Reviews

TJR Retro: WWE Survivor Series 2006 Review

By John Canton • Published 10th December 2016

The 20th Survivor Series continued the rivalry between the Raw and Smackdown brands as well as the ECW brand, which became an official thing under the WWE banner a few months earlier.

The main event of this show was Batista taking on Booker T for the World Title. There’s an interesting behind the scenes backstory because they got in a legit fight while taping a SummerSlam commercial several months before this. Most stories say that Booker won the fight, but others disagree. They managed to put their feelings aside and worked together for this event.

There really wasn’t much else in terms of intrigue heading into the show. It was a bit of a down year for WWE in terms of creating interesting storylines and memorable moments.

As always, I’m using WWE Network to review the show so if you notice something missing blame them.

If you’ve missed any of my previous Survivor Series reviews, click here to check them out.

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WWE Survivor Series
Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 26, 2006

This event has a rating of TV-14 and “V” for Violence on WWE Network.

The opening video package hyped up the major matches set to take place on the show.

It was a packed house in Philadelphia. The announce teams welcomed us to the show. It was Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield from Smackdown, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler from Raw and the Spanish announcers are there too.

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes & Ron Simmons (w/Arn Anderson) vs. Spirit Squad (Kenny, Nicky, Johnny, Mikey w/Mitch)

Pre-match notes: The old guys are the faces with the younger guys as the heels. It was originally Roddy Piper with the old guys, but Ron Simmons replaced him due Piper having cancer at the time. Piper beat it and passed away in 2015. Nicky became Dolph Ziggler a few years after this. Flair was the only guy on his team that was still active.

Simmons with a powerslam on Mikey early and then he attacked the others. Mitch tripped up Simmons, so Simmons went after him. Mitch backed into Arn Anderson, who sent him into the ring post. The ref counted out Simmons for going after Mitch on the floor. The ref also ejected Mitch. Simmons gave Mitch a spinebuster for good measure. The ref also ejected Anderson.

Ron Simmons eliminated by countout

Slaughter with a bod slam on Nicky. Dusty tagged in with some elbows for Nicky. Flair got in there with some hard chops. Slaughter with a short clothesline. Cobra Clutch submission by Slaughter on Nicky. Kenny tried to save, the ref had to get him out and Johnny nailed a kick on Slaughter and Nicky covered for the elimination.

Sgt. Slaughter eliminated by Nicky

Rhodes went into the ring, hit an elbow drop on an exhausted Nicky and pinned him.

Nicky eliminated by Dusty Rhodes

Analysis: Ziggler would have better days.

The heels worked over Dusty in their corner. Dusty came back with the flip, flop and fly elbow combination on Kenny. Dusty missed a corner elbow, so Kenny did a ROLLUP OF DEATH~! to eliminate him.

Dusty Rhodes eliminated by Kenny

Flair battled with Mikey as the fans chanted for Flair. Inverted atomic drop by Flair followed by a pinfall with his feet on the ropes that the ref didn’t see, which was good for the elimination.

Mikey eliminated by Ric Flair

Kenny worked on Flair for a bit including a back body drop and elbow drops. Flair came back with an inside cradle to eliminate him.

Kenny eliminated by Ric Flair

Flair with a knee breaker on Johnny and then a chop block to the back of the leg. Flair applied the Figure Four Leglock. Johnny tapped out to give Flair the win at the 10:31 mark.

Johnny eliminated by Ric Flair

Survivors: Ric Flair

Analysis: *1/2 A feel good match to put the old guys over the comedy heels. It wasn’t a fast paced opener by any means, but it made the fans happy to see the veterans win the match. While the Spirit Squad were tag team champions at one point, they were mostly used to put over others. No surprise that Flair survived as the only active member on his team.

Post match, all five Spirit Squad guys were in the ring beating up Flair. Kenny jumped off the top rope and hit a legdrop to the back of the head of Flair. They left while nobody saved Flair.

Analysis: Poor Flair. I guess his old guy teammates were too slow to make the save.

A video package aired to set up Chris Benoit defending the United States Championship against Chavo Guerrero. Vickie Guerrero was part of the storyline. She was Eddie’s wife, this was a year after Eddie died and Chavo destroyed Rey Mysterio with chair shots. Chavo also attacked Benoit with chair shots while Vickie yelled at Benoit about Eddie’s estate.

