Much like the other big four PPVs this year (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam), Survivor Series was focused on swerving fans. Raw came out on top in two successive Survivor Series matches, with Raw’s women and tag teams appearing dominant.
Baron Corbin attacked the Cruiserweights, deeming the match and its stipulation useless. Smackdown Live’s men proved they are superior in the match of the night, as fans were on the edge of their seats due to the plethora of awesome moments that took place during the contest.
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Whether these swerves were good or bad, they did their job, as they definitely shocked fans. So, what did we learn from these swerves, and the PPV overall? Let’s see, as here are 5 Things We Learned from WWE Survivor Series 2016.
#5 Fans aren’t interested in the Cruiserweights
After the very successful Cruiserweight Classic, hopes were high that the Cruiserweight division would prosper on Raw. However, two months after their debut on the red brand, things still aren’t going well for the division.
Despite having a stellar match with high stakes, Kalisto and Brian Kendrick had no luck in firing up the crowd. The Toronto crowd were completely disinterested in the action, despite the entire division being on the line, as well as the Cruiserweight championship.
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Even after awesome spots such as Kalisto’s suicide dive or his Spanish Fly off the ring apron, fans remained as silent as they had been for the rest of the match. Now, with the division staying on Raw for the time being, there is no change of scenery for the Cruiserweights, which could’ve granted them a fresh start.
Hopefully, the new 205 Live show will inject some momentum into the floundering division, or they could easily become the filler segments on WWE programming. Survivor Series was not a good sign for the division, as the crowd seemed completely apathetic towards the Cruiserweights.
#4 Roman Reigns isn’t Superman anymore
After receiving an extremely negative reaction from the Toronto crowd, fans clearly didn’t want to see Reigns emerge victorious for Team Raw. However, once Reigns was left in a 2 on 1 situation against Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt, it felt like a disaster ready to happen.
At this time last year, Vince McMahon was fully invested in the Roman Empire, and at that time we would’ve most likely seen Reigns overcome the odds, defeating both men despite being outnumbered. However, it is the end of 2016, not 2015, and Reigns was caught by a Sister Abigail by Bray Wyatt, losing clean to the Eater of Worlds.
This is a much better use of Reigns, as his Superman booking would’ve driven fans into a riot had he won for Raw. Hopefully, WWE have learnt their lesson and can see that fans endear to Reigns when he isn’t booked like John Cena version two.
Currently serving as United States Champion rather than World champion, let’s see if the booking of Reigns slowly gets better in weeks to come. Maybe we will finally see the man cheered, which would be a miracle at this point.
For now, let’s just be happy that Bray Wyatt emerged victorious at Survivor Series, not a Superman-esque Reigns.
#3 The titles are staying on the same brands
Heading into Survivor Series, fans speculated that there could be the possibility of a double switch for the Cruiserweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship.
Both matches allowed the titles to switch brands, and it was entirely possible that WWE thought the Cruiserweights and the division’s championship could fare better on Smackdown Live, while the Intercontinental Championship could prosper on Raw.
However, that was not the case, and WWE decided that both titles were perfectly fine where they are. Brian Kendrick retained his Cruiserweight title through dubious circumstances (a double DQ?), while the Miz used his wife Maryse to screw Raw’s Sami Zayn, retaining his IC title.
Although it would’ve been cool to see the double switch or even just the Cruiserweights on Smackdown Live, it was probably the right decision from WWE to keep everything the way it has been.
The Miz and Dolph Ziggler have arguably had the best feud of the year over the Intercontinental Title on SD Live, and although the Cruiserweights have been struggling on Raw, they have barely gotten up and running on the red brand and could flourish, given enough time.
While it would’ve been a shock to see the double switch at Survivor Series, we learned that WWE saw it as the wrong decision.
#2 Raw vs Smackdown still works
Despite being done to death in recent years with dumb WWE PPVs such as Bragging Rights, Raw vs Smackdown felt fresh and exciting at Survivor Series. All three Raw vs Smackdown Survivor Series matches were great (women’s, tag teams, men’s), and the men’s match stole the show with an almost hour long, fantastic bout.
Seeing superstars from the two different brands clash was awesome, as we saw amazing face-offs such as Lynch vs Bayley, Gallows and Anderson vs American Alpha and Rollins vs Styles in the three matches respectively.
Despite seeing it ridiculously overdone in the 2000s, it seems Raw vs Smackdown matches have been revitalised, especially the traditional Survivor Series matchups that we received.
The Toronto crowd were at their loudest for the three Survivor Series matches, and brand supremacy legitimately felt significant despite the lack of high stakes. Knowing WWE, they will probably prove me wrong by completely overdoing Raw vs Smackdown in future, but for now, it was extremely entertaining and a joy to watch at Survivor Series.
#1 WWE know exactly how to stir controversy
Whether you agree with the Goldberg vs Lesnar finish or not (I don’t), there is no arguing that it stirred a ton of controversy and mayhem on social media, with fans either voicing their pleasure or disdain for the match.
Much like at Summerslam when Lesnar bloodied Randy Orton, the Goldberg vs Lesnar match stirred confusion, controversy and most of all, shock. Given how mediocre WWE’s shocks these days can be, it was a nice change of pace to see something so legitimately heart-wrenching.
Seeming how predictable and boring last year’s edition of Survivor Series was, this was a much more effective use of the November PPV, with fans becoming incredibly embroiled in the controversial finish. Sure, this may be another case of an extremely poor booking decision put in place just to generate a shock from fans.
But, it has resulted in a tonne of talk about the product, and controversy hasn’t been this high about a PPVs ending in what feels like forever.
Whether you’re angry, happy or baffled about the Goldberg vs Lesnar match, one thing that all fans can agree to is that WWE know how to stir controversy among the WWE Universe, and that was evident in Survivor Series’ aftermath.
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