wrestling / TV Reports

Kevin’s WWE Survivor Series 2020 Review

November 23, 2020 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
Roman Reigns Drew McIntyre Survivor Series Image Credit: WWE
6.5
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
Kevin’s WWE Survivor Series 2020 Review  

WWE Survivor Series
November 22nd, 2020 | Amway Center in Orlando, Florida

On the Kickoff Show, The Gobbledy Gooker won the 24/7 Title.

Dual Branded Battle Royal
I miss the 10 vs. 10 tag team gimmick we saw in recent years. I cracked up at Murphy coming out with Rey and Dominik. This was a random battle royal with some notable guys like Jeff Hardy, The Miz, and Shinsuke Nakamura as well as guys who get no TV time like Kalisto and Angel Garza. The only plus of Kalisto being in there was a short interaction with Mysterio. Ricochet had a sweet elimination of Cedric Alexander and then took a rough knee from Shelton to get eliminated. In the end, it came down to Hardy, Miz, Chad Gable, and Dominik. The Raw guys teamed up against the Smackdown guys despite their different face/heel alignments. Gable tossed out Jeff, which was surprising, while Dominik dumped out Miz. Gable and Dominik had some good back and forth before Dominik hit a 619 and got rid of him. However, Miz apparently hadn’t gone over the top, so he could sneak back in and win in 12:05. That was a pretty enjoyable battle royal but that finish has been done to death. It’s like WWE only has one idea for these matches. [**½]

Onto the main card.

Men’s Team Raw vs. Men’s Team Smackdown
Raw has AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Riddle, Sheamus, and Braun Strowman. Smackdown has Seth Rollins, Otis, King Corbin, Kevin Owens, and Jey Uso. Everyone seemed to be wearing their brand colors. As usual, there were a lot of quality exchanges here, including KO attacking Riddle’s bare feet. Seth Rollins demanded a tag and said, “FOR THE GREATER GOOD!” He then dropped to his knees and allowed Sheamus to Brogue Kick him, telling him to do his part. That eliminated him first. After more back and forth, Owens went on a Stunner barrage but was put down by a Phenomenal Forearm. Corbin went on a strong run as well but then got eliminated by the Floating Bro, putting Smackdown down 5-2. Wash, rinse, repeat, as Otis also was eliminated after a hot streak. Jimmy Uso had the best run of anyone but was put down by Keith Lee’s Spirit Bomb, giving us a clean sweep in 18:56. That was pretty lame. Not even the booking (although this one of the weakest teams to ever sweet) but the match itself didn’t have all that much going for it. [**½]

The New Day vs. The Street Profits
New Day was out in Gears of War attire to celebrate their inclusion in the game. Big E was with them. There was a friendly respect at the start between the teams. However, it quickly became clear that the more experienced New Day duo had the upper hand. They dominated at times. Kofi even stopped to pose with the Solo cup. Finally, Ford managed to make the hot tag and Dawkins turned the tide for them. I liked this New Day combo hitting Midnight Hour when that move usually needs Big E. Ford’s Frog Splash remains outstanding by the way.. He also busted out Trouble in Paradise on Kofi, which was sick. After Woods also got to deliver a sweet press slam, the Profits beat him with their Doomsday Blockbuster in 14:05. That was fantastic. There was some stellar storytelling in there as you got the sense that New Day wanted to pass the torch of sorts. The action matched up to it and this delivered. [****]

Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn
Sami mostly stuck to a plan of trying to avoid Lashley’s strength. Talking smack to The Hurt Business at ringside opened the door for Lashley to attack, though. In a phenomenal callback to their terrible feud a few years ago, Sami complained of having vertigo and used that to try and score a flash pin. When that failed, Sami tried to get The Hurt Business to hit him for a DQ but that backfired. Eventually, Sami tapped to the Hurt Lock in 7:45. Sami made it relatively entertaining and played up his character well but it was too one-sided for me to really get into. [**]