Analysis: It was a weird storyline where they used Eddie Guerrero’s estate in the storyline with Benoit trying to be the good guy standing up for his deceased friend.

United States Championship: Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero (w/Vickie Guerrero)

Pre-match notes: Benoit was the face champion while Chavo was the heel with Vickie as his manager.

Benoit was aggressive early on with some hard chops in the corner. Snap suplex by Benoit gets two. Forearm smash by Benoit for another nearfall. Chavo came back with punches and forearm shots with JBL yelling encouragement about how this is how you beat a man up. Vickie grabbed Chavo’s boot to help him get to the ropes when Benoit applied the Crossface. Back suplex by Benoit for two. Chavo came back by sending Benoit shoulder first into the ring post. Suplex of his own for Chavo gets two. Dropkick by Chavo for two. Benoit came back with his rolling German Suplexes – he hit three of them. Benoit went to climb to the top, the ref was looking at Chavo without seeing Vickie grab the foot of Benoit. Benoit jumped off the top, but Chavo moved because of the distraction. Chavo with a suplex. Chavo went up top and hit a Frog Splash for a two count. It did not look as good as when Eddie did it. Vickie went on the apron. Chavo kicked his way out of a Sharpshooter attempt and Benoit knocked down Vickie off the apron. Chavo with a rollup for two. Benoit followed up with the Crippler Crossface for the submission win at the 8:19 mark.

Winner by submission: Chris Benoit

Analysis: **1/2 The match was just average. It was disappointing because of the caliber of the performers. The match also was shorter than I remembered it. The story was about Vickie Guerrero interfering to give Chavo a chance, but I don’t think people bought into the idea of Chavo winning.

Post match, JBL called Benoit a rotten son of a bitch for hitting a widow even though he was kicked into it. JBL said Benoit was a “rotten example of a human being.” That statement was true especially after Benoit’s double murder homicide committed in the summer of 2007.

The Women’s Champion Lita and Tag Team Champion Edge were interviewed backstage by Todd Grisham. He mentioned that Lita planned to retire after the match. Lita said she’s going to beat Mickie James and retire as the greatest Women’s Champion ever. Edge said that she doesn’t care what the crowd has to say about her. Lita left. The Cryme Tyme duo of JTG & Shad went into Lita’s locker room without Edge seeing. Edge talked about how they’re going to beat the DX team so bad later in the show. Edge left. JTG & Shad walked out with a box. JTG told Todd that he ain’t seen nothing and told him to be quiet.

Analysis: Solid heel promos. The Cryme Tyme stuff played out after the match.

Women’s Championship: Lita vs. Mickie James

Pre-match notes: Lita was the heel Women’s Champion that was set to retire just two months after Trish Stratus retired. Mickie was the face challenger after being a heel earlier in the year.

Mickie was aggressive with some kicks. Lita took her down with punches. Lita did a hair whip that looked sloppy. Mickie came back with a clothesline. When Mickie went for a headscissors takedown, Lita sent her into the mat face first. Lita with a Russian legsweep for a two count. Fans chanted a “she’s a crack whore” for Lita. Lawler acknowledged it, but didn’t specifically say what the chant was. Lita with a snap suplex for two. Sleeper by Lita took Mickie down until Mickie got to the ropes. Lita went up top for a cross body block, fans chanted “ho” at her and Mickie moved, so Lita went crashing into the mat. Mickie went up top, but Lita recovered with a back suplex for a two count. Mickie fired up with a clothesline and chops. Mickie nailed a couple of kicks followed by a spin kick for a two count. Fisherman’s suplex by Mickie gets two. Lita sent Mickie face first into the mat. Lita up top for her moonsault off the top, but Mickie kicked out. Big pop for that because it was Lita’s finisher. Mickie held onto the ropes to counter a DDT. Cover by Mickie gets two. Inside cradle by Lita for two. Each woman got a rollup. Mickie nailed her Mickie-DDT for the win at the 8:18 mark.

Winner by pinfall and New Women’s Champion: Mickie James

Analysis: ** The story of the match was fine, but the quality of the work was just okay. I thought the ending was done well in terms of putting Mickie over in a strong way. Since it was Lita’s farewell and Trish was gone, Mickie became the focal point of the division.

