 By RJ Marceau Last night, the WWE held the 30th installment of the Survivor Series that left the WWE crowd in shock. The night was filled with odd finishes, strange bookings and weird decisions. I won’t run down every match in depth but I will point out things that either had me scratching my head or enjoyed. Bayley Steals the Spotlight from Charlotte as Team Raw Defeats Team SmackDown Live Okay, so I am assuming Charlotte and Dana attacked Nikki Bella because they were laughing and came off as the culprits. It wasn’t ideal for Natalya to replace her but she got a great pop from the Canadian crowd. The match was decent but a few things had me scratching my head. So one, when did Charlotte adopt the big boot as a finisher and how weak does Nia Jax look by literally tossing every women around on Team SmackDown but tapping out to Becky Lynch? I don’t even like Jax but it just seemed so illogical. Instead of tapping out why not have Team SmackDown team up on Jax, hit a few signature moves outside the ring and she gets counted out. She doesn’t get pinned or tap out. Nope she hasn’t lost yet on the main roster and taps out to Lynch. The ending was a nice moment for Bayley but we already figured she was the #1 contender for the Women’s title so the rub of being a sole survivor didn’t mean much. I think that hurt the show with two of the three elimination tag matches coming down to the presumable #1 contenders so it wasn’t like anyone besides Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton actually got a push of some sort. I would say Charlotte attacking Bayley was a good touch especially with Bayley stealing the spotlight from her by picking up the win for Team Raw. The Miz and The Brian Kendrick Retain in Puzzling Finishes A good match here between Sami and The Miz but it wasn’t even close to as good as the matches Dolph and The Miz have had the past few months. The match had a few spots and I always pop for the Blue Thunder Bomb. The ending however just ruined the match. Maryse ringing the bell to cause a distraction for The Miz to win was sooooooo bad. The finish is the last thing you remember. So the beginning could drag or you forget about the flippidity doo das but the finish is for me what can seal the match as a classic or just butcher it. I attached the cruiserweight match in the same headline because this match had a great promo by Brian Kendrick in the video package, the Spanish Fly was sick as well as the Captain Hook off the top rope. But besides those two spots the match was forgettable and ending was as bad as the Miz & Zayn match. So Baron Corbin was hurt and taken off the Survivor Series team but he can cost Kalisto the match with no sign of him being injured. Okay. Like what?? I was totally dumbfounded. Another side note if The Miz teasing a feud with Daniel Bryan doesn’t happen at WrestleMania 33 then they are really boning their fans with these teases. Sheamus & Cesaro and The Usos Shine in 10-on-10 Survivor Series Elimination Match This match saw two really quick eliminations that did the match some justice. When you have 20 guys in a match banging off four competitors in a minute is perfect. I was slightly confused why The New Day was ousted before The Shining Stars but it was a nice shock. It seems like their tag team reign is coming to an end soon so it was a nice change of pace. The match featured the usual signature high flying spots taking out multiple men. Chad Gable's flying cannonball was really cool but it was shocking how American Alpha was out before Rhyno & Slater and The Usos. In all honesty these matches thrive when it comes to the last few teams so when they weed out the teams and get down to one vs. one it gets you on the edge of your set. I have loved how The Usos have been heel and the ending with them and Sheamus & Cesaro was great. Nearfalls, some cool spots from both teams had me on the edge of my seat. I was pulling for Team SmackDown but I wasn’t devastated they lost since the ending was intriguing. It was a decent rub for Sheamus & Cesaro but they were the #1 contenders already. They are getting a title match tonight but they already deserved it so the win didn’t really put them as the #1 contenders. All in all the match had its normal spots for a multi-man match with the outside dives and constant finishers to get quick eliminations but The Usos vs. Sheamus & Cesaro matchup was great. The superkicks, the uppercuts, the nearfalls and the moments was captured in this final encounter. A decent match with a great ending. If the match ended with a Brogue Kick on one of The Usos after they eliminated Enzo & Cass it would have just been a normal multi man tag team match. The ending, however, was amazing and swung the match from decent to good for me. The New Wyatt Family Helps SmackDown Live Win an Amazing Match GSM knows I hate long matches but this match was perfectly paced out. Ambrose getting out foreshadowed him screwing AJ. The elimination of Strowman was amazing. Ellsworth is a clown but him holding on to Braun’s leg leading him to getting tossed off the stage through a table was hilarious and perfect to get Braun out. They teased some tension between Owens and Jericho after Owens used “The List” to get disqualified which led to Jericho scrambling to pick it up and staring at Owens outside the ring. Jericho turns around into an RKO and is eliminated. I was surprised how much actual in-ring action Shane McMahon saw especially because he isn’t great in regular standard matches. He doesn’t have a moveset so he used his clotheslines and punches throughout the match. The coast to coast was going to be cool but turned amazing with Reigns snapping him in half with a Spear. Shane was unable to compete and it was a nice touch for Randy Orton to notify Shane’s son at ringside that his dad was okay. The Shield reunion was great with them power bombing Styles through the table and eliminating him. This led to Rollins & Reigns vs. Wyatt & Orton which was good with the RKO on Seth which was cool and Orton taking the Spear to save Wyatt was a surprising move. Team SmackDown wins with the "New Wyatt Family” in the ring. The match was great. Best match of the night and will definitely be a match of the year contender. I like how Bray and Randy were the last two but will Bray get an actual push or will he just look dumb when Orton turns on him? If they want to capitalize on the victory they should award Bray and Randy a title shot over Dean since he almost cost them the match with him helping Team Raw. Hell, make it a Fatal 4-Way at TLC. It would, however, be baffling if Dean would get a shot over them when they won the match for SmackDown and he helped Raw eliminate AJ. Goldberg Squashes Brock Lesnar in 1 Minute and 26 Seconds Wow. If the WWE wanted a reaction they for sure got one. Holy shit moment with Goldberg squashing Lesnar. I didn’t hate that it happened because Goldberg won but the fact Lesnar was built up for so long, he beat The Streak and that he hadn’t been pinned in over three years and just got squashed by Goldberg. The reports are that Goldberg resigned to do Goldberg vs. Lesnar III so the plans were scraped to have Lesnar go over. In that case it is still dumb booking and it happened because Brock Lesnar pushed for it because he sees big money in a rematch which has been reported. I understand the money aspect but the payoff was for a future star not a 49-year-old Goldberg who is a Hall of Famer. If WWE does Goldberg Lesnar III at the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 33 I will give it my attention so I hope it isn’t a letdown. Final Two CentsSurvivor Series was a decent show but the main event is what is making it a big talking point. The 5-on-5 will probably be overshadowed by the main event shocker but it was still a match of the year candidate. The final sequence of The Usos vs. Sheamus & Cesaro is a must-watch as well. Besides that the show was decent and I wouldn’t rewatch anything but the ending of the 10-on-10 and the Men’s 5-on-5.
SEE ALSO: "RJ's Two Cents - Sheamus Wins WWE Championship and Survivor Series Thoughts"
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