Dave Green – Team Bring It
Last November I put together my ultimate Survivor Series squad for TWM’s Dream Teams article and here we are again, one year later with the same directive. Preferences change over time but a mere twelve months later I couldn’t possibly assemble such a radically different unit and still endorse it as my “Dream Team”; to my mind there was no way to improve on last year’s five-piece. So, I’ve approached the project a little differently this year. I tasked myself with assembling a faction that would be the perfect opposition for last year’s Dream Team, but before I break down the team members in this new squad, why not have a look at last year’s collective?
Whilst I’m not a fan of the recent trend of always labelling Survivor Series teams with the lazy tag of “Team….(insert captain’s name here)”, in this case I’ll make an exception and the reason for that is simply because that moniker adopted for this group is the exact slogan which has often adorned the T-shirt sported by the team captain, which makes it the perfect fit:
The Rock – TEAM CAPTAIN
Whereas The Macho Man was my only firm choice to captain the heel faction last year, The Rock was actually one of two potential leads I earmarked to head-up the babyface contingent. Whilst the longevity of his actual in-ring career falls way short of that of my other choice, Hulk Hogan, in terms of mainstream appeal and status as an actual Hollywood A-lister, Dwayne Johnson has clearly surpassed the level achieved by The Hulkster and so to add that little extra bit of superstar celebrity sizzle I opted for Rocky as the boss here. Also, whilst Hogan and Savage’s rivalry is legendary, I didn’t want this fantasy match to only be centred about perennial rivals facing off once again. As you’ll see, I’ve revisited some other legendary match-ups in this bout but as for the team captains I wanted to try something new and Savage vs The Rock is about as big a “dream match” as anyone could think up. As for the rest of the team, it’s clear that any assembled five-piece will have the edge in fan appreciation given the nefarious tactics synonymous with the opposing group, however much like the captain himself, the squad I’ve compiled to march into battle with him have all at one time another been “rulebreakers” and would obviously not be averse to adopting questionable means if it meant gaining the advantage over their opposition, an extra little nuance to this fantasy match storyline.
Eddie Guerrero
Lie, cheat and steal; that was the mantra of Eddie during his WWE run and I think it fits the anti-hero ethos of this team perfectly. Eddie’s series with Kurt Angle in the mid-2000’s is one of the most underrated in-ring programmes I can recall under the WWF/E banner in all my years as a fan and I think “Latino Heat” would be the perfect man to oppose “The Olympic Hero” in this battle once again. Also, every great Survivor Series unit needs a team member slightly smaller in stature, and to my mind Eddie is perhaps the greatest ever to step into the squared circle who would fit that mould. Having such a much-missed legend on this squad was an absolute no-brainer.
Razor Ramon
Somewhat of an unexpected choice to some maybe and I did rattle my brain to come up with a better fit for the team but in the end I decided to go with him. The key to assembling a quality Survivor Series team is to get the balance right and have a neat cross-section of team members from right across the card. Now granted, this is just me exercising my creative fantasy-booking license but imagine for one moment that these guys were all on the same roster at a point in time, Razor would certainly be firmly in the upper-mid card bracket as opposed to Rocky’s headliner or Eddie’s ultra-crisp cruiserweight. To my mind he’s also the perfect foe for his opposite number here, Ravishing Rick Rude and I think that match-up would have been a good programme back in the day. They both had runs with the WWF Intercontinental and WCW U.S strap, both are bonafide legends yet neither really had a sustained top-line run. In addition, much like The Rock and Eddie, Razor would not be averse to bending the rules and “The Bad Guy” at his peak would be more than a match for any of the opposing team.
Bret Hitman Hart
Providing the perfect balance to some of the other more colourful characters on the team, Mr. Dependable, Bret Hart would certainly make sure everyone on the team kept a cool head and stayed on the same page. Not really team captain material but nevertheless his understated character would definitely make “The Hitman” a perfect deputy for “The People’s Champion”. Matching up with the opposition meanwhile, Bret’s storied history with Curt Hennig would be revisited here, so too his classic battles with The Undertaker and the prospect of him squaring off with both Savage and Angle would be interesting for sure.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Lastly but by no means least, in the same way that The Undertaker would be the wild-card member on the Macho Man-led team, the same too could be said for Stone Cold right here. His philosophy of DTA: Don’t Trust Anybody might not be the perfect fit for this team-environment but that would only add further intrigue to his association with his team mates. Storyline depth like this always proves for entertaining build-up to proceedings and so that poses the question of could he be trusted to be a team player or will a power struggle emerge? Considering the volatile personalities involved this is surely a distinct possibility especially when you consider that two of Austin’s most fierce rivals, The Rock and The Hitman are supposed to be his partners for this battle. However that was the exact reason for Stone Cold being recruited onto the team; his allies here know him better than anybody and the mutual respect for one another could just be the glue that holds this fivesome together, despite having a multitude of intertwined rivalries in the past. Will the team be able to put aside their differences or will this unit self-destruct?
