WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final
Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio
What Happened? While he provided a stiff test, Alberto Del Rio was just no match for Roman Reigns. Playing matador for large parts of the duel, Del Rio used Reigns’ aggression in his favour scoring several near falls in the process. The United States champion kept the pressure on, repeatedly targeting Reigns’ shoulder, but the former Shield member turned the match around with a superman punch and a spear to progress to the final.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Thoughts: A solid opener. Del Rio may have ended up on the wrong side of the result, but his work here made Reigns look like an absolute superstar. Fighting through all of Del Rio’s vicious offense, Reigns’ gritty performance came over as realistic and heroic. Just a shame however that he keeps letting himself down with the small details with not selling the effects of his battles after the final bell being a constant niggle.
★★★☆☆
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens
What Happened? Determined not to allow an all-Shield final, Kevin Owens threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at Dean Ambrose. Smashing The Lunatic Fringe with powerful blows and repeated kicks to the face, Owens used every trick in his repertoire to try and put his rival away. Ambrose showed his championship credentials however and refused to wilt. Escaping a number of desperate Pop Up Powerbomb attempts, Ambrose sealed an unlikely victory after connecting with a sweet Dirty Deeds DDT for the victory.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Thoughts: I don’t need to say it, but I will: Kevin Owens is money. As entertaining as he is violent, every single thing Owens did here was excellent. Obviously he was never going to win, but it didn’t stop him from looking a million dollars. Ambrose too deserves credit for helping craft a brief-but exciting bout. An Owens/Ambrose feud would be very welcome as the two work towards their respective WrestleMania programmes.
★★★☆☆
Traditional Survivor Series Match
The Usos, Lucha Dragons & Ryback vs. The New Day, Sheamus & King Barrett
What Happened? The New Day have ruled the tandem division for months now, but the combined effort of rivals The Usos, The Lucha Dragons and Ryback ensured that, for at least one night, the entertaining trio would end up on the losing side. Suffering the quick loss of King Barrett and Big E, Woods and Kingston retreated with their fallen comrade, leaving Sheamus at the mercy of the remaining opposition. The Money in the Bank contract holder fought valiantly, but the joint efforts of Kalisto, Jey Uso and The Big Guy proved too much for the Irishman.
Winners: The Usos, Lucha Dragons & Ryback
Thoughts: Once upon a time a Survivor Series event would comprise solely of these match types. My how times have changed. Cobbled together from a number of existing feuds at the last minute, the participants did the best they could, but there was nothing of note to take from the segment. No star-making performance. No potential new storylines. Nothing. The match existed as nothing more to satisfy traditionalists, and kill half an hour. Never has a Survivor Series elimination match seemed so forced. It’s sad to see one of the WWE’s longest-running attractions relegated to a mere afterthought.
★★☆☆☆
Divas Championship
Charlotte © vs. Paige
What Happened? Paige’s controversial comments leading into the bout were clearly designed to get into her opponent’s head, but Charlotte proved her championship pedigree as she overcame her friend-turned-foe to retain her title. Brawling in and around the ring, the clash between the two former members of PCB more closely resembled a street fight than a battle for the title. Paige will rue missed opportunities here, as her arrogance and naivety allowed the champion to get back into the match with a spear off the barricade, followed by her patented bridging Figure Four submission to force the tap.
Winner and STILL champion: Charlotte
Thoughts: The continued upswing in main roster women’s action continued here as Charlotte and Paige put on a superior match; a fantastic blend of hard-hitting action and emotionally-driven storytelling. Could it have been better? Of course, these women still have improvements to make, and the creative force behind their travesty of a programme should hang their head(s), but a 15-minute match filled with a number of memorable spots more than made up for the feud’s calamitous beginnings. Slowly but surely we’re getting closer to NXT-level ‘Divas’ matches.
★★★☆☆
Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler
What Happened? Still a Breeze doubter? The WWE’s newest NXT call-up made an instant impression here and undoubtedly silenced some of his detractors by making quick work of the former World Heavyweight champion, Dolph Ziggler. The Showoff may have started the brighter of the two, but it was Breeze who ensured that his in-ring PPV debut would be a successful one after connecting with a sudden Unprettier for the victory.
