WWE Survivor Series, “fantasy warfare just got real”…the only thing real that we got last night was the mind numbing realization that Vince McMahon and the Creative Team of WWE absolutely suck and their ineptitude and complete disconnection from their week in and week out fan base ruined an event that had myself and many wrestling fans legitimately excited for the first time in a long time. Not because of Goldberg, but because of unpredictable and fresh matchups. We had every reason to be excited at 7PM last night, and every reason to be pissed off and question why we even still watch by 10:30. It was a dual brand pay per view, at least it was promoted that way, but sadly it was dominated by Raw storylines and all of the performances, which were by in large excellent, were completely overshadowed by that nonsensical main event with two part timers who had no business in that spot.
The women’s match was booked interestingly save the quick tap out by Nia Jax, which made no sense. I liked throwing the Canadian Natalya in the mix over Nikki Bella. The whole who took out Nikki question however remained the only interesting development on the Smackdown side of things going forward for the entire night, and honestly, it isn’t that interesting. The right team won, the Raw women’s division is clearly far superior talent wise to that of Smackdown. The early elimination of Sasha Banks made sense for the story they were trying to tell between Charlotte and Bayley post match. The Smackdown women’s champion being pinned by a competitor whose been on the main roster for two months and has no marquee victories to speak of shows what the decision makers in WWE think about Becky Lynch, she’s more valuable as a casualty to an oncoming Raw women’s championship storyline. It’s sad really, almost as sad as the main event.
The Miz and Sami Zayn had an excellent IC title match which. I loved the finish and the title just feels more important on the shoulder of the Miz, who has had a career resurgence this year. He’s a top 3 WWE main roster performer in my book behind AJ Styles and Chris Jericho respectively and the most over heel in WWE, maybe in all of wrestling. His promos and matches have delivered week in and week out. Maryse is the best valet in wrestling today without question and her involvement during the match and at the finish was excellently executed (Canadian pun intended).
The tag team elimination match was exciting and entertaining, with a ton of great spots back and forth throughout but it left me very confused. Creative chose to ignore exciting matchups with the New Day and American Alpha as well as Heath Slater and Rhyno which really could’ve added some humor and showcased all three teams competitively. Instead the rub went to Cesaro and Sheamus who did an excellent job closing out the match gaining a victory over another top tag team in WWE in the Usos, showcasing their ability to perform as a legitimate tag team. Overall it was a very enjoyable match but a lot was left out on the table and to me it makes little sense when the whole premise of the PPV and these matches is the best of Raw vs. the best of Smackdown. It isn’t really the best when the 2nd longest reigning ever and legitimate tag team champions of WWE are in the match for about as long as that dumpster fire of a main event lasted.
The cruiserweight title match was better than I expected with both Kendrick and Kalisto turning in good performances in a quality back and forth match with a sadly lackluster ending. I get why they pulled Corbin from the Elimination match. They don’t want anyone to beat him yet, but he’s also not ready to be a sole survivor in a top match with that talent level, but that was the best they could do? Have him cause a disqualification? In a Cruiserweight match? To further a program with Kalisto that has not and will not help him get over any further? Nonsensical, almost as nonsensical as the visual abortion of a main event we were forced to witness, but we’ll get there shortly.
Now let’s be honest, the singles elimination match was the only elimination match that really mattered as far as who won. I expected the Raw Women and the Raw Tag Teams to win, the actual Women’s and Tag Team Titles are on Raw. That being said, nobody cares which show had the winning sub-divisions, it’s already been glossed over and half forgotten. The singles elimination match is what was going to make or break the whole Raw vs. Smackdown storyline. I didn’t subscribe to the charity win theory of “well Smackdown’s women should win because it will make them look more credible”, or “the Smackdown teams should win because…ugh…ugh…American Alpha”. That’s dumb. While each match could have been booked better creatively, the right teams won. Now with all of that in mind, it’s time to “face the facts”.
Fact number 1: This match should have closed the show
Fact number 2: Smackdown is the better wrestling show
Fact number 3: AJ Styles is THE ONLY WORLD CHAMPION IN WWE THAT MATTERS
That is the wrestling gospel according to JT. I’m down with Kevin Owens but the only person that’s ever held his belt is Finn Balor and he had it for less than a day. The Universal Title has a serious credibility issue and that is on the creative team not making KO or the title feel important or special. In a wrestling match, representing the A wrestling show with the A singles wrestling championship in WWE, Team Smackdown won as they should have.
