WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event
The 2015 Survivor Series was the 29th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on November 22, 2015, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, which was the first time the state hosted the event. The event celebrated The Undertaker's 25th anniversary in WWE, his debut occurring at the 1990 Survivor Series. This was also the last Survivor Series event to be held before the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, and the final Survivor Series event until to not carry the brand supremacy theme.
Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship; however, immediately after the match, Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Reigns to win the title. In another prominent match, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, thus reuniting The Brothers of Destruction, and defeated The Wyatt Family (represented by Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper).
Production.
Background.
Survivor Series is an annual gimmick event produced every November by WWE since 1987. The second longest running pay-per-view (PPV) event in history (behind WWE's WrestleMania), it is one of the promotion's original four PPVs, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam, referred to as the "Big Four". The event is traditionally characterized by having Survivor Series matches, which are tag team elimination matches that typically pits teams of four or five wrestlers against each other. Announced on July 13, 2015, the 2015 event was the 29th event in the Survivor Series chronology and was scheduled to be held on November 22, 2015, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, which was the first time the state hosted the event. In addition to airing on traditional PPV, the event was livestreamed on the WWE Network.
Storylines.
The event comprised nine matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, "Raw" and "SmackDown".
After Seth Rollins retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Hell in a Cell, a number one contender was determined the next night on "Raw". Eight wrestlers that were victorious at Hell in a Cell competed in singles matches, with the winners advancing to a fatal four-way match. Roman Reigns emerged victorious and was named the number one contender. However, on November 4, Rollins suffered multiple legitimate knee injuries at a live event in Dublin, Ireland; therefore, the title was vacated and a tournament was set up to crown a new champion. The tournament began on the November 9 episode of "Raw", with the semifinals and the final match scheduled for Survivor Series. Since Reigns was already the number one contender, Triple H offered him to pass directly into the finals if he would join The Authority. Reigns refused, preferring to go through the tournament. On the November 16 episode of "Raw", Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens, and United States Champion Alberto Del Rio advanced to the semifinals with victories over Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Neville, and Kalisto respectively, setting up Reigns vs. Del Rio and Ambrose vs. Owens in the semifinals at the event.
On the November 2 episode of "Raw", Paige defeated Becky Lynch, Brie Bella, and Sasha Banks in a fatal four-way match to earn a Divas Championship match against Charlotte at Survivor Series.
At Hell in a Cell, The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and Braun Strowman) attacked The Undertaker after he had lost to Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell match and carried him out of the arena. The following night on "Raw", Undertaker's brother Kane confronted The Wyatt Family but was also overpowered and carried out. On the November 9 episode of "Raw", The Undertaker and Kane returned and attacked The Wyatt Family. On the November 12 episode of "SmackDown", Wyatt challenged the brothers to a tag team match at Survivor Series against two handpicked members of The Wyatt Family, which they accepted.
On the October 22 episode of "SmackDown", Tyler Breeze made his WWE debut and attacked Dolph Ziggler. On the October 29 episode, after Ziggler defeated The Miz, Breeze attacked Ziggler. On the November 2 episode of "Raw", Breeze distracted Ziggler during a match with Kevin Owens, allowing Owens to get the victory. On the November 19 episode of "SmackDown", after Breeze defeated Zack Ryder, Ziggler attacked Breeze. Later in the show, a match between Ziggler and Breeze was scheduled for the event.
ISIS threat.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated an alleged threat by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) at the event. On November 21, 2015, the FBI released the statement, "The FBI is aware of reports of an alleged threat that includes an Atlanta, Georgia venue and event. While we take all threats seriously, we do not have specific or credible information of an attack at this time. We have, however, made the proper notifications as we continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to keep our community safe." "International Business Times" reported that the hacker group Anonymous were responsible for uncovering the information. WWE released a statement stating that the show would go on as scheduled. The show went on with no attack from ISIS.
Event.
Pre-show.
During the Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley), Goldust, Neville, and Titus O'Neil faced The Cosmic Wasteland (Stardust, Konnor, and Viktor), The Miz, and Bo Dallas in a Survivor Series elimination tag team match. Viktor was eliminated by Goldust after a snap scoop powerslam. Konnor was eliminated by Bubba Ray after a side slam. Neville was eliminated by The Miz after a Bo-Dog by Dallas, followed by a Skull Crushing Finale by The Miz. The Miz was eliminated by Goldust with a schoolboy pin. Dallas was eliminated by O'Neil after a Clash of the Titus. Stardust was eliminated by D-Von after a 3-D by the Dudleyz, leaving Goldust, The Dudleyz, and Titus O'Neil as the survivors.
Preliminary matches.
The actual pay-per-view opened with the semifinals in the tournament for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In the first semifinal, Roman Reigns faced Alberto Del Rio (accompanied by Zeb Colter). In the end, as Del Rio leapt off the top rope, Reigns avoided Del Rio and executed a Spear on Del Rio to win the match and advance to the finals.
