Chicago Sun-Times: Survivor Series rolls back the clock

After getting away from what made the Survivor Series one of the most anticipated nights of the year, the WWE is bringing back the 5- on-5 elimination-rules match. In what should be the highlight of the show, a five-man team picked by Eric Bischoff will meet a five-man team chosen by Stone Cold Steve Austin with more than bragging rights on the line.

If Bischoff's team wins, Austin must relinquish his 50 percent stake as co-GM of the Raw brand, leaving full power to Bischoff. But if Stone Cold's five wins, the ban prohibiting Austin from causing physical harm to any Raw superstar will be lifted. If you can't remember the glory days of the Survivor Series, the match will be a 10-man tag match using normal tag rules. However, when a participant is defeated by pinfall, submission, count out or DQ, he is eliminated and the remaining men continue to wrestle. Once all members of one team have been eliminated, the match is over and the remaining members of the opposing team are declared the winners.

So far, Bischoff has tabbed Scott Steiner and Chris Jericho to be part of his team. I would have to guess that Mark Henry, Batista and Randy Orton would be the leading candidates to fill out the roster. As for Austin, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, RVD and Lance Storm would make the most sense. The fifth man should be Maven. If the Tough Enough winner is on a path to stardom, why not add him to a PPV main- event-quality match. The WWE did the same thing in 1996 by adding a young Rocky Miavia to a Survivor Series match. That worked out pretty well.

Also at Survivor Series, The Undertaker will meet Vince McMahon in a buried-alive match, Shane McMahon and Kane battle in an Inferno match and HHH gets a chance to regain his world title against Goldberg.

HEARD AROUND THE RING: Death took the wrestling world by surprise last week as Road Warrior Hawk passed at his home in Florida. Hawk and partner Animal formed the greatest tag-team in wrestling history. During their best years, the Road Warriors were the most feared duo ever. Considering the way that wrestlers treated their bodies around 20 years ago, I am worried that this could become all too common. ... More than 1,000 friends and family attended Stu Hart's funeral last week.

HOTLINE: I have the inside word on what Paul Heyman plans for the SmackDown brand that could bring the WWE back to the top of the TV ratings chart. Surprises revealed on the hotline at (900) 990-SLAM. Cost is $2 per minute.