Survivor Series (2015)

Survivor Series (2015)

Promotional poster featuring The Undertaker
Tagline(s) 25 Years of Undertaker
Theme
song(s)		 "Warriors" by Imagine Dragons
Information
Promotion WWE
Sponsor(s) Mountain Dew Kickstart
Rolaids Advanced
Date November 22, 2015
Attendance 14,481
Venue Philips Arena
City Atlanta, Georgia
WWE Network event chronology

Hell in a Cell (2015) Survivor Series (2015) TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs (2015)
Survivor Series chronology

Survivor Series (2014) Survivor Series (2015)

Survivor Series (2015) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on November 22, 2015 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, the first time the state has hosted the event.[1] The 29th event under the Survivor Series chronology, this edition celebrated The Undertaker's consecutive 25 years in WWE, which began on the same date at the 1990 Survivor Series.

Nine matches were contested at the event, with one match contested on the pre-show. In the main event, Roman Reigns would defeat Dean Ambrose to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship; however, Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Reigns to win the title.[2][3][4]

Background

Survivor Series consisted of professional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds or storylines that played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown. Wrestlers portrayed heroes or villains as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a match or series of matches.[5][6]

At Hell in a Cell, Seth Rollins defeated Kane to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[7] The following night on Raw, eight superstars that were victorious at Hell in a Cell competed in singles matches and the winners faced each other in a Fatal 4-Way match, with the winner becoming #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series, in which Roman Reigns won.[8][9] However, on November 4, Rollins suffered multiple knee injuries at a live event in Dublin, Ireland; therefore, the match was cancelled and the title vacated, with a tournament set up to crown a new champion.[10] The tournament began on the November 9 episode of Raw. It involved sixteen wrestlers, with the final match scheduled for Survivor Series to determine the new champion. Since Roman Reigns was the #1 contender, Triple H tried to persuade Reigns into joining The Authority and by doing so, Reigns would have automatically been placed in the championship match; he refused, requiring him to compete in the tournament.[11] On November 16 episode of Raw, Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio advanced to the semifinals with victories over Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Neville and Kalisto respectively, setting up Reigns vs. Del Rio and Ambrose vs. Owens in the semifinals at the event.[12]

A knee injury resulted in Seth Rollins vacating the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and a tournament was made to crown a new champion at Survivor Series.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament
First Round
Raw (11/9)[11]
SmackDown (11/12)[13] 		Quarterfinals
Raw (11/16)[12] 		Semifinals
Survivor Series 		Final
Survivor Series
        
Roman Reigns Pin
Big Show 14:32
Roman Reigns Pin
Cesaro 20:21
Cesaro Pin
Sheamus 15:28
Roman Reigns Pin
Alberto Del Rio 14:01
Alberto Del Rio Pin
Stardust 07:07
Alberto Del Rio Pin
Kalisto 10:04
Kalisto Pin
Ryback 08:48
Roman Reigns Pin
Dean Ambrose 09:02
Titus O'Neil 06:52
Kevin Owens Pin
Kevin Owens Pin
Neville 10:44
Neville Pin
King Barrett 15:27
Kevin Owens 11:19
Dean Ambrose Pin
Dolph Ziggler Pin
The Miz 04:59
Dolph Ziggler 16:41
Dean Ambrose Pin
Dean Ambrose Pin
Tyler Breeze 11:07

On the November 2 episode of Raw, Paige defeated Becky Lynch, Brie Bella and Sasha Banks in a Fatal 4-Way match to earn a Divas Championship match against Charlotte at Survivor Series.[9]

At Hell in a Cell, The Wyatt Family attacked The Undertaker after he lost to Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell match and carried him out of the arena. The following night on Raw, Kane confronted The Wyatt Family, but was attacked and also carried out of the arena.[8] On the November 9 episode of Raw, The Undertaker and Kane returned as The Brothers of Destruction and attacked The Wyatt Family.[11] On the November 12 episode of SmackDown, Bray Wyatt challenged The Brothers of Destruction to a tag team match at Survivor Series against two handpicked members of The Wyatt Family, which they accepted.[13]

On the October 22 episode of SmackDown, Tyler Breeze made his WWE debut and attacked Dolph Ziggler.[14] On the October 29 episode of SmackDown, after Ziggler defeated The Miz, Breeze attacked Ziggler.[15] On the November 2 episode of Raw, Breeze distracted Ziggler during Ziggler's match with Kevin Owens, allowing Owens to get the victory.[9] On the November 19 episode of SmackDown, after Breeze defeated Zack Ryder, Ziggler attacked Breeze. Later in the show, a match between Ziggler and Breeze was scheduled for the event.[16]

