10 Reasons WWE Survivor Series Set the Tone for WrestleMania

For the first time in several years, Survivor Series actually felt like a "Big Four" pay-per-view.

The Rock's return to the ring after a seven-year hiatus, CM Punk's WWE Championship win and the rise of Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes gave the pay-per-view a sense of importance that it hasn't had in quite some time.

Survivor Series was definitely worth watching because—at least from what I gathered--the show wasn't filled with random short-term booking tactics that are going to mean nothing in the long run. Instead, the WWE booked this show in a way that made almost everything on it seem like it served a purpose.

As we rapidly approach the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and the WWE's busiest time of the year, it seems like the creative team already has the wheels in motion for the granddaddy of them all.

Here are 10 reasons why Survivor Series set the tone for WrestleMania 28. 

10. Mark Henry's Monster Push Might Be Done

At Survivor Series, we saw Mark Henry do something that he hasn't done since moving over to SmackDown in the 2011 WWE Draft: Look weak.

Henry got himself intentionally disqualified in his World Heavyweight Championship match with The Big Show, and then in a case of de ja vu, Show completely destroyed Henry's leg with a chair.

I think that could mean one of two things. Either it's a way to get the World title off of Henry without him having to lose it (by forcing him to relinquish it if he can't defend it), or it's a way to to give him an excuse when he defends his title while not 100 percent and loses it.

Either way, though, it appears as if Henry's monster push has at least been put on hold, if it isn't completely done.

That may mean that we'll have to see a new champion determined, which could certainly shake things up as we head to WrestleMania 28.

9. The Upcoming Return of Booker T

Booker T recently revealed that he's training for one final WWE run, and he's also made his feelings for Cody Rhodes pretty clear recently.

Coincidence? I think not.

Booker T has been less than complimentary of Rhodes over the last several weeks, and that remained true at Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view as well as Monday's episode of Raw, when Rhodes threw water in Booker's face. 

Presumably, this is going to lead to a feud between the two over the next couple of months, but once that is done, I don't expect Booker to just go away.

If this really is his last run in the WWE, then he's probably going to have some sort of match at WrestleMania that will be the final one of his career.

8. It Emphasized Quality Wrestling

Aside from the Divas and World Heavyweight Championship matches, Survivor Series was a very good show.

Not great, but very good, in large part because it emphasized high-quality wrestling in the other four matches.

The pay-per-views that are most successful are deemed as such because of what actually goes on the ring—see Money in the Bank for example—and Survivor Series gave us fans an enjoyable show because we liked what we saw wrestling-wise.

Now, WrestleMania is one of the few pay-per-views of the year where WWE officials try their hardest to put on great matchups from the top of the card to the very bottom, and after watching Survivor Series, i'm a bit more optimistic about the WWE's ability to put together a great WrestleMania card.

Being that Survivor Series featured some quality in-ring action, I'd fully expect WrestleMania to be even better.

7. R-Truth's Days as a Main Eventer Are Over?

It's been a bad couple of days for R-Truth.

After losing to The Rock and John Cena in a tag team match at Survivor Series, Truth was attacked by The Miz on Monday Night Raw and seemingly written off of TV.

Why? Well, as it turns out, Truth was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of the company's Talent Wellness Program.

That's not good news for Truth, because his loss at Survivor Series and his "injury" at the hands of The Miz could be a sign that he's headed back to the mid-card, possibly even as a baby face.

If either of those are the case, then his days as a main eventer are over, and a guy who I thought would play a huge part in WWE story lines leading into WrestleMania may not play much of a role in them at all.

6. Randy Orton and Sheamus Continue to Look Strong

Even though Randy Orton and Sheamus were both technically losers at Survivor Series, they continue to look incredibly strong.

The Celtic Warrior was only eliminated from the 5-on-5 match after being disqualified, and The Viper only lost because he had a 4-on-1 disadvantage that proved to be just too much to overcome.

Despite the losses, though, it's clear that Sheamus and Orton are Smackdown's top two stars, and both men will be involved in major matches at WrestleMania 28.

