Survivor Series 2019 Review

Sunday, November 24th, 2019
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois

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Women's Survivor Series Elimination Match
Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Natalya, Sarah Logan vs. Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm

So apparently there will always be one member from each team in the ring at the same time, which could make this entire night a disaster if this idea doesn't work. I don't quite understand how the NXT women are on the same team after last night, but I guess we are supposed to ignore that. It's good to see Logan in this match, as she seems to be kind of finding her place on the roster. Storm hits a double German suplex on Logan and Cross. The women seem a little hesitant as to how to work this match. Shirai, Sane and Carmella are all tagged in. Shirai and Sane focus on only each other, so Carmella tags Brooke in, while the aforementioned two go at it. I can't remember the last time I have seen Brooke wrestle, but her new gear is a much better fit for her. I am shocked that we haven't had an elimination yet. You have to figure that one of these matches is going to have a lot of quick eliminations and I kind of thought it would be this one. We now get the obligatory "everyone run in and hit a big move" part of the match. They are now selling LeRae and Shirai as too hurt to continue, while the other competitors taunt them. So we are going with NXT with three remaining team members. Considering they announced the team after WarGames, it kind of makes their decision look pretty dumb. Belair rolls up Cross and we have our first real elimination. Belair seems to be a little hesitant tonight after tearing it up last night. Belair scores another pinfall victory by eliminating Logan. For some reason no one tries to attack her from behind as she celebrates. Carmella hits a hurrianrana from the top rope on Charlotte onto Belair, but isn't able to get a pinfall on either. Charlotte hits Natural Selection on Carmella and she is gone. Raw now has the 4-3-3 advantage. Sasha for some reason breaks up a pinfall attempt, but scores one of her own. Asuka quickly eliminates Brooke. Asuka then soves Charlotte to tag her in and they begin going back and forth until Charlotte slams her back. Charlotte starts working on Evans and then Asuka sprays green mist in the eyes of Charlotte and Asuka leaves the ring. Evans hits the Women's Right way after the fact and gets the pinfall. Natalya is now the only one left for Raw. Natalya pins Evans, leaving only Sasha for SmackDown. NXT is now up 3-1-1. Natalya puts Storm in the Sharpshooter and then Sasha comes in for the Banks Statement and Storm is gone. Then, just like that, Belair is eliminated by Banks. We are down to Natalya, Banks and Ripley. Banks and Natalya are forming an alliance to get rid of Ripley, but Banks obviously turns on Natalya and we are down to Banks and Ripley. Banks is up on the second rope and hits the Meteora, but Ripley kicks out. The crowd is heavily invested here, which is a great sign here for Ripley. Yes, I know it's Chicago, but it's still important. Banks goes for another Meteora, but Ripley hits her with a boot to the face. Sasha gets her in the Banks Statement, but here come LeRae and Shirai and they pull Ripley out of the ring. Banks hits them with a dropkick, but Ripley then drives her into the barricade and then the ring. LeRae distracts the ref and then Shirai hits a springboard dropkick and Ripley gets the victory. I'm not sure how that really fits LeRae's character, but okay. The match was cluttered to start but picked up towards the end, which I think we were all expecting to happen. The main takeaway is that Ripley is a star that they are getting behind. Where will they go from here when she will only be showcased on Wednesday nights now? NXT takes a 2-1-1 lead because all three brands won a match on the pre-show. Good opener overall.

Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

They show KO being involved in WarGames last night and then cut to him backstage. In walks Seth Rollins and the live crowd boos. They question each others loyalty.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles

