Fantasy Booking: 10-Man Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Match (2018)

PART 3: It's Survivor Series!

Team Hunter (The Legends Clan? I suck with names): Triple H (c), John Cena, Randy Orton, Goldberg, The Undertaker.

Team Balor: Finn Balor (c), Buddy Murphy, Pete Dunne, Chad Gable, Aleister Black.

It appears as a Legends vs. New Breed matchup at first glance, but it's more. This is more than a Tag Team match. Every competitor on here has joined their respective teams for a specific reason (well, maybe except for Chad Gable).

The legends are great, but will they be out-of-sync as a Tag Team? The Young Breed is far more athletically superior & therefore, they could easily keep this match under their control.

Balor is the right leader here- But will experience prove to be the better factor eventually? Who knows? But what I do know, is that every casual fan in the history of this business might want to take a peek at what the legends team has to offer.

But this also means that I will have to be careful with the booking. Higher the stakes, higher the chances to fail.

Let's go--

It would make more sense for the legends team to enter the second. But I have a preliminary twist in mind. After writing about this so much, I have become attached to Finn Balor's motivations so much so, that it pains me to do this- After the legends have made their respective entrances, it is time for Team Balor to enter next.

But here it comes, instead of hearing some theme music, an unexpected camera shot to the backstage area shows members of Team Balor (except Aleister Black) huddled around a certain wrestler.

That certain wrestler is Finn Balor, and he seems to be in a lot of pain. It becomes apparent that somebody attacked Finn Balor when nobody was around.

But who? Our first educated guess would be someone from the Legends Team. It can't be John Cena, of course. Triple H? Randy Orton? The Undertaker can't stoop to such level, he's only in this match to get his hands on Aleister Black. Goldberg being the ultimate villain would seem a bit off.

The camera pans to Triple H and Randy Orton whispering a few comments amongst each other. They should have been smirking at this, but instead, the way they are whispering right now prompts the commentators to point out that even Orton and HHH are dumb-founded by this sudden twist of events.

John Cena and Goldberg are watching closely, whilst warming up at the same time. The Undertaker acts like The Undertaker.

He is standing a little away from everyone, perhaps least bothered & patiently waiting for Aleister Black to come out. This picture is definitely going to make it to the dirt sheets, I assure you.

Speaking of Aleister Black, the commentators are on full-detective mode now, they're probing at the fact that Black is missing from this picture (not with his team members). Did he do it? If so, why? Or maybe Triple H and Orton are just acting all along to fool everybody.

In my opinion, this sudden pause will let the slow realisation sink in, and when the fans come to terms with the fact that Balor cannot lead his team, they'll instantly switch to theorize about this conspiracy in their minds. The reactions from commentators & the Legends team help too.

Anyways, there is no point in sticking around for Team-Not-So-Balor right now. Because to remind you, everybody is in this match is only it for their own personal stake. They don't really care about each other at all. So they move on from Finn Balor.

All of them are nearing the Gorilla Position, and this is where the second realization takes place. A certain WWE Superstar is talking with some backstage operators, and realizes that Team-not-So-Balor anymore are passing him by. Ladies & Gentlemen, this 'certain WWE Superstar' is none other than The Big Dog- Roman Reigns. He asks them about Finn Balor.

When Reigns fully realizes the situation, he also works his mind around the fact that- Dunne, Murphy, Gable (& Aleister Black, who is still not here so far)- no matter how promising their future might be, they need a leader right now. And who better than a four-time WrestleMania Main-Eventer to lead them? (Plus *cough* he *cough* doesn't have a *cough* match *cough* anyways *cough*...)

Actions speak louder than words, and without uttering a single word, all four of them slightly nod as a sign of mutual affirmation. Roman Reigns immediately leads the way with Dunne, Murphy & Gable following him from behind. They're about ta' pound some legends BAYBAY!

But the reader asks- What about Aleister Black? Well, turns out, his entrance theme hits right when we see the image of Roman Reigns & co. striding towards the Gorilla Position.

But instead of waiting for his teammates to come out, Aleister Black quickly aims for The Deadman. Team Reigns have no choice but to make a dash towards the ring by ditching the theme music (saving TV Time in an interesting way) in order to even the odds.

