WWE Survivor Series Review 11/18/2018

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my review for WWE Survivor Series review. This is the one night of the year that Raw and Smackdown Live go toe to toe for brand supremacy. I was 6-2 with my predictions. However, some of the matches changed just off the the pre-show for example, Ruby Riott and Natalya were taken off of Team Raw and Sasha Banks and Bayley were added. Mandy Rose was also added to the women’s Smackdown Team. This event was better than expectations and I’ll talk about why at the end. Survivor Series has a history of giving us shocking and surprising moments.  Lets see how this year played out.

Image via WWE.com

This show is coming to us from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

– The show opened up with great hype video for the event.

– The commentating is split between the Raw and Smackdown teams. Michael Cole, Renee Young and Corey Graves will call some of the matches while Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves will call the others. The 205 Live announce team will call the Cruisweright championship match.

Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag
Team Raw (Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, Nia Jax and Tamina) def. Team Smackdown (Naomi, Carmella, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Asuka)
in 18:50
This was fun match and good way to kick off the show to get people in Survivor Series mood. The first few eliminations came fast. Nia Jax came out to a loud chorus of boos. It set of social media as Los Angeles crowd isn’t known for being a very loud one. Nia and the company are really using her injuring Becky to get her some major heat. Tamina eliminates Naomi after a super kick. Carmella eliminates Tamina right after with a  rollup. Mella gets the ring to herself so she breaks into a dance break. Nia Jax rag dolls her for a bit until Mandy Sacs is in.  Mandy Sacs eliminated Mickie James after tagging herself in a stealing the elimination from Sonya Deville who just hit Mickie with a running knee, thus planting more seeds in the eventual Deville/Sacs feud. Bayley eliminated Carmella after some back a fourth that led to Carmella getting caught with a Bayley to Belly. Sasha Banks eliminated Mandy by making her tap out to the bank statement. Sonya Deville and Bayley both get eliminated by countout as they couldnt answer the ten-count to get back into the ring. Sasha and Asuka roll in the ring as the legal participants and having a great back and fourth exchange that really made me want to see them face each other again in the near future. They had that one match on Raw that I really enjoyed and they just work great together. Sasha heads to the top rope only to get pushed off by her own teammate Nia Jax and caught into an asuka lock to eventually tap out.  Nia Jax enters the ring and hits a couple of leg drops followed by a samoan drop for the win. In my prediction I said that I expected Nia and Tamina to be the survivors since they have been focusing on that angle so Nia being the sole survivor made perfect sense to me. Nia is also the next in line for a Womens Championship match, so it wouldn’t done anybody good if she looked weak here. Jax celebrated with her fist in the air which triggered fans even more.
Survivor – Nia Jax

– Backstage, Stephanie and Corbin are talking about Raws win. Stephanie tells Corbin they need to have a sweep tonight or Corbin is fired. Paige and Shane McMahon show up. Paige said they might feel a little blue. Corbin says they’re kind of like Lebron James, overrated and overhyped and can’t get the job done when it matters. Corbin mocks Styles and Lynch. Shane-O says when Smackdown wins we all get to be apart of something great, when Stephanie fires Corbin.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura
in 21:50 by pin fall
They had some really cool graphics for the Seth Rollins entrance. I think its going to be a trend that everyone is wearing their respective brands t-shirt. It’s like the WWE also feels like most of the fans in California may not be hardcore wrestling fans. Unfortunately, the baggy shirt that Nakamura was wearing kind of made it seem look like a dental assistant or male nurse wearing scrubs. There was some taunting and messing with each other early on which was entertaining. The fans were chanting “Nakamura/Burn it Down!” back to back. This was also a dream match in many ways to many people because both stars do have a strong loyal following. This was a very competitive back and fourth match. The fans were really into it and even got Rollins to go for a third suicide dive with their “one more time” chants after Rollins already hit two. They continued to go back and fourth for a bit. Rollins got the momentum and hit his superplex/falcon arrow combo which always gets the us fans hyped because it looks awesome but never gets more than a nearfall yet we buy into it like it could be the finish of the match every time. They trade strikes and Nakamura connects with a kick to the back and a reverse exploder suplex that sent Rollins across the ring. Rollins avoided the Kinshasa and hit a ripcord knee lift to the face for a two count. Rollins up top and he went for a Frog Splash, but Nakamura moved. Nakamura followed this with a kinshasa to the back of Rollins head for a two count. Nakamura tried setting up for it again, only for the two guys to go through a couple of transitions before Rollins hit the curb stomp for the win. There was no Dean Ambrose appearance or interference and Seth Rollins beat Nakamura clean in a pretty even match. There is a part of me that is happy that they got to wrestle a clean match with no interference but at the same time I’m disappointed that Nakamura never picked up the win because he could have really used it after not really doing much for the last few months.

