6 Things WWE subtly told us at Survivor Series 2021: Roman Reigns' WrestleMania 38 plans possibly confirmed, Top Champion set to turn heel?

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins had a great night in the office at Survivor Series 2021
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins had a great night in the office at Survivor Series 2021

Survivor Series 2021 is officially in the history books, and there are going to be a lot of mixed reviews about this one. The matches themselves were quite good, but the overall outcome left a sour taste in the mouths of fans.

RAW won 5-2, and it would have been a clean sweep had it not been for Shinsuke Nakamura (who won by DQ) and Roman Reigns. The handling of the women's Survivor Series teams left a lot to be desired as well.

One of the odd background stories was Vince McMahon's presence backstage at Survivor Series. He brought the "legitimate" $100 million egg of Cleopatra - the central plot of The Rock's new movie on Netflix, "Red Notice".

It was a tie-up, and McMahon even had a meeting with Reigns. During his meeting with authority figures Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville, the egg went missing, and the Chairman demanded an investigation. That will continue on RAW tomorrow.

Until then, here's what WWE subtly told us at Survivor Series 2021.


#6. Roman 'Reigns' supreme at Survivor Series, and what lies next for the world champions

The main event of Survivor Series was the WWE Champion vs. Universal Champion bout between Big E from RAW and Roman Reigns from SmackDown. The match itself had little weight as the Red brand was already 5-1 on the scoreboard - one that wasn't even mentioned in the end.

In yet another classic champion vs. champion bout at Survivor Series, Reigns walked out victorious against an incredible opponent in Big E. Although E had to go to the other brand to become a world champion, he seemed to be the only credible man that could possibly dethrone The Tribal Chief - only, it isn't going to happen because the two men are on different paths.

It had a WrestleMania main event feel to it, and the crowd came alive for the main event. Before we get to that, it should be noted that Kayla Braxton informed Paul Heyman that Brock Lesnar's suspension was no longer in effect.

It's interesting because the SmackDown in Staples Center (which will be renamed as Crypto.com Arena from December 25th) a few weeks from now was advertised with Lesnar vowing to buy a ringside ticket.

That plan could now be scrapped with WWE officially ending the suspension of The Beast Incarnate, meaning that he doesn't need to buy a ringside ticket. Big E won't be a part of that conversation as the remainder of his 2021 will be filled with a feud against Seth Rollins and potentially even Kevin Owens - a man who is on his last two months of his contract.

As for Roman Reigns, the direction is clear - Brock Lesnar in their third WrestleMania main event this April. The Rock didn't come out as many had hoped, and he wouldn't unless the company locked in plans for his feud against Reigns.

For many fans, they might feel disappointed, as the wait for a Roman Reigns vs. The Rock match could still take another year and happen at WrestleMania Hollywood in 2023.

#5. Damian Priest teases a character change at Survivor Series?

In a surprising move, the US Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion match at Survivor Series took place on the kickoff show instead of the main one. Damian Priest was expected to walk out with the easy win, perhaps because of how he's been pushed, and how Shinsuke Nakamura's title reign has been forgotten about.

It turned out to be a good match between the veteran Nakamura and Priest, who only got his main roster start this year, and has had a wave of momentum . This turned out to be his first actual roadblock in 2021 in what has otherwise been a good year.

Damian Priest found it disrespectful that Rick Boogs was playing the guitar while the match was happening. Furious, he went and broke the guitar and attacked Boogs with it before hitting Nakamura and getting disqualified.

In hindsight, the main card featured five consecutive victories for RAW, so it was probably the right decision to have The King of Strong Style win, even by DQ. But once again tonight, a new side of Priest was teased.

We've seen a heel turn teased during his bout against T-BAR on RAW, and the "tweener" direction may continue until he finally turns heel. For Damian Priest, Survivor Series was a black mark on an otherwise incredible year.

