| Survivor Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring Seth Rollins | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Date | November 23, 2014 | ||
| City | St. Louis, Missouri | ||
| Venue | Scottrade Center | ||
| Attendance | 12,000[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 100,000[2] (excluding WWE Network views) | ||
| WWE Network event chronology | |||
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| Survivor Series chronology | |||
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The 2014 Survivor Series was the 28th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on November 23, 2014, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and was the first Survivor Series event to livestream on the WWE Network, which launched in February. The event was notable for the WWE debut appearance of former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) wrestler Sting and also the first Survivor Series since 2001 to not feature a world championship match.
Eight matches were contested at the event, including two on the Kickoff pre-show. The main event saw Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, Big Show, and Ryback) defeat Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, and Rusev) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match, with Ziggler emerging the lone survivor. Ziggler was the second wrestler to survive a 3-on-1 situation in a Survivor Series elimination match, eliminating Kane, Harper, and Rollins. The only other person to survive a 3-on-1 situation was Ric Flair at the 2006 event. The event had 100,000 buys (excluding WWE Network views), down from the previous year's 177,000 buys.
Production
Background
Survivor Series is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV) produced every November by WWE since 1987. The second longest running pay-per-view event in history (behind WWE's WrestleMania), it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam, collectively referred to as the "Big Four".[3] The event is traditionally characterized by having Survivor Series matches, which are tag team elimination matches that typically pits teams of four or five wrestlers against each other. The 2014 event was the 28th Survivor Series and was scheduled to be held on November 23, 2014, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to airing on traditional pay-per-view, it was the first Survivor Series to livestream on the WWE Network, which launched in February.[4]
Storylines
The event comprised eight matches, including two on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers,[5][6] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.
On the October 27 episode of Raw, after John Cena, the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, rejected an offer to join The Authority, Triple H scheduled a traditional Survivor Series tag team elimination match, with a team representing The Authority facing a team captained by Cena. Later that night, it was hinted that Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler had joined Team Cena; both Cena and Ziggler saved each other from post-match attacks.[7] The next week on Raw, Vince McMahon announced that if Team Authority loses at Survivor Series, The Authority would be out of power (Triple H would be fired as COO, Kane would be fired as Director of Operations, and Stephanie McMahon would no longer be a Principal Owner of WWE). Seth Rollins, Kane and Randy Orton joined Team Authority with Rollins as captain, while Ziggler joined Team Cena. Later that night, Orton was ejected by The Authority after he attacked members of The Authority, and turned face in the process for the first time since 2013.[8] The next week on Raw, Rusev joined Team Authority after The Authority helped him retain the United States Championship from Sheamus. Sheamus joined Team Cena along with Big Show and Jack Swagger, while Mark Henry and Ryback joined Team Authority. But, by the end of the night, Swagger dropped out of Team Cena after Rollins injured him, while Ryback attacked and left Team Authority after Kane interfered in his main-event match against Cena. Luke Harper applied to join Team Authority by attacking Ziggler.[9] The next week on Raw, Harper was confirmed as the final member of Team Authority. While Cena was scouting Ryback to fill out his team, team Authority attacked the rest of Team Cena, which played a part in Ziggler losing his Intercontinental Championship to Harper, and Sheamus dropping out of Team Cena after Mark Henry injured him. Later that night, Erick Rowan and Ryback joined Team Cena.[10] On the November 21 episode of SmackDown, in response to comments made by Cena stating that he felt responsible for his team, Triple H announced that if Team Cena lost, all of Team Cena, except Cena himself, would be fired. Later that night, with Cena absent, Team Authority and a chair-wielding Triple H attacked the rest of Team Cena.[11]
On the October 31 episode of SmackDown, Nikki Bella won a Battle Royal to face AJ Lee for the WWE Divas Championship.[12] On November 10, WWE.com announced that AJ Lee would defend the title against Nikki at Survivor Series.[13]
At Hell in a Cell, Bray Wyatt attacked Dean Ambrose during his Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins.[14] On the November 10 episode of Raw, it was announced that Ambrose would face Wyatt at Survivor Series.[9]
On November 17, it was announced on WWE.com that Gold and Stardust would defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Miz and Damien Mizdow, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), and Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando) (with El Torito) in a fatal four-way tag team match at Survivor Series.[15]
On November 17, it was announced on WWE.com that the Survivor Series kickoff show would feature the return of Bad News Barrett from injury and Fandango, accompanied by Rosa Mendes, against an unknown opponent.[10]
