Survivor Series (2009)
| Survivor Series (2009) | |||
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| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Date | November 22, 2009 | ||
| City | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Venue | Verizon Center | ||
| Attendance | 12,500[1] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Survivor Series chronology | |||
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Survivor Series (2009) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on November 22, 2009 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C..[3] It was the 23rd Survivor Series event. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands.[4] There were six matches on the card of the event.
There were two matches that were deemed the main events of the program. The first was the triple threat match featuring The Undertaker defending the World Heavyweight Championship successfully against both halves of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho and The Big Show. This was also followed by the other main event match: another triple threat with John Cena defending the WWE Championship against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Four matches comprised the undercard of the event with three being elimination tag team matches, often thought of as a Survivor Series "tradition". The first was the team of WWE United States Champion The Miz, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler defeating WWE Intercontinental Champion John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Finlay, and Evan Bourne. This was later followed by Kofi Kingston leading the team of Christian, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), Mark Henry, and R-Truth with a win over Randy Orton, CM Punk, William Regal, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase. The third of these matches held was composed of Mickie James, WWE Divas Champion Melina, Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, and Eve Torres getting a win over that of WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Alicia Fox, and Layla. Also featured was a singles match that saw Batista defeat Rey Mysterio.[5]
The event received 235,000 pay-per-view buys, less than the previous year's event.[6]
Background
Survivor Series featured numerous professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Raw, SmackDown, ECW and WWE Superstars—World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that build tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.[7] All wrestlers on the televised broadcast were from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands—a storyline division in which WWE employees are assigned to a television program of the same name.[8]
The Raw brand's main event was announced on the October 26 episode of Raw by the show's guest hosts and storyline matchmakers, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. John Cena would defend the WWE Championship against both members of D-Generation X, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, in a Triple Threat match.[9]
At WWE Bragging Rights, a 7-on-7 tag team match pitting contingencies of Raw wrestlers against SmackDown wrestlers was held, with the winning team declared the dominant brand. Near the end of the match, Raw wrestler, and one-half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions, The Big Show, turned on his team, allowing the other half, Chris Jericho, to score the victory for SmackDown.[10] The following night on Raw, Big Show revealed that he turned on Team Raw as a favor from SmackDown general manager, Theodore Long, who in return would grant him a World Heavyweight Championship shot at Survivor Series against The Undertaker.[9] On the October 30 edition of SmackDown, both Jericho and Kane expressed a desire to face The Undertaker at Survivor Series instead of The Big Show. Long decided to change the World Heavyweight Championship match into a Triple Threat match, with the third person being the winner of a match between Jericho and Kane. Jericho won the match to earn his spot at Survivor Series.[11]
Following the fatal four-way match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bragging Rights, two of the match's participants, Rey Mysterio and Batista, had a confrontation rooted in Batista's perception of Mysterio holding him back from winning the championship, promptly having the latter turn on his ally, and assault him.[12] After failing to reason with him, it was announced on the November 6 edition of SmackDown that the two would face each other at Survivor Series.[13]