The match itself was top notch. Long, engaging, exciting and everyone involved had their moments. Shane O’ Mac is the craziest S.O.B. in wrestling taking those bumps the way he did last night. The elbow drop, the spear out of the coast to coast attempt, he brought it. From that incredible RKO to the Shield power bomb through the table on Styles on what was the anniversary of their debut 4 years ago, all of it was awesome.
However, I feel like creative still managed to leave a lot on the table and I had several issues with how the match was booked. None of them are the eliminations of KO and Jericho. Those guys are Canadian and heels and the Toronto crowd was showing them a lot of love as expected so their eliminations made sense, KO wasn’t pinned and the destruction of the List of Jericho aka the MOST OVER THING ON RAW may lead to some interesting storytelling between those two starting on Raw tonight.
I had two issues with this match and they both involve AJ Styles. I am an unapologetic mark and super fan of AJ Styles and he, in my brilliant wrestling mind, is the best wrestler on the planet and the MVP of WWE this year. I was really hoping that this match would come down to Styles and Rollins one on one. No elimination match last night came down to a one on one faceoff and I feel like that was really a missed opportunity after all the hype and gravitas this match was supposed to carry. Rollins is the best wrestler on Raw, AJ is the best wrestler on Smackdown, why not give them 7 minutes to close the match in an exciting fashion? The tag elimination came down to one team vs. one team but that’s still four guys in the ring. AJ and Rollins could’ve really sent that match out on a high note and perhaps made it even more of a match of the year candidate.
Now AJ is a heel, I get that, but of all the guys you could’ve given the focus of the match to at the very end why give it to members of the Shield and the Wyatt family? It’s simple, WWE didn’t create AJ Styles but it created those factions and all their members past and present. Whether or not Roman Reigns can defy the odds, is a more compelling story to Vince McMahon and WWE Creative than who is the best in the WWE between Styles and Rollins. If I put all of that to the side and just look at what it was as opposed to what it could have been the finish was good. The New Wyatt Family gets a nice boost and the eventual Orton betrayal makes for a big pay off down the line. I just want them to stop force feeding us Roman Reigns like they do with John Cena and that no talent hack Goldberg.
Yes, now it’s time to talk about Goldberg. The man who killed WCW, yeah I said it. The man who is less talented than the Great Khali. The man who hasn’t wrestled in 12 freaking years. The man who WWE just let take a huge, vomit inducing dump on the importance and sanctity of Undertaker’s Wrestlemania Streak. The man WWE wants you to think that all the people tuned in to see last night, when the truth is nobody cared about that match or that fake ass wannabe super hero. The fact that they went on last is a travesty and a disservice to all the wrestlers who performed last night, they all tore it up, creative is what shot Survivor Series to shit.
I couldn’t form the words last night to articulate what I saw. I hadn’t been that speechless or disgusted since I watched the Streak and in many ways my childhood, die before my eyes. Today I have the words. Horrendous, disrespectful and grotesque is what comes to mind. Those two guys just made a ton of money for less than 2 minutes of work and closed a show they had no business being on let alone main eventing.
That match spat in the face of the entire roster that travels and wrestles about 300 days a year. It spat in the face of the Undertaker, and in the face of every person Brock Lesnar has beaten since he came back to WWE from the Dead Man himself to Triple H to John Cena and so on. That was his third loss since his return, his second without a controversial finish ala Summerslam with the Undertaker. He’s looked unstoppable. He’s been booked like a monster. He’s a star. At least he was.
Of all the people you could have beat Brock Lesnar, the guy who is as legit as it gets in combat sports, the guy who beat the Streak; you let a 49 year old who hasn’t wrestled in 12 years get the win with 3 moves, 2 of which were the same. I’ll never make a 5 Moves of Doom joke again.
Last night the actual wrestling fan was sacrificed at the altar of the casual viewer, and Brock Lesnar’s box office appeal sank faster than the Titanic. Why? For Goldberg to maybe have a spot in the Rumble? For another rematch that people will want to see even less than they did this joke? For people who don’t pay for the network to literally be able to watch the entire match for free on Facebook and YouTube? Raw Viewership won’t see one bit of an increase tonight and Vince McMahon just gave up the single match, over night ability to create a star by having whoever it may have been beat Brock Lesnar clean. It won’t matter now, but hey…Goldberg…Goldberg…Goldberg.
19 years later, there was another WWE Survivor Series screw job in Toronto last night, and we’re the ones who got screwed, by Vince McMahon and the WWE Creative team.
At least Bret Hart got to punch him in the face after Montreal.
