Survivor Series (2008)

Survivor Series
Promotion		World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)	Raw SmackDown ECW
Date	November 23, 2008
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Venue	TD Banknorth Garden
Attendance	12,498[1]
Buy rate	319,000
Tagline(s)	Spoilin' for a Fight
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous Cyber Sunday Next → Armageddon
Survivor Series chronology
← Previous 2007 Next → 2009

The 2008 Survivor Series was the 22nd annual

.

The

and three five-on-five elimination tag team matches.

Production

Background

Storylines

The event featured professional wrestling matches involving wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed heroes or villains as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw, SmackDown, and ECW.

Advertising on WWE programming and on the Survivor Series promotional poster had foreshadowed the return of

The main feud on the SmackDown brand involved Triple H, Vladimir Kozlov and Jeff Hardy, who were competing for Triple H's WWE Championship. At No Mercy in October, Hardy came close to winning the WWE title from Triple H but failed to do so when Triple H pinned him with the roll-up. Kozlov was one of the choices for Triple H's challengers at Cyber Sunday for the fans to vote, but Hardy won the poll and faced Triple H for the title, a match in which Hardy lost again. Then, after Kozlov demanded a WWE title match against Triple H on SmackDown, General manager Vickie Guerrero put Kozlov in a match against The Undertaker on the November 7 episode of SmackDown, adding that if Kozlov won, he would challenge Triple H at Survivor Series for the WWE Championship. Kozlov won the match, albeit via disqualification after Hardy interfered and hit Kozlov with a steel chair. However, after seeing Hardy defeat The Undertaker in an Extreme Rules match the following week, Guerrero scheduled Hardy in a non-title match against Triple H on the November 21 episode of SmackDown, stating that should Hardy win, she would add him to the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series, making it a Triple Threat match. Hardy won the match and earned the title opportunity. However, it was announced during the event that Hardy was found unconscious in a hotel stairwell in Boston, casting doubt over whether he would be able to compete in the match.^[7]

casket match

.

Another feud from SmackDown heading into Survivor Series took place between The Undertaker and

despite the Big Show's interference. On the November 7 episode, Big Show challenged Undertaker to a casket match at Survivor Series.

Three inter-promotional

.

Another match featured Batista captaining the team of

, William Regal. After the match, Batista entered the ring and attacked Orton, leading all of the superstars present to get involved in what became an out-of-control brawl that ended the show.

The third match announced was a

due to interference from Maryse. The feud between Phoenix and McCool restarted on the November 17 episode of Raw, when Raw Diva, Kelly Kelly fought SmackDown Diva Victoria and was victorious. As a result of this, Victoria attacked her opponent after the bell before Kelly's fellow Raw Divas ran to her rescue.

Event

Other on-screen personnel

Role:	Name:
English commentators	Michael Cole (Raw)
	Jerry Lawler (Raw)
	Jim Ross (SmackDown)
	Tazz (SmackDown)
	Todd Grisham (ECW)
	Matt Striker (ECW)
Spanish commentators	Carlos Cabrera
	Hugo Savinovich
Backstage interviewers	Eve Torres
	Todd Grisham
Ring announcer	Lilian Garcia (Raw)
	Justin Roberts (SmackDown)
Referees	Charles Robinson
	John Cone
	Mike Chioda
	Scott Armstrong
	Marty Elias
	Chad Patton

Before Survivor Series aired on pay-per-view, The Brian Kendrick defeated Kung Fu Naki in an untelevised match.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with a Survivor Series elimination match between Team HBK (

on Michaels but Michaels countered with one of his own to eliminate Morrison and bring the victory to his team. Khali, Mysterio and Michaels were the survivors.

The second match was a Divas Survivor Series elimination match between Team Raw (

). Victoria was eliminated by Kelly Kelly with a Rana pin. Kelly Kelly was eliminated by Maryse after a Side Slam Backbreaker. McCool was eliminated by Mickie after a Mickie-DDT. James was eliminated by Maryse with a roll-up. Natalya was eliminated by Candice after a Spear. Hall was eliminated by Maria with a victory roll. Maria was eliminated by Candice with a Bridging Northern Light Suplex pin. Candice was eliminated by Maryse after submitting to a modified Figure Four Leglock. Maryse was eliminated by Phoenix after a Glam Slam, leaving Phoenix as the sole survivor.

Next, The Undertaker faced Big Show in a Casket Match. During the match, Undertaker executed a Leg Drop through a broadcast table on Big Show. Big Show performed a Chokeslam on Undertaker and tried to walk away but Undertaker stopped him. The two fought on the entrance ramp, where Big Show set up the casket. The match ended when Undertaker performed an Irish Whip on Big Show, knocking him into a casket. As the casket fell over, Undertaker won the match.

