Seems as though I am in the minority of enjoying Survivor Series. Been a lot of unfavorable reviews throughout the internet. Well, I enjoyed it.
One thing I admit. Sheamus as WWE Champion at this stage is a surprise, and one might say the lesser of two evils. Right now, a heel should be champion. Faces are in a better position to be title chasers than title holders. Reigns being robbed makes for a great sympathetic storyline, but the only issue is whether this will culminate in Reigns finally winning at WrestleMania 32.
Triple H and Stephanie begin the show, congratulating Sheamus on his championship victory. Now, it is not clear if he is part of The Authority, or whether he is all one his own. Reigns interrupts and demands his rematch. Only after Rusev attacks from behind, Triple H informs Reigns he gets his title match at TLC, in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.
Alright, Reigns vs. Sheamus.
Next up, we get a very good tag team match between The Dudley Boyz and The Wyatt Family. Crowd was pumped before the bell even rang. While the Dudleys lost via numbers interference, this does seem as though this might be a feud which lasts a while. I dig it.
After some promos, we watch Sasha Banks defeat Becky Lynch thanks to interference from Tamina and Naomi. A bit of a bummer to end the match this way, as the two NXT women put on a good match, but felt a bit too short and the overwhelming interference was unnecessary. Post match, Michael Cole talks about Sasha possibly being the number one contender to Charlotte, however Paige interrupts, showing how Charlotte “cheated” because her hand appears to be under the bottom rope, so therefore, Paige is still number one contender. As a result, The Authority books a Divas Championship rematch for tonight, Charlotte defends against Paige.
The New Day hit the ring with a one year anniversary celebration, featuring a Country Music Jamboree. Kofi looks insane with a unicorn hairdo, Big E. is wearing a tiny hat and bandana as all three giddiyup on stick-unicorns. This is too funny. They say they are offering an open challenge for the Tag Team Championships, but after a lengthy verbal bashing of country music, they are interrupted by both the Lucha Dragons and Usos. They want the title shot, but New Days fools everyone and says there is no challenge. Awwww. A brawl breaks out, with New Day running off.
Funny stuff. Not sure the point of that, but always fun to see New Day get loony.
Adrian Neville defeats Mark Henry. So, the whole point here, as explained by Cole, was Mark Henry talking backstage and online about how he respects the younger guys, but still feels he has plenty left in the career gas tank. During the match, Henry is either upset, bored, or just confused like the rest of us. He dominates the match, until Neville hits ONE KICK, and Henry fals victim to the Red Arrow, giving Neville the win. Post match, Henry shakes Neville’s hand.
Ooookay.
Backstage: Stardust spouts off about galactic whathaveyou, when Titus O’Neal suddenly walks in, appearing lost. He talks about his love of science, trying to get Cody to see the constellation of Titanius, the Florida Gator. Ah-Roo! Titus spooks Stardust. Funny stuff.
We get Stardust and The Ascension up against Goldust and the Prime Time Players. About time Titus gets more airtime, and really glad to see Goldust in action on RAW. After some consistent back and forth, Titus gets the hot tag, cleans house, and splatters Konnor with the Clash of the Titus sitout powerbomb for the win. Fun match.
Alberto del Rio and Zeb Colter come out to cut some sort of weird promo, which is interrupted by Jack Swagger, who gets a HUGE pop from the crowd. He brings back the “We The People” chant. So, instead of a feud, we find out Swagger and Del Rio will collide on SmackDown. Maybe Swagger might get a second chance here?
Very good championship match between Paige and Charlotte. Lots of back and forth, a few slow moments, but some pretty intense spots throughout. These girls put the rest of the roster to shame. Sadly, the match ended on a double count-out, but the post match got intense. Paige plows Charlotte into the steel steps, then locked her in the PTO while on top of the announce table. I mean, sure, announce table is cool and all, but it doesn’t make it hurt more. It’s not like she put her through the table…
In a very bizarre segment which was nothing more than a time killer, Heath Slater attempted to sing or squeal like a raccoon, until Ryback came out and turned him into roadkill. Slater did his best Jeff Jarrett impersonation by bashing the guitar over The Big Guy, but had no effect. Not sure if this was a match or just insanity.
Next up, a fantastic tag team match with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens and Tyler Breeze. Interesting to hear the crowd pop for Owens with the “Fight Owens Fight” chants whenever he got in the ring. Bit of a shame to see Ambrose in a tag match with barely a mention of his championship match. Felt like an afterthought. Some good back and forth, Ambrose took a serious bump on a dive to the outside, but managed to steal the match. Breeze went for the Unprettier, but Ambrose reversed into the Dirty Deeds, spiking and pinning Breeze while Owens just watched, because, as JBL loves to remind “He’s a prize fighter Cole!”
Cesaro is injured, but Rusev is back, and facing Roman Reigns in our main event. Yay.
Unfortunately, I spent most of the last segment watching trailers for DC Legends of Tomorrow and Colony. Some Star Wars too. Reigns and Rusev had the sort of match one would expect. Back and forth brawl, some staredowns with Sheamus sitting at ringside. Not a great match, one nice spot on the outside, Reigns went for a Superman punch, but eats a thrust kick instead. I even heard a “Let’s go Roman” chant tonight. They must really hate Rusev. What made it all worth it, was the sudden interference by King Wade Barrett who clobbers Reigns with the Bull Hammer! The match ended by DQ, so out come the chairs and Roman Reigns goes nuts, beating up Barrett, Rusev, and Sheamus. Odd finish.
Tonight’s RAW could have been better. The undercard easily surpassed the main storyline, but even the undercard matches felt rushed and underappreciated by the announce team. I cannot put my finger on it, but while I enjoyed some of the matches, overall felt something was lacking.