– Backstage, Braun tried to rile up his team and Drew gets in his face and says he better stay out of his way. Corbin comes in and tells everyone to relax. Braun wants to hit Corbin and Corbin reminds him that he can’t. Braun throws Lio into Corbin. R-Truth comes in and tries to to calm down the situation and says guys we’re better than this. They tell him to leave reminding him that he’s not on the team nor is he even on Raw.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
AOP w/ Drake Maverick def. The Bar w/ The Big Show
in 09:00 by pin fall
This was a match-up I was looking forward to because it was two teams we havent really ever seen work with each other. Also both teams consist of guys who are powerhouses but also agile. There was also the additional layer of the story with Drake Maverick and Big Show being at ringside which really came into play with the finish. I also forgot the odd dynamic you get when you have a heel vs heel match which was certainly felt here. The match started off solid but most of the crowd was distracted because Enzo Amore was in the crowd causing a scene and cutting a promo before being tackled and kicked out by security. It wasn’t a work or anything. Enzo actually just showed up in disguise and bought a second row ticket on the camera side so he could promote himself during the show. Anyway, after some back and fourth where Maverick kept getting involved Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick on Rezar leading to Maverick putting Rezar’s foot on the rope to stop the count. Cesaro ran after Maverick, who ran into Big Show, who dropped Maverick with a shoulder tackle. Show choked Maverick around the throat and Maverick started pissing his pants in fear, so everybody just stopped. The Bar guys just looked at Maverick in shock and laughed at him. Back in the ring, AOP hit a double team suplex into a Powerbomb on Sheamus for the pinfall. This really only makes sense if your watched the kick-off and you heard Maverick talk about how he’s not afraid of Giants. One of the commentators referenced it during the match but yeah. This kind of sucked because I was hoping for a real barn burner between two talented teams. Instead we got this finish which I’ll admit was a bit funny but I would rather have had a quality competitive tag match. The right team went over as the AOP are new and need to pick up some big wins.

– Backstage, The Miz says that Shane is the only guy who can hype up the Smackdown team. Shane starts hyping up everyone Miz behind him mocking everyone as Shane hyped them up and yells “You are Smackdown!” after Shane does it. R-Truth shows up and says he wants to join the Smackdown roster and then the Smackdown team. Miz says if they win he will give everyone a signed copy of the Marine 6. Truth said he would love that but signed by Becky Lynch. Shane says they have to win tonight because they can’t let Stephanie win. They break into a “We are Smackdown” chant.

Cruiserweight Championship
Buddy Murphy (C) def. Mustafa Ali
in 12:20 by pin fall
These two have constantly delivered on 205 Live, and if given the chance, should here as well. 205 Live’s resident juggernaut tries to overpower Ali at first but Ali fights back and sends Murphy to the outside. These two went back and fourth for a bit.Murphy ran the ropes leading to a somersault dive over the top to take out Ali outside the ring. Ali comes back with two super kicks and a reverse rana spiked Murphy for a two count. The two exchange strikes until Ali hits this impressive spike DDT for a nearfall. The match goes back to the outside where Murphy dismantles an announce table, shades of their 205 Live matches. Ali fights back, and hits a spanish fly off the table to the floor. This gets us a “205” chant. Back in the ring, Ali went up top for the 450 attempt, but Murphy blocked him again following it up with a cheeky nandos and double power bombs to get a two count. The crowd supported them with a “this is awesome” chant.Ali went for a springboard attack, but he was met by a knee to the face. Murphy hit the Murphy’s Law slam for the win. This was a solid match for the time they were given. They really tried to make it count and put on a showcase for 205 Live. They had to work the crowd from being to dead to chanting praises for the match which was really impressive. These two have great matches and although this may not been their best one, it was still really good. They have great chemistry with one another. Ali is a great babyface and Murphy plays his role perfectly. I didn’t expect the title to change hands here but I was glad this match was on the card.

– Backstage, Kyra Braxton tries to interview Daniel Bryan but he smiles and says nothing

Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag
Team Raw (Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler & Finn Balor w/ Baron Corbin) def. Team Smackdown (Shane McMahon, The Miz, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio & Jeff Hardy)
in 24:00
Team Raw makes their way out first followed by Team Smackdown. There is tension between Drew and Braun right off the bat about who is going to start off the match with McIntyre tagging himself in after Braun tries to start off the match. This caused Samoa Joe to be able to get Drew into a coquina clutch instantly which the crowd popped for but McIntyre fought out of it and quickly caught Samoe Joe with a claymour kick to eliminate Joe in the first 30 seconds of the match. The fans chanted bullshit as Joe headed to the back. Shane and Dolph go toe-to-toe eventually which was fun because this was technically the finals of the Best in the World tournament at crown jewel. There was some fun back and fourth between The Miz and Ziggler as well. I always enjoy it when those two work against each other. McIntyre and Braun get into it again about who tagged in last as they kept tagging themselves in which leads to them going to blows on each other. This causes a break down and a brawl with both teams. The four Smackdown guys attacked Strowman at the same time, but Strowman fought out of it. Mysterio hit a 619 kick on Strowman leading to Miz and Shane sending Strowman over the top to the floor. Smackdown’s team worked over McIntyre outside the ring. Shane cleared off the English announce table. The other Smackdown guys put Strowman on the announce table. Shane went up top and Shane jumped off with an elbow drop off the top onto Strowman through the announce table. This is a vintage Shane O Mac’ spot and the crowd was hot for it. This was also a smart way to keep Strowman out of the picture for a short period of time.
Balor has to tag himself in when Drew ignores his request. Finn comes in kicking McIntyre in the head before cutting off The Miz. Balor does a great job getting a piece of Miz, Hardy and Mysterio. There is some fun back and fourth between Mysterio and Balor until Mysterio eventually eliminated Balor after a 619 and a splash. Lashley gets in and manhandles Mysterio for a bit. There are some more tags and back and fourth action. Miz sets Ziggler up in the corner and tags Shane in to hit the Coast to Coast on Ziggler which Shane does and this eliminates Ziggler. Lashley was back in and Miz ends up having Bobby set up for the Coast to Coast so he goes to tag Shane again. Shane who is exhausted tries to go for it but eats a huge clothesline from Braun Strowman.
Mysterio makes the save and Jeff tags in.  Braun eliminates Jeff Hardy with the powerslam. Mysterio comes in and tries to take down Braun. Rey gets Strowman in the 619 position but Strowman catches him and hits him with the powerslam to eliminate Mysterio. This makes it The Miz and Shane O’ Mac up against Strowman, McIntyre and Lashley. Miz tried to encourage Shane outside the ring, so Strowman ran over Shane with a shoulder tackle. Miz back in the ring with Strowman and Strowman hit a Powerslam on Miz to eliminate him. Strowman eliminates Shane McMahon realizes the situation he is in and slowly gets back into the ring only to get decimated by Strowman and eliminated after a running powerslam. Baron Corbin got a cheap shot on Braun before heading to the back.
This was a fun match with a lot of memorable moments. I’m not angry at the finish as Strowman is usually booked strong as an unstoppable force and he has lost some momentum in the past months by not being able to capture the Universal Championship. This was a good way to help showcase his dominant side again. I thought it was funny how Miz kept calling on Shane to do his moves and it ended up hurting the team. The performance of guys like Mysterio and Hardy was important to the match because they got the crowd into it while giving Smackdown some positive momentum in the match. Its unfortunate that Joe got eliminated as soon as he did but I hope we can all just forget about that. The only thing that threw me off is that WWE really went with trying to give Raw a clean sweep which makes it almost feel like they’re trying to make Smackdown seem like the inferior brand.
Survivors – Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre

