The True Face of the WWE?
The 27th annual WWE Survivor Series came to you, live on pay-per-view, from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. For months, Big Show was forced to do the bidding of The Authority, having to knock out the likes of Daniel Bryan and Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, just to keep his job in the WWE, but after being pushed too far by Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, “The World’s Largest Athlete” would snap, inevitably getting himself fired. However, the angry giant would prove to be an even bigger thorn in the side for The Authority after his firing as Big Show would repeatedly thwart the plans of Triple H & Stephanie, even knocking out the WWE COO at one point, but after Big Show presented a huge lawsuit that threatened to cripple the WWE for a very long time, the WWE Board of Directors forced Triple H & Stephanie to swallow their pride and offer Big Show his job back. “The World’s Largest Athlete” would want more than just his job back, however, as Big Show would push his side of the negotiations to get himself a shot at the “face of the WWE” Randy Orton and his WWE Championship at Survivor Series! With Triple H adding the caveat that Orton will have to go it alone against Big Show with no outside interference permitted, the self-professed “face of the WWE” would certainly be in danger as Randy Orton defends the WWE Championship against “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show!
After his homecoming to the WWE ring at Hell in a Cell was a major success for John Cena, who unseated Alberto Del Rio to become the new World Heavyweight Champion, the former champion would refuse to accept being a simple ‘footnote’ in the comeback story of John Cena as Alberto Del Rio would repeatedly assault the surgically-repaired arm of John Cena, attempting to cripple “The Champ” and put Cena back on the shelf, but WWE’s resident Superman would refuse to show any weakness, leaving an aura of mystery regarding the health of the World Heavyweight Champion. At the aptly-named Survivor Series, John Cena would arrive in his hometown of Boston in front of his family and friends as, much like the Red Sox, Cena would return home a champion as John Cena defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio.
Last month, the mysterious and unpredictable Wyatt Family inexplicably selected CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as their next victims, viciously assaulting the two former World Champions with Bray Wyatt claiming that the “devil” made him do it. However, what Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan did not expect was for Punk & Bryan to form a successful alliance that would show the trio that “The Best” and “The Beard” would not accept being victims of the destructive Wyatt Family and, at Survivor Series, this super-team would be looking to end the reign of terror that The Wyatt Family has been on in the WWE since their auspicious arrival as CM Punk & Daniel Bryan would face The Wyatt Family’s Luke Harper & Erick Rowan.
If there is one word that appropriately describes Survivor Series, it is “tradition”, and the tradition of the nearly three decade old pay-per-view is for ten of WWE’s best and most exciting Superstars to form unlikely alliances to wage war in a huge Elimination Tag Match and this year would be no different. In a Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match, “The Master of the 619” Rey Mysterio would make his in-ring return to the Thanksgiving tradition as Rey teams with The Usos and WWE Tag Team Champions Goldust & Cody Rhodes to face all three members of The Shield, United States Champion Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns, as well as The Real Americans, Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro, in the huge and unpredictable matchup!
Also at Survivor Series, Big E. Langston would defend his newly won Intercontinental Championship against the determined former champion, Curtis Axel. Plus, the Divas of the WWE would get in on the tradition of Survivor Series as Divas Champion AJ Lee would lead Tamina Snuka, Kaitlyn, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, & Summer Rae into battle against the cast of Total Divas, Natalya, The Bella Twins, Eva Marie, Jo-Jo, & The Funkadactyls in a Traditional 7-on-7 Survivor Series Divas Elimination Tag Match.
Match Results
- Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match: The Shield & The Real Americans def. Rey Mysterio, The Usos, Goldust, & Cody Rhodes with Roman Reigns remaining as the sole survivor.
- Cody Rhodes elim. Dean Ambrose by roll-up.
- Jey Uso elim. Jack Swagger by pin following the Superfly Splash.
- Cody Rhodes elim. Antonio Cesaro by sunset flip roll-up.
