| Survivor Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringThe Undertaker | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown! | ||
| Date | November 27, 2005 | ||
| City | Detroit,Michigan | ||
| Venue | Joe Louis Arena[1] | ||
| Attendance | 15,000[2] | ||
| Buy rate | 400,000[3] | ||
| Tagline | The Beginning of the End | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Survivor Series chronology | |||
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The 2005Survivor Series was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 19th annualSurvivor Series and took place on November 27, 2005, at theJoe Louis Arena inDetroit,Michigan, held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw andSmackDown!brand divisions. This was the third Survivor Series to take place in Detroit after the1991 and1999 events.
Six matches were contested at the event. In the first of twomain event matches,WWE ChampionJohn Cena defeatedKurt Angle to retain his title. The second main event was an interpromotional5-on-5 Survivor Series match, in which Team SmackDown! (Batista,Rey Mysterio,John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL),Bobby Lashley, andRandy Orton) defeated Team Raw (Shawn Michaels,Kane,The Big Show,Carlito, andChris Masters) after Orton last eliminated Michaels. In another match,Triple H defeatedRic Flair in aLast Man Standing match.
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Survivor Series is an annualprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) produced every November byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since 1987, generally held the week ofThanksgiving. In what has become the second longest running pay-per-view event in history (behind WWE'sWrestleMania), it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania,Royal Rumble, andSummerSlam, referred to as the "Big Four".[4] The event is traditionallycharacterized by havingSurvivor Series matches, which aretag team elimination matches that typically pits teams of four or five wrestlers against each other. The 2005 event was the 19th Survivor Series and featured wrestlers from theRaw andSmackDown!brands. It was scheduled to be held on November 27, 2005, at theJoe Louis Arena inDetroit,Michigan.[2]
The event'scard consisted of sixprofessional wrestling matches involving wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brands, while storylines played out on their weekly television shows,Raw andSmackDown!.[5][6]
The main leadingrivalry leading into the event was between theRaw andSmackDown! brands as a whole, rather than individual wrestlers. The rivalry began onWWE Homecoming, a special episode ofRaw on October 3 when Raw'sgeneral managerEric Bischoff stopped a match involving SmackDown! wrestlers by turning the lights out. In return, Bischoff's SmackDown! counterpart,Theodore Long, interrupted a Raw match. As a result, wrestlers from the two brands started a brawl[7] and interfered in the other's show before facing each other in atag team match atTaboo Tuesday; SmackDown!'sRey Mysterio andMatt Hardy defeated Raw'sChris Masters andGene Snitsky.[8][9] After Taboo Tuesday, Bischoff and Long agreed that teams from each brand would face each other in a5-on-5 Survivor Series match, while the two managers would wrestle in a singles match at Survivor Series.[10] The teams feuded on both shows, andBatista, the captain of the SmackDown! team, suffered an injury after being attacked several times.[11] Qualifying matches for Team SmackDown! were held on the November 11 episode ofSmackDown!, with Rey Mysterio defeatingRandy Orton,Bobby Lashley defeatingOrlando Jordan,Eddie Guerrero defeatingMr. Kennedy, andJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) defeatingChris Benoit.[12] Guerrero was replaced by Orton due to his sudden death on November 13.