On November 18, it was announced on WWE.com that Alicia Fox, Natalya, Emma, and Naomi would face Paige, Cameron, Layla, and Summer Rae in a Survivor Series elimination tag team match at Survivor Series.[16]
Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| English commentators | Michael Cole |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Marcelo Rodriguez | |
| Backstage interviewers | Tom Phillips |
| Byron Saxton | |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia |
| Eden Stiles | |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Darrick Moore | |
| Chad Patton | |
| Charles Robinson | |
| Ryan Tran | |
| Rod Zapata | |
| Jason Ayers | |
| Scott Armstrong | |
| Pre-show panel | Renee Young |
| Booker T | |
| Paul Heyman | |
| Alex Riley |
Pre-show
The analysis team was hosted by Renee Young and consisted of Alex Riley, Booker T, and special guest Paul Heyman.[17]
During the Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show, Fandango faced Justin Gabriel. Fandango executed The Last Dance to win the match.[17]
Later, Jack Swagger faced Cesaro. Swagger forced Cesaro to submit to the Patriot Lock to win the match.[17]
Preliminary matches
The event began with Mr. McMahon calling The Authority and John Cena to the ring. He added the stipulation, that should Team Authority lose, the only person who can bring The Authority back to power would be Cena himself. Cena then responded by saying "there is no chance in hell" he would bring The Authority back to power.[18]
The first match saw Gold and Stardust defend the Tag Team Championship against The Miz and Damien Mizdow, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), and Los Matadores. After Goldust was incapacitated by a Samoan Splash from an Uso, Mizdow stole the pin to win the titles for his team.[18]
Next, Team Natalya (Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi, and Natalya) faced Team Paige (Paige, Cameron, Layla, and Summer Rae) in a traditional 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination tag team match. Cameron was eliminated by Naomi after Naomi pinned her with a bridging rolling reverse cradle pin. Layla was eliminated by Fox after a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Summer Rae was eliminated after Emma forced her to submit to the Emma Lock. Paige was eliminated by Naomi after a handstand modified headscissors driver.[18]
After that, Dean Ambrose faced Bray Wyatt. Ambrose was disqualified after he hit Wyatt with a chair. After the match, Ambrose attacked Wyatt with Dirty Deeds on the chair, a diving elbow drop through a table and buried Wyatt underneath a table and chairs and climbed a ladder. Later in the event, it was announced that Wyatt would face Ambrose in a tables, ladders, and chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.[18]
In the fourth match, Adam Rose and The Bunny faced Slater-Gator (Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil). The Bunny executed a missile dropkick on Slater to win the match.[18]
Next, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield interviewed Roman Reigns via satellite, who announced he would return in late December.[18]
In the fifth match, AJ Lee defended the Divas Championship against Nikki Bella. After Brie Bella kissed AJ, Nikki executed the Rack Attack on AJ to win the title.[18]
Main event
In the main event, Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan, and Ryback) faced Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev, and Luke Harper) (with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury, and Lana) in a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination tag team match. Henry was the first man eliminated by Big Show after a Knockout Punch. Ryback was eliminated by Rusev after a Curb Stomp from Rollins and a jumping savate kick. Rusev tried to put Ziggler through a broadcast table with a splash but missed, fell through the table and was counted out. Rowan was eliminated by Harper after a discus clothesline. Cena was eliminated by Rollins after a Knockout Punch from Big Show, who betrayed Team Cena by shaking Triple H's hand and walking out on the match, eliminating himself by countout and turning heel. Ziggler eliminated Kane with a Zig Zag and Harper with a schoolboy. Ziggler executed a Zig Zag on Rollins but Triple H pulled the referee out of the ring. The Authority attacked Ziggler, but he fought them off and executed a second Zig Zag on Rollins as another referee came out to the ring. Triple H attacked the other referee and attacked Ziggler, executing a Pedigree on him. He called out Scott Armstrong to count the pin, but WCW wrestler Sting appeared, making his WWE debut. Sting knocked out Armstrong and had a staredown with Triple H. Sting then executed a Scorpion Death Drop on Triple H and pulled Ziggler on top of Rollins for the pin and win. Per the pre-match stipulation, The Authority was removed from power. Triple H was fired as the COO, Stephanie was no longer a principal owner of WWE and Kane lost his role as the Director of Operations. The show ended with Triple H and Stephanie heartbroken that they lost their power, and they realized that they were nothing better than the people that clean the floors and they realized that since they were fired from power, they lost the privilege to fly on the corporate jet to WWE events, and they can only work at WWE headquarters and no longer influence the careers and lives of the superstars. The fans chanted "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and "You got fired!" Stephanie would throw a tantrum and not accept the results as she would cry as the event went off the air.[18]
Reception
