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The 26th annual Survivor Series took place on November 18th, 2012 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The estimated crowd attendance was roughly 8,500 out of a possible 20,000 seat capacity. The pay-per-view buy rate numbers came back to approximately 212,000 buys, versus 281,000 total buys from last year’s event.
The original location for this show was intended for the Consol Energy Center, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. However, due to a scheduling conflict between the WWE and the NFL in relation to the Pittsburgh Steelers home game against the Baltimore Ravens, a change was made to hold the show in Indianapolis Indiana instead.
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The main draw for the event was centred around two match-ups. The WWE Championship match with CM Punk defending his championship against Ryback and John Cena in a Triple Threat Match, and a Traditional Survivor Series Match featuring “Team Foley”, with Mick Foley leading his chosen WWE SuperStars of Daniel Bryan, Kane, Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Randy Orton to do battle against “Team Ziggler”, led by Dolph Ziggler and his partners Alberto Del Rio, Damien Sandow, David Otunga and Wade Barrett.
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I will be reviewing each match and summing up how the matches progressed, for good and bad respectively. I will be implanting a simplistic rating system to rate the match based on psychology, spots, crowd participation and in-ring chemistry amongst the participants. The rating scale will be as follows:
5 Stars: Perfection – Excellent in-ring psychology and chemistry amongst all wrestlers involved. The crowd was into the match and on the edge of their seats from bell to bell.
4 Stars: Great – Great in-ring psychology and chemistry, but not quite to perfection and needs a little something extra. Good crowd participation, but left wanting more for their tastes.
3 Stars: Average – Average, run-of-the-mill match that had some decent chemistry or in-ring psychology. The crowd won’t be overly into the match but will pop at certain spots.
2 Stars: Lackluster – Ring Psychology and Chemistry wasn’t there for the wrestlers participating. The crowd was bored with the match and could care less about it.
1 Star: Poor – Little to no ring psychology or chemistry involved. The crowd hated the match and were either quiet or made up their own chance to get through it.
#1 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal) vs Santino Marella & Zack Ryder
We have Scott Stanford and Matt Striker providing the commentary for the Survivor Series 2012 pre-Show. Kicking things off with 3MB vs Zack Ryder and Santino Marella. This was an okay match, at best, to kick things off. Comedy spots, as to be expected, with Santino Marella with Heath Slater as they had a little back-and-forth banter. The crowd popped when Santino attempted to use his “Cobra” finisher on Slater but to no avail.
Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal controlled most of the contest, offensively. Working some good tag team spots to keep the advantage going. Santino worked most of the match-up until he was able to execute the “hot tag” to Zack Ryder. Ryder came in at a full head of steam. Taking out 3MB and had everything going for his team.
However, Drew McIntyre interfered and struck Zack Ryder with his cast to nurse his “injured arm”. This allowed for Jinder Mahal to get the cover for the 1,2,3.
This was a decent match to start the show. Nothing too exciting or over-the-top. The crowd popped for Santino and Ryder and did (seemingly) enjoy the little antics that played out toward the end of the contest.
RATING: 2 Stars
#2 (Traditional Survivor Series Match) – Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio vs Tensai, Primo, Epico, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young
Switching things over to the main show of the Survivor Series. We kick things off with a “Traditional Survivor Series Match”, as Michael Cole, JBL and Jerry “The King” Lawler provide commentary for the audience watching at home.
Tyson Kidd and Epico started out the match. Good back-and-forth action between the two high flyers, as eventually Justin Gabriel, then later Rey Mysterio tagged in and began to work over Epico. Epico would eventually go on the offensive against Mysterio and tag in Darren Young. Rey Mysterio would get Darren Young into the lower turnbuckle and deliver a well-placed baseball slide into the hip/groin area. Rey Mysterio, along with Sin Cara, would deliver a Double Team Facebuster.
