Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Putting Together A Survivor Series Dream Card

Survivor Series is the next PPV on the WWE schedule. A few years ago this PPV was in danger of being taken off the PPV schedule and replaced with something else. It is a shame that the higher ups in the WWE don't see this as a big 4 PPV anymore. Maybe if the WWE actually tried pushing their mid card and gave them some depth than they could build more multi-man matches and they could actually be a big deal. But that is just a problem with the WWE as a whole.

Now the WWE treats this PPV as one of its least important on the card. The only reason last year felt different was because of The Rock. You could say that Money in the Bank is now a Big 4 PPV, bigger than the Survivor Series. But I always enjoyed the Traditional Survivor Series matches. I think they can be a lot of fun if booked properly. The one or two that they have had the past couple of years have usually been good. With the added emphasis on the tag team division, there should be no reason to take away or not get behind the traditional Survivor Series match. If the roster had any depth, it could be a fun spectacle to watch.

We always talk about dream matches that have never happened. Matches like Austin/Punk, Cena/Hogan etc. But what about dream Survivor Series matches? Could you imagine picking some of your favorite stars from certain eras and teaming them together in a Traditional Survivor Series Match? I think that would be a lot of fun. And that's what I am going to do here.

The rules are pretty simple: pick and pair any five past and present WWE superstars and put them in a match together. The only rules are that they had to be in the WWE at the start of the Survivor Series PPV. That's it. There are so many opportunities here that the combinations really are endless. I'm going to try and have as much fun as possible with this. Here it goes.

Match #1
The Ultimate Warrior, The Hardy Boyz, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio vs JBL, Rick Rude, Edge and Christian and Alberto del Rio

People remember the Ultimate Warrior most from his match against Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 6. But he also had a good rivalry with Rick Rude that lasted for about half of 1989, and was also reignited after Warrior won the WWF Title. Then you have the Hardys and Edge and Christian, who had a long standing rivalry throughout the Attitude Era. JBL had his problems with both Guerrero and Mysterio during his main event run in the WWE. Del Rio's best feud so far while in the WWE night very well have been with Mysterio. As far as the cross generation match-ups go, could you imagine JBL being around when the Ultimate Warrior was there in the 90s? As far as politics and backstage stuff goes, you know JBL would have not dealt with any of the Warrior's BS that most put up with. I don't know if you can call Rick Rude an underrated wrestler, but I think he would have had some very good matches with Mysterio and Guerrero.

Match #2
Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Big Show and the Legion of Doom vs Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Andre the Giant and The Dudleys

A couple of thoughts go into this match. I would have loved to see a Legion of Doom vs Dudleys program when both of those teams were in their prime. You could make an argument that these two were the top two tag teams in the history of wrestling. That would have been a fun program to watch. I always loved any time Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were in the same ring. Their match at Wrestlemania 19 was very good and I thought their program in 2008 was the best of the year. Their two matches on PPV, the Unsanctioned Match and their Ladder Match, were very good. Triple H also has history with Chris Jericho, as they fought in the main event of Wrestlemania 18. HHH also has history with Angle, as does Michaels. I threw Big Show and Andre the Giant in this one as well just for the pure spectacle of it. This match would have some solid wrestling with HBK/HHH/Jericho/Angle involved. It has two of the best tag teams in wrestling history and also two giants. Lots to like about this one.

Match #3
The Undertaker, Goldberg, Bret Hart, Sheamus, Lex Luger vs Brock Lesnar, Mankind, Kane, Yokozuna, Owen Hart

Remember, I am only taking into account these guys WWE runs. So you can ignore anything that happened with these guys in their WCW days. I would have loved to put Bret Hart somewhere else on this card. I thought about having him opposite of C.M. Punk, but that would have required him being on the same team as Steve Austin. And that is not going to happen. So instead Bret Hart gets put on a team opposite his little brother Owen. Those two had a great feud in 1994 that resulted in two strong PPV matches. The Undertaker has history with almost everyone on the face side of things. Yokozuna faced Undertaker, Bret and Lex Luger at separate times for the WWE Title. We all know what happened with Lesnar and Goldberg. I would have loved to see Bret Hart take on Brock Lesnar with both guys in their primes. A classic big man vs small man match. Knowing how good Bret is, the match would have been fun to watch. Mankind and Undertaker feuded for a while, and we all know the history between Kane and Taker. Sheamus wouldn't look out of place on the face team. Luger didn't have a good run in the WWE, but as with Sheamus, he would not look out of place on the face side.

Match #4
John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, Diesel vs The Rock, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, Batista, Ted DiBiase

This match is loaded up with mostly old school wrestlers. We get The Rock and John Cena on opposite teams. Hulk Hogan and John Cena are similar characters from different eras. If you put Hogan and his character in today's WWE, I guarantee he gets booed just like Cena is today. And Roddy Piper would be the heel that is cheered by the adult male audience. Imagine heel Piper tearing into Cena? There's obviously the WCW/NWA history with Steamboat, Rhodes and Flair. I thought heel Batista from the end of his run in the WWE would fit well on the heel team, especially if Rock was playing his Hollywood character. I'm using Diesel, not Kevin Nash, because Nash wasn't really around for any Survivor Series stuff. Unless my memory serves me wrong. DiBiase fits in with the heels as far as the high class goes. Yeah Piper isn't high class, but all the heels in that group have great mic skills. Steamboat was always under-utilized when he was in the WWE. Whether it was backstage politics or the fact he wasn't a roided out freak, Steamboat was always held back behind Hulk Hogan. Like Steamboat, Rhodes was never used properly in the WWE. But if it isn't Vince's creation, he doesn't care. This match has arguably the top two stars in wrestling history, maybe three if you have Flair ahead of Austin.

Match #5
Stone Cold Steve Austin, Randy Savage, Randy Orton, The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) vs C.M. Punk, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Mr. Perfect, King Booker, Sid Vicious

Well, this gets the dream Punk/Austin match that everybody would love to see. Do I think the match will ever happen? My guess is that it is still around a 50/50 shot. But I would lean towards no. I just don't know if Austin is physically up to it. We also get Punk and Randy Savage on opposite teams. There's another dream match we would have all loved to see. Savage is opposite former rival Jake Roberts. Would love to hear the promos combined by Roberts and Punk in the build. I originally had Orton on the heel side, but I switched him because I believe he would be a better fit with the face team. I wanted to get the British Bulldog on here somehow, and I figured why not pair him with his tag team partner. And again, who would have loved to see Dynamite and Punk go at it. I also think a Perfect/Orton feud would be good to watch. We also have King Booker vs former King Savage. I honestly threw Sid in this match because I couldn't think of anyone else to throw on the heel side.

So what would you do? Who would you pair? Feel free to share your opinions.

Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka



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