The fourth match was a Survivor Series elimination match between Team Orton (

). Regal was eliminated by Punk after a GTS. R-Truth was eliminated by Benjamin after a Paydirt. Kingston was eliminated by Orton after a Rope-Hung DDT. Punk was eliminated by Rhodes after a Silver Spoon DDT. Hardy was eliminated by Henry after a World's Strongest Slam. Henry was eliminated by Batista after a Spear. Benjamin was eliminated by Batista after a Batista Bomb. Batista was eliminated by Orton after an RKO, leaving Orton and Rhodes as the survivors.

Main event matches

The first main event match began as a standard match for the WWE Championship between Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov. After Triple H executed a Pedigree on Kozlov, Vickie Guerrero changed the match into a Triple threat match also involving Edge, marking Edge's first appearance since SummerSlam. Edge performed a Spear on Triple H but was attacked by Jeff Hardy, who was originally scheduled to be in the match. Hardy tried to hit Edge with a chair but hit Triple H instead. Hardy then also hit Kozlov with the chair but Edge performed a Spear on Hardy. Edge pinned Triple H to win the title. This was the first time that the WWE Championship changed hands in the PG Era.

In the final match, Chris Jericho defended the World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena, who returned from injury after suffering a herniated disc at SummerSlam. During the match, Cena attempted a Five Knuckle Shuffle on Jericho but Jericho applied the Liontamer on Cena, which he countered. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho but Cena reached the ropes to break the hold. Cena performed an FU on Jericho for a near-fall. Cena attempted another FU on Jericho but Jericho countered with a Codebreaker for a near-fall. Cena applied the STF on Jericho but Jericho countered with a small package for a near-fall. Cena performed another FU on Jericho to win the title.

Reception

The event was voted by Wrestling Observer Newsletter as the worst pay-per-view of 2008; the WWE Championship match was voted as the worst match of 2008; and Jeff Hardy's hotel room unconsciousness, used as the kayfabe reason for his removal from said WWE Championship match was voted as that year's Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic.

The event received 319,000 pay per view buys, down from 341,000 the previous year, which contributed to a decline of $4 million in pay-per-view revenue for WWE in the fourth quarter of 2008.^[8]

Aftermath

After Edge returned and captured the WWE Championship, Triple H, Jeff Hardy, and Vladimir Kozlov participated in a Beat The Clock challenge for the number one contender's spot. Kozlov lost his match to

against his brother Matt Hardy, who claimed responsibility for attacking him.

The feud between John Cena and Chris Jericho continued on into Armageddon, where Cena defeated Jericho to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

The day after Survivor Series,

. On the December 26 episode of SmackDown, Maryse defeated Michelle to capture the Divas Championship in a match where Maria was the guest referee.

Results

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times dark match

Survivor Series elimination matches

^1

Eliminated	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Team	Method	Time[1]
1	JTG	MVP	Team HBK	Pinfall	01:41
2	MVP	The Great Khali	Team JBL	Pinfall	01:54
3	Kane	Rey Mysterio	Team JBL	Pinfall	03:26
4	Shad Gaspard	The Miz	Team HBK	Pinfall	06:30
5	The Miz	Rey Mysterio	Team JBL	Pinfall	11:45
6	John "Bradshaw" Layfield	N/A	Team JBL	Countout	17:57
7	John Morrison	Shawn Michaels	Team JBL	Pinfall	18:13
Survivor(s):	Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio and The Great Khali (Team HBK)

^2

Eliminated	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Team	Method	Time[1]
1	Victoria	Kelly Kelly	Team SmackDown	Pinfall	02:54
2	Kelly Kelly	Maryse	Team Raw	Pinfall	03:23
3	Michelle McCool	Mickie James	Team SmackDown	Pinfall	05:07
4	Mickie James	Maryse	Team Raw	Pinfall	05:26
5	Natalya	Candice Michelle	Team SmackDown	Pinfall	06:45
6	Jillian Hall	Maria	Team Raw	Pinfall	07:44
7	Maria	Candice Michelle	Team SmackDown	Pinfall	07:55
8	Candice Michelle	Maryse	Team Raw	Pinfall	08:38
9	Maryse	Beth Phoenix	Team SmackDown	Pinfall	09:39
Sole Survivor:	Beth Phoenix (Team Raw)

^3

Eliminated	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Team	Method	Time[1]
1	William Regal	CM Punk	Team Orton	Pinfall	00:11
2	R-Truth	Shelton Benjamin	Team Batista	Pinfall	07:38
3	Kofi Kingston	Randy Orton	Team Batista	Pinfall	10:45
4	CM Punk	Cody Rhodes	Team Batista	Pinfall	13:06
5	Matt Hardy	Mark Henry	Team Batista	Pinfall	14:22
6	Mark Henry	Batista	Team Orton	Pinfall	14:32
7	Shelton Benjamin	Batista	Team Orton	Pinfall	15:06
8	Batista	Randy Orton	Team Batista	Pinfall	16:13
Survivor(s):	Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes (Team Orton)

References

External links

• Official Survivor Series website