As the match progressed, both men would tag out to Sin Cara and Primo respectively. Sin Cara got the crowd going with his wide variety of materialistic moves, such as the Springboard Hurrcanrana and Jumping Sunset Flips, along with various flashy counters to Primo. He would keep the offence going until Primo could tag in Tensai. Once Tensai came into the match, the crowd immediately started to boo and chant: “Albert!” repeatedly.
Tensai would tag in Titus O’Neil. Titus would work over and manhandle Sin Cara, using his size and strength to his advantage. The crowd started to get behind Sin Cara to encourage him to mount a comeback, but to no avail as Tensai was tagged back in.
After a few moments of working over Sin Cara. Sin Cara would go back on the defensive and deliver the hot tag to Brodus Clay. Brodus Clay came into the ring to a huge pop from the crowd. He took out the entire heel team with one move after the other. Eventually, the entire babyface side would enter the fray and get involved. Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel would hit a pair of Suicide Dives on Epico and Primo to the floor, followed by a pair of Springboard Moonsaults to the floor by Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara on Titus O’Neil and Darren Young.
This left Brodus Clay and Tensai all alone inside the ring, as the crowd stood to their feet and got behind the “The Funkadactyal”. As the two men went at each other, Brodus Clay poorly executed and botched a T-Bone Suplex to Tensai, causing Tensai to land flush on his face in scary fashion. Eventually, Tensai would recover from this spot and go back on the offensive. Tensai would eliminate Clay with a Running Senton Splash to get the pinfall.
Brodus Clay has been eliminated
Justin Gabriel came in to replay Brodus Clay. He went after Tensai with everything he had, until Tensai countered back and tagged in Titus O’Neil. Titus worked over Gabriel for a little bit, then tagged Tensai back into the match.
Tensai hit Gabriel with a Running Senton Splash. However, before he could make the cover, Gabriel countered the pin attempt into a Crucifix Roll-Up for the 1,2,3 to (shockingly) eliminate Tensai.
Tensai has been eliminated
Titus O’Neil comes in to replace Tensai. He begins to work over Justin Gabriel until he can tag in Tyson Kidd. Tyson Kidd wastes no time in taking out O’Neil, as he is able to roll-up O’Neil for the quick pin fall.
Titus O’Neil has been eliminated
Epico came into the match to replace O’Neil. Tyson Kidd would take down Epico in quick fashion, as he applied the Sharpshooter to Epico. Epico would tap out to the Sharpshooter.
Epico has been eliminated
Primo came in next. Angry and pissed off that his tag partner was just eliminated, he goes after Tyson Kidd and goes on the offensive until Kidd can deliver the hot tag to Rey Mysterio. The crowd popped for Mysterio has he re-entered the match-up. Primo attempted the Back Stabber but had the move countered into the La Magistral Cradle Pin for the 1,2,3.
Primo has been eliminated
Darren Young came into the match next and was the sole member left for his team. Rey Mysterio took down Darren Young before tagging in Sin Cara. Sin Cara would hit a Diving Senton Splash from the top rope. He tagged in Justin Gabriel, who would hit a Springboard Moonsault to Young. Gabriel tagged in Tyson Kidd, who would drop Darren Young with a Diving Elbow Drop. Then finally, Rey Mysterio came in and nailed Darren Young with a Diving Splash from the top rope to get the pin fall victory for his team. Team Mysterio would pick up the win!
Overall, this was a fun little Survivor Series match. This match had a lot of nice little high spots involved. The crowd wasn’t overly into it, but the competitors involved put on a good performance nonetheless. Minus the bad botch between Tensai and Brodus Clay, this was an entertaining opening match for the show. Lots of tagging in and out and teamwork involved. Nothing too special or out of the ordinary for a Traditional Survivor Series match-up.
