LIVE Survivor Series thoughts - November 18, 2012

10:44 - PUNK RETAINS!  He's going a full year!!!  And here's hoping he's just a REALLY good seller.

By the way, curious booking of John Cena.  He gets pretty decisively dominated by Ryback, and then gets pinned after being hit by Ryback's finisher a minute or two earlier.  And then he just rolls out of the ring and clumsily walks to the back, with no real reaction.  I wonder if that's going anywhere.

10:43 - Three guys from NXT in a match featuring three former Nexus members.

10:34 - Really cool visual shot of Cena locking Ryback in the STF, while Punk prepares to hit the elbow smash.

10:25 - Strange that we didn't have the in-ring introductions for the title match.

10:22 - Disappointingly  no near gear for Punk.  He's in his black and red gear tonight.  At least he's wearing the design on the shin guards again.

10:20 - I like Cena's new "10 Years Strong" gear.  A navy blue shirt with yellow writing, plus some cargo shorts.  It's a good look.  By the way, my official prediction is Punk retains, by getting a pin on Cena.

10:17 - Now, if our God is truly a good God, CM Punk will retain tonight.  I mean, they won't really end Punk's reign ONE DAY short of a full year, would they?  PLEASE....PUNK RETAIN!!!

10:12 - Wow, surprisingly ending, with Ziggler getting the clean win over Orton.  I'm guessing we'll see Orton turn heel in the coming weeks (or momentarily, against Foley) because of the fact that he blew it himself.  He had the match won, but chose to go for the kill instead of the win.

10:07 - One of the most enjoyable parts of watching a face/heel turn is seeing the performer's renewed fire as they completely change up their fighting style and crowd interaction.  I was never a giant Miz fan, but he was treated pretty crappily this past year.  I hope this face turn is a shot at him becoming a star again.  I am surprised they didn't have him survive, though.

10:01 - And there you go.  I can't stand how they CONSTANTLY have Del Rio get the best of Bryan.  Especially since the fans are SO into one, despite the way he's portrayed, and they seem indifferent to the other, even though he's pushed to the moon.

10:00 - Thrilled to see Bryan lasting this long, but with all the arm selling he's doing, I'm beginning to think we're going to see him tap to Del Rio's arm breaker.  Which sucks because I can't stand Del Rio.

9:55 - I rag on Lawler's jokes A LOT, but the "I thought he was a good bowler" line had me laughing.

9:53 - Looks like I was wrong in both regards.

9:51 - By the way, I think Otunga will be the first person eliminated.  Sadly, I think Bryan will be the first person on the face team.  Despite getting the biggest reaction of the night, thus far.

9:49 - New gear for Kofi.  I'm trying to figure out if it's a reference to anything, or just a new color scheme.

9:46 - Disappointed we're not seeing a remix of a joint Kane/Bryan theme music.  Love Bryan's new jacket, though.  He still needs a haircut, however.

9:44 - So the heel team went from Punk/Miz/ADR/Rhodes/Sandow to Ziggler/ADR/Sandow/Barrett/Otunga -- just two people survived from start to finish.  The face team went from Ryback/Orton/Kofi/Bryan/Kane to Orton/Kofi/Bryan/Kane/Miz.  They fared a bit better, I guess.

9:41 - I'm torn on the result of this match.  The earlier match saw the babyface team win, so logic may dictate that the heel team wins tonight.  However, we're also seeing all heel (hopefully) title retention, so it would be wise to make the faces look good tonight.  So I'm guessing that Orton and Miz survive on the Team Foley.

9:38 - While it would be cool to see Ziggler cash in during his entrance, remember that the Money in the Bank briefcase does NOT transform the WWE Championship into the Hardcore title.  It still has to be a real match in the ring.  Ziggler can't just pin somebody in the aisleway.

9:34 - Odd booking that didn't seem to do Sheamus too many favors.  First he "lost," then he got a DQ victory after being laid out.  Clearly we're getting set up for a Chairs Match now.

9:28 - Having this match BEFORE the elimination match hearkens back to my argument at the Money in the Bank PPV about the importance of match order.  Unless something very specific happens in this match and the elimination match that necessitates the elimination match happening second, why not have that match first?  They're eliminating the suspense of the possibility of a cash in.  It feels like they're working against themselves here by not utilizing the built in tension and suspense.

9:24 - Also worth noting:  The camouflage pattern on Big Show's boots don't even match the pattern and color scheme of the one on his singlet.  One is green based, the other brown based.

