WWE: Survivor Series 2011 (2011) DVD

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I attended this show live, so this review is from a slightly different perspective than the others for this DVD. Live this was a very good show, mostly for the crowd reactions and because the Rock was simply tremendous. He didn't do a whole lot, but what he did was great, and simply being there made the show worth while. Nobody who attended this show live or purchased the event on Pay Per View spent their money to see anything or anyone but the Rock, and his appearance was going to make or break the show. In this case, The Rock made the show. The undercard was what it was; I've been to many shows with much better wrestling but what was here was fine. Both the opener and the WWE championship match were very good matches, and the main event was good because of the atmosphere and Rock just being there. I would recommend buying this dvd just to own a piece of the Rock and Madison Square Garden, and the rest of the show isn't bad either. Matches are rated out of 5 stars (*****).

1. United States Championship Match

Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. John Morrison

Crowd absolutely hated Morrison, but mostly because they wanted to see Zach Ryder in this match instead. Loud chants of "WE WANT RYDER" throughout, but it didn't hurt the match and both guys actually played it up well (well, Ziggler did anyway). Very good match here with lots of back and forth action and near falls. Nothing you haven't seen from these two before, but they play off each other well and they had a strong match. Ziggler won clean after hitting the zig-zag. After the match Ziggler taunted the crowd, which of course led to Ryder coming out to an absolutely enormous reaction, and he laid out Ziggler much to the crowd's delight. This was a great way to start the show. ***1/2

2. WWE Diva's Championship Lumberjill Match

Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Eve

Not horrible per divas match standards but the crowd was completely dead. The lumberjills meant absolutely nothing and were just there to get some face time on ppv. Finish was great however with Beth hitting the glam slam off the second rope for the win, which the crowd went nuts for. Other than that there's nothing much to see here, but not bad by any means. *1/2

3. Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Match

Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & Hunico)

vs.

Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Sin Cara, & Mason Ryan)

Long, basic Survivor Series tag match. I wasn't particularly blown away by this, and the wrestlers seemed to be at a loss when Sin Cara botched a dive to the outside and hurt his knee (he's projected to miss 6 to 9 months), but there was certainly nothing wrong with it and it had a good finish. It came down to Orton against three of the heels, Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, and Hunico. Orton eliminated Hunico with an RKO as Hunico came off the top, which everyone saw coming but still looked really cool. However, in a real surprise, Barrett hit the wasteland on Orton right afterwards for the clean win. Barrett and Rhodes really needed to look strong here and this was certainly the right finish. Match was better than average but never really seemed to jump to that next level. **1/2

4. World Heavyweight Championship Match

Mark Henry (c) vs. Big Show

This was an awful match with one really good near fall and a terrible finish. Their last match together at Vengeance was shockingly good. This wasn't that match. Minutes felt like hours here and the crowd was trying desperately to entertain themselves. I distinctly remember chants of "DANIEL BRYAN," UNDERTAKER," and especially an enormously loud "BORING" chant. Both guys seemed to take forever to do anything. However, after Mark Henry speared Big Show through a barricade the crowd seemed to liven up, and Big Show actually went up top and hit a flying elbow for a great near fall. Show took about 4 hours to steady himself on the top, and you could tell he was (rightfully) scared as hell to be up there at his age and weight with all his injuries. However, right after this, Henry kicked Show low for the blatant DQ, which after a bad match, the crowd was not pleased with at all. After the match show laid out Henry with the KO punch and pillmanized his ankle, just like Henry had done to Show back in July. Henry refused a stretcher job and that was that, meaning THIS FEUD MUST CONTINUE. 3/4*

5. WWE Championship Match

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. CM Punk

Before the match started CM Punk had Howard Finkel do his ring introduction, which was a really awesome moment and MSG exploded for Finkel, which brought him near tears. I've been a fan of Howard for a long time and never understood why someone as talented as he is at what he does would be replaced, so this was a very special moment and you could tell it meant a lot to him. This was the match of the night in my opinion. It started off slow but built well and there were a lot of near falls at the end. Alberto kept working on the arm but Punk would find a way out of it and battle back. Eventually Punk scored a near fall after a kick to the head, and after Del Rio kicked out he locked in the Anaconda vice for the clean submission, and the roof absolutely came off Madison Square Garden, just a huge reaction. Punk had a great victory celebration afterwards as he leaped into the crowd and everyone was going nuts. Really good match overall, hopefully Punk can enjoy a relatively long reign as champion. ***3/4