RATING: 3 Stars
#3 (WWE Divas Championship Match) – Eve Torres vs Kaitlyn
Before the match could begin, we see a segment where Kaitlyn is making her way towards the “Gorilla Position” backstage when she is suddenly attacked by Aksana, who is disguised in a blonde wig to look like Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn fought her off, as Aksana ran away. Eve shows up and apologizes to Kaitlyn, saying she doesn’t want to see anything bad happen to her before their match. Kaitlyn responds by shoving Eve down to the ground and mockingly stating the same thing in return, much to Eve’s dismay.
Shortly thereafter, both participants made their way down to ringside and the match began. Eve worked over Kaitlyn throughout most of this match, specifically over the head and neck area. Kaitlyn had very little if any offence whatsoever. Eve finished off Kaitlyn in relatively quick fashion with a Spinning Neckbreaker to get the pinfall and retain her Divas Championship.
Not much to really say about this match other than it was disappointing! Why Kaitlyn had no offence during this match made zero sense. Aksana did very little if any damage to her backstage. Secondly, this match had the potential to be good but was cut severely short and left very little to be desired.
A disheartening match overall. Kaitlyn was buried and made Eve Torres look incredibly strong as a Divas Champion. Granted, I don’t have anything against Torres as she was a great champion and a good heel, but the WWE could have gone about things a lot different in terms of this match considering the talent they had. Kaitlyn is a “Hybrid Diva” with amazing talent. Eve is very athletic, can sell well and has a Ju-Jitsu background. I could go on and on about this, but I’m going to leave it that.
Match Rating: 1 Star
#4 (WWE United States Championship Match) – Cesaro vs R-Truth
The match was put together following an attack by Cesaro on R-Truth’s friend, Kofi Kingston. R-Truth earned a title match opportunity against Cesaro and vowed to knock Cesaro’s teeth down his throat on a previous episode of Monday Night RAW.
This match was slow paced from beginning to end. Even offence from both men. The crowd remained (mostly) silent throughout the contest. Cesaro defeated R-Truth with the Neutralizer to retain the United States Championship. Nothing much more to say about it, as the match came off as pure “filler”. Unfortunate, considering the match could have been better given the talents of Cesaro and R-Truth, respectively.
Match Rating: 1 ½ Stars
AJ Lee and Vickie Guerrero Confrontation
Heading into this segment, something of which that could have been saved for a future episode of Monday Night RAW. Vickie Guerrero had “exposed” AJ Lee with an edited recording of a phone conversation between her and John Cena, accusing AJ of sleeping around with Cena.
This led to a confrontation on RAW where AJ said she was going to expose Vickie Guerrero in front of the world at Survivor Series following an encounter with her, Vickie, Dolph Ziggler and John Cena.
AJ Lee came to ringside and said some unflattering remarks about Vickie Guerrero which led into some doctored Photoshop pictures of Vickie Guerrero eating burritos for lunch Ricardo Rodriguez, having some of JR’s BBQ sauce with Good Ol’ JR and finally a supposed one-night stand with Brodus Clay at a hotel.
Vickie came out and confronted AJ over these pictures, denying that she did any of things. Suddenly, Tamina came out and attacked AJ Lee from behind. She lays out AJ with a Samoan Drop, followed up by a Diving Body Splash. When Tamina exits the ring, Vickie starts to laugh obnoxiously at a fallen AJ Lee.
#5 (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match) – Big Show vs Sheamus.
Big Show defeated Sheamus at the previous pay-per-view event, “Hell in a Cell” to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The following night on RAW, Big Show attacked Sheamus and his friend William Regal at a social event. A week later following this incident, Sheamus would call out Big Show to the ring on RAW, only to have Big Show appear backstage and deliver a devastating knockout punch to William Regal. This gave William Regal a concussion and a broken jaw. The results of this encounter set up the rematch for the Survivor Series.
