WWE Survivor Series (November 2017)

Original Airdate: November 19, 2017

From Houston, Texas; Your Hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, and Byron Saxton

Opening Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Shield v The New Day: Lots of measuring in the early going, eventually resulting in all six men coming in for a brawl, with Shield cleaning house. The dust settles on Xavier Woods getting triple teamed in the corner, but he manages to sneak past Dean Ambrose long enough to tag Kofi Kingston. Kofi comes in flying, but misses a big kick, and nearly gets caught in the Dirty Deeds before managing to pass to Big E. Now it's Dean's turn to get triple teamed, but that brings in his buddies, and we get another brawl between all six guys. That allows Ambrose to hit a tope, but Big E spears him off of the apron while he's climbing back up, and he gets two out of it on the way back in. New Day cut the ring in half on Ambrose, but Dean manages to counter a superplex attempt from Woods with a gourdbuster, so Big E comes in with an overhead superplex to finish his pals thoughts - only for Ambrose to block THAT, and dive at Big E with a flying dropkick! Tag to Seth Rollins, and he comes in with a 2^nd rope flying somersault neckbreaker on Kingston, followed by the sling blade for two. Kofi passes to Woods, so Seth powerbombs his ass into the turnbuckles for Roman Reigns to hit with a jumping clothesline for two. Superman Punch, but Woods counters with a schoolboy for two. Criss cross ends in Reigns decking him, but Big E tags in with a belly-to-belly suplex before a cover can be made. That brings Ambrose in, but Seth saves him from the Big Ending, and Roseanne Barr the door, we've got a kettle on! Kofi runs into the Dirty Deeds, but Xavier saves at two, so Rollins superkicks him. Shield try to finish Woods off with their triple powerbomb deal, but they take too long setting it up (maybe skip the primal scream if you're in the middle of a brawl?), and New Day beat them all down on the outside. New Day hit Ambrose with a cool triple snake-eyes spot, followed by an equally cool bit where Kofi and Big E piggyback off of Woods with flying splashes. Those are some quality tandem moves. Big E then picks BOTH Seth and Dean up for a double Midnight Hour, but Reigns saves at two. Damn, that was cool though. Both teams back off and strategize, then charge for a wild slugfest. Shield gets the better of it on the outside, and Reigns spears Kingston on the inside to set up the triple powerbomb off the middle rope at 21:40. It's not like it was bad, but I just wasn't feeling it most of the way through. It was awesome once they just started doing the triple team moves, though. ** ¾

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team RAW (Alicia Fox, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Asuka, and Nia Jax) v Team Smackdown (Becky Lynch, Natalya, Naomi, Carmella, and Tamina): Becky I can see, but Alicia Fox is the team captain for the RAW side? The Smackdown side has a much better hot-to-not ratio, so I'm choosing to support them. Plus, they have Lana in their corner to really put them over the top. The two captains start, and Alicia goes all crazy on her in the corner, but Becky pops out with a clothesline. Snapmare and a spinheel kick follow, and Becky delivers a nice flying legdrop for two, but Fox hides out in the ropes to avoid getting her arm broken. Lynch keeps coming with an exploder suplex, but she fails to notice that Bayley has tagged, and a schoolgirl sends Becky home at 2:04. Nattie comes in with a blistering snap suplex on Bayley, and she stomps a mud hole in the corner, then snap suplexes her a second time for two. Over to Tamina, but she misses a charge, allowing Bayley to tag to Asuka. And there you go, Tamina and Nia Jax on camera at the same time. Definitive proof that they are not the same person. The RAW team gang up on Tamina in the corner, but Bayley gets overpowered, and sent into the Smackdown corner for, well, a smackdown. Tamina with a Superfly splash to finish her at 5:23. Her dad used to do it better. Jax comes in so we can get our BBW showdown, which Nia dominates. Avalanche leads to a somersault bodyblock for two, but Lana distracts her before she can finish, and Tamina capitalizes with a pair of superkicks to send Nia to the outside. Naomi further capitalizes with a plancha, and Tamina comes off the steps with a flying bodypress - Jax counted out at 9:01. That bodypress was weak as fuck, with everyone selling it like she'd just done a shooting star press, or something. She came off the steps! It's barely three feet up! Reminds me of when we'd play wrestling as kids, and you'd jump off the step stool your mom used to reach the top shelf of kitchen cabinets like it was the top rope. Fox yells and screams about the elimination, allowing Naomi to sneak in with a schoolgirl for two, and she adds an enzuigiri in the corner, but misses the split-legged moonsault. That leads to a poorly worked reversal sequence, ending in Naomi hooking a sunset cradle at 10:50. Unfortunately for her, Sasha dives right in with the Bank Statement, and Naomi is gone at 10:56. In comes Carmella (who is our MVP of hotness tonight) with a snap suplex, but Asuka tags in, and unloads with kicks. Carmella manages to catch her with a rear sitout matslam, and a bronco buster follows, but she makes the mistake of taunting Asuka with slaps, and pays the price - Asuka finishing with a big kick at 13:00. Natalya marches in, but gets kicked as well, and Sasha tags for a tandem vertical suplex for two. Natalya fires back with a spinning forearm smash for two, but Banks shrugs her off, and unloads with clotheslines. Dropkick sets up a double high knee, and the Bank Statement is applied, but Tamina saves! That distracts Sasha enough for Natalya to schoolgirl her for two, and the Sharpshooter finishes at 15:14. You suck, Asuka! The remaining Smackdown two double up on Asuka, but Tamina misses the Superfly splash, and gets caught in a cross-armbreaker at 17:30. Natalya rushes right in with the Sharpshooter, but Asuka manages to counter into a kneebar! Natalya escapes, and tries a discus forearm, but Asuka ducks, and the Asuka-Lock is enough at 18:22.
Survivor: Asuka
A little all over the place at points, but pretty much all action. ** ½

