WWE PPV Review: Survivor Series 2013

This year's event brought the attention back to the style of match that made it famous.

This year's Survivor Series event took place in my hometown of Boston, so you know I just had to be there.  I had the pleasure of being front row behind the announce table and smack-dab in the middle of one of the most intense atmospheres of my time as a wrestling fan.  Fans here in Beantown are as vocal and opinionated as anywhere else in the world and most of all we love our rasslers.  Top talents like John Cena and Randy Orton often find themselves in enemy territory here while underdog grapplers like Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins receive a hero's welcome.  It makes being a part of this audience feel like being at WrestleMania every time.  That being said, was the WWE's 27th Survivor Series event one to remember?  Find out after the jump!

Kickoff Match: The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston

This match was a lot better than I expected it to be with a good amount of back and forth action that had the crowd popping early with an awesome series of two counts.  This came off great and would have been a worthy opener to the show.  As boring as Kofi can be persona wise, he still can deliver the goods in the ring.  The problem is that it's been six years and we still don't really know who Kingston is yet.  Let that sink in a bit.  Sure the kids love him (particularly the seven-year-old girl sitting behind me going absolutely bananas the entire match), but it's hard to get behind a guy who you can't really connect with on a personal level.  Some of those issues may be solved heading forward though with Miz picking up the win and Kingston being the sore loser at the end promptly slapping Miz so hard across the face the entire front row let out a collective "ooooooooh" when they heard it.  I'm intrigued at the possibility of a Kingston heel turn.  Let's see where this goes.

The Miz def. Kofi Kingston after roughly 9:30

 

Match Rating: ***

 

Match 1:: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match: The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose) & The Real Americans (Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro)  w/Zeb Colter vs. The Rhodes Dynasty (Cody Rhodes and Goldust) The Usos (Jimmy and Jay) & Rey Mysterio

Zeb Colter cut another terrific promo to start this one off and the sight of him twerking was the most hilarious highlight of the evening.  It was followed by Cody Rhodes making an even worse attempt at Miley Cyrus' favorite dance craze and this little minute of hilarity was just the right kind of stuff to get the crowd fired up and ready to be entertained.  I have to say this match was probably the best of the night.  Which seems to always be the case when you book the Shield in the opening contest.  They never respond too kindly.  And this match had all the goods.  You had the Usos, Rollins & Mysterio bringing in their unique brands of spectacular high spots and Cody & Goldust doing their best to earn he sympathy of the live audience.  Antonio Cesaro hit both Uso brothers with the big swing and hit each revolution with so much velocity that the crowd could barely keep count.  Just all kinds of exciting. 

The true star here though was Roman Reigns who after seeing every man on his team eliminated stood tall against two legends with Goldust and Rey Mysterio left on the other end.  Reigns handled the pressure like Tom Brady just a few miles away in his heartstopping performance against the Denver Broncos, dishing out a series of impactful spears that seemed to increase in awesomeness with each crushing blow.  The final one in particular was as well-received as any maneuver that night, with the crowd absolutely EXPLODING as Mysterio hit the mat.  Reigns then continues on as the sole survivor for his team and is given a hero's sendoff and if you didn't see his megastar potential yet, you can definitely feel it now.  This was his coming out party.  There was also some great storytelling here with the increasingly cocky Ambrose being the first man eliminated.  It was a shock to everyone in attendance and with Ambrose constantly bragging to his stablemates about being the only champ left in the group, we'll have to see how the outcome of this match will play into the ego-driven state the WWE's brightest faction is currently in.  Spectacular matchup that once again saw the WWE's resurgent tag team division steal the show.  Here is the order of elimination for those keeping track:

- Cody Rhodes eliminated Dean Ambrose (2:15)
- Jey Uso eliminated Jack Swagger (8:12)
- Cody Rhodes eliminated Antonio Cesaro (9:57)
- Roman Reigns eliminated Jimmy Uso (14:38)
- Roman Reigns eliminated Cody Rhodes (15:47)
- Seth Rollins eliminated Jey Uso (16:50)
- Rey Mysterio eliminated Seth Rollins (19:47)
- Roman Reigns eliminated Goldust (23:02)