9:21 - Just noticed that Big Show now has some equally ugly camouflage boots now, as well.

9:15 - Also, I REALLY wish Big Show would ditch the camo singlet.  There's something about them that I detest.

9:10 - Well, the World Heavyweight Championship match is happening now, before the Ziggler match.  This makes me think Ziggler probably won't cash in, which is too bad.  The World Heavyweight Championship scene desperately needs some new interest and attention, and a surprise Ziggler win would've done that.  Plus, I have little interest in seeing either Sheamus or Big Show as champion.

8:58 - I have to agree with what others are saying about this AJ/Cena storyline.  Fundamentally, what's at stake?  AJ already resigned.  Vickie already gained the position.  And there's no indication that McMahon is looking to reverse that decision.  So where's the risk?  Why is Vickie even pushing the matter?  She has nothing to gain, and AJ has nothing to lose.

And further, nobody has brought up the fact that AJ did leave her hotel room in a bathroom and go into another person's room.  Even if it wasn't Cena's, whose was it?  That's a fair question, but nobody has even asked it.

8:55 - As expected, Antonio Cesaro successfully defended his United States Championship.  I suspect we may see Christian (is he injured) return to challenge him, since they're pushing this "nobody from the United States can beat him" thing so strongly.  Also, with all of these champions retaining (and God willing, Punk will too), I feel even stronger about Ziggler successfully cashing in tonight.

8:45 - Believe it or not, I really liked the babyface backstage segment (except for the fact that Daniel Bryan STILL hasn't gotten a haircut).  Everybody played their parts just right.  Kofi and Miz correctly had tension. Kane and Bryan argued, of course.  And Randy Orton just wanted nothing to do with any of them.  And then when it came time for Foley to rally the troops, Kofi (the only true traditional babyface on the team) was the first to stand by his side.  Overall, really good.

8:41 - Right person won there, and I'm glad Eve won cleanly, too.  My one complaint is that Kaitlyn needs to change her fighting style to be more power-based.  With Beth gone, Kaitlyn is probably the physically strongest Diva on the roster.  She needs to be doing more of a stronger style.

8:32 - So was that the big reveal?  That it was Aksana who attacked Kaitlyn?  Would've been more fun if we discovered it was Layla.

8:29 - A really fun match that picked up a great deal once the eliminations started.  Like I said, I hope we see more of these guys following tonight.  I hope this isn't just another start/stop push for Kidd and Gabriel.

8:25 - A great coming out party for Tyson Kidd right now.  I was never a huge follower of the guy, but it's great to see him getting some real attention here.  I thought it might happen at this year's Money in the Bank, but that appearance never really amounted to anything.  I hope he gets a shot after tonight.

8:19 - Man, has Brodus Clay's stock fallen or what?  The fact that TENSAI elimianted him was pretty telling.  And the fact that that's telling is very telling of how much Tensai's stock has fallen as well.  You follow all that?

8:15 - I may be jinxing the guy, but I've been really impressed with Sin Cara lately.  I'm also pleased we're seeing an ACTUAL match right now.  We all remember the classic Survivor Series matches fondly, but MANY of them were pretty ridiculous....with people getting eliminated off of moves that never would have beaten them before (like basic clotheslines).

8:09 - We've got a bonus elimination match pitting Mysterio/Cara/Brodus/Gabriel/Kidd against Tensai/Young/Titus/Epico/Primo.  I'm guessing we see the faces win, with Sin Cara and Rey Mytserio surviving.

8:07 - Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio debuting some pretty slick looking pink gear (a month late).  And Brodus has new, gold entrance gear.

8:03 - Not surprisingly, really awesome opening video.  I especially loved the countdown for Punk's title reign.  And I do give them credit for making this reign feel special -- they've accentuated his incredible length just the right amount.  However, the clips from early Survivor Series matches makes me really long for those elimination matches.  By the way, if the announced elimination match happens before the World Heavyweight Championship match, I think there's a good chance we'll see a Ziggler cash in.

7:54 - Well, with no Once Upon a Time tonight, I decided to bite the bullet and order Survivor Series.  I'm HOPING we'll get at least one more elimination match added during the show, which I think is at least somewhat possible since so few matches have been announced, and there are quite a few people still not booked (like Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara).  So, check back in about 5 minutes for my LIVE thoughts.  As I simultaneously write my Vampire Diaries review.