WWE Survivor Series 2010 Review

WWE Survivor Series 2010 Review

By Phil Allely

The annual WWE Pay-Per-View Survivor Series is a thanksgiving tradition and used to be one of the most exciting events of the year, consisting of many so-called Survivor matches (where teams of five fought for survival). The matches were often between people who rarely if ever met in the ring and saw some great combinations of team mates, creating excitement and a very different format than every other event offered by the company during the year. The 2010 effort saw only one such match feature and whilst not as good as some previous years the card was decent and continued some of the years greatest storyline threads through with ease. Not bad when you consider the fact that the WWE itself had announced last year that the event would cease to exist after 2009.

The Nexus/John Cena alliance factored highly in proceedings this year and Cena’s WWE carer lay on the line in the main event, so whilst many of the company’s big hitters (Undertaker, HHH, CM Punk) were out with injuries the rising faction saw itself pushed to the hilt to fill the void, as they have been doing on PPV and during the recent European tour.

The opening match saw United States champion Daniel Bryan tackle third generation star Ted DiBiase Jr. DiBiase may be losing his place in the shuffle these days, but Bryan’s presence and ability made this one of the matches of the night. Bryan locking on his LaBell lock for the relatively easy win, to retain his gold. Post-match The Miz and Alex Riley attacked Bryan and cut a promo.

Our very own Celtic Warrior Sheamus fell to John Morrison next, the Irishman and the high flyer working very well together, each getting the chance to shine and tease their finishers. Sheamus going the more traditional hard-hitting kick-punch style against the flashy Morrison. A nice looking running knee by Morrison after some back and forth action ended this one perfectly.

Dolph Ziggler and Kaval had a blast in the following Intercontinental match-up. Both seemed to be on fine form and blended well in the ring. Kaval was impressive in his style and Ziggler stepped up to the plate to meet him. Vicky Guererro at ringside had no real effect on proceedings and the action spoke for itself. A Ziggler tights assisted roll-up saw him retain his belt however.

The Team Del Rio versus Team Mysterio bout had some terrific in-ring action., but perhaps someone should have givena few of the guys a bit more ring time. The once mighty MVP was one such performer who deserved to be in on the action for longer. The eliminations came thick and fast and number advantages swapped place regularly before the inevitable two-on-one situation loomed its head. The oddity here being it was the face team of Rey Mysterio and Big Show who had the advantage of heel Drew McIntyre. A 619/choke slam combo saw the Scot fall and the little and large duo stand tall as survivors for their team and match winners.

Hart Dynasty member Natalya took on the WWE Divas Championship co-holders LayCool (Michelle McCool/Layla) next in a handicap match for the title. No matter what the devious LayCool threw at her Natalya’s skill and determination saw it fail. The talented young lady was more than fit for them and won the title to boot, following a few heated exchanges and a good looking Sharpshooter submission hold. A returning Beth Phoenix made the save to aid Natalya after a post-match LayCool sneak attack sought to thwart her in-ring celebrations.

Kane’s World Heavyweight Title defence against Edge was a really well paced and heated encounter that showed both main-eventers at their best. Kane may be near the end of his in-ring career, but given the right opponent and less of the over-the-top theatrics of his recent scraps with storyline brother Undertaker, the guy can still pull off a fine match these days. The only problem here was the end, as both men attempted their finishers, Edge seemingly pinned Kane to win the gold, however the ref then overturned his decision and stated that both men had their shoulders down for the three-count and the result was a tie. Kane retained his belt for another while, whilst Edge got some form of revenge by battering him after the match.

The Tag Team Title match was a no-brainer really, not many thought that the team of Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov could wrestle the straps from the Nexus duo of Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater. Marella and Kozlov had some nice moment in the ring, but this really was all about Nexus and the factions members (minus Cena) did prove to aid the decision, distracting Marella for a Slater pin to keep their prized belts.

The long-awaited main event came next, with Nexus banned from ringside it was up to special referee John Cena to hold order in this one, he also had the stipulation that if Wade Barrett failed to win the title John Cena would be fired for the WWE.

Although Barrett is not yet ready (much like the rest of Nexus) for main events, he did hold his own well against the more street smart and savvy WWE Champion Randy Orton. The stipulations and Cena’s presence did help things move on and maintain crowd interest throughout. A few near falls occurred and both combatants hit their respective finishers. It was Cena who would seal his own fate though. Barrett was too buys arguing and shoving Cena that he lost track of Orton and walked into the match winning RKO.

A shocked Orton watched on as Cena acknowledged his fans and walked away from the ring, perhaps forever.

Survivor Series had a good blend of matches and exciting storyline developments throughout the card. The Survivor Series match was nice to see, Natalya winning the Diva gold and Beth Phoenix return will boost that division and Kane’s win will keep his Edge battles ongoing until some more guys come off the inured list. The big story was of course the (storyline) firing of John Cena, his feud with Nexus has yet to meet its natural conclusion and he is mentioned on future event blurb, so we must assume the WWE has some interesting twists and turns to offer up as this one moves on.

The events of the following evenings Raw were special too, as The Miz did the (dis)honourable thing and cashed in his Money in The Bank case to win his first World Title. So in the space of a few days the WWE clawed back some very valuable fan interest with some solid events. The return of some top names soon and the eventual reveal of who the mysterious Raw General manager is may well be the icing on the cake for them.