Survivor Series 2005: SmackDown Wins the War and The Undertaker Rises from the Fire

Booker and Benoit open by leaning on familiarity rather than urgency. Benoit controls the early grappling and repeatedly threatens the Sharpshooter, while Booker slows the pace with holds, kicks, and deliberate exits whenever the momentum turns. The match improves once Benoit begins stacking German suplexes and the crowd senses the finish approaching. Sharmell's interference provides the decisive opening. Benoit climbs for the diving headbutt, Booker moves, and the Oklahoma roll follows with Booker's feet on the ropes while Sharmell helps secure the leverage. It is a cheating finish, but that serves a seven-match series better than a clean result would. The fourteen minutes are solid, occasionally slow, and technically dependable without reaching the level these two had once achieved together.

Stratus and Melina have a short interbrand title match that is more useful for ongoing character work than for wrestling quality. Trish begins aggressively and takes the fight to MNM at ringside before the referee removes Mercury and Nitro. Melina then controls much of the middle with basic offense and a bow-and-arrow stretch, which exposes how early she still is in her singles development. Mickie James remains the more interesting person at ringside because her assistance to Trish continues the superfan story that will eventually become one of the division's defining programs. Trish recovers, counters the Stratusfaction defense, and wins with a bulldog from the ropes. Six minutes is enough. The match is competent, but the future storyline matters much more than the title defense itself.

Triple H and Flair treat the stipulation as permission to finish an argument rather than simply repeat their cage match. Hunter attacks before Flair can remove his robe, uses the crowd, the floor, a screwdriver, chairs, steps, and the announce tables, and turns Flair into a horrifyingly bloody figure within minutes. Flair's comeback works because every survival feels increasingly unreasonable. He escapes three Pedigrees, attacks the leg, locks in the Figure Four, and repeatedly reaches his feet at eight or nine while Hunter grows more desperate. The final sledgehammer shot ends the resistance after nearly twenty-seven minutes. The violence is excessive by modern standards, but the psychology is excellent. Flair's refusal to stay down becomes the match, and Triple H has to destroy that refusal to win.

Cena and Angle have good chemistry whenever the match is allowed to breathe. Angle attacks the ankle early, Cena responds with power, and the Detroit crowd creates loud dueling support that makes every comeback feel important. The problem is Daivari. His role as corrupt referee quickly requires replacement officials, intentional referee bumps, delayed counts, and constant explanations of who can legally count the fall. Angle still produces strong near falls with the Angle Slam and superplex, while Cena survives long enough for the familiar finishing run. After Daivari is neutralized and another referee arrives, Cena finally lands the FU for the pin. The title defense succeeds at making Cena look impossible to remove, but the amount of officiating machinery distracts from two wrestlers who did not need it.

There is no serious competitive case for this match. Long avoids Bischoff's martial-arts offense, Bischoff stalls, Palmer Canon creates distractions, and the audience waits for the outside interference the segment has been designed to deliver. The Boogeyman's entrance finally gives the crowd something to react to. He attacks Bischoff, Long makes the pin, and the brand-versus-brand scorecard gains another SmackDown victory. Five minutes is still too long because neither general manager can create convincing offense or pacing. The match functions as an angle between authority figures and nothing more. On television, that might be harmless. On a major pay-per-view with only six main-card matches, it occupies space that could have strengthened almost any other program on either roster.

The main event succeeds because the eliminations actually change the story. Lashley looks powerful before Kane's illegal assist removes him, injured Batista gets a brief heroic burst before Big Show pins him, and SmackDown then needs several finishers to eliminate Show. The middle becomes faster as Mysterio and JBL remove Carlito and Masters, setting up the best part of the match: Shawn Michaels alone against three opponents. Michaels eliminates Mysterio and JBL with sudden Sweet Chin Music shots and nearly completes another impossible comeback. Orton waits, survives the final scramble, and catches Michaels with the RKO for the last elimination. The finish gives Orton a third consecutive sole-survivor moment. Undertaker's fiery return afterward turns a very good elimination match into a memorable closing scene.