Well, here is a shock. The Survivor Series match takes place on the pre-show. Did not expect that.
Stardust, The Ascension, Bo Dallas and The Miz vs. Titus O’Neal, Adrian Neville, The Dudley Boyz and Goldust.
Seeing Goldust back in the ring was a good surprise. He eliminates Viktor in moments. The Dudleys take care of Konnor shortly after. Sadly, Adrian Neville is eliminated first from the babyface team by a combo from Miz and Dallas. Miz gloats, and is rolled up by Goldust for the elimination. After a long battle, Bo Dallas is eliminated by Titus. Upon realizing it is now four on one, Starry attempts to run away, but is stopped by Goldust. Crazy Cody winds up running right into an awaiting 3D, giving the faces the big win. Shame they let Neville get eliminated though.
Backstage: Tom Philips attempts to do a live Q&A via Twitter with Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae. Hilarious segment. Breeze is fantastic, shooting down everything, best line of “Uh, I’m going to ignore that and live my life.” Only downer is Summer Rae, who is pretty much a parrot. Repeats and is overdoing the dumb blonde gimmick. Maybe it worked during their run together in NXT, but it does not seem to work here. Tyler was great, Summer needs to go.
Onto the main show, we are told there will be another Traditional Survivor Series match tonight, and kicking off is Roman Reigns vs. Alberto del Rio in a semi-final match. The match was a solid back and forth, with some slow moments. There were just too many spot attempts by Reigns, and Del Rio at times seemed to be unsure what Reigns was going for next. Nice spot where Del Rio superkicked Reigns mid-spear. Reigns wound up taking it with a spear, because these days matches only end on finishing moves.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens – Semi-Final Match
Now this was a great match. Although we knew Ambrose was going to win, Kevin Owens busted out some sick spots, including a top rope twisting brainbuster. Fast-paced even bout, Owens beating the hell out of Ambrose, and Ambrose selling everything like his life depended on it. Owens was a beast and Ambrose bounced all over the place, taking a superkick, going for a slingshot clothesline and ate a second superkick. A ton of counters and reversals. Great match, and Ambrose countering the Pop Up Powerbomb into the Dirty Deeds was a thing of beauty. Again, minor tarnish knowing Ambrose was going to win.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Ryback, The Usos, & Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day, Sheamus, & King Barrett
In a shock to no one, Wade Barrett was first to be eliminated, by none other than Sin Cara. This made me cry. It was funny before the match, during the entrances, Sheamus went full-goofball in an attempt to sound “thug” by wanting to “get jiggy on these posers.” During the match, Xavier Woods played the trombone, while Big E., Kofi, and Barrett all danced while Sheamus watched in jealousy. Jimmy Uso is next eliminated, followed by Big E., who is then escorted to the back by Kofi and Xavier, eliminating themselves after a short spat with Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior held his own for a while, but the 3-to-1 odds did not go in his favor, eating multiple signature moves, followed by the Shell Shock by Ryback.
Survivors: Ryback, Jey Uso, & Kalisto
Decent filler match. New Day was over huge.
Divas Championship: Paige vs. Charlotte
Very good match! Not their best, but still very entertaining. Certainly much better than any of the other Divas can do. Crazy barrier spot where Paige was on top of the barrier and Charlotte just spears her right off. Back and forth, with Paige gaining the advantage through most of it.
The match seemed a bit slow at times, but a very good match. Charlotte earned the win via submission, so it seems Charlotte will remain on top of the Divas Division for now.
Winner and still Divas Champion: Charlotte
Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze
Well, I had to be wrong on one, and this was it. I really thought Ziggler would get the win here, but it seems the losses are just going to continue racking up for the Show Off. I get Tyler Breeze is new on the main roster and needs a push, but Ziggler just keeps losing over and over. Chances are, tomorrow night on RAW we will see a rematch with Ziggler winning, but at this point it is meaningless. Breeze wins via Unprettier.
Winner: Tyler Breeze
I hate Summer Rae. Worthless.
The Wyatt Family vs. The Brothers of Destruction
The entrance lasted 25 years. But it was awesome. Very Deadman. Erick Rowan is thrown into the fire and is quickly dispatched by the Brothers of Destruction. Bray and Luke Harper are the ones who face off. Mostly a back and forth brawl, but during the match, the Deadman took a big superkick from Harper. Awesome spot, with Taker and Kane double-chokeslaming Braun Strowman through the announce table. After a ton of big slams, Taker spikes Harper with the Tombstone, earning the victory.
WWE Championship Tournament Final: Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns
In a horrifically short and ugly match, Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose. The match was all big moves and repeated finishers. It was only 10:40 when the match was over. You just knew something had to happen. But then the pyro and confetti started to rain down. Come on, no way. It dragged out long enough where you thought the show might actually have been over…
… Until Triple H hit the ring. He extended his hand to Reigns, but wound up getting speared in return. Just then, from behind, SHEAMUS blasts the new champion with a Brough Kick. Handing in the briefcase, the ref calls for the bell and Sheamus goes for the pin, but Reigns kicks out. After a missed Superman punch, Reigns hit the ropes for a Spear, but winds up eating a second Brough Kick! Pinfall, and the three count!
NEW WWE Champion!
Well, Roman Reigns did win the title, if only to lose it five minutes later.
Overall, a great show, except the main event was completely rushed. Very disappointed they couldn’t have given Reigns and Ambrose more time. They had plenty of it. Even after the cash in there was still a good ten minutes until 11pm. Instead, they gave us a close up on Reigns who sat in the ring crying.
Winner, and NEW WWE Champion: Sheamus
