All Rise...

Judge Franck Tabouring survived this show without knocking himself to the ground. It's a first.

Editor's Note

Our reviews of WWE: Survivor Series Anthology, Volume 1 (1979-1991) (published December 3rd, 2009), WWE: Survivor Series Anthology, Volume 2 (1992-1996) (published January 28th, 2010), WWE: Survivor Series 2008 (published January 21st, 2009), and WWE: Survivor Series 2011 (published January 15th, 2012) are also available.

The Charge

Who will be the ultimate survivor?

The Case

It's that time of the year again. WWE's finest go head-to-head in a series of large Elimination and Triple Threat matches in WWE: Survivor Series 2009. While everybody tries to emerge as a winner, there can only be so many survivors. Here is the complete lineup:

• The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, Sheamus & Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Finlay, Evan Bourne & Shelton Benjamin in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
WWE's popular PPV kicks off with a tag team elimination match. It's quite a ride. Clocking in at 21 minutes, this is a fast-paced and diverse battle, with each contestant capably pulling off a bunch of impressive high-risk maneuvers. The finish isn't the most exciting, but for an opener, this one sure delivers the goods.

• Rey Mysterio vs. Batista
Here's a disappointing match, for sure. Even though this 6-minute fight between Batista and Rey Mysterio starts off at a rather fast pace, the level of wrestling entertainment slips soon after, resulting in a lame, monotonous matchup that could've turned out much better. I really don't know what got into WWE's writers here, but they messed up big time.

• Kofi Kingston, MVP, Mark Henry, Christian & R-Truth vs. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk & William Regal in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Much like the opening match, this 20-minute tag team elimination matchup proves to be quite exciting. Ten popular WWE wrestlers go head-to-head in this one, and everybody in the ring contributes. Kofi Kingston especially is always fun to watch, but Christian, MVP, and Ted DiBiase also offer a great variety of dives, kicks, punches, and other moves. This fight definitely makes up for its disappointing predecessor.

• Undertaker vs. Big Show vs. Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Three of WWE's legendary athletes compete against each other in this title match, and although it starts off without any big surprises, the action accelerates later on and turns this 13-minute battle into a satisfying matchup boasting plenty of entertainment. The fact that Big Show and Jericho enter this one as a team explains why the beginning is a tad too monotonous, but the desire to walk out as a champion does eventually kick things up a notch. Good match, for sure.

• Mickie James, Melina, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim & Eve vs. Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox, Layla & Jillian in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
To tell you the truth, the diva matches have improved in quality a bit recently, and this big elimination matchup isn't that bad. Clocking in at 11 minutes, this is a fast-paced fight with tons of pinfalls, and while some of the women struggle a bit with proper coordination, the rest of them put on a decent enough show to keep the audience awake. It's not a match that stands out, but it does the job.

• John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
This is obviously the big one of the night, and it starts off with a bang. The pace drops a bit later on, but overall, this 22-minute main event closes this PPV with spice and energy. I wouldn't go as far and call this a DX classic or anything, but it's definitely more amusing to follow than some of the event's previous battles. That said, watching Triple H and Shawn Michaels colliding with John Cena turns out to be quite enjoyable, and the powerful moves we see from each of these wrestlers definitely pack a solid punch.

The full-frame transfer on the disc offers solid television picture quality, while the audio transfer performs decent enough as well. As usual, the bonus section on this WWE DVD stinks, offering only a lame backstage segment with Christian and a short post-show clip featuring DX.

WWE: Survivor Series: 2009 certainly won't go down as a memorable WWE pay-per-view, but most of these matches at least deliver some solid wrestling action. From what I've seen recently, it looks like the WWE may finally be getting it right. Only time and future PPVs will tell…

The Verdict

Not guilty.

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