Survivor Series

In the past we've had Survivor Series were WWE have produced stunning PPV's and this is no exception, but two disappointments:

• Only one traditional Survivor Series Match

• The Eric Bischoff vs Teddy Long match.

Results from the PPV:

• Booker T defeated Chris Benoit in a very good match, but what would you expect from two veterans?

• John Cena defeated Kurt Angle to retain the WWE Championship with Daivari as referee.

• Trish Stratus retained the Women's Championship by defeating Melina in a good match.

• Teddy Long defeated Eric Bischoff in a p*ss poor match.

• Triple H defeated Ric Flair in a good match.

• Team Smackdown! (Batista, Rey Mysterio, Lashley, JBL and Randy Orton) defeated Team Raw (Shawn Michaels, Kane, Carlito, Chris Masters and Big Show). Orton nailed HBK with the RKO for the win.

Overall not bad and this Raw vs SD! feud has me glued to my seat.

Overall Grade - A

Playing my DVD's almost at random, on their way to eBay/Charity shops, and I landed on the Survivor Series from 2005. This was an interesting show for me, as I'd been to see "Raw" and "Smackdown" tapings in Sheffield the week before this show took place. Despite that personal connection though, I thought the show was flat, only really coming to life in the Flair vs. HHH Match and bits of the main event.

This event took place during one of the Smackdown vs. Raw storylines that happened every so often after the brand split. The rivalry was played out between General Managers, Eric Bischoff and Teddy Long - both in a (frankly horrible) match between the pair and in the only traditional 5 vs 5 Elimination match in the main event. Elsewhere, Chris Benoit and Booker T began the recreation of their classic WCW best of seven series, with another series for the United States title. John Cena and Kurt Angle fought for the WWE Championship and Trish Stratus and Melina battled for the WWE Womens Championship. My favourite though was the lengthy Last Man Standing match between Triple H and Ric Flair, in which Flair was bleeding after only a few minutes and proceeded to gush for most of the next 27 minutes.

Despite that HHH vs. Flair match, it was mostly a night of misses for me. Seeing Chris Benoit is always a jarring experience these days, and his match with Booker wasn't the classic I might have expected it to be - they are looking to do it 7 more times though, so I suppose it makes sense. They immediately followed that with the notorious segment when Mr. McMahon comedically used the 'N Word', with John Cena which again, would not play today.

The worst aspect of the show though, without question, is the commentary. There are 5 commentators, all forced to hype up a cross brand rivalry which, quite simply, nobody in the audience ever cared about. They talk over each other and 'banter' backwards and forwards and it's horrible.

One really good match, a couple more that were acceptable and a whole lot of rubbish.

1) Chris Benoit vs. Booker T. Not a very good choice for an opener. Too long and too standard. Benoit deserves better than US title feuds, and hopefully he'll get it again in the future. **

2) Trish vs. Melina (women's title). The execution (by both women) is sloppy in parts, but Melina definitely has potential, she is aggressive and at one point does a nice surfboard submission. **

3) HHH vs. Ric Flair. Last Man Standing Match. OK, I have a few complaints about this: it is the longest match on the card, even though no title is on the line; the pace is draggy and plodding; the blood looks fake; most of the "big spots" (back body drop on the Spanish announce table anyone?) are predictable; and why is Ric Flair still wrestling? Other than that, it's fine! **

4) John Cena vs. Kurt Angle (WWE title). Daivari is the special guest referee. Angle is excellent as usual and Cena is better than usual here, and the very enthusiastic 50-50 crowd helps the match even more, but the suggestion that Angle can't beat Cena even with cheating is kind of insulting. ***

5) Eric Bischoff vs. Theodore Long. Undeserving of further comments. Oh, maybe I should add that the Boogeyman makes a guest appearance. 0

6) Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown. This is the real reason to watch the PPV. Fast-paced and highly enjoyable. Everyone looks good here, but special kudos must go to Lashley and Rey Mysterio. ***

Overall, despite one complete dud of a match, the rest of the show is generally enjoyable.

One of the main reasons I got this DVD is because of getting to listen to Jonanthan Coachman commentate. Besides that though, this had some great matches and some entertaining cross-brand commentating with cross-brand matches.

1. Chris Benoit vs. Booker T with Sharmell (6 stars) It looked OK. There was some decent back and forth and action.

2. Cross-Brand Women's Title Match, Trish vs. Melina (4 stars) It was hard to believe that Melina still didn't beat Trish given that she had Mercury and Nitro at ringside for a while. It was fun listening to Tazz and Joey Styles argue.

3. Triple H vs. Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing Match (10 stars) This was the best match of night. It was a long and it was full of action both inside the ring and outside of the ring. They both showed a lot of potential.

Edge bashing Detroit, classless and pointless. Was all that really necessary?

4. WWE Championship Match Kurt Angle vs. John Cena with Daivari as the Special Guest Referee. (7 stars) The outcome was rather insulting since Kurt Angle should've definitely had it in the bag given that Daivari favored Kurt the entire time until other referees came in there.

5. General Manager vs. General Manager of Eric Bischoff with Teddy Long (3 stars) Neither one are regular full-time wrestlers. It was great though, listening to the cross-commentating of Michael Cole and Jonathan Coachman. That made it it entertaining.

6. Team RAW vs. Team Smackdown (9 stars) This was a fun, variety-filled, action packed match with up to 0 wrestlers and all 5 commentators calling the action all at the same time.