James held up the Women’s Champion to begin her second reign as the champion. After the match, Lita told announcer Lilian Garcia to call her the greatest Women’s Champion of all time, so Lilian did. The fans booed. Lita grabbed the microphone wondering why the fans were disrespectful to her.

The Cryme Tyme duo of JTG and Shad walked out with a box. They said they were having a “Ho Sale.” They sold Monistat – used for yeast infections – for one dollar. JBL smelled her panties and paid $100 for it. They had a vibrator for sale. Classy. I’m sure the parents that brought their kids to the show had fun explaining that. Lita’s box was sold for $20 too. It’s big and you can fit your whole head in it. Cryme Tyme’s music played to end it while Lita freaked out in the ring.

Analysis: It was mildly funny, but also something that a lot of people hated because it was very disrespectful to somebody on their way out. She was a heel, so I guess it’s okay in WWE’s eyes. I just think it went a bit too far.

As a bonus, here’s what Lita wrote on MySpace after the show, which shows she didn’t like the way her goodbye was handled although she had fun with friends later in the night.

“So, to say I was disappointed with my final moments with WWE is quite an understatement. It was comforting to read all your comments and emails when I got home. I appreciate that you were able to see I did my best in the situation that was handed to me to give you guys an entertaining match and play along and be a professional with the other stuff that went along with my “big farewell night”. BUT……… that’s NOT why I am writing. If that were why I was writing it’d probably be about 10 pages long and with a bunch of ****s and capital letters. But I don’t want to think about negative things because I have a killer story for you guys. It has absolutely nothing to do w/ the Luchagors, but I have nowhere else to write about this, so until I do, …. here I am!! So my mom and step dad came to the show. I planned on getting a low key bite to eat w/ them and Adam (edge, duh). So Adam said he knew of a place that we could still grab some grub that late and we were gonna meet my folks there. I walk in to this loungey bowling alley where we have the top floor reserved and all the guys and gals of the WWE are there yelling SURPRISE! except Carlito, who is singing Happy Birthday… So, were bowling, eating, drinking and stuff when Adam makes an announcement for everyone to have a seat. Out comes the cake (at which time Carly, again, starts singing Happy Birthday ) and a video starts playing where all the guys and gals start saying a bunch of really sweet mushy stuff. Adam had planned this whole thing out, …. pretty cool huh? I haven’t even got to the good part………… So this video is playing and who is the last person on the video wishing ME well in my retirement?????………………..****ING PEE WEE HERMAN!!!!!!!!!!! So my last TV moments weren’t perfect, but Adam could not have pulled anything cooler and I felt pretty damn special to have such cool friends and to hear PEE WEE HERMAN say my name to me. I am still in shock. You guys are awesome, I’ll be in touch soon, but if you need me, I’ll be in my living room w/ my message from Paul Reubens on loop. Pee-Wee rules, and so do you guys.
Take Care, Amy”

Lita stayed retired although she has come back a few times for some appearances and matches in the years that followed.

They went to a pre-show interview with Michael Cole talking to Batista about his match. Cole asked a bunch of questions and Batista never answered them. They showed a clip from Smackdown signing the contract. Batista said: “I’m leaving tonight World Heavyweight Champion.” That was it.

Analysis: I think they were trying to get the point across that Batista was very serious and ready for this match. It was pretty simple.

There’s a Rocky Balboa statue outside the arena in Philly because they love fictional sports heroes. Rocky rules.

It’s time for Team DX vs. Team RKO from the Raw brand.

The Hardy Boyz entered first to a huge reaction. Jeff Hardy was the Intercontinental Champion. CM Punk was on the ECW brand at the time and he received a good reaction. The DX duo of Shawn Michaels and Triple H were out to the biggest pop of the night so far, which was no surprise. Are you ready? Yes, apparently they are. I thought they would have said no. I’m shocked. They did their usual pre-match promo routine. It was notable that some fans chanted “CM Punk” as well.

The heels made their entrance. Melina was looking fantastic in black leather. No Melina entrance. That’s like going to buy your favorite ice cream sundae with the chocolate syrup on top only to find out that they ran out of syrup just before you got there. Helms was the Cruiserweight Champion on Smackdown. Mike Knox was with Kelly Kelly, who wasn’t wearing that much. I’m observant. Edge and Orton were the Tag Team Champions known as Rated RKO.

