WWE Survivor Series 2016 Review

Now I know I don't usually post wrestling-related content on this page, or post much of anything here anymore, but I want to get back into the swing of things.

Survivor Series 2016

So Survivor Series happened last night, and I've gotta say, it was a hell of a weekend in wrestling. Not only because of the Survivor Series, but the excellent show that NXT produced at Takeover the night prior, which Survivor Series had to follow.  From what happened at Takeover, Survivor Series had to do a hell of a lot to follow that.

Women's 5-on-5 Traditional Elimination Tag-Team Match

I didn't get to see too much of this match, due to my being a college student and not being able to afford the WWE Network and the link I was watching the show on being bad, but with what I did see, I was very impressed with.  An interesting dynamic was implemented as the team captain of Smackdown Live, Nikki Bella, was attacked right before the match and as the rest of her teammates were already at ringside.  Natalya then volunteered to compete for Team Blue and the match was underway.  It was awesome to see every competitor in this match getting their time in the spotlight and showing what they could do for at least a little bit, and if this match showed me anything it is that Naomi has the potential to rise to the occasion in singles competition, and this match gave her the chance to do just that.  Team RAW ended up getting the win over Team Smackdown Live with Bayley pinning the Smackdown Women's Champion Becky Lynch, much to the dismay of Charlotte who wanted to glory to herself.  Immediately after the match concluded, Charlotte and Dana Brooke attacked Bayley, proving that their Team RAW alliance was purely for the moment and out of necessity.  I really enjoyed this match and it was a great way to kick off the night.

3 out of 5 Stars

Sami Zayn VS The Miz (c) for the Intercontinental Championship

If Zayn wins, he takes the Intercontinental Championship to RAW

Going into the night, I honestly thought that RAW and Smackdown were going to trade the Intercontinental and Cruiserweight Championships, but that still would have left Smackdown without a Midcard title, and with a roster full of midcarders bidding for a top title opportunity, that would've been a big mistake.  This match's ending was appropriate to the location, as Sami Zayn put The Miz in a submission hold and Maryse rang the bell signalling the end of the match.  Zayn thought he had won the match, but was blindsided with a roll-up by The Miz, ending in a Miz retention.  The match in and of itself was a great contest, as seeing two guys who aren't usually in the ring together who also have great chemistry was refreshing and fun to watch.  Post Survivor Series implications may be bright for Sami Zayn, as he could undoubtedly want an opportunity against Miz in the future, and can potentially be traded to Smackdown Live because of his less than fair treatment on RAW.  Only time will tell where Zayn ends up, but I wouldn't mind him squaring up against the Miz for a rematch sometime in the near future. 

3.25 out of 5 Stars

10-on-10 Tag Team Elimination Match

I can't call this match a Traditional Survivor Series Match, because there is nothing traditional about it.  It's a Tag Team Match inside of a Tag Team Match and as a result, it was a gargantuan clusterfluck.  The New Day, whom were the team captains of Team RAW and one of the more entertaining Tag Teams involved in the match, were eliminated early and left Team RAW at a disadvantage.  American Alpha was not the Team that I fell in love with in NXT at Survivor Series, it's like their entire dynamic was completely off and it honestly felt like they were singles competitors coming together for a one-night team up.  Another disappointment in this match came with the victors, as Sheamus and Cesaro were the sole survivors for Team RAW and they were able to win it for their team.  Out of everyone in the tag team division, even out of Heath Slater & Rhyno, the combustable tag team of Sheamus and Cesaro were able to top every Tag Team in this match.  That is just sickening and a slap in the face of Tag Team Wrestling.

1 out of 5 Stars

Kalisto VS The Brian Kendrick (c) for the Cruiserweight Championship

If Kalisto wins, he takes the Cruiserweight Championship and the entire Cruiserweight division to Smackdown Live

As I stated earlier, I came into the night thinking that Kalisto and Sami Zayn would be victorious in their respective matches, but seeing as how The Miz retained his Intercontinental Championship earlier in the night, I didn't really see the Cruiserweight Championship and the entire division going to Smackdown Live.  Despite the fact that Smackdown Live would still have it's midcard title, RAW just cannot afford to lose this division if it wants to keep with it's 3-hour format.  True to Cruiserweight fashion, this match was full of high-energy spots and risky maneuvers that kept this match entertaining.  The ending to this match, however, was a huge shocker.  Baron Corbin came out to the ring and attacked Kalisto, costing him the match and keeping the Cruiserweight title on The Brian Kendrick, as well as keeping the Cruiserweights on RAW.  If you like shock value in your PPVs, you probably loved this ending and couldn't see it coming, but if you are objective in your wrestling, you probably hated this ending.  Either way, it is an ending that nobody saw coming.

3 out of 5 Stars

Men's 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match

Ok.  This match.  THIS MATCH.  Where do I even begin?  How about the Shield reunion after Dean Ambrose turned on Team Smackdown Live and Triple Powerbombed AJ Styles through the announce table?  Or Roman Reigns catching Shane-O-Mac in mid air during an attempted Coast-To-Coast and speared him to the ground causing Shane-O to get knocked out for a moment? Or even Luke Harper coming out to aid the Wyatt Family into victory for Team Smackdown? Whichever moment you want to focus on, this match was chock full of awesome spots and events while supporting subliminal storylines underneath as well.  Spectacular match and it was definitely much more than I expected

4 out of 5 Stars

Goldberg VS Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman)   

All this hype.  All this buildup.  Everything.  For the shock value.  In a minute and a half, Brock Lesnar is dominated by Goldberg via 2 Spears and a Jackhammer for a pin in the middle of the ring. In the moment, it was definitely shocking, awe-inspiring, and completely special.  This is what wrestling is all about when you really look at it.  When you ask yourselves why we watch wrestling in the first place, it is because of those special shocking moments that take your breath away.  If you want to look at the implications of this match, you see everyone that Brock Lesnar has decimated.  Triple H, John Cena, and the Undertaker just to name a few, not to mention beating the Streak of the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, and you see all of those accolades demolished in a minute and a half.  You see someone destroy those accolades and make a new standard, pretty much making every one of those accolades irrelevant.  But it's not about accolades.  It's not about who beat who beat who, it's about the entertainment.  The shock value.  In my opinion, this was one of the best matches on the card, not because of the length or the one-sided domination, but the symbolism inside about Professional Wrestling and why we watch.  The symbolism was all there.  The only question is...what is next for Goldberg?

3.75 out of 5 Stars, even though this match was impossible to rate.

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments below!