A tradition of Survivor Series are a variety of tag team matches with elimination rules in effect. This year, it was announced that three of these matches would take place. The first announced would have former partners WWE Intercontinental Champion John Morrison and WWE United States Champion The Miz, who ended their partnership following a subsequent betrayal from The Miz, leading to verbal jabs over the following months via their former Internet show, The Dirt Sheet, as well as a match a month prior at Bragging Rights seeing the latter take the victory. It was announced on the company's website that Morrison would captain the team comprising: Shelton Benjamin, Evan Bourne, Finlay, and Matt Hardy while The Miz would enlist Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler. It was also announced that Randy Orton would be have a team versus one of Kofi Kingston's, rooted in their involvement in each others matches over the previous weeks and Kingston defacing of Orton's car.[14] Orton will be enlisting the help of protégés Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes (collectively known as The Legacy), as well as CM Punk and William Regal. Kingston's team is composed of ECW Champion Christian, Mark Henry, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), and R-Truth. Along with the previous two, there was also a match announced consisting of the women of the company. WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool will be teaming with Alicia Fox, Jillian Hall, Layla, and Beth Phoenix; the opposing team will be captained by Mickie James with Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, WWE Divas Champion Melina, and Eve Torres.[15]
Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Matt Striker | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Interviewer | Todd Grisham |
| Josh Mathews | |
| Ring announcer | Justin Roberts (Raw) |
| Tony Chimel (SmackDown) | |
| Referee | Scott Armstrong |
| Mike Chioda | |
| John Cone | |
| Jack Doan | |
| Jim Korderas | |
| Justin King | |
| Aaron "Goose" Mahoney | |
| Charles Robinson |
Pre-show
Prior to Survivor Series airing live on pay-per-view, the fans in attendance were presented with an untelevised match pitting Santino Marella against Chavo Guerrero, which saw Marella get the pinfall victory.[16]
Preliminary matches
The show commenced on pay per view with the first of its three elimination tag team matches: the team of The Miz versus that of John Morrison. The match started with Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger, which saw Bourne dodge Swagger's attacks until Dolph Ziggler made his way in, leading to Miz's team trying to neutralize Bourne. As Bourne managed to break free, he ascended the top turnbuckle, and dove off with his signature back flip body press, a move he dubbed Air Bourne, on Ziggler, leading to a pin predicament, thus eliminating Ziggler from the match. The next man from the latter's team in was Drew McIntyre, who quickly eliminated Bourne by giving him a DDT. Finlay then entered the match as McIntyre tagged in Sheamus, leading to the latter kicking Finlay in the face before pinning him. As Morrison entered the match for the first time, he eliminated Swagger by connecting with his own version of a back flip body press he calls Starship Pain. The Miz entered the match following, and beat down on Morrison, before Shelton Benjamin made his way into the match, which saw him connect with a diving forearm attack and a pair of suplexes. The Miz regained his advantage by driving Benjamin's face into the mat, a move he dubbed Skull-Crushing Finale, leading to The Miz pinning his opponent. Matt Hardy made his way in as McIntyre did himself with Hardy dominating McIntyre before Hardy was cut off by his opponent, and dropped with McIntyre's signature double underhook DDT and eliminated. With Morrison being the only one remaining on his team, he was beaten down by his three opponents, leading to Sheamus Powerbombing Morrison and then pinning him, scoring the victory for Miz's team.
Rey Mysterio versus Batista followed. The match started with Mysterio trying to hit quick attacks before Batista took Mysterio outside of the ring to the floor of the arena, which saw him throw his opponent into one of the posts of the ring. As the action returned to the ring, Batista went to execute his finishing move, the Batista Bomb, only to be stopped as his opponent escape and threw him to the outside. With Batista outside again, Mysterio ran across the ring apron, and dove out at Batista with a seated senton. As the two once again made their way into the ring, Mysterio dropped Batista into the ropes as he executed the 619. As Mysterio went to pin his opponent, Batista evaded the attempt, leading to Mysterio ascending the top turnbuckle and attempted a diving body press; Batista blocked the attack, and performed the Batista Bomb onto his opponent three times, causing the referee to stop the match. Batista then placed a chair in the ring, leading to him driving Mysterio's spine into it before the medical staff took him out on a stretcher.
Aftermath
See Also: WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
After John Cena retained the WWE Championship, a 'Breakthrough battle royale' was announced by Raw guest host Jesse Ventura to determine the next #1 Contender. The concept being that every participant was to be a superstar who had not previously won the WWE Championship. Eventually Sheamus won the match and the contender-ship, later on he attacked Cena and slammed through a table, Ventura who had instigated the attack announced that Cena would defend the championship in a Tables match.
Batista's actions sidelined Rey Mysterio for the next few weeks, Batista would later on become the #1 contender for The Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship. After a few weeks of repeatedly attack the champion, it would later be announced that Undertaker would defend the Championship in a Chairs match.