Survivor Series Elimination Match – Team DX: Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff) & CM Punk vs. Team Rated RKO: Randy Orton, Edge, Johnny Nitro, Gregory Helms & Mike Knox (w/Melina & Kelly Kelly)

Pre-match notes: The DX team were the faces and Rated RKO were the heels.

Hunter wanted Kelly to flash them, Knox got mad about that, he shoved Hunter and Michaels nailed Knox with a Sweet Chin Music superkick to eliminate him about ten seconds into the match. Shawn asks who that guy was as his team tells him he really was in the match. That was funny.

Mike Knox eliminated by Shawn Michaels

Michaels worked with Nitro a bit and did a funny spot where he put his arm on Melina’s shoulder, but then she screamed when she saw who it was. Jeff with a neckbreaker on Nitro. Matt and Jeff hit some tandem offense. Helms tripped up Hardy when he was on the middle ropes. Edge stomped away on Matt to rekindle an old rivalry. Orton got in there for the heel team with Matt bleeding from the mouth from something that happened earlier. Matt nailed a Side Effect on Nitro. Punk tagged in for the first time with forearm smashes, knee in the corner and bulldog on Nitro. Punk slapped on the Anaconda Vice and Nitro tapped out.

Johnny Nitro eliminated by CM Punk

Punk nailed a boot to the face of Edge. Helms distracted the referee, so Orton choked Punk on the top rope to stun him. Orton with a dropkick on Punk. Fans chanted for Punk. Helms nailed a move that was like a Codebreaker that Jericho later used in his career. Punk tried to fight off Orton and Orton was able to nail a RKO. He went for the pin, but Michaels broke up the pin attempt. Edge tagged in, missed a corner charge and hit the middle turnbuckle. Hunter tagged in against Helms with a running knee to the face. Facebuster by Hunter. Edge took him down with a neckbreaker. Jeff and Shawn took out Edge and Orton on the floor with cross body blocks. Hunter with a spinebuster on Helms. Matt tagged in with the Twist of Fate on Helms, Jeff with the Swanton Bomb and Matt pinned Helms to get rid of him.

Gregory Helms eliminated by Matt Hardy

It’s two on five as Edge and Orton teased leaving. The Hardys brought both guys back in the ring. A clothesline by Hunter sent Orton out of the ring. Hardys double team Edge and Michaels hit the Sweet Chin Music to eliminate Edge.

Edge eliminated by Shawn Michaels

Orton jumped the barricade and went into the crowd to try to get away, but the others stopped him. Back in the ring, Michaels hit Orton with Sweet Chin Music and Hunter hit a Pedigree to eliminate Orton at the 11:30 mark.

Randy Orton eliminated by Triple H

Survivors: Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff) and CM Punk

Analysis: **1/2 An easy win for the good guys. The crowd was into it and I liked the way they did the last two eliminations. It would have been nice to see the heels get some eliminations in, but this was about putting over the good guys over in dominant fashion. I remember being happy that Punk was cheered so much because he was well liked by the fans and he should have been doing more than just being in ECW.

A video package aired for The Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy with Kennedy doing the typical heel promo about how Undertaker’s career will end. They set up a First Blood match after Kennedy bloodied Undertaker by attacking him with his microphone.

Backstage, Mr. Kennedy was interviewed by Kristal Marshall. He said it’s the biggest match of his career. MVP showed up to tell him he’s got Kennedy’s back if things go wrong out there.

Analysis: I was a huge fan of both guys around this time. They were young talents that were new on the main roster and putting them against the likes of Undertaker and Kane was a smart move.

Kennedy came out first and he took the padding off two turnbuckles. Undertaker received a big ovation. As Undertaker made his entrance, Kennedy took the padding off the other turnbuckles.

First Blood Match: Undertaker vs. Ken Kennedy

Pre-match notes: Undertaker is the face. Kennedy is the heel. The winner is the first man to make his opponent bleed.