This match was a physical hard-fought match, as Sheamus took Big Show to his limits and gave him everything he had. He kept the big man reeling, as he clipped the knee of Big Show and sent him to the ropes, where Show would be tied up with nowhere to go. Sheamus went to the apron and delivered one thunderous clobbering blow to the chest after the other, as Big Show remained helplessly tied in the ropes. Big Show would be freed from the ropes as Sheamus climbed to the top turnbuckle. Sheamus dove off the ropes to attempt a Diving Shoulderblock, but had this move countered into a Spear from Big Show.
The action then spilt to the arena floor, as Show rammed Sheamus into the steel steps. Then, he began to work over the shoulder/arm area. Big Show took advantage of this match and slowed the match down with a few rest holds to try and ware Sheamus down. Sheamus would counter and fight back, connecting with a Slingshot Shoulderblock that sent Big Show stumbling back.
Show would fight back with a thrust kick. Sheamus too attempted to fight back but was dropped with a Side Slam. The latter would next have this shoulder slammed hard into the steel ring post after he attempted to go back on the offensive but to no avail. Big Show set up Sheamus for a corner Slingshot Splash. Sheamus took advantage of this opportunity, as he got up and courageously picked up the 400+ pound Big Show over his shoulders and slammed him with an Electric Chair Drop.
Both men went tooth and nail, exchanging punches and chops to one another. Sheamus took him down with a high knee smash and a flying clothesline to get the crowd excited as he mounts a comeback, as this quickly becomes a hard-physical battle. Sheamus counters the Chokeslam into the White Noise, which ended up being one of the biggest highlights of the match. The crowd became unglued as Sheamus called for the Brogue Kick. Big Show instinctively dodges as he pulls the referee in the way, causing Sheamus to kick the referee instead.
With the referee knocked out cold, other WWE officials and medics rush to ringside to check on his condition, as does Sheamus who feels guilty over the inadvertent Brogue Kick. Big Show gets up to his feet, takes advantage of the distraction and lays Sheamus out with the Knockout Punch. Show makes the cover as another referee makes the three count. Big Show retains the World Heavyweight Championship.
Immediately thereafter, another referee tells the ring announcer that he has reversed the decision based on Big Show pulling the initial referee in the crosshairs of Sheamus’ Brogue Kick and has therefore disqualified the Big Show. Sheamus would get the win by DQ, but the Big Show would still retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
A livid Sheamus would then attack Big Show with a Steel Chair. Big Show, crawling up the rampway, begins pleading with Sheamus to stop and begs for mercy. The crowd starts to chant: “We want tables!”, as Sheamus continues his assault on Big Show. Finally, Big Show is laid out with a Brogue Kick at the top of the ramp way, as Sheamus celebrates with the crowd.
This match was very good and can be (arguably) considered as a Match of the Night candidate by other wrestling fans and journalists. A lot of good, hard, physical action. Big Show and Sheamus have good chemistry and it showed throughout the match. The crowd was interested and engaged for the most part. The pacing of the match was relatively good, a little too slow in parts, but it all became worth of the conclusion and aftermath.
Match Rating: 3 ½ Stars
#6 (Traditional Survivor Series Match) - *Team Ziggler* (Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett and David Otunga) vs *Team Foley* (Randy Orton, Kane, Daniel Bryan, The Miz and Kofi Kingston).
The match was set up through an ongoing feud between Mick Foley and Dolph Ziggler, that quickly escalated into the two agreeing to a Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match. Foley chose his team of five, as Ziggler chose his partners to participate in the match.
In the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, Cody Rhodes, who was originally slated to participate for Team Ziggler was injured after a botched Back Body Drop by Kane on WWE Main Event. With Cody out of action, David Otunga was chosen to be his replacement.
Kofi Kingston and David Otunga start out the match. Kofi sends Otunga to the arena floor then delivers a crossbody block. Kofi tags in Daniel Bryan. The crowd immediately erupted with “YES!” chants, as Bryan went after Otunga. Otunga would eventually tag into Damien Sandow. Sandow would take control and nail a Russian Leg Sweep, followed by the Elbow of Disdain.