- Roman Reigns elim. Jimmy Uso by pin following the Spear.
- Roman Reigns elim. Cody Rhodes by pin following the Spear.
- Seth Rollins elim. Jey Uso by pin following the Curb Stomp.
- Rey Mysterio elim. Seth Rollins by roll-up.
- Roman Reigns elim. Goldust by pin following the Spear.
- Roman Reigns elim. Rey Mysterio by pin following the Spear.
- Intercontinental Championship: Big E. Langston (c) def. Curtis Axel by pin following the Big Ending to retain.
- Traditional 7-on-7 Survivor Series Divas Elimination Tag Match: Team Total Divas def. Team Real Divas with Natalya & Nikki Bella remaining as the sole survivors.
- Naomi elim. Alicia Fox by pin following a split-legged moonsault.
- Rosa Mendes elim. Cameron by pin following the Peligrosa.
- Nikki Bella elim. Rosa Mendes by pin following the facebuster.
- Nikki Bella elim. Summer Rae by pin following a dropkick.
- Kaitlyn elim. Eva Marie by pin following the Go To Knee.
- Kaitlyn elim. Naomi by pin following the Go To Knee.
- Brie Bella elim. Kaitlyn by pin following a missile dropkick.
- Aksana elim. Brie Bella by pin following a spinebuster.
- Nikki Bella elim. Aksana by pin following the Rack.
- AJ Lee elim. Jo-Jo by pin following the Samoan Drop by Tamina Snuka.
- Natalya elim. Tamina Snuka by submission to the Sharpshooter.
- Natalya elim. AJ Lee by submission to the Sharpshooter.
- Mark Henry def. Ryback by pin following the World’s Strongest Slam.
- World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena (c) def. Alberto Del Rio by pin following the Attitude Adjustment to retain.
- CM Punk & Daniel Bryan def. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan by CM Punk pinning Luke Harper following the GTS.
- WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) (with The Authority) def. Big Show by pin following the punt to the skull to retain.
Detailed Results
Before Survivor Series officially gets underway, The Authority make their presence felt at the November classic as WWE Principal Owner Stephanie McMahon welcomes everyone to Survivor Series before WWE COO Triple H makes the announcement that, not only will there be no physical interference permitted in the WWE Title match, there will be no physical interference permitted in any match tonight!
The opening match of the night was a match that epitomizes the tradition of Survivor Series as “The Master of the 619” Rey Mysterio would team with The Usos and WWE Tag Team Champions Goldust & Cody Rhodes to face the team of The Shield and The Real Americans, with Zeb Colter in their corner, in the Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match. Unfortunately for his team, The Shield’s Dean Ambrose would bring a bad attitude into the match as, very early on in the match, the United States Champion would get into an argument with the referee, which would give Cody Rhodes the perfect opportunity to catch Ambrose with a roll-up, making Ambrose the first casualty of the elimination-style match! Things would only get worse for Ambrose following his elimination as Dean would pick a fight with Goldust, resulting in Goldust popping Ambrose with an uppercut, finally getting the United States Champion out of the ring, leaving his team with a one-man disadvantage.
Jack Swagger was the next man out as, following the 619 from Rey Mysterio and a superkick from Jimmy Uso, Swagger would feel the Superfly Splash of Jey Uso en route to Jey eliminating Swagger from the match. Swagger’s tag team partner would follow shortly as, after Antonio Cesaro successfully takes both of The Usos for a ride with the Cesaro Swing, Cody Rhodes would get tagged in, immediately countering Cesaro’s attempt at an uppercut into a sunset flip, pinning Cesaro for the elimination, leaving only Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns on the opposing team against the still-whole team of Rey Mysterio, The Usos, Goldust, & Cody Rhodes!