As a Ring Of Honor 2008 fan, it makes me so happy to see Strong in this spot. I still don't quite get what they're going for with Zayn, but he and Nakamura do have good chemistry. I'm not quite sure why they booked a three way heel match, but I guess they really didn't have a choice. Zayn fans Nakamura with his hat while he tries to recover. Strong hits his multiple running forearms and slams Styles face first for a 2 count. The crowd doesn't seem to know who to cheer for, so they are mostly just cheering spots. Styles goes for the Styles Clash on Nakamura, but Strong hits him with a dropkick from behind. Strong is going for a superplex on Styles, but Styles slides underneath and has Strong up and Nakamura kicks him off his shoulders and Strong is grabbing his knee. Zayn pulls Styles away from grabbing Nakamura, which distracts him enough for Strong to hit a knee to the face for a close call. Nakamura hits a Go To Sleep on Strong and then out of nowhere Styles hits Nakamura with a forearm. Nakamura tosses Strong over his head and he lands right on Styles. That looks like it legit may have hurt. Styles and Nakamura go after one another with Strong on the outside. This is a good example of a match where they are doing some nearfalls just for the sake of doing them. Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm on Nakamura, but Strong throws Styles out and steals the pinfall. This is the traditional heel finish for a triple threat match in WWE, so you knew we were going to get at least one match ending this way. I thought for sure Styles was going to win this match. There was a lot of good action, but not quite as good as you would hope. NXT is now up 3-1-1.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Daniel Bryan is getting ready backstage and in walks the Miz. Miz tells Bryan that for the sake of themselves, their families and everyone, that Bryan needs to stop the Fiend. Bryan tells Miz to get out of his face.

NXT Championship Match
Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Cole has had quite the week. Both men are selling injuries from last night. Dunne stomps Cole's elbow and wrist into the steel steps. The crazy thing about wrestling in 2019 is that in 1989 they probably would have turned that into an injury angle and now it's just a set up spot in the first few minutes of a match. That's not a knock on these guys, it's the business as a whole. That's where we are and it wouldn't be the worst thing if we started working our way back to the way things used to be. I don't know how much they are paying Adam Cole, but he is worth every penny. Dunne hits a sit down powerbomb for the first real close call of the match. Dunne goes for a moonsault, but Cole gets his knees up. Cole hits the Last Shot, but it's not enough to keep Dunne down for 3. Dunne hits the Bitter End but Cole is able to kick out. Cole hits a superkick onto a moonsaulting Dunne, which is a spot I will never get sick of. The only thing is that it should end the match, but I'm also not complaining that we are getting more. Cole hits a Panama Sunrise on the outside of the ring apron! Both men are down and out on the mats. Cole is able to crawl back in and Dunne barely beats the count. Cole makes an incredible counter into the Panama Sunrise and hits the Last Shot for the victory. Adam Cole continues his absolutely incredible 2019. The Undisputed Era celebrates on the stage. Another really good match on a weekend full of them.

Match Rating: ****

Backstage, Team SmackDown is going over their match.

Universal Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

Yes, this is still just about my least favorite gimmick of all time. Yes, he is still wrestling under a red light. Bray Wyatt's one shining moment in a singles match was against Daniel Bryan. Bryan has had one of the most low key, underappreciated amazing years and here he is in a match that everyone knows he has no chance in. After a short heat segment that feels like a lifetime, Bryan makes his comeback and gets him down after leaping off the top rope to the floor with a flying knee. Bryan hits two missile dropkicks and then a series of Yes Kicks and finally has the crowd behind him. Matches like this are where Michael Cole is at his worst. He is trying way too hard to drive this home. Bryan hits the running knee and gets a 2 count. The Fiend puts on the Mandible Claw, but Bryan counters it with an arm bar while draped over the top rope. Bryan counters Sister Abigail into a roll up for a 2 count. Wyatt counters with the Mandible Claw and uses it to get a pinfall. That was a heck of a performance by Bryan in a pretty short match. I won't complain anymore about Wyatt than I already have.

Match Rating: ***

Rey Mysterio is backstage for an interview. Rey says he wants Dominik to watch as he destroys Lesnar tonight.

Men's Survivor Series Elimination Match
Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Ricochet, Randy Orton vs. Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, Roman Reigns vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle, Walter

Strowman, Ciampa and Rollins start things off. Walter got a big chant prior to the start. They then tag in McIntyre and Walter, giving us the three big men early on. McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick out of nowhere and eliminates Walter. Wow. The crowd is not happy about that. Ricochet and Shorty G are now in and give us a good segment that ends with Ricochet getting folded up like an accordion with a German suplex. Shorty G and Riddle go at it. Owens hits a Frog Splash onto Shorty G and he is now eliminated. Owens superkicks Roman and then hits a Stunner on Corbin. As he rolls him in, Ciampa capitalizes and eliminates his partner from the previous night. Orton hits a RKO on Ciampa and then Priest and eliminates Priest. Riddle then rolls up Orton and gets the quick elimination. Orton hits Riddle with a RKO for good measure and Corbin pins Riddle. Strowman is running around the ring mauling everyone over until Keith Lee gets in his way and we get a huge collision. Lee gets back in the ring, but Strowman is eliminated by countout. Riochet does his thing until Corbin catches him with End Of Days and eliminates him. Ali finally gets in the match and gets a great reaction. Corbin and Ali get in an argument, which leads to Rollins hitting the Stomp and eliminating Ali. Reigns hits a big spear out of nowhere on McIntyre and he is gone. Reigns spears Corbin and Ciampa is there to pin him. We are down to Reigns, Rollins, Ciampa and Lee. Rollins and Reigns team up on Ciampa and start clearing off one of the announcer tables. They go for the Shield powerbomb, but out of nowhere is Lee to push them over and break it up. Ciampa hits Project Ciampa on Rollins but he somehow kicks out. Rollins is getting the Roman treatment from the audience. Ciampa is in control of Rollins, but Reigns hits a Superman Punch and Rollins follows with the Stomp for the elimination. Each team has one member left. Rollins knocks down Lee and then hits a Frog Splash, but Lee kicks out. Lee counters Rollins and hits the Jackhammer and gets the surprise pinfall. Reigns hits two Superman Punches, but Lee kicks out of a really close nearfall. Upon replay, it appeared as if the ref counted 3. Lee hits a sitdown powerbomb on Reigns, but he too kicks out. Lee misses a moonsault off the second rope and eats a Spear and Roman Reigns is the sole survivor. That match was a little messy at time, but it was a lot of fun. It was great to see Lee get a big spot here and then get to see the live crowd loving every second of it.

Match Rating: ***1/2

After the match, Reigns and Lee fist bump.

Becky Lynch says that there is no one can take all of her success away from her.

WWE Championship Match
No Holds Barred
Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Mysterio goes right under the ring and grabs a lead pipe. Mysterio and Lesnar are both so good in these types of matches. Lesnar takes Mysterio down with a couple of clotheslines and then throws him under the bottom rope. Mysterio is able to counter Lesnar and shove him into the ring post. He goes for the pipe, but Lesnar hits a German suplex with a release onto the pipe. Dominik comes into the ring and distracts Lesnar and Mysterio hits a low blow. Dominik gets in on the action and they hits a double 619. Dominik hits a Frog Splash, followed by one from Rey but Brock kicks out. Lesnar hits a German on Dominik and then catches Rey from the top rope and hits a F5 for the victory. Good sprint there and they used Dominik wisely.

Match Rating: ***

Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch

The crowd is silent early on here. These marathon shows are just too much and there were no come down matches tonight. Bayley gets a lot of offense in early. After so many quick paced matches tonight, this was feels slower than it probably is. Becky goes up top and hits a leg drop from the top rope on Bayley, but Baszler breaks up the pin attempt. Bayley hits Bayley-To-Belly on Baszler, but she kicks out. Baszler has Bayley on her shoulders, but Lynch comes off the top rope. Lynch and Baszler go back and forth until Bayley comes in and hits a crossbody. Lynch hits a powerbomb on Baszler, but she kicks out to little reaction. Lynch gets Baszler into the Disarm-Her, but it's not enough. Bayley misses the elbow drop off the top rope and Baszler puts Bayley in the Kirifuda Clutch and that's all? Unfortunately for these three talented women, this was not their best work. On a show that had a lot of good action, this one just didn't deserve to the be the main event. NXT wins 4-2-1. We'll see if this does anything for NXT. Baszler celebrates on top of the tables and Lynch attacks her from behind. Lynch hits a leg drop off the barricade on Baszler through the announce table.

Match Rating: **1/4

Everything was really good with the exception of the main event. I was a little surprised with some of the booking decisions, but at the same time none of them felt wrong. Say what you will about WWE, but they did deliver two really good nights of wrestling in a row in their most vocal city. I'm not sure where this leaves us with the brand split, but I'm at least more interested than I was prior to watching.

Overall Rating: 85%