Taker whips Kennedy over the top to the floor and slams Kennedy’s head into the announce table. Taker sent Kennedy into steel steps and nailed punches. Hard slam by Taker on the floor. Boot to the face by Undertaker on the floor. Kennedy came back with a whip into the steps. Taker caught Kennedy in his arms and drove him back first into the ring post. They went back into the ring with Undertaker pounding him in the ribs. Superplex by Undertaker, which isn’t a move he did that often, but it looked good. Kennedy finally got some offense with a low blow punch to the groin. Taker came back with a boot to the face. They went up against the turnbuckle. Kennedy nailed a kick to the balls for a second low blow, but the ref is in the ring with Undertaker. Kennedy was bleeding from the mouth. MVP ran down to the ring with a towel to stop the bleeding. It looked like they were leaving, but MVP tossed him back in the ring because Kennedy did something similar to MVP a few weeks earlier. Kennedy avoided punches and sent Undertaker face first into the turnbuckle. Kennedy sent Undertaker’s head into the exposed turnbuckle. MVP went into the ring with a steel chair. The ref tried to grab it from him, but MVP was able to pull it away, he swung it, Kennedy was down and Undertaker was hit by the chair. Undertaker was bleeding in the head. Kennedy pounded Undertaker with fists as Robinson went back into the ring and saw the blood. Kennedy won the match at the 9:15 mark.

Winner: Mr. Kennedy

Analysis: ** A cheap win for Kennedy even though he barely got any offense the whole match. The presence of MVP proved to be the difference as well. A First Blood match prevents a guy like Undertaker from getting pinned, so Kennedy could brag about the win even though it was cheap.

Post match, Kennedy continued the attack with punches and kicks. Kennedy was bleeding from the mouth. Kennedy grabbed his microphone, looked at the fallen Undertaker and said his name as the winner of the match, but Undertaker grabbed him by the throat. Undertaker got back to his feet with a barrage of punches. Kennedy got back to his feet and Undertaker crushed him with a stiff chair shot to the head. Undertaker nailed a Tombstone Piledriver in the middle of the ring. Undertaker took off his MMA gloves and punched Kennedy in the head repeatedly. Undertaker bled as much as I’ve ever seen him at this point in his career.

Analysis: Undertaker lost the match, but he won the war by delivering a message after the match. That steel chair shot to the head was nasty. I’m glad chairs to the head no longer happen in wrestling. They had another match at the next PPV, Armageddon 2006, with Undertaker going over.

Backstage, Sharmell and Booker used their fake English accents to say they’ll beat Batista. This will be the “bittah, bittah end” says King Booker. I liked the king act.

The introductions took place for the second elimination match of the night. MVP was out first for the heels. That was one of my favorite entrances and songs from this era. Test looked bigger than ever at this point – he was in ECW. Umaga was next up for his team with his manager Armando Estrada. JR noted that Umaga hasn’t been pinned or submitted. Finlay’s his name and he loves to fight. Big Show was captain of the heel team and he was the ECW Champion at the time.

The faces entered with RVD out first for the team. He was a part of ECW at the time. Sabu was up next, who was also from ECW. Bobby Lashley was a power wrestler that they liked a lot and he was new to the ECW roster at that point. Kane (with no mask) was a face from the Smackdown brand with MVP as his main rival at this point. The WWE Champion John Cena was up last with mostly cheers, but some boos as well.

Survivor Series Elimination Match – Team Big Show: Big Show, MVP, Test, Umaga and Finlay (w/Armando Estrada) vs. Team Cena: John Cena, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Bobby Lashley and Kane

Pre-match notes: It was a mix of Raw, Smackdown and ECW guys. Cena’s team were the faces while Show’s team were the heels.

Cena brawls with Umaga. Cena had the advantage on Umaga and then he tagged out. Umaga’s pissed, so he grabbed a monitor and beat up the babyface team while drilling Cena in the head with it. Cena played dead on the floor. Umaga was eliminated due to DQ after about a minute.

Umaga eliminated by disqualification

Analysis: That’s how you book an undefeated guy without making him lose. I’m not saying it’s good, but that’s how you do it. Umaga was pushed into a feud with Cena leading to a great match at Royal Rumble 2007.

The heels worked on RVD in their corner. Test caught RVD with a backbreaker to slow him down. Chinlock by MVP on RVD, who had a bloody mouth. Spin kick by RVD on MVP leading to both guys being down. RVD with a kicks on MVP, Test, Finlay and Show. Test tripped up RVD, brought him out of the ring and RVD shoved him into the ring post. Cena argued with the ref, so Kane went into the ring with a Chokeslam. RVD up top and he hit the Five Star Frog Splash to eliminate MVP.

