Survivor Series (2009)

Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on November 22, 2009, at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. It was the 23rd annual Survivor Series event and starred wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brand divisions.

Survivor Series
Promotional poster featuring D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H)
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
ECW
DateNovember 22, 2009[1]
CityWashington, D.C.[1]
VenueVerizon Center[1]
Attendance12,500[1]
Buy rate225,000
Pay-per-view chronology
 Previous
Bragging Rights
Next 
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
Survivor Series chronology
 Previous
2008
Next 
2010

The card comprised six matches. There were two matches that were deemed the main events of the program. The first was the triple threat match involving The Undertaker defending the World Heavyweight Championship successfully against both halves of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho and The Big Show. This was also followed by the other main event match: another triple threat with John Cena defending the WWE Championship against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The undercard matches included Batista versus Rey Mysterio in a singles match and three five-on-five elimination tag team matches.[2] The event received 225,000 pay-per-view buys, down from the previous year's event of 319,000 buys.[3]

Production

Background

Survivor Series is an annual gimmick pay-per-view, produced every November by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since 1987. The second longest running pay-per-view event in history (behind WWE's WrestleMania), it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam, dubbed the "Big Four".[4] The event is traditionally characterized by having Survivor Series matches, which are tag team elimination matches that typically pits teams of four or five wrestlers against each other. The 2009 event was the twenty-third event in the Survivor Series chronology and featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. It included three 5-on-5 Survivor Series matches, two for men and one for the women. The 2009 event was the last Survivor Series to include the ECW brand, as well as the ECW Championship, as the brand was disbanded in February 2010, deactivating the championship with it.[5]

Storylines

The professional wrestling matches at Survivor Series involved professional wrestlers in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE.[6][7] Storylines between the characters were produced on WWE's weekly television shows Raw, SmackDown, and ECW.[8]

On the October 26 episode of Raw the show's guest hosts, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano scheduled the Raw brand's main event, in which John Cena was to defend the WWE Championship against both members of D-Generation X, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, in a Triple Threat match.[9]

At Bragging Rights, a seven-on-seven tag team match pitting contingencies of Raw wrestlers against SmackDown wrestlers was held, with the winning team declared the dominant brand. Near the end of the match, Raw wrestler, and one-half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions, The Big Show, turned on his team, allowing the other half, Chris Jericho, to score the victory for SmackDown.[10] The following night on Raw, Big Show revealed that he turned on Team Raw as a favor from SmackDown general manager, Theodore Long, who in return would grant him a World Heavyweight Championship shot at Survivor Series against The Undertaker.[9] On the October 30 episode of SmackDown, both Jericho and Kane expressed a desire to face The Undertaker at Survivor Series instead of The Big Show. Long decided to change the World Heavyweight Championship match into a Triple Threat match, with the third person being the winner of a match between Jericho and Kane. Jericho won the match to earn his spot at Survivor Series.[11]

Following the fatal four-way match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bragging Rights, two of the match's participants, Rey Mysterio and Batista, had a confrontation rooted in Batista's perception of Mysterio holding him back from winning the championship, promptly having the latter turn on his ally, and assault him.[10] After failing to reason with him, a match between the two was scheduled on the November 6 episode of SmackDown.[12]

For the event, three traditional Survivor Series elimination matches were scheduled: The first pitted teams headed by WWE Intercontinental Champion John Morrison and WWE United States Champion The Miz against each other. Their partnership had ended when The Miz betrayed his partner, leading to verbal jabs via their Internet show, The Dirt Sheet, as well as a match at Bragging Rights, in which The Miz was victorious. Morrison's team included Shelton Benjamin, Evan Bourne, Finlay, and Matt Hardy while The Miz enlisted Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler.

