Team Raw (Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Bálor, and Triple H) vs. Team SmackDown (Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, and John Cena) (Men’s Traditional Interbrand 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match)
Reactions: The entrances alone made this an incredibly exciting main event scuffle. Several dream scenarios were previewed here – Roode vs. HHH, Joe vs. Cena and Finn vs. Nakamura. The taunting exchanges between Finn and Nakamura, plus HHH and Roode added even more value to this bout’s fun factor. Strowman was the towering monster he’s always been, which led to some fun moments where Team SD Live fought hard just to bring him down. Witnessing Angle and Cena rekindle their 2002 feud’s flame and watching as Orton and Cena teamed up to beat down on Strowman was amazing. The action on display here was great and the stories being told all the while kept me enthralled. The ending that saw HHH’s ego supersede the betterment of Team Raw was definitely a shock. The match ended with a jaw dropping moment and more insanity as Strowman planted HHH with two Running Powerslam’s. The star power here delivered and so did the match itself.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Team Raw (Alicia Fox, Asuka, Bayley, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks) vs. Team SmackDown (Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Tamina and Natalya) (with Lana) (Women’s Traditional Interbrand 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match)
Reactions: While not amazing by any stretch of the imagination, this 5-on-5- Women’s Elimination Match was fine for what it was. It had a few standout moments – Bayley’s sudden elimination of Lynch, Tamina and Jax taking on each other for the first time and Asuka’s awesome final moments against Tamina and Natalya. That weird botch where Fox met her end and still kept on fighting was super awkward, though. Anyways, Asuka got another big moment on PPV after a decent Survivor Series Traditional Match.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Sheamus & Cesaro vs. WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (Non-Title Champions vs. Champions Interbrand Match)
Reactions: Now y’all knew this one was gonna be a barnburner! The Usos and “The Bar” have turned out some of the best performances of 2017. While they didn’t give me the MOTY candidate I was hoping for, they still pulled out one of the better bouts of the entire show. Things started hot with The Usos’ delivery of live mic disses. Once the match got underway, things certainly got hectic. The Usos had the lead for a bit until Sheamus and Cesaro beat the holy hell out of Jimmy for a good while. Once Jey got the hot tag, this match got a bit better. Near fall after near fall came as both teams broke out their best moves. I popped hard when Jey ended up using a Samoan Drop on Sheamus whilst in the middle of eating a Powerbomb from Cesaro. The action intensified as the match wore on and it eventually ended on a perfectly good note. I’d be down to see this again with an extra five or 10 minutes added to it. This was a fun outing from two of wrestling’s top tag teams.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair (Non-Title Champion vs. Champion Interbrand Match)
Reactions: While I enjoy Bliss’ character work, I’m not too fond of her work in the squared circle. Color me surprised after this match, though! Bliss stepped up big time to cement her status as one WWE’s better women’s wrestlers in this match against another great. This started out slow at first, but it slowly improved as the match wore on. Bliss focused on tearing up Charlotte’s ribs, while Charlotte relied on her strength advantage to break down Bliss. This match brought out a beautiful Moonsault, a nasty corner suplex, a sick Sitdown Powerbomb and even a Twisted Bliss (that missed, but still looked amazing). The ending stretch was what really made this match worthwhile. Props to Bliss for her performance here and even more props to Charlotte for pulling out such a big win.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars