|Date: November 23, 2008
|Venue: TD Banknorth Garden |City: Boston, Massachusetts
|Attendance: 12,498 |Buys: 319,000
|Brands: Raw, Smackdown & ECW

|tweet me: @BastionBlogger

Survivor Series returns 21 years after the first event in 1987 but the 2008 event has the least amount of buys since 1997. There are six matches scheduled for tonight. The WWE Championship will be on the line as Triple H defends the belt in a triple threat match against Vladimir Kozlov and Jeff Hardy. Kozlov earned his title shot by defeated The Undertaker by disqualification due to interference from Jeff Hardy. The match was then scheduled to be a singles match between Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov at Survivor Series until last week on Smackdown when Jeff Hardy defeated Triple H to get added to the title match. Since then there have been breaking developments that Jeff Hardy has been attacked at his home and may not even be able to wrestle tonight. I’m sure we’ll get updates throughout the night.

The World Heavyweight Championship is also set to be defended in a singles match between two men who you would not have expected following Cyber Sunday. Shane McMahon announced that John Cena would not only be returning at Survivor Series but he would get a shot at the World Heavyweight Champion. But who would be the defending champion going into the event? Chris Jericho would get his title rematch against Batista in a cage match and Jericho would go on to win the match after using some metal off the cage. That set up the match between John Cena and Chris Jericho renewing their rivalry from the summer of 2005. Also tonight The Undertaker will do battle with The Big Show once again. The Undertaker defeated Chavo Guerrero on Smackdown a few weeks ago in a casket match which led The Big Show to challenge The Undertaker to his own match at Survivor Series, a challenge accepted and a casket match between two of the WWE’s biggest superstars.

The other three matches tonight are traditional Survivor Series matches. They all have a mix of Raw, Smackdown and ECW superstars based on current rivalries. The match I’m looking forward to the most is Team Batista vs. Team Orton. On Batista’s team are the World Tag Team Champions CM Punk and Kofi Kingston, ECW Champion Matt Hardy and R-Truth whilst on Orton’s team are Cody Rhodes, Intercontinental Champion William Regal, Mark Henry and United States Champion Shelton Benjamin. So lots o champions and a match that will continue the rivalries between Matt Hardy and Mark Henry as well as R-Truth and Shelton Benjamin.

The other all male traditional Survivor Series match is team Shawn Michaels vs. Team John “Bradshaw” Layfield. On Shawn Michaels team are Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali and Cryme Tyme whilst on JBL’s team are Kane, MVP, John Morrison and The Miz. This match will continue rivalries between Shawn Michaels and JBL, Rey Mysterio and Kane, The Great Khali and MVP as well as Cryme Tyme and their on-going rivalry with John Morrison and The Miz. The other traditional Survivor Series elimination match will be between ten of WWE’s divas in a special Raw vs. Smackdown match. It’ll be Team Beth Phoenix made up of Women’s Champion Beth, Kelly Kelly, Jillian Hall, Mickie James and Candice Michelle against team Michelle McCool made up of the Divas Champion Michelle, Maria, Victoria, Natalya and Maryse.

In a dark match prior to the event The Brian Kendrick defeated Kung Fu Naki.

A video package kicks us off, first focusing on the tradition of Survivor Series and then there’s a big John Cena segment. He has his own music video. This then goes into Chris Jericho. It seems as though they will probably main event tonight.

Jim Ross welcomes us to The Boston Garden, he is joined by Tazz. Jim Ross lets us know that Jeff Hardy was found at the bottom of his stairwell and was rushed to a nearby medical facility. It is unknown whether Jeff Hardy will be in action tonight.

