Kevin’s WWE Survivor Series 2019 Review

Tri-Branded Tag Team Battle Royal

Raw representatives are The O.C., the Street Profits, and Hawkins and Ryder. Smackdown has the Revival, Roode and Ziggler, the Lucha House Party, and Heavy Machinery. NXT guys are the Forgotten Sons, Breezango, and Imperium. Weird that it isn’t balanced. Forgotten Sons are first out when Cutler gets tossed out. Even with Ryker helping at ringside. Lince Dorado is next out. Hawkins goes through the middle rope but Ryder is tossed over right after. Lots of the usual standing around stuff you see in all battle royales. Ziggler and Aichner battle on the apron. Barthel helps only for Roode to knock Aichner out and to the floor. The O.C. and the Revival teamed up to throw out Otis after he did the Caterpillar. Fandango goes out through the middle rope and catches Breeze to save him from elimination. But it fails a second time and NXT is completely out. The Revival get eliminated next. The Magic Killer is interrupted and Ziggler superkicks Gallows to the outside. The teams brawl and Roode plants Dawkins with a spinebuster. Ziggler accidentally superkicks Roode through the middle ropes. He also sends Ford to the apron. Sky High on Dolph. Ford goes up for the frog splash but is knocked off. He hangs on for dear life. Roode gets hit and hangs on as well. Dolph eats a right hand and DDTs Dawkins. Ford with a sick twisting.frog splash but Roode sneaks up behind and dumps him out.

Winners: Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler in 8:19 [*½]

Smackdown 1 | Raw 0 | NXT 0

Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Lio Rush

Kalist talks Tozawa into attacking Lio. They dump him out and Tozawa rolls up Kalisto. They shove each other and trade strikes. After a quick exchange, Rush is pulled outside by Kalisto, who kicks Tozawa in the head. Kalisto hits everything moving but his handspring elbow is caught by Tozawa. He fights him off and Lio slides under Akira before winning an exchange with a double handspring elbow. Lio’s next handspring knocks Kalisto off the apron. Tozawa with a facebuster and sliding kick for two. All three men end up on the top rope where Rush hits a double Japanese arm drag. Lio gets kicked by both men before they turn on each other again. He trades kicks with Tozawa until Akira gets two on a snap German. Kalisto breaks up the pin into one of his own for two. Kalisto runs up Tozawa for Salida del Sol on Lio but the pin is broken. Tozawa hits Lio with the senton but Kalisto breaks the pin. Tozawa and Kalisto trade slaps. Kalisto counters a German by landing on his feet. He hits Salida del Sol but then Lio takes him out with the frog splash.

Winner: Lio Rush in 8:18 [***]

Smackdown 1 | NXT 1 | Raw 0

Sami Zayn interrupts the Kickoff Show to complain about a lack of respect for Shinsuke Nakamura.

The New Day vs. The Undisputed Era vs. The Viking Raiders

Ivar, Big E, and Kyle start. It goes south quickly and Fish enters, only to get tossed across the ring. UE attack together but get run over. With them away, Ivar and Big E trade shots. Both guys show off athleticism before Big E turns him inside out with a shoulder block. Kyle enters with knees but gets strapped in the Raiders’ corner. They double team both Kyle and Bobby. New Day takes over as Erik is sent outside and hit a tandem senton on Kyle. UE is sent packing so New Day can face off with the Raiders. The fight moves outside, leaving UE to work on Kofi but he hits Kyle with a dropkick. His leg gets caught and Fish dragon screws it on the ropes. Kyle with a kneebar. Fish is run over by Ivar, who then splashes Kyle. Belly to belly from Big E. Exploder from Erik. Kyle and Kofi trade kicks on the apron. Big E misses the Spear of the apron and Kofi kicks Kyle in the head, only for Bobby to trip him with a kick. Erik body slams Ivar off the apron onto everyone else. Back inside, Fish chop blocks Erik and UE get some momentum going. The focus gets put on Erik’s leg. Erik fights back and makes the hot tag to Ivar. He runs over Kyle and Bobby with corner avalanches. Spinning slam on Kyle. Big E charges in to a spin kick. UE slow him but he levels both and climbs up top. Fish avoids him but he rolls through. Double knees from Erik who then launches Ivar into him but Kyle pulls Bobby to safety. Kofi returns with a double stomp. Big E hits both UE members with belly to belly suplexes. Kingston kicks both on the apron. Doomsday Double Stomp by New Day but Ivar breaks up the count. Big E launches Kofi onto UE and Ivar and then he Spears Erik off the apron. UE break up the Midnight Hour. Big E eats a huge knee from Erik. Tag to Ivar for a springboard clothesline/German combo. Kofi misses Trouble in Paradise outside and then is taken out by a high/low. UE is left standing against the Raiders. Crowd is pro Undisputed. UE manage to wear them down and light up Ivar with kicks. He fights back and cartwheels away from their next kicks. He then hits a handspring back elbow. Viking Experience connects and Raw is on the board.

