4 Survivor Series Matches which WWE changed at the last moment

WWE Creative marks Survivor Series as the only night of the year where the RAW and SmackDown superstars go head-to-head in direct competition. The idea has been well received by the WWE Universe, as a plethora of exciting matches have taken place at Survivor Series 2016 and 2017.

The WWE Universe and the critics marked the traditional 5-on-5 tag team elimination match of 2016 and Brock Lesnar vs AJ Styles "Champion vs Champion" match at the 2017 event as the best matches of the 2 nights. However, WWE had some different plans for both the PPVs. In fact, the company went on cancel their announced matches after poor reception by the audience.

Here's a countdown of those 4 matches which WWE Creative altered after announcing.

(Note- This list comprises matches from Survivior Series 2016 and 2017 only)

#4 Dolph Ziggler (c) vs Sami Zayn for Intercontinental Championship (The Miz defeated Dolph to replace him in the match)

When the 2 superstars were babyfaces

Just before Survivor Series in 2016, Dolph Ziggler put an open challenge to any RAW superstar who thought he could defeat the Show Off for the title. Ziggler had just won the title mere weeks ago after pinning the Miz in a "Career vs Title match" at No Mercy. He then successfully defended his championship against Curt Hawkins before issuing the challenge.

Next week on RAW, Sami Zayn showed interest in fighting Ziggler at the PPV. However, he was put in a qualifying match where he defeated the Bulgarian Brute Rusev in a singles match. The WWE Universe was excited for this epic face vs face match-up between two of the best technical wrestlers on both the brands.

But WWE Creative tricked the fans by having the Miz win the title at SmackDown 900 thanks to interference from Maryse. Nevertheless, the A-Lister and the Underdog from the Underground pulled off an epic match for the WWE Universe in Toronto as the arena echoed with chants of "This is Awesome" during the match.

The Hollywood superstar would cheat again to retain his title but Sami emerged as the real winner from that match.

#3 The Shield (Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins) vs The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)

What an epic tag team match this would've been!

Two of the best tag teams in the world, the Shield, represented by Ambrose and Rollins, and the Usos were set to face each other at Survivor Series 2017. This “Champion vs Champion” match’s announcement enthralled the WWE Universe. However, Roman Reigns had recovered from his injury which had kept him out from TLC 2017 and was ready to compete at Survivor Series.

So, the WWE Creative put the RAW Tag Team Championships on the Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro). To protect the Hounds of Justice, they lost their championships after getting distracted by SmackDown Live’s New Day.

The New Day too didn’t have a match on the PPV card and thus, the writers set up a dream 6-man tag team match involving the Shield and the New Day. Ultimately, much to the joy of the wrestling community both the matches delivered and lived up to their hype.

#2 Natalya (SmackDown Women's Champion) vs Alexa Bliss (RAW Women's Champion)

A match between two heel champions made no sense

Natalya was the reigning SmackDown Women’s champion and was geared up to represent the blue brand’s women’s division against RAW’s champion Alexa Bliss. The chief reason the creative team would have altered this match-up was that they already had a heel vs heel (The Miz vs Baron Corbin) match involving both the brands’ champions.

Another heel vs heel competition would’ve bored the audience. So, the writers booked Natalya to lose her title just nights before the PPV to none other than Charlotte Flair after an epic match on SmackDown.

Charlotte vs Alexa Bliss was a rivalry which the WWE Universe seemed invested in. In-spite of having just one week’s time to build this match up, the writers did a commendable job in getting the fans excited for this match. Natalya, after losing her championship represented SmackDown Live in the traditional 5 on 5 tag team elimination match.

#1 Brock Lesnar (Universal Champion) vs Jinder Mahal (WWE Champion)

AJ Styles defeated the Modern Day Maharaja in a WWE Championship match to face the Beast at Survivor Series 2017

The WWE Universe was fed up with the Modern Day Maharaja’s WWE World title reign, and him challenging the Beast Brock Lesnar for a match at Survivor Series made sure that the event would be a snooze fest. The Creative team was not too late to realize the poor reactions that this match would receive and put the belt on the Phenomenal One.

Shockingly, Jinder Mahal lost his title outside the U.S, making AJ the first ever superstar to win the coveted gold on U.K’s soil. This title change also marked the first occasion since 2003 that a world title changed hands on SmackDown.

At the Survivor Series 2017, the Champ that runs the Camp pushed the Conqueror to his limits and at one stage even made the fans believe he can slay the Universal Champion. However, he would fall victim to an F5 and end up losing the match after a strong performance.