PPV Evaluation - WWE Survivor Series 11/24
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

BEST MATCH – TRADITIONAL SURVIVOR SERIES MATCH

Maybe I'm alone here (I'm not) but I always had a soft spot for the Survivor Series. Maybe it was because Thanksgiving here in Canada happens in October so I was ready for some festive fun come the end of November (we do everything early up here. Christmas is on Tuesday,) but I have a lot of nostalgia for the "teams of five strive to survive" events of the past. So, going into the opener at this year's event, I was already perhaps a bit biased. But, I thought it was very good.

A returning Rey Mysterio looked good in a limited role, Goldust continues to be just about my favorite in-ring performer on the roster, and Roman Reigns got over in a big way in Boston. WWE seemingly never puts on a less than entertaining multi-person match, (I will contradict myself on that shortly) and this was no different. Not only do I hope that they keep the traditional matches, I'd prefer if the show went back to presenting that format exclusively. This was a lot of fun.

WORST MATCH – DIVAS SURVIVOR SERIES MATCH

Dreadful. The eliminations came so fast that nothing meant anything, and the dedication to actually selling the match was atrocious. Eva Marie gets pinned and then high-fives her way to the back? Losing Rules, okay! Even Michael Cole, whose job it is to pay attention, also forgot that Nikki Bella was one of the survivors alongside Natalya. That is hilarious, and telling.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – JOHN CENA CONFRONTS RANDY ORTON

The main event of this show was awful, so I suppose that on some level they were trying to end the night on a note of intrigue. And, it worked, to some extent. Having Cena confront Orton to set up the unification match that was later revealed on Raw was interesting, and unless there's a strange finish (each guy grabs the others belt?), then I think having one champion makes sense. The brand split is dead, and it would be great to unify the U.S. and IC titles as well. We'll see on that one. Still, it's got to be mentioned that we are about to enter 2014, and the main feud is Randy Orton vs. John Cena. They're not going to be around forever.

BIGGEST LETDOWN – SURVIVOR SERIES

Make it four in a row. Four straight shows from a company that should know way, way better. This was another episode of Raw that cost money, with a boring main event and an undercard that produced nothing noteworthy.

BEST MOVE – SPEAR

Getting a move over, 101: Make it win matches. Roman Reigns spearing his way to the status of sole survivor was perfectly booked.

BEST MATCH FINISH – TRADITIONAL SURVIVOR SERIES MATCH

Roman Reigns running roughshod (a lot of alliteration there) was new, and created a lot of intrigue for his character moving forward. This was well done.

OTHER THOUGHTS

- The Miz and Kofi Kingston had a fun match on the pre-show. These guys work well together, and I think this could be a good mid-card feud if presented correctly.

- Renee Young is terrific.

- Big E. Langston and Curtis Axel had an okay match, but hopefully they move on quickly. Poor Curtis Axel. I think he's talented, but remember when he started his run by beating TRIPLE H?! That happened, I swear.

- Mick Foley (on the pre-show panel) looks to have lost a lot of weight. Really nice seeing him looking so well.

- Cena and Alberto Del Rio had a good match, although it was essentially a re-do of their Hell In A Cell match, and the crowd didn't seem to care at all. They need to move Del Rio into something that the crowd can buy him in, and no one believed he had a chance here.

- Punk and Bryan had an entertaining match with the Wyatts. And, based on what happened at Raw, it looks like Bryan will be staying in this feud for the time being. Speaking of which, how great is it that Bryan was ABDUCTED and there's nothing anyone can do except wait for next week? Martial Law at those Raw shows apparently.

- There needs to be an overhaul of how WWE presents "The Authority." I don't understand it. They are heels, who also don't like other heels (Vickie Guerrero, Brad Maddox), they hand-picked Randy Orton and then they belittle him, and at no point do they ever seem to care about the babyfaces or their attempts to strike back at their power. It's the ultimate "too cool for the room" act, and if they talk down to everyone on the roster... why am I supposed to care about the roster at all? When Triple H literally laughs off everything, who am I cheering for? Shades of grey characters breed apathy, and there is nothing that will destroy the momentum of a company quicker than indifference.

WHAT IT'LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

Let's be optimistic here, and say that I hope it's remembered as being a turning point. WWE produced a string of great pay-per-views leading into their high point of the year thus far at Summerslam, but starting the next night there has been a significant shift. The storylines feel stale, and the product in general doesn't seem exciting. This is now four poor-to-forgettable pay-per-views in a row, and there's only so many times people are going to be willing to take a chance and spend their money. Here's hoping TLC ends 2013 on a high note.

UPDATED 2013 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE SUMMERSLAM (2013-08-18)
2 - WWE PAYBACK (2013-06-16)
3 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXIX (2013-04-07)
4 – TNA SLAMMIVERSARY (2013-06-02)
5 - WWE MONEY IN THE BANK (2013-07-14)
6 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2013-01-27)
7 - TNA LOCKDOWN (2013-03-10)
8 - WWE EXTREME RULES (2013-05-19)
9 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2013-02-17)
10 – WWE HELL IN A CELL 2013 (2013-10-27)
11 – TNA BOUND FOR GLORY (2013-10-20)
12 - WWE SURVIVOR SERIES (2013-11-24)
13 - WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS (2013-09-15)
14 – TNA GENESIS (2013-01-13)
15 - WWE BATTLEGROUND (2013-10-06)

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