Winner: Tyler Breeze
Thoughts: Welcome to the big league Breeze, this is how things work here. For all his obvious talent and excellent matches down in NXT, Breeze will need to adapt to work these kind of forgettable ‘death slot’ PPV matches to prove he belongs on the main roster. He looked decent here, but his opponent must have been a scary mirror to the young Canadian of just how the WWE can utterly trash promising talent.
★★☆☆☆
The Brothers of Destruction vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper
What Happened? Play with fire and you should expect to get burned. Bray Wyatt and his cult of followers learnt this the hard way when they came up against the reformed and resurgent Brothers of Destruction. Choosing Luke Harper as his partner, Wyatt and Co attempted to prove themselves as the new powerhouse in the WWE but quickly learned why The Undertaker and Kane have dominated for as long as they have. Removing Braun Strowman with a double chokeslam through the announcers table, the devilish duo ended the affair with ‘Taker delivering an emphatic tombstone piledriver to a helpless Harper for the win. For The Deadman, the perfect way to celebrate 25 years of dominance as the WWE’s Phenom.
Winners: The Brothers of Destruction
Thoughts: Delivering in spades as a wonderful tribute to one of the industry’s most revered performers, the match itself however left an awful lot to be desired. Essentially an extended squash, the showcase did absolutely nothing to help put Bray and his gang over as a credible threat. The result was never in doubt for a second and the two legends with a combined age of 98 years dominated almost effortlessly from bell-to-bell. It amazes me how the WWE continue to damage such a promising group like The Wyatts; a stable whose credibility continues to plummet from show to show.
★★☆☆☆
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final
Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose
What Happened? After months of chasing the WWE’s top prize, Roman Reigns finally seized his latest opportunity at the expense of friend and former Shield stablemate Dean Ambrose. Temporarily putting aside their strong friendship for the sake of their mutual title aspirations the two scrapped as if they were fierce rivals with both delivering severe punishment to the other. Barely surviving a sudden Dirty Deeds, Reigns managed to recover just in time to deliver a devastating spear out of nowhere to win the match and the title.
Winner and NEW champion: Roman Reigns
Post-match: Confetti showered from the rafters as Reigns celebrated his victory, however his moment of glory would again be short-lived. Taking advantage of the distracted new champion, Sheamus connected with an ambushing Brogue kick before cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Reigns somehow kicked out of the attack, but couldn’t survive a second as The Irishman captured the title his victim had only won minutes before.
Winner and NEW champion: Sheamus
Thoughts: It could have been epic. It could have been unpredictable. It should have been both but instead the WWE opted to rush the whole segment and book in one of the least surprising Money in the Bank cash-ins ever. Clocking in at just over nine minutes, Reigns and Ambrose were simply not given enough time as their anticipated collision instantly jumped into a series of finishing moves and near falls; a tactic that the WWE rely on far too often these days. Reigns’ win was a foregone conclusion from the start, but the failure to turn him heel and create an interesting programme to take us into 2016 was infuriating and only further highlighted the WWE’s creative shortcomings and business driven approach.
On top of that, Sheamus’s cash in was a direct replica of the Bryan/Triple H/Orton swerve from 2013; something that even the kids in the crowd would recognise.
★★☆☆☆
Overall Thoughts: Survivor Series was once considered one of the WWE’s biggest and best shows of the year, but it’s been a long time since we were treated to an instalment worthy of its early predecessors. This latest effort started brightly, but it was just too rushed and predictable to stand out as a decent show. The injury to Rollins presented the WWE with a golden opportunity to freshen up its product and create a number of new feuds to see out the year. Not only did we get the exact opposite of that, but we now have a champion who was struggling for relevancy five years ago. Nice one WWE.
Moment of the Event: The Undertaker’s entrance. Reliably stunning.
Event MVP: Kevin Owens
Show Rating: ★★☆☆☆
What did you think of WWE Survivor Series? Leave your comments below!
All images courtesy of WWE.com
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