Shawn Michaels, Cryme Tyme (JTG & Shad Gaspard), Rey Mysterio & The Great Khali vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Kane, MVP, John Morrison & The Miz – Traditional Survivor Series match

This is the first of three traditional Survivor Series matches tonight. Let’s get some Survivor Series records out. Shawn Michaels is 4-10, The Great Khali is 1-0, Rey Mysterio is 0-4, JBL is 1-5, Kane is 4-6, MVP is 0-2, John Morrison is 0-2, The Miz is 0-1 and Cryme Tyme make their Survivor Series debuts tonight. Rey Mysterio stars the match against MVP. MVP starts well with a knee, right hands and an Irish whip. Mysterio hits a hurricanrana and a dropkick to knock down MVP for a one count. Mysterio tags in JTG and they double team MVP with boots and then a double dropkick for a two count. JTG hits some big right hands but MVP gets back into it with a low dropkick and then a drive-by kick for the three! JTG has been eliminated. The Great Khali gets right into the match and hits MVP with a chop for the three! MVP has been eliminated! 

Kane gets into the match and it’s the two big men squaring off. Khali knocks Kane down with a clothesline and then follows it up with knees and kicks in the corner. Ranjin Singh is ringside cheering on Khali. Kane looks to chokeslam Kane but Khali breaks the hold and hits a big chop before tagging ing Rey Mysterio. Mysterio hits a splash on Kane off Khali’s shoulders for the three! Kane is eliminated. John Morrison gets into the match for the first time and goes right to work on Rey Mysterio. Mysterio fires back with a boot and a tilt-a-whirl headscissors before tagging in Shad Gaspard. Shad fires Mysterio into Morrison before hitting a gorilla press slam on Morrison. Morrison hits a low dropkick and tags in The Miz. Miz hits some kicks and tags Morrison back in. Plenty of quick tags between Miz and Morrison but Shad takes both men down with clotheslines. Shad hits a big splash on legal man The Miz and then a powerslam and an elbow drop. Shad gets distracted by John Morrison and Miz hits him with the reality check for the three! Shad has been eliminated. 

So it’s three on three now. JBL, The Miz and Morrison against Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio and The Great Khali. Captain Shawn Michaels gets involved and lays some chops into The Miz. Miz reverses an Irish whip and hits a flying clothesline in the corner before tagging in John Morrison. Miz and Morrison hit some nice double team and Morrison tags in JBL for the first time in this match. Layfield hits some big lefts and rights on Michaels and then a swinging neckbreaker and elbow drop for a two count. JBL tags in The Miz who hits some kicks on Michaels and a legdrop for a near fall. Michaels is now bleeding from near the eye. Miz tags in Morrison who applies a million dollar dream to Shawn Michaels. The captains are yet to eliminate anybody themselves yet. Michaels gets out of the hold but Morrison hits a flying forearm and nips up. Morrison then hits a slam and heads to the top but Michaels gets out of the way of the elbow drop. Morrison tags in Mix and Michaels tags in Rey Mysterio.

Mysterio runs circles around Miz and then hits a springboard headscissors. Mysterio then dropkicks Miz onto the middle rope and hits him with the 619! Rey heads to the top and hits a splash for the three! The Miz has been eliminated! John Morrison quickly gets involved but Mysterio hits him with a headscissors, setting him up for the 619! JBL tags himself in and knocks down Mysterio with a shoulder block. JBL hits half a dozen elbow drops for a near fall and then lays in more stomps. A “you can’t wrestle” chant breaks out aimed at Layfield. Bradshaw hits a sternum first Irish whip and then tags in John Morrison. Morrison lays in some boots and then chokes Rey with his boot. Morrison hits a backbreaker and keeps the hold applied. Rey knees his way out of it and then hits a boot but Morrison counters a tilt-a-whirl into a backbreaker before tagging out to John “Bradshaw” Layfield. JBL works the back of Mysterio and then applies an abdominal stretch.

JBL breaks the hold and then hits an Irish whip and a big boot. JBL then sets up for a top rope back suplex but Mysterio elbows JBL to the mat. Rey then hits a moonsault and both men are down. Mysterio tags in Michaels who hits some chops and a flying forearm on JBL. Michaels nips up, crotch chops Morrison and then hits JBL with a couple of inverted atomic drops. Shawn hits a slam and then heads to the top, booting Morrison as he does but Layfield rolls out of the ring. Michaels dives out of the ring at Layfield and then two men then slug it out on the outside. The referee counts and Michaels just beats the ten! John “Bradshaw” Layfield has been eliminated! John Morrison looks to hit a superkick on Michaels but Shawn ducks it and hits sweet chin music of his own! Michaels hooks the leg and gets the three! It’s a big win for Shawn Michaels, The Great Khali and Rey Mysterio tonight! Good match to kick off the show.

