Welcome to our live coverage of WWE’s Survivor Series pay-per-view from the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

As always, we’re looking for your feedback on tonight’s show via email on the address below, via our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/ifight365, or via Twitter at www.twitter.com/ifight365.

If you’ve not already done so, you can check out our Survivor Series PPV preview at this link, and we’ll have live updates from tonight’s show throughout the night from 8pm EST/1am GMT onwards, along with details of any pre-PPV dark matches.

- Santino beat Chavo Guerrero in a dark match.

- Three-man announce team are calling the show, with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler being joined by Matt Striker.

- Team Morrison (John Morrison, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy and Finlay) vs. Team Miz (The Miz, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre) in a Survivor Series Elimination match opens the show. Crowd seem to be fairly lively. Big pop for Evan Bourne who hits a SSP to pin Ziggler. McIntyre quickly pinned Bourne. Sheamus pinned Finlay after a kick to the face. They got a good amount of time and worked well as Jack Swagger was next to go. Shelton Benjamin was next to be eliminated following Matt Hardy. Sheamus then kicked Morrison and hit the Celtic Cross before making the pin. Survivors: The Miz, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre.

Decent opener. The guys from this side of the pond are sure in management’s (or at least Vince’s) good books. Referee Scott Armstrong suffered a concussion during the match after being kicked in the head by Sheamus. Not an angle either.

Michael Campbell’s take on the match: Very quick paced, exciting opener that sets the crowd up really nicely for the rest of the show. Some of the eliminations were too straight-forward and predictable, but it’s hardly a criticism, given that it delivered exactly what an opening bout should. Shame that Bourne was booted out so early mind. McIntyre finishing Hardy with a “Kobashi” DDT may have been the highlight for me. Striker is excellent on commentary thus far.
 
Team Kofi promo backstage. With the situation and feud between kingston and Orton, you’d think he’d had something better to do…

- Batista vs. Rey Mysterio is up next. Big pop for Batista, which was to be expected given the show is in his back yard, but surprisingly little reaction as he went for a Batista Bomb early on. Rey hit a “proper” 619 after several versions of it to Batista’s body. Big Dave hit a spear after catching Mysterio coming off the top rope with a splash by putting his knees up. Dave hit a Batista Bomb then a second. Crowd started to chant “one more time” as Batista looked at Rey laid out. Dave gave the crowd what they wanted and the referee stopped the match, giving the win to Batista due to Mysterio being unable to continue.

Post-match, officials attended to Rey but bailed out when Batista returned to the ring with a chair. He sat on the chair staring at Rey then folded the chair up and gave Rey a spinebuster onto it. Perhaps its just me, but I didn’t feel the match delivered at all. We know Rey is badly injured and likely taking some time out, but given the build and the potential here, I was expecting more. Michael Cole put on his serious voice to put over how, err, seriously Mysterio was hurt as we saw replays of Batista beating him up.

Mysterio left on a stretcher which I assume means this was the blow-off to their feud and that Mysterio is taking time out to undergo surgery. There’s been talk of him taking up to six months out which would mean missing WrestleMania again.

Michael Campbell’s take: Suprised to see this go on so soon .Fair enough that expectations were low amongst the net fans- but unless Rey was so screwed he couldn’t go for more than a couple of minutes, it has the value of being higher up the card.  Still, both guys worked very hard here, and the clear strength of the match was that both knew how to execute their roles really well. Rey was the underdog who knew he had to be careful and keep his distance, but at the same time, Batista was portrayed as knowing, and not at all the dumb brute. No classic, but an efficient example of storytelling.

Rey’s a fool for attempting to pay tribute to Eddie Guerrero however, in a big singles bout, in his opponent’s hometown. “One more time chants” for Dave, following the second Batista Bomb were pretty amusing. The stoppage ending is fine in the sense that this one didn’t really fill in for a full-match, so it gives them somewhere to return to, that might still feel like a first proper decision. This stuff will look great in replays on Smackdown in terms of making Batista come off like a real despicable bully.

- Team Kingston (Kofi Kingston, MVP, Mark Henry, Christian and R-Truth) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and William Regal) in a Survivor Series Elimination match is up next. Henry cleared house early. There was a terrible mistiming between him and Orton that just looked bad as Orton was stood right next to Henry with his back to him, waiting for Henry to turn round. Seconds later, Orton hit an RKO and Henry was gone fast. Punk and R-Truth had a good exchange. Rhodes distracted Truth enough for Punk to hit the GTS and get the pin to eliminate him.