Roman Reigns eliminated Rey Mysterio to become the sole survivor after 23:28

 

Match Rating: ****

Match 2:: Intercontinental Championship match: Big E Langston(c) vs. Curtis Axel

This match sucked the air out of the building.  Not Langston's fault (the crowd was actually pretty receptive of him), but the audience just knew this had no chance of following the opening contest.  I had been coming around on Curtis Axel the last few months, but it seems as if he's regressed back to the same bland character he presented in his pre-Paul Heyman days.  He's not bad at anything, he's just not very great at anything either.  It leaves you feeling absolutely nothing when you watch him.  And being that I kind of feel bad for the guy, I'm just going to leave it at that.  This match was OK, but came off as a DUD due to the dull crowd reaction.

 

Big E Langston def. Curtis Axel after 5:57

 

Match Rating: **

Match 3:: Traditional Surivivor Series Elimination match: Team Total Divas (Eva Marie, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Jojo, Natalya, Naomi and Cameron) vs. Team True Divas (AJ, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes, Summer Rae, Alicia Fox & Aksana)

AJ Lee has already been cementing her status as one of the greatest WWE divas of all time for months now, but tonight she showed just why she has been the cornerstone of the division throughout the entire calendar year in 2013.  Even amongst some of the most interesting and unique women the WWE has had this decade, she stands out and her pre-match promo was one of the best backstage segments of the night.  The booking of this match was terrific and it made things flow much better than the usual mess we've grown accustomed to expecting whenever divas are thrown into these random tag matches.  Each diva played their part and while not offering anything really new or revolutionary, they got the job done.  AJ and Nattie were easily the crowd favorites (aside from the always superb Summer Rae) and things really got exciting once they hit the finishing stretch.  Nattie picks up the win for her team with a much needed pinfall victory over AJ Lee that hopefully further establishes AJ/Natalya as the primary divas rivalry going forward.  The order of elimination is as follows:

 

- Naomi eliminated Alicia Fox (1:25)
- Rosa Mendes eliminated Cameron (2:28)
- Nikki Bella eliminated Rosa Mendes (2:47)
- Nikki Bella eliminated Summer Rae (3:27)
- Kaitlyn eliminated Eva Marie (4:02)
- Kaitlyn eliminated Naomi (4:34)
- Brie Bella eliminated Kaitlyn (5:14)
- Aksana eliminated Brie Bella (5:42)
- Nikki Bella eliminated Aksana (6:04)
- AJ Lee eliminated JoJo (9:27)
- Natalya eliminated Tamina Snuka (10:51)

Natalya eliminated AJ Lee to become the sole survivor after 11:29

 

Match Rating: **1/2

Match 4:: Ryback Open Challenge: Ryback vs. Mark "BAWSE" Henry

Ryback arrives and after some harsh insults directed at the legends panel (Mick Foley, Bret Hart & Booker T) he issues an open challenge to anyone in the locker room.  This led to the surprise return of Mark Henry!  The roof damn near came off as the World's Strongest Man made his way towards the ring, but the fun stops there.  This match came off a bit awkward and thankfully it didn't last very long because few talents in the WWE have as little chemistry together as Henry & Ryback.  It's sort of Lesnar/Goldberg esque where in the eyes of a promoter, the match feels like big money, but always feels doomed to deliver once the bell rings.

Mark Henry def. Ryback after 4:47

 

Match Rating: DUD

 

 

Match 5:: World Heavyweight Championship match: John Cena(c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

This match could be graded on two fronts.  From an in-ring perspective it was a very good match with Del Rio having full experience of knowledge to Cena's entire repertoire and doing his best to counter his most effective maneuvers all the while working on the champ's injured arm.  On the flipside though, the live audience didn't have much to give towards Alberto here.  Del Rio has never been the most over heel in the company, but in Boston he's welcomed with Curtis Axel levels of nonexistent heat.  For me, not every match needs to be a technical masterpiece.  The name of the game is excitement.  This match stands as a testament to why John Cena is who he is.  You can say what you want, but the guy just knows how to put together an exciting match. 

