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| Survivors! |
Simon Gallagher |
Should WWE put Survivor Series back the way it was?
WWE has been on somewhat of a themed pay-per-view obsessed kick in the last year or so. Initially filtered in slowly with Taboo Tuesday debuting in 2004, we’ve since seen Vengeance change into Night Of Champions, One Night Stand turn into Extreme Rules and the latest set of PPVs – Breaking Point, Hell In A Cell and Tables, Ladders And Chairs – all appear on the calendar. But whatever happened to one of Vince’s original creations, the one that could be dubbed the ‘first themed PPV’ – the Thanksgiving tradition of Survivor Series? The WWE’s second longest running pay-per-view behind WrestleMania may still be very much part of the current schedule, but it’s hardly anything special these days.
Gone are the cards packed with classic ten-man tag team elimination matches; instead, one of the WWE’s original cornerstones is now pretty much treated like any other standard PPV or weekly show and the unique elimination combat that made such a different event is usually reduced to just one match on the card in a weak homage to the popular concept (and worse, one usually involving Divas). True, Survivor Series has given us some memorable moments over the years in spite of the elimination matches, providing the platform for the company’s first ever Casket match in 1992, the first ever Elimination Chamber match in 2002 (itself a twist on the event’s concept) and, of course, the never-forgotten ‘Montreal Screw Job’ that WWE loves to remind us of so much. But with so many monthly shows in a calendar year and WWE hell bent on continuing with its themed PPVs, you have to wonder why the one that started it all is only a shell of its former self. Could bringing back the classic team format benefit both the current product, giving spotlight to more superstars and storylines and help freshen up the PPV schedule even more so? It’s certainly possible…
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 47 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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