Hey yo. You’re reading the pre-Survivor Series edition of News & Analysis. Thank you for doing that! Feedback can be sent to eddie@thebalrogslair.com.
The Survivor Series PPV event has always meant a lot to WWE. It’s one of the “big five” PPVs, the final of the year. There’s a lot of history linked to the Survivor Series PPV event. It was the place where many of the biggest names in the industry have made their WWF(E) debut. The Undertaker, for example, marks his thirteenth year in the company at this year’s Survivor Series. The history is certainly there.
Speaking of history, WWE has went ahead and brought back the one match the PPV became famous with — the Survivor match. Not only have they brought it back, but have tried their best to put some importance to it. Let’s take a look at the card, and the predictions of yours truly for each bout…
Vince McMahon vs. The Undertaker — Buried Alive
I think that the match received more coverage and hype than it needed. I liked that they had ‘Taker off TV before the match. They can’t do much with him and Vince, as your usual “interaction” between wrestlers obviously doesn’t fit here. The Undertaker vignettes they aired on SmackDown weren’t bad at all in my opinion. What put the feud down were the segments done by McMahon. I don’t know why, but Vince decided to take the “extra” step and be “over the line” with his acting role this time. Results May Vary says the title of the album by Limp Bizkit, one track of which is used as the theme song for this PPV; in this case the results were not good at all. I guess you’ve heard it everywhere online, or you might have thought of it yourself, but the plan is for Vince McMahon to actually win the bout. The plan is for McMahon to win, which will result in Undertaker taking some time off. The Dead Man will then make a return either at Royal Rumble, but most likely at WrestleMania XX with his old, original gimmick. It could be a one-night thing, but I assure you it’ll be huge if they go through with it, as many fans would love to see the character brought back for one appearance. If that’s where they’re headed, I think we can somehow okay a Vince win.
Prediction: Vince McMahon
Shane McMahon vs. Kane — Ambulance Match
This storyline has gone on for quite some time now. I must admit that I lost track of things a long time ago. I see no purpose at all to it. Why are they fighting again? Over Linda McMahon’s pride? If that’s so, WWE should have done that at SummerSlam. They screwed up with this storyline all the way back then. As far as all the other “dramatic moments” crap goes, some of it was cool, but none of it credible enough for fans to get into. I hope their match will be better, as Shane really does seem to have improved a bit in the ring. Kane should pick up the win.
Prediction: Kane
Team Lesnar vs. Team Angle
I don’t think they did that good of a job setting up that bout. They didn’t really explain to us why the match is taking place. We were expected to believe it was because the higher power on SmackDown has said so. Why isn’t the champion defending his championship? Nobody knows. Well, I will say that I’ve enjoyed some of the stuff they’ve done, on the flip side. They did do an okay job of introducing Matt Morgan and Nathan Jones. They’ve also done a pretty good job with Cena’s turn so far. I hope they go on the right track. I have a question for you though — Does it really matter who will win?
Prediction: Team Angle
Team Bischoff vs. Team Austin
This Survivor match is definitely set up better than its SmackDown counterpart. For months now WWE has had Christian and Chris Jericho constantly alarm us that Steve Austin is a horrible G.M. They’ve had Jericho even feud Austin over it. Well, it all connects now as involving the G.M.s really did make the setup easy. WWE has also inserted its strong mid-card workers in the bout. Booker T, RVD, Orton, Michaels, Christian, and the Dudleyz. They’re joined by Scott Steiner and Mark Henry who probably won’t get that much in-ring time. It’s definitely a cool match with a good setup, so I’m looking forward to that one. Bischoff winning will make more sense. WWE can try out some new things and shake things up if that happens, and I would rather see something fresh and not Austin stunning someone for no reason. I’ve been seeing that in the past 8 years, it’s getting a little old.
My Prediction: Team Bischoff
Goldberg vs. Triple H — World Championship Match
They did a great job of bringing Batista back and building up as the credible guy he was supposed to be before leaving due to an injury. The $100,000-bounty storyline had its ups and downs. I thought it was a great idea to shake RAW up for a bit, and it did. But on the flip side of things, it put the importance of the World title to the side, and it also made Goldberg look bad when he was put out. He did make a great return, and that was booked well in my opinion. Triple H did the job on RAW and he should be doing the job at the PPV as well. I think that the Internet needs to give him at least a small praise for that. Triple H is a smart man and he knows that doing the job right now won’t hurt him one bit, and will also make him look good company-wise. However, he still can go out of their way and not job, but he’s gone along with it. That’s a nice change on his side. Too little too late some may say though.
My Prediction: Goldberg
Molly vs. Lita — Women’s Championship
I’m proud of Lita. It’s not easy to do what she’s done in the past one year and a half, but she stuck by it and never gave up. That shows a lot of love for what she does and a lot of personal sacrifice she was willing to give in order to get back in the ring. Now that the beautiful redhead is back, there’s only one thing left for her to accomplish — win the Women’s Championship yet again. I am not quite if it will happen at the Survivor Series PPV though. It should if you ask me. I would rather have Molly keep the belt. She’s the better wrestler and as much as I adore Lita for returning, she’s just not on the same level she used to be. I hope they have a great match, and if Lita does win, I’ll still be happy.
My Prediction: Lita
Basham Brothers vs. Guerreros — WWE Tag Teams Championship
I think this match will be definitely good. I don’t have much to say about the feud that I haven’t said before in N & A. I just don’t think Eddie Guerrero is being used right. The company has put him into a midcard role, feuding the Bashams as a tag team partner of Chavo, and also slowly setting up a feud with Chavo himself. Maybe the feud will really begin at the PPV?
My Prediction: Bashams
Tajiri vs. Jamie Noble — Cruiserweight Championship
On SmackDown, several weeks ago, WWE held a #1 Contendership match for the Cruiserweight championship. The bout was won by Ultimo Dragon. He’s yet to get a shot at the title from what I remember! Other than that, Noble and Tajiri have tore the house down before, and they’re both skillful athletes who bring the best of their game to the table. I’m looking forward to this match, and I think it’ll be one of the better ones on the card!
My Prediction: Jamie Noble
Well, that will do it folks. Join me next week for post-PPV thoughts!
Thanks for reading. See ya.
Eddie
