WWE Survivor Series 2001

RATING LEVELS:

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

Survivor Series – November 2001

Greensboro, North Carolina

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the Dudleys hold the WCW World Tag Team Championships, The Hardys are the recognized WWF Tag Team Champions, Christian is the European Champion, his “brother” Edge holds the US Title, and Tajiri is the Cruiserweight Champion. Chyna holds the Womens’ Championship but was stripped of the title heading into tonight’s event, while Rob Van Dam holds the Hardcore Championship. Test is the Intercontinental Champion, Steve Austin is the WWF World Champion, and The Rock is the WCW World Champion again (having regained the title from Chris Jericho). That’s 10 championships, folks. 10.

COMMENTATORS: Paul Heyman and Jim Ross

The show begins with a lengthy “History of the WWE” video, adding a weird sentimental quality to the show. Jim Ross announces that this is the 15^th Survivor Series and that, if Team WWF (WWE now) wins in their match against the Alliance, this will  be the last time you hear Paul Heyman on commentary. Heyman counters that this will be the last time WWE presents a PPV because the Alliance will be winning tonight’s main event and, thus, taking over the company. 

Alliance member Christian starts the evening with a typical heel promo, proclaiming that tonight will be the night the WWE dies. His opponent is WWE stalwart, Al Snow, who was put in this match entirely based on his involvement in Tough Enough Season 2. Decent match that shows that, paired with a veteran like Snow, Christian could hold his own without relying on high spots, weapons, or the familiar territory of working with Edge, a Dudley, or a Hardy. With a good clean finish coming off a great near fall, there’s not much to complain about here. Perfectly good-not-great match. (3/5)

Backstage, Austin tells the Alliance that they can trust him. This is followed by a backstage segment with Vince, Linda, a young Michael Cole, and at the tail end, William Regal. Regal explains that he trusts Austin and is looking forward to the following night’s first Alliance-produced episode of RAW.

Tajiri vs. William Regal is next, but before the match starts we get a recap of Regal demolishing Torrie Wilson on SmackDown. I did not love their match at the UK-only PPV, Rebellion, earlier in the month, but this one is noticeably better – more physical, better timing all around, and featuring not only a gusher of a nosebleed by Regal but a vicious looking hangman spot. Unfortunately, the finish happens far too quickly for this to be considered "must-watch." There is some post-match action, with Regal powerbombing Torrie, but this could’ve been so much better if it had been given some more time. (3/5)

Jim Ross announces that tonight is the first of several unification matches as the Intercontinental Champion Test gets ready for action against the US Champion, Edge. This is one of the better Test matches I’ve seen, though, it is still not something I’d go digging for unless you’re a huge fan of Edge. (2.5/5)

The WCW and WWE Tag Team Championship unification match is up next – The Hardys vs. The Dudleys. This match is fought with standard rules despite being in a cage – meaning, only the legal man can escape the cage to win or win by pinfall. A ton of action in this one, especially when Jeff Hardy comes in and the match breaks into lawlessness. There are a number of devastating bumps and spots – Bubba taking a press slam from the corner, Jeff Hardy getting hit by a Doomsday Device, Matt Hardy getting stuck between the ropes and cage. When Stacy Keibler helps the Dudleys get a table in to the ring, it ends up seeming like overkill. The finish is a bit moronic: Matt Hardy escapes and Jeff Hardy manages to get to the top of the cage with both Dudleys passed out. Instead of taking the win, though, Hardy opts to perform a Swanton Bomb on D-Von from the top of the cage through a table. D-Von moves. Jeff gets carried out on a stretcher. I would’ve really loved this match to have ended without anyone looking like an idiot, as Jeff Hardy’s decision just makes absolutely no sense. (3/5)

Next up is a battle royale of Alliance and WWE guys – the winner getting to keep their job for a full year no matter which side wins the main event tonight. Test wins. Ho hum. (1/5)

The 6-pack challenge to crown a new Womens Champion (Chyna was the last champion but was stripped of the title when she left the company) is next featuring Ivory, Trish Stratus, Lita, Jackie, “Mighty” Molly, and a debuting Jazz. This one is actually pretty fun – it doesn't take too long to get into the wild action and features some crowd-pleasing spots from Stratus and Lita. Not a bad format to highlight the divas. (2/5)

It's main event time already – Booker T, RVD, Austin, Angle, and Shane McMahon of the Alliance vs. The Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Jericho, and The Rock (representing the WWE). This match works in large part because of the amount of history these guys had with each other. For example, any time Rock and Austin get in the ring together, the crowd is amped. Ditto for The Rock and Booker, Austin and Taker, RVD and Jericho, Jericho and Booker, and so on. There is also a real sense of the stakes being high thanks to the excellent commentary from Paul Heyman, who had been spewing his pro-Alliance rhetoric the whole night and really making it seem like a new age was coming. Dave Meltzer gave this match 4-and-a-half stars in his review, but I’d consider that a bit high. As good as this match is at times, it doesn’t really kick into high gear until we’re down to 4 men. With the star power involved, it isn't unreasonable to expect more drama in the eliminations and better pacing between them. Not anywhere close to being a bad match, but with a running time of close to 45 minutes, this one is not necessarily the funnest way to spend the better part of an hour. (3.5/5)

With an average segment/match rating of 2.29-out-of-5, Survivor Series 2001 is, like much of the InVasion angle, historically interesting, but not abundantly entertaining. The show’s undercard features some good-not-great work out of the company’s most reliable performers, namely Christian, Regal, Tajiri, Edge, the Hardys, and the Dudleys. While the main event is by no means a bad match, it is a long one that will only appeal to fans who adore the Survivors match concept. I'm not one of them.

FINAL RATING – High Risk Maneuver