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WWE Survivor Series 2019 witnessed the three brands engaging in a brutal battle for brand supremacy. The NXT Superstars were the first to take the advantage owing to the victory of Lio Rush on the pre-show, followed by the well-deserved win of the Women’s team and Roderick Strong in their respective battles.
The PPV also witnessed Rey Mysterio’s son Dominick helping his father in the no-disqualification match against Brock Lesnar. Both of them teamed up to take down the ‘Beast Incarnate’ but the latter took down both his opponents with successive F5s to retain his title.
Finally, the main-event saw Shayna Baszler defeat Becky Lynch and Bayley to help NXT win at Survivor Series.
In this list, we will take a look at five Superstars who flopped and five who impressed at Survivor Series.
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#5 Flopped: Nikki Cross
WWE Superstar Nikki Cross had a decent run in the weeks building up to Survivor Series. She was the last one to stand inside the ring after taking down all her rivals when she arrived on NXT last week. It was expected that Cross would play a crucial role for Team SmackDown in the traditional 5-on-5 Women’s match.
However, that’s not what happened at the PPV. Nikki Cross had a brief moment of spirited performance before she was eliminated by Bianca Belair. She was the first one to be eliminated from the Women’s match.
Although NXT Superstars Candice LeRae and Io Shirai had to initially leave the match after sustaining injuries, they came back later when Rhea Ripley was squaring off against Sasha Banks. Hence, it was still Cross who took the first pin in the match.
Nikki Cross is in the middle of an intense rivalry with Banks. There were a lot of opportunities for WWE creative to tease an altercation between the two. However, the only betrayal in the match saw Asuka attacking her team captain, Charlotte Flair with green mist and causing the latter’s elimination.
#5 Hit: Rhea Ripley
WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley has had an incredible week in WWE. In the last seven days, Ripley pinned Charlotte Flair and led her team to a win at the first-ever Women’s WarGames match. And who knew that the best was yet to come.
Io Shirai and Candice LeRae, who competed in the WarGames match, had to leave the Black and Gold brand’s corner early into the match owing to the injuries they sustained.
With only three Superstars left to represent the brand, the chances of NXT winning the match appeared bleak. Little did we know that Ripley would once again find a moment to shine even when the odds are stacked against them.
After Sasha Banks and Natalya teamed up to eliminate Bianca Belair, the numbers advantage for NXT disappeared. In the end, it was Ripley and Banks who were left to indulge in the final battle. The ‘Legit Boss’ tried everything she could but Ripley fought back and sealed the victory for NXT with the help of Io Shirai and Candice LeRae.
#4 Flopped: The Forgotten Sons
For weeks now, The Forgotten Sons have been cutting promos in which they spoke about the intense brutality that they bring to the squared circle. At Survivor Series, they had a chance to add more substance to those words but failed miserably at it.
Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler represented the stable in the 10-team Interbrand Tag Team Battle Royal on the pre-show that was eventually won by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. Despite being one of the most promising teams inside the ring, they were the first ones to be eliminated from the match. Despite Jaxson Ryker’s desperate attempts to interfere in the match, Cutler was successfully tossed out of the ring resulting in an almost immediate elimination of the Forgotten Sons.
The quick elimination of the Forgotten Sons raised serious concerns about NXT’s run in the rest of the PPV. Lucking for the Black and Gold brand, the rest of the Superstars were successful in redeeming more points on the main show that saw the brand ultimately win the battle at Survivor Series.
#4 Hit: Roderick Strong
The NXT North American Champion, Roderick Strong was not expected to win against AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. But the Undisputed Era member proved to the world why he belongs to a stable that believes in ‘shocking the system’.
Throughout the match, all three Superstars relied heavily on their strengths. Nakamura even received help from Sami Zayn who pushed Styles to the ring post and even removed the Intercontinental Champion from the ring when the odds were against him. But it was Strong who had the last say.
Towards the end of the match, Strong was taken out by both his opponents and he went to the ringside to recover his stamina. In the meantime, Styles hit Nakamura with a well-executed Phenomenal Forearm that took down the ‘King of Strong Style’. Strong realized the opportunity he had and quickly rolled back into the ring.
He then pushed Styles outside and pinned Nakamura to pick a win for the Black and Gold brand.
#3 Flopped: Sarah Logan
WWE Superstar Sarah Logan was barely spotted on television before the invasion angle was introduced a few weeks ago. She was then selected to represent RAW in the Women’s elimination match and it was expected that she would find a way to shine at Survivor Series.
Unfortunately, it did not work out that way for the former member of the Riott squad. She was the second person to be eliminated from the match after being pinned by Bianca Belair. Soon after the latter pinned Nikki Cross, she attacked Logan who had no obvious response for the attack by the NXT Superstar. Following a brief exchange of blows, Belair quickly pinned Logan and handed out the first elimination to the Red brand.
