Live from the Gund Arena in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, the show begins with a Fatal 4-Way for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship with Spike Dudley defending the title against Rey Mysterio, Chavo Guerrero, and Billy Kidman. This was an all-out spotfest, but a very good one and the crowd was into it. Rey Mysterio was the biggest star in the match, but Kidman's Shooting Star Press being a lethal finish had gotten over and Spike Dudley was also over as a heel with the audience. Highlights included Mysterio hitting a hurricanrana that brought Kidman to the floor, a really good Tower of Doom spot, and a very good closing stretch with a somewhat surprising ending. The WWE's Cruiserweight division never really took off, but it wasn't for a lack of effort by the wrestlers involved. (3/5)
Backstage, Paul Heyman is with Heidenreich. We then get Heidenreich and Snitsky flirting. Yup. That's the only way to describe it. They are breathing heavily in each other's faces, complimenting each other, and talking about how they plan to see each other later. This is classic Vince McMahon creative as he was basically sacrificing whatever seriousness these characters had for a quick, weak joke. Needless to say, neither of these guys would go on to accomplish much of anything in the company.
Shelton Benjamin defended his Intercontinental Championship against Christian in the next bout. This is the era where Christian was either on the gas or trying to look like he was. This is a solid match, but not super memorable (and I say that as a fairly big Christian fan). Benjamin was an incredible athlete and brought a ton of energy and was arguably as over during this run as he'd ever be. Christian, meanwhile, is a very smart worker who likes to put lots of classic wrestling storytelling elements into his matches and they are some good ones thrown into this, including some nice false finishes, finisher-teasing and counters, and cleverly done interactions from Tomko that get big reactions. I wouldn't call this a "hidden gem" or anything, but its good enough and just more proof of how good and consistent Christian is throughout most of his career. (3/5)
An old-fashioned (sorta) Survivors match followed as Team Guerrero - Eddie Guerrero, Big Show, John Cena, and Rob Van Dam - took on Team Angle - Kurt Angle, Luther Reigns, Carlito, and Mark Jindrak. Before the match could even get started, John Cena got his big moment by chasing after Carlito and his henchman (Jesus), who had stabbed him on an episode of SmackDown before this. I don't remember that angle as I wasn't a regular watch in 04', but it sounds pretty ridiculous to my ears. This also seemed to have been an excuse to limit Cena's in-ring demands as, by this point, there was already a little bit of a pushback towards him due to his perceived lack of fundamentals. That being said, with the majority of the crowd, Cena was over and he is clearly getting the biggest pops of the babyface side. Eddie Guerrero does most of the heavy lifting for his team while Angle does the same for his side. This is not a "great" match, but it is a fun one and I liked the babyfaces having and maintaining an advantage from the beginning to end. It may not have made for a very suspenseful or drama-rich match, but the logic was sound and none of the babyfaces - even Van Dam, the sole elimination on his side - looked weak coming out of it. This wasn't an all-timer or anything, but it was good enough as PPV filler. (2.5/5)
Heidenreich vs. The Undertaker followed and this match was better than it had any right to be and is criminally underrated over at Cagematch. Obviously Taker has had any better matches against much better, more experienced opponents, but its kinda fun to watch him lead a match with a greenhorn and actually show how capable he is in terms of storytelling and building up suspense and momentum. The crowd is more into this match than one might expect and its all because of Undertaker's timing and pacing. Anyone expecting a mat classic should look elsewhere, but that goes without saying. I really liked how Heidenreich continued to pepper the Deadman with body shots whenever he had an opening. I also thought his bumping and selling were pretty good for a big man, at one point busting out the "Terry Funk jelly legs," which is the opposite of a knock against him. If you're going to steal, steal from the best, right? Perfectly respectable filler that, despite a runtime of 10+ minutes, actually showed there may have been some juice in Heidenreich as a performer, but already being 35 at this point meant he was already going to be working against the clock. (3/5)