6. The Rock & John Cena vs. The Miz & R-Truth

The reaction the Rock received when he came out rivaled anything I've ever heard at a sporting event, period. The building was literally shaking. They did stare-downs to start things off, and Rock started the match on the offensive by hitting several lightning-fast arm drags and a magistral cradle for a near fall. Words don't do justice to how awesome this action was. On this night, Rock was in a class all by himself, and he made Cena look pretty horrendous in comparison. Speaking of Mr. Cena, New York did not care much for him on this evening (large understatement). Conservatively, I would say 90% of the crowd absolutely despised him, but not in the usual way. Usually it's a good thing and gets a lot of heat for his matches, but in this case it was a legitimate hatred, to the point where they didn't even want him to be there, because he was simply getting in the way of the Rock. After Rock tagged Cena in the match, Miz and Truth proceeded to get the heat on him for what seemed like days. Everything Truth and Miz did looked good and they gelled well as a team, but as I said before, all this was simply getting in the way of the Rock and nobody cared one bit. Eventually Cena was able to make the tag to the Rock and the place wept with joy as he cleaned house and put Miz in a sharpshooter. Truth broke this up, but Cena slid in and tackled Truth to the outside, allowing Rock to hit the spinebuster and the people's elbow for the win. Afterwards, Rock and Cena took turns going on the turnbuckle as Rock would receive massive ovations and Cena would be booed unmercifully. This led to Rock hitting a Rock Bottom on Cena, which Cena sold quite horribly I might add, and that was the end of the show. To me, this was exactly what it needed to be. They didn't want to do too much before Wrestlemania, so as far as a tease goes I think this was very good. They didn't let Rock do too much, what what he did do was excellent and athletically he's one of the better performers I've seen. As far as the match, they probably got the heat on Cena for too long but in the end it really didn't matter because they people got what they wanted, and that's what wrestling is all about. ***

This was a very enjoyable, entertaining show live. As I said I've been to shows with far better wrestling top to bottom, but that really wasn't the purpose or goal of this show. That being said, the undercard is pretty good for what it is, highlighted by the strong opener and WWE Championship Match. The main event is certainly memorable and worth checking out because of the crowd reactions and the Rock's performance, and for that I recommend buying this dvd.

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 Survivor Series 2011 November 25, 2011

By C. Williams

For the most part, this show will be remembered for the Rock returning to MSG, and not much else. It's a subpar wrestling show, and an outstanding entertainment event.

United States Title

Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero vs. John Morrison:

I don't know what genius decided to leave Zach Ryder out of this match when the show was in NYC and they have been brewing a feud between Ziggler and Ryder for weeks.. Nonetheless, as usual Morrison and Ziggler put on an outstanding match as probably only the two of them could do. Great opener, and a HUGE pop for Ryder when he runs out at the end.

Diva's Title Lumberjill Match

Beth Pheonix vs. Eve:

The lumberjill concept sucked, but Eve and Pheonix always put on above average diva matches. The ending was pretty cool too, with another huge reaction from the crowd.

Survivor Series Elimination Match

Barrett, Rhodes, Ziggler, Swagger & Hunico vs. Orton, Sheamus, Kingston, Sin Cara & Mason Ryan:

For the second straight PPV, Ziggler is booked in two matches after Christian was injured weeks before the match. Orton FINALLY loses one of these matches, in a long, run of the mill, yet satisfying elimination match. Nothing to go out of your way to see, but still pretty strong.

World Heavyweight Title

Mark Henry vs. Big Show:

This was a horrible waste of money, talent, and air time. The match is SUPER slow paced. Seriously, these guys move around like hermits with no athletic ability whatsoever. The ending is an even harder slap in the face with a terrible DQ finish. I just hope these guys are not around when the main event for WM comes along.

WWE Title

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk:

Leaps and bounds better than the World Title Match. Punk has Howard Finkel come out to do his introduction, which was a moment in its own. The match between these two was phenominal, and the crowd was electric the entire time. Easily the best match on the night.

The Rock & John Cena vs. The Miz & R-Truth:

This main event was like no other. While the wrestling was just average at best, the crowd reaction for the Rock was simply amazing. The audience BOOed everything Cena did- each time he got a tag or did any move, the audience hated it. A predictable ending but most definitely the most entertaining moment WWE has seen in a long time. Can't wait to see their match at WM.

This PPV and MSG was great. The crowd was LOUD the entire time. There were even some funny/memorable backstage segments. I would recommend for the entertainment value alone.