The second Survivor Series match pitted Randy Orton, who enlisted his protégés Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes (collectively known as The Legacy), as well as CM Punk and William Regal, against Kofi Kingston's team, which also included ECW Champion Christian, Mark Henry, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), and R-Truth. The conflict between Orton and Kingston rooted in their involvement in each other's matches over the previous weeks and Kingston defacing Orton's car.[13]

The third Survivor Series match consisted of the women of the company. WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool teamed with Alicia Fox, Jillian Hall, Layla, and Beth Phoenix; the opposing team, captained by Mickie James, included Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, WWE Divas Champion Melina, and Eve Torres.[14]

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English commentators Michael Cole
Jerry Lawler
Matt Striker
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Hugo Savinovich
Interviewer Josh Mathews
Ring announcers Tony Chimel
Justin Roberts
Referees Charles Robinson
John Cone
Mike Chioda
Jack Doan
Scott Armstrong
Jim Korderas
Justin King
Aaron Mahoney

Prior to Survivor Series airing live on pay-per-view, the fans in attendance were presented with an untelevised match pitting Santino Marella against Chavo Guerrero, which saw Marella get the pinfall victory.[15]

Preliminary matches

The show commenced with Team Miz (The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger) facing Team Morrison (John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, and Finlay). Ziggler was eliminated by Bourne after an Air Bourne. Bourne was eliminated by McIntyre after a Future Shock. Finlay was eliminated by Sheamus after a Brogue Kick. Swagger was eliminated by Morrison after a Starship Pain. Benjamin was eliminated by The Miz after a Skull Crushing Finale. Hardy was eliminated by McIntyre after a Future Shock. Morrison was eliminated by Sheamus after a High Cross, leaving The Miz, McIntyre and Sheamus as the survivors.

Next, Batista faced Rey Mysterio. The match started with Mysterio trying to hit quick attacks before Batista took Mysterio outside of the ring to the floor of the arena, which saw him throw his opponent into one of the posts of the ring. As the action returned to the ring, Batista went to execute his finishing move, the Batista Bomb, only to be stopped as his opponent escaped and threw him to the outside. With Batista outside again, Mysterio ran across the ring apron, and dove out at Batista with a seated senton. As the two once again made their way into the ring, Mysterio dropped Batista into the ropes as he executed the 619. As Mysterio went to pin his opponent, Batista evaded the attempt, leading to Mysterio ascending the top turnbuckle and attempted a frog splash; Batista blocked the attack, and performed the Batista Bomb onto his opponent three times, causing the referee to stop the match. Batista then placed a chair in the ring and then performed a spinebuster to Rey onto the chair before the medical staff took him out on a stretcher.

The third match was a five-on-five Elimination Tag Team match between Team Kingston (Kofi Kingston, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mark Henry, R-Truth, and Christian) and Team Orton (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk, and William Regal). Henry was eliminated by Orton after an RKO. R-Truth was eliminated by Punk after a Go To Sleep. Dibiase was eliminated by Christian after a Diving Sunset Flip. William Regal was eliminated by MVP after a Drive-By Kick. MVP was eliminated by Rhodes after Cross Rhodes. Rhodes was eliminated by Christian after a Killswitch. Christian was eliminated by Orton after an RKO. Punk was eliminated by Kingston with a Roll Up. Orton was eliminated by Kingston after Trouble in Paradise, leaving Kingston as the sole survivor.

Main event matches

The fourth match was a triple-threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker and Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho and Big Show. During the match, Jericho and Big Show double-teamed The Undertaker. The Undertaker managed to remove Big Show from the ring and began to focus on Chris Jericho. Jericho countered The Undertaker's Old School rope walk and turned it into a superplex, giving him a brief advantage where he was able to apply the Walls of Jericho to The Undertaker. At this point Big Show returned to the ring and attacked Jericho with a chokeslam, freeing The Undertaker from the hold, but his attempt to do the same to The Undertaker was countered by a DDT. Jericho attempted a pin on both men but was thrown from the ring by Big Show. He retrieved the World Heavyweight Championship belt, which he attempted to use against The Undertaker but only hit Big Show with the belt. The Undertaker attempted a Last Ride on Jericho but Jericho struck The Undertaker's head with it. Jericho's failed attempt to mimic the Tombstone Piledriver on The Undertaker allowed enough distraction for Big Show to enter and punch The Undertaker in the face, leading to a pinfall attempt exchange between Jericho and Big Show on The Undertaker. When Jericho tried to retaliate for having his pinfall broken by Big Show, Big Show knocked him out but during his attempt to chokeslam The Undertaker, it was reversed into a Hell's Gate and The Undertaker scored a submission victory to retain the championship.