Reception
Survivor Series received generally mixed reviews from critics, with many noting the predictable card and lackluster showcasing of talent for a "Big Four" Pay-Per-View. The Sun, in mixed to positive review gave the event a 7.5 out of 10 score, praising Kofi Kingston's push, but criticizing the predictability of the matches, particularly the two world title matches. The Sun commented on the WWE Championship match stating that the first 5 seconds give a bigger shock than the rest of the event combined as it features Shawn Michaels immediate Superkick on Triple H to begin the bout.[17]
Results
- Survivor Series Elimination Matches
| Elimination | Wrestler | Team | Eliminated by | Elimination move | Time[18] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dolph Ziggler | Team Miz | Evan Bourne | Air Bourne | 03:54 |
| 2 | Evan Bourne | Team Morrison | Drew McIntyre | Future Shock DDT | 04:09 |
| 3 | Finlay | Team Morrison | Sheamus | Pump kick | 05:11 |
| 4 | Jack Swagger | Team Miz | John Morrison | Starship Pain | 12:05 |
| 5 | Shelton Benjamin | Team Morrison | The Miz | Skull-Crushing Finale | 14:57 |
| 6 | Matt Hardy | Team Morrison | Drew McIntyre | Future Shock DDT | 17:08 |
| 7 | John Morrison | Team Morrison | Sheamus | Crucifix powerbomb | 20:52 |
| Survivor(s): | The Miz, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre (Team Miz) | ||||
| Elimination | Wrestler | Team | Eliminated by | Elimination move | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Henry | Team Kingston | Randy Orton | RKO | 00:50 |
| 2 | R-Truth | Team Kingston | CM Punk | Go To Sleep | 03:11 |
| 3 | Ted DiBiase | Team Orton | Christian | Sunset flip | 05:08 |
| 4 | William Regal | Team Orton | MVP | The Franchise | 06:49 |
| 5 | MVP | Team Kingston | Cody Rhodes | Cross Rhodes | 10:08 |
| 6 | Cody Rhodes | Team Orton | Christian | Killswitch | 11:33 |
| 7 | Christian | Team Kingston | Randy Orton | RKO | 13:24 |
| 8 | CM Punk | Team Orton | Kofi Kingston | Roll-up | 20:39 |
| 9 | Randy Orton | Team Orton | Kofi Kingston | Trouble in Paradise | 20:47 |
| Survivor(s): | Kofi Kingston (Team Kingston) | ||||
| Elimination | Wrestler | Team | Eliminated by | Elimination move | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Layla | Team Michelle | Kelly Kelly | K2 | 01:15 |
| 2 | Gail Kim | Team Mickie | Michelle McCool | Faith Breaker | 02:04 |
| 3 | Jillian Hall | Team Michelle | Eve Torres | Sunset Flip | 03:35 |
| 4 | Eve Torres | Team Mickie | Beth Phoenix | Glam Slam | 03:51 |
| 5 | Kelly Kelly | Team Mickie | Beth Phoenix | Glam Slam | 04:08 |
| 6 | Beth Phoenix | Team Michelle | Mickie James | Crucifix Pin | 04:41 |
| 7 | Alicia Fox | Team Michelle | Mickie James | Lou Thesz Press | 06:24 |
| 8 | Michelle McCool | Team Michelle | Melina | LA Sunset | 10:38 |
| Survivor(s): | Mickie James & Melina (Team Mickie) | ||||
See also
References
- ^ "Attendance for Survivor Series PPV". Gerweck.net. 2009-11-26. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
- ^ ""Get Thru This" by Art of Dying is the official theme song for Survivor Series". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ^ "WWE presents Survivor Series". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ^ "WWE Pay-Per-Views To Follow WrestleMania Formula". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ "Survivor Series results". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ "WWE Reports 2009 Fourth Quarter Results" (PDF). World Wrestling Entertainment. 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment of World Wrestling Entertainment". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ^ "WWE Launches ECW As Third Brand". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
- ^ a b Adkins, Greg (2009-10-26). "The fast & the spurious". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ Passero, Mitch (2009-10-25). "SmackDown curses Raw". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ Burdick, Michael (2009-10-30). "SmackDown for survival". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
- ^ Burdick, Michael (2009-10-25). "Phenom wins, Animal turns rabid". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ Passero, Mitch (2009-11-06). "Altered beast". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ Adkins, Greg (2009-10-26). "The fast & the spurious". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ^ Adkins, Greg (2009-11-09). "Hats off to Hatton". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ^ a b "SURVIVOR SERIES DARK MATCH RESULT FROM WASHINGTON, DC". Pwinsider.com. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
- ^ "Cena survives as DX explode". The Sun. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ a b "Survivor Series 2009". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ "Preview:Team Morrison vs. Team Miz (Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match)". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ "Preview:Batista vs. Rey Mysterio". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ^ "Preview:Team Kingston vs. Team Orton (Traditonal Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match)". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ a b "Preview:WWE Champion Raging Batista vs. Big Show vs. Chris Jericho (Triple Threat Match)". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-10-31. Cite error: The named reference "WWETitle" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Preview:Team Mickie vs. Team Michelle (Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match)". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-09.