Winners: The Viking Raiders in 14:40 [***1/2]

Smackdown 1 | NXT 1 | Raw 1

The women’s elimination tag will open the main show.

The opening video package focuses on how NXT joins the fray of the brand warfare this year. It also runs down the card.

Women’s Elimination Match: Team Raw vs. Team NXT  vs. Team Smackdown

Team Raw is Charlotte Flair, The Kabuki Warriors, Natalya & Sarah Logan. Team NXT consists of Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Io Shiri, Rhea Ripley & Toni Storm. Team Smackdown features Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross & Sasha Banks. The Raw and SD teams stare down the NXT women on the same side. Storm, Evans, and Logan begin. Evans is aggressive and attacks both before wiping her sweat down. Logan and Storm double flapjack her. Cross tags in as Evans is thrown outside. She hits both women but Toni lays her out with a clothesline. Northern lights suplex from Logan and a cartwheel knee. Logan slams Cross onto Storm and tries to pin both. Storm German suplexes both women. Carmella, Io, and Kairi Sane get tagged. Io and Kairi surround each other and Carmella wants their attention. So she gets hit by both and tags Dana. Io and Kairi go at it with some fantastic quick-paced stuff as Dana just watches. Huge basement dropkick from Io. Dana gets involved and eventually hits the Swanton Bomb on both for a near fall. Tag to Evans for some tandem offense. Candice is in and Evans talks trash so Candice lights her up with strikes. Asuka sneaks in and hits Evans. Candice starts fighting both and drops a senton on Asuka. Candice nearly eliminates Evans. Rhea Ripley is in to a huge pop. She dropkicks Evans off the apron. Asuka traps Rhea in an armbar that Bianca saves her from. Natalya clotheslines her down. Nikki Cross hits Nattie with the Purge. Io dropkicks her. Charlotte hits her with the best Spear I’ve seen in years. Candice dropkicks  Charlotte. Carmella superkicks Candice. Toni German suplexes Mella. It keeps going until Sasha hits Logan with the Backstabber. Sasha is left standing in the ring. Io and Candice get checked on by officials, seemingly injured. They are taken to the back. Rhea is down two partners again. The three captains are in but Rhea tags out and lets Bianca do her thing. Nikki Cross and Sarah Logan tag in as well. Cross goes off on everyone but Bianca rolls her up with her feet on the ropes for the first elimination at 9:38. Carmella comes in hot but Bianca catches her with the KOD. Mella wisely rolls to the apron to avoid getting pinned. Logan takes out Rhea and Toni with double knees off the apron. Bianca with a sweet moonsault but the pin is broken. Bianca eliminates Logan at 12:11 with the 450 splash. Bianca and Charlotte trade insults before going at it. Carmella nearly eliminates Charlotte with a rollup before a superkick. Carmella interrupts Charlotte on the top. She does a Stratusphere like series of kicks in the corner. Charlotte wants a powerbomb but Carmella counters into a super rana that sends Charlotte onto Bianca. Near falls galore for Carmella. As she complains, Charlotte gets rid of her with Natural Selection at 15:37. Storm, Kairi and Sasha in. Sounds like a drop match. Sane takes them both down and goes up top, hitting the Insane Elbow on Storm. For some reason Sasha breaks up the pin with Meteora but it gets rid of Sane at 16:48. Asuka enters with a vengeance. She hits everything moving and sends Dana home with a spin kick at 17:25. Asuka and Charlotte get into it when Charlotte tries tagging in. They shove each other and Charlotte slams Asuka to the mat. Charlotte blocks Evans right hand and fires off chops. Corner exploder. Asuka spits the green mist at Charlotte, gets a pop, and walks out. Evans hits the Women’s Right and there goes Charlotte at 19:06. Evans gets worked over by Toni and Nattie. Nattie rolls her up in 19:54. NXT suddenly holds a 3-1-1 lead. A Sharpshooter/Bank Statement combo eliminates Storm at 20:46. Nattie and Sasha hit the Hart Attack on Bianca and there she goes at 21:16. Rhea vs. Nattie vs. Sasha. Sasha quickly turns on Nattie and she’s gone at 21:58. RHEA VS. SASHA! Rhea overpowers her and hits a dropkick for two. Sasha comes back with a tilt-a-whirl DDT but Rhea blocks it. Sasha counters a suplex and applies a sleeper. Rhea breaks it up but takes a drop toe hold into the corner. Double knees in the corner and more knees to the face. Sasha adds Meteora for a near fall. Sasha comes off the top but leaps into a big boot for two. Rhea locks Sasha in her hanging inverted Sharpshooter. Sasha counters and applies teh Bank Statement. As she gets close to the ropes, Sasha leaps over to her other arm. Rhea gets up but Io and Candice return to ringside. The pull Rhea to safety. Sasha hits the ropes and takes them out with a baseball slide. Rhea tackles Banks into the guardrail. Back inside, Sasha counters Riptide and hits a knee. Io on the apron but gets hit. Candice distracts the ref and Io with a springboard dropkick on Sasha. Ripley with Riptide and Rhea’s GOAT week continues.