– Backstage, Seth Rollins is interviewed by Charley Charuso and talks about his victory early on in the night. Charley lets Seth know that in a few weeks he will be defending his Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose at TLC. Seth Rollins says Ambrose will have nowhere to hide at TLC.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
Ronda Rousey  def. Charlotte Flair
in 14:40 by DQ
There were loud Becky Lynch chants when Ronda Rousey made her way to the ring. Becky Lynch is over as hell. It was deafening. As much as I am disappointed that Becky Lynch is hurt and that she’s not competing against Ronda Rousey tonight, I can admit that Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair still feels like a big match. A match I expected to happen at Wrestlemania is happening here at Survivor Series. This might have been one of Ronda Rousey’s longer and more competitive matches. These two women were beating the hell out of each other. Flairs experience showed to give her the advantage against Rousey in many cases. It always felt like no matter what Rousey tried, Charlotte had a counter and was one step ahead. I also havent seen anyone manhandle Charlotte the way Ronda was. Ronda at one point got rowdy and hyped but got caught with a huge spear for a near fall which even had me think for a brief moment that Charlotte was going to pick up the victory. Charlotte rolled through a arm-bar attempt into a figure eight with a real smooth transition but Rousey rolled over to reverse the pressure before they both rolled to the outside. In the right they exchange punches and chops. Both women looked exhausted and beat at this point. It was at this moment I realized this had to be Rousey’s toughest match yet. The fans started to chant this is awesome after a big boot by Charlotte. Rousey hit her signature move the pipers pit before trying to apply the arm-bar but Charlotte fights her way out by getting out of the ring again. Rousey goes after Charlotte outside of the ring and Charlotte just wails a kendo stick at Ronda Rousey and then throws her into the steps. The ref calls for a DQ.
Charlotte beats the living hell out of Rousey with a kendo stick. Charlotte Flair completely snapped. Charlotte takes Rousey back into the ring and continues to beat her up with a kendo stick. What a competitive match that led to Charlotte snapping. Charlotte goes to get a chair from ringside and re-enters the ring but the ref takes the chair away from her.Rousey starts getting up and Charlotte Flair runs back into the ring and hits a natural selection on Ronda Rousey onto the steel chair. There are more officials that come out to try to stop Charlotte. Charlotte starts beating up the officials. Charlotte puts the chair on Ronda’s neck and Charlotte stomps on the chair crushing Ronda Rousey throat. EMTs and even more officials come out including Jamie Noble and Adam Pearce. The fans start chanting “THANK YOU CHARLOTTE.”  What a match and I’m so curious to see what happens next.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman def. Daniel Bryan`
in 02:30 by pin fall
Daniel Bryan makes his way out and has a smile on his face as he waits for Lesnar  to make his entrance. Daniel Bryan is taunting Brock Lesnar as Lesnar walks around the ring.  Daniel Bryan just showing a different level of arrogance as Lesnar takes his time to enter the ring. Daniel Bryan continues to mock Lesnar. Lesnar clocks Bryan and starts hitting suplexes.  They announcers and Daniel really selling that Bryan is really hurt. Potentially career ending. Lesnar starts a suplex city chant for himself. Heyman looks worried. Lesnar poses with his belt. Lesnar continues the beat down with suplexes and bear hugs and more suplexes. The referee continues to ask Bryan if he wants him to call for the bell. Brock Lesnar hits the F5 and says goodnight everybody. He covers but lifts Bryan’s head at two and continues the fight. Bryan got a kick on Lesnar and Lesnar goes for another F-5 but it knocks out the official. Bryan hits the low low and running knee for a two count. Bryan gets kicks on Lesnar now and won’t stop kicking him. He does his face stomps at Lesnar as well. Bryan goes for another knee but Lesnar picks him up for a F-5 but Bryan sends Lesnar to the outside. Bryan sends Lesnar to the post and catches him with a running knee.  Bryan goes for a suicide dive but Lesnar catches him and slams him into the ring-post twice. Lesnar grabs the steel steps but hits the post cause the steps fell on him. Daniel Bryan hits another running knee on Lesnar. Bryan hits another running knee inside the ring for a two count. Bryan starts working on Lesnars legs and wraps it around the post. Bryan goes high and hits a missile drop kick. Bryan goes for his corner drop kicks but Lesnar picks Bryan up for the F-5 for the third one but his leg gave out allowing Bryan to lock the yes lock on Lesnar. Lesnar breaks out the grip that Bryan had but Bryan hits some heavy shots at Lesnars head. Lesnar is screaming and wheeling. Bryan tries going for a triangle but the ref tries counting every time Bryan’s shoulders are down. Brock lifts up Bryan and hits the F-5 for the win, As Brock is walking out, Bryan was getting up with a smile on his face. Brock looks back and smiles at Bryan as in a show of respect that Bryan actually gave him a run for his money. This was way better than I expected and they told such an amazing story here. I actually almost believed it was going to be a one-sided match but after the ref bump and low blow, things picked up and never slowed down. I absolutely enjoyed it. This was a reminder that Lesnar can work a match when he wants to. It started off as the typical Lesnar match where he’s just manhandling his opponent but it made sense that Bryan would use an equalizer like a low-blow, which he won the championship with, to gain momentum.

Final Thoughts
This show was fun and capped off the weekend great. I’m not a huge fan of the brand supremacy angle but I do enjoy the traditional Survivor Series matches when its not the theme for the entire card. Two to three of them on a card creates a nice variety and flow to the show. However, I’d love to see Raw and Smackdown members randomly team with each other for other reasons than brand supremacy. The show provided some quality wrestling matches as well with Rollins/Nakamura and Ali/Murphy. The two main events are what I think will be the most memorable matches from this show though. Charlotte and Ronda felt like it was on its way to being a classic until the finish which protects both women for the inevitable rematch. It also left me with a lot more questions than answers and makes me wonder where the white hot Becky Lynch fits in when Wrestlemania season comes around if they’re still high on going with Charlotte/Ronda around that time. The main event with Bryan and Lesnar really felt like the first time I felt fully invested in Daniel Bryan as a character since he was able to return to wrestling. I love this over confident, “do whatever it takes” attitude Daniel Bryan that we have now. If I think back to 2011-2012, it was heel Bryan that initially made me a fan of him because he plays such a great asshole but on top of that he’s really talented in the ring. If you didn’t watch Survivor Series and you have a free Saturday or Sunday, I’d definitely say check it out. If you only have a bit of time, make sure you watch the last two matches. It was Rousey’s best singles match thus far in the company and Bryan’s real coming out party since he returned.
Final Rating – 8/10

What were your final thoughts on Survivor Series? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.