Its chaos everywhere. The match hasn't even started yet. The lone poor referee is trying to calm everybody down. But its Pro-Wrestling, and the beatdown must continue!

But the PPV must continue, so the referee rings the bell nonetheless, trusting these bloodthirsty rivals to sort everything amongst themselves.

But apparently, ringing the bell in the middle of this massacre proved to be a disadvantage for the Legends team. Why? Well, just when a linear path seemed to clear between Triple H & Roman Reigns- The Big Dog takes hold of the opportunity and spears The King of Kings right in the middle of the ring.

The match has technically started, so Reigns goes for the pin. 1, 2...3! The Game is rewarded a unique opportunity of being jobbed out in mere minutes (rest of the team were too busy busting their rivals anyway. Like I said, they really don't care for each other that much). But things are more complicated than you think... (keep that in mind before making conclusions, dear reader).

Time for an ad-break, just so you can find both of the teams finally situated in their respective corners when we come back!

So, Triple H has been eliminated unceremoniously by Roman Reigns. We are back with Roman Reigns & Randy Orton wrestling it out in the ring. Have them slow the pace down a bit (for what's to come).

Randy Orton should gain the upper hand via his cold & calculating antics in the ring. He makes sure that Reigns doesn't reach back to his corner. The Legends team keep tagging each other continuously and keep The Big Dog where he needs to be.

Nothing fancy. This helps build momentum, & the crowd starts to cheer for Reigns to desperately tag someone else. As usual, Reigns will manage to hot tag somebody else at the end, yielding a huge pop.

He tags Buddy Murphy, who takes down Orton in a series of comebacks. The pace quickens immediately, showing the casual viewers watching at home that these 'new guys' actually have a lot of potential in them. Coming back to their athletic advantage, this is where the legends fail to keep up.

Now, members of The Young Breed keep tagging each other to ensure that Orton stays in their corner. But basically, it all ends with Murphy & Orton being the legal participants once again.

I'm not going to elaborate on each & every move these superstars are going to carry out in this match. So just let's skip to the part where things get chaotic again. You see, Pete Dunne is itching to get into the ring. He did proclaim that he is not Triple H's 'Golden Boy'anymore.

So Dunne gets into the ring without tagging Murphy out, & attacks The Undertaker with a running elbow, which topples The Deadman from the apron. This sequence perfectly sums up Dunne's attitude, which makes him a future superstar to watch out.

So as I said, things get chaotic, John Cena gets into the ring to chase after Dunne but is unexpectedly met by Murphy's brutal lariat. I even went on to make it so convenient, that it is only by Dunne's distraction & Murphy's lariat through which Cena falls into this trap.

It could have been anyone else, but this specific sequence exists in order to favor the Murphy/Dunne/Cena plot.

Therefore, this prompts Goldberg to get in too, & one thing that Murphy & Dunne don't want is to get into the path of Goldberg's wrath, so they get out of the ring immediately. Chad Gable follows suit, which leaves a clear path between Aleister Black and Randy Orton (two specimens with almost the same body type, but no backstory).

All of this tension culminates where everybody is huddled on ringside, and Chad Gable decides to climb the top-rope, & dive onto this horde of wrestlers. Everybody is down. But remember, wrestlers can be eliminated via COUNT-OUT!

Murphy & Orton are the legal participants here. The referee counts to 10. Buddy Murphy & Randy Orton have been eliminated via a double count-out!

Eh, Cena is always going to be better than Orton isn't he? — Eh, Cena is always going to be better than Orton, isn't he?

three wrestlers remain on the Legends Team, and four wrestlers are left in Team Reigns. After a while, The Undertaker stumbles into the ring somehow. He is dazed & confused.

However, Aleister Black slides in as if nothing has even touched him so-far. Undertaker gets into a fighting stance, but we can make out that this will be hard for him. Both of them stare at each other, milking the crowd's reaction to the max.

Both of them go for strikes, punches etc. This seems like an all-out MMA fight. Taker is forced to a corner, subject to Aleister's powerful kicks. He escapes & reverses by driving Black to a corner. Again, there are millions of ways the next events could follow. I am going to leave that to the reader's imagination, & skip right to where it matters. Done?

