Survivor Series 2012

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 163 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: March 11 2013

Compared to last year's Survivor Series, held in Madison Square Garden and hosting the in-ring return of The Rock as well as the beginning of CM Punk's historically-long WWE Title reign, Survivor Series 2012 is a more low-key event, with some of its content indistinguishable from typical action on Raw or SmackDown. Mind you, it features some good bouts and a major development at its climax, so it is also far from a dud either.

The opening 10-man Survivors match, whilst unannounced and feeling like filler, is enjoyable and contains some nice spots, all of which make it a fine way to start proceedings (although it demonstrates how far Rey Mysterio's star has fallen since his return from a long lay-off in July). Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn is superior to typical Divas Title matches in recent times, whilst Antonio Cesaro vs. R-Truth really does exist solely to fill PPV time.

Big Show vs. Sheamus isn't as good as their corker at Hell In A Cell, but it is still a strong effort by both men, and despite the frustrating finish for a card of this significance (it's the third year in a row that the World Heavyweight Championship match at Survivor Series doesn't have a proper ending), the post-match scenes at least keep the crowd engaged and distract them from the fact that this was only a bridge to extend the feud between Show and Sheamus. The following Survivors match pitting Team Foley (although Mick is only a manager) against Team Ziggler is rather entertaining, but since this was originally meant to see CM Punk captain the heel squad, one wonders why the match really has reason to happen. It does see Dolph Ziggler achieve a major moment in his career, though.

The main event between CM Punk, John Cena and Ryback for the WWE Title is no better or worse than any three-way that you're likely to see, despite it being arguably the strongest match that WWE can present involving its full-time stars at present. What makes this match stand out is the arrival of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose (since named The Shield), who make a huge impact in their WWE main roster debuts. If their fortunes since then have told us anything, it's that the trio represent the future of the company, and so this could one day be looked at with the same fondness as Survivors debuts for the likes of Rocky Maivia, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker.

That being said, their run-in is not enough to justify the purchase of this DVD, since on the whole it's an insignificant chapter in the history of Survivor Series. There's some good action for sure, but on the whole, the show (which, by the way, makes an error with its match listing on the back cover; see if you can spot it if you pick up a copy) is one that only die-hard fans and collectors will be interested in reliving. An entertaining show, but by no means WWE's best of the year.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 - Okay