Rating: 7/10

Eve Torres is backstage with Triple H regarding the Jeff Hardy situation. Triple H says that if Jeff Hardy doesn’t compete tonight then he will scratch and claw his way back to the main event. Triple H says that instead we get the match that we probably should have got all along. Is this a hint that Triple H injured Hardy? Heel turn incoming? Triple H says it’ll be a night of firsts for Vladimir Kozlov, his first survivor Series, his first WWE Championship match and his first defeat.

Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Mickie James, Candice Michelle & Kelly Kelly vs. Michelle McCool, Maryse, Victoria, Natalya & Maria – Raw vs. Smackdown traditional Survivor Series match

This match slightly changes it up from last years faces vs. heels divas match. Survivor Series records then, Beth Phoenix is 0-1, Jillian Hall is 0-1, Mickie James is 2-0, Kelly Kelly is 1-0, Michelle McCool is 1-0, Victoria is 1-1, Candice Michelle, Maryse, Natalya and Maria make their Survivor Series debuts tonight. They could’ve easily mixed this up into faces and heels but obviously chose not to. Beth Phoenix starts the match against Michelle McCool., The Women’s Champion against the Divas Champion, the two team captains. Beth powers Michelle down to the mat in the early going with a top wristlock but Michelle hits a head scissors to take Beth down. Michelle hits a dropkick and Beth gets in her face. Maryse then tags herself in and then pushes her own teammate Michelle off the apron! Michelle gets in the ring and the two girls start going at it! Maria then tags herself in but Beth powers her into the corner. Maria avoids a splash in the corner and then hits some right hands and a flying head scissors. Kelly Kelly tags herself in with a sunset flip for a near fall.

Maria takes down Kelly but Kelly then takes down Maria. Kelly Kelly hits a backslide for a one count. Victoria tags herself in but Kelly Kelly hits a hurricanrana from nowhere for the three! Victoria has been eliminated! Maryse gets into the match and Kelly gets a near fall on her. Maryse then hits a backbreaker and gets the 3! Kelly Kelly has been eliminated! Mickie James gets into the match and lays into Maryse. Maryse tags in Michelle McCool but Mickie takes her down for a one count. Some nice back and forth from these two girls and a few one counts. Michelle hits a side Russian leg sweep for a one count. Mickie takes Michelle down for a one count, Maria breaks the cover but accidentally hits Michelle which Michelle isn’t happy about. Mickie then hits a big DDT on Michelle for the three! Michelle McCool has been eliminated. Maryse then rolls up Mickie and somewhat gets the 3. Mickie James has been eliminated. The crowd boo as they botched that.

Natalya gets into the match, as does Candice Michelle. Both for the first time. Candice rolls up Natalya for a one count. Natalya knocks Candice down and then locks on the sharpshooter but Jillian Hall breaks it up. Candice then hits a big spear on Natalya for the three! Natalya has been eliminated. Maryse gets in the ring, takes a load of cheap shots on the other teams and then tags in Maria. Jillian hits a Samoan drop on Maria for a near fall. Jillian hits an Irish whip and then a springboard elbow but Maria hits a victory roll for the three! Jillian Hall has been eliminated. Candice gets back in and hits a northern lights suplex on Maria for the three. Maria has been eliminated. We’re down to Beth Phoenix and Candice Michelle against Maryse. Maryse knocks Beth down in the corner and then locks on a figure four on Candice who taps out! Candice Michelle has been eliminated. 

We’re down to Beth Phoenix vs. Maryse. The two girls slug it out and Maryse hits a big kick to the face for a two count. Beth runs into an elbow and Maryse then goes up to the middle rope but Maryse catches her. Maryse slips down the back for a near fall and then attempts a DDT but Beth counters it into the glam slam which . is enough for the three! Beth Phoenix wins the match for her team! A good run for Maryse though who got a lot of air time in this match and was arguably the focus of the match. Not great but fast-paced and a fun match.