After a while, Black unexpectedly goes for a Black Mass, but Taker' dodges it this time! Taker grabs ahold of his opponent's neck. Chokeslam! 1,2...Oh! Aleister kicks out at 2! But like I said, Aleister is smart, he rolls over quickly & tags whoever's hand he reaches first. Turns out, its Pete Dunne.

Dunne just stands there, and John Cena prompts the Undertaker to tag him in. Cena wants to be the one knocking Dunne's teeth out. 'Taker waits for it, milking the crowd's reaction, & finally tags John Cena.

Cena goes for his usual three-move comeback, & Pete Dunne moves away during The Five Knuckle Shuffle. Dunne delivers a pump kick, & then quickly- A double foot stomp to Cena's chest. The crowd loves it.

I would not be surprised if John Cena would be framed as 'the guy who buries new talent' throughout their entire feud. So this is Dunne's moment (and the moment of all internet wrestling fans across the globe).

Let them put on an amazing 20-25 minute wrestling clinic. This is Wrestling at its best. Here is where things turn around again.

Remember how I warned not to make any quick assumptions as of yet? This is that moment dear reader. Pete Dunne somehow manages to deliver his amazing finisher- 'Bitter End' to John Cena.

The audience is going nuts because they know that there's a legitimate chance of Cena being eliminated now. But as the referee is about to end the three-count, someone pulls the referee from behind, & drags the poor guy out of the ring. Who?

HHH has had it for Pete Dunne. Hunter pulls the referee out & knocks him unconscious. Nobody can disqualify anybody now. Because with no referee, there are no rules. John Cena obviously doesn't approve of it. And he can't do anything about it right now, as Pete Dunne has already knocked Cena down for a while.

The Undertaker tags himself in, & so does Aleister Black.

But The Big Dog has had it. He goes after HHH outside. However, at the same time, Undertaker is going after Aleister Black, & it just so happens that Reigns & 'Taker are taking the same path- Both of them are going to crash into each other.

Fortunately for The Undertaker, he raises his leg to put The Big Dog down with a Big Boot just at the right moment. Aleister realizes what 'Taker wants, & both of them go at it with each other. Heck, Undertaker doesn't care who Triple H screws, he doesn't care about this Tag Team match at all. He only wants Aleister Black with no more obstacles in between.

So both of them are now embroiled in a beatdown with each other, so much so, that 'Taker and Black have even exited the arena just fighting against one another. The audience is so glued to watching these two forces colliding together that they forget to notice that a new referee has entered into the ring already.

As expected, the ref counts to 10, and both Undertaker and Aleister Black have been eliminated as a result of a second double count-out in this match.

Let's just note that even if they have been eliminated technically- Aleister and Undertaker are actually the biggest winners so far. Because they actually succeeded in getting what they wanted- To beat the hell out of each other.

There's a new referee in the ring. So no more shenanigans can be allowed to occur anymore. Goldberg wants to get in & go after Roman. But he'll have to wait.

Because John Cena, who is somewhat conscious is asking for Pete Dunne to step up & settle this for once. Both Dunne and Cena are very tired, and a fresh teammate should be wrestling right now.

It doesn't make sense- But this whole pairing has made no sense so far. It is like you put all the best wrestlers together, but when you add it all up- There is ZERO tag team chemistry amongst all the members. How did this happen?

I implied this before, & I'll say it now- The 10-Man Traditional Tag Team Elimination match in this booking is an amalgamation of separate feuds with every superstar looking for their own personal gain, & that is what makes it so great.

This is more than a tag-team match.

Anyways, just before Cena & Dunne can go back at it again, Triple H- who was standing ringside after his interference sequence all along- comes in between these two. Hunter tries to take control of this situation.

Remember, all the team members have different ideologies despite being on the same team. John Cena certainly won't stand for winning a wrestling match this way, and the audience agrees with Super Cena in this case.

HHH and Cena have a war of words between the two of them, whilst a clever Dunne does not interfere, and waits for The Legends Team to demolish itself as a result of their egos. HHH tries to explain his own way of logic, but in the end, Cena responds by performing an Attitude Adjustment to Hunter & throwing him out of the ring.

The crowd pops, and Cena leaves the ring, doing a 'You Can't See Me' taunt to a fallen HHH and leaving backstage. Sure, Pete Dunne still hasn't been eliminated.

