WWE Survivor Series 2017: Superstar Report Card

The only night of the year when Raw and SmackDown Live face off in head-to-head competition had more incredible highs and baffling lows than any WWE pay-per-view in recent memory.

For three hours, Survivor Series was one of the best shows we’ve seen in 2017 – and then the final hour made it feel like one of the worst.

As far as match quality goes, every Champion vs. Champion encounter delivered, but it's the heavy focus on Triple H and Shane McMahon in the main event that has left many fans questioning why up-and-coming stars weren't showcased a little more.

In this article, basing our verdicts on the storylines just as much as the performers themselves, we give A-F grades for every Superstar involved at the event.

#1 Elias def. Matt Hardy (kickoff show)

The first match at Survivor Series saw Elias take on Matt Hardy in a meaningless encounter that half of the sold-out Toyota Center wasn't even in their seats for.

It was the kind of match you’d expect to see in a throwaway segment on Raw, certainly not a ‘Big Four’ PPV, and Elias picked up a clean win after hitting his Drift Away finisher.

“The Drifter” has been one of WWE’s breakout stars of 2017, but if this was supposed to be a 'statement victory' against Hardy, who has been used terribly since losing the Raw tag titles, then it sure didn’t feel like one.

Elias - C

Matt Hardy - E

#2 Enzo Amore def. Kalisto (kickoff show)

Enzo Amore retained his Cruiserweight title

The quality of the kickoff show didn’t get much better when Cruiserweight champion Enzo Amore defeated Kalisto in the only match at Survivor Series with the title on the line.

The match began with the challenger getting himself caught up on the ropes in his entrance, and it ended with the champion executing his JawdunZo finisher for the win after what seemed to be a series of miscommunications when both Superstars were on the ring apron.

People will talk about his mistakes, but Kalisto is one of the most exciting performers in WWE when he has the right opponent. That right opponent, though, isn’t Enzo, whose days as a sports entertainer would be better served as a heel manager than as a ‘wrestler’.

Kalisto - D

Enzo Amore - E

#3 Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Breezango (kickoff show)

The third and final match of the kickoff show had no storyline behind it and was simply designed to get Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Breezango a spot on the card.

KO and Sami were brilliant as ever on the mic and their demotion to the kickoff show will surely be mentioned in the coming weeks when they continue to feud with SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon, who they later distracted in the main event.

The match itself was the best of the three before the main show, with Owens getting the win after a Pop-Up Powerbomb on Fandango.

Kevin Owens - B

Sami Zayn - B

Fandango - C

Tyler Breeze - C

#4 The Shield def. New Day

Xavier Woods was especially impressive for New Day

If WWE hadn’t made it clear already that Roman Reigns was “The Guy”, having him wear his usual protective vest attire while Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose wore Raw-themed shirts which would surely have made it look to the casual viewer that Roman was the undeniable star of The Shield.

This match was the perfect way to kick off the PPV and felt like it matched the high expectations people had for it going into Survivor Series, though there are some opinions to the contrary on social media.

The vintage Shield numbers game caught up with New Day and, five years on from their debut together as a faction, Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose were able to get the win after a Triple Powerbomb on Kofi Kingston from the middle rope.

By the way, has anyone ever sold the Superman Punch better than Xavier Woods did in this match?

Roman Reigns - A

Seth Rollins - B

Dean Ambrose - B

Kofi Kingston - A

Xavier Woods - A

Big E - B

#5 Team Raw def. Team SmackDown (women's elimination)

You can question WWE’s booking of Asuka during her first few weeks on the main roster, but you cannot deny that she looked like an absolute star as the sole survivor of the women’s elimination match.

The problem, however, is that she looked like the only star. The eliminations of Becky Lynch and Bayley were massively underwhelming and the only person other than Asuka to come out of the match looking stronger than before is Tamina.

The biggest mistake of the night came when the referee counted 1-2-3 when Naomi was clearly supposed to only get a 2-count on Alicia Fox.

