WWE Survivor Series – Who Wins?
At first glance, this column may seem like the typical PPV prediction column – but it isn't. I have brief thoughts on who will win each match, but the majority of the column centres around who will REALLY win, as a result of every match. This doesn't necessarily mean the wrestler who takes the pin fall or submission in the match, but rather the man, or women, who will truly benefit most from the match, and where said match will lead their career, whether they win or lose.
The column is split up into three parts which are oh-so (not-) cleverly named as a part of the development of a project – which in this case is WWE Survivor Series 2007.
Analysis & Design
This part of the column takes a look at how the event has been built up and, in particular, what each of the episodes of Impact has done to develop the card for the show.
Survivor Series has been different for the WWE. Usually, individual brands build up their own matches on their own shows, and I would analyse the matches based on each shows own build up. However, Survivor Series has seen so much inter-brand interaction that it is almost impossible to analyse Survivor Series this way. It is probably easier, and fairer, to look at the build up to the show by looking how the event was pieced together by the WWE as a whole.
Survivor Series has either been built terribly or like a train wreck, depending on your opinion. Some of the matches have been built up amazingly well; but mostly because they have been brewing for months or are the continuation of a solid feud. Other matches have been thrown onto the card with no reason (or very little reason) when they shouldn’t; as there was ample time to do them properly.
The top of the card title matches have all been worked to very well. Shawn and Randy have a solid feud with great motivation and some good stuff working up to it. The same can be said for Taker and Batista; even if the Cyber Sunday match did come out of nowhere.
The ECW title match has also been done quite well as it is a continuation of the last few months’ worth of feuds, and the recent interaction between the three men has been enjoyable at the least.
The big survivor style tag match has had great build in two ways. One thing that makes it an exciting prospect is that all of the men involved have had more than interesting feuds so far (besides Kane and Big Daddy I guess) and they have all lasted for a good length of time. On top of that, some great matches between the ten men have been contested over the past three weeks and if the survivor match is anything like those, we could have a hell of an exciting match on our hands tonight.
Looking past those matches and there has been no real build for any of the others. One match was thrown onto the card without a reason (tag title), one that no one cares about (Hornswoggle) and a meaningless women’s tag team match. Not very much effort at all and the overall quality of the card reflects that.
Implementation
This section covers the event itself and quickly runs through how I think it will turn out. I wont go into too much detail as the meat and bones of the column is the next section, which follows on from the event itself, rather than focusing on these results.
WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
I have no doubts with this match at all. I am certain that Orton will walk away with the title. He will pick up the clean win – there is no point having a dirty finish again, as they did that last time. Or Vince will screw HBK. We now how much Vince likes to rehash the past and he knows he can use Montreal. With the odd stipulations I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Vince running out and claiming that HBK was going to use the Super kick, or, after HBK resists but ends up in a submission holds, he runs down and rings the bell. This would result in a feud between HBK and Vince that would undoubtedly involve Umaga. The only way I can see HBK getting a result here is he is turning heel. With Orton losing the title on a disqualification, it is possible that Vince could screw him over instead and go with HBK. I would be shocked by this, and I would love it, but I don’t see it happening (and I don’t see Orton turning face).
Winner – Randy Orton
World Heavyweight Title Match
Batista vs. The Undertaker
I think it is finally time for Taker to take back his rightful title. Batista finally got his win over the challenger so he has taken something from the feud, and now Taker needs to take his gold back and pick up where he was before his injury. I could see Batista winning and going on to drop the title to Edge, but I think the better plan would be for Taker to win and hold the belt for a few months before dropping it back to Edge. The wildcard here is whether or not Edge gets involved in the match. I have had a few e-mails saying that they think he will interfere, but I don’t see why he would do that, as he has no preference over the two involved. What I think is more likely is that he will come out at the end and either attack the champion or simply state his intentions of taking the belt back.