Next elimination was Ted DiBiase following a sunset flip by Christian off the second rope. Regal steamed into the ring but was met by a dropkick. Christian tagged out to Kofi, who went crazy on Regal. They had a good back and forth before MVP was tagged in. He quickly got the pinfall on Regal then tagged out to Christian, who took the match to Cody Rhodes. After a nice little exchange between the two, next elimination came after Christian made the tag to MVP. He looked for the Playmaker on Orton, who bailed out. Rhodes hit Crossroads on MVP and got the pin. Kofi looked for a quick pin on Rhodes but only got a two count. Christian was tagged in and hit the Killswitch on Rhodes before eliminating in, making it two-on-two. Christian hit the Killswitch on Orton to a huge pop after reversing an RKO but Punk broke up the pinfall. Orton then hit an RKO after Christian ran into the ring post and pinned him. Kofi hit the ring but Orton tagged out to Punk. Striker put over that Punk and Kofi used to be tag champions as they had a staredown before exchanging blows. Kofi escaped a GTS attempt and Punk ducked Trouble in Paradise. Real good minute or so between the two. They worked together for a few minutes more as Orton watched on from outside the ring, largely working a slow pace on the mat. Kofi went up top but got caught by Punk, who got pushed off the ropes and ate a crossbody. Orton distracted Kofi and Punk rolled him up, but Kofi rolled through and rolled Punk up for the pin. Randy Orton then hit the ring but immediately was hit with Trouble in Paradise. Kofi got the pinfall, the crowd popped huge, and WWE’s booking of Kingston continues to shock and impress.

Good match and Kofi came out looking a star, which had to be done. If only they’d give a few more guys the Kofi treatment…

Michael Campbell’s take: Disappointed to see this go on so early. Being Survivor Series, i feel there was enough behind this collision to have built it up as the semi-main, ahead of one of the title matches. Crowd seemed to be way more into these guys than in the previous match- with R-Truth getting a really good reaction. Henry being eliminated first was great, getting rid of the deadweight almost immediately.  I also really liked the notion that Orton’s team all have a hell of a lot more to lose, and are under pressure. It built into the thoughful, sneaky strategies that Legacy normally utilise. However, DiBiase was eliminated way too easily, and it’s the sort of deal where, if he was a bigger star, it would come across like a big shock, flash-fall. But as he isn’t at that level, it makes him look second rate, and is exactly the sort of booking that will prevent him getting over as a singles star, should they pull the plug on Legacy. Where’s his credibility? Likewise, MVP wasn’t afforded the opportunity to do much.

Christian looked really good here on the other hand, and his exchanges with Punk were especially nice. But the standout here was designed to be Kofi Kingston, and it worked.  When it came down to him and Christian against Punk and Orton, the final few minutes of the bout were tremendous. Awesome finish in terms of putting Kofi over. That was great, and a really unexpected vote of confidence. Brilliant stuff. Despite the fans popping for the finish, they’re in general, a disappointing crowd here in Washington however.
 
It definitely appears that we’ll be looking at Punk/Christian at the TLC pay per view- which should be a good, one off challenge from Punk to raise the status of the ECW belt.

- The Undertaker (C) vs. Big Show vs. Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight title is up next. An ok match. Crowd were into Taker more than anybody else on the show so far. Big Show was moving incredibly slowly throughout even by his standards and had his left leg strapped up. Jericho had Taker in the Walls of Jericho but Show broke it up and gave them both a chokeslam. Jericho looked to hit Taker with the title belt but instead took out Show, which I guess is going to lead to a Jerishow split. Taker went for Last Ride on Taker but Jericho nailed him with the title and only got a two count from it. Big Show and Jericho then started to break up each other’s pinning attempts on Taker. Jericho went for the codebreaker on Show, who hit him with the knockout punch. He went for a chokeslam on Taker, who blocked it and locked Hell’s Gate. Show tapped, and Taker remains champion.

Michael Campbell’s take: As usual, they went overboard at the start in spending about an hour building up Undertaker’s entrance. It worked though, and the crowd were really solidly into him, booking both the challengers.  This one was slow from the start, with the heels double-teaming the champ, to increasingly disinterested fan response. Definitely the sort of match that’s fine on tv, but not so appropriate on PPV. Striker saw fit to quote Keyser Soze at random here.

