WWE Survivor Series 2005 Review

Survivor Series in 2016 and 2017 weren't the first time that the two big WWE brands collided... Survivor Series 2005 featured Superstars of Raw and SmackDown facing off in a classic Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match! Was Shawn Michaels able to lead Team Raw over Batista and the rest of Team SmackDown in a battle for brand supremacy?

Match 1: WWE United States Championship - Best of 7 Series - Chris Benoit (c) vs. Booker T
The opening match of the night sees the opening match of the best of 7 series for the United States Championship between Chris Benoit and Booker T. Of course, these two have had huge careers outside the WWE and it is really cool to see them go against each other on such a big stage. Nice action here between two veterans that saw Sharmell play the role as a distraction against Benoit who missing a headbutt from the top rope which led to Booker T pinning him with his feet on the ropes for leverage. Booker T draws the first blood against Benoit in a fun opening match for the night.
Winner: Booker T
Rating: ***

Match 2: WWE Women's Championship - Trish Stratus (c) vs. Melina
This is the first Raw vs. SmackDown match of the night and it's for the Women's Championship. MNM accompany Melina to the match but are quickly booted out by the referee when they try to take out Trish Stratus. Stratus is able to win the match with a Stratisfaction from the top after dodging a hit on the apron from Melina with a little help from Mickie James. Another Divas match that maybe could have been better if they were given a little more time. Other than that, just a basic Divas match, take it or leave it.
Winner: Trish Stratus
Rating: *1/4

Match 3: Last Man Standing - Triple H vs. Ric Flair
Like Ric Flair's feud with Randy Orton, I really loved the one he had in late 2005 against his former protege in Triple H. The two had a bloodbath of a match inside a steel cage at Taboo Tuesday and looked to finish things off here at Survivor Series. This was another bloodbath as the two brought out all the stops for this violent matches. There were screwdrivers, kendo sticks, steel chairs, sledgehammers and did I mention... screwdrivers? Last Man Standing matches can very much tend to drag but I thought that the two did a great job of making each count matter and add to the story they were trying to convey. Triple H was dominating the match until Flair was able to backdrop Triple H through a table and use his dirty skills to limit The Game. However, Triple H would later drop three Pedigrees on Flair and followed it up with a sledgehammer shot to his back for the win. Afterwards, Triple H symbolically makes a gun out of his hand and shoots a prone Ric Flair as he spits on him before heading to the back. Great and bloody match that really solidifies Triple H as the top heel of the company leading into WrestleMania.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ****1/4

Match 4: WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Kurt Angle
With Daivari being the special guest referee for the contest, the odds were seemingly stacked against John Cena and his chances of walking out as WWE Champion. Of course, Kurt Angle was still in his prime here and he brought the intensity to the match at another level. The idea of bringing in Daivari as the referee led to this match becoming a huge cluster with a bunch of ref bumps that pretty much defined the entire match. However, that is not to take away any of the action the two brought in the fairly short amount of time they had for this match. They had good chemistry with each other but the antics with the Angle cheating and Cena doing his best to counter everything dominated the story so much that there just was not enough time to digest the action. Daivari got called back in by Angle to make a count but he ended up eating a DDT before Cena hit an FU on Angle to seal the win. Of course, the referee who made the count was a SmackDown referee so it gives Angle an out and a reason for them to continue the program. While the referee stuff may have seemed like a bit much, it certainly worked here and was still a lot of fun to watch.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***1/4

Match 5: Eric Bischoff vs. Theodore Long
Another inter-promotional match of the night saw the two general managers go against each other in a match that downright cringe-worthy to watch. The crowd had no interest in seeing this and the action only got worse when The Boogeyman made an appearance and dropped Eric Bischoff. Theodore Long was able to quickly get the pin and secure a win for his brand. Yikes.
Winner: Theodore Long
Rating: 1/4*

Match 6: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team SmackDown (Batista, JBL, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton) vs. Team Raw (Shawn Michaels, Carlito, Chris Masters, The Big Show and Kane)
So many good stories built around this match like Team SmackDown not being able to coexist, Batista nursing an injury, and the momentum Team Raw has had from weeks past. This was also one of the few times that I enjoyed the banter that was on commentary, really made me feel the hate between the two sides. Action was fun and fast, with every pin either being an elimination or being really close. All the eliminations made sense aside from maybe Bobby Lashley being written off a bit too prematurely. It eventually came down to Shawn Michaels against Rey Mysterio, JBL and Randy Orton. Michaels was able to hit a Sweet Chin Music on Mysterio who tried to springboard his way back into the ring before quickly disposing JBL. It came down to Michaels and Orton who was not only trying to win for his team, but also becoming a sole survivor for a third consecutive year. After a distraction from JBL, Orton hit an RKO on Michaels to pick up the win for his team. Afterwards, the SmackDown locker room comes out to congratulate Orton before The Undertaker returns by coming out of a flaming coffin and laying waste to the SmackDown roster as Orton watches. Fantastic main event and a fantastic way to shift the focus from the brand rivalry into the return of The Undertaker.
Winners: Team SmackDown
Rating: ****1/2

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was the first time the WWE built a PPV around the two brands going up against each other and it worked really well. Aside from the Divas match and the general managers match, everything delivered and served their purposes. The main event goes down as one of my favorite Survivor Series matches of all time and certainly one to write home about.
Rating: 7.75/10