BOSTON – TD Bank Garden hosts the 36th annual Survivor Series premium live event in the hallowed halls of Titletown USA. Five matches, two championships decided and the main roster debut of WarGames twenty years after the debut of its spiritual successor, the Elimination Chamber, Survivor Series hasn’t felt this important since 2016 when the second brand spilt happened.
Here are the event’s bullet points in this edition of the 3 Count.
1.) The Women’s Match Effectively Set up Rivalries for Raw
If you think about it, Becky Lynch’s return has given us the audience a lot of possibilities for the future of the Raw Women’s division.
This match effectively told a story that will more than likely highlight a few matchups that would give the Raw viewing audience some fresh rivalries, while rekindling old ones.
Becky Lynch vs Rhea Ripley. A match that we haven’t seen before. It would be a first-time match that could potentially be a feature WrestleMania-worthy match for sure.
Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley
For Judgment Day’s sake, a faction can gain control with title gold. Imperium has the Intercontinental Championship, Damage CTRL has the Women’s Tag Team Championships, Toxic Attraction has the NXT Women’s Championship and The Bloodline with the Undisputed Tag and World Championships and with Triple H’s heavy emphasis on factions, it’s pretty easy for the faction to gain traction with gold in their group ranks.
Plus, as of right now. The only viable option for the red brand to face champion Belair would be Ripley. They hadn’t had a legit one-on-one matchup since Takeover: Portland back in 2020, and have teased various matches and rivalries as well. It would be a good time to get some traction on this rivalry.
Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross
This was a pivotal part of the matchup as Alexa Bliss sacrificed herself while Cross was trying to handcuff Bliss. Alexa ultimately handcuffed herself to Nikki to neutralize the advantage between the two teams. The history between the two and the past betrayal shows some true continuity between past storylines and the parties involved.
2.) Austin Theory Winning Was The ONLY Logical Decision
After losing the Money in the Bank, Austin Theory started his recovery phase in this new chapter of his career.
Explaining the rationale of why he cashed in on Seth Rollins, and why not The Bloodline was the best way to establish the Money in the Bank briefcase, maintain the importance of the United States Championship and give the Money in the Bank a hard reset on a near two-decade long tradition.
Theory defeating Lashley and Rollins, despite circumstances of controversy, is still a big win and established him as a top heel for the Raw brand alongside Judgment Day and Damage CTRL.
Read More: Pro Wrestling Records: Longest WWE Title Reigns by Championship
Kick-Out: Smackdown’s Women’s Division is Lackluster
Smackdown’s Women’s division is in trouble. For the “money brand” due to its Fox deal, the Blue Brand outside of Ronda Rousey is severely lacking in notable names on the brand.
Nothing against Shotzi by any means, Shotzi is a talented individual and a great hand. But with Smackdown being on Fox a basic cable network, Smackdown does cater to the casual fan base and Shotzi is indeed a more hardcore indie-based wrestler.
Aside from Ronda and Natalya, not many people really know the likes of Shotzi, Raquel Rodriguez, Xia Li & Lacey Evans, all former NXT mainstays in their own right. However, if you aren’t familiar with the past NXT product, the casual fan wouldn’t understand the importance of them and why they should care, unfortunately.
Granted, the initial brand split in 2016 did have that issue at first but the difference was then having Naomi, Natalya and Nikki Bella who appeared on Total Divas which was WWE’s attempt at a crossover appealing reality television series.
Smackdown desperately needs a big name to make the people care, as Ronda Rousey being the champion is more of a big fish in a small pond without any viable contenders for Ronda unless a Charlotte Flair returns, or a Sasha Banks return or a Toxic Attraction call up. Until
One of those things happens, this lack of name value hurts Smackdown like it is, currently.
3.) The Main Event = Storytelling Personified
It’s crazy to think that in a match that has the Worlds Champion, and three viable contenders for said championship, the central story is based on Sami Zayn.
The writers did a magnificent job of explaining the story and how Sami’s loyalty to The Bloodline is the pivotal factor behind the match. From Roman’s backstage interactions with Jey Uso and Sami himself, to the coating of Kevin Owens a victory for his team, the storyline was a night-long plot point which rewarded the fans for being invested in Sami.
Sami during this story has managed to be rooted for as the biggest face in the company yet to have the empathy of the fans as well due to being a part of a heel faction. The hug from Jey was the satisfying part of the ending, with the “Honorary Uce” finally getting the entire Bloodline on his side. It was a multi-month journey that the fans had to endure and it was paid off as a new chapter in the story with Royal Rumble season coming along and potentially adding a fourth viable championship contender to the main event scene as we await Zayn’s inevitable moment of getting betrayed.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other wrestling stories worldwide as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the important news in the wrestling world and provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Additionally, you can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
