With more time devoted to an intro than the main event of a major pay-per-view, it's my recap of Survivor Series 2016!
This was the strangest night of pro wrestling I've ever seen. It was off the hook, wild and electrifying and above all shocking. It was three and a half hours of insane booking, fantastic wrestling and moments that will stand for years to come. So in short, it was a WrestleMania in the fall. That's literally the best description I have for this night.
In what was the only major disappointment of the night, we opened with the women's elimination match. Somehow, in a match featuring four outstanding workers and one Nia Jax, this was entirely forgettable. Bayley won it for the Raw brand and Charlotte attacked her after the match, and no one cared. Next up we had Sami Zayn against The Miz, with the future of the Intercontinental Championship hanging in the balance. These are two great workers, and they weren't quite on their A games, but still delivered a solid match. The Miz has yet to run out of cheap ways to win matches, and I love him for it.
Next up, we had the tag team elimination match. In a match that involved just over 20 wrestlers, this was always going to be chaotic. I was actually quite surprised with how good it was, and Sheamus and Cesaro are becoming a legit team. It's not been the most fun ride, but I feel these two have finally gotten a chance to show off their natural charisma, and it's making both much more interesting characters. Raw has been floundering of late, and a lot of that can be blamed on the failure of the crusierweight division. One of the most hyped aspects of the brand split, both booking and talent have failed on a massive level to get anyone over. That being said, tonight's match was an example of how great crusierweight wrestling can be. Brian Kendrick and Kalisto told a great story; it's just a shame Baron Corbin had to muck it up.
The actual Survivor Series gimmick has been killed by WWE over the past 15 years, with only 2001 and 2014's matches having any stakes whatsoever. Tonight, though, they nailed it. From Braun Strowman's emergence, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho's hijinks, the continuation of the Styles-Ambrose feud, the awesome Shield reunion and the domination of the Wyatt Family, everything was booked to perfection. This was a true match of the year candidate, and given what was to follow, absolutely had to be. Between this and last night's Revival-DIY classic, tag team matches are absolutely stealing the show.
I'm sure a lot of you are wondering about my thoughts on the main event. If you saw my Twitter, you'd know I loved it. I'll start by saying that I wasn't interested in this match at all. I'm too young to have watched Goldberg in his prime, and I stopped caring about Brock a long time ago. It would take something major to make me watch this match, and they delivered something major. This is, after all, what Goldberg was all about. Spear, Jackhammer, leave. This is what makes wrestling so fun, to get lost in the moment and just enjoy what you're watching. For the first time since the Streak ended, I actually couldn't believe what I was watching. Maybe it wasn't building for the future, but WWE has never built for the future, and putting Brock Lesnar over wouldn't have changed that.
7/10
Wrestling is all about the moments, and this show delivered a lot. Was it perfect? No. Will fans love it? Of course not. Was it amazing? You're damn right it was.
This was the strangest night of pro wrestling I've ever seen. It was off the hook, wild and electrifying and above all shocking. It was three and a half hours of insane booking, fantastic wrestling and moments that will stand for years to come. So in short, it was a WrestleMania in the fall. That's literally the best description I have for this night.
In what was the only major disappointment of the night, we opened with the women's elimination match. Somehow, in a match featuring four outstanding workers and one Nia Jax, this was entirely forgettable. Bayley won it for the Raw brand and Charlotte attacked her after the match, and no one cared. Next up we had Sami Zayn against The Miz, with the future of the Intercontinental Championship hanging in the balance. These are two great workers, and they weren't quite on their A games, but still delivered a solid match. The Miz has yet to run out of cheap ways to win matches, and I love him for it.
Next up, we had the tag team elimination match. In a match that involved just over 20 wrestlers, this was always going to be chaotic. I was actually quite surprised with how good it was, and Sheamus and Cesaro are becoming a legit team. It's not been the most fun ride, but I feel these two have finally gotten a chance to show off their natural charisma, and it's making both much more interesting characters. Raw has been floundering of late, and a lot of that can be blamed on the failure of the crusierweight division. One of the most hyped aspects of the brand split, both booking and talent have failed on a massive level to get anyone over. That being said, tonight's match was an example of how great crusierweight wrestling can be. Brian Kendrick and Kalisto told a great story; it's just a shame Baron Corbin had to muck it up.
The actual Survivor Series gimmick has been killed by WWE over the past 15 years, with only 2001 and 2014's matches having any stakes whatsoever. Tonight, though, they nailed it. From Braun Strowman's emergence, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho's hijinks, the continuation of the Styles-Ambrose feud, the awesome Shield reunion and the domination of the Wyatt Family, everything was booked to perfection. This was a true match of the year candidate, and given what was to follow, absolutely had to be. Between this and last night's Revival-DIY classic, tag team matches are absolutely stealing the show.
I'm sure a lot of you are wondering about my thoughts on the main event. If you saw my Twitter, you'd know I loved it. I'll start by saying that I wasn't interested in this match at all. I'm too young to have watched Goldberg in his prime, and I stopped caring about Brock a long time ago. It would take something major to make me watch this match, and they delivered something major. This is, after all, what Goldberg was all about. Spear, Jackhammer, leave. This is what makes wrestling so fun, to get lost in the moment and just enjoy what you're watching. For the first time since the Streak ended, I actually couldn't believe what I was watching. Maybe it wasn't building for the future, but WWE has never built for the future, and putting Brock Lesnar over wouldn't have changed that.
7/10
Wrestling is all about the moments, and this show delivered a lot. Was it perfect? No. Will fans love it? Of course not. Was it amazing? You're damn right it was.
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