Logan’s addition to the Survivor Series Women’s team hinted at the possible return of Liv Morgan who is expected to debut a darker personality upon her return. The latter has been teasing a change in her character for ages and this could have been the perfect opportunity to have her back on the roster.
However, none of those things transpired at the PPV that left Logan with almost no spot worth recalling from her appearance at the PPV.
#3 Hit: Adam Cole
The reigning NXT Champion Adam Cole, was definitely one of the biggest highlights of this entire Survivor Series weekend. Last night, he took a horrifying bump on the table from the top of the WarGames cage and there were serious doubts about him being able to compete in his Championship match against Pete Dunne.
However, Cole was keen on facing his next challenge despite his physical condition and he did complete justice to their bout. Dunne defeated Damian Priest and Killian Dain in a triple-threat match at WarGames win a shot at Cole’s title.
Both these Superstars had grueling matches on the previous night and did a brilliant job in fighting through the pain at Survivor Series in less than 24 hours.
Cole and Dunne exchanged blows to kick off the match which soon saw the latter going after the Champion’s fingers. He also tried to cause more damage to Cole’s injured wrist. The Undisputed Era member then countered the attacks by focusing on Dunne’s injured leg. It was a well-narrated encounter that fetched ‘This is Awesome!’ chants from the viewers and deservedly so.
In the end, Cole pinned Dunne to retain his Championship and was welcomed by Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly who walked out to celebrate the dominance of the Undisputed Era.
#2 Flopped: Walter
The reigning WWE NXT UK Champion Walter walked into the ring to square off against Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre amidst roaring pop. He even teamed up with the ‘Scottish Psychopath’ to take down Strowman and forced the latter to take the corner of the ring for recovery.
Following that, Walter exchanged blows with McIntyre and appeared dominant. However, the odds quickly changed against the Imperium leader who immediately took the pin and became the first person to be eliminated from the match. It was indeed disappointing to see him being overpowered so easily as he could have stayed in the match much longer and prove his mettle in front of the WWE Universe.
Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t Walter’s performance that landed him on this list. Instead, the blame lies in the booking that portrayed him in a weaker light. Hopefully, he will be successful in redeeming himself following the PPV.
#2 Hit: Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns led team SmackDown to victory in the men’s elimination match and stood tall as the sole survivor towards the end. He first teamed up with Seth Rollins to take down Tommaso Ciampa but was interrupted by Keith Lee.
Following Rollins’ elimination, the ‘Big Dog’ had just one opponent left in the form of Keith Lee. The latter was nearly pinned once before he fought back and almost turned things around. It looked like Lee was close to picking the victory for the Black and Gold brand but Reigns was not yet prepared to give up.
He hit Lee with a spear and pinned him to bag the second victory for the Blue brand. But that’s not the only highlight of the match involving the ‘Bog Dog’. He was also involved in an altercation with Baron Corbin during the match and attacked him inside the ring that caused the elimination of King Corbin at the hands of Ciampa.
The two are now expected to continue their rivalry which will meet its final fate at the next WWE pay-per-view, TLC in December.
#1 Flop: Bayley
Bayley’s much-awaited heel turn came as a welcome surprise. The debut of her new gimmick hinted at a huge push for her newly donned in-ring personality. Unfortunately for her, Bayley is yet to discover the highs of being a credible heel in the Women’s division.
At Survivor Series, the SmackDown Women’s Champion went up against Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler in the main event. Since she was the only one in the ring who has held the Women’s title on all the three brands, the WWE Universe expected her to be fiercer in her approach towards this match-up.
While it is understandable why WWE creative book her as a cowardly heel who capitalizes on the opportunity, this particular match desperately needed Bayley to showcase her dominant side. She did find a couple of moments in the match to make her presence known. However, it was not enough.
Hopefully, Bayley will use this loss to unleash the beast inside her in the weeks that will follow. It is important for her to add more credibility to her run as a heel and this might be the catalyst that she needed for the same.
#1 Hit: Shayna Baszler
The current NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler is arguably the most brutal Superstar in the entire WWE roster. No matter who her opponent is, she knows how to turn the tide in her favour and that’s what she did at the recently concluded PPV.
Coming from a fresh loss at Takeover: WarGames, Baszler was at her brutal best. She first allowed Becky Lynch and Bayley to exchange blows before interfering in their brawl. Soon after that, Baszler sought the perfect chance to take down Lynch by slamming her into the announce table.
While ‘The Man’ struggled to recover from the damage done to her, Baszler and Bayley took the action back to the ring. The latter went to the top of the turnbuckle with an intention to hit her opponent with an elbow drop. However, Baszler quickly recovered and caught Bayley mid-air.
Following that, Baszler made Bayley submit to win the war for the Black and Gold brand.
