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Watry’s WWE Survivor Series 2018 Review

November 21, 2018 | Posted by Justin Watry
Brock Lesnar WWE Survivor Series Image Credit: WWE

Backstory

This is my WWE Survivor Series 2018 review. I still have two other columns in the can from eight days ago, so the timing and stuff may be weird when eventually posted.

WWE Survivor Series 2018

– I went to an independent wrestling show on Saturday night featuring Swoggle, Jay Bradley, Melina, and ODB. Thus, I worked Sunday morning, caught up on NXT Takeover War Games, and tuned into Survivor Series just as the tag team match was ending. I have no plans to go back and watch it. Smackdown LIVE won…or so the record books will show, as it apparently didn’t count. Perfect vindication for a guy like me who rarely cares about the Kickoff Show.

– All anybody wants to talk about in the opening match is Nia Jax, so let’s just cut to the chase. I have ripped on her for the better part of 2018, so the boos and backlash against her are nothing new. That didn’t just begin with me this past Monday night. I have been very vocal in my thoughts on her…so as usual, chalk another one up for the “Watry Was Ahead Of The Curve” on a topic. Thank you. Her winning was fine in the sense that you her to look strong for Ronda Rousey next month. I am actually okay with that. Beating Asuka and being the centerpiece of the entire presentation is another mess in and of itself. Jax (and Tamina) should be nowhere near the top of the division. Getting boos and banking off some ‘heat’ is cool. I loved it when the Los Angeles crowd was extremely loud. That is awesome as a wrestling fan. It’s just…it’s Nia Jax. Hopefully after Rousey beats her (again) in December, we can all move on.

– Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke was a strange matchup on the surface. The entire Raw vs. Smackdown thing is not my cup of tea, but these bouts are what makes it worthwhile. I thought it under delivered but was still good. No real complaints. Rollins wins and heads towards a showdown with Dean Ambrose in a few weeks, IC Championship on the line. That will be interesting.

– Authors Of Pain defeated The Bar. The hot streak continues for the red brand. I was surprisingly fine with the whole Drake – Big Show stunt. Whatever. If I ran into a 500 pound man and I was a little 100pound weasel, I’d wet myself too. Fits with their characters actually. I suppose at this point I should mention the fact that the blue brand is screwed. No way Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, or the RAW Survivor Series Team will lose. Rough night for Smackdown, who usually wins these head to head battles. I remember going through my predictions and stretching just to give them even one victory. Nothing really favored them across the board. WWE obviously agreed and went with the clean sweep idea. More story to come I suppose…

– Cruiserweight Championship match is going to get a ‘no comment’ from yours truly. Sorry.

– Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre won their match for RAW. Likely the best outcome. Those three do not need to be losing at all, and with the Baron Corbin story in the background, of course Braun would win. He was not going to lose. Brock Lesnar and a future Universal Title match await him. Just wanted to point out that last year the Smackdown LIVE crew had Nakamura, John Cena, Randy Orton, Shane McMahon, and Bobby Roode. Stacked lineup. This November, not so much. Very entertaining match and unlike others, I enjoy the Shane O’Mac stunt show. Seems his best in the world heel persona is dropped though. That may have been different.

– Oh, Lars Sullivan is headed to the main roster as The Freak. Good move and likely overdue. He was built up big in NXT but for the past few weeks has been devalued. On the way out, guys/gals begin to lose. Nikki Cross is another talent who has been waiting for months now for the next step. Just the way it is typically done in the NXT ‘territory.’ Writing has been on the wall for awhile. I think he has more left to do in NXT, so maybe it is not quite immediate. We’ll see. Like Elias, you never know who will do what in NXT compared to the main roster.

– Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair was up next. A WrestleMania caliber main event if you ask me. Similar to Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar, this match could have headlined the biggest event of the year and not looked out of place. Pretty amazing when you think about how much talent WWE has. I LOVED this matchup. Not sure many bought into the idea of Ronda actually losing but still – she wasn’t going to l ose to Becky Lynch either, and that build up was freakin’ amazing. Still is. Let that thing simmer to WM35! Epic main event in the making. Back to Rousey/Charlotte, so so so good. It can not be stated enough how great Ronda has become in her first year. She took to this in record time and continues to impress me and shut up her naysayers. Ms. Flair showing some attitude has been teased in recent weeks, so the chair attack and sudden respect for Becky may be the payoff here. Perhaps these two go at it again in 2019? Hmm. Either way, WWE has Rousey’s next six months pretty much mapped out. Breaking the arm off Jax in December, Royal Rumble hype in January, and a Charlotte OR Becky main event in April. I like it.

– Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar was our main event. Unreal that Bryan vs. Lesnar was happening. In 2018. At Survivor Series. On five days notice! Only in WWE folks. The internet told me Bryan was leaving the company in September. He didn’t. Then the internet told me he was being ‘punished’ for returning and refusing to wrestle in Saudi Arabia. Oh, and the internet also told me he would never win the WWE Championship again. I love the internet. This clash with The Beast is something he has always wanted, so it is cool he got a dream match. Needless to say, this match was Brock’s to win, and he did. However, the way we got there was awesome. Daniel Bryan will get all the praise because he is the internet darling, but this match does not work unless it is with Brock Lesnar. There is only one. Brutal, brutal beatdown, followed by the heroic comeback…but eventual loss. Easy story to tell and simple to follow. Heel, face, turn, who cares? This was just as entertaining as I had imagined.

SUMMARY: This event was saved by the final few matches. The pay-per-view was struggling early but finished strong. We can debate the brand supremacy deal all day along, but the matches on paper show why it continues: AOP vs. Bar? Rollins vs. Nakamura? Ronda vs. Charlotte? Bryan vs. Brock? Yeah, nice to break up the current story lines for a month and do a fun one off around holiday season. Better than NXT Takeover War Games.

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WWE Survivor Series, Justin Watry