Rating: 3.75/10

Todd Grisham is backstage with Matt Hardy. Matt has been in the hospital with Jeff all night and he hasn’t slept. Jeff was hit behind the head with a blunt object. Matt says he’s unsure if Jeff will be here tonight. Matt doesn’t know how it all happened.

There’s a video package next for The Undertaker and Big Show.

The Undertaker vs. The Big Show – Casket match

This is the fifth PPV match between these two men. Undertaker is 3-1 up in their previous four matches. The Undertaker is 7-8 at Survivor Series whilst The Big Show is 2-5 at the event. As the bell rings Undertaker asks for the casket to be opened and the referee’s do so. Big Show then goes right to work on Undertaker with lefts and rights. Undertaker comes close to getting Big Show into the casket. Big Show selling his fear of the casket. On the outside and Big Show hits some big right hands. Show then whips Undertaker into the barricade. Big Show hits more right hands and then smashes Undertaker into the Smackdown announce desk. Big Show takes apart the ECW announce desk but Undertaker smashes Show with a tv monitor. Undertaker lays Big Show on the desk ands the jumps off the Raw announce desk with a legdrop which puts Big Show through the table!

Big Show manages to roll back into the ring and Undertaker climbs in too before applying a hammerlock and then looking to hit old school but Big Show counters it into a suplex off the top. Big Show hits a sidewalk slam and then rolls Undertaker into the casket and then asks the referee’s to close it but the referee’s tell Big Show that he has to close the casket. Big Show isn’t happy but tries to close it just for Undertaker to get his foot in the way. Undertaker fights out of the casket and then hits a flying clothesline and then a couple of clotheslines in the corner. Big Show gets his elbow up and then looks to hit a Vader bomb but Undertaker gets up and chokeslams Big Show off the middle rope. Undertaker asks for the casket to be opened, which is it, and Undertaker kicks Big Show into the casket. Undertaker looks to close the lid but Big Show blocks it. Big Show gets out of the casket and then hits a chokeslam in the middle of the ring. Big Show then throws the casket upside down on the floor before heading back up the entranceway!

Undertaker sits up and goes after Big Show and a load of pyro goes off stopping Big Show from going any further! Big Show lays out Undertaker on the ramp and the druid music hits. Druids walk out with another casket, a super size casket and leave it at the top of the ramp. Big Show throws Undertaker into the set and then picks up the massive casket before throwing Undertaker into it. Big Show picks up the casket again and opens it up and the two men slug it out atop the ramp. Undertaker then throws Big Show into the casket which falls over with the lid shut! Undertaker wins the match which had good psychology but was a bit flat.

Rating: 4/10

Backstage the Bella twins are getting ready. Carlito and Primo turn up and get the twins mixed up. The Colons are taking the Bellas out tonight. In walks the Gobbledy Gooker. The Colons assume it is Charlie Haas dressed up. Charlie Haas then shows up. The Gobbledy Gooker unmasks and it’s The Boogeyman!

Randy Orton is backstage with his team of Cody Rhodes, William Regal, Shelton Benjamin and Mark Henry. Randy says he would rather be fighting Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight championship. Randy says there are strengths and looks at Mark Henry and weaknesses and looks at Cody. Cody says that if Randy gets eliminated first then it would be addition by subtraction which Orton doesn’t take too kindly.

Batista, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy & R-Truth vs. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry, William Regal & Shelton Benjamin – Traditional Survivor Series match

This is the third and final traditional Survivor Series match and the one I’ve been most looking forward to. Batista is 2-2 at Survivor Series, CM Punk is 2-0, Matt Hardy is 1-3, Randy Orton is 4-1, Cody Rhodes is 0-1, Mark Henry is 1-2, William Regal is 2-0-1 and Shelton Benjamin is 1-0. Kofi Kingston is making his Survivor Series debut and R-Truth makes his PPV debut under this gimmick having previously wrestled as K-Kwik and had a 0-1 record at Survivor Series. Plenty of beef around the outside as Tony Atlas, Manu and Layla stand on the outside representing their clients. The bell rings and CM Punk immediately runs at Regal and hits him with a knee to the face before hitting him with the go to sleep for the three! William Regal has been eliminated! That was quick. The Intercontinental Champion has gone. Layla throws her chair at CM Punk and hits him right in the face.