Still, it was a fun match to watch.

Asuka - A+

Sasha Banks - C

Nia Jax - C

Bayley - D

Alicia Fox - E

Tamina - A

Carmella - C

Natalya - C

Becky Lynch - D

Naomi - E

#6 Baron Corbin def. The Miz

Enter captio — Baron Corbin got the win with the End of Days

In one of the surprise results of Survivor Series, United States champion Baron Corbin was able to back up his big mouth and defeat Intercontinental champion The Miz, even despite ringside distractions from Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas.

This match was of decent quality and is probably among both performers’ top three in-ring performances since the 2016 brand split.

Corbin’s finisher, the End of Days, is one of the best in current-day WWE and the manner in which he got this victory made him look like a legit star.

The Miz - B

Baron Corbin - B

#7 The Usos def. The Bar

Ever since WrestleMania 33, every single tag title match on PPV has been one of the best on the show, and this battle between Raw’s elite and SmackDown’s elite at Survivor Series was no different.

The Usos have cemented their legacy in 2017 as one of the greatest tag teams of their generation, while Sheamus & Cesaro are so impressive in every match they have, that you wonder why WWE couldn’t make bigger stars out of them as singles wrestlers.

As for the match itself, Jey pinned Sheamus for the win after a Superfly splash from the top rope, but it was the minute leading up to the finish, which included a double superkick on Cesaro and an incredible leap to the outside from Jimmy, that was most impressive.

Sheamus - A

Cesaro - A

Jimmy Uso - A

Jey Uso - A

#8 Charlotte Flair def. Alexa Bliss

Charlotte Flair won with the Figure Eight

For all the talk of the Women’s Revolution in WWE today, it’s strange that the quality of matches from both women’s divisions on PPV this year has fallen way below expectations.

This match between Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss proved to be an exception and, after the Fatal 4-Way for the Raw Women’s title at WrestleMania 33, was probably the second-best women’s match we’ve seen on PPV in 2017.

Charlotte got the win with her trademark Figure Eight submission and was undoubtedly the star of the match, as she is every time she steps foot in the ring. However, Alexa was impressive and this was definitely one of her best performances on the main roster.

Charlotte Flair - A

Alexa Bliss - B

#9 Brock Lesnar def. AJ Styles

Somebody needs to get in touch with the creator of the A-F grading system and let them know that 19 November 2017 was officially the day that their scoring method was beaten, victimised and conquered by two of the greatest in-ring performers WWE has ever seen.

Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles produced an absolute masterclass in the art of selling and storytelling that it makes you wish they were both 10 years younger and we could see this match again and again for years to come.

In the end, Lesnar was victorious with an F5, but AJ fans needn’t be disheartened because this match truly cemented “The Phenomenal One” as one of the greatest performers of this generation or any other.

If you ever need to recommend a match to someone who has never seen WWE before, this is the one to show them.

Brock Lesnar - A+

AJ Styles - A+

#10 Team Raw def. Team SmackDown (men's elimination)

Braun Strowman attacked Triple H after the main event

Has a WWE main event ever failed to deliver as spectacularly as the Raw vs. SmackDown Live men’s elimination match at Survivor Series?

It had its good moments – most notably the face-offs between Triple H and Shinsuke Nakamura, Kurt Angle and John Cena, and the RKO from Randy Orton on Finn Balor – but the underwhelming eliminations and the bizarre finale left so much to be desired that a 10-year-old playing WWE 2K18 could probably have told a better story.

Only Braun Strowman, one of two remaining survivors on Team Raw with Triple H, came out of the night looking stronger than before, while the four former NXT champions involved in the match were all made to seem incredibly weak.

Nobody in the match was terrible but, as you can see from the grades, it just all felt very average.

Braun Strowman - A

Kurt Angle - C

Samoa Joe - C

Finn Balor - D

Triple H - D

Shane McMahon - C

Randy Orton - C

John Cena - D

Bobby Roode - D

Shinsuke Nakamura - D

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