Batista, John Bradshaw Layfield, Lashley, Randy Orton & Rey Mysterio vs. Carlito, Chris Masters, Kane, Shawn Michaels & The Big Show

[5.0] "This was pretty weak right from even before the bell. Smackdown went out with a fully stocked team, but Raw just has Shawn Michaels and Kane. I get Angle, Triple H, and Cena had other matches on this PPV, but it undeniably would've been a way bigger deal to have any of them instead of the likes of Carlito and Masters. That's all besides the main issue though, which is that the whole 'brand pride' thing rings so hollow to begin with. Smackdown and Raw are competing for... nothing, by claiming the victory here. That just makes the way they get SO heated with each other all of a sudden and start 'invading' the other brand's show in the build-up feel so forced. If the winning brand got the de facto Wrestlemania main-event spot for the champion (and not this BS spin where the last 3 matches are all somehow main-events), then at least that would have some real stakes, but mere 'bragging rights' means nothing and simply fails to get me as a fan interested. The match itself was very standard and formulaic, with a cycling in and out of various wrestlers to start, allowing them to briefly show off their stuff before cycling back out for the next guy. After a while we started getting the eliminations, and they came out in pretty rapid succession, but it made sense because of all the run-ins from either side allowing for damage to stack, so I didn't have too much of an issue with that logic. That being said, it was definitely underwhelming to only get such ultimately brief involvements of the wrestlers before they were eliminated, since it just left me wanting to see more of them (well, not Carlito). Big Show requiring 4 or 5 finishers before being taken out felt overkill, because even if he's meant to be a big threat, that sort of durability basically made me question how he wasn't at the very least contending for the WWE Heavyweight Title. At least it was still fun seeing JBL, Orton, and Mysterio all hit their finishers in succession to eventually put him away, but I still can't get past that weird kayfabe implication. HBK ended up being Raw's last man, but even when down 1-vs-3 he very predictably managed to fight back to 1-vs-1 against Orton. It wouldn't have been so bad if not for how melodramatically he oversold and bumped around in the process before somehow very easily taking out both Mysterio and JBL in quick succession despite supposedly being near death immediately prior. It was just far too absurd, but at least he didn't get the full superman comeback as Orton got the win. As a mishmash of styles from the various wrestlers this still had some minimal charm, but it otherwise wasn't very engaging. **1/2"

[9.0] "That was a lot of fun! Tazz's commentary is amazing here, he is hilarious and entertaining. Especially when he bullies Coachman and Styles. Rey was the MVP for me, he did really well including his offense and selling. Some highlights were the Mid-Air SCM on Rey, everyone doing Finishers on Big Show to take him out and Lashley and Masters having a face off, Lashley got a good showcase. Just wish Batista got a bit more time. Obviously once again HBK playing the comeback kid was perfect, he excels in that role. The passion from the commetators and the star-studded nature made it feel like a big match with stakes. Terrific stuff, one of my favorite Survivor Series matches."

[8.0] "Growing up this had one of the coolest builds ever, I do wish the Raw side of things was stronger because some big names were doing other things which kind of hurt things but overall this was still a good match. HBK had another comeback & it was a good call back with him & Orton being the final 2 again"

[9.0] "I've always had a huge soft spot for this match, I think partially as a huge Shawn Michaels fan. It's a bit similar to the 2003 one in that sense, but I just really like Michaels in that role. All the younger guys served their purpose well in this one too, and I just have fond memories of this for some reason. Fun finish with Orton being the sole survivor yet again, and the Taker casket spot is such a classic."

[8.0] "Randy Taker feud. Fun times man. Love that Randy acknowledged that he has been a sole survivor in this match 3 times back to back to back. Then heard the gong, his expression changed and started fluttering like a caught bird. That whole segment was amazing to revisit. Match was fun aswell. That was the rodeo then in these matches. Filled with quick beats. JBL with his patterned Clothesline from Hell. Dude was a stud. HBK per usual, was amazing."

[7.0] "Honestly, a really fun kind of Survivor Series tag match. There were some good stories woven in there, and while the commentary bickering got unbearable, I liked a lot of the interplay. Kane and Big Show felt like truly brutal monsters, Batista was valiant but injured, Rey got to pop really big by actually pinning the Big Show after their monster-slaying turn, and the final sequences with HBK hitting those killer superkicks and then duking it out with Randy was really entertaining. Really fun stuff."