Shelton Benjamin gets involved but CM Punk quickly takes him down and tags in his fellow World Tag Team Champion, Kofi Kingston. 50% of the competitors in this match are champions. Kofi hits a monkey flip but Shelton lands on his feet so Kofi knocks the United States Champion down with a dropkick. Benjamin tags in Mark Henry who hits a big headbutt on Kofi and then some big clubbing blows. Henry tags in Cody Rhodes who also gets hit with a monkey flip and an arm drag. Kingston tags in ECW Champion Matt Hardy who hits a reverse elbow and an elbow drop for a near fall. Hardy tags in R-Truth and the two men hit a double hiptoss for a near fall. R-Truth tags in Batista and Cody scarpers. Rhodes tags in Shelton Benjamin who hits some knees to Batista but then runs into an elbow. Batista hits a boot and a suplex for a near fall. Batista tags in Matt Hardy who hits an Irish whip but runs into an elbow. Benjamin tags in Randy Orton for the first time in this match.

Hardy hits a clothesline in the corner and then a bulldog for a near fall. Hardy hits a powerslam and then heads to the top but Orton rolls out of the way of a moonsault. Orton tags in Mark Henry who hits some big right hands and boots. Henry slingshots Hardy into the ropes and then tags in Cody Rhodes. Both Rhodes and Hardy hit simultaneous clotheslines and both men are down. Rhodes tags in Benjamin and Hardy tags R-Truth. Truth manages a roll-up for a near fall and then a dropkick for another near fall. R-Truth shows some great athleticism and then nails an elbow. Truth misses with a big kick and Benjamin hits him with paydirt for the three! R-Truth has been eliminated. Kofi Kingston flies in off the top with a cross body for a near fall. Kofi hits a couple of clotheslines and then the boom drop for a near fall. These two had quite the rivalry back in ECW. Benjamin tags in Mark Henry after Henry took a cheap shot at Kofi. Henry lays into Kingston and then tags in Randy Orton.

Orton stomps away at Kingston but then misses with a knee drop. Randy suplexes Kofi onto the top rope and then DDT’s Kofi back into the ring which is enough for the three. Kofi Kingston has been eliminated. CM Punk goes right to work on Randy Orton hitting him with knees and kicks and a dropkick for a two count. Orton tags in Rhodes who hits an Irish whip, a dropkick and a drop toe hold into a hammerlock. Punk hits a springboard cross body for a near fall and then a neckbreaker for a two count. Punk hits knees and then a running knee and a bulldog for a near fall. Punk hits a kick to knock down Rhodes and then heads to the top but Manu distracts Punk allowing Rhodes to knock him off the top rope. Rhodes then hits a DDT on Punk and that’s enough for the three! CM Punk has been eliminated. Matt Hardy gets involved and hits the side affect on Rhodes for a two count.

We’re down to Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry and Shelton Benjamin against Batista and Matt Hardy. Mark Henry tags in but Hardy hits him with a drop toe hold and an elbow off the top. Matt hits side affect for a near fall. Hardy goes up to them middle rope but Henry catches him and hits him with the worlds strongest slam for the three! Matt Hardy has been eliminated. Batista gets into the ring with a spear and that’s enough for the three! Mark Henry has been eliminated. Shelton Benjamin gets involved but Batista hits him with a spinebuster and a Batista bomb for the three! Shelton Benjamin has been eliminated! Cody Rhodes is next in and he lays in some boots and goes up to the middle rope but Batista sees him coming and hits him with a clothesline. Manu gets up on the apron which distracts Batista but Batista hits a Batista bomb on Cody. Randy makes a blind tag and hits Batista with an RKO for the three! Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes win the match! This was a decent enough match but hard to keep up with at times.

Rating: 7.25/10

Eve is backstage with Vladimir Kozlov asking him if Jeff Hardy not being in the match tonight makes a difference. Vladimir says that it makes no difference, he will become champion.

Jim Ross informs us that Jeff Hardy will not be able to compete tonight.