#4. The possible reason why Becky Lynch won at Survivor Series 2021

The opening match of Survivor Series 2021 was the clash between the two women's champions Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. While the bout could easily have headlined the pay-per-view, WWE went with the decision of the world champions headlining the show instead.

Flair and Lynch had yet another classic in the ring, perhaps equaling their incredible bout at Evolution 2018. Some superstars have natural chemistry together, and these two are among them.

It was another match of the year candidate in WWE, and in the end, it was The Man who walked out of Survivor Series with the win, giving team RAW the first point on their scoresheet.

But why did she win? And why in such a controversial way? The answer to the second part lies in the company wanting to protect The Queen without doing much damage to her or making her look bad.

As for why Becky Lynch won, there seems to have been no other option. She has far too much momentum, and WWE made the right call by having her win at Survivor Series 2021, even if it wasn't the cleanest one.

#3. The fallout of the Men's Survivor Series match

Despite SmackDown not having their best Survivor Series team, the men's five-on-five match delivered from a quality standpoint. Given how stacked the RAW team was, many thought it would be a clean sweep.

That wasn't the case at all. Kevin Owens made things a lot harder for Team RAW as he simply walked away and got counted out, leaving the team one member short. At one point, it seemed as though Drew McIntyre would win it for Team SmackDown, but he got counted out along with Bobby Lashley in a move to protect both men from getting pinned.

Ultimately, the final four were Austin Theory and Seth Rollins from the Red brand, and Jeff Hardy and Sheamus from the Friday night show. After The Celtic Warrior was eliminated, Hardy eliminated Theory and went one-on-one with Rollins.

He was a second away from winning it for Team SmackDown at Survivor Series, but The Visionary put his knee up and landed the stop to pick up the win for team RAW.

While Rollins as the sole survivor was a good decision because of his upcoming WWE title challenge, Jeff Hardy could be pushed into Universal title contention down the line before WrestleMania.

#2. Did WWE give RK-Bro the win at Survivor Series because of Randy Orton's record?

It was recently reported that by competing at Survivor Series, Randy Orton made the most pay-per-view appearances in WWE history with 177 - overtaking Hall of Famer Kane in the process.

It was surprising to some that he reached the record before the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, and more. However, Orton has yet to transition into part-time status, which makes sense that he's the one to break it.

He teamed up with Riddle to face The Usos in a huge tag team champions vs. tag team champions bout. It seemed as though Jey and Jimmy Uso were on track to win, primarily because of their veteran status, association with Roman Reigns, as well as SmackDown being behind RAW on the scoreboard.

.However, the incredible finish saw The Viper land a mid-air RKO on Jimmy to pick up the win for RK-Bro at Survivor Series 2021. It's a big boost to their status as the RAW Tag Team Champions, and perhaps Randy Orton only got the victory because of his pay-per-view record.

#1. The absolute chaos of the Women's Survivor Series match

The women's Survivor Series elimination match was the co-main event of the show, and SmackDown was already 1-4 down at that point.

Things started well for the women of the Blue brand at Survivor Series as Toni Storm quickly eliminated Carmella. She got another elimination before Liv Morgan, the next RAW Women's title contender, took her out.

Ultimately, things ended up in a four-on-one situation against RAW, with Bianca Belair being the sole woman on the red brand still there. Things turned chaotic as the feud between Shotzi and Sasha Banks led to them fighting.

Shayan Baszler of all people tried being the reasonable one, but after Banks shoved Shotzi into Baszler, The Queen of Spades didn't care anymore.

Ultimately, it ended with The Boss counted out, Shayna Baszler pinned, Natalya pinned, and Shotzi pinned at the end for The EST of WWE to walk out as the sole survivor.

The fallout of the match at Survivor Series is as follows - Bianca Belair will still be pushed as WWE's number one female babyface, Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi's feud will intensify, and Toni Storm and Liv Morgan are the next contenders in line for the SmackDown and RAW Women's titles.

Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE