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WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

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WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

The two main roster brands are set for a battle of supremacy.

Following yesterday’s Takeover: WarGames, Raw and SmackDown put on Survivor Series. The two main roster brands are set for a battle of supremacy. Which brand will come out on top? Will 2017’s edition survive the test of time or will it be eliminated from our memories? How many times will we be reminded that this is the only night when Raw and SmackDown face off in head to head competition?

Pre-Show Notes

  • Special two hour pre-show with Rene Young, Jerry Lawler, Shawn Michaels, and Peter Rosenberg (who starts off on the wrong foot by reminding everyone of the first Survivor Series when Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Ultimate Warrior (?) all were in the same ring.)
  • Basic recap of all the matches with the usual great video packages and interviews from Alexa Bliss, Charlotte, and AJ Styles.
  • Miz joins Charly Caruso in the social media lounge. Miz gets off a great line about Corbin being a generic big man who will be gone in two years.
  • Just in case anyone forgets, this is the only night Raw and SmackDown meet. HBK mocks the line since he still does not care about WWE speak.

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  • Pre-show matches were Elias beating “Kinda Broken” Matt Hardy, Enzo Amore retaining the Cruiserweight title against Kalisto, and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn beating Breezango.

Main Card

The Shield Vs. The New Day

WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

Interesting choice to start the show. The Shield is wearing the awful Raw/Shield hybrid shirts. New Day play heel and immediately work over Ambrose. Reigns gets a better reaction than usual, but there are still a quite a few boos. Cool spot as Big E holds up Ambrose and Rollins for a Double Midnight Hour from Woods and Kingston. Shield win with the Triple Power Bomb off the second rope on Kingston. Match really picked up but was not the blowaway that was expected. Raw goes up 1-0.

Survivor Series Match: Team SmackDown (Becky Lynch, Tamina, Carmella, Naomi, Natayla Vs. Team Raw (Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Asuka, Sasha Banks, Bayley)

Natalya was announced as the mystery fifth member of Team SmackDown by Commissioner Shane McMahon yesterday. Smart move since despite years of evidence that mystery partners rarely work out (Savio Vega, anyone?) the live crowd would have crapped all over this. Funny dueling chant to start the match: Let’s go Becky!/Let’s go Raw! Crowd is quickly shown the error of their ways as Becky Lynch is immediately eliminated with a sneaky roll up from Bayley.

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Bayley gets pinned next after a Superfly splash from Tamina. Epic showdown between Tamina and Nia Jax ends with Jax being counted out. Very sloppy sequence between Fox and Naomi ends with a Fox being pinned in a botched spot then Naomi tapping to the Banks Statement. Asuka pins Carmella after a kick to the face. Banks taps to the Sharpshooter leaving Asuka against both Natalya and Tamina. Asuka overcomes the odds and makes Tamina then Natalya tap to Asuka Lock. Crowd was hot for Asuka but the match was not very good. Raw leads 2-0.

Backstage segment between Stephanie McMahon and Daniel Bryan hype the men’s Survivor Series match.  They teased Bryan running SmackDown by himself.

Champion Vs. Champion: Baron Corbin Vs. The Miz

WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

It still annoys me that they bill Barry from Kansas City but will not say whether it is Kansas or Missouri. Basic match with Miz working on the bigger Corbin’s leg. Corbin wins clean with the End of Days in a mild upset. Afterwards, Corbin cuts an in ring promo with Rene Young saying he shut us all up. Raw leads 2-1.

Caruso interviews Paul Heyman backstage who puts over Lesnar vs. Styles.

Tag Team Champions Vs. Tag Team Champions: The Usos Vs. The Bar

WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

Quote of the night from Booker T: “Think about the brand, don’t think about the Universe.” Usos win after a superkick party (Bucks should issue a cease and desist) and a splash off the top. Another good match that failed to live up to its lofty expectations. Crowd was not into the match for some reason. SmackDown is now tied 2-2.

Caruso interviews Jason Jordan backstage who is greeted with resounding boos. He says that he is 100% behind the Raw brand.

Champion Vs. Champion: Charlotte Vs. Alexa Bliss

WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

Smart strategy from Bliss as she works on the ribs of the taller Charlotte. Charlotte does a great job of selling the ribs the entire match. Good match with one glaring fault. Charlotte wins clean with the Figure Eight despite not ever working on the legs of Bliss. SmackDown goes up 3-2.

WWE Champion Vs. Universal Champion: AJ Styles Vs. Brock Lesnar

WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

Brock starts off fast muscling AJ into the corner and pounding on him. Brock throws AJ around and and easily tosses him over the top.  Another German suplex that sends AJ from one corner to another. AJ beings to fight back (obstructed by a replay of Brock destroying him) before Brock quickly cuts him off with a knee to the liver. AJ finally takes control. Nice sequence as AJ goes for the Styles Clash that Brock reverses to an F-5 attempt that AJ turns into a Calf Crusher that Brock counters by smashing AJ’s head repeatedly into the mat. Brock hits the F-5 for the clean win. Great match. Tied at 3 going into the main event.

Survivor Series Match: Team SmackDown (Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena) Vs. Team Raw (Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Triple H)

WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking

Joe and Orton start off. They quickly tag out to Nakamura and Balor. HHH comes in for a quick matchup with Nak. Angle and Roode renew their TNA rivalry. Braun quickly eliminates Nakamura with a powerslam then takes out Roode to put Raw up 5-3. HHH and Angle get in a shoving match to foreshadow WrestleMania. Cena and Orton get the advantage on Strowman before the entire SmackDown team (including Nakamura and Roode) put him through a table. Cena pins Samoa Joe after two AAs.

Match restarts with Angle and Cena. Angle pins Cena after a Coup de Grace from Balor. Raw is up 4-2. If SmackDown wins, Randy Orton and/or Shand McMahon will be left standing tall. Who says the product is stale? Orton takes out Finn Balor with the RKO. Crowd pops HUGE suddenly. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens come out and attack Shane who proceeds to CHASE THEM BOTH OFF with a steel chair. Ugh. Braun takes out Orton leaving Shane against Angle, HHH and Braun. Something has to be happening. Shane fights off an ankle lock longer than Shawn Michaels before HHH comes in and suddenly Pedigrees Angle and places Shane on top. Down to Shane against Braun and HHH. Crowd is silent. Trips helps Shane up before the inevitable kick to the gut and Pedigree. Trips stands tall again and celebrates with an obviously unhappy Braun.  Braun grabs HHH by the neck and warns him never to use him again. HHH attacks Stroqman once he turns his back and eats two running powerslams for his trouble. A meh match ruined by booking that buried all the new talent in order to push the McMahons all over again. The ending saves it a little — but just barely. Raw wins the match and Bragging Rig-er Survivor Series.

WWE Survivor Series 2017 review: A decent show marred by indecent booking
WWE Survivor Series 2017
Is it good?
Survivor Series was set to be a fine if underwhelming show. Then the McMahons showed up.
Brock and AJ had a great match
While the Shield vs The New Day and The Usos vs The Bar did not meet expectations they were still very good bouts
The crowd was horrible. This may be a result of the lack of face/heel dynamics for some of the matches.
The main event was ridiculously overbooked.
6.5
Average

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