WWE Survivor Series PPV Report
November 23, 2014
St. Louis, Mo.
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Scheduled for the pre-show: Paul Heyman on the panel, Bad News Barrett with bad news, and the in-ring return of Fandango.

Live One-Hour PPV Pre-Show

Renee Young introduced the PPV as cameras showed fans filing into the Scottrade Center. To the panel, where Renee was joined by Booker T, Paul Heyman, and Alex Riley. Booker and Riley offered their usual hype lines while Heyman sat unmoved with a scowl on his face. Next, Booker went political and Heyman dodged a question on whether he will be new GM if The Authority loses power tonight. To Tom Philips hanging out in the social media lounge.

Up Next: Fandango returns against Justin Gabriel.

[Video Game Break]

Announcers: Michael Cole said it's a late-arriving crowd due to weather. Cole, JBL, and Jerry Lawler introduced the pre-show, then sent it to Lilian Garcia.

In-ring: Rosa Mendes did a salsa dance, then Fandango showed up on the stage as the Latin music continued. (No more Fandango'ing.) Fandango sprinted to the ring to complete the Dancing with the Stars number with Rosa in the ring. Len Goodman gave it a 6, as it lacked emotion connecting with the audience. Cue the bell.

A -- FANDANGO (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. JUSTIN GABRIEL

Gabriel was dressed like A.J. Styles with designer black pants, biker gloves, and floppy hair covering his forehead. Fandango, sporting a designer white shirt and black pants, worked over Gabriel early on. JBL noted he thought Fandango was very good before ... and he let his sentence fade out. Fandango came off the top with a leg drop and it was good for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Fandango at 3:15. And the crowd went mild. All that time off TV and this was the best WWE could come up with for Fandango's return gimmick? Is he a heel? A face? What was the audience supposed to feel?

[Break]

Video Package: Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt feud.

Backstage: The Miz talked to himself (Damien Sandow) about winning the Tag Titles tonight. Miz reprimanded Sandow for going into business for himself not following along 100 percent, then both posed.

Arena: Bad News Barrett's music played to bring out the injured Barrett to a podium on the stage. Barrett noted he is making his return after a five-month absence. And it's quite the occasion because everything changes after tonight when Team Cena faces Team Authority. He had some bad news for John Cena, noting The Authority will make life miserable for Cena if his team loses. He also had some bad news for The Authority, noting WWE will never be lost and will flourish under a new era - the era of Bad News Barrett. Barrett banged his gavel to conclude his return speech.

Backstage: Divas champion A.J. Lee talked about play time being over with the Bellas. At the pre-show panel, Booker acted like Brie and Nikki Bella are good pals, prompting Heyman to remind Booker of that whole heel turn thing. It was also Heyman's way of dousing water on Booker giving away the finish of Brie being forced to help Nikki win as part of her 30 days of personal service.

Video Package: The Authority vs. Team Cena. Renee then set up a debate with Booker, Heyman, and Riley about the main event.

In-ring: Cesaro's music interrupted to bring out Cesaro, who did the bit about Switzerland staying neutral through history. Cesaro applied it to staying neutral on Team Cena vs. Team Authority before putting his support being Team Authority. Cesaro said it in five different languages, but his old stablemate Jack Swagger interrupted.

On the mic, Zeb Colter accused the Swiss of hiding Nazi gold during World War II. Cesaro disagreed, then Zeb said he and Jack are picking Team Cena tonight. Zeb accused Cesaro of brown-nosing Triple H. Whereas, real Americans roll up their sleeves and get the job done. Zeb said Swagger will get the job done in 60 seconds. It was more of a figure of speech than bold prediction, though.

B -- JACK SWAGGER (w/Zeb Colter) vs. CESARO

Cole noted that Swagger was initially going to be on Team Cena until he was injured by The Authority. But, apparently Cena didn't think much of him to put him back on the team. Swagger nearly got the job done in 60 seconds with an early Patriot Lock, but Cesaro escaped the hold. Cesaro came back with successive German Suplexes, but Swagger rolled through the final one into the Patriot Lock. Cesaro fought the hold, but tapped out. Cole framed this as a good sign for Team Cena later tonight.

WINNER: Swagger via submission at 5:34.

Backstage: A black limo pulled up. Out came Mr. McMahon for a closer look at tonight's events. McMahon stomped down the hallway as the pre-show wrapped up.

===== LIVECAST ALERT ======

We're taking your calls after the PPV with a special post-game show starting at 11:30 p.m. EST at PWTorchLivecast.com. Join us to break down the PPV!

============

Alerts: Follow live PWTorch Staff tweets during the PPV here - Twitter.com/PWTorch/torch-staff .

After the PPV, we're looking for your Reax, 0-10 score, and Best/Worst Match sent to pwtorch@gmail.com.

We suggest these recent related articles...

McNEILL's Late Night Deadblog - WWE Night of Champions: Bucklebombs, Light-up Jackets, Poachers, IcoPro, Eddie, more!

KELLER’S WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS PPV REPORT 9/20: Ongoing “virtual time” coverage of event including Sting vs. Seth, Cena vs. Seth, Ryback vs. Owens, mystery partner with Reigns & Ambrose, Divas Title, Tag Title, more

CALDWELL'S WWE NOC PPV REPORT 9/20: Live Night of Champions Coverage from Houston - Seth Rollins's double duty