Sometimes things can happen in the most obscure times on a wrestling show. Throughout the course of Survivor Series last night, I made it vocally clear that the fact the show was free was all the show was worth. Nowhere near the standard of a Survivor Series. It was pretty very average in all honesty. Then came the main event, and everything that transpired throughout it, and all of a sudden the first two hours of the show became irrelevant. Merely played filler to lead up to what was the best single hour of a WWE event that I've ever seen. It wouldn't be right if I didn't tell you what happened in that two hours though, no matter how soul draining it might have been at times.
The kickoff show featured a few things. Of the three "events" that happened, the middle one was the best, and if you don't agree, you're wrong. And I hate ye. In between those events though, we had words from a panelist of experts. And Alex Riley. Mostly promoting each match on the main show, and Heyman basically sold us on the lot of it. Christ, he made the Divas title match sound as if it was going to be decent. Wrestling though. A new and improved Fandango came out, looking more like Antonio Banderas in Take The Lead. Accompanied by the lovely Rosa Mendes, who has finally decided that actual wrestling isn't necessarily her forte. He was going up against Justin Gabriel, who despite his veteran status on NXT, has been reduced to jobbing on the Survivor Series kickoff show. The writing was on the wall from the first bell, and despite Gabriel managing to hit a nice moonsault at one point, Fandango secured a comfortable victory with the diving leg-drop. Then came the return of the century, back after almost five months, Bad News Barrett came out, and gave us some double helpings of BAAAAD NEEEEEEEEWS. First for John Cena, then for The Authority. He tells us that should The Authority lose, the WWE will continue to strive under the era of Bad News Barrett. And if you weren't grinning from ear to ear through the whole thing you're doing it wrong. Last of all we had a wee impromptu match between Jack Swagger and Cesaro. Predictably really good, hard-hitting stuff, with Swagger coming out on top with the Patriot Lock. Kickoff show done it's job well enough, but they really need to cut it to half an hour for PPVs, it just seemed as though they were dragging it on a bit and repeating a lot of things most of the time.
Kickoff Show Rating - 5/10
The main show kicked off with Mr. McMahon and The Authority coming down. Vince ups the ante by informing them that should they lose, they'll no longer have ANY involvement with the WWE talent, and that John Cena would have the sole power to bring them back.
The tag title match was up first and I'd be lying if I said it was anything special. As could have been expected, it was riddled with spots and that basically made the match watchable as a whole. I had a couple of suspicions about what would happen here. I knew Goldust and Stardust would lose, but I expected the Usos to win. I also reckoned Mizdow would turn on The Miz, but that didn't happen, as it would be Mizdow who would capitalize on a towered suplex/powerbomb between the Dusts and Los Matadores, picking up the scraps to win the tag team titles. Of course, Miz took all the glory... and both belts, so it should be interesting to see how long Miz and Mizdow can stay on the same page.
Match Rating - 6/10
The second match was the Divas survivor series match between Team Nattie (Natalya, Alicia Fox, Naomi & Emma) and Team Paige (Paige, Cameron, Summer Rae and Layla). A rather poor match broken up with spells of good moments, namely from Nattie's team. Survivor Series matches have a tendency to signal the spark that ignites the fire in a certain particular superstar's career. As such was the case with Roman Reigns. As we'll see later on in this show also. However, in this particular match, the one who stood out was Naomi. As incredible an athlete as she is, she hasn't yet had the chance to shine. She gained arguably the two most important falls in a survivor series match - the first and the last. Eliminating old team-mate Cameron to kick off proceedings, and then bringing the win up for her team by pinning former Divas champ Paige with the rear view. As much as Natalya is more than worthy of a run with the Divas title, it looks as though Naomi may be one to watch in that regard. Overall though, it was a forgettable match, with the crowd still chanting for Mizdow throughout, and for that reason, I give it...
Match Rating - 4/10
Up next, it was the match that I tipped for match of the night - Dean Ambrose vs Bray Wyatt - and where it may not have lived up to the main event in that regard, it was certainly a match that was played out to (IMO) perfection. It was the simple things that made this match great, like Ambrose doing Wyatt's pose in the corner, trying to get into the head of Bray. It was, for the most part, an even contest, and a straight up brawl. A huge clothesline from Wyatt couldn't keep Ambrose down, and the attempt at Sister Abigail was blocked. When Bray realized that he wasn't getting anywhere close to keeping Ambrose down, he grabbed a mic and cut a passionate promo about how they could have ruled the world together, before grabbing a chair and throwing it into the ring. Ambrose was first to it though, and after being dared into doing it, he laid into Wyatt with the chair, causing the DQ. He wasn't through there though, as he elbow dropped Wyatt through a table and buried him under numerous chairs, before bring a ladder into the ring and simply standing atop of it. Seems crystal clear what he had in mind eh? Great match, with neither booked to look weak going into TLC next month, which should make for a classic.
Match Rating - 8/10
An impromptu tag team match was setup between Adam Rose & The Bunny and Slater Gator. It was a squash in every sense of the word, with The Bunny picking up the pin. Adam Rose looked decidedly raging. Poor excuse for a filler match.
Match Rating - 0/10
One squash match followed another as AJ Lee defended her Divas championship against Nikki Bella. Straight from the opening bell, Brie decided it was as good a time as any to turn heel, giving AJ a wee winch, distracting her long enough for Nikki to hit the Rack Attack, becoming the new Divas champion. It would get the same rating as the previous match, but here, we got to see Brie stick her tongue down AJ's throat, so far that alone...
Match Rating - 3/10
With an hour to go of the show, it was main event time, and I won't lie, I thought it was going to be shite. That's why I love wrestling though. You can look at the circumstances around a match and think "Aw christ, here we go" and then witness the best single hour of a WWE PPV since the Attitude Era. I'm not even kidding. It was that good. The eliminating started early though, as Big Show KO'd Mark Henry within the first minute to immediately put Team Authority on the back foot. Realizing that their future looked bleak, The Authority went all-out to ensure they kept their jobs, causing enough distraction for Seth Rollins to Curb Stomp Ryback, before the legal man Rusev put him away with a Superkick, evening the scores. Rusev tried to take out Ziggler as well, attempting to splash him through the announce table, but Dolph avoided it, getting back in the ring in time for Rusev to be counted out, making sure that his streak of never being pinned lives on. Erick Rowan gets a special mention, because he was class in this match. Throwing his weight around like a proper heavyweight, and still managing to hit a beautiful spinning kick. His time in the match would come to an end when a distraction allowed Luke Harper to eliminate him with a lariat. In the face of defeat, Big Show made a harsh call, KOing John Cena, allowing Seth Rollins to eliminate him, before shaking the hand of Triple H and allowing himself to be counted out. That left Dolph Ziggler. Remember what I said earlier about SS matches and individuals? Well this was the beginning of Ziggler's path to being the face of the company, don't believe me? You're wrong. Taking an onslaught of offense from Seth Rollins, Kane and Luke Harper, he managed to get the slip on Kane, hitting a Zig Zag to make it 2 on 1. Then Harper got complacent, even with all of the beating Dolph was taking, he took his eye off the ball, and Ziggler rolled him up with a handful of his jeans to pick up the elimination and give Team Cena at least an even chance at winning the match. He still was far from 100% though, and as Rollins continued to assault him, it looked as though a valiant effort would be just that. Seemingly from out of nowhere though, Ziggler managed a Zig Zag, and was all over the winner when Triple H attacked the referee. Fighting out of an Authority attack, Ziggler managed to hit another Zig Zag on Rollins, but again, Triple H attacked the new official, before taking matters into his own hands. Brutally attacking Ziggler, before hitting a Pedigree, it looked as though he had screwed Team Cena out of the match, and their jobs. Placing Rollins over the motionless Ziggler, he called for none other than Scott Armstrong down to complete the 3 count, a bitter exclamation point in a storied rivalry between The Authority and the fans. Not so fast though, the count was again interrupted. Not by Triple H though. Nor by a returning Team Cena member, trying to salvage the match. Nah, it was a bit more... legendary... than that. As the phrase goes... a picture speaks a thousand words...
Sting made his WWE debut, and what a way to do it. A long and tense stare-down between Stinger and Triple H culminated with Hunter eating the fabled Scorpion Death-Drop, before Sting pulled Ziggler over Rollins and left without saying a word. The original referee made the count, and that was that. The authority is finished. No longer in power. As Cena and Ziggler share a hug on the stage, Hunter and Steph break down in the ring, realizing that they're finished. Beautiful end to the show. The match was phenomenal, had the perfect pace to it, and Ziggler's performance was worth the price of the ticket alone. Sting blew the roof off the place though, and gave the world goosebumps. It was a triumphant debut, and it looks all but certain that he will be stepping in the ring for a match in the near future. Any real need to tell you the rating?
Match Rating - 10/10
All in all, I thought the PPV was average, and at times, forgettable. They have a knack of doing that though. One single hour can make the previous two seem almost inadequate, and regardless of how good Ambrose/Wyatt was, and Brie exploring her sexuality, this night will be remembered for two men only. Those men are Dolph Ziggler and Sting. It would be blasphemy if I didn't give an overall rating though, and I need to be honest, so here it is...
Overall Rating - 6/10... basically because of how average every other match was.