TV Recap: WWE Survivor Series 2013

Survivor Series got interesting before the show actually began.

During the pre-show match, The Miz and Kofi Kingston had a respect moment with a handshake, and a chain-wrestling moment during the match earned the two applause from the crowd. Miz, while playing the heel wrestled very neutral during the match, and in the end won with a rollup. The shock was after, where Miz extended for another handshake, but it was Kingston denying it, slapping Miz across the face. Crowd booed, while the at-home audience heard Cole and Lawler playing it as Miz being arrogant. Amazing how what is perceived by the live-crowd is different than what the at-home audience is fed by the announce team. I would like to see Kingston take a stab at being a heel. The guy has been on WWE television since 2007, and has always been a fan-favorite. In 2009, we saw a new side to Kofi, more aggressive and exhibited a new style on the mic. He had a championship feud with Randy Orton, and many thought this new side of Kingston would stay, but once the feud ended, so did this serious persona as it reverted back to the smiling mild-mannered one. Perhaps now is a good time for a change. Kofi has been stale for about a year already, WWE has to do something.

We kick off Survivor Series with The Authority heads Triple H and Stephanie who proclaim not a single match will have interference. So, are they revealing the script or is this part of the script?

First match is the Traditional Survivor Series match. Cutting to the chase, Roman Reigns wins as the Sole Survivor. The guy put on one hell of a show, and it is clear WWE gave the big man the opportunity to stand out, not just by winning, but being able to show how versatile he really is and tested to see how the fans will react. At the end of this one, he got respect from the Boston audience and likely from the audience watching at home. I admit, I am a critic of Reigns, as I often found him to be nothing more than the “big guy” of the Shield. Tonight, he showed he has the potential to be more. I was surprised to see Ambrose as first to go. Even more shocking to see both Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro to go in succession, leaving Seth Rollins and Reigns to fend off the entire opposing team. Uso, Rhodes, then other Uso are sent packing, and finally Reigns pins Goldust and then spears the lunch out of Mysterio instantly to pick up the win.

As expected, Big E. Langston defeats Curtis Axel to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Axel, sporting a beard to rival Daniel Bryan, puts on a much better outing than he did when losing the championship. Langston though, clearly the dominator, wins the match after the Big Ending. I do wonder where Axel goes from here. It was only on SmackDown he teamed with Damien Sandow who is also suffering from little direction against Langston and Dolph Ziggler, the latter yet another individual who by all rights should have been on the PPV card.

Divas Survivor Series Match: Boring Boring Boring
Natalya wins via Sharpshooter last eliminating Tamina Snuka and AJ Lee.

Ryback, for some reason hits the ring and starts mouthing off. Suddenly, a wild Rick Ross appears! Oh, wait, it’s Mark Henry! Henry makes mincemeat out of Ryback. Wow. They had a WrestleMania match last year which went longer. Much longer. Ryback looks like a loser right now. Send him back to NXT to protect him.

In a good match, John Cena retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto del Rio. The sad thing is, no one was interested. The crowd was into it for maybe the first five minutes, but reality set in, everyone knew Cena was not going to lose. It is a shame how that knowledge can kill a match. Del Rio dominated, and as usual, Cena sells it. There is so much hate on Cena, people forget how well he can sell a beat down. Cena had his usual comeback moments, and Del Rio locking in the Cross-Armbreaker as always is a thing of beauty. This time, Cena powered out to counter, hitting the Attitude Adjustment for the victory. Who knows where Del Rio goes from here, I certainly do not. He is a consistent main event player who now no longer has a main event to play in.

Three words to describe the next match. This. Is. Awesome. Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk put on a great match. Even Bray Wyatt, with minimal interference also contributed to the match. Bryan took the biggest beating I have seen him take in WWE. Second rope powerbomb, a half-nelson Suplex, stiff lariats, you name it, Bryan ate it. Rowan and Harper are a force. For big men, they can move, and they can wrestle. Harper, he is so good at ring presence. He stalks his prey, he mauls without warning. Rowan, the red-bearded beast just attacks with vicious abandon. Punk and Bryan together are a great duo. If this sticks, they could be one of the best teams ever. I wonder if WWE will let the fans vote on their team name, Team Ring of Honor anyone? Back to the pay-per-view, this back-and-forth match could have went either way, but it did go the way of our heroes, Bryan and Punk. While the Wyatts came up short, they still looked very strong as the dominators of the match. I’d like to see these four do it again. The next pay-per-view is Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. Boy, would I love to see a rematch with these two teams with that stipulation.

We get a lot of recaps going into the main event. Big Show being used by The Authority, the lawsuit, Randy Orton turning from proud champion into spoiled brat who cries for help. Triple H has told Randy he will have to beat Big Show on his own in order to be the “face of WWE.”

Big Show is in a really good position right now to become champion. Unfortunately, the crowd is not into this one, as chants of “Daniel Bryan,” “Boring!,” and “You can’t wrestle” (the latter directed during Orton’s offensive) dominated the match. Very sad when the main event match of the night earns the “boring” chants. Unfortunately, Orton only gave the Boston crowd more fodder when he botched his own rope DDT signature. Show, for whatever reason went to the top turnbuckle, but the champion stopped him. Orton set up to drop Show from the top with the DDT, but Orton pulled Show too far and his feet fell off the top rope before Orton hit the move. Orton runs away from the KO Punch, and winds up being the cause of the ref bump. Big Show clobbers Orton on the outside with the KO Punch, but before he could pin Orton, the theme of The Game hits and Triple H, Steph, with Kane come to the stage. Show distracted, turns and eats an RKO, followed by the kick to the head, and Orton gets the pin and win.

To make matters worse, John Cena then hits the ring and has a face-off with Orton, who clutches his WWE Title like an infant.

So it looks like next up is Cena vs. Orton is a match to determine who is the real “face of the WWE” at the next PPV? Very sad, the show-closer is also the event-killer. The match was very forced, and Orton just couldn’t help but either trip over himself, the ropes, or botch his own signature moves. You get such an incredible match with The Wyatts vs. Bryan and Punk, the crowd is hot and hyped, and then you get this slow, boring, uneventful and confusing event closer. Oh well, onto RAW tomorrow and the inevitable whine-fest between Cena and Orton. Thanksgiving may be coming up this week, but this result I am not thankful for.