Survivor Series received generally positive reviews, with particular praise going toward the main event. Speaking of the Ambrose-Wyatt match, Larry Csonka of 411mania said "The match was good, and they set up next month so I really don't have a lot of complaints with this". He gave the match ***3/4 (out of *****). He gave the main event ****, calling it "a very good main event presentation". He gave the entire event a score of 7 out of 10.[19] The main event received the Slammy Award for match of the year 2014.[20]
Aftermath
On the November 24 episode of Raw, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon bid farewell to the WWE Universe, but were interrupted by Daniel Bryan, who returned and served as the general manager for both Raw and SmackDown that week, putting members of Team Authority in unfavorable situations. Mark Henry was put in a match against Ryback, which he lost quickly. Luke Harper defended his Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose, which ended in a disqualification due to Harper pushing Ambrose into the referee. Kane was put into concessions for the night as Concessions Kane. Rusev and Lana were forced to speak out the Pledge of Allegiance or defend the United States Championship in a Battle Royal,[21] which Rusev did successfully on SmackDown.[22] Seth Rollins lost a 3-on-2 handicap match against John Cena and Dolph Ziggler, with Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury chosen as his partners by fans poll. At the end of the show, it was announced that the Anonymous Raw General Manager would be returning the following week.[21]
On the December 29 episode of Raw, after threatening to Curb Stomp guest host Edge (who had to retire due to multiple neck injuries that could leave him paralyzed), Seth Rollins coaxed John Cena into bringing back The Authority after just over a month of exile.[23] The following week, The Authority rewarded Rollins by placing him in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the Royal Rumble also involving Cena and defending champion Brock Lesnar. Also on that same show, the Authority also gave out pre-match stipulated consequences to Team Cena, which resulted in the firings of Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and Ryback.[24] Later, on the January 19, 2015, episode, Cena defeated Rollins, Big Show, and Kane in a 3-on-1 handicap match (with his #1 contendership on the line) with the help of Sting - thus allowing Ziggler, Rowan, and Ryback to get their jobs back.[25] On the January 22, 2015, episode SmackDown, Daniel Bryan welcomed Ziggler, Rowan, and Ryback to celebrate their return to WWE.[26] The three would continue to team as a quasi-faction well into 2015 before going their separate ways just before WrestleMania 31.
On the December 8 episode of Raw, AJ Lee invoked her rematch clause against Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.[27]
Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[17][18] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1P | Fandango (with Rosa Mendes) defeated Justin Gabriel by pinfall | Singles match[28] | 3:15 | ||||
| 2P | Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) defeated Cesaro by submission | Singles match[29] | 5:34 | ||||
| 3 | Damien Mizdow and The Miz defeated Goldust and Stardust (c), Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando) (with El Torito), and The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) by pinfall | Fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[30] | 15:25 | ||||
| 4 | Team Natalya (Natalya, Alicia Fox, Emma, and Naomi) (with Tyson Kidd) defeated Team Paige (Paige, Cameron, Layla, and Summer Rae)1 | 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match[31] | 14:35 | ||||
| 5 | Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose by disqualification | Singles match[32] | 14:00 | ||||
| 6 | Adam Rose and The Bunny defeated Slater-Gator (Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil) by pinfall | Tag team match | 2:36 | ||||
| 7 | Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) defeated AJ Lee (c) by pinfall | Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship[33] | 0:33 | ||||
| 8 | Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, Big Show, and Ryback) defeated Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, and Rusev) (with Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury, Lana, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H)2 | 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match[34] Since Team Authority lost, The Authority was removed from power (Triple H was fired as COO, Kane was fired as Director of Operations and Stephanie McMahon was fired as one of the principal owners of WWE). Had Team Cena lost, Cena's teammates (but not Cena himself) would have been fired. | 43:05 | ||||
| |||||||
Survivor Series elimination matches
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Team | Method | Times[35] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameron | Naomi | Team Paige | Pinfall | 6:12 |
| 2 | Layla | Alicia Fox | 9:29 | ||
| 3 | Summer Rae | Emma | Submission | 12:04 | |
| 4 | Paige | Naomi | Pinfall | 14:35 | |
| Survivor(s): | Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi, and Natalya (clean sweep) | ||||
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Team | Method[35] | Times[18] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Henry | Big Show | Team Authority | Pinfall | 0:50 |
| 2 | Ryback | Rusev | Team Cena | 8:10 | |
| 3 | Rusev | N/A | Team Authority | Countout | 21:00 |
| 4 | Erick Rowan | Luke Harper | Team Cena | Pinfall | 24:14 |
| 5 | John Cena | Seth Rollins | 25:11 | ||
| 6 | Big Show | N/A | Countout | 26:30 | |
| 7 | Kane | Dolph Ziggler | Team Authority | Pinfall | 29:35 |
| 8 | Luke Harper | 31:35 | |||
| 9 | Seth Rollins | 43:05 | |||
| Sole Survivor: | Dolph Ziggler (Team Cena) | ||||
References
- ↑ Lee, Joseph (November 28, 2014). "WWE News: RAW Main Event Statistic, Survivor Series Attendance". 411Mania. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014.
