6 mistakes WWE made at Survivor Series 2019: Undefeated streak ends, top star loses big push?

WWE Survivor Series 2019 is officially wrapped up and we must admit that we quite liked the PPV. It was definitely among the top 5 pay-per-views of the year and the best of the big 4, which is a rarity as WWE doesn't do Survivor Series well that often.

This time, it was booked well and NXT walked out the victors, beating SmackDown and RAW in a score of 4-2-1 respectively. RAW's only win came on the kickoff show, with The Viking Raiders picking up the win against The Undisputed Era and The New Day. But that match itself was a part of a mistake which we'll get to later.

It seems as though WWE made a statement to AEW with NXT winning and they gave the brand a big push and made it look strong heading into this Wednesday.

Either way, there were still a few mistakes that WWE made and these were the ones.

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#6 WWE losing the plot with Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman didn't have a good showing

The worst fear about WWE's booking of Braun Strowman has finally come true. He seems to have become just another Superstar. Sure, he looked strong at the start of the show but he was one of the least impressive stars in the match, especially given that it was the match of the night.

His role was minimal and was more about bulldozing superstars on the outside and having a few "strongman" moments. However, that was it. He was eliminated by countout just like he was in 2016 (Not in the same manner, however). In 2017 and 2018, he had a great showing but this year, he was taken out of the equation fairly quickly.

Strowman has lost his push completely and it seems as though WWE has lost the plot with him.

#5 Putting WALTER in the match

WALTER shouldn't have been in the match

Many of you may not be aware of WALTER and in the short time that he was in the match, he got a strong showing, standing toe-to-toe with Braun Strowman and getting a lot of offense on him. He was one of the few who could match him in terms of size.

Just to put this in context - WWE ended a long-running undefeated streak for nothing. In NXT and NXT: UK, he has been a monster heel who has been protected and he has yet to be pinned or submitted. That ended with one swift Claymore Kick, and WALTER, who had been so protected, was the first one out of the match.

The crowd was audibly furious with the "bull***t" chants and we can't blame them. When NXT had the options of having the likes of Dominik Dijakovic or Finn Balor, why bring WALTER unless he was going to go all the way through? If they could protect Strowman by countout, surely they could have done something similar for WALTER?

Perhaps Dijakovic had suffered a few niggling injuries at WarGames and they didn't want to take the risk and perhaps they didn't want to keep Balor with the NXT team, but surely they could have done better with WALTER.

#4 The red lights again

The red lights aren't good

We're not sure why WWE keeps going with the red lights in The Fiend's matches even though there has been nothing but negative feedback with regards to it. We understand the logic behind it and appreciate the fact that they've tried something different, but once was enough.

Instead, we've gotten it 3 times so far and it takes away from the match. The match itself was great, with Daniel Bryan's babyface storytelling being what the crowd needed to wake up and get hot. Storyline-wise, we're quite happy with how the match went about and rightfully, Wyatt ended up defeating Bryan, who had a much better match with him than Seth Rollins was able to.

Character-work and storytelling make a big difference and this plays a big role in furthering Daniel Bryan's fairly recent babyface turn. However, if WWE wants to push The Fiend seriously going forward, they need to stop with the red lights.

As I mentioned in my last article, it isn't pleasing on the eyes when watching it on the screen and we imagine it's not as fun in person as well.

#3 Putting the tag team match on the Kickoff show

The Viking Raiders were victorious

In the only victory for Monday Night RAW, RAW Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders, were victorious over NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era, and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day.

It was a great showing for all teams and one of the matches that could have made the main show even better. It was fast-paced, high-intensity and had the physicality expected from it. There was a mix of superstars with agility, muscle, strength and all put together.

Ultimately, The Viking Raiders walked out winners, proving to be the most supreme tag team in all of WWE right now. We agree with the decision of them winning, but we don't agree with the decision of putting it on the pre-show.

To a smaller extent, this is like WWE putting The New Day vs The Usos on the SummerSlam kickoff show two years ago when it would have been a massive boost to the main card. Moreover, they were representing one of the main titles of the company, so why add them to the Kickoff show?

#2 Women main eventing without a Ronda Rousey payoff

Shayna Baszler won it for NXT

WWE took fans by surprise by putting the women in the main event. Now don't get us wrong, we're happy that the women got another big 4 main event, with Becky Lynch having now headlined Royal Rumble (2018), WrestleMania (2019) and Survivor Series (2019).

However, here's the thing about the women main eventing. It should happen when the story calls for it. At Royal Rumble, it made sense because it was the first time and Ronda Rousey would debut. For Hell in a Cell 2016, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair had the best story in the company and it was a perfect time and for WrestleMania 35, there was simply no match bigger than it.

In this case, the only reason they should have main evented the show is if Ronda Rousey returned. There was no return and the ending felt a bit underwhelming as did the match. It's a bit of a shame because the overall PPV was so good and had a great flow to it. This match felt like one that belonged to the middle of the card rather than the end of it.

#1 No major surprises on the show

Dominick was the only surprise

In a big 4 PPV, it's important to take fans by surprise. We admit that it's difficult to constantly come up with a major swerve, but if NXT WarGames had one (with Dakota Kai turning on Tegan Nox), then Survivor Series could have had one.

Dominick's involvement was a bit of a surprise but not a major one. It's no secret that he's been training with Lance Storm to begin his in-ring career. It's also no secret that WWE intends to debut him in 2020, perhaps trying to give him as much time as possible before he gets in, especially since he looks to be a similar case to Braun Strowman where he'll skip NXT.

However, no Ronda Rousey appearing cemented the fact that the show had no major surprises. The quality of the show was fantastic and we were big fans of the Men's Elimination match, but as a whole, WWE could have done better in that department.

Hopefully, with the brand split being more defined after Survivor Series 2019, we'll get more surprises on weekly television as we head towards TLC.