Jericho hit a superplex on Taker at one point that looked really scary, with the Canadian looking likely to slip straight off the turnbuckle. A singles effort between these two would have been so much better. Show’s chokeslam to Jericho earned a nice reaction from the gullible, and all three men went to a welcome triple-down moment, that you don’t usually get in triple threats. Nice idea heading into the final few minutes, and a good finishing sequence, in theory, more than execution.

They hid it fairly well, but Taker looked a mess tonight. I truly fear for him if he has to defend the belt in a ladder match next month…

This PPV feels like it’s flying by.. and not in a good way. It has that feeling that nothing’s really happening, and aside from Kofi’s elevation, that’s probably true.

- Backstage promo with Miz, McIntyre and Sheamus. All three put themselves over. Total filler promo. Miz was over with the crowd but this was a pretty pointless promo.

- Team Mickie (Mickie James, Melina, Gail Kim, Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly) vs. Team Michelle (Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Layla and Alicia Fox) in a Survivor Series Elimination match is up next. This was, well, probably what you’d expect. Melina and Mickie James were the survivors for Team Mickie.

Michael Campbell’s take: Gail Kim is so wasted in the WWE. Disgraceful mis-use of a world class talent. Not much of note happened here, even though there was enough going on that the time was filled reasonable well. Kelly Kelly nearly killed herself taking Beth Phoenix’s finisher, whilst Alicia stood out like the clear bum amongst the crowd. Everyone did their best here, but in some cases that wasn’t good enough, in some it was creative’s fault, and in general, it was still boring because the outcome is irrelevant.

- John Cena (C) vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE title is up next. Bells rings, match starts, HBK superkicks Triple H out of the ring. Fantastic. 

Cena and Michaels worked a singles match for several minutes from here. Cena went for an FU which HBK turned into a DDT of sorts. Cena went for a flying shoulder tackle but Michaels moved and Cena fell to the outside. Cena got back up and went for an FU on Michaels on the announce table but Triple H broke it up. He then hit Michaels with a spinebuster through the announce table.

Cena and HHH went into the ring with Trips in control. He went for the Pedigree but Cena blocked it. Cena went fo rhte FU but Michaels hit hte ring and made the save before he and HHH squared off. Cena crotched Michaels on the top rope then he missed a legdrop on HHH from the top. Michaels hit Cena with an elbow but HHH then tossed Michaels over the top rope. Cena looked in the STF on HHH but Michaels broke it up and put the Crossface on Cena. Cena got Michaels up for an FU without breaking the hold but they collapsed and Cena put the STF on Michaels, who eventually got to the ropes.

Michaels hit Cena with a superkick then nailed HHH with one. As he did that, HHH fell on top of Cena and Michaels fell out of the ring. The referee counted by Cena got his shoulders up on two. Cena hit HHH with an FU, then both Cena and HBK covered HHH, who kicked out on two. Cena got Michaels up for an FU, but HHH blocked it. He went for a Pedigree but ate a Superkick. Cena then FU’d Michaels on top of HHH. Cena covered HHH and got the 1, 2, 3.

Pretty good main event I thought, but the questions going out of it are the same as they were before the show: What do WWE do to make the Raw main event scene fresh? The DX split should keen Trips and Michaels busy for a while, while hopefully means somebody new challenges Cena for the belt. Raw tomorrow night will be interesting for sure.

Michael Campbell’s closing thoughts: Big match feel to this, despite the absolutely horrible storyline heading in. Mixed reactions all round, with the most vocal support and hatred both for  Cena, at the start anyway.Awesome start, with HBK immediately Superkicking Hunter clean out of the ring. Fantastic. Michaels was sporting the serious/about to cry expression that always underlines an important occasion. Michaels against Cena here wasn’t as smooth as some of their past encounters. In particular, Michaels nailed Cena with a Chop-block, that Cena took a ridiculously poor bump off.  Once Hunter recovered, and took out Michaels, the action got a notch slower, and less inspired again. They saved the three-way sequences, and clever moments for the last ten minutes, which was full of creative touches.

Very good match. Hunter taking the pin allows for Michaels to be presented as the sole challenger next time out, though theyll probably still find a way to have HHH save face.

Phil Lowe
phil@ifight365.com

Michael Campbell
michael@ifight365.com