Quick Live Thoughts From Survivor Series

It only took me 31 years.

Freshly back from the show (I could really get used to this concept of walking from the arena to the hotel and needing 25 minutes from the time I get out of my seat to the time I’m back and sitting down at the hotel) and it was certainly a different one. There were no major sections tarped off though there were some small pockets of empty seats. It was definitely 95%+ full though and one of the biggest non-Wrestlemania crowds I’ve seen in years.

I won’t go through everything match by match as I’ll save that for the review, but a few highlights:

NXT was over like free beer in a frat house all night long with no one getting anything less than a strong reception.

The women’s Survivor Series match felt a little disjointed at times but Rhea was a STAR, as she has been since she debuted. Fans were a little confused by Shirai and LeRae going out and some were expecting Asuka to come back for a surprise. Either way, Rhea won and it changed the complexion a bit, with NXT now looking like they had a chance.

Cole retaining…..I’m going to need to think about that one for a long time. Cole beating Dunne on normal circumstances is one thing but it’s going to take some mental gymnastics to get my head around a banged up and spent Cole beating Dunne clean. I’m not saying I can’t get there, but it’s going to take some time.

Bryan vs. Bray should have been short like it was and it was booked as well as could have been expected. This worked very well with Bryan fighting as hard as he could and even bringing back the YES chant, but not being enough to overcome that kind of evil. I’m not sure who beats Bray but it’s going to be fun watching people try.

I’ve loved the Survivor Series for years and have always wanted to see one of the matches live. That’s what I got in the men’s match, which felt like an old school Survivor Series match. Corbin stealing pins was a great idea, especially with the one on Ricochet as the fans wanted to kill him. Lee looked incredible out there and got over huge, meaning he should be getting close to the main event scene soon. Heck of a match and exactly what I wanted, but SCREW OFF with getting rid of Walter that fast. If that’s what you bring him in for, what was even the point?

The place came unglued when Rey and Dominick hit the double 619, but you knew it wasn’t happening right after that kickout. Still though, great emotional moment and all it needed to be.

Then there was the main event and…..dang it wrestling fans can be annoying. There were chants of THIS IS AWFUL, CM PUNK, BORING and various similar things. I would bet money that these are the same fans who have been begging WWE to do something new and call Shayna up. She gets a chance in the main event and what does she get? Treated like she’s some lame wrestler on Raw in a bad match.

The match wasn’t great, but good grief people. What else was supposed to close the show? Bray and Brock crushing dreams? Reigns standing tall again, this time over NXT? You had almost everything you wanted and then this is how you treat the main event? WHERE NXT STOOD TALL AGAIN??? They’ll never be happy, and thankfully a lot of fans booed the chants down.

Overall, a rather good night and the match I wanted to see. Reviews for Smackdown/Takeover will hopefully be up Monday with Survivor Series and Raw hopefully the next day or two.

Thank you again for letting me be able to do all this and your patience with the lack of reviews (the WiFi here is pretty horrible).

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