ISIS threat

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated an alleged threat by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at the event. On November 21, 2015, the FBI released the statement, "The FBI is aware of reports of an alleged threat that includes an Atlanta, Georgia venue and event. While we take all threats seriously, we do not have specific or credible information of an attack at this time. We have, however, made the proper notifications as we continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to keep our community safe."[17] International Business Times reported that the hacker group Anonymous were responsible for uncovering the information. WWE released a statement stating that the show would go on as schedule. The show went on with no attack from ISIS.[18]

Results

No. Results Stipulations Times[19]
1P The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley), Neville, Titus O'Neil and Goldust defeated The Cosmic Wasteland (Stardust, Konnor, and Viktor), Bo Dallas and The Miz1 Five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match[20] 18:10
2 Roman Reigns defeated Alberto Del Rio (with Zeb Colter) Tournament semifinal match[21] 14:01
3 Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens Tournament semifinal match[22] 11:19
4 Ryback, The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso), and The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) defeated The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), Sheamus, and King Barrett2 Five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match[23] 17:33
5 Charlotte (c) defeated Paige by submission Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship[24] 14:15
6 Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae) defeated Dolph Ziggler Singles match[25] 6:40
7 The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) defeated The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper) (with Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman) Tag team match[26] 10:19
8 Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose Tournament final match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship[2] 9:02
9 Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns (c) Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship 0:34
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • P – indicates the match took place on the pre-show
Survivor Series elimination matches

^1

Elimination Wrestler Eliminated by Elimination move Time[19]
1 Viktor Goldust Pinned after a snap scoop powerslam 0:30
2 Konnor Bubba Ray Dudley Pinned after a side slam 5:27
3 Neville The Miz Pinned after a Bo-Dog from Dallas and a Skull-Crushing Finale 8:40
4 The Miz Goldust Pinned with a Schoolboy 9:05
5 Bo Dallas Titus O'Neil Pinned after a Clash of the Titus 17:20
6 Stardust D-Von Dudley Pinned after a 3D 18:10
Survivor(s): Goldust, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley & Titus O'Neil

^2

Elimination Wrestler Eliminated by Elimination move Time[19]
1 King Barrett Sin Cara Pinned after a Senton bomb 7:46
2 Jimmy Uso Xavier Woods Pinned after a Backbreaker hold/diving double stomp combination from Woods and Kingston 9:22
3 Sin Cara Sheamus Pinned after a Brogue Kick 10:42
4 Big E Jey Uso Pinned after an Uso Splash 11:30
5 Kofi Kingston N/A Left with Big E after he was eliminated 11:30
Xavier Woods
6 Sheamus Ryback Pinned after a Shell Shock 17:33
Survivor(s): Ryback, Kalisto & Jey Uso

Aftermath

The post-Survivor Series Raw was the lowest rated non-holiday episode since 1997 and the first time Raw averaged less than three million viewers since then.[27] On that episode, Roman Reigns confronted The Authority and demanded a rematch against Sheamus for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that night. Triple H refused, stating that Reigns would get his rematch for the title at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match before leaving Reigns to face Rusev that night, which Reigns defeated by disqualification after King Barrett interfered. On the November 30 episode of Raw, Reigns attacked Sheamus during his WWE World Heavyweight Championship celebrations before taking the belt with him. This prompted Sheamus to give Reigns a title match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that night, but with the stipulation that Reigns must beat him in 5:15 (the amount of time that Reigns' short-lived title reign lasted) in order to win the title. Reigns defeated Sheamus by disqualification after Rusev interfered, which prevented Reigns from winning the title. After the match, Sheamus was helped by Rusev, King Barrett and Alberto Del Rio, and introduced themselves as The League of Nations.

On the November 26 episode of SmackDown, Dean Ambrose won a Triple Threat match against Dolph Ziggler and Tyler Breeze to become the No. 1 contender to Kevin Owens' Intercontinental Championship.

On the November 23 episode of Raw, to celebrate one year as a tag team, The New Day decided to do an open challenge to anyone who wants to have a shot at winning their WWE Tag Team Championship, but when The Lucha Dragons and The Usos got involved, they decided to cancel the challenge. On the November 30 episode of Raw, the No. 1 contendership match between The Usos and The Lucha Dragons ended in a double disqualification after The New Day interfered. The Authority decided to make the WWE Tag Team Championship match a Triple Threat Tag Team Ladder match in which The Lucha Dragons were immediately inserted, but would not allow The Usos to participate if Roman Reigns failed to defeat Sheamus that night. Reigns defeated Sheamus by disqualification, allowing The Usos to be inserted into the title match.