Another rivalry heading into the event was betweenJohn Cena andKurt Angle, over theWWE Championship. Their feud began in August, when Bischoff chose Angle as the number one contender to the WWE Championship after Cena defeatedChris Jericho in a You're Fired match to retain the WWE Championship, in which Bischoff was forced to fire Jericho, his #1 wrestler.[13] Angle failed to win the title atUnforgiven, due to Cena beingdisqualified.[14] The two squared off against each other again at Taboo Tuesday in aTriple Threat match that also included Shawn Michaels, and again Cena retained the title.[15] On the November 7 edition ofRaw, Angle refused to compete in a tag team match pitting him and Chris Masters against Cena and Michaels due to the "you suck" chants from the audience.[16] Angle finally agreed to compete if Bischoff silenced the crowd and let him have aspecial guest referee. Angle choseDaivari, who favoured Angle and Masters throughout the match and ultimately disqualified Cena and Michaels for using a chair, which he had ignored earlier when it had been used by Masters.[16]
The rivalry betweenTriple H andRic Flair began atWWE Homecoming, when Triple H returned to WWE television after an absence of three months.[7] The two had been aligned since 2002, as members ofEvolution, and were partners in a tag team match on the show. After they won the match, Triple H attacked Flair with asledgehammer.[7] The week after, Triple H explained his actions, saying that he realized Flair was no longer the legend he was, and he needed to stop Flair.[17] Flair and Triple H met in asteel cage match at Taboo Tuesday, which Flair won.[9] ALast Man Standing match was made between the two for Survivor Series.[16]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Joey Styles(Raw) |
| Jerry Lawler(Raw) | |
| Jonathan Coachman(Raw) | |
| Michael Cole(SmackDown) | |
| Tazz(SmackDown) | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Hugo Savinovich | |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia(Raw) |
| Tony Chimel(SmackDown) | |
| Referees | Mike Chioda(Raw) |
| Jim Korderas(SmackDown) | |
| Chad Patton(Raw) | |
| Charles Robinson(SmackDown) | |
| Jack Doan(Raw) | |
| Nick Patrick(SmackDown) | |
| Mickie Henson(Raw) |
Before the event airedlive onpay-per-view, a match was contested onSunday Night Heat betweenJuventud (accompanied bySuper Crazy andPsicosis) andSimon Dean, which Juventud won.[19]
The first pay-per-view match wasBooker T (accompanied bySharmell) againstChris Benoit in the first match of their "Best of 7 series" for the vacantWWE United States Championship. The match started with Booker T exiting the ring when Benoit gained a slight advantage. The match went back and forth for the first half before Booker T took control. The match saw interference by Sharmell, distracting Benoit, who was on the top ropes. After Benoit missed adiving headbutt, Booker Tpinned Benoit, using the ropes for leverage, to win the match and take a 1–0 lead in the series.[20][21]
In the following match,Trish Stratus (accompanied byMickie James) defended herWWE Women's Championship againstMelina (accompanied byJoey Mercury andJohnny Nitro). Stratus immediately took control until Melina fought back. When Nitro and Mercury interfered, the referee ejected them from ringside. Melina kept control until Stratus fought back withforearm shots. Stratus pinned Melina after adiving bulldog to retain the title.[20][22]
Next,Triple H facedRic Flair in aLast Man Standing match. Flair was still on his way to the ring, when Triple H attacked him and gained the early advantage. After attacking Flair's head with ascrewdriver, Triple H continued usingforeign objects throughout the match, including afolding chair, asledgehammer, and the steel steps. The match went back and forth between Triple H and Flair. Triple H attempted a Pedigree through a broadcast table but Flair countered the move into aback body drop through another broadcast table. Triple H later performed three Pedigrees on Flair but Flair got up each time. Triple H then hit Flair in the back with a sledgehammer, and Flair did not stand by the referee's ten count, giving Triple H the win.[20][23] After the match,Edge andLita came to the ring, and Edge announced that he would be hosting a new show onRaw entitled "The Cutting Edge". Edge noted thatDmitri Young was in the audience, and proceeded to criticize the sports teams ofDetroit. Young replied by insulting Edge and his lack of aworld championship.[20]
In the fourth match,John Cena defended theWWE Championship againstKurt Angle, withDaivari as thespecial guest referee. Early in the match, Angle was able to apply theankle lock on Cena. Cena reached the ropes but Daivari kicked his hand off. An angered Cena slapped Daivari, who tried to disqualify him as a result. Angle, however, stopped him, and both men were knocked out of the ring by Cena. As Daivari was knocked down outside, a Raw referee came out to officiate. After Cena gained the advantage, Angle knocked down the referee, and executed an illegal low blow. Angle called for another referee, but failed to get the win after executing anAngle Slam and asuperplex. After Angle missed amoonsault, Cena went for anFU but Angle countered by holding onto the referee, which led to Angle knocking down the referee. As the other referee was knocked out, SmackDown! referee Charles Robinson came out. Cena then delivered aDDT to Daivari and executed an FU on Angle, pinning him to retain the championship.[20][24]