But Cena has realized that this is way bigger than his feud and even bigger than a simple traditional tag team match. This is about HHH trying to bury the opposite team just because they don't comply with Hunter's 'Authoritarian' rules. So John Cena executes his part and always does the right thing in the end.

Basically, John Cena eliminates himself at his own free-will. It sounds stupid on paper, but it makes sense when you hear out the reason & motivation behind it.

Cena has always been falsely (and sometimes not so falsely) labeled as the guy 'who buries young talent'. But John realizes that The Young Breed should pick up the victory here. Their own team-captain (HHH) is a sold-out authority figure trying to bend the rules according to his will.

So essentially, if Hunter's team wins, the lone survivors would have done nothing but helped The Game achieve his own agenda (and Good Guy John wants no part of that).

Good Guy John does what's 'Really Best For Business'...

At this point, five participants have been eliminated via count-out, and only The Game has been eliminated via pinfall. Has that ever happened before?

Triple H rolls out of the ring, and Pete Dunne flashes that villainous grin on his face. But he should have been paying attention towards his front.

Even before the audience can sink it all in, Goldberg wipes that smirk off Dunne's face by spearing the Bruiserweight at lightning speed. 1,2...3! Pete Dunne has been eliminated.

seven participants have been eliminated so far. Roman Reigns, Chad Gable & Goldberg remain. The most obvious thing happens next, Goldberg is a fresh (and the only) competitor left from his team- And the fans are chanting 'YES!' for Roman Reigns to step in.

This is where a twitter feud comes to life.

People had no idea that Reigns was going to be the one replacing Finn Balor, let alone the fact that Balor was going to be knocked unconscious backstage in the first place (We still don't know who injured Finn by the way).

Again, let them wrestle, I am not the one to describe each & every detail (Even if I have explained a lot so far). Let us go to the climax of this match.

Both of them are at ringside. Maybe even include a spot where both of them go for the spear at the same time, and as a result- they butt each others' shoulders/heads from opposite directions.

Anyways, typical Reigns becomes cocky. He clears all the announcers' tables (three of them to be exact) lined adjacently specifically for this PPV.

He lays Goldberg on either table (except the middle one). Reigns himself climbs onto the farthest table. Goldberg gets up, slowly.

We all know what's coming next- Reigns is going to spear Goldberg right through the announcers' table. But this is where he also makes a mistake. Roman Reigns gets too confident and performs his usual taunt that precedes the spear (OOOOAAH- for readers unable to comprehend what I'm saying).

It is at this moment Goldberg quickly charges towards Reigns' torso and spears him right through the announcers' table!

Remember, this is my booking & the referee does NOT magically stop counting while this sequence goes on. He has managed to count till eight when Goldberg delivers his finisher. But somehow, Bill Goldberg gets back into the ring at the last second, and Roman Reigns has been eliminated!

The 'last competitor' from Team Reigns is astonished to see their captain lying in defeat. Of course, the last competitor is none other than CHAD FRICKIN' GABLE!

Told you there was a reason behind everything. Gable realises that Goldberg is recuperating in the ring. The audience realises that Gable might have a shot at winning this thing!

Gable wastes no time and starts putting Goldberg down for once and for all. There is no point in me narrating this story anymore. You already know that Chad Gable is winning this thing.

Let Goldberg still get some offence in, but only to keep the audience on their feet. Make it look like Gable won't win this easily. Let people boo Goldberg if they want because as a booker, that'll only mean that they're gonna be cheering harder when Gable finally wins this for his team.

So it does happen, Gable wins it for his team after a hard-fought contest with a WWE Legend. Everybody is left happy (most of them, to be fair. Even I know that you cannot satisfy everybody).

The ending is somehow similar to Dolph Ziggler being the lone survivor in 2014 after being stacked up against so many odds. But in that case, WWE never capitalised on Ziggler following his victory. But I say this is Gable's moment. This victory is a factor that actually helps the audience root for him in the future.

Now hold on, I have previously stated for the reader not to make any quick assumptions. Because nothing is like what it actually seems. The reader thinks that Chad Gable is the real pay-off out of Survivor Series 2018.

Truth is, he's not. The next slide is where the real-payoff actually happens...