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The first WWE pay-per-view to not be headlined by a match in nearly 30 years, Survivor Series was an enjoyable show from top to bottom. It continues the impressive run of WWE events at the ThunderDome, thanks to some stellar matches featuring the top champions in the company.
Survivor Series was another fun WWE pay-per-view at the ThunderDome
Most of the 'Champion vs. Champion' matches were great and while the booking of the elimination matches may not have been the greatest, the action was solid throughout. Survivor Series did deliver in the ring, as much as it did on the emotional front thanks to The Undertaker's official retirement.
With only six matches on the main card before the show-ending 'Final Farewell', Survivor Series was an easy watch. Every single one of them was decent, at the very least. A few of them were great, while one was truly excellent.
Here is every match at WWE Survivor Series 2020 graded and ranked, from worst to best.
#6 Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn vs. United States Champion Bobby Lashley
This was a fun little match, pitting two different types of heels against each other. Sami Zayn faced Bobby Lashley, who was accompanied by The Hurt Business to the ring. This visibly caused a distraction for the Intercontinental Champion, as he was demolished by his RAW counterpart at Survivor Series.
Zayn got very little offense in, but not nearly enough to pin Lashley. The presence of MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander proved to tilt the match in the United States Champion's favor.
There was a fun callback to the time that Zayn suffered vertigo at the hands of Lashley, a couple of years ago, before The Great Liberator tried to escape. MVP prevented that from happening and rolled him into the ring for Lashley to submit him with the Hurt Lock.
This match was essentially an extended squash match, but one which fits Sami Zayn's persona as a conspiracy theorist. He will have some things to say about what went down on SmackDown, while Bobby Lashley looked great. That being said, this was the weakest match on Survivor Series.
Grade: C+
#5 RAW vs. SmackDown Women's five-on-five Survivor Series Elimination Match
The finish to this match was slightly telegraphed in the past few weeks leading to Survivor Series, with Lana being berated and bullied by Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax at every opportunity. She ended up being the sole survivor despite not doing anything after a double count-out eliminated Jax and Bianca Belair from the match.
It was a funny way for Lana to go over, although it may not have been the most effective. That being said, the action that preceded her lucky victory was decent. Peyton Royce was impressive and even eliminated Bayley, much to the surprise of everybody.
The Ravishing Russian was ordered to stay out of the match, which she did, and allow the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions to do most of the work for Team RAW. It came down to Lana, Jax, and Baszler against Belair and Liv Morgan. A proper 'Babyfaces vs. Heels' finale.
The EST of WWE ended up in a three-on-one disadvantage, but she did extremely well. She powered out of Shayna Baszler's Kirafuda clutch and gutted it out against Nia Jax as well, before the double count-out finish. Despite the impressive performances, this Survivor Series elimination match could have been executed better.
Grade: C+
#4 RAW vs. SmackDown Men's five-on-five Survivor Series Elimination Match
Rather surprisingly, the 10-man elimination match between Team RAW and Team SmackDown kicked off Survivor Series. And while entertaining in parts, it was pretty one-sided. In fact, it was completely one-sided. After all their dissension in the weeks leading to Survivor Series, AJ Styles led Team RAW to an emphatic clean sweep victory.
There was some decent action, with Kevin Owens and Jey Uso particularly putting up good fights against overwhelming odds. However, considering the circumstances, there is a clear ceiling for the quality of this match. There was still some decent storytelling throughout.
Seth Rollins sacrificed himself to be eliminated first, Riddle defeated his rival King Corbin, and Jey Uso showed some urgency as SmackDown's last remaining member. Every Superstar on Team RAW got an elimination, with Keith Lee sealing the win with a massive Spirit Bomb on Uso.
This match was fine, but will likely be regarded as the most forgettable Survivor Series elimination match in the history of brand warfare. At least now we know why WWE did not put bigger stars like Big E and Daniel Bryan on Team SmackDown. It remains to be seen what the consequences of this result will be if there is any at all.
Grade: B
#3 RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits at Survivor Series
The battle between the babyface Tag Team Champions of RAW and SmackDown lived up to the hype at Survivor Series, with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods putting on their trademark banger against The Street Profits. This showed how good tag team wrestling can be in WWE.
Big E accompanied his New Day brothers to the ring, despite not doing so when they visited SmackDown a few days ago. Meanwhile, after a long pre-match promo, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins showcased their incredible in-ring skills. The two teams had incredible chemistry at Survivor Series.
The energy remained high throughout the match, with every competitor all over the place. The Street Profits demonstrated their perfect storm of power and athleticism here. But contrary to pretty much every other match he is in, Ford did not win the match after hitting his exceptional Frog Splash, owing to his injured ribs.
That being said, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions did emerge victorious over their more established opponents at Survivor Series. Ford even hit Kingston with a Trouble in Paradise, before he and Dawkins finished Woods off with a blockbuster. This was a great contest, with the post-match respect between the two teams being appropriate.
Grade: A-
#2 SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks vs. RAW Women's Champion Asuka at Survivor Series
This was a rekindling of the rivalry that graced Monday Night RAW over the summer, albeit with a slightly different take. There was no Bayley to provide outside shenanigans, as we simply got Sasha Banks and Asuka doing what they do best at Survivor Series. Wrestling like there is no tomorrow.
The chemistry was evident, with both Superstars knowing each other's movesets inside out. Their Survivor Series match was a stalemate for quite a long time. Banks and Asuka traded submissions and quick roll-ups, as the drama picked up.
This was everything their matches at Extreme Rules and SummerSlam were, without any interference. Big moves like the Banks' Meteora and Asuka's codebreaker were hit, but it was a roll-up that ended this match. The Legit Boss finally defeated The Empress of Tomorrow without any help at Survivor Series.
This victory continues the roll that Sasha Banks has been on recently. Meanwhile, Survivor Series reminded us of Asuka's brilliance and hopefully, she gets a credible challenger for her title for TLC. Simply a great match between the two best female wrestlers in the world.
Grade: A
#1 Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at Survivor Series
Far and away the best match at Survivor Series, Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre put on an absolute show. This started at a methodical pace, both Superstars got into the groove soon. Their huge Survivor Series match turned into a hard-hitting war pretty quickly.
A slew of moves from McIntyre, including a spinebuster and a Future Shock DDT, kept him strong as he fought to stay with Reigns in the match. The Tribal Chief was dominant, going for his biggest moves multiple times. However, The Scottish Psychopath had an answer for almost everything.
McIntyre countered a spear beautifully with a Kimura before Reigns smashed him through the announce table with two Samoan drops. He even hit the WWE Champion with a spear through the barricade, before hitting another one in the ring for a very intense two-count.
McIntyre fought back and delivered a Claymore Kick, but the referee was knocked down in the process. From that point, it was all Reigns. He hit a low blow before Jey Uso ran in to hit a superkick to truly turn the tide in The Big Dog's favor at Survivor Series. McIntyre eventually passed out to the guillotine.
This match was sensational, easily the best at Survivor Series, as it put both men over as the best WWE stars of this generation. Drew McIntyre did not lose anything in defeat, while Roman Reigns is the undisputed top guy in the company.
Another 'Match of the Year' contender from both men, this was pretty much a flawless showing. The screwy finish also gives WWE the possibility to book another McIntyre vs. Reigns match, with a larger build, in a year or two.
Grade: A+