I also can't stress enough that IMO, a big fight atmosphere is everything when it comes to a title match.  EVERYTHING.  You can do all the flips in the world, but when nobody cares, then what's it all really for?  I guess what I'm trying to say is that this was half a John Cena spectacle and half a Del Rio mat clinic.  Half thunderous excitement and drama, half workrate and lucha inspired showcase.  Both can be great separately, but when two guys go into a match with completely different goals in mind, you get mediocrity.

John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio after 18:50

 

Match Rating: ***1/4

 

Match 6: The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper & Eric Rowan) vs. CM Punk & Daniel Bryan

Playing off of what I had to say about the last match, this match brought the crowd back to life with everyone bringing their "A" game to ensure we got our money's worth.  I've said it before and now I'm standing by the fact that this should have been the main event.  Everyone came there to see this match and I don't think I'd be wrong in estimating that roughly 70% of PPV buyers purchased the event to see what went down here.  I must note that whether you're already a big fan of them or not, you really can't truly appreciate The Wyatt Family until you see them live.  Their entrance is as bone chilling as The Undertakers and the amount of presence in that ring tonight was something you could feel right in your chest.  Bryan and Punk are amazing.  I think that's something we've all agreed on over the last couple of years, but the man who quietly stole the show here was Luke Harper.  In my opinion this is as much his breakout night as it was Roman Reigns'. 

At first, people were hesitant to respond to Harper and Rowan as it was Bray Wyatt's buzz that got them to the main roster to begin with.  But as time went on, Wyatt shifted to more of a managerial role as Harper and Rowan cemented themselves as one of the better tag teams in the promotion.  Such was the case here tonight.  Wyatt provided a great amount of ringside distraction as Punk and Bryan fought from the bottom to put his two followers away.  Tremendous action in this match.  There was a tease of Bray Wyatt getting in the ring post match to settle the score with Bryan & Punk then and there, but it ended up being nothing as he just walked away. 

CM Punk & Daniel Bryan def. The Wyatt Family after 16:54

 

Match Rating: ***3/4

MAIN EVENT:: WWE Championship match: Randy Orton(c) vs. Big Show

The most exciting part of this match was the entrances.  Make of that what you will.  There was a loud "boring" chant in the early going and I swear nearly a fourth of the audience started making their way out of the arena 5 minutes into the match.  I don't think I need to tell you that's not the kind of atmosphere you want for your main event.  Even the idea of this following Bryan/Punk vs. The Wyatts was absurd on paper.  The was by far the worst WWE PPV main event of the year and a strong contender for the worst main event of any promotion this year.  It was that bland.  The finish saw Triple H, Stephanie and Kane arrive and distract Big Show long enough for Orton to pick up the win with an RKO and a very surprising Punt Kick.  Afterwards, Cena made his way down to the ring and had a champions staredown with Orton.  That last bit was more exciting than the entire matchup itself. 

Randy Orton def. Big Show after 11:08

 

Match Rating: **

 

Final Thoughts

If the ending of this show suggests a WWE/WHC title unification match is in the works, then I almost find the borefest that preceded it to be worthwhile.  That's pretty much the story of a lot of the matches tonight.  Some of the action fell flat, most of the outcomes were predictable and only two matches truly lived up to the hype that preceded them.  That being said, this was an "in-the-moment" show.  With return matches from Rey Mysterio and Mark Henry, a great backstage spot with John Laurinaitis and the breakout performances of Luke Harper and most especially Roman Reigns, there was still a lot to leave excited for the future.  All in all, I'd say go out of your way to watch the opening tag and check out Bryan/Punk vs. The Wyatts if you've got the time.  Other than that, nothing else really worth the price of admission.

Overall PPV Score: 6/10