Bryan would get back in control of the match as he Irish whipped Sandow to the corner, then nails him with a Flying Turnbuckle Missile Dropkick, followed by a series of YES! Kicks to the chest and abdomen. Sandow exits the ring and tries to get counted out, but Kane sends him back inside the ring. Kane is tagged in by Daniel Bryan. “The Big Red Machine” delivers a Chokeslam to Sandow and covers him for the pinfall.
Damien Shadow has been eliminated
Kane and Daniel Bryan begin arguing over who is legal in the match. This distraction leads to Dolph Ziggler coming in and drops Kane from behind with the Zig Zag. He covers Kane for the quick pinfall victory.
Kane has been eliminated
Randy Orton comes into the match. After he and Ziggler exchange blows, he tags in Kofi Kingston. Kofi sends Ziggler flying in the air with a huge Monkey Flip (which Ziggler sells hilariously!). Kofi tags in Daniel Bryan. After a few moments, Ziggler regains the upper hand and tags in Wade Barrett. After a few punches, Daniel Bryan attempts a turnbuckle dropkick but misses as Wade takes advantage and tags in David Otunga.
Otunga uses his power and strength to throw Daniel Bryan into the corner, then clotheslines Daniel Bryan, followed up by a Running Shoulder Block. As David Otunga goes in for the pin, Bryan reverses the attempt and applies the YES! Lock. Otunga immediately taps out.
David Otunga has been eliminated
Alberto Del Rio comes next in the match. He drills Daniel Bryan with a Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker. A few moments later, Daniel Bryan counters an Irish whip attempt and sends Barrett out to the arena floor with a Back Body Drop. As Barrett comes back into the ring, Bryan tags in Kofi Kingston.
The crowd pops, as Kofi delivers a series of chops and dropkicks to set up Wade Barrett for the BOOM Drop. He then catches Barrett with a Springboard Crossbody Block for a near fall. Not long after this, Wade gets the advantage and hits a Spinning Tilt-A-Whirl Sideslam, followed by the Bullhammer. Wade pins Kofi Kingston and eliminates him from the competition.
Kofi Kingston has been eliminated
Randy Orton comes into the match once again. Orton counters a Vertical Suplex by Barrett into a suplex of his own, then hits Barrett with a knee drop. He tags Daniel Bryan in. Bryan delivers a series of YES! Kicks to Wade Barrett in the corner, followed by a Front Missile Dropkick. Wade would regain some offence and clotheslines Bryan to the arena floor.
He tags in Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio goes to attack Daniel Bryan, who has reentered the ring, but is countered by Bryan into the YES! Lock. Del Rio fights out of the hold and hits a side thrust kick to the chest of Bryan, before sending Bryan to the corner and hitting him with a Running Enziguiri Kick. Following this Del Rio applies the Cross Armbreaker to Daniel Bryan, as Bryan has no choice but to tap out.
Daniel Bryan has been eliminated
The Miz comes into the match for the first time. He catches Del Rio with a Running Forearm Shot to the face. He quickly tags in Randy Orton. Orton methodically stomps on Del Rio, then hits him with a well-placed uppercut. Del Rio eventually fights back and hits Orton with a Double Knee Arm Breaker, then tags in Dolph Ziggler. Dolph hits a Jumping Elbow Drop to Orton for a near fall.
Orton throws Ziggler high in the air and lets him come crashing down to the mat, flapjack style. Moments later, both The Miz and Wade Barrett are tagged in to the match. The Miz comes off the hot tag and gets the crowd excitedly. He delivers a Big Boot to Ziggler on the apron, then nails Barrett with a corner dropkick. Wade Barrett counters with a thrust kick to the midsection to slow The Miz down. Wade Barrett sets up for the Wasteland but has the move countered into the Skull Crushing Finale. Miz covers Barrett for the pinfall victory.