On the November 23 episode of Raw, The Wyatt Family defeated The Dudley Boyz before repeatedly attacking them. On the November 26 episode of SmackDown, The Dudley Boyz defeated The Wyatt Family (Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan) by disqualification after Wyatt Family member Luke Harper interfered in the match. Afterwards, The Wyatt Family put Bubba Ray Dudley through a table. On the November 30 episode of Raw, The Dudley Boyz introduced Tommy Dreamer, making his return to WWE in over 5 years, to join them in their ongoing fight against The Wyatt Family.

After failing to beat Charlotte for the WWE Divas Championship at the event, Paige accused her of cheating similar to that of her father Ric Flair on the November 23 episode of Raw. The two faced each other that night in a rematch for the WWE Divas Championship which ended in a double count-out after Paige failed to get back in the ring in time after preventing Charlotte from getting back in first. After the match Paige continued to attack Charlotte which ended with Paige trapping Charlotte in the PTO on top of the broadcast table. On the November 30 episode of Raw, Charlotte defeated her friend Becky Lynch after she faked a leg injury and her father distracted Lynch to allow her to roll Lynch for the win. Their friendship was further strained on the December 3 episode of SmackDown, when Charlotte attacked Lynch's opponent Brie Bella while locked in the Dis-arm-her after Bella hit her by accident, giving Bella a disqualification win.

Reception

The entire event and also "particularly the event's finish, was widely met with negative reviews and utter disappointment from observers", as described by Adam Silverstein of CBSSports.com. This was due to "mundane matches that failed to captivate the audience" and "replicated a clunky finish from a pay-per-view just one year earlier", resulting in "a new World Heavyweight Champion in Sheamus that no one desires to see as part of the main event picture". Silverstein highlighted the negative reaction of former WWE Champion Mick Foley, who was "on the verge of becoming a former WWE fan" after seeing how "WWE has completely failed to capitalize not only on the male wrestlers drawing positive reactions from the crowd" like "Ziggler to Cesaro to Kevin Owens", but also the "female performers who are promoted well on the company's NXT developmental show but hardly given any time to 'get over'" on the WWE main roster.[28]

Aaron Oster of Rolling Stone declared that Survivor Series was "a night that started with much promise, but ended in disappointment". While the event was not "awful" due to an "phenomenal" entrance for the Undertaker on his 25th anniversary and three "solid" matches: the tournament semi-finals and the traditional Survivor Series tag match, "the main event ... never connected and concluded in a way that cast a pall over the rest of the show – and quite possibly the company, too." This was because "Sheamus cannot be the guy at the top of your card every night ... When a bad guy's biggest heel quality is his facial hair, it doesn't bode well." Also, it was "hard to buy" Roman Reigns as "a plucky underdog being screwed over by the Authority", when leading into the event Reigns "still seemed like Vince McMahon's handpicked guy". For other topics, Oster said the "whole night was a tribute to the Undertaker", who revived the "dead" crowd. Tyler Breeze's character was enhanced by using the Unprettier move, while Dolph Ziggler, in copying Shawn Michaels' dressing and mannerisms, "just needs to figure out who he is, and quickly." Lastly, Oster questioned, "If they are going to go completely random with the Survivor Series matches, are they really worth having?"[29]

James Cadwell of PWTorch.com rated the Del Rio-Reigns semi-final three-and-a-half stars out of five, "really good" in spite of the "outcome was never in doubt, removing some of the drama". The Ambrose-Owens semi-final was rated three-and-a-quarter stars, due to both wrestlers being "really good in the ring and they had strong chemistry building to the finish". For the women's match, Caldwell wrote that it "didn't generate enough of a reaction for a supposed grudge match", and that "it's so difficult for Charlotte’s character, like Reigns, to get sympathy in the babyface role when she towers over everyone and carries herself like she’s arrived". The Undertaker participated in a "fine nostalgic match" that would be "satisfying" for fans of his, but for others an "exhibition match victory over heels who were defined-down as henchmen". The tournament final was too short to be rated over two-and-three-quarters stars, where "WWE was just not going to waver from the plan to have Reigns win" despite Ambrose enjoying a more favorable reaction. Lastly, Caldwell wrote that "Lame Sheamus as champ" was "foreshadowed ... earlier in the show by having Sheamus act like an idiot so 'they'll never see it coming!'"[19]

John Powell of Canoe.ca wrote that Survivor Series was "one of, if not the, worst WWE pay-per-view of 2015". It "exposed all of the WWE's weaknesses" and "epitomized the existing WWE product. It is musty, tedious and worst of all, predictable." Powell singled out three main areas for criticism. Firstly, a "slipshod, bumbling interview" involving Dean Ambrose and a "rambling" Roman Reigns. Secondly, WWE keeping "fans in the dark" after "Network streaming issues". Thirdly, "questionable booking": the world champion heading out of the PPV was earlier "portrayed as an out-of-step idiot, easily pinned and losing the match for his team after being abandoned by The New Day"; "claiming to have a 'Divas Revolution' then pushing nobody but Paige, The Bellas and Charlotte"; the tournament final being a "mediocre rush job" at 9 minutes while the traditional Survivor Series match which was unhyped and had unannounced participants was given almost 20 minutes.[30]