MVP eliminated by Rob Van Dam

Test went into the ring and hit a boot to the face on RVD to eliminate him. Sabu with a rollup on Test for two. They went to the floor with Lashley hitting a huge Spear on the floor. Sabu with a slingshot leg drop followed by a Tornado DDT on Test to eliminate him.

Test eliminated by Sabu

Sabu jumped onto Show, but Show caught him and hit a Chokeslam to eliminate him.

Sabu eliminated by Big Show

Kane and Show each choked each other at the same time. Hornswoggle (then known as Little Bastard) went into the ring. The ref was distracted so Finlay hit Kane in the back of the head with the shillelagh stick. Show hit a Chokeslam on Kane to eliminate him.

Kane eliminated by Big Show

Show with a body slam on Cena. Finlay and Show worked on Cena for a bit. JR mentioned Big Show’s shoe size, which is 22E for those of you that need to know. I think he is required to say it by law. Finlay went for an attack off the middle ropes, but Cena got his boot up. Lashley tagged in with punches. Overhead suplex by Lashley on Finlay got two as Big Show broke up the pin. Double clothesline by Show on both Cena and Lashley. Finlay brought Hornswoggle into the ring. Lashley hit Finlay with a Spear to eliminate him.

Finlay eliminated by Lashley

Show is the last man left against Cena and Lashley. Double shoulder tackle by the faces. Lashley sent Show into the top turnbuckle. Double DDT by the faces gets two. It didn’t look good. Double suplex by the faces on Show looked impressive. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Lashley with a shoulder tackle into Show and Cena hit Show with the FU (Attitude Adjustment) to win the match at the 12:35 mark.

Big Show eliminated by John Cena

Survivors: John Cena and Bobby Lashley

Analysis: *** A basic elimination match with the faces going over strong. It would have been nice if Umaga played a bigger role in the match, but once again I understand why they booked him the way that they did. It just felt like his elimination happened too quickly. I don’t think the survivors were a surprise to anybody since Cena was pushed so strongly as the WWE Champion while Lashley was a star on the rise.

The video package aired for King Booker defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Batista. Booker was the World Champion since July. It was Batista’s last shot at the title. Batista was forced to surrender the title in January due to injury, so he fought back all year to try to get it back.

The Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long made his entrance. Long reminded us that if Batista doesn’t beat King Booker then it’s his final opportunity. Long says that if Booker gets counted out or disqualified then we will have a new World Heavyweight Champion.

Analysis: That “last title shot” stipulation made it obvious that Batista was winning. It was not a high profile feud, but they were both solid performers.

Batista made his entrance to a loud ovation from the crowd. He was the main guy on Smackdown since the summer of 2005 and was usually in the face role.

King Booker entered with his wife Queen Sharmell. I like how much he embraced the king role that some wrestlers ignored. The accent was ridiculous, but I thought it was entertaining for the most part.

World Heavyweight Championship: King Booker (w/Sharmell) vs. Batista

Pre-match notes: Booker was the heel champion on Smackdown and Batista was the face challenger.

Batista beat him up in the aisle before the match, but it’s apparently legal since the match didn’t start. The ref told them to get back in the ring, so they did. Batista nailed a suplex. Booker was out of the ring, so Sharmell told him to get back in because he loses the title if he’s counted out. Backbreaker by Batista. JBL said Batista is like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds because he hits homeruns (figuratively). It’s another way of saying he’s got a power game. Clothesline by Batista gets two. Booker came back with a stun gun like move on the ropes. Standing side kick by Booker gets two. Corner clothesline by Booker. Batista came back with a sidewalk slam for a two count. The crowd isn’t reacting to these nearfalls very much. Batista hit a Jackhammer slam for a two count. Batista nailed a Bossman Slam for a two count. They battled on the apron with Batista hitting an elbow. Sharmell grabbed Batista’s leg, the ref never saw it and Booker nailed a kick that sent Booker into the barricade. Booker sent Batista face first into the steel steps at ringside. Batista tried a comeback, but Booker nailed a jumping side kick for a two count. Booker with a chinlock. The crowd woke up a bit chanting for Batista to come back. Batista hit a belly to belly suplex into a slam. Batista with three clotheslines and a boot to the face that sent Booker out of the ring. Batista tossed Booker into the steel steps at ringside. Batista went up with a shoulder tackle for a two count. He didn’t do that very often and it got a two count.