There’s a video package concerning the triple threat match for the WWE Championship. Jeff Hardy is the main focus of it despite not being in the match.

Triple H (c) vs. Vladimir Kozlov – WWE Championship match

This is a first PPV match between these two men, it’s a PPV debut for Vladimir Kozlov. Triple H has won 3 of his 10 previous Survivor Series matches. Kozlov goes into this match undefeated. Kozlov takes Triple H down early and Triple H responds with a headlock takedown of his own. A “boring” chant breaks out. I think the fans wanted Jeff Hardy. A “we want Hardy” chant breaks out. Kozlov applies a wristlock which Triple H reverses. Triple H is the only man to have wrestled on every single PPV in 2008. Kozlov hits a firemans carry but Triple H gets back in top. Kozlov misses with a shoulder charge and Triple H goes back to work on the left arm of the Russian. Another “boring” chant and to be fair this match has not been good so far. Triple H hits a knee to the face and then a couple of clotheslines in the corner. Triple H hits a facebuster and then a DDT and follows that up with jabs to the face for a two count.

Triple H hits an Irish whip but then runs into a boot which Triple H follows up with a spinebuster. Triple H then sets up for a pedigree but Kozlov counters it and hits a big headbutt to the gut. Kozlov hits a hard Irish whip which sends Triple H all the way out of the ring. Kozlov rams Triple H into the ring apron and then rolls the WWE Champion back into the ring. Kozlov hits a fallaway slam for a two count. Kozlov hits shoulder charges in the corner and then more headbutts, similar to how Al Snow used to hit them ten years ago. Kozlov hits a running powerslam for a near fall and then applies a gut wrench. Backbreaker from the challenger for a near fall and then a second backbreaker for another near fall. The crowd are shitting all over this. Back to the gut wrench from Vladimir but Triple H punches his way out of it before getting caught with a powerslam for a near fall. Back to the gut wrench.

Kozlov hits a belly to belly and Tazz predicts that the challenger will be winning the WWE Championship tonight. Kozlov misses with a shoulder charge in the corner and Triple H hits him with the pedigree! Vickie Guerrero then comes out from the back and announces that as promised this match will be a triple threat match. The crowd roar but out comes Edge! And the crowd go mental. Edge hits Triple H with a spear! But then out comes Jeff Hardy! Hardy goes right for Edge and then grabs a chair and swings it at Edge but Edge ducks and Hardy nails Triple H! Hardy then smashes Kozlov with the chair! Edge disposes of Hardy and then pins Triple H and gets the three! Edge has shown up out of nowhere and won the WWE Championship! Awful match.

Rating: 2/10

There’s a video package next for John Cena and Chris Jericho.

Chris Jericho (c) vs. John Cena – World Heavyweight Championship match

This is the third PPV match between these two men. John Cena has won the previous two. If that doesn’t stack the odds against Chris Jericho enough then Cena has a 4-0 record at Survivor Series events and Chris Jericho has a 0-6 record. Cena quickly goes for the FU but Jericho escapes and exits the ring. The crowd definitely seem behind Cena but will that wear off? Jericho applies a headlock which Cena gets out of but the World Heavyweight Champion knocks him down causing Cena to roll out of the ring. Cena gets back into the ring and takes down Jericho, hitting him with right hands and then a fishermans suplex for a one count. Cena hits a drop toe hold and then looks to lock on the STFU but Jericho escapes. Jericho hits some right hands but Cena knocks him down with a clothesline. Cena then hits a slam and an elbow drop for a near fall. Cena misses with a splash in the corner and Jericho hits him with stomps.

Cena hits the throwback which is a jumping snapmare type bulldog move. Cena then goes to the top but then decides against it and gets back in the ring only for Jericho to hit him with a double armed DDT for a near fall. Jericho takes a running kick at Cena’s head causing his challenger to flop out of the ring. Cena gets back into the ring but Jericho throws him right back out. Jericho then hits a low dropkick on the outside before throwing him into the ring steps. Back in the ring and Jericho hits a splash for a near fall. Jericho applies a chinlock but Cena breaks it before missing a flying shoulder charge. Jericho applies a full nelson which drops Cena down to his knees but Cena breaks the hold and then counters a bulldog. Cena hits a couple of flying shoulder blocks but Jericho manages to hit a bulldog. Cena counters the lionsault and then hits a side suplex. Cena motions for the five knuckle shuffle but Jericho takes him down and locks on the walls of Jericho!