Miz v Baron Corbin: Miz is the Intercontinental champion, and Corbin the United States champion, but neither is on the line. It's kind of telling about the current state of the product when so many fans choose to come to the arena dressed as the stars of three decades ago. Like, I don't remember anyone showing up to a Superstars taping dressed as Pedro Morales or Lou Thesz. Miz tries sticking and moving in the early going, but gets viciously tossed in the corner, and Baron hammers him. He gets distracted by Miz's entourage, however, allowing Miz a baseball slide on the outside, but Corbin easily fights him off. He gets distracted by Maryse this time, allowing Miz to attack again, and Baron takes a bump into the barricade. Corbin shrugs him off yet again on the way back in, but misses a charge, and goes out over the top. If this is really annoying and all over the place to read, well then I'm perfectly capturing the viewing experience. Baron shrugs Miz off AGAIN, but runs into a cheap shot from Bo Dallas, and Miz finally takes over for more than a single move on the way back in. He works Corbin's knee, but Baron has the ropes to escape a figure four, and he delivers the Deep Six for two. Corbin with a corner clothesline, but Miz counters a chokeslam with a rollup for two, and a schoolboy is worth two. Baron tries for End of Days, but Miz counters with a DDT for two, and he throws the yes-kicks. Series of cross corner dropkicks follow, but the third is countered with the End of Days at 9:24. Thank God they're on different brands, because I don't think I could stand several months worth of rematches. ½*

Cesaro and Sheamus v The Usos: Both guys hold their respective brands tag title, but this is also non-title action. Sheamus and Jimmy Uso feel each other out to start, until Sheamus gets trapped in the Uso corner, and double teamed. He gets away long enough to tag, but Cesaro runs right into a hiptoss from Jey Uso for two, and they double team him as well. Sheamus tags in to help Cesaro with a tandem clothesline on Jey, but Sheamus misses a blind tag, and gets nailed by Jimmy. Jimmy hits Cesaro with a tope, but runs into a rolling fireman's carry slam from Sheamus on the floor, and Sheamus adds a flying clothesline for two on the way back in. They cut the ring in half on Jimmy, but Sheamus gets caught with a flying corkscrew bodyblock, and Jey gets the tag! He comes in hot on Cesaro, and a cross corner hip attack gets two. The camera was way out of position there, and totally exposed the fact that there was almost zero contact made. Superkick gets two, but a trip to the top rope ends badly, and Cesaro spinebusters him down into the giant swing. Sharpshooter, but Jey manages the ropes, so Sheamus blasts him with a knee from the apron, and Cesaro clotheslines him for two. White Noise/springboard legdrop combo looks to finish, but Jimmy saves at two. Sheamus and Cesaro get rid of him, and go for the kill on Jey again, but Sheamus ends up getting Samoan dropped off the top rope (while Jey is riding on Cesaro's shoulders!) for a dramatic two! Neat spot! Tag to Jimmy, and many superkicks are thrown. Cesaro tries to save, but Jimmy dives onto him with a plancha before he can, while Jey hits a flying splash on Sheamus for the pin at 15:53. Had its moments, but could have been wrapped up in half the time. **