The fifth match was a five-on-five elimination tag team match between Team Mickie (Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Melina, Gail Kim, and Eve Torres) and Team Michelle (Michelle McCool, Jillian Hall, Beth Phoenix, Layla, and Alicia Fox). Layla was eliminated by Kelly Kelly after a K2. Kim was eliminated by McCool after a Faith Breaker. Hall was eliminated by Eve after a Diving Sunset Flip. Eve was eliminated by Phoenix after a Glam Slam. Kelly was eliminated by Phoenix after a Glam Slam. Phoenix was eliminated by James with a Crucifix. Fox was eliminated by James after a Thesz Press. McCool was eliminated by Melina after a Last Call, leaving James and Melina as the survivors.

The final match was a triple-threat match for the WWE Championship between John Cena, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. In a show of solidarity, Triple H and Michaels entered together as D-Generation X. Right after the match began, Michaels executed Sweet Chin Music on Triple H, sending him outside the ring for several minutes. During this time Michaels fought Cena ably until he attempted to send Cena through the broadcast table. At this point Cena reversed but was interrupted by a recovered Triple H. But, instead of saving Michaels, he put him through a broadcast table with a Spinebuster. Triple H then took command of the match and continued to fight Cena. Cena's attempt at an Attitude Adjustment left him open to an attack by Shawn Michaels, who had revived from going through the table. Michaels and Triple H then battled one another for a period. Cena revived but was only met with a flying forearm smash from Michaels after missing a diving leg drop, who was promptly tossed outside by Triple H. Cena applied his signature submission, the STF, to Triple H but Michaels intervened and applied a crossface to break the hold. Eventually Cena was able to put Shawn Michaels in the STF, but Michaels forced a rope break. While recovering from the STF, Michaels executed Sweet Chin Music on Cena and Triple H, causing Triple H to collapse onto Cena in a pinning predicament. A short burst of offense from Michaels and Triple H allowed Cena to get the final advantage, finishing the match by throwing Michaels onto Triple H with the Attitude Adjustment and pinning Triple H to retain the title.

Reception

Survivor Series received generally mixed reviews from critics, with many noting the predictable card and lackluster showcasing of talent for a "Big Four" pay-per-view.

Aftermath

After John Cena retained the WWE Championship, a 'Breakthrough battle royale' was scheduled by Raw guest host Jesse Ventura to determine the next number-one contender. The concept being that every participant was to be a superstar who had not previously won a world championship. Sheamus won the match and later on attacked Cena and slammed him through a table, Ventura who had instigated the attack decided that Cena would defend the championship in a Tables match.

Batista, whose actions sidelined Rey Mysterio for the next few weeks, later became the number one contender for The Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship. After a few weeks of repeatedly attacking the champion, a Chairs match for the title was scheduled.

Results

No. Results Stipulations Times[16]
1D Santino Marella defeated Chavo Guerrero[15] Singles match Unknown
2 Team Miz (Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, The Miz and Sheamus) defeated Team Morrison (Evan Bourne, Finlay, John Morrison, Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin)1[17] 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match 20:52
3 Batista defeated Rey Mysterio by knockout[18] Singles match 06:50
4 Team Kingston (Christian, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Montel Vontavious Porter and R-Truth) defeated Team Orton (CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase and William Regal)2[19] 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match 20:47
5 The Undertaker (c) defeated Big Show and Chris Jericho by submission[20] Triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship 13:37
6 Team Mickie (Eve Torres, Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, Melina, and Mickie James) defeated Team Michelle (Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Layla, and Michelle McCool)3[21] 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match 10:38
7 John Cena (c) defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels[22] Triple threat match for the WWE Championship 21:19
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match

