WWE Survivor Series '09 preview

WWE’s 23rd annual Survivor Series pay per view is under 24 hours from emanating live on pay per view. It is one of WWE’s annual “big four” pay per views; the shows that the WWF built itself upon. It is a show that deserves special recognition, so just like the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and SummerSlam, here is a preview of tonight’s show.

WWE Championship – Triple Threat Match
John Cena (c) v. Triple H v. Shawn Michaels
This is an odd match in that the RAW brand’s three top heroes will do battle for the “richest prize in the game.” Triple H and Shawn Michaels, who work weekly as DeGeneration X, have stopped any hint of dissension between them and claim as long as one of them walks as Champion then things will be alright. Because all three are the top good guys on RAW, there has been very little interaction or physicality between them, rather the match has been built on the past history the three men share. Cena beat Triple H at WrestleMania 22 and beat Michaels at WrestleMania 23, so he has had success over both men on the biggest stage of them. Both Triple H and Michaels have also beaten Cena in singles matches on free TV so they have proven they can beat Cena as well. Plus should they go that route, Triple H and Michaels have a years-long rivalry that they can draw from. Even though there is a distinct lack of “heat” surrounding this match all three men know how to “go” in a big match environment like this. Expect a phenomenal match regardless.

World Heavyweight Championship – Triple Threat Match
The Undertaker (c) v. The Big Show v. Chris Jericho
At Bragging Rights The Big Show turned on Team RAW and helped Team SmackDown win the big seven-on-seven tag main event. His reward for helping out SmackDown from General Manager Teddy Long was a World Championship match against Undertaker. However Show’s Unified Tag Team Championship partner Chris Jericho complained about that match and after pinning Kane on an edition of SmackDown was inserted to this match to make a triple threat. Much like the WWE Championship match, this will be a case of two tag partners working with each other and against other in order to try and gain the World Championship. On the SmackDown before Survivor Series, Undertaker reunited with his baby brother Kane in order to even the sides. So while Kane is not booked in a match on the card, expect his prescence to be felt in this match in some shape or form.

Rey Mysterio v. Batista
This is the one big blood feud represented on this show. Mysterio and Batista had been friends on screen since the death of Eddie Guerrero back in 2005. The duo even won the WWE Tag Championships together back in December 2005 as well. However their relationship was destroyed last month at Bragging Rights when Batista turned on Rey and viciously attacked him after both men lost in a World Heavyweight Championship match.

Now the two former friends will collide one-on-one for the first time on a major stage. It is a classic battle of David versus Goliath as the diminutive Mysterio will have to use his speed and agility to stay away from the 300 lbs. Batista, full of power and rage. This rivalry is still in its infant stages so regardless of whomever wins here expect the rivalry to continue through the end of the year at least.

Elimination Match
John Morrison (captain), Shelton Benjamin, Finlay, Matt Hardy & Evan Bourne v. The Miz (captain), Sheamus, Drew McEntyre, Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger
This match has the most promise and intrigue of any of tonight’s matches. Miz’ team is definitely WWE’s “faces of the future” as he leads WWE’s most promising group of young villains into battle. Everyone on Miz’ team has the potential to be a World Champion in the future so their partnership could be remembered fondly in years to come. Morrison combines a team of young upstarts and seasoned veterans that are a great mix of youth and experience.

This match has a lot of interweaving stories that cross all three WWE brands – RAW, SmackDown and ECW. The two captains, Morrison and Miz, were tag partners for a year and a half through 2007 and 2008 and won multiple Tag Championships together. Then in the 2009 Draft they were separated and Miz turned on Morrison to officially split the duo. At Bragging Rights last month they had their first one-on-one match since their break-up in June with Miz coming out on top. Meanwhile on SmackDown, Morrison has had a long-standing rivalry with Dolph Ziggler over the Intercontinental Championship that may have finally been put to bed this past week when Morriosn beat Ziggler in a 2-out-of-3 falls match.

As for the rest of the teams there are a lot of mixing rivalries. Shelton Benjamin had a feud with Sheamus when they were both on ECW brand, and now that Sheamus has moved to the RAW brand this could be their last meeting for the time being. The young Scottish upstart Drew McEntyre has been trying to make a name for himself on SmackDown at the expense of his fellow United Kingdom brethren, the veteran Irishman Finlay. Plus Jack Swagger has had an off/on feud with Evan Bourne since the two ECW alums were traded to the RAW brand in June. Not to mention Swagger has battled his own team captain Miz in multi-man matches for the United States Title and has made his intentions known that he took would like to be US Champion in the near future.

Elimination Match
Kofi Kingston (captain), Montel Vontavious Porter, Mark Henry, R-Truth & Christian v. Randy Orton (captain), Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk & William Regal
Kofi Kingston made a big step up the card shortly after Bragging Rights when he drew the ire of former World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton. After being attacked by Rhodes at Bragging Rights, he returned the favor by running of Rhodes and DiBiase when they tried to interfere in the Orton-Cena Iron Man match. Then the next night on RAW he made a name for himself by destroying Orton’s custom made stock car. Kingston and Orton have battled in tag matches since then and had a wild brawl at last week’s RAW in Madison Square Garden.

Meanwhile Porter and Henry have assisted Kingston in his battles against Legacy (Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase) and look to get their hands on DiBiase and Rhodes especially. Christian and Regal have been battling over the ECW Championship since August and this may be their last encounter against each other on a major stage. Also CM Punk has been falling down the card since losing his World Heavyweight Championship feud against The Undertaker and is has been programmed against R-Truth and senior referee Scott Armstrong in recent weeks. This past week on SmackDown the Punk-Truth rivalry went to a new level when Truth interrupted the “straight edge” Punk’s demonstration denouncing alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs and left Punk laying in a pile of the very things he hates the most. It should also be noted that Punk has had rivalries with Legacy and Regal in the past year so teaming with them now as a villain could add dissension to their ranks.

Elimination Match
Mickie James (captain), Melina, Eve Torres, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly v. Michelle McCool (captain), Layla El, Beth Phoenix, Natalya Neidhart & Alicia Fox
It has become standard operating procedure to have an all-Divas match at every Survivor Series. This year is no different as talent from RAW and SmackDown team up based on hero/villain divides. The overriding story in this match is the battle between Mickie James and Michelle McCool and her sidekick Layla. McCool and Layla have been tormenting Mickie about her looks and her weight a la the Lindsay Lohan Mean Girls movie. The match won’t be anything to write home about but it will be a nice filler to cool the crowd down during bigger matches.

For more information on Survivor Series:
Top Survivor Series matches
Top Survivor Series elimination matches
Review of Survivor Series ‘89
Top Survivor Series performers
Top Survivor Series events

Survivor Series ’09 results