Alexa Bliss v Charlotte Flair: Both hold their brands women's title, but this is non-title. As a fan of Women's wrestling, this is actually something of a dream match for me. Charlotte uses her size to hammer Alexa at the bell, until Bliss bails. Kind of weird to see a Flair play the big powerhouse to someone elses small cowardly heel. Charlotte tries to keep Alexa from getting back into the ring, but ends up taking a bump off of the apron to the floor, and Bliss rolls her in for two. Alexa pays her back by literally kicking her out of the ring, then bringing her back in to get a two count out of it. Bliss with an overhead wristlock, so Charlotte tries to power out with a bodyslam, but Alexa topples her for two. Charlotte fights out of the corner with a rollup for two, and an exploder suplex into the buckles follows, but Flair ends up in a tree of woe while climbing for a moonsault. Alexa goes up for Twisted Bliss, but Charlotte starts moving, so she hops down with the Insault to Injury instead for two. Sloppy execution on that one. Sunset flip, but Charlotte blocks, and tries a powerbomb, but Bliss counters with a rana into a cradle for two. Standing sunset bomb gets two, but Charlotte holds the ropes to block a DDT, and she beats on Bliss with chops. Alexa throws a tantrum, diving onto Flair with a guillotine choke, but Charlotte counters into a sitout powerbomb for two. Figure Four, but Alexa blocks, so Charlotte uses the Natural Selection for two instead. Flying moonsault, but Bliss rolls out of the way, and hooks the leg for two. DDT gets two, and a corner dropkick to the ribs leads to a double-stomp. Twisted Bliss, but Charlotte lifts her knees to block, and she throws a big boot (with another poor camera angle exposing the lack of contact) to set up the Figure Eight at 15:48. Very disappointing. I had high hopes for this one, and they got plenty of time, but just didn't click. * ¾

Brock Lesnar v AJ Styles: Brock is the Universal champion to AJ's WWE champion, but (say it with me) neither is on the line. AJ tries to move around at the bell, but gets cornered by the big bull, and thrown all around the ring. Brock with a release overhead suplex, and AJ is just selling the shit out of the beating here. Release German suplex is again brilliantly sold by Styles, and Lesnar casually chucks him over the top rope in a show of force. AJ fights to beat the count, but Brock cuts him off by hopping out, and tossing poor Styles into an announce table like one might toss a bag of trash into a dumpster. Back in, Lesnar with another release German - sending AJ absolutely FLYING across the ring. Brock with a high knee in the corner, so Styles starts desperately throwing kicks to try and fight back, but Lesnar catches one, then thumps him with a short-leg clothesline. F5, but AJ manages to slip free, and he dodges Brock's attempt at another high knee in the corner. Styles capitalizes with a dropkick to the knee, and he drops the big guy with a DDT. AJ fires off more shots at the leg, but Brock catches a springboard moonsault attempt, leaving AJ fighting to block a slam. He manages to, and hits the pele kick, but the Phenomenal Forearm is countered with a German suplex - Styles doing a full backflip rotation while taking the move! Brock comes after him, but AJ manages to dump him over the top to avoid the beast, and he dives after him with a plancha! Styles sends him knee-first into the steps out there, then springboards off of them with a forearm smash. Back in, Styles throws an enzuigiri to set up a springboard moonsault, but he doesn't even bother covering. Instead, he parlays that into the springboard 450 splash, but Lesnar still kicks out at two! Styles Clash, but Lesnar counters to the F5, only for AJ to counter back into the Calf Crusher - that sequence drawing a huge pop from the crowd! Brock manages to fight free, so AJ throws the Phenomenal Forearm, but only gets two! The crowd is hanging on through all the ups and downs here, with great reactions. Styles pulls off his pad to try another Phenomenal Forearm, but this time Lesnar catches him in the F5, and we're done at 15:19. The crowd totally wanted Styles to pull it out there, and so did I. Brock's best singles match in a very long time, with Styles delivering something of a master class in selling. ****

