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Survivor Series 2017 is already in the history books, and it ended... well …in an underwhelming way.
The main event, which was hyped for several weeks, came to a screeching halt once the remaining members of both team SmackDown and team RAW were composed of established veterans, a non-wrestler, and Braun Strowman. After the majority of the new arrivals to the RAW and SmackDown rosters were eliminated, the match went downhill fast.
This made the show-closing match a spectacular disappointment, especially when considered to last year’s match. At least last year’s men’s elimination match had intense drama and more logical booking in terms of eliminations and creative direction.
This year’s match made relatively little sense in terms of building up new stars, and only further perpetuated the idea that older guys and illogical nostalgia are more important than planning for the future.
In what’s becoming a regular trend in WWE, the NXT show that takes place before the ‘Big Four’ WWE show ends up being the one on which one finds superior in-ring wrestling and more logical and consistent booking. Meanwhile, WWE managed to take a highly-anticipated match with one of the most stacked and intriguing team combinations ever, and turn it into a low-key mess.
Here, we propose to give booking decisions that would’ve made this Survivor Series Elimination match much better than how it really was.
#5 Jason Jordan interferes
From the way the show was booked, and even from how Jason Jordan was presented on Survivor Series itself, there was an obvious hint that he was going to be involved in the men’s elimination match. Yet, he wasn’t there. He didn’t even show up to play a small role in a single elimination.
So, WWE scripted that promo for Jordan which clearly implied something related to Triple H, but it never occurred. In doing so, they’ve fully solidified Jordan’s status as an insignificant character, especially since he never got his revenge on Triple H in any way for Pedigreeing him on the most recent episode of RAW.
A logical booking direction would’ve taken advantage of that sudden twist on RAW and featured Jordan interfering and somehow eliminating Triple H from the match. Better yet, Triple H could’ve already been eliminated and Jordan could throw HHH through one of the announcer’s table as revenge for getting Pedigreed.
Or even still, there could’ve been a moment where Angle and Jordan do the same to an already-eliminated HHH to show some unity as ‘father and son’. Anything would’ve been better than the main event becoming the Triple H show without him suffering any consequences for his storyline actions.
#4 Triple H gets pinned in the first spot by one of ‘his’ NXT graduates
SPOILER ALERT for anyone that hasn’t yet watched the show: Triple H was one of two survivors in the main event (the other being Braun Strowman). I know it’s a confusing concept to understand, but for some strange reason, Triple H is still main-eventing matches and winning them in 2017, despite his status as a part-timer being fully entrenched.
Meanwhile, both Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode were the first two men eliminated, despite being the most recent additions to the SmackDown roster. While their eliminations sort of made sense given that they were both destroyed by Braun Strowman, it still didn’t make sense for the younger and healthier ‘rookies’ to lose so early compared to the likes of Triple H, Shane, and Angle.
What would’ve made much more sense (and would’ve also been more entertaining) is if either Nakamura or Roode fought Triple H and pinned him cleanly without shenanigans. Not only would that have been a surprise elimination that the audience might not have expected, but it would’ve done wonders for either man’s reputation. Triple H is a part-timer whose status in WWE is legendary at this point, so he can afford to lose once in a while (especially to one of his NXT graduates).
If these elimination matches are meant to act as metaphorical launching pads for the careers of newer stars, then this match clearly missed the mark with both Roode and Nakamura being eliminated without getting the chance to show off their own skills in a big match.
#3 Both Randy Orton and John Cena get eliminated early
It’s a well-known fact that neither John Cena nor Randy Orton loses regularly. Despite both of them being certified veterans and having little-to-nothing new to bring to the table, both of them were booked to defeat fresher stars.
By having Cena beat Joe (and then lose to Angle instead of someone younger) and having Orton beat Balor, WWE perpetuates the same self-fulfilling prophecy that’s been going on for years: no one other than the stars of yesteryear truly gets over with the audience.
A younger wrestler always needs a big win over a veteran to prove that they belong in the main event. If they cannot defeat someone that only wrestles part-time (in Cena’s case), then fans won’t accept them as real threats and thus won’t be interested in their matches.
Both Cena and Orton should’ve been eliminated from this match early on by the men that they pinned. Joe pinning Cena would’ve given him considerable momentum going into 2018, and Balor pinning Orton would’ve been a huge win for him.
Instead, both Balor and Joe ended up being relatively insignificant, despite being two regulars on the RAW roster that fans want to see succeed, but never get to in a major way.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura as the sole survivor
When Shinsuke Nakamura signed with WWE, there was both immense joy and immense concern. The former came from fans happy that one of the most charismatic stars in the world was finally in a WWE ring. The latter came from people worried that WWE would somehow screw up Nakamura as a wrestler and as a character.
After tonight, WWE did both of those things. Nakamura, a man who wowed audiences in NXT and was one of the best wrestlers in the world in Japan, has been made a fool of on SmackDown and needed a significant victory to shift his image among fans. Here, Nakamura was the first man eliminated in the Survivor Series match, which is a far cry from where he should be.
This is a man who could very easily become the new face of SmackDown and should’ve actually been the sole survivor in this match. Not only would it have sent the fans home happier than how they actually are (the closing of the show was very deflating), but it would’ve also been the perfect counter to how poorly Nakamura has been treated on SmackDown, especially after suffering several high-profile losses to Jinder Mahal.
#1 Shane should’ve been destroyed by Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
In what could only be described as a ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment’, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens attacked Shane McMahon briefly during the main event match. Yet instead of using their combined strength and abilities to hurt the man that – in their minds – has caused them grief, Shane McMahon managed to beat them both back and get back into the ring and wrestle Kurt Angle for a while.
Keep in mind that this is a 40-something old man that isn’t even a trained wrestler managing to overcome a beat-down by two men who weren’t even booked on the main show. Let that sink in for a moment.
While a lot of people like to make the argument that Shane’s taking advantage of his spot as Vince McMahon’s son, proving that in this manner doesn’t help anyone. Instead of actually giving this storyline between Zayn, Owens and Shane more depth and generating further interest in it, Shane proved that they’re nothing more than an insignificant thorn in his side.
Talk about terrible booking.
Had they thrown him through a table or carried him to the back or something like that, it would’ve been far more interesting a match. Moreover, they could’ve added another interesting twist in having Daniel Bryan come out to confront them, which could’ve planted the seeds for something down the road betwixt them.
Instead, Zayn and Owens – two of the best wrestlers on the SmackDown roster – ended up a relative non-issue in what was promoted as one of the most important matches of the year in WWE.
