‘WWE Survivor Series 2014’ Blu-ray Review
WWE Survivor Series 2014 was an event that showed it was time for a product refresh. This was probably why the big story for the pay-per-view was Vince McMahon pitting Team Authority vs Team Cena in battle with the tease that we would see the downfall of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon… surely that couldn’t happen could it? (insert knowing wink here)
As usual when a pay-per-view like WWE Survivor Series 2014 starts with a tag team match this is one of the quality fights of the card. In a Fatal 4-Way match between Goldust & Stardust vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. The Miz & Mizdow the teams did their usual spots and even came up with a good ending. 2014 saw a strong year for the tag team division and this was a match that showed just why, surely WWE can’t mess that up can they?
It may seem unfair to put down the “Traditional Survivor Series” match between the divas, but as I don’t watch the WWE reality show the only ones that I cared about were Natalya, Emma and Paige. I have to admit the match was above average for the Divas, but writing this review a few days after NXT TakeOver: Rivals which featured one of the best female wrestling matches the WWE have done in years, the main roster really needs a change when it comes to the women wrestlers, but this is unlikely to happen when reality shows are more important than in-ring action. In many ways I feel Emma got lucky with her “demotion” back to NXT where she can once again shine.
Should I even bother to mention the AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella fight? No…other than the words I wasted there. The same goes with Adam Rose & The Bunny vs. Slater and The Gator. These matches hardly lasted long enough to even warrant being on the card, which is not only sad for AJ Lee but also for Adam Rose (and maybe whoever is in that Bunny suit). Hopefully they got a big pay-day for having to even bother walking down to the ring. On a side note though Heath Slater on the main pay-per-view? That is a cause for celebration, he has quite the cult following and deserves more exposure than being a fake Sting on Raw.
The Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt match was as good as expected but it was let down by restrictions placed on the commentators. As Ambrose went “crazy” and started using weapons the commentators struggled to try and make this look like a negative thing, though the crowd loved it. Build up Wyatt and Ambrose as being out of control then try to moralise their actions when they get violent? No wonder the commentators struggled with trying to make sense of the words they were being fed. If they don’t buy it, they can’t make the audience buy it either.
The Team Authority vs. Team Cena match was entertaining if a little too dramatic for my tastes. The work of Ziggler, John Cena, Seth Rollins and Rusev managed to keep the match running along quite well, and the appearance of Sting made the pay-per-view feel like it ended on a high, but re-watching it now I can’t help but feel let down. We all know how the Authority storyline ended and how much of a failure it was, so it really shows just how weak the story writing is in WWE at the moment. What the product needs right now is a more structured story progression where feuds are created that make sense and actually have closure. What happens when we don’t get that? Royal Rumble for the past two years.
WWE Survivor Series 2014 is a good pay-per-view and for the most part fairly strong. With wasted matches that didn’t last long enough, matches too focused on dramatics and story lines that the commenters even seemed to struggle with Survivor Series was a foreshadow of what was to come at the Royal Rumble. Sting may have made us forget any problems we had with WWE on the night, and the high of thinking the Authority was finally ended put the fans on a high, but now we know what happened next…it leaves WWE Survivor Series 2014 feeling like a missed opportunity weakened by story writing that lacks focus on a long-term plan.
WWE Survivor Series 2014 is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.
