5 things you forgot about WWE Survivor Series 2018

The 2019 WWE Survivor Series PPV is set to take place this weekend, and as per WWE, the following is the likely final card for the event, which will feature, for the very first time, RAW vs SmackDown vs NXT:

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio (No Holds Barred, No Disqualification Match)
Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler
Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era
Raw, SmackDown and NXT teams to battle in Women's Survivor Series Elimination Triple Threat Match
Raw, SmackDown and NXT teams to battle in Men's Survivor Series Elimination Triple Threat Match
United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong (Triple Threat Match)

For the past several years, Survivor Series has taken on a modified form, as it showcases brand warfare between RAW and SmackDown, and this year the show will include NXT. Given the unique nature of the Survivor Series PPV, let's take a look at 5 things fans probably forgot about last year's Survivor Series event.

New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE

#5 Charlotte Flair's shocking heel turn

Considered by many fans to be the highlight of the 2018 WWE Survivor Series PPV was Charlotte Flair's shocking and violent heel turn.

Flair faced Ronda Rousey in a Champion vs Champion RAW vs SmackDown match, and after the bout was over, Flair would unleash a brutal attack on Rousey, the likes of which fans had not yet seen since Rousey began her WWE career.

The brutal beatdown from Flair would eventually lead to the Triple Threat match which headlined this year's WrestleMania, and pitted Ronda Rousey against Becky Lynch against Charlotte Flair, with both the RAW and SmackDown Women's titles up for grabs.

#4 RAW swept the entire brand warfare competition

In recent years, WWE Survivor Series has been centred around brand warfare, with teams from RAW competing against teams from SmackDown in order to establish brand supremacy.

Fans have mixed opinions about the brand warfare concept of Survivor Series, with some fans enjoying it, while other fans feel WWE puts little emphasis on brand warfare throughout the year, thus weakening its meaning by the time Survivor Series takes place.

Either way, the 2018 WWE Survivor Series PPV featured a clean sweep from RAW, as the brand won every brand warfare match on the main card.

The men's 5 on 5 Elimination match featured Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley (with Lio Rush), and Finn Bálor vs The Miz, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Jeff Hardy, and the bout was won when Braun Strowman pinned Shane McMahon for the RAW win.

Every other match which featured RAW vs SmackDown was also won by the red brand, with Ronda Rousey winning her match via DQ when Charlotte Flair attacked her with a Kendo Stick. The RAW brand clean sweep would be something Stephanie McMahon would go on to brag about the next night on RAW, and would play out in the weeks to follow.

#3 SmackDown's only win came on the Survivor Series Kickoff show

Despite the RAW brand sweeping the night at WWE Survivor Series last year, the SmackDown brand did pick up one win during the PPV, but it came on the Kickoff show on the main card, which technically does not count as the actual PPV itself.

The Kickoff show match featured a 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match pitting Team Raw, consisting of Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor), Lucha House Party (Kalisto and Lince Dorado, with Gran Metalik), The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder), and The B-Team (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas)) against Team SmackDown's consisting of The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods, with Kofi Kingston), The Colóns (Primo and Epico), Sanity (Killian Dain and Eric Young, with Alexander Wolfe), and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson).

Kalisto was replaced by Gran Metalik when he suffered a knee injury, and the bout was won by Team SmackDown when Jimmy Uso pinned Scott Dawson to eliminate The Revival.

Some fans argue that the Kickoff show match should be considered as part of the total brand wins for RAW and SmackDown, and if you are one of those fans, then technically speaking, SmackDown did earn one win at the PPV last year.

#2 Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan wrestled an instant classic

The main event of the 2018 WWE Survivor Series PPV was established after a very interesting turn of events, as the originally planned main event was scheduled to feature the then-Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs the then-WWE Champion AJ Styles in a RAW vs SmackDown Champion vs Champion match.

Instead, in a shocking turn of events, Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles for the WWE title just days before Survivor Series, thus changing the main event of the PPV from Lesnar vs Styles to Lesnar vs Bryan.

After the title change took place, fans speculated that the match at WWE Survivor Series pitting The Beast vs The Yes Man would be typical Brock Lesnar squash match, but instead, Bryan and Lesnar shocked fans with a classic matchup.

Fans were disappointed when they learned they would not see the dream match pitting Lesnar vs Styles, but they were left incredibly impressed by Daniel Bryan's resilience against Brock Lesnar, and Lesnar recalling the old days with impressive technical wrestling prowess. Some fans call the Bryan vs Lesnar match from Survivor Series Lesnar's last great match in the company, and The Beast has the opportunity to outdo himself this Sunday against Rey Mysterio.

#1 Enzo Amore crashed the PPV

One of the most talked about stories following WWE Survivor Series last year was an incident that did not take place as part of the show, but instead was a real-life shot incident involving former WWE star Enzo Amore.

During the PPV, Amore, who was seated on the floor for the PPV after purchasing a ticket, was able to disguise himself as he was wearing a hoodie and a wig, and for the most part fans did not notice that the "fan" was Enzo Amore.

However, during a match featuring AOP (Authors of Pain) vs The Bar, fans began to recognise Amore when he removed his wig and hoodie, and once Amore was recognised, the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion began to make a scene in his chair as he danced around in his section and yelled out to the fans in the surrounding area.

After the incident, Amore was escorted out of the building by security, and it was later announced that he has been banned from all future events at The Staples Center in LA following the incident. It was also noted during the incident that Amore knocked over a female fan in attendance, who later claimed she was injured.

Edited by Atharva Papnoi