Here’s my final thoughts on WWE Raw and SmackDown Live’s Survivor Series 2017!
Matt Hardy vs. Elias
Reactions: Elias got one over on a veteran? Yep. I kinda figured Matt would get the victory by default due to his status, but Elias’ win makes sense seeing as how he’s a part of Raw’s new blood talent pool. This was a pretty cut and dry match with your usual babyface fire from Matt and focused limb work from Elias. Elias’ arm work on Matt wasn’t all that interesting, but Matt’s comeback added a bit of fire to this Kickoff Match. The Side Effect on the ring apron was…well, something at least. This was par for the course as far as Kickoff Matches go – inoffensive, but completely forgettable.
Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango)
Reactions: Owens and Zayn were just as peeved about being on the Kickoff Show as me. As always, they presented some solid reasoning behind why they don’t support their brand’s GM and his current efforts against Raw. The strong pre-match promos from both men led to an average lil’ sprint between both teams. All four men looked good here and presented a match that maintained a somewhat fast pace. It didn’t last very long, though. Check out the truthful words from Owens and Zayn and bypass this match, honestly…
Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Enzo Amore (c) vs. Kalisto (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
Reactions: Does anyone else ever look forward to an Enzo Amore match? I love the guy’s confidence and mic shtick, but he’s a complete dud between the ropes. He didn’t do anything to change my opinion of his in-ring work here, sadly. Him and Kalisto pretty much delivered the same match they’ve been having for the past month or so. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but it was a bit uninspired and far from the best ring work the Cruiserweight division can deliver. At least Kalisto’s comeback stuff was cool to see (as always). This was just…there. I hope this feud has met its conclusion.
Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars
WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) vs. WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin (Non-Title Champion vs. Champion Interbrand Match)
Reactions: I figured this wouldn’t be all that entertaining and I was pretty much right. Corbin tends to have his best matches against smaller babyfaces, while The Miz works best against stronger good guys. Their styles didn’t mesh all that well here, to be quite honest. Miz looked like a fiery babyface here and there as he defended the honor of his wife. His leg work against Corbin added an extra interesting wrinkle to the match, but the entirety of it was pretty bland. That Deep Six on Miz looked pretty cool, at least. Anyways, Corbin got SD Live their first win. In the end, that’s all that matters about this match.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
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
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (Six-Man Tag Team Match)
Reactions: I never envisioned a 6-man tag team match like this ever becoming a reality, but I’m glad it happened. Both teams presented a fun bout that included some unbelievable maneuvers. The tandem top rope splashes from The New Day were crazy, plus their double Midnight Hour finisher was equally as insane. But the ending is what really put this bout over the top – The Shield finished off Kofi with the biggest Triple Powerbomb I’ve ever seen! Before that though, both teams presented a fun bout that saw both teams reach deep into their well of dual and triple team maneuvers. Watching The Shield pull out everything that made them so formidable years ago against The New Day’s amazing chemistry was hype! I definitely enjoyed this one.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) vs. WWE Champion AJ Styles (Non-Title Champion vs. Champion Interbrand Match)
Reactions: I love David vs. Goliath matches like this one. Lesnar entered this bout as the unstoppable monster he’s always been against the smaller but durable AJ Styles. At first, Lesnar completely decimated Styles with stiff knee strikes and suplexes. Styles was treated like a rag doll for several grueling minutes until he dodged a flying knee strike from Lesnar. At that point, this match got all the more intense. Styles switched his focus to Lesnar’s now injured knee and used everything in his arsenal to further weaken “The Beast.” The crowd (and me included) went nuts as Styles landed Phenomenal Elbows, a Pele, DDT’s and a Calf Crusher on his larger foe. The story being told here was simple but oh so effective. Styles fought hard to keep Lesnar on his knees, while Lesnar relied on his brute strength to cut through the WWE Champion. While it hurt to see Styles eat that final F5, I was none too disappointed with the match as a whole. This interbrand Champion vs. Champion match delivered in spades!
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Match of the Night
Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles!
Final Verdict
Raw vs. SmackDown Live erupted at the 2017 edition of Survivor Series and brought out the best in the Superstars I expected it from. Plus I got to see Alexa Bliss (someone I’m not used to seeing dish out great in-ring performances) perform at a higher level against Charlotte. The Kickoff Matches were meaningless, plus Corbin vs. The Miz and the Women’s 5-on-5 match were letdowns. But everything else on the card ended up being good to awesome. Lesnar vs. Styles was the ultimate David vs. Goliath encounter and the main event had its fair share of thrills. I enjoyed the majority of this year’s Survivor Series and I’d have no issue watching it again.
Final Score: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
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