Winners: Team NXT in 27:53 [***1/2]

NXT 2 | Smackdown 1 | Raw 1

Kevin Owens at War Games is recapped.

Backstage, Seth Rollins comes up to KO to see where his allegiances lie. Owens says that NXT doesn’t need him but Raw desperately does. As for his loyalties, he questions Seth’s and throws out the Shield first bump.

AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura comes out firing, hitting both guys with various strikes and knees. AJ with a dropkick and some corner forearms. Strong catches Styles with a sick backbreaker and dropkicks Nakamura. Strong takes out Nak with another dropkick outside. Styles blocks an apron backbreaker by holding the ropes. Nakamura and AJ start going at it inside. I’m getting lackluster flashbacks to 2018. Nakamura suplexes Strong back inside. Strong comes back with a gutbuster style move. He then slaps Nakamura in a modified torture rack. Styles is involved again, wearing Strong down to the mat. Sami fans Shinsuke with his hat. Strong fights back and hits both men with shots. Pump knee on Styles and a backbreaker on Nakamura. Running forearms and a slam but Nakamura breaks the pin. Styles is sent into a huge knee from Nakamura for two. Neither man manages to gain a clear advantage. Strong knocks both men over when AJ goes for the Styles Clash with a Sick Kick. Sami pulls Nakamura outside to rest. Strong lays into Styles in the corner. Nakamura tries to interrupt a superplex but gets knocked back. Styles ends up getting Strong on his shoulders and Nakamura comes off the top with a diving knee. Styles cuts off the Kinshasa but Sami throws AJ into the ring post. Strong comes close to winning with a big leaping knee. Styles returns to interrupt Kinshasa again. They all hit each other with various elbows and kicks.AJ avoids a knee and turns Roddy inside out with a clothesline. Nakamura suplexes Strong onto Styles and then hits Kinshasa. He covers but AJ breaks the pin. With Strong out, Styles and Nakamura square off. They nearly knock each other down with kicks. Nakamura with a flying knee and Cradle Shock for two. Nakamura boots his way out of a Styles Clash. AJ sends him back and hits the Phenomenal Forearm. Strong sneaks in and sends AJ outside before covering Nakamura to steal it.