In the fifth match, Raw General ManagerEric Bischoff faced SmackDown! General ManagerTheodore Long (withPalmer Canon). Two referees from each show officiated the match. Long began by avoiding Bischoff's attacks. As Canon climbed on the apron, and distracted the referees, Bischoff used hisobi to choke Long. Bischoff continued choking Long and applied the sleeper hold. Cannon distracted the referees again as Long hit Bischoff with his shoe.The Boogeyman's music played with Bischoff sending the referees up the ramp to stop him. The Boogeyman delivered apumphandle slam to Bischoff and Long pinned Bischoff to win the match.[20][25]
In the main event, Team SmackDown! (Batista,Rey Mysterio,John "Bradshaw" Layfield,Bobby Lashley, andRandy Orton) faced Team Raw (Shawn Michaels,Kane,Big Show,Carlito, andChris Masters) in the5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match. Michaels eliminated Lashley after achokeslam from Kane. Batista then eliminated Kane after a619 from Mysterio and aspinebuster from Batista. Big Show eliminated Batista after a double chokeslam by Big Show and Kane. Mysterio eliminated Big Show after aClothesline From Hell by JBL, a619 from Mysterio, anRKO by Orton, another Clothesline from Hell by JBL and aseated senton by Mysterio. JBL eliminated Carlito after a Clothesline From Hell. Mysterio eliminated Masters after 619 andDroppin' Da Dime. Michaels eliminated both Mysterio and JBL afterSweet Chin Music. JBL distracted Michaels, which made Michaels execute Sweet Chin Music on JBL. As Michaels turned around, Orton executed an RKO on Michaels and to eliminate him, leaving Orton as the sole survivor.[20][26] After the match, SmackDown! wrestlers came to the ring to celebrate with Orton when hooded figures carrying acasket came out. Lightning struck the casket and set it on fire;The Undertaker emerged attacking most of the wrestlers while Orton and his father"Cowboy" Bob Orton evaded The Undertaker by leaving the ring.
The five-on-five Survivor Series match ended the rivalry between the brands. On December 5, Eric Bischoff was fired as general manager ofRaw byVince McMahon,[27] who took control of theRaw brand as temporary general manager of Raw.[28] McMahon soon started to feud withShawn Michaels, whom he lauded for his part in theMontreal Screwjob, when Michaels told McMahon to move on.[29] This would lead to a feud withD-Generation X (DX) that lasted most of 2006.
After Survivor Series, John Cena and Kurt Angle continued their feud. Before being fired, Bischoff had proposed that Cena should defend his WWE championship in anElimination Chamber match atNew Year's Revolution.[30] On the December 12 episode ofRaw, Kurt Angle,Carlito, Shawn Michaels,Chris Masters, andKane won matches qualifying them for the Elimination Chamber match.[30] After the qualifying matches, Cena faced Angle'sassociate, Daivari in a "You Can't See Me" match, as it would see Cena blindfolded during the match. Cena won as he made Daivari submit to theSTFU.[30] AtNew Year's Revolution, Cena also won the Elimination Chamber match, last eliminating Carlito, but afterward, dropped the title to Edge, who cashed in hisMoney in the Bank contract following the match.
Randy Orton and The Undertaker fought each other atArmageddon in aHell in a Cell match,[31] which the Undertaker won, ending their feud.[32] Triple H moved on to feud with Big Show,[33] and Ric Flair feuded with Edge over theWWE Intercontinental Championship.[30] Chris Benoit continued to feud with Booker T throughout the rest of the year and into 2006; their "Best of Seven series" concluded in January. Randy Orton, who was Booker T's replacement due to akayfabe injury, defeated Benoit in the seventh and final match,[34] giving Booker T the WWE United States Championship. However, Booker T would lose the title to Benoit the following month atNo Way Out.[35]
In May 2006, WWE introduced a third brand dubbedECW. The brand featured wrestlers from the formerExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, as well as new talent.[36]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Team | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Lashley | Shawn Michaels | Team SmackDown! | Pinfall | 7:17 |
| 2 | Kane | Batista | Team Raw | 11:41 | |
| 3 | Batista | Big Show | Team SmackDown! | 12:27 | |
| 4 | Big Show | Rey Mysterio | Team Raw | 14:28 | |
| 5 | Carlito | John "Bradshaw" Layfield | Team Raw | 17:35 | |
| 6 | Chris Masters | Rey Mysterio | Team Raw | 19:12 | |
| 7 | Rey Mysterio | Shawn Michaels | Team SmackDown! | 20:30 | |
| 8 | John "Bradshaw" Layfield | Shawn Michaels | Team SmackDown! | 20:44 | |
| 9 | Shawn Michaels | Randy Orton | Team Raw | 24:01 | |
| Sole Survivor: | Randy Orton (Team SmackDown!) | ||||