Will Pruett of prowrestling.net wrote that "WWE produced an evening filled with flaws, ranging from giant to minor" resulting in a "broken universe". "The largest logical fallacy of Survivor Series was assuming anything being done on this show was being done for any reason other than 'it'll shock everyone' or 'that's how we've always done it'." Commenting on individual wrestlers, Pruett said that Roman Reigns, the 'supposed sympathetic star', 'lost all sympathy' by attacking Triple H, who "hadn't been very evil when it came to Reigns"; "Alberto Del Rio has been noticeably disconnected in his matches since his return last month"; and Sheamus "could be a legitimate WWE Champion at some point", but "WWE seems to abuse his character." Lastly, Pruett felt that the Undertaker's entrance and match was "a life raft of heartfelt joy", "in the sea of negativity and sadness WWE lead me to" at the event.[31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Johnson, Mike (January 7, 2015). "COMPLETE 2015 WWE PPV SCHEDULE". pwinsider.com. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Roman Reigns def. Dean Ambrose in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final Match; Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion". WWE. November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  3. ↑ Cole, Michael (November 22, 2015). Survivor Series. Sheamus is now a four-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion. This is incredible. This is absolutely stunning. thousand plus are stunned in Atlanta.
  4. ↑ Farrelly, Stephen [WWESheamus] (November 22, 2015). "The Irish are coming? The Irish have arrived. New @WWE World Heavyweight Champion. #4times #SurvivorSeries" (Tweet). Retrieved November 23, 2015. The event had 50,000 buys (excluding WWE Network views), down from the previous year's 100,000 buys
  5. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  7. ↑ Caldwell, James (October 25, 2015). "10/25 Live HIAC PPV Report – CALDWELL’S Live Coverage". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Tedesco, Mike (October 26, 2015). "WWE RAW Results - 10/26/15 (Reigns is No. 1 Contender)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Tedesco, Mike (November 2, 2015). "WWE RAW Results - 11/2/15 (Team Reigns vs. Team Rollins)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Seth Rollins suffers knee injury, new WWE World Heavyweight Champion to be crowned at Survivor Series". WWE. November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Tedesco, Mike (November 9, 2015). "WWE RAW Results - 11/9/15 (WWE Title Tournament starts)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Tedesco, Mike (November 16, 2015). "WWE RAW Results - 11/16/15 (Final Survivor Series hype)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Kahrs, Alex (November 12, 2015). "WWE Smackdown Results - 11/12/15 (WWE Title Tournament)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ Martin, Adam. "WWE Smackdown Results - 10/22/15 (Reigns & Ambrose)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  15. ↑ Kahrs, Alex. "WWE Smackdown Results - 10/29/15 (Six man tag match)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  16. ↑ Kahrs, Alex. "WWE Smackdown Results - 11/19/15 (Tag team main event)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Report: FBI investigating ISIS threat on WWE Survivor Series". FoxSports.com. Fox Entertainment Group (21st Century Fox). November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  18. ↑ Gilbert, David (November 21, 2015). "Anonymous Says ISIS Plans Attacks Against 'Paris And The World' Sunday". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Caldwell, James. "11/22 SURVIVOR SERIES RESULTS – Caldwell’s Complete PPV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match to take place Sunday". WWE. November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  21. ↑ Clapp, John (November 16, 2015). "Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals)". WWE. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  22. ↑ Clapp, John (November 16, 2015). "Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals)". WWE. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match to take place Sunday". WWE. November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  24. ↑ Pappolla, Ryan (November 2, 2015). "Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Paige". WWE. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  25. ↑ Clapp, John. "Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze". WWE. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  26. ↑ Clapp, John (November 12, 2015). "The Undertaker & Kane vs. Two members of The Wyatt Family". WWE. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  27. ↑ Dave Meltzer (November 24, 2015). "Ratings for WWE RAW disastrous, lowest in almost 20 years". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  28. ↑ Silverstein, Adam (November 24, 2015). "Mick Foley prepared to become ex-WWE fan, watch football on Mondays". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  29. ↑ Oster, Aaron. "WWE 'Survivor Series': Roman Reigned, Then Sheamus Cashed In". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  30. ↑ Powell, John. "Sloppy Survivor Series exposes WWE's shortcomings". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  31. ↑ Pruett, Will. "Pruett's Pause - WWE Survivor Series 2015". prowrestling.net. Retrieved 31 January 2016.

External links

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