WWE Survivor Series 2010 Review

Free or fired. John Cena is in the biggest predicament of his career as he serves as the special guest referee in the main event between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett for the WWE Championship. If Barrett wins, Cena will be free from The Nexus. But if Orton wins, Cena will be fired.

Match 1: WWE United States Championship - Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Ted DiBiase
Feels kind of weird to see Daniel Bryan without a long beard and him chanting "YES!" on his way to the ring. Also just as weird to see Maryse accompany Ted DiBiase to the ring. Solid opening match here that really above all, was a good time for Bryan to display his huge array of moves and continue to solidify himself as a legitimate star in the company. DiBiase put up a good fight but in the end, Bryan put him in his LeBell Lock to score the win. Afterwards, The Miz attacks Bryan from behind with his Money in the Bank briefcase and goes off on The Nexus and the Miami Heat in the process.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: **3/4

Match 2: Sheamus vs. John Morrison
A year prior to this, Sheamus was on a wining squad in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match, he would go on to win multiple WWE Championships and become a focal point in the company on a weekly basis. Is there anyone who had a better first year than Sheamus? In the later part of 2010, he had a little feud that churned out some great matches against John Morrison. While this match was no exception, it did feel a bit underwhelming and almost as if it went on a little longer than it needed to. Sometimes, less is more.
Winner: John Morrison
Rating: ***

Match 3: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kaval
Much like the opening match, this match saw Kaval display his talents to the PPV audience and show why he made it to the big leagues. As the winner of NXT, Kaval was given the opportunity to choose a championship match of his choosing at a PPV of his choosing. Was he not allowed to choose a shot at the WWE Championship? Regardless, if anyone forgot, Kaval is not only good in the ring, but stiff. Looks like Dolph Ziggler took some serious hits in a solid back and forth contest that continued the nice start for the PPV. Ziggler would go on to roll up Kaval and grab a handful of tights to secure the win.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ***1/4

Match 4: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Mysterio (Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, Chris Masters, Kofi Kingston & MVP) vs. Team Del Rio (Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre & Tyler Reks)
Can we talk about how great Alberto Del Rio was when he debuted in the WWE and began feuding with Rey Mysterio? He had the look, the charisma and the talent in the ring. He leads a team of heels against Mysterio and the good guys. Unfortunately for Del Rio, he got escorted out of the match by doctors after The Big Show drilled him with a Knockout Punch. The last leg of the match came down to Mysterio and The Big Show having to fight off the majority of Team Del Rio before finally taking down Drew McIntyre last to pick up the win. Solid Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match that let Mysterio pick up a win without Del Rio having to suffer a pin.
Winners: Team Mysterio
Sole Survivors: Rey Mysterio & The Big Show
Rating: ***1/4

Match 5: WWE Divas Championship - LayCool (c) vs. Natalya
For those who recall, Michelle McCool and Layla were the co-champions and thus, this was a handicap match against Natalya. Typical short match for the Divas here with Natalya scoring the win as she was able to take Layla away from the equation before submitting McCool with a Sharpshooter. Afterwards, LayCool look to attack Natalya before Beth Phoenix comes out to make the save. Take it for what it was but it was definitely cool to see Natalya win her first championship
Winner: Natalya
Rating: 3/4*

Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Kane (c) vs. Edge
Another weird moment in 2010 featured Edge kidnapping Kane's father in Paul Bearer and leading them to a World Heavyweight Championship bout here at Survivor Series. Fun fact, these two were scheduled to have a match for the belt at The Great American Bash in 2007 before Edge suffered an injury. Welp, they ended up rescheduling the match here over three years later. Funny how things work. Edge played mind games with Kane throughout the match by bringing out a wheelchair and parading around the ring with it to remind Kane about his missing father. As you would imagine, this was a fairly slow contest with Kane playing up the angle as Edge was successfully getting into Kane's head. Edge was able to hit a Spear on Kane but as Edge covered Kane, Kane inadvertently had an arm dropped across Edge as well. The referee counted and called for a draw instead of Edge winning the match. Afterwards, Edge placed Kane on the wheelchair and drove him through the barricade. A pretty disappointing match between the two veterans here but not as bad as some of the critics made it out to be. Always good to see these two go at it in the ring.
Winner: n/a
Rating: **

Match 7: WWE Tag Team Championships - The Nexus (c) vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov
Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel are representing The Nexus here as they take on the odd team of Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov. Basically a squash match here with Slater pinning Marella to get the easy win and retain the gold for his squad. Afterwards, the rest of The Nexus continue the beatdown before Michael Cole quotes the anonymous Raw general manager that all members of The Nexus are banned for the main event. Like I said, just a squash match to gap the two championship matches and put in place the stipulation of banning all Nexus members.
Winners: The Nexus
Rating: 1/2*

Match 8: WWE Championship - Special Guest Referee (John Cena) - Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett
Much like Sheamus, Wade Barrett had an incredible first year in the WWE and perhaps main eventing Survivor Series against Randy Orton may be his biggest bragging right as a singles star. With John Cena being a member of The Nexus, he finds himself in a pickle as the special guest referee of the match. If Barrett wins the match, Cena will be freed from The Nexus. However, if Orton wins, Cena will be fired. Much of the match was basically Barrett beating down Orton and arguing with Cena about not getting the count in his favor. Finally, Cena shoves Barrett after the two got into a huge argument which led to Orton hitting an RKO on Barrett to secure the win. Afterwards, members of The Nexus come out but only to get beaten down by both Cena and Orton. Orton walks out with a shocked look as he realizes the consequence of his victory. Cena then shows love to the audience as the show concludes. Of course, Cena would literally return to action sooner rather than later after this which basically renders this match completely pointless. If any steam was left from The Nexus taking a loss at Summerslam, it was certainly lost after this.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: *3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
What started out as a promising show turned into one of the more disappointing PPVs of the year with the biggest gripes being the two world championship matches. As disappointing as the World Heavyweight Championship match was, the WWE Championship match didn't do any better. Quite simply one of the most forgettable fall classics the WWE has ever had to offer.
Rating: 6/10