Batista with a Spinebuster for a two count. Whip in, Booker caught him and he hit a Book End for a two count. Good nearfall. Batista hit a Batista Bomb to a loud ovation from the crowd. He covered for the one…two…and Booker got his hand on the bottom rope. JBL credited Booker for having the ring presence to grab the ropes. Sharmell handed the title to Booker and she went in the ring, so the ref told her to leave. Batista teased giving her a Batista Bomb. Booker went for a shot with the title. Batista moved, grabbed the title for himself and hit Booker in the head with the title. Batista covered for the win at the 13:58 mark.

Winner by pinfall and New World Heavyweight Champion: Batista

Analysis: ** It was an okay match with a very predictable outcome. The ending was clever because it was the face cheating to win like the heel wanted to win. Nice way to finish the match. The match didn’t generate that much of a crowd reaction considering it was for Smackdown’s biggest prize. Booker had great heel mannerisms. I always liked him better as a heel even though he was a face for most of his career. Batista had good matches with the right opponent, but their styles didn’t mesh that well.

Post match, Batista celebrated with the title while JBL ranted about how Batista cheated to win. Cole explained it as Booker brought the title into play, so Batista just did what he had to in order to win.

The show ended with Batista posing with the World Heavyweight Title while pyro went off in the arena for his celebration.

This event had a run time of 2:37:15 on WWE Network.

FIVE RANDOM THOUGHTS

– There were seven matches on this card with none of them lasting more than 15 minutes or so. The longest match was the last one and it was the type of match that was slow. There was nothing on the card that I rated above three stars, which is pretty bad.

– This was a crowd pleasing show more than anything. The good guys did well. Batista won, Benoit won, Mickie won, the Survivor Series matches all ended with the faces coming out on top and aside from Undertaker losing to Kennedy it was a clean sweep. For people ordering the show to see their heroes win I’m sure they left it satisfied.

– None of the Survivor Series elimination matches had any real drama to them. The Old Dudes vs. Young Guys was just done so the old guys can get in the ring again. The DX vs. Rated RKO one was basically a squash to put over a team of babyfaces that always gets put over. The Cena vs. Show one didn’t really further Cena vs. Umaga since all they did was a monitor shot, nor did it further Lashley vs. Show because Cena’s the one that pinned Show, not Lashley. Cena giving Show the FU wasn’t a new thing either.

– I’m glad that Mr. Kennedy got the win on Undertaker although he took such a beating after the match and lost their next PPV match that it didn’t help him that much. It’s one of those things where WWE feels like a guy is elevated just by having a PPV match with Undertaker.

– This show was pretty big for CM Punk’s career because I think it showed them how popular he was. He was still on the ECW brand for over a year after this, but you could tell he was winning over the crowds after just a few months of being on WWE’s main roster.

OPINIONS

Best Match: Team Cena vs. Team Big Show

Worst Match: Team Old Guys vs. Spirit Squad

Most Memorable Moment: Team DX winning in dominant fashion was a cool moment. The thing I actually remembered most before I wrote the review was Lita’s farewell because of the way it was handled.

FIVE STARS

1. John Cena

2. Bobby Lashley

3. Shawn Michaels

4. Batista

5. Ric Flair

To be honest, nobody really stood out. I just picked five guys that were on winning teams and did some impressive things.

Show rating (out of 10): 4.5

It was a below average show. There was nothing that bad about it, but nothing to make you say wow either. For one of the big four PPVs they should have done a better job of making it feel bigger.

Matches With Ratings ****+ (out of 5*) and higher:

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin – 1996 (*****)

Team WWE led by The Rock vs. Team Alliance led by Steve Austin – 2001 (****1/2)

Bret Hart vs. Diesel – 1995 (****1/2)

Elimination Chamber Match won by Shawn Michaels – 2002 (****1/2)

Team Bischoff (led by Randy Orton) vs. Team Austin (led by Shawn Michaels) – 2003 (****1/4)

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels – 1992 (****1/4)

Sycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels – 1996 (****)

Triple H vs. Ric Flair (Last Man Standing) – 2005 (****)

RANKING SURVIVOR SERIES REVIEWS (on 1-10 scale)

Survivor Series 2002 (Elimination Chamber Match won by Shawn Michaels) – 9

Survivor Series 1996 (Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin, Sycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels) – 8.5