Winner – The Undertaker
ECW Championship Match
CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison
I had my money on Morrison here. I thought that the whole point of this match was to have Morrison pin Miz and take the title without Punk looking bad. This would also give the bookers a reason to continue with a feud between Punk and Morrison. However, with this week’s backstage altercation between the two challengers and JBL, I can’t see anything other than a victory for the champion here. Miz isn’t really going to be in trouble but I don’t see him taking the title any time soon, and why stop Punk’s momentum without reason. The smart money says Morrison is doing the job here as well.
Winner – CM Punk
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch vs. Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly
I am not happy about how this match has been put together and I don’t think that it is going to be good, in the long run, for the Rhodes/Holly storyline, but I have to say that it will be interesting to see how these four perform on PPV with, presumably, a long time slot in which to show themselves off. I think this is a lose-lose situation for the challengers as if they won the titles, it would be too soon and I don’t think the surprise title win would help them, but losing could kill the momentum that they were building up. I think the safer bet is that they lose and Holly drills into Cody and motivates to get back on track, but there is always the outside bet that the match could end in a DQ win for the challengers.
Winner – Cade and Murdoch
Inter-brand Traditional Elimination Match
Triple H, The Hardys, Kane and Rey Mysterio vs. Umaga, Finley, Mr. Kennedy, MVP and Big Daddy V
After the Umaga vs. HHH match on Raw, I don’t think that feud is going to continue. I think that was the best chance the heels had of a win here. I initially though Umaga would win (possibly with a team member or two) and he would then lose to HHH in a final match at Armageddon. However, with the match happening on Raw, I now think that Umaga and HHH’s feud is finished and that they will both be moving on after this event. This leads me to believe that the face team will come out victorious and that HHH will be one of, if not the only survivor. If there were more Raw heels on the opposite team, then I could have seen HHH being eliminated (but with the face team still winning) to set up another feud for the game, but if you take away Umaga, there is only Mr. Kennedy, so I don’t think that will happen. Kane and Daddy are fodder, so they won’t survive. Rey and Finley will probably take each other out, and Kennedy will probably cost Jeff his place. If any else is going to survive I would say that it is Matt Hardy. That would give him some bragging rights over MVP and give them something to argue over in the next month. I just hope that HHH doesn’t just decide to Pedigree the rest of his team after the match!
Winner – Triple H and Matt Hardy
Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria and Layla vs. Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool and Kelly Kelly
Apparently this match is just a normal five-on-five tag team match now and not a survivor style match. That’s a shame and it would have lead an interesting conclusion. The lesser-talented ladies good have done a bit of work and then been eliminated and then we could have had the better athletes in there for a while before Beth Phoenix was eliminated and Mickie picked up the surprise win. I guess if the plan is actually to upset Beth, then the normal style tag team match will work even better though. This allows for the face team to pick up the win without actually pinning Beth at all. For that reason I see Mickie’s team winning, probably due to Mickie herself. It’s a shame though as someone could have got quite over by eliminating Beth – even if she crushed them the next night on Raw.
Winner – Mickie James etc
The Great Khali vs. Hornswoggle
As little sense as it says that it would be unbelievable for Honrswoggle to win; when you take into account everything that he is involved in recently, and that he is a McMahon. I just can’t see him winning. For one it would completely ruin Kali so there is no way they are going that route, unless they are finished with the big man for good. On top of that, the point of the match was to pit Hornswoggle against someone he couldn’t beat to test his “McMahon-ness” so there isn’t likely to be any of McMahon’s stooges getting involved to help the little guy. His best option would be to have Finley help him and set up a Finley vs. Kali feud (hmm) but I don’t see that happening either now Hornswoggle is pretty much a Raw talent.
Winner – The Great Khali
Evaluation
This section takes a look at what the real results of the event will be. Not the actual winners and losers of the match, as discussed above, but who will benefit the most, and go on to bigger and better things.
WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
Over the past couple of days I have really start to wonder about whether or not HBK could be turning heel. This would lead to a new character for HBK and would undoubtedly lead to a new, fresh feud with Triple H would be different to any other we have seen. It would also probably lead to a hell of a WrestleMania title match. However, I just can tell myself that it is going to happen (basically because I don’t see Orton turning face) so I have to stick to my gut and say that Shawn gets screwed and Orton wins. This will probably put Umaga and Vince against HBK and see Orton continue on as champion. Orton definitely comes out the better of the two, but I have had him as a real winner for a while now in this feud with HBK and I am pretty certain that HBK will move on to Umaga – which will be great for the Samoan bulldozer and could do wonders for his career; especially after a good program with HHH.
Real Winner – Umaga
World Heavyweight Title Match
Batista vs. The Undertaker
The real winner here really does depend on the outcome of the match. Batista retaining the title would be a much better outcome for himself; but I don’t see it happening. Undertaker winning is also the best situation for himself and it is probably going to mean big things for Edge. I think the safe, obvious bet though is that whoever wins, Edge will come out with the better prospects here; no matter who he has to go through first.
Real Winner – The Undertaker
ECW Championship Match
CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison
John Morrison is not winning the title here and this may be his last main event shot for a long time. CM Punk is the reigning champion and is probably looking at retaining his belt and continuing his reign into WrestleMania now. Miz has a real opportunity here. He is still in the main event and, with John Morrison now likely blacklisted, he has a real opportunity to prove himself as being a reliable main eventer that could possibly continue a feud with CM Punk. He has to tale this chance though, or he will be quickly replaced.
Real Winner – The Miz
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch vs. Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly
This match will only help anyone involved if they put on a really good match. They haven’t gained anything from being on the card as they have had no hype on Raw whatsoever. Most casual viewers probably won’t even realise that this match is taking place. However, it is very good news for the division that, when Vince realised he needed more matches, he felt that he could fall back on these guys to make up the numbers and to sell themselves. If they prove themselves here, then maybe they will get themselves some proper exposure in the future.
Real Winner – Tag Division
Inter-brand Traditional Elimination Match
Triple H, The Hardys, Kane and Rey Mysterio vs. Umaga, Finley, Mr. Kennedy, MVP and Big Daddy V
Let’s face it, if Triple H comes out here as the sole survivor, then no one wins except himself. Due to the unpredictability of the outcome (there are just so many possibilities) I cannot really say who will benefit most from the final result. I have backed an unknown combination of the baby face team, but I wouldn’t exactly be shocked if Umaga’s team walked away with the victory in the end. Because of that, I have to say that the real winner is the man involved that would be least likely to have been seen on pay-per-view if this match had not taken place or if it had been replaced by a number of singles matches. The answer there is Big Daddy V who must be really thankful to be involved at all.
Real Winner – Big Daddy V
Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria and Layla vs. Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool and Kelly Kelly
This match seems to have only been added for the sake of having the ladies involved but I am hoping that they are planning to use it as a springboard for the next women’s title feud. Everyone knows that the next big feud us the Glamazon vs. Mickie James. I am really hoping that this is the plan and if it is, then she is the real winner. If not, then the only real winner can be Beth as she will just continue to look dominant. I am hoping that WWE is going somewhere with this, so I am going to say that Mickie will benefit the most.
Real Winner – Mickie James
The Great Khali vs. Hornswoggle
I do not want to see this match and as far as I am concerned it should not be taking place. Kali is never going to benefit from this match as if Hornswoggle gets any offence; he will look weak, and if he somehow ends up losing; he looks terrible. Therefore the only winner can be Hornswoggle. It certainly wont be the audience either way!
Real Winner - Hornswoggle
Thanks for taking the time to read again, I hope the different take on the typical predictions column worked. Hopefully I'll be writing again soon.
Any comments or queries, feel free to contact me at batista666@hotmail.com (I use this e-mail just for my writing and check it regularly).