.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Survivor Series Was WWE At Its Best
By Ryan Satin
Survivor Series 2020 showcased the best WWE has to offer and ended with an emotional sendoff to one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time.
Each performer truly brought their A-game on Sunday.
Because of that, almost every single person on the show benefited.
Whether it was Street Profits getting the biggest win of their careers, Lana being a sole Survivor or Roman Reigns needing everything and more to put Drew McIntyre down, the right decisions were made throughout the night for a rewarding viewing experience.
With all that said, let’s unpack my 4 takeaways from the show.
Stand Out Survivor Series Matches
Both Survivor Series matches were exciting, even without NXT being involved this year.
The Raw men’s team finally coming together to sweep Team SmackDown, as painful as it may be for a FOX Sports employee, paid off their recent antics and made the team feel like a cohesive unit fighting for one common purpose.
One positive that stood out to me was Otis' ability to hold his own.
With people like AJ Styles, Sheamus, Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens in the match, it would’ve been easy for him to be relegated to a caterpillar spot.
Instead, Otis was the second to last person left on Team SmackDown and got to be involved in some impressive in-ring moments against the likes of Matt Riddle and Keith Lee.
This is important if they want Otis to be taken seriously as a singles competitor.
Losing the Money in the Bank contract, as well as his tag partner and the Mandy storyline, seems to have lit a fire under the worker. Hopefully he shows more of this side going forward.
Another interesting moment that stood out was Seth Rollins sacrificing himself for some reason to exit the match.
It’s been reported Rollins may take some time off TV, so this would fall in line with that, but I ultimately like how it was handled.
Hopefully he has a good explanation when he returns, and it leads to Seth getting some new disciples.
The women’s Survivor Series match had a lot of good in it too.
Peyton Royce got a huge win over Bayley and showed some real promise as a singles star before being eliminated.
Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott displayed some newfound fire in the ring, which made you want to see more from them both in the future.
Bianca Belair believably taking on two dominant performers in Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax reminded you that her EST nickname isn’t just a gimmick. She truly is one of the best in the company with limitless potential.
As for the ending, I recently called Lana being the sole Survivor.
So, personally, I think it’s a genius payoff to the months of table punishment she received at the hands of Nia Jax.
Even though she won via countout, I hope this leads to more for Lana as a singles competitor.
Her recent edition of Chronicle covering the cyber bullying she deals with, and the commentary team bringing this up this during the pay-per-view, gives me hope that they’re trying to change people’s perception of "The Ravishing Russian."
As I said before, if done correctly, this face turn could payoff for WWE in the long run.
Farewell, Deadman
Just like everyone else, I was in denial heading into The Undertaker’s final farewell on Sunday.
The whole thing seemed like the usual setup for his annual WrestleMania match instead of an actual farewell.
But as the segment continued on, it became more and more evident that this was truly the end – which of course made each and every person watching start to feel emotional. Myself included.
Yes, it would’ve been great if this had happened in front of fans.
But The Undertaker’s entrance has become part of his character, and to get the spotlight solely on him as he made that walk to the ring one last time, in epic fashion, kinda ruled.
He didn’t need a 20-minute speech.
He didn’t need the adulation of his peers (who all came out anyway, only to leave before his entrance).
All Undertaker needed to do was say goodbye to the fanbase who he’s given his life to for the past 30 years.
The addition of a Paul Bearer hologram was a nice touch as well.
Now that Undertaker has said it’s time to let his character rest in peace, though, we need to let him do just that.
He’s earned it.
Profits Are Up!
The Street Profits rose to the occasion against New Day at Survivor Series to put on one of their best matches in WWE.
If you need a reminder of how big of an accomplishment this was for The Street Profits, look no further than New Day’s entrance before the match.
The faction came out dressed as their characters from Gears of War, a wildly popular video game franchise that they’re now part of as themselves.
That’s how big New Day have become.
So for Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins to get the pinfall victory over two guys who’ve practically paved the way for them, it was a special and meaningful moment.
The match was tag team wrestling at its finest too.
The respect both teams showed for each other when it was all said and done after only drove that point home.
Roman and Drew Look Strong
Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns at Survivor Series on Sunday was the kind of match people watch WWE for.
Two behemoths beating the crap out of each other to determine who the tougher wrestler is.
Plain and simple.
This one didn’t need any bells and whistles or gimmicks either.
Both Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns brought every ounce of themselves here to deliver a match that made both competitors look strong in the end.
Reigns literally had to use everything in his arsenal to take McIntyre down, including multiple spears, which made it so Drew didn’t look weak in defeat in the slightest.
This is important in a scenario where one champion could come out of the match looking less than the other.
Roman looked like the top star he claims to be and Drew was a force to be reckoned with, even after losing.
Because of that, I’d love to see these two face-off again down the line one day.
I also think it was smart to hold off on Miz cashing in his Money in the Bank contract here.
While it logically would’ve made sense, since it’s tough to take Drew down otherwise, it seemed like a real effort was made to keep McIntyre looking strong in defeat.
Having Miz successfully cash in after the match would’ve ruined all of that and been a bad decision.