Main Event: Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team RAW (Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Triple H) v Team Smackdown (Shane McMahon, John Cena, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Bobby Roode): Kurt Angle's position as RAW's General Manager is on the line here. Shane pokes the bear by attacking Braun from behind at the bell, and you can guess how that goes. He wisely tags right out to Orton, but Strowman doesn't bother with him, letting Joe do the dirty work. They feel each other out, and Randy tries for the RKO early, but nearly ends up in the Coquina Clutch. Tag to Balor, with the crowd begging for Nakamura to tag in as well, and Orton becomes the biggest babyface in the match simply by obliging. They do a reversal sequence that ends in a stalemate, as does another one, so Finn passes to HHH - Nakamura quivering with excitement. HHH looks like a Ryback's body double tonight. Hunter pounds him in the corner, and hits a pretty sloppy kneeling facebuster, so Roode tags himself in. Guess he wanted his turn at getting to look like Triple H's bitch. Hunter shoves him around, but Bobby manages a clothesline for two, and he unloads with chops, but runs into a rotating spinebuster. Pedigree, but Roode counters with his own rotating spinebuster, but HHH blocks the Glorious DDT, and tags Kurt. Angle comes in with a three-alarm rolling German suplex (with the announcers have the gall to claim he 'hasn't lost a step' when he can barely execute it), but Roode blocks the Olympic Slam. That leads to a double knockout, and we get a tag to Nakamura. He nails Kurt with a spinheel kick, and an avalanche leads to a knee in the corner, so Joe comes in without a tag. Nakamura fights him off, so Finn comes in, but Nakamura fights him off as well. HHH tries next, but as Nakamura fights him off, Angle has recovered enough to make an actual tag to Braun! Nakamura throws kicks at him, but the big man delivers the running powerslam at 11:32. In comes Roode with a 2^nd rope flying neckbreaker, but it only gets one. Another try literally bounces off of Strowman, and the front-powerslam finishes at 12:23. Despite Strowman not even breaking a sweat yet, Joe decides to tag himself in, which nearly leads to a brawl on the RAW side. Orton capitalizes on it by hitting HHH with a rope-hung DDT, and Joe eats a powerslam, but Strowman comes back in. That summons Cena in to help, and they manage to work together to knock big Braun to the outside, where the entire Smackdown team (including the two already eliminated) help suplex Strowman through an announce table! No one has been in the ring in forever, how has there not been a countout yet. Shane goes up to try and punctuate the suplex with a flying elbowdrop onto Strowman in the rubble, but Joe slams McMahon down off the top. Clutch, but Shane blocks, and Cena gets the tag. He comes in with a dropkick, so Joe tries an inverted atomic drop, then hits a big boot and a senton splash for two. Uranage hits, so Balor tags himself in to finish up with the Coup de Grace, but Joe objects. As they squabble, Cena recovers, and hits Joe with the AA at 18:06. Angle is in next, and he engages in a feeling out process with John-boy. Cena starts throwing shoulderblocks, and the spinning side slam sets up the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Kurt counters to the Anklelock! John escapes, and tries the AA, but Angle counters to the Olympic Slam - Shane having to dive in to save. Unfortunately for Smackdown, Finn also dives in with the Coup on Cena, and Kurt delivers another Olympic Slam to end John's night at 22:00. Orton attack's Kurt's heavily bandaged leg, but misses a kneedrop, and Balor gets the tag. He comes in with a double stomp on Orton, then pops to the outside to nail McMahon with a running dropkick. Schoolboy on Orton gets two, and a sling blade sets up a running dropkick. Coup de Grace, but Orton dodges, and the RKO finishes Finn at 23:35. HHH hits Randy with a clothesline from behind as soon as the fall is scored, then over to Angle, but Kurt ends up getting crotched while climbing to the top, and Orton hits HHH with an inverted headlock backbreaker. He crawls for the tag to Shane, but suddenly Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn arrive on the scene, and beat up McMahon to prevent him from tagging in. Shane grabs a chair and starts swinging wildly, but in the meantime Strowman has recovered, and he hits Orton with the running powerslam at 26:47 - leaving McMahon alone against three men. Shane stalls for a while, but he's spared having to face the wrath of Strowman when HHH decides to handle things himself. Call Steve Harvey, because we've got a family feud, baby! Well, almost, as Kurt decides to flex his team captain muscle, and insist on tagging in before any contact is even made. While HHH argues about it, McMahon sneaks up on Angle with a schoolboy for two. Oklahoma roll gets two, and a DDT gets two. Shane's luck runs out when Angle hits him with the Olympic Slam, however, and it's Anklelock time! Kurt has it firmly applied, and McMahon is all but done when HHH decides to save him - hitting Angle with a Pedigree, then putting Shane on top of him at 32:02! That doesn't exactly please Strowman, and he teases a confrontation with HHH, before Hunter appeases him by putting Shane out of his misery at 33:21.
Survivors: Braun Strowman, Triple H
Sue me, I liked it. Sure, it had all sorts of flaws, but there were lots of big stars and there was lots of excitement. ***

BUExperience: I liked the RAW versus Smackdown concept, but most of the showdowns proved disappointing, notably the Flair/Bliss match. Yeah, Brock/Styles was great, and yeah, the main event was fun, but what about the other three hours? The length of this one was a major issue, as almost every match felt like it was overstaying its welcome to try and fill time, and there was lots of superfluous segments in between. It’s not a particularly bad show, but it’s certainly nothing worth dedicating four hours of your free time to.


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