Who Was The Survivor?
12/16/2003. The WWE put on it's annual Survivor Series show on Sunday. Being a giant WWE fan, I used to order every pay-per-view they offered, which in the older days was four per year. They then added King of the Ring as a fifth PPV. Fine, I can afford to spend $30 a pop 5 times a year. Unfortunately, times have changed. WWE now runs 13 pay-per-view events a year, having one roughly every four weeks. While these shows are usually good in quality, they're quite expensive (now $34.95, except for Wrestlemania, which runs $39.95). Being a working man, I can't really afford to order every show, so if it's not a major show (Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Summer Slam) they'd better have a good hook to get me to spend my hard earned money.
Well, not only was the 2003 Survivor Series a "major" show, it also had several hooks to keep me interested. There were two classic 5 on 5 Survivor Series elimination matches, an ambulance match, and a creepy buried alive match.
The first major surprise of the night came during the first match, when John Cena gave the F-U to the Big Show. The F-U is a move where Cena picks up the man over his shoulders, holds them for a few seconds, then slams them to the canvas. Did I mention that the Big Show is pushing 500 pounds? John Cena is about half that size. I was shocked when he not only picked up the Big Show, but held him for several seconds before dropping him. It certainly was a sight to see.
Later in the night, Shane McMahon was fighting Kane in an Ambulance match, where the object (as you might have guessed) is to have your opponent leave in an ambulance. Shane McMahon always puts on a good show, and this match was no exception. Although he didn't win the match, he took several hard shots, high dives, and all the risks that are usually associated with a Shane O'Mac match. He certainly didn't disappoint.
Possibly the most anticipated match of the night was the 5 on 5 match between Eric Bischoff's team and Stone Cold Steve Austin's team. The stipulation of the match is that if Bischoff's team won, then Austin would no longer be the co-GM of Raw (and out of the WWE altogether), and if Austin's team won, Austin would then be allowed to beat up other superstars whenever he sees fit.
The match sort of got off to a slow start, but things picked up in a big way. When the first several wrestlers were eliminated, it was down to a 3 on 1 situation, with Bischoff's team having the advantage. It was Christian, Chris Jericho & Randy Orton versus Shawn Michaels alone. Michaels ended up with a small cut on his forehead, which ended up being pretty bloody within a few minutes. While the cut wasn't major, these guys are very good at spreading the blood around to make things look gory. I was very satisfied. Shawn Michaels successfully eliminated Jericho and Christian, and it was finally down to a 1 on 1 match with Randy Orton When the ref was knocked unconscious, Eric Bischoff came in to attack Michaels, and Austin stepped up to defend him. Austin battled Bischoff up the ramp to the entrance, while Batista (he is part of a group called Evolution with Randy Orton) appeared in the ring to attack Michaels. He delivered a powerbomb to Michaels, and rolled Orton on top of him. He revived the ref, and the pin was counted. Stone Cold's career was over.
Stone Cold realized what had happened, and he took a slow walk to the ring. He stood over Shawn's bloody body, and rather than pummel him in typical "Stone Cold" fashion, he helped him up, hugged him, and shook his hand. Shawn Michaels gave the best performance he could, and Austin did the right thing. They went to the back, but Austin came back to the ring. He gave what sounded like a heartfelt retirement speech, and he seemed to even break character a few times. It was definitely an interesting moment. While the outcome wasn't expected, it was definitely a spectacle to see.
The final big draw wasn't the World Title match (which was extremely boring) but the Buried Alive match between Vince McMahon and the Undertaker. It was a typical match most of the time, but things rapidly changed once they reached the grave area. They took turns throwing each other into the grave, until the Undertaker went for the bulldozer to dump the dirt. The second he touched the door, some pyro exploded in his face (a little of which seemed to sear his arm) causing him to fall down. Out of nowhere appeared Kane (he's the Undertaker's brother on the show) who helped McMahon out of the grave, and put the Undertaker in it. McMahon dumped the dirt on top, and the match was over. I wasn't surprised that McMahon won, but I was surprised that Kane helped him do it.
Overall, it was a pretty eventful pay-per-view, and it was definitely worth ordering. While I don't order as often as I like, I'm rarely disappointed when I do. It was a good show, and all the wrestlers seem to bring their "A" game to the events. If you've got the cash to spare, I'd recommend ordering a PPV once in a while. The next major is the Royal Rumble in January 2004.
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