Traditional Survivor Series Match
Dolph Ziggler, Alberto del Rio, Damien Sandow, David Otunga, and Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton, the Miz, Kane, Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston.
Results: Damien Sandow tried to ditch the match early on, but Kane pulled him back in the ring and delivered a chokeslam for the pinfall. Kane and Daniel Bryan got into it, and Dolph Ziggler hit the Zig-Zag for the elimination on the Big Red Champion. Daniel Bryan forced David Otunga to tap out to the Yes/No Lock. Wade Barrett knocked off Kofi Kingston with the Bull Hammer. Alberto del Rio forced Daniel Bryan to submit to the Cross Armbreaker bringing the count to 3-on-2. The Miz eliminated Wade Barrett with the Skull Crushing Finale, but was knocked off the top rope by del Rio and quickly eliminated via pinfall. Randy Orton fought off the handicap with a gorgeous RKO pinfall on Alberto del Rio and then tried for the rare punt kick on Dolph Ziggler. The Showoff dodged the kick and hit Orton with a superkick for the win at 23:44.
Sole Survivor: Dolph Ziggler
Review: It’s almost like this traditional Survivor Series contest was actually two completely different matches. There was the first fifteen minutes with all the guys that WWE wants to get over – Damien Sandow, Kofi Kingston, Team Hell No, Wade Barrett – and then there was the main event picture between the tag team of Randy Orton and the Miz, against Alberto del Rio and Dolph Ziggler.
The first part was mediocre, getting rid of guys like Sandow and Kingston much too early. It was pretty clear that the WWE wanted to get things down to Miz and Orton, and that really hurt the early going of this big Survivor Series match. Nobody was given enough time to look truly dominant, save for the four guys previously mentioned. Mick Foley’s involvement in the team came with a Mandible Claw on Ricardo; he could have been 10,000 miles away from the arena on Sunday night and it wouldn’t have made a single difference.
The second part of the match, however, was brilliant. Alberto del Rio continues to be one of favorite in-ring performers and his rivalry with Randy Orton has been solid. Speaking of Orton, he looked incredibly dominant throughout his entire time in the ring. The RKO on del Rio was sick, and playing up the Punt as a means to a heel foreshadowing was great. Having Dolph Ziggler win with the superkick was a nice touch and put the icing on this cake.
I’ve heard a lot of people complaining that they could have done more with the Miz, and pulled the trigger on Orton’s heel turn, as Survivor Series is a big stage. Let’s face it, the Series has become no bigger than any other PPV; Money in the Bank is a much more important event. Randy Orton can official “turn heel” at any show, at any time. This way they’re building it up slowly, and having Ziggler be the sole survivor put him over in a big way. I appreciate the way they booked this finish, and I wouldn’t have had it any way. I’ll give part one a rating of a “C”, and the second part a solid “A”. So let’s meet in the middle…
Rating: B
