3 takeaways from Survivor Series 2018

Survivor Series 2018 is now officially in the history books of WWE, and social media is still buzzing about how things went down at the mega-event in Staples Center this past Sunday. Like the majority of WWE pay-per-views, the event received a mixed and critical response from fans and critics alike, but I found the event pretty enjoyable and decent.

The event saw Raw secure a clean sweep over SmackDown Live on the main show. Raw's Seth Rollins emerged victorious over SmackDown Live's Shinsuke Nakamura, AOP defeated The Bar in a Champions vs Champions match, and the Raw women's team reigned supreme over SmackDown's women division, with Nia Jax as the sole survivor.

The Raw men's team also decimated SmackDown's top stars as Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley stood tall over Team Blue. Charlotte snapped in her match against Ronda Rousey, and subsequently gave Rousey the disqualification victory. In the main event, Brock Lesnar defeated Daniel Bryan in their first encounter in WWE history.

No matter what your opinion of Survivor Series might be, you must agree with the fact that fans learned a lot from whatever went down at the event.

Having said that, lets take a look at 3 takeaways from Survivor Series 2018.

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#3 WWE doesn't care about the pre-show at all

This match was completely forgotten

Oh, in case you forgot about it, Survivor Series had a kick-off show which took place prior to the main show. Even if you did forget about it, it's completely understandable as WWE seldom brought it up during the main show, and absolutely negated and ignored everything that went down on the pre-show.

WWE's top teams from each brand collided on the pre-show. World class athletes like Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Kofi Kingston, Gallows, Anderson, etc were involved in the match and they performed in front of a near-empty crowd with little energy, but WWE couldn't care less about it.

What's even worse is that the outcome of this match was completely forgotten moments after the match went down. WWE kept reminding fans how Raw secured a clean sweep over SmackDown Live. However, that's not entirely true as SmackDown Live won the 10 on 10 tag-team match.

#2 WWE knows how to book first-time dream matches

They put on a clinic that solidified both performers as top-notch in-ring performers

At Survivor Series, fans were treated to three blockbuster, first-time ever dream matches, namely - Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan, Charlotte vs Ronda Rousey, and Shinsuke Nakamura vs Seth Rollins, all of which were Champion vs Champion encounters. Such matches have 'WrestleMania main-event' written all over them.

Fans often criticise WWE for ruining first-time ever dream matches with questionable booking decisions that leave fans scratching their heads. However, fans were satisfied with the outcomes of the aforementioned dream showdowns. Although the bookings weren't perfect, it was far from bad, poor, or questionable.

Firstly, Nakamura and Rollins were given ample time, and their encounter lived up to its high expectations. They put on a clinic that solidified both performers as top-notch in-ring performers.

Secondly, Charlotte vs Ronda Rousey was booked to near-perfection. WWE told a great story to its fans when Charlotte brutally attacked Rousey and possibly turned heel. Fans were expecting Rousey to decimate Charlotte, but WWE managed to raise Charlotte's stock and protect Ronda Rousey.

Their encounter at Survivor Series was just the beginning of their rivalry, and Charlotte's beat-down and heinous assault has almost guaranteed a rematch between them in the near future.

Lastly, the main-event between Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar was one of the greatest in the history of Survivor Series. Bryan and Lesnar told the perfect 'David vs Goliath' story. Bryan's comeback towards the end of the match with a desperate low-blow really got the fans pumped, and Bryan came extremely close to taming The Beast.

#1 WWE officially considers SmackDown Live 'the B-show'

Raw absolutely established dominance over SmackDown Live

The lone complaint and grievance I have with this year's Survivor Series is the intentional burial of SmackDown Live. Raw absolutely established dominance over SmackDown Live in a move that has drawn the ire of many hardcore WWE fans.

SmackDown Live couldn't even score a single victory over Raw on the main show, and their sole victory on the pre-show was barely acknowledged, and was completely ignored by WWE on the main show.

The men's Survivor Series tag-match was booked terribly as Strowman ran roughshod over four of WWE's all-time greats within the span of 5 minutes. This happened after the in-fighting amongst the Raw members, which just goes to show how weak the blue brand's team was made to look.

SmackDown's loss at Survivor Series has left a painful scar on the brand that will continue to hurt it for aeons. Given that the blue brand has long been considered the 'B-show' by casual fans, hardcore fans now have little doubt that WWE thinks the same way too.