Asuka vs. Sasha Banks
These two only put on bangers together. Corey Graves made good note early of how Sasha panicked when almost being put in the Asuka Lock, while Asuka was calm while escaping the Bank Statements. It’s telling of their history. Still, Sasha is on a hot streak so her confidence as this went on made sense. They had their usual great exchanges, managing to play into their past and also throw in some new wrinkles like Asuka catching her with a Codebreaker outside. Just as this was really picking up and getting somewhere great, Sasha scored with a pinning combination to get a rare clean win over Asuka after 13:07. Raw technically still leads 3-2 counting the Kickoff Show. That was just what I wanted from them as they looked to be on the same level and it showed Sasha’s growth in her current reign. [***¾]

Backstage, the Gooker fell for a trap of birdseed and got rolled up by Akira Tozawa to lose the title. Of course, R-Truth then hit him with the bag of birdseed to win back the title.

Women’s Team Raw vs. Women’s Team Smackdown
On the Raw side you have Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans, and Peyton Royce. Smackdown features Bayley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Natalya. Commentary made note that Lana was the only Team Raw member to earn her spot, even if the team hates her. Team Smackdown is loaded. Lana tagged herself in after the team suggested not to tag her. She held her own but got kicked out and forced to stand on the steps away from the apron. Peyton and Bianca got runs to look good before a barrage of people coming in and hitting offense followed. Surprisingly, Bayley was the first one eliminated as Peyton Royce pinned her. I love that for Peyton. Natalya tried a creative submission but it didn’t work so she just went with the Sharpshooter to eliminate Peyton. Nattie was out next via Woman’s Right. Evans also got to do a decent Spanish Fly to Bianca. I liked the Riott Squad using quick tags to beat up Nia. Ruby was in the Kirifuda Clutch and turned it into a pin, but the referee was distracted. By the time the noticed it, Ruby passed out and then Shayna pinned her. Liv and Bianca were down 4-2. Liv got rid of Evans with a crucifix bomb. She didn’t back down, going right after the Women’s Tag Champions. Alas, Nia put her down with a Samoan Drop. Left alone, Bianca put up a fight against the champs. Bianca walked with Shayna on her back in the Kirifuda Clutch. Bianca passed out as she landed on the ropes to break it. Shayna didn’t let go of the hold thinking Bianca was officially out cold and got disqualified. Bianca fought off Nia’s attempts to put her through a table. Their fought led to a double countout and Lana was the sole survivor after 23:20. What a weird match. In terms of action, it was actually quite good. They made some really odd decisions though. [***]

Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns
Their WrestleMania 35 match disappointed but both guys are doing way better in 2020. Roman carried him with confidence here but Drew hit him in the mouth early and had him regrouping outside. Drew was in his head, at least somewhat. Of course, Roman got going and was his vicious self. However, that’s different against Drew than it is against Jey Uso. Drew can dish it back and they had a hard-hitting, heavy-handed match. Jey was surviving against Roman, Drew was a legitimate threat, evidenced by the Future Shock near fall. Drew’s submission close call was also good. I did chuckle when Roman did a Samoan Drop onto the table. Drew is Lana. Both guys survived each other’s finishers. A ref bump on a Claymore allowed Jey Uso to run out and get involved. That opened the door for Roman to get going and make Drew pass out to the guillotine in 24:51. That was fantastic. The screwy finish even made sense here. This felt like a big fight even with it being a non-title situation. [****¼]

It’s time to say goodbye to The Undertaker. Folks came out first to pay homage including Shane McMahon, Big Show, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, The Godfather, THE GODWINNS, SAVIO VEGA, Rikishi, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Triple H, and Kane (who was hilariously in gear and looked terrible). After a video package, the ring was cleared and Vince McMahon was in to cut a promo. Undertaker then came out, cut a promo, and honored a Paul Bearer hologram.

6.5
The final score: review Average
The 411
There are some serious highs on this show. Drew/Roman is awesome, New Day/Profits ruled, and Sasha/Asuka was very good. There were also some really odd booking calls and some stuff that didn’t work at all. Still, I feel that the good outweighed the bad.
legend

article topics :

Survivor Series, Kevin Pantoja