Roman Reigns would be the first man to put a blemish on the opposing team as Reigns would catch Jimmy Uso with the Spear, spelling Jimmy’s elimination from the match. Reigns would continue to single-handedly save his team from defeat as Reigns would catch Cody Rhodes with the Spear, as well, eliminating one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions from the match. Seth Rollins would then even things up for the remainder of his team as Rollins uses the Curb Stomp to eliminate Jey Uso from the match, leaving Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns against the two veterans, Goldust & Rey Mysterio.
After taking the brunt of a two-on-one assault from Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns, Rey Mysterio would battle back, surprising Seth Rollins with a roll-up to eliminate Rollins, leaving Roman Reigns alone to face Mysterio and Goldust. Roman Reigns would then prove to the world that he is much more than a simple lackey as Reigns explodes out of nowhere with a Spear to Goldust, eliminating Goldust from the match. Left alone with a former World Champion, Reigns looked to be all but done for once Rey sets Reigns up for the 619, but Roman would shock the world with a huge Spear to Mysterio, pinning Mysterio to eliminate Rey and win the match for his team, standing tall as the sole survivor!
After his five-month reign as Intercontinental Champion was brought to an end on RAW, Curtis Axel would be looking to regain the prestigious title as the third-generation Superstar would challenge the new holder of the Intercontinental Title, Big E. Langston, at Survivor Series. Despite Curtis Axel’s best efforts, the size and strength of Big E. Langston proved to be too much for the ex-champion as Langston uses the Big Ending to put Axel away, successfully retaining the Intercontinental Title.
Backstage, Divas Champion AJ Lee attempts to rally her ‘troops’, telling Kaitlyn, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, & Summer Rae that they are “inferior” to her, but they need to work together to take back the Divas division from the cast of Total Divas. Alicia Fox takes issue with AJ calling her inferior before Kaitlyn points out the terrible things that the Divas Champion has done to just about every Diva in the locker room, asking why they should trust her. AJ says that they do not like each other, but it is not about them, it is about the fact that the producers of Total Divas are not interested in any of them, telling the Divas to start their own show by “stealing this one”.
In a huge Traditional 7-on-7 Survivor Series Divas Elimination Tag Match, the cast of Total Divas, Natalya, The Bella Twins, Jo-Jo, Eva Marie, & The Funkadactyls would face the anti-Total Divas team of Divas Champion AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Kaitlyn, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, & Summer Rae. Naomi would score the first elimination of the match, hitting a split-legged moonsault on Alicia Fox, eliminating Fox. Rosa Mendes then scores a fall for her team, dropping Cameron into the second turnbuckle with the Peligrosa, but is soon taken out by Nikki Bella following a facebuster. After a brief dance-off, Nikki Bella would catch Summer Rae with a dropkick to the face, sending the dancer out of the match. Eva Marie would then enter the match to a chorus of boos from the crowd, but would only last mere moments against Kaitlyn, who hits the Go To Knee on Eva Marie, eliminating Eva from the match. Kaitlyn would use the same method to take Naomi out of the match, hitting the Go To Knee for the elimination.
Brie Bella then gets her team back into the match with a missile dropkick, eliminating Kaitlyn from the match. A distraction from AJ Lee would then pay dividends for her team as Aksana takes advantage of the distraction, hitting a spinebuster on Brie Bella, eliminating Brie from the match. However, Nikki Bella would pick up the slack, hitting the Rack on Aksana, eliminating Aksana from the match. After letting Tamina Snuka do her dirty work with the Samoan Drop, AJ Lee would saunter into the ring, taking the time to skip around before pinning and eliminating Jo-Jo. At the end of a battle between the two second-generation competitors in the match, Natalya and Tamina Snuka, it was Natalya locking the Sharpshooter in on Tamina, forcing Tamina to tap out for the elimination. With only AJ Lee remaining on the other team, Natalya would lock the Sharpshooter in on AJ, forcing the Divas Champion to tap out to pick up the win for her team with herself and Nikki Bella remaining.
