WWE SURVIVOR SERIES 2012 [DVD Review]

WWE SURVIVOR SERIES 2012
Released on Region 2 on 11th March 2013
Available on DVD and Blu-Ray

Hosted in Indianapolis, WWE SURVIVOR SERIES 2012 is a fantastic, action-packed follow-up to the disappointing WWE LIVE IN THE UK, with events continuing from that faithful night where it was announced CM Punk would face Cenation superstar, John Cena and the thundering, Ryback in a Triple Threat Match. Along with Team Foley vs Team Ziggler, SURVIVOR SERIES 2012 has the big name fights to create one hell of a night, but it doesn’t start there!

First fight of the night is a crowd-pleasing Tradition Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team comprising of grooving Brodus Clay, high flying Mexicans Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara and talented Team Airstrike wrestlers Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd against the bulky tattooed Tensai, Puerto-Rican Primo and Epico and the towering Prime Time Players, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young. From the ring of the bell, the audience are on the edge of their seat as we see some incredible moves from Team Airstrike, followed by Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio. The opposite team, however, are very brutal but have basic skills, lacking the enthusiasm that emits from team Mysterio. The crowd have their clear favourite team too and the dynamic team Mysterio produce a tremendous display to kick off the Survivor Series.

Following on from the explosive opener, we are introduced to the Divas Championship Match between Kaitlyn and reigning champ, Eve. However, the match doesn’t start off well with what appears to be Kaitlyn being attacked by a hooded assailant followed suspiciously by an appearance from Eve herself. Suspecting Eve is behind it, the two clash horns from the word go to make an interesting, if a bit bitch-slappy fight.

It isn’t long before the AJ Lee/John Cena fiasco is reignited on stage with AJ Lee having damning evidence of RAW manager, Vickie Guerrero, having suspicious relations of her own. Luckily for us, Vickie isn’t given much screen time to screech and bawl but what ensues is quite a cliffhanger on the proceedings.

Other fights during the Survivor Series 2012 include United States Championship match between R Truth and the big-mouthed Swiss and reigning champ, Antonio Cesaro, and the World Heavyweight Championship match between Irishman Sheamus and his rival, Big Show. Both are engaging efforts but the latter of the fights really showcase the strength of Sheamus, lifting the Big Show numerous times above his head. This is a man who’s 267lb lifting a guy who weighs 441lbs. That’s quite an achievement. The fight goes to and fro, with each scoring great moves upon each other but when Sheamus gears up for his trademark Brogue Kick, Big Show pulls a nasty trick of his own which results in a controversial finish.

The controversy continues with the final two matches. The first is the 5 man-team elimination match of Team Foley vs Team Ziggler, with Kane, Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Randy Orton repesenting Foley, and Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow, David Otunga and Dolph Ziggler himself representing Team Ziggler. All bets are off as the wrestlers pull out all stops to secure a win from their side. They are all on top form and give an entertaining performance that has the crowd cheering and counting the pins with the referee. We even see some submissions, which is usually a rarity in WWE, in the form of an armbar and an omoplata shoulder lock. The fight eventually wittles down to a one-on-one with a suprising ending indeed…

The main event of Survivor Series is, of course, the Triple Threat Match between reigning champion CM Punk, John Cena and Ryback. CM Punk has retained the belt for 364 continuous days and needs to secure the win in this fight to match Hulk Hogan’s record of 8th longest title reign in wrestling. However, he has stiff competition in the shape of the marmite John Cena and the hungry Ryback, who was cheated out of the title win in the Hell in a Cell match with CM Punk. From the start of the match, Ryback and Cena eye each other up to figure out one anothers game plan – whether to team up and get rid of Punk, or to just battle each other. Soon, that choice goes through the window as all three are at each others throats, with sneaky attacks playing a key role. The audience seem to be torn between the three, particularly between Ryback and CM Punk, the latter who proclaims himself to the be the best in the world yet displays sheer panic in his face when approaches by the thunderous Ryback. With some out-of-ring activity involving the commentators desk, the final event pleases in every way and leaves a shocking ending that begs the question, “What will happen next?”.

This is a truly entertaining title with every single match offering suprising, energetic displays that any wrestling fan can enjoy. The DVD disc does lack extras (more on Blu-Ray), with the only special feature being a brief interview with CM Punk and his manager Paul Hyman, but the discs main contents are enough to make this a must-have disc in your wrestling collection.

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