Wade Barrett has been eliminated
The Miz plants Alberto Del Rio with a DDT for a near fall. Del Rio would recover and counter this with a German Suplex for a near fall of his own. Del Rio takes a bad bump off the turnbuckle and lands awkwardly on his head. Del Rio can recover and hits The Miz with a Corner Enziguiri Kick to get the pinfall victory.
The MIZ has been eliminated
Randy Orton comes in as the sole remaining member left for Team Foley. Orton takes out both Ziggler and Del Rio with clotheslines. Ziggler would attack Orton afterwards, as both men double teamed Orton to take advantage of the situation at hand. Del Rio hit a double stomp to Orton.
With Orton and Del Rio as the legal men, Orton with a big dropkick as the crowd erupts in excitement. One clothesline after the other, as Orton would finish off the offensive onslaught by Irish whipping Del Rio off the ropes and then catching him with a big powerslam.
Ricardo Rodriguez would get involved to distract Orton. Mick Foley takes care of Rodriguez quickly, pulling out “ Mr Socko” and applying the Mandible Claw to Rodriguez to neutralize him. The crowd breaks out into “Foley!” chants. Meanwhile, Del Rio grabs Orton from behind and holds Orton for Ziggler to dropkick him. Ziggler accidentally hits Del Rio instead, gets taken down by Orton, allowing for Orton to turn around and drop Del Rio with an RKO for the pinfall victory.
Alberto Del Rio gets eliminated
We are now down to Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler, the final two men left for each team. Orton quickly goes for the RKO on Del Rio but has the move countered into the Zig Zag for a near fall. Shortly thereafter, Orton counters the Rocker Dropper by Ziggler and sets Ziggler up for a mid-rope DDT, sending Ziggler crashing to the mat headfirst.
This leads to Orton setting up his prey for the Punt Kick. As Orton charges after Ziggler, Dolph delivers a thunderous Super Kick. Knocking out Randy Orton, allowing for Ziggler to get the winning pinfall.
Randy Orton has been eliminated
Team Ziggler wins the match, with Dolph Ziggler being the sole survivor as both Randy Orton and Mick Foley look on in complete disbelief. This match delivered the goods in terms of being a good Traditional Survivor Series match. Lots of match drama, excitement and crowd interaction. The spots were pretty good as well, everyone was given the chance to shine and put their thumbprint in this contest.
With Orton’s past victories at Survivor Series, many felt that Team Foley would be the odds-on favourite to win based on that statistic alone, but Ziggler had other plans as he was able to steal a clean hard-fought victory for his team.
Match Rating: 3 ½ Stars
#7 (WWE Championship – Triple Threat Match) – CM Punk vs John Cena vs Ryback
CM Punk defeated the previously undefeated Ryback at Hell in a Cell with interference from a planted referee officiating the contest. The “referee” gave Ryback a low blow, allowing for Punk to rollup Ryback for the quick counted 1,2,3. The referee was revealed to be Brad Maddox, a man hired by Punk and Paul Heyman to secure CM Punk his title victory over Ryback. Mr McMahon announced a rematch for the Survivor Series, with John Cena added to the mix to shake things up for the WWE Champion on a prior episode of RAW.
The match began with John Cena and Ryback giving chase to CM Punk, as Punk is eventually cornered by Ryback and Cena. Both men double team Punk, taking turns exchanging blows to the champion. CM Punk would eventually get the upper hand, taking Cena down and went right after Ryback.
Ryback would counter Punk with a Big Boot then applied a Chokehold. Following this, Cena recovers and hits Punk with a running bulldog. CM Punk is then clotheslined outside the ring by Ryback. A stare down takes place between Ryback and Cena inside the ring.
Ryback overpowers Cena, as the crowd breaks into chants of “Let’s Go Cena/CM Punk!”. Cena delivers a shoulder tackle to Ryback. Ryback counters back with a shoulder tackle of his own. Punk re-enters the ring and goes after Ryback, kicking away at his leg to weaken “The Big Guy”, then drops him with a Snap Suplex. Ryback no sells the suplex, gets back up and delivers a Military Press Slam to Punk. John Cena then attacks Ryback, as Punk climbs to the top turnbuckle and hits a Diving Axe Handle on Ryback.
