Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £17.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 182 minutes
The confirmation of Survivor Series 2010 was a bit of a surprise after Vince McMahon stated that the show had run its course in February of last year during a conference call for shareholders. This was quite a shock since the event has been a staple of the WWE's annual programming since its inception in November of 1987. Can you imagine a pay-per-view calendar without the action-packed Thanksgiving tradition known as Survivor Series? It's certainly hard, but after last year's show it's not as difficult to contemplate as say five years ago. What really is the point of Survivor Series if the very foundations for the super-card – the elimination matches – are thrown together at the last minute seemingly without a care in the world? But oh look, a 2011 edition is already scheduled and at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, no less. But as for 2010's? With a formidable first half and a sadly weak second, the 24th annual Survivor Series pay-per-view was a mixed bag. 
This was a pretty good way of opening the show. Ted DiBiase had a surprisingly decent match with Goldust back at Bragging Rights, the event prior to Survivor Series, and yet again performed well on the night against the ever-excellent Daniel Bryan. DiBiase came up short and began a losing streak following his victory the previous month, but there was and is no doubting his ability. This was a back and forth contest with a couple of great spots, including a huge suicide dive by Bryan to his opponent on the outside, and a titanic back Superplex from the top rope that sounded like a gun went off when both Superstars came crashing down on the canvas. This impressive display from both men gave way to a short series between the two, but much like the US Champ's rematches against Dolph Ziggler, they never topped their original encounter.
The Miz happened to show his face after the match, deciding to take out his former rival Bryan with his Money in the Bank briefcase, before announcing that his future reign as WWE Champion would not be a case of if, but when. Of course, he would live up to his months of talk 24 hours later when he defeated Randy Orton to capture the title.
Sheamus vs. John Morrison ???
The biggest surprise of the night came in this match when the seemingly unlikely pairing of the Celtic Warrior and the Michael Cole-dubbed Prince of Parkour went toe-to-toe and put on a match that surpassed the expectations of many, including myself. Morrison's pretty shocking victory over the former two-time WWE Champion sparked the beginning of a great few weeks for the former Tough Enough competitor, as he climbed towards a WWE Title opportunity against former tag team partner The Miz. Sheamus and Morrison met a few more times in the then near future, but none of the rematches, including the originator at Survivor Series, could hold a candle to their instant classic of a Ladder Match at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in December.
Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kaval ??
After defeating Ziggler on the final episode of SmackDown before the event (stupidly the only televised victory in his WWE career aside from NXT), Kaval decided to invoke his prize for winning the second season of NXT: a championship match at a pay-per-view of his choice. That turned out to be just a few days later in Miami as Kaval came out with a loss against Ziggler despite a strong performance in not only his very first title shot in the WWE, but his first match on pay-per-view. In this bout, we saw all the classic tropes of Kaval, who channeled his old aliases Low Ki and Senshi to utilise unique offense against his foe, from his Phoenix Splash (although it didn't connect), a variation of the flash kick that John Morrison 'borrowed', and the handspring kick, which very nearly legitimately knocked Ziggler out cold. This was a decent bout overall, but the slow and anticlimactic finish with the botched pinfall attempts really hurt it.
10-Man Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match ???
Team Alberto Del Rio, headed of course by the arrogant Mexican aristocrat, and featuring Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and Tyler Reks, took on Team Mysterio, comprised of Mr. 619 himself, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Chris Masters and the hometown hero Montel Vontavious Porter (shortly before he was released), who was also the first competitor to be eliminated, much to the dismay of the fans in attendance.
The main problem with this match was its mere existence: it felt so thrown together since it was the only traditional Survivor Series match on the entire card when recent years have seen two or three. That and the fact that Bragging Rights saw an even bigger tag team contest. After all, this was the initial concept of the event. Survivor Series really wasn't much of a Survivor Series perse. Still, this lonely bout was good, yet not great. The decision to have Drew McIntyre be the last remaining Superstar from Team Del Rio instead of its team captain didn't make much sense and made the match feel less important by the time of its conclusion.
Divas Championship Handicap Match: Lay-Cool (c) vs. Natalya ?
I'm simply boycotting the critiquing of Divas matches here on Screenjabber until they change up a bit and are given more than three minutes. The only noteworthy part of this bout was the return of Beth Phoenix as she took apart the retaining Layla and Michelle McCool. Enough said.
World Heavyweight Championship: Kane (c) vs. Edge ??
This was a just about passable battle for the title that culminated in an incredibly weak finish. A 'controversial' double pinfall resulting in a tie and so Kane retained the World Heavyweight Championship? I don't think that's in the wrestling rulebook, but whatever. Since this match took place during the whole Paul Bearer kidnapping angle, the empty wheelchair that the Rated R-Superstar symbolically brought down to the ring during his entrance was used as an instrument of retribution post-match, when Edge drove the Big Red Monster right through the crowd barrier. Yes, that exact segment of the crowd barrier that never used to be there, but has been smashed more times than I can remember in the last year or so. At least these two had a better match to come in their feud: the highly entertaining Last Man Standing war from the first episode of SmackDown in 2011.
WWE Tag Team Championship: Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel (c) vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov ?
The Nexus retained the gold in the proverbial comedy match of the evening. Well, what else would it be with the team of Marella and Kozlov? This was five minutes of the Moscow Mauler being mauled himself by the quick-tagging champions, only to finally slap hands with Marella to allow the faux Italian to get a few of his goofy spots in and be pinned after a couple of unsuccessful attempts at delivering the Cobra. Boring.
WWE Championship – Special Guest Referee John Cena: Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett ??
In terms of the match itself, it was essentially a reworking of Orton and Barrett's last encounter at Bragging Rights, so it was fairly standard stuff. But what overshadowed the overall quality of the main event was the storyline. Rather than adding to the wrestling, the bitter Nexus/Cena feud became the focus far beyond how solid a match the two competitors could put on to close the show. I didn't care for the bout and only wanted to see how it would end. I was engrossed in Cena's do or die decision that loomed over his duty as the guest referee, not whether the WWE Champion and challenger could potentially steal the show. They didn't, but that's not the point. You shouldn't solely be anticipating the ending of the headline match on a pay-per-view. That's just not how professional wrestling should work.
Regarding Cena's choice to push Barrett into an RKO for the champ's victory, it was a logical finish and one that perfectly set up the last chapter of the long rivalry going into TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in December.
EXTRAS ? As is usual with these DVD releases of pay-per-view events, it's an unfortunately bare bones affair. The only special feature here is from the November 22 edition of Monday Night RAW, when The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank privilege to defeat Randy Orton and become the WWE Champion, and the Viper's successful title defense against Wade Barrett just before. It's a great moment, but I wish there was more.