The WWE is protecting them, but at the same time, they are helping make Smackdown's up-and-coming stars look good.

It looks like we'll see both Orton and Sheamus battle one of the blue brand's top young heels in some way, shape or form at WrestleMania. 

5. The Anticipation for Daniel Bryan's Cash-in Continues to Grow

Hey, WWE, couldn't you tell at Survivor Series that the fans really want to see Daniel Bryan cash in his briefcase and win the World Heavyweight Championship?

Following The Big Show's post-match attack on Mark Henry, the fans were begging for Bryan to make his way into the arena, use that guaranteed title shot and win his first World championship in the WWE.

I mean, I still think it would have been awesome to see Bryan cash in on Sunday, but I can see why that didn't happen.

The anticipation for Bryan to wrestle for the World title continues to grow, and Survivor Series made that incredibly obvious.

Though it was a bit of a buzz kill that Bryan was left completely off the Survivor Series card, the decision to do so is definitely helping to build toward his eventual WrestleMania cash-in.

4. The Rise of Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes

If we learned nothing else at Survivor Series, we now know that both Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes will be big-time main event players on Smackdown going forward.

They were the lone two surviving members of Team Barrett vs. Team Orton, and they followed up their big nights with relatively easy wins on Monday's Raw when Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston and Rhodes squashed Santino Marella.

Most of us had been waiting for both of these guys to explode into Smackdown's main event scene, and it appears as if that's exactly what they're in the process of doing.

I fully expect their monster pushes to continue as we head toward the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 28, so don't be even remotely surprised if one of these two men is competing for a World title or perhaps even going after The Undertaker's streak at the granddaddy of them all.

3. Royal Rumble Favorites Emerge

In the last slide, I talked about the rise of Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett to the top of SmackDown.

Well, after competing in two matches at Survivor Series and pushing CM Punk to the limit on Raw, it's pretty clear that Dolph Ziggler is in the process of being elevated to the main event scene on Monday nights as well.

And at this point, it looks like Ziggler, Barrett and Rhodes are the three early favorites to win this year's Royal Rumble match.

Though an established veteran could win the match, it would do much more for one of these three guys to emerge victorious and move on to main event WrestleMania. Just like it did for Alberto Del Rio last year.

The WWE's "youth movement" appears to be in full effect at the moment, and based on what happened at Survivor Series, I'm banking on Ziggler, Barrett or Rhodes being the 2012 Royal Rumble winner. 

2. CM Punk Holding the WWE Championship All the Way to Wrestlemania?

When CM Punk won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series, I immediately found myself wondering how long he would hold onto it.

Punk's last WWE title reign was incredibly short, so I thought that the WWE would sort of make it up to him by giving him a very lengthy run with the belt this time around. Then, on Monday's Raw, Punk seemed to confirm my thoughts.

He said that, now that he's holding it, the WWE Championship won't change hands so often like it has over the last few years, basically guaranteeing that he would hold onto the title for as long as possible.

That's definitely the right move.

The WWE title has flip-flopped far too much in recent years, and though The Miz kinda did it, someone needs to stop that disturbing trend.

Judging by what Punk said on Raw, he could be the one to do that by remaining WWE Champion all the way through WrestleMania 28 and beyond.

1. The Rock's Rock Bottom Gave Him a Leg Up on John Cena

The question going into Survivor Series was: Can The Rock and John Cena coexist as a tag team?

We got the answer to that question when they defeated The Miz and R-Truth, but after The Rock planted Cena with a Rock Bottom following the match, we now have a new question on our minds: Can Cena overcome the People's Champ?

After the way The Rock showed up Cena at the conclusion of the pay-per-view and was left as the last man standing, it's pretty clear that The Rock has all the momentum heading into his next WWE appearance, whenever that may be.

Fans will tune into Monday Night Raw Raw because they saw that The Rock never lost a step, and now they want to see if Cena is good enough to hang with him in the ring.

Judging by Survivor Series, he's not. But we'll find out for sure at WrestleMania 28.