Afterwards, Punk tosses Cena outside the ring and then hits Ryback with another Diving Axe Handle from the top rope. Ryback fights back and hits Punk with a shoulder block into the corner. Punk responds with a Spinning Back Wheel Kick to the face of Ryback. Cena gets back into the ring and attempts an Attitude Adjustment, but Punk counters this into a DDT. Cena hits Punk with a powerslam, then a Spin-Out Powerbomb to Ryback. Ryback no sells the powerbomb and begins exchanging punches with Cena.
CM Punk rolls outside the ring grabs Cena and drags him to the arena floor, slamming him into the steel steps. Punk climbs onto the apron and hits Ryback with a Springboard Clothesline inside the ring. Ryback counters and hits a series of clotheslines followed up by a Back Body Drop and a Spinebuster to Punk. Ryback starts to rally the crowd into chanting: “Feed. Me. More!” as he prepares to hit the Meathook Clothesline on Punk. He drills the champ with the Meathook Clothesline. Ryback hits the Shellshock on Punk, but Cena gets back into the ring, breaks up the pin and applies an STF to Ryback.
Punk regains his composure, shakes off the cobwebs and climbs the top turnbuckle to deliver a Diving Elbow Drop to both men to break up the submission attempt. Punk attempts a GTS to Cena but is countered as both men exchange rights and lefts. Ryback gets up and hits both men with a double clothesline that sends both Punk and Cena crashing to the arena floor.
Outside the ring, both Punk and Cena regain their composure and go after Ryback. They block a Double Shellshock attempt and send Ryback crashing through the announce table with a Double Suplex. Punk and Cena go back into the ring, as Ryback is laid out on the arena floor amongst the wrecked table.
Cena mounts a comeback to Punk, hitting two Running shoulder blocks followed up by a Spin-Out Powerbomb. Cena goes for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle but has this countered into the GTS for a near fall. Cena gets back up and delivers an Attitude Adjustment to Punk for a near fall as well.
The crowd begins to chant for CM Punk as Punk delivers a variety of kicks to Cena, then a Running Knee Lift into the corner. Punk attempts a bulldog from the corner but has this reversed into the STF. Ryback gets up from the wreckage outside the ring and drags Cena outside to the floor. Ryback hits Cena with the Meathook Clothesline, laying Cena out. He enters the ring, picks up CM Punk and hits the Shellshock. Cena comes back into the ring and goes after Ryback. He attempts an Attitude Adjustment but has it countered into the Shellshock.
Suddenly, three mysterious individuals jump over the barricade, dressed in black, as they break up the pin attempt and target Ryback. The trio drags Ryback outside the ring, continuing to pummel and assault him before they deliver a Triple Powerbomb through the Spanish announce table. The three men then quickly leave the scene, as Michael Cole would later reveal the three men to be Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose from NXT.
With Ryback taken out by these three men, Punk crawls over and covers Cena in the ring to get the pinfall victory to retain the WWE Championship. CM Punk and Paul Heyman would celebrate Punk’s title victory as the Survivor Series goes off the air.
The main event was indeed very exciting and was a good match to conclude the show. The debut of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, the three men who we would learn would become “The Shield” was the standout moment of the entire pay-per-view. Outside of the interference, the match was good and had the crowd was very engaged.
Ryback looked very strong and hung in there with Punk and Cena, who were established main eventers for WWE at the time. Punk would weasel his way out of this predicament and continue his reign as WWE Champion for the next several months. Ryback would go on to feud with The Shield in the weeks to come, as John Cena would continue to feud with Punk and eventually The Rock over the WWE Championship title. All in all, this was a satisfying main event that delivered and gave each Superstar involved a direction to go after the show went off the air.
Match Rating: 4 Stars
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