Winner: Roderick Strong in 16:45 [***1/2]

NXT 3 | Smackdown 1 | Raw 1

Backstage, The Miz talks to Daniel Bryan. Even if they don’t get along, he knows that Bryan needs to put a stop to the Feind. Bryan tells him to get out of his face.

NXT Championship: Adam Cole [c] vs. Pete Dunne

Their first exchange sees Dunne win out as Cole favors his taped ribs. Dunne attacks the digits and Cole retreats outside. He stomps on Cole’s elbow while it is on the steel steps. Cole superkicks Dunne’s taped knee to knock him off the top. Cole works a modified kneebar for a bit. Each time Dunne fights back, Cole goes to the knee to stop him. Dunne with the Explex. Despite the bad knee, Dunne still hits a back flip followed by a German suplex, hand stomp, kick to the head, and sitout powerbomb. Cole gets his knees up on a Dunne move from the top and gets two on the Last Shot. Dunne avoids Panama Sunrise and they trade kicks and strikes. Their next exchange sees Dunne hit Bitter End for a huge near fall. Dunne fires off chops to the collarbone but Cole hits an enzugri. Dunne back with one of his own. Cole interrupts his corner backflip with a sick superkick for two. Cole looks for Panama Sunrise again but Dunne greets him with a forearm. Dunne with an explex style powerbomb for two. Cole hits Dunne in the leg on the apron. Cole then follows with Panama Sunrise on the apron! Dunne beats the countout and enters to a superkick that gets two. Dunne snaps the fingers and wants Bitter End but Cole counters in midair into a Canadian Destroyer. Last Shot finishes it.

Winner: Adam Cole in 14:06 [****]

Team Smackdown talks strategy backstage.

WWE Universal Championship: Bray Wyatt [c] vs. Daniel Bryan

Goofy red lighting is still a thing. Bryan hits dropkicks and kicks to start but is turned inside out by a clothesline. Bray starts throwing him around all over ringside and hits a running senton. Bray dominates all over, with a uranage and throat thrusts. Bryan gets an opening when he avoids a charge and Bray hits the steel steps. Bryan throws big offense at him but Bray continues to get up. A missile dropkick has the same effect. He sits up and laughs after the Yes Kicks. Bryan hits the Busaiku Knee for two. Bray comes at Bryan and applies the Mandible Claw. Bryan is on the top and he slips out by turning it into a hanging armbar. Bryan comes off the top into a right hand to the ribs. Sister Abigail is countered into a rollup for two. Bryan charges in but takes the Mandible Claw. Bray puts a knee on Bryan’s arm to prevent him from fighting out. Bryan is down for the count.

Winner: Bray Wyatt in 10:00 [***]

Rey Mysterio is interviewed backstage about facing Brock Lesnar in a No DQ match. Rey says it has been 15 years since he first wrestled him. Some things, like Brock, never changed but Rey has because he’s willing to do things like swing a steel pipe to beat Brock. He wants his son to watch as he destroys Brock.