Cena gets out of the walls of Jericho but Chris takes him back down with a clothesline. Jericho then once again locks on the walls of Jericho but this time Cena gets to the ropes. Cena then hits the FU out of nowhere and both men are down. Cena gets a near fall and both men get to their feet but it looks like they collide heads. Actually I think Jericho got his elbow up. Both men then scale either side of the same ringpost and slug it out. Cena pushes Jericho back into the ring and then comes off the top with a fame-asser. Cena attempts an FU but Jericho counters it and hits the codebreaker! Jericho gets a near fall, he’s bleeding a little from the forehead. Jericho hits a clothesline and then follows it up with a second. Jericho looks for a third but Cena hits a drop toe hold and then locks on the STFU! Jericho gets to the ropes and then rolls Cena up for a two count but Cena counters it, powers Jericho and hits him with the FU! Cena makes the cover and gets the three! John Cena wins the World Heavyweight Championship tonight!

Rating: 5.5/10

And that was the 2008 Survivor Series. On paper I thought this was going to be a really good show but to be honest it did not turn out that way. The show started off well, I do like a traditional Survivor Series match and this one was really well booked. Cryme Tyme took the hit for the face team whilst MVP and Kane were unsurprisingly eliminated early. I like how it came down to John “Bradshaw” Layfield, John Morrison and The Miz until The Miz was eliminated, JBL got himself counted out and then Morrison was eliminated at the end. That’s a pretty good rub for Morrison. Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio and The Great Khali were the survivors and I was a little surprised that Khali was a winner but I quite like the randomness of it. The Women’s Survivor Series match wasn’t as well booked and seemed a bit rushed but they did only get half the time of the previous match. Beth Phoenix came out of it looking dominant after her win but Maryse faired really well and was the last woman eliminated. The match also served to show the mis-communication between Michelle McCool and Maria and there could be a heel turn on the horizon for McCool.

The Undertaker defeated The Big Show next in the casket match. This wasn’t great but the psychology was good. I assume this will put an end to this feud and maybe keep Big Show out of action for a month or two. It’s a good win for The Undertaker and I’m not sure where he foes from here as we’ve seen a lot of Undertaker and Edge this year, maybe a feud with Vladimir Kozlov? Next up was the third and final traditional Survivor Series match and for me it was the match of the night. William Regal was eliminated by CM Punk very quickly so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a feud between these two men into Armageddon. The faces then took a hit as R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk and Matt Hardy were all eliminated. Batista would fight back and eliminated Mark Henry and Shelton Benjamin but Randy Orton would pin Batista after an RKO for the win. A good win for Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes, Orton has a great record at Survivor Series but what is often forgotten about is Ortons loss in 2006.

The WWE Championship was on the line next in a match that was utter chaos. Jeff Hardy was unable to compete so it was a singles match between Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov. This match was terrible. Seriously bad. And the crowd shat all over it. Edge was then added to the match which was a complete surprise and not only that but he won the match and the WWE title. And then Jeff Hardy turned up looking like he could have wrestled the whole match. I don’t know, it was all strange booking. I like Edge and I’m happy he’s champion though. Triple H took the pin and I’m guessing he’ll get his rematch next month. And then in the main event John Cena beat Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship. This match was ok, nothing spectacular. I would have preferred that Jericho retain the title, he’s on a roll at the moment and producing some of the best character work of his career. Cena takes the title though and normality is restored.

Overall Rating: 49.1/100 (ranked out 201st of 232)

Match Of The Night: Team Batista vs. Team Randy Orton
Worst Match Of The Night: Triple H vs. Vladimir Kozlov
Surprise Of The Night: Edge returns and wins the WWE Championship
Worst Booking Of The Night: Taking Jeff Hardy out of the WWE title match
Superstar Of The Night: Edge & John Cena
Survivor Series 2008 Will be Remembered For: The WWE Championship debacle