[6.0] "A good traditional Survivor Series match with one fatal flaw. The commentary butchers it. The commentary to this match is absolutely insufferable. Everyone, Tazz especially, is just shouting over everyone else and knocking the other side. I get it is to get try and cement the brand rivalry, but it has no professionalism at all. For the first half of the match barely anyone is even CALLING it. It's just Tazz and King essentially firing off at each other while Cole is trying to make some calls between. It's horrible. One a handful or two of matches in company history where the commentary actively hurts it. Even if you can drown the commentary out, this is an above average Survivor Series match, but it's not really anything special besides being above average. No one is really highlighted. Carlito and Masters especially add nothing of substance to the team. When it was down to them and Michaels, you knew they wouldn't be sticking around much longer. A good but not great match if you can avoid the commentary murdering it."

[9.0] "My first exposure to the traditional Survivor Series concept and it still holds up as one of the best that they've ever done. This was a star-studded match which felt like it meant something. The feud on commentary really added to that feeling. Fast paced, hard hitting and just overall really fun to watch. And the eliminations didn't feel cheap or rushed as is after the case in elimination matches. All of this was caped off by one of the greatest returns ever with the Undertaker busting out of a flaming casket to confront Orton, who had just become sole survivor for a third straight year. Plus bonus points for Smackdown getting the Dub ;)"

[7.0] "These Survivor Series Matches are usually fun and it wasn't different here, plus when you have main eventers and upper midcarders involved it's elevated even more. Also I'm not a fan of these brand wars, but what I like about them is that babyfaces have to cooperate with heels and it's always an interesting dynamic to watch. All guys looked strong, they had some clever eliminations prepared and the whole bout quickly went by."

[7.0] "the match starts a little bit slow. Lashley and batista both being eliminated in super lame ways. But after the batista elimination it definitely got much better and picked up from there on out thats what makes this match. The finals moments when HBK is on his own is incredible. One of my favorite survivor series matches for some reason. 4 stars."

[7.0] "Pretty good but it definitely couldve been better. First of all the Raw team had Kane and big show who by that point werent in their primes. Carlito and Chris masters were still green and not all that good so this was basically a One man team and you could tell by the booking of the match. Also having the world champion being jobbed out before carlito and Chris masters was a terrible decision. But the eliminations were fun and the ending sequence with HBK taking on 3 by himself was good. Overall a solid match with some flaws 3.5/5"

[10.0] "One of the best traditional survivor series matches of all time. The match flowed insanely well, and was able to really showcase all 10 competitors in some capacity. This was another classic survivor series moment for Randy Orton, and undertaker had one of his best returns ever."

[7.0] "Thought it was a pretty good survivor series match, definitely not one of the best but one of the better ones. There was a lot of bad blood between the brands going into this which made it all more intriguing. Shawn Michaels coming back from the brink of defeat only to be eliminated by Orton was fun to watch, but was basically just a repeat of the 2003 SS match. Still, all guys got their offense in and looked good for the most part. It was definitely a fun match. ***1/4"

[7.0] "This was a pretty good survivor series match. Everyone did a pretty good job and I liked the post-match bit with Taker. Michaels had a great showing here."

[8.0] "This deserves more love. The structure was really well laid out to allow everyone to shine and look unique and the timing was perfect across the board."

[7.0] "A pretty good Survivor Series match between RAW and SmackDown. I've always preferred when Survivor Series matches involved an actual feud, but this wasn't a bad "brand supremacy" match either. Lots of cool moments here, and the finale between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels was very good (especially HBK's comeback against Rey Mysterio and JBL). The post-match was fun as well with the return of The Undertaker, which led to the Hell in a Cell between him and Orton. Overall, this was very enjoyable."

[6.0] "Orton and HBK start the match and they really are the stars of the match. Pretty good encounter this was."

[10.0] "Easily the best of the "SSE match Raw v Smack" type until 2016, this features the biggest fuckin stars at the point in time just doing wonderful spots. Shoutout goes to Shawn Michaels super kicking Rey Mysterio, I talked about that spot to fuckin everyone when I was a kid."

[4.0] "An average Survivor Series style match at best--the eliminations were just too quick and even the ending itself was pretty abrupt. The rival commentators also 'argue' during half the match, which I found really annoying, to the point it actually detracted from the match itself."

[9.0] "Pretty great match, one of the better editions of the format in my opinion. Most guys played their roles to a tee and created some really fun sequences. Not a fan of the bickering commentators, but what can you do? My match MVP was JBL who pulled out some really awesome stuff in the second half."

[8.0] "It's difficult to rate a 5 vs 5 elimination match, I usually enjoy it and this was the same case. The Raw vs Smackdown match would have been different with Guerrero, but I like what happened and the mix between good and bad guys on each team. The elimination of Batista and JBL were two of the best moments in the match. The post-match is also great. ***3/4"