Men’s Elimination Match: Team Raw vs. Tema NXT vs. Team Smackdown

Team Raw is Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens. Team Smackdown has King Corbin, Roman Reigns, Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, and Braun Strowman. Team NXT consists of Matt Riddle, Damian Priest, Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, and WALTER. Braun, Seth and Ciampa start. Braun shoves them both away so Seth and Tommaso team up. He runs through them and hits a double dropkick. McIntyre and WALTER tag in. They tag up on Braun and he has much more trouble now. When they get him down, Drew hits WALTER and they trade shots. They start chopping each other. WALTER wins out but Braun knocks him down. He’s back with a German on Drew. Braun can’t get picked up so WALTER chops him. Braun no sells but WALTER doesn’t back down. Dropkick sends him back. Claymore gets rid of WALTER in 2:55. Bullshit chants. Priest is in with a combo on Drew. Shorty G is legal and he hits a moonsault on Priest. Ricochet in for a quick exchange with Shorty. Matt Riddle in to go at it with Shory g. Great mat work from the two of them. Riddle puts him in an Ankle Lock but Shorty G counters into one of his own. Riddle escapes and they have a standoff. Chaos Theory attempt is thwarted when Ciampa tags in and hits Shorty. Ricochet takes both out with a handspring moonsault kick. Tag to Owens with both Shorty G and Ciampa on the mat. He waits and chooses Shorty G to hit with a frog splash, eliminating him at 6:24. Roman Reigns enters for Team Smackdown but Corbin tags himself in. They argue and KO superkicks Reigns. Corbin avoids a Stunner and heads outside but he takes a sueprkick. KO with a cannonball outside on Reigns. KO comes in hot but Ciampa catches him with a quick elimination at 7:36. Ciampa pats himself on the back and Orton slithers hin. Ciampa slowly turns and notices him before he can hit the RKO. Their fight spills outside with Orton in control. Inside, Orton stomps on various body parts. Priest becomes legal just to eat an RKO and go home at 10:12. Orton wants an RKO on Riddle but he counters into a rollup to eliminate him at 10:27. A pissed Orton hits the RKO on Riddle anyway. Corbin sneaks in and pins Riddle at 10:52. Lee goes to battle Braun but McIntyre enters and ruins it. Braun sends him packing and follows out to run over everyone in his path. That’s Ciampa, Drew, Ricochet, and Seth. he wants it again but they avoid him and Lee collides with him. Braun eliminated via countout at 13:22. Ricochet goes off now, flying around and hitting everything. He gets caught and eliminated by End of Days in 14:30. Ali finally tags in and gets going on Seth and Ciampa. Big chants for Ali. He is launched by Seth into a facebuster on Ciampa. Ali slips free of Seth and hits a springboard tornado DDT on Seth. Ali hits everyone with a tope suicida. Ali sends Ciampa into the post and adds a superkick. Corbin stops Ali, upset that he tagged in. It messes up Ali, who enters right into the Curb Stomp at 16:07. Down to Ciampa & Lee, Roman & Corbin, Seth & Drew. Corbin and Reigns argue outside and Seth catches Lee with a tope suicida. McIntyre takes out Reigns nad sends Ciampa in. Apologies if I missed something but I got a Network error. I return to see Drew eat a Spear and get eliminated. My watch says 17:38 but I can’t be sure. Seth rolls up Roman for two. Reigns cuts him off on a dive outside. Inside, Reigns counters Fairytale Ending and hits a Superman Punch. Both men are down. Another Network error. Corbin drags Reigns to the corner and tags himself in. He yells at Roman and picks up CIampa. He avoids a chokeslam and Roman hits Corbin with a Superman Punch and Spear. He stares at Ciampa, who covers Corbin en eliminates him. Reigns stares down Ciampa. He and Seth work together to beat down Lee and Ciampa. More Network errors. Seth and Roman get Ciampa up for the Shield Powerbomb but Lee knocks them over before it happens. Inside, Ciampa hits a knee and Project Ciampa on Seth for a great near fall. Seth escapes the Fairytale Ending and hits a pair of superkicks. Ciampa avoids the Stomp and hits a big boot. Seth leaps into a pump knee. Ciampa wants Fairytale Ending but Reigns with a Superman Punch. Curb Stomp connects and CIampa is gone. Lee vs. Reigns vs. Rollins. Lee runs over both men and tosses Rollins across the ring. he gets sent to the apron but both but levels them. He then slingshots in with a cross body on both. Rollins gets Lee down with a series of kicks. He goes up and nails a frog splash but Lee kicks out. Seth yells at the boos about building NXT. Lee catches a charging Seth with a Jackhammer and eliminates him. “Bask in his glory” chants. Roman with a series fo Superman Punches for a fantastic near fall. Lee catches the Spear into a massive Spirit Bomb for one of the best near falls all year. Lee misses a moonsault and Reigns Spears him to win.

