It’s one of WWE’s major pay-per-views, and just personally, one of my favorites. This is the official unofficial kickoff to the holiday season. You just can’t have Thanksgiving without Survivor Series. This year, the show emanates from Houston, Texas, and the card is one of the most stacked cards of the year so far.
First things first, your boy had a three year old’s birthday party to attend before the show, so we missed the Elias-Matt Hardy match as well as the Cruiserweight Championship. If I need to go back and watch those, let me know. Otherwise, shit – we got a full slate tonight, folks!
Pre-show: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn def. Breezango – Seems like a totally random match, and it was pretty much just a reason to get Owens and Zayn on the show. That said, it was enjoyable, and I’m always up for finding ways to get Breezango on the show. Rating: 6/10.
Main Show
1. The Shield def. The New Day – not really surprised by the outcome here, as it was the first time The Shield were officially reunited in in-ring competition, but man – the action was fast and furious. Loved the finish, as Seth Rollins hit Xavier Woods with his spinning knee ordeal on the outside. Dean Ambrose hits Big E with Dirty Deeds on the outside, and the three get back into the ring to deliver a huge triple powerbomb off the top rope on Kofi Kingston. They gave New Day more than a fair shot here, and the match was exciting and clean. Loved it. Rating: 8/10.
2. Women’s Survivor Series Match: Team Raw def. Team SmackDown Live – Raw is up 2-0 on the night after this doozy. Thought this was a pretty fun match. These multi-person tag matches are so hard to pull off, but they seem to do it well for Survivor Series. I was surprised to see Bayley and Becky Lynch go so quickly, but it was a nice change of pace to see Tamina get a chance to really shine. There were a couple of botches, so I’m trimming a point or two off the top, but I loved the finish with Asuka coming back to submit both Tamina and Natalya. The WWE train seems to be fully behind Asuka. Rating: 6.5/10.
3. Baron Corbin def. The Miz – For a match that didn’t have a whole lot of story behind it, these two men did an excellent job of making it feel personal. Smackdown gets on the board after Corbin hits Miz with the End of Days. Loved it – a good victory for Corbin. Rating: 7/10.
4. The Usos def. Cesaro and Sheamus – You could tell me these are the two best tag teams on the planet right now and I don’t think I’d argue with you. After a handful of superkicks and a big splash, The Usos get the win, and rightfully so. They’re having one of the best years in tag team history. What an awesome showcase of the best each tag team division has to offer. Rating: 8/10.
5. Charlotte Flair def. Alexa Bliss – Wow. This was probably the best match Bliss has wrestled since her call-up. I remain blown away by how vastly she’s improved since then, and how much she’s evolved as a character. That was a phenomenal match, and as Brandon said, they got it right by having the cornerstone of each brand’s women’s division in this match. Flair gets the win with the Figure Eight, but Bliss comes out looking good. Everyone wins. Rating: 8/10.
6. Brock Lesnar def. A.J. Styles – Holy shit. I don’t want to get caught up in the moment. We’ll see where we stand in a few weeks when I review my notebook on 2017, but just off the top of my head, that was one of my most enjoyable matches of the year. I loved that they made Styles look like a legitimate threat to Lesnar – it just shows the respect they have for the guy. But, he hung around in believable fashion, targeting the leg and using any means necessary to weaken The Beast. I figured Lesnar would get the win, but the time these guys got was something I didn’t expect. Overall, just a quality showing with a strong story for a match that didn’t have much of a build. Rating: 9/10.
7. Team Raw def. Team SmackDown: We got several intriguing match-ups: Nakamura vs. Triple H, Nakamura vs. Balor, Roode vs. Triple H, etc. etc. But, I was surprised to see none of the new stars make it to the end. It was a long one, and the last several minutes can only be described as awkward. I think the ending was supposed to pack much more of a punch than it actually did. Strowman is officially a face now, but that was strange, and the match did not deliver the way I expected it to. Rating: 6.5/10.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10. I still say this was one of the better showings by the WWE this year, but the main event really stalled a night of otherwise high quality wrestling. I think we’ll remember Lesnar-Styles, Bliss-Flair, and Shield-New Day come year’s end. But, that main event was a bit of a dud.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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