Backstage, WWE Champion Randy Orton tries to strike up an alliance with referee Charles Robinson, trying to convince Robinson to help him in his match, but Charles does not take the bait, saying he is going to do whatever The Authority instructs him to do.
With Hall of Famers Mick Foley, Booker T, & Bret “The Hitman” Hart ready to offer their expert analysis on Survivor Series, Ryback interrupts, saying that he could intimidate any one of the former World Champions on the panel and he can intimidate anyone in the WWE. Ryback then insists that he is not a “bully”, saying that his name is the one on the “marquee”. Ryback then issues an open challenge to anyone in the arena who wants to face him, but the man that answers the call is a man who cannot be intimidated as “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry returns to the ring, ready to collide with “The Human Wrecking Ball”. In a hard-hitting car crash of a match, Mark Henry would re-assert himself as the dominant force in the WWE, flattening Ryback with the World’s Strongest Slam en route to picking up the win.
A champion would return home at Survivor Series as, in front of his friends and family in Boston, John Cena would defend the World Heavyweight Championship against the former champion, Alberto Del Rio. Throughout the match, Alberto Del Rio would relentlessly attack the surgically-repaired arm of John Cena, but the Superman of the WWE would again persevere, hitting the Attitude Adjustment out of nowhere, pinning Del Rio to pick up the win in his hometown and successfully retain the World Heavyweight Title.
After refusing to be victimized by The Wyatt Family like so many others before them, “The Best in the World” CM Punk would join forces with Daniel Bryan as “The Beard” and “The Best” would collide with the “brothers” of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan, with Bray Wyatt in their corner. At the end of a classic match of speed versus strength, it was speed winning out as, after Daniel Bryan takes Erick Rowan out with the running knee to the face, it was CM Punk putting Luke Harper to sleep with the GTS, pinning Harper to pick up the win for “The Best” and “The Beard”. After the match, Bray Wyatt would glare at CM Punk & Daniel Bryan with disdain, taking off his hat and approaching the ring, but Wyatt would opt not to face the two men that just defeated his “brothers”, backing off and leaving with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in tow.
Backstage, The Authority is receiving an update from the trainer on the condition of World Heavyweight Champion John Cena when WWE Champion Randy Orton enters the office. After a brief glare at each other, Cena opts to leave the office, saying that it looks like Orton and The Authority have some “business” to work out. In a tone riddled with jealousy and paranoia, Orton asks what Cena was doing in their office, leaving the office before receiving an answer.
Then it was time for the main event of Survivor Series as, after using a massive lawsuit to not only get his job back, but get a title match as well, “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show would challenge the self-proclaimed “face of the WWE”, Randy Orton, for the WWE Championship and, as decreed by The Authority, there would be no physical interference permitted for the match. During the David vs. Goliath matchup, the action would spill to the outside, where Big Show would toss Randy Orton into the ring apron, but Orton would inadvertently collide with the referee, taking the referee down for the time being. With the referee down, Randy Orton would try to use a steel chair against Big Show, but Big Show would counter with a kick to Orton. The champion and the challenger would then brawl through the crowd and, after being tossed over the barricade, Orton would get his jaw jacked by the Knockout Punch of Big Show! Big Show would then roll Randy Orton into the ring, but that is when The Authority decides to make their presence known as WWE COO Triple H & WWE Principal Owner Stephanie McMahon, alone with their Director of Operations, Kane, come out to the staging area. Naturally, this draws the ire of Big Show, allowing Orton to take advantage with an RKO to “The World’s Largest Athlete”. Orton would then pull himself up in the corner of the ring, driving his boot into the prone skull of Big Show, punting his way to a successful retention of the WWE Championship as The Authority applauds the victory! However, things would then take an unexpected turn as World Heavyweight Champion John Cena would walk out to the ring with the World Heavyweight Title held high above his head, walking right past The Authority as the World Heavyweight Champion stands face-to-face with the WWE Champion in the center of the ring!
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