The next "match" is more of an angle than a contest as Lita challenged Trish Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship but was really only interested in hurting Stratus for her various verbal jabs about Lita's (storyline) miscarriage. What a horrendous and offensive storyline that Vince cooked up and that these two had to perform. I'll give Lita and Trish credit, though - this angle is terrific and it has everything to do with their performance and willingness to actually make it feel "real" within the context of a pro-wrestling show. Lita comes out swinging (literally), punching Stratus before the bell and, within a minute or two, Lita is grabbing hold of chairs to bash Stratus' brains in. Because this is wrestling, Lita eventually applies a Tazzmission on the floor, but seemingly digs her nails into Trish's nose to open her up. She then sends her into the steel steps to a huge pop as the referees try to restrain her. The blood, the chairs, the steps - all designed to sell the idea that Lita had broken Trish's nose and it works and it does feel violent and unlike anything you'd have seen in a women's division storyline before. I'm glad Vince had the sense to understand that if you're going to build a feud around a miscarriage, you can't blow it off in a standard wrestling match. (+1)
JBL defended his WWE Championship against Booker T in the next bout. They'd spend several weeks pushing the idea that Booker T had JBL's number because he had pinned him on TV and has also consistently thwarted Orlando Jordan, JBL's "Chief of Staff," proving he could "equalize him" once the title was on the line. This, like the Taker/Heidenreich match, is not an all-timer, but for a story-driven, heavyweight title fight, it delivers what it needs to. I'm not sure anyone believed Booker T had a chance here - its clear by this show that John Cena was the guy being groomed for a big run in 2005 - but the crowd is engaged enough and both JBL and Booker T "lay their shit in" to make sure the match never feels boring or perfunctory. Orlando Jordan did great work at ringside too, executing a great "pull out the ref at 2.9" spot towards the end. One of the better JBL matches that doesn't rely on a ton of blood, especially for this period (when seemingly every good title match he had involved bleeding a bucket's worth). Like the Heidenreich/Taker match, this is underrated over at Cagematch largely because, in terms of workrate and big flashy moves, it isn't special...but as a "main event style" match that the WWE was known for around this time, it's not bad at all and I'll even say it was slightly above-average. (3/5)
Main event time - Triple H, Batista, Gene Snitsky, and Edge vs. Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, and Maven in another somewhat-classic Survivor Series match (this one also being 4-on-4 instead of 5-on-5). Earlier in the show, Maven was attacked and taken out by Snitsky, which put the babyfaces at a disadvantage. The other big story coming into this match was that, if the babyface side won, each member would get to become "King For A Day" on a Raw and "run the show" for one week - meaning they could theoretically book themselves to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Champion (everyone except Orton, who, for a reason I can't recall, was no longer allowed to challenge for the title as long as Triple H held it). On the flipside, Snitsky and Edge both made it clear that, if they were to win the match, they would want World Heavyweight Championship matches as well. And so, with all this extra drama, there are genuine stakes in this match and it benefits the festivities considerably. I'm surprised to say it, but I like Gene Snitsky in this match and his interactions with Triple H. I also like the pre-match tease of Batista also showing interest in the World Heavyweight Championship, though this doesn't really come into play during the match itself. The refereeing of this match might be its weakest element as, multiple times during the contest, it is unclear who the legal man is, if anyone has made a proper tag, or why Maven is even allowed to enter the fray when he was essentially "eliminated" by Eric Bischoff before the match even started. Good action throughout and I'm not surprised that Dave Meltzer gave this a solid review. Randy Orton was over with the crowd as a babyface so his victory gets a huge reaction and I like that both Edge and Triple H (especially) put the RKO over strong to end things. Nothing I'd necessarily go out of my way to see, but perfectly decent match with a surprisingly strong performance out of Snitsky. (3/5)
Survivor Series 2004 is a consistently good show, but doesn't feature that one single "great" match that elevates it into the upper tier of WWE PPVs or even Survivor Series events. Earning a Kwang Score of 3.08-out-of-5, there isn't a truly weak match or moment on the card and even the reprehensible Lita/Trish storyline is furthered with an angle that delivers the necessary intensity and violence to match its objectively offensive subject matter. The biggest shock watching this show is just how decent Snitsky and Heidenreich look, especially considering they are expected to deliver in two marquee matches as well as in a prominent backstage segment. Its a bit odd that, despite delivering the goods here, this would be both men's career peaks.
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
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