Winner: Team Smackdown in 29:25 [***3/4]]

NXT 3 | Smackdown 2 | Raw 1

Reigns fist bumps Lee in a show of respect.

Becky Lynch cuts a promo backstage. She talks about all of the attacks recently. She didn’t want to fight Bayley because she sees herself in her. That’s why she hasn’t come back for her receipt. But tonight, he still hurt Bayley and Shayna.

WWE Championship No Disqualifications Match: Brock Lesnar [c] vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey immediately heads outside and gets his trusty pipe. Now Brock heads outside. Brock slides back in and takes down Rey, standing on the arm with the pipe. He nails several clotheslines. Outside, he throws him over the announce table. Brock slams him into the ring post. Rey escapes and Brock hits the ring post. Rey gets close to the pipe but Brock stops him and hits a German suplex onto the pipe. As Brock continues the assault, Dominick runs out with a white towel. He begs Brock to stop but Brock traps him in the corner. He grabs him by the throat and Rey hits Brock with a low blow. Dominick hits one of his own. Rey hits Brock with the pipe and Dominick hits him with a chair. They go for stereo 619s but the feed freezes. I miss what happens but I return to see Brock hit an F5 on Rey while Dominick is down. Brock wins.

Winner: Brock Lesnar in 6:37 [***1/4]

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler

Bayley shoves Shayna into Becky. They throw down until Becky interrupts and hits Bayley. They take out Becky and Shayna takes Bayley down with strikes. Bayley rolls over and they trade shots. As they go outside, Becky comes off the apron with a dropkick that hits Bayley. The rest of her body crashes into Shayna. Inside, Bayley his Becky up top and slams her to the mat. Bayley flubs the running sunset flip into the corner, hitting the turnbuckle. Shayna interrupts and throws her into the corner. Shayna now wrenches on Becky’s arm but Bayley hits her to stop the stomp on the arm. Bayley begs off only to pull Shayna into the corner for stomps. Shayna fires back with knees. Becky interrupts Shayna with a knee but they mistime it. Becky gets her foot caught by Shayna who slams her and kicks her. Bayley clotheslines Shayna down. She remains aggressive, slamming Becky’s head into the mat several times for two. Becky whips her into the corner but is met with a series of right hands. Shayna enters as Becky starts throwing Bexploders. The pace picks up as Becky hits them both with a tandem DDT. She is sent packing, leaving us Bayley vs. Shayna. The crowd doesn’t seem into this. Shayna catches an arguing Bayley but has her gutwrench suplex countered. A running knee is added. “CM Punk” chants. We finally get to Shayna vs. Becky but even that lacks. Bayley takes them out with a cross body. Shayna gets knocked off the top by Bayley who runs an awkward spot with Becky. Bayley tries to come off the apron but Shayna catches her with the Kirifuda Clutch. She goes for the hanging one but Becky interrupts. She pulls Shayna down with a powerbomb for two. Shayna comes back and puts Becky in the clutch but is sent into Bayley. Becky gets two on a rollup and goes to the Dis-Arm-Her. Bayley breaks it up but hurts her knee. Shayna throws her into the post and then sends Becky into it and the guardrail. Becky sent into the announce table. Becky is slammed onto it but the crowd doesn’t care. Bayley sends Shayna inside but is caught in the Kirifuda Clutch. Bayley counters into a pin for two. She goes up for the elbow drop but is again caught in the Kirifuda Clutch. Bayley taps with little drama.

Winner: Shayna Baszler in 18:04  [**1/2]

NXT 4 | Smackdown 2 | Raw 1

Shayna celebrates over Becky at the announce table. Becky attacks and throws her off one table and onto the other. She hops on the guardrail and leaps off for the big leg drop through the table. Becky poses on the table to close over Shayna to close the show.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

This was a strange show. I liked most of the matches, only giving one less than three stars. It had some questionable booking and nothing outside of Cole/Dunne was great. But the event never felt like it dragged or went too long and I had a pretty good time watching it.