Survivor Series comes to you LIVEEEEE from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas tonight. After health issues among a number of superstars forced WWE to make drastic changes to the TLC card last month, almost for no reason at all, the company has continued with this newfound spontaneity going into this PPV. Regardless, it’s a stacked card and after last night’s TakeOver show, they need all the help they can get.
Preshow
Match #1: Kalisto vs Enzo Amore- Cruiserweight Championship match
Easily the least interesting match on the card. There is no doubt that Enzo is a star on the mic, but that’s where it ends for me. In the ring he is just passable, if that, and truly does not do the Cruiserweight title justice after what Neville did with it. Kalisto, thought I certainly would not say he floundered on the main roster, is a great addition to the division, and is a much better representation for what that brand should be. I’d like to see him reclaim the title, and finally move on to another challenger.
Winner: Kalisto
Main Card
Match #1: The Usos (SD) vs Sheamus and Cesaro (R)
The Usos were originally slated to wrestle Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, until of course they lost their tag titles to “The Bar”. That would have been an absolute clinic of a match, but this might actually work out better. Dean and Seth have a tendency to get pummeled for minutes on end until they can make a hot tag, but Sheamus and Cesaro are not those guys, so I can see it being pretty even throughout. It should be an incredibly hard-hitting affair, and aesthetically, considering both are heel teams, it should be a refreshing dynamic. I’d love to see the Uso’s get the win here, further cementing them as one of if not the top team in the business
Winners: The Uso’s
Match #2: Alicia Fox, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and Asuka (R) vs Naomi, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Tamina and Carmella (SD)
Smackdown’s women’s division has really consisted of the same 5-6-7 women for the better part of a year. Quite frankly, new blood is needed for both rosters, but the Raw team is highlighting Alicia Fox and with Asuka as a new edition, the possibilities are endless. In order to keep her strong, she needs to dominate the smaller girls of SD team like Becky Lynch and Carmella. These ladies always make these matches exciting, no matter how many variations of it we’ve seen, so I expect nothing less tonight. But for me, it’s a foregone conclusion. If there’s one match RAW HAS to win, it’s this one.
Winners: RAW Women
Match #3: The Miz (R) vs Baron Corbin (SD)
I don’t think anyone is foaming at the mouth for this match, but I hope WWE does good by Corbin and allows him to get the win over one of the most “over” guys in the company. Miz will not be affected at all by the loss, but Baron has much more on the line. If they want to keep building him up, he needs to look strong against the guys who realistically, should not be able to beat him in a fight. I’d like to see Corbin take out Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, assuming they’ll be involved somehow, before definitively taking out Miz. It’ll look good on him.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Match #4: The Shield (R) vs The New Day (SD)
The first pay-per-view match for the full Shield in 3 years. That in itself is special. Put them against the New Day, a team who has proven themselves to be just as visceral in the ring as they are on the mic, and you have something special. We don’t see New Day wrestle as a trio very often….lately Xavier Woods has gotten to shine along with Big E while Kofi sits it out, so it’ll be really refreshing to see them all in there. As it will be to see Roman, Seth and Dean back and wrestling together at a big event again….they’ve given us teases of the reunion, but never to this scale. Let’s hope the magic is still there, if not enhanced by all three men soaring to stratospheric heights during the time in between Shield runs. I’d like to see the Shield lose, but I can’t see that happening, especially if this is something that hasn’t yet run its course.
Winners: The Shield
Match #5: Alexa Bliss (R) vs Charlotte (SD)
In a perfect world, we would have gotten a heel vs heel match for this too, but no such luck. Alexa Bliss has done a great job of carrying that Raw title and has really established herself as possibly the 2nd most valuable female wrestler in the company, behind Asuka. Charlotte has fallen from grace since her RAW does, but reclaiming the title, even if it was done with little build, should she hold onto it for a while, is a step back in the right direction. She did the favors for everyone on Raw, and she’s waited months and months to call herself a champion again. I think she deserves the title, and this match against Alexa, would should be stellar. Even with no build, these are two of the best female workers WWE has, so I have no doubt both of their styles and personas will match perfectly. Alexa has stolen plenty of victories, but I think Charlotte will see it coming and pick up the win.
Winner: Charlotte
Match #6: Brock Lesnar (R) vs AJ Styles (SD)
Brock Lesnar vs Jinder Mahal was not a terribly exciting prospect. Brock would have had little to no motivation, and would have assisted Jinder whatsoever. AJ Styles on the other hand, is the perfect opponent to counter all of Brock’s strengths. While he may have only won it recently, he IS the WWE Champion, so a squash is simply out of the question. Brock’s matches against both Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman earlier this year were underwhelming, but I think AJ takes it upon himself to make the match special. Many will look to Brock’s match with CM Punk as his last truly great match, and while that match was very good, CM Punk is nowhere near as talented as AJ Styles. I think this could be the occasion where we finally get something different from Brock….I can see him having to dig down and find old tricks to use when his go-to moves don’t quite work against the slick, crafty AJ Styles. Brock gets the win here of course, but AJ won’t go down easy.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Match #7: Triple H, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Kurt Angle and Braun Strowman (R) vs Shane McMahon, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, John Cena and Randy Orton (SD)
Is this the most stacked traditional Surivor Series match of all time?? I think it may be. We’ve obviously seen the number of titles between everyone and all of that, but talent wise, I think it’s a perfect mix of nostalgia from yesterday and the new blood of today. How many times will you get to see Finn Balor mix it up with Randy Orton or Triple H with Bobby Roode? Those are just a few possibilities of what we can get, and I think it’s exhilarating. Clearly, last years match needed to have a ton of time with the main event of Lesnar/Goldberg last 1 minute and 26 seconds, but I think that set a precedent. No more should this match be previously feuding teams or whatnot thrown together to continue their programs, but rather a way for the “big boys” to play.
I’d like this match to remain pure, but I certainly would not mind a Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn run-in, even if it just results in the elimination of Shane McMahon. There are a ton of possibilities this could go, but I think after Stephanie McMahon’s emasculation of Kurt Angle on RAW, I think they backed themselves into a corner and sort of made it impossible for RAW to lose.
Winners: RAW men
nwademusic 