Survivor Series elimination matches

^1

Eliminated Wrestler Eliminated by Team Method Time[16]
1 Dolph Ziggler Evan Bourne Team Miz Pinfall 03:54
2 Evan Bourne Drew McIntyre Team Morrison Pinfall 04:09
3 Finlay Sheamus Team Morrison Pinfall 05:11
4 Jack Swagger John Morrison Team Miz Pinfall 12:05
5 Shelton Benjamin The Miz Team Morrison Pinfall 14:57
6 Matt Hardy Drew McIntyre Team Morrison Pinfall 17:08
7 John Morrison Sheamus Team Morrison Pinfall 20:52
Survivor(s): Drew McIntyre, The Miz, and Sheamus (Team Miz)

^2

Eliminated Wrestler Eliminated by Team Method Time[16]
1 Mark Henry Randy Orton Team Kingston Pinfall 00:50
2 R-Truth CM Punk Team Kingston Pinfall 03:11
3 Ted DiBiase Christian Team Orton Pinfall 05:08
4 William Regal MVP Team Orton Pinfall 06:49
5 MVP Cody Rhodes Team Kingston Pinfall 10:08
6 Cody Rhodes Christian Team Orton Pinfall 11:33
7 Christian Randy Orton Team Kingston Pinfall 13:24
8 CM Punk Kofi Kingston Team Orton Pinfall 20:39
9 Randy Orton Kofi Kingston Team Orton Pinfall 20:47
Survivor(s): Kofi Kingston (Team Kingston)

^3

Eliminated Wrestler Eliminated by Team Method Time[16]
1 Layla Kelly Kelly Team Michelle Pinfall 01:15
2 Gail Kim Michelle McCool Team Mickie Pinfall 02:04
3 Jillian Hall Eve Torres Team Michelle Pinfall 03:34
4 Eve Torres Beth Phoenix Team Mickie Pinfall 03:55
5 Kelly Kelly Beth Phoenix Team Mickie Pinfall 04:08
6 Beth Phoenix Mickie James Team Michelle Pinfall 04:41
7 Alicia Fox Mickie James Team Michelle Pinfall 06:24
8 Michelle McCool Melina Team Michelle Pinfall 10:38
Survivor(s): Melina and Mickie James (Team Mickie)

References

  1. Martin, Adam (November 26, 2009). "Attendance for Survivor Series PPV". WrestleView. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  2. "Survivor Series results". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  3. "WWE Reports 2009 Fourth Quarter Results" (PDF). World Wrestling Entertainment. 2010-02-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-12. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
  5. "WWE Pay-Per-Views To Follow WrestleMania Formula". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  6. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  8. "WWE Launches ECW As Third Brand". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  9. Adkins, Greg (2009-10-26). "The fast & the spurious". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  10. Bishop, Matt (October 25, 2009). "Cena, Smackdown earn Bragging Rights". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  11. Burdick, Michael (2009-10-30). "SmackDown for survival". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  12. Passero, Mitch (2009-11-06). "Altered beast". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  13. Adkins, Greg (2009-10-26). "The fast & the spurious". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  14. Adkins, Greg (2009-11-09). "Hats off to Hatton". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  15. Martin, Adam (November 22, 2009). "Survivor Series Results – 11/22/09". WrestleView. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  16. "Survivor Series 2009". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  17. "Team Miz def. Team Morrison (Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match)". WWE. November 22, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  18. "Batista def. Rey Mysterio". WWE. November 22, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  19. "Team Kingston def. Team Orton (Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match)". WWE. November 22, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  20. "World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker def. Big Show & Chris Jericho (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. November 22, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  21. "Team Mickie def. Team Michelle (Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match)". WWE. November 22, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  22. "WWE Champion John Cena def. Triple H & Shawn Michaels (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. November 22, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
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