Next, Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens competed in the second semifinal match. In the end, as Owens attempted a Pop Up Powerbomb, Ambrose countered with a Hurricanrana and executed Dirty Deeds on Owens to win the match and advance to the finals.
After that, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods), Sheamus, and King Barrett faced The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara), and Ryback in a Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match. Barrett was eliminated by Sin Cara after a Springboard Senton Bomb. Jimmy Uso was eliminated by Xavier Woods after a Backbreaker/Diving Double Foot Stomp combination with Kingston. Sin Cara was eliminated by Sheamus after a Brogue Kick. Big E was eliminated by Jey Uso after a Samoan Splash. After Big E was eliminated, Kingston and Woods left with Big E, eliminating Kingston and Woods. In the end, Sheamus received a Superkick from Jey Uso, a Hurricanrana from Kalisto and was eliminated by Ryback after Shellshocked, leaving Ryback, Kalisto and Jey as the survivors.
In the fourth match, Charlotte defended the WWE Divas Championship against Paige. During the match, Charlotte executed a Natural Selection on Paige, causing Paige to roll outside the ring. Paige climbed onto the barricade and taunted Charlotte, who also climbed up and executed a Spear on Paige. Charlotte, with her arms under the bottom rope, forced Paige to submit to the Figure Eight Leglock to retain.
In the fifth match, Tyler Breeze faced Dolph Ziggler. Breeze executed an Unprettier on Ziggler to win the match.
In the penultimate match, The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) fought Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper of The Wyatt Family, with Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman at ringside. Before the match, Undertaker and Kane performed a Double Chokeslam on Rowan. During the match, Undertaker and Kane performed a double Chokeslam on Strowman through a broadcast table. In the climax, Wyatt performed a Spider Walk to taunt his opponents, however, the Undertaker and Kane sat up simultaneously. Undertaker and Kane performed a Double Chokeslam on Wyatt and Harper before Undertaker pinned Harper after a Tombstone Piledriver to win the match.
Main event.
In the main event, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose fought in the tournament final for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, Ambrose leapt off the top rope but was intercepted by Reigns with a Superman Punch for a near-fall. Reigns performed a Spear on Ambrose for a near-fall. When Reigns attempted another Spear, Ambrose shoved him into the ring post and rolled him up for a near-fall. Ambrose executed Dirty Deeds on Reigns for a near-fall. Reigns performed another Spear on Ambrose to win the championship.
After the match, Reigns celebrated in the ring with his newly won belt as pyrotechnics went off and confetti started falling in the arena. Triple H then came in the ring to congratulate Reigns, and offered him a handshake, but Reigns attacked him with a Spear. Sheamus then surprised Reigns with a Brogue Kick and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. After Reigns kicked out of a pinfall attempt, Sheamus executed another Brogue Kick on Reigns to win the championship.
Reception.
The entire event and also "particularly the event's finish, was widely met with negative reviews and utter disappointment from observers", as described by Adam Silverstein of "CBS Sports". This was due to "mundane matches that failed to captivate the audience" and "replicated a clunky finish from a pay-per-view just one year earlier", resulting in "a new World Heavyweight Champion in Sheamus that no one desires to see as part of the main event picture". Silverstein highlighted the negative reaction of former WWE Champion Mick Foley, who was "on the verge of becoming a former WWE fan" after seeing how "WWE has completely failed to capitalize not only on the male wrestlers drawing positive reactions from the crowd" like "Ziggler to Cesaro to Kevin Owens", but also the "female performers who are promoted well on the company's NXT developmental show but hardly given any time to 'get over'" on the WWE main roster.
Aaron Oster of "Rolling Stone" declared that Survivor Series was "a night that started with much promise, but ended in disappointment". While the event was not "awful" due to a "phenomenal" entrance for the Undertaker on his 25th anniversary and three "solid" matches: the tournament semi-finals and the traditional Survivor Series tag match, "the main event ... never connected and concluded in a way that cast a pall over the rest of the show – and quite possibly the company, too." This was because "Sheamus cannot be the guy at the top of your card every night ... When a bad guy's biggest heel quality is his facial hair, it doesn't bode well." Also, it was "hard to buy" Roman Reigns as "a plucky underdog being screwed over by the Authority", when leading into the event Reigns "still seemed like Vince McMahon's handpicked guy". For other topics, Oster said the "whole night was a tribute to the Undertaker", who revived the "dead" crowd. Tyler Breeze's character was enhanced by using the Unprettier move, while Dolph Ziggler, in copying Shawn Michaels' dressing and mannerisms, "just needs to figure out who he is, and quickly." Lastly, Oster questioned, "If they are going to go completely random with the Survivor Series matches, are they really worth having?"
James Cadwell of "Pro Wrestling Torch" rated the Del Rio-Reigns semi-final three-and-a-half stars out of five, "really good" in spite of the "outcome was never in doubt, removing some of the drama". The Ambrose-Owens semi-final was rated three-and-a-quarter stars, due to both wrestlers being "really good in the ring and they had strong chemistry building to the finish". For the women's match, Caldwell