the guy down.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

Punk and Cena then began to tear it up one-on-one and like most of you, I could watch these two work together for hours.  The whole pacing and psychology of the match was the best of the night and that's what makes Punk the best in the world and Cena the world's top main event performer (save for Hiroshi Tanahashi).  Sure, the match could have been better from a mat wrestling perspective, but the sheer mark out factor of most of the action was top notch.  Speaking of mark out factor, is there really anyone who didn't engage in a bit of mental masturbation at the sight of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and DEAN FUCKING AMBROSE assaulting Ryback! 

!!!!!!

I don't know if this is going to lead into a Punk/Heyman led stable (The Dangerous Alliance Vol. 2?), but that's what I'm hoping for.  If you check back on my GREAT DEBATE article a few months back, then you'll know that this is something I've been clamoring for since Punk became champion nearly a year ago.  I can't put into words how excited I am for this and regardless of what direction they choose to go, I'm just happy we finally get to see Ambrose do his thing on a major stage.  I hear the rumblings and fear of overhype, but people need to stop over analyzing everything and just enjoy the show.  The WWE has given us a genuine surprise and an unbelievably awesome moment for seemingly the hundredth time this year and they deserve our undivided attention right now.  Avoid all the smarky fans who've become all too paranoid and are fully expecting everything to end in a giant puddle of suck.  Instead, enjoy what's coming and if you haven't heard of Ambrose, then get familiar.  He's a one-of-a-kind talent.  The WWE knows this and they are going to do their best to make sure we are thoroughly entertained.  Punk and Heyman potentially mentoring these young guys can work wonders for their already unique and charismatic personas and this is the biggest win of the night.  LOVED this match.

CM Punk def. John Cena after 17:57 via. pinfall following a Shell Shock from Ryback

 

Match Rating: ***3/4

The eighth longest reigning champion in WWE history has made good on his promise to make the title and to a much larger extent, the WWE interesting again

Final Thoughts

Another solid show by the WWE that top to bottom, has to rank amongst the better Survivor Series events the WWE has produced.  The booking was fantastic and all of the marquee matches delivered in some form.  The main event was one of the year's most memorable and even though no match went into four star territory, none of them were complete stinkers either.  The whole show was filled with the sort of unforgettable moments that made the event one of the WWE's biggest of the year and there was a great balance of action, drama, attitude, shock value and just good old fashioned entertainment that has become the WWE's calling card.  This is the type of show I want when I lay down my 50 bucks and I can say that about at least five WWE PPVs this year.  Oh and about what I said before about this show being one of the WWE's most crucial of the year?  Well, we now have Dolph Ziggler defeating Randy Orton CLEAN to become the sole survivor in the night's biggest SS tag match, the debuts of Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns, the continued rise of Ryback, and the amazing growth of the tag division.  The WWE's roster has not seen this much potential in a long time and this night saw the ascension of many young WWE superstars that will lead the company through the next era.  As far as the WWE goes, I have not been this interested in anything unrelated to the world titles since around Summerslam and this show changed all of that.  That makes the whole thing a worthwhile buy in my book.

Overall PPV Score: 7/10

Match of the Night: CM Punk vs. Ryback vs. John Cena
Performer of the Night: Randy Orton
Moment of the Night: CM Punk and John Cena double suplexing Ryback onto the announce table
Segment of the Night: Paul Heyman's backstage promo
Surprise of the Night:  Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns assault Ryback