- ↑ Martin, Adam (February 12, 2015). "Buyrates for Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series and TLC in 2014". WrestleView. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ↑ Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
- ↑ "WWE PPV Locations For Remainder Of 2014". gerweck.net. April 13, 2014. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (October 28, 2014). "WWE Raw Results - 10/27/14 (John Cena vs. Seth Rollins)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (November 4, 2014). "WWE Raw Results - 11/3/14 (Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- 1 2 Tedesco, Mike (November 11, 2014). "WWE Raw Results - 11/10/14 (John Cena vs. Ryback)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- 1 2 Tedesco, Mike (November 18, 2014). "WWE Raw Results - 11/17/14 (Survivor Series go home)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (November 22, 2014). "WWE Smackdown Results - 11/21/14 (Survivor Series hype)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
- ↑ Martin, Adam (November 1, 2014). "WWE Smackdown Results - 10/31/14 (Ambrose vs. Cesaro)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
- ↑ Namako, Jason (November 10, 2014). "New match announced for 11/23 WWE Survivor Series PPV". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (October 26, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE HIAC PPV Report 10/26: Complete 'virtual-time' coverage of live PPV - double Hell in a Cell main event of Ambrose vs. Rollins and Cena vs. Orton". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- ↑ Martin, Adam (November 18, 2014). "WWE Tag Team Title match added to Survivor Series PPV". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 21, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ↑ Namako, Jason (November 18, 2014). "New match added to Sunday's WWE Survivor Series PPV". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Caldwell, James (November 23, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE S. Series PPV results 11/23 (Pre-Show): Heyman, Bad News, Fandango's in-ring return, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Caldwell, James (November 23, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE S. Series PPV results 11/23: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Team Cena vs. Team Authority, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
- ↑ Csonka, Larry (November 24, 2014). "Csonka's WWE Survivor Series 2014 Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014.
- ↑ Laboon, Jeff (December 8, 2014). "2014 Slammy Award winners". WWE. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014.
- 1 2 Tedesco, Mike (November 24, 2014). "WWE Raw Results – 11/24/14 (Fallout from Survivor Series)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (November 29, 2014). "WWE Smackdown Results - 11/28/14 (Daniel Bryan appears)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (December 30, 2014). "WWE Raw Results – 12/29/14 (Cena brings Authority back)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (January 6, 2015). "WWE Raw Results – 1/5/15 (The Authority resumes power)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (January 20, 2015). "WWE Raw Results – 1/19/15 (Sting debuts on Raw)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (January 23, 2015). "WWE Smackdown Results – 1/22/15 (Bryan vs. Kane)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (December 9, 2014). "WWE Raw Results - 12/8/14 (2014 Slammy Awards)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ↑ Murphy, Mike (November 23, 2014). "Fandango def. Justin Gabriel". WWE. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ↑ Medalis, Kara A. (November 23, 2014). "Jack Swagger def. Cesaro". WWE. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ↑ Taylor, Scott (November 17, 2014). "WWE Tag Team Champions Gold & Stardust vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos (Fatal 4-Way Match)". WWE. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ↑ Laboon, Jeff (November 18, 2014). "Alicia Fox, Natalya, Naomi & Emma def. Paige, Cameron, Summer Rae & Layla (Divas Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match)". WWE. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ↑ Linder, Zach (November 3, 2014). "Bray Wyatt def. Dean Ambrose by disqualification". WWE. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- ↑ Clapp, John (November 3, 2014). "Nikki Bella def. AJ Lee to win the Divas Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- ↑ Murphy, Ryan (October 27, 2014). "Team Cena def. Team Authority (Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match)". WWE. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- 1 2 "WWE Survivor Series results: John Cena, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, and a guy you may have heard of". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. November 23, 2014. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014.