Wednesday, 23 November 2016

7 Things We Learned Watching Survivor Series & NXT TakeOver: Toronto

WWE delivered us a double-bill this past weekend as NXT TakeOver: Toronto took place on Saturday night, while Survivor Series was held on Sunday. As has been the case the past couple of years, NXT delivered a five-star event while WWE struggled to keep up with its “developmental” brand. A year from now the only thing Survivor Series 2016 will be remembered for is how Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar.

Gone are the days of the Gobbledy Gooker and Survivor Series actually taking place on Thanksgiving night. The days when Survivor Series teams were actually built around rivalries and well thought-out storylines. Granted those early incarnations of the wrestling “Thanksgiving tradition” had their share of camp and kiddie moments, but the show was always fun. The 2016 version, which also marks the 30th anniversary of the annual event, was a mishmash of results, WTF booking decisions and a shocking main event.

Now that we’ve had time to soak everything in, we look back and examine what we learned from both shows — the good and the bad.

 

Goldberg Squashes Brock Lesnar

Goldberg decimated Brock Lesnar in under two minutes. I repeat, the almost 50-year-old Goldberg, who hasn’t wrestled in 12 years, destroyed Brock Lesnar, a man that is a legit UFC fighting machine, and built as a WWE monster. Even though Kayfabe is long dead, this fantasy is what WWE sold us. Just like Trump’s victory, no one could believe this end result. The shock-value and buzz worthy headlines it’s created is exactly what WWE hoped for. On that front they succeeded, as no main event result has been as controversial or talked about, since Brock ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania win streak.

On the flip side, WWE wasted a golden opportunity of letting a younger, current WWE superstar be the one to slay the Beast Incarnate. Letting a future face of the company get that rub of defeating Brock is what’s best for business. But rational decisions and WWE never go hand-in-hand. As we’ve seen in the past, WWE prefers going with these small weird moments, over clever satisfying storylines that are told over the course of months.

Fingers-crossed WWE has a real plan on where they go from here. Either the Goldberg/Lesnar feud continues on at Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 33, or WWE spent millions of dollars on promotion and hype to undermine Brock’s unbeatable persona.

 

WWE Is Not a Fan of Smackdown Live

For whatever reason, the Smackdown roster was booked to look weak at Survivor Series. Sure, Smackdown won the traditional 5-on-5 match and The Miz ended up retaining the Intercontinental title, but the show ended up feeling like a RAW PPV. Everyone knows RAW has the deeper roster but this would have been an excellent opportunity to really push or highlight some key Smackdown superstars.

In the women’s match, no Smackdown woman looked good or got any sort of push. Becky Lynch came across as a paper champion, while fan-favorite heel, Alexa Bliss wasn’t given much to work with. Instead the focus revolved around Charlotte, just like every episode of RAW.

The men’s tag team match was a trainwreck. It’s the type of match you have playing in the background while you do some chores. Regardless, when The Shining Stars get better spots than any Smackdown teams, you know it’s gonna be a long night. American Alpha should have been the victors, establishing themselves as the most dominant tag team in WWE. Instead, the booking went to Cesaro and Sheamus, two men who will probably split up before the year ends.

At this point fans are used to bad or questionable booking by WWE, but devaluing one of its brands at one of biggest events of the year doesn’t make any sense.

 

The Shield Reunites…For a Moment

There’s been rumors about a possible reunion between former members of The Shield: Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Much to the delight of the WWE Universe, it happened — however so briefly — at Survivor Series as the three former friends took out AJ Styles by triple power-bombing him through a table.

With Seth and Roman on Raw and Dean on Smackdown, chances are slim the three former friends will bring back The Shield full-time. That and they all now have successful singles careers. However, if AJ Styles seeks revenge and reaches out to his buddies Gallows and Anderson for help, The Club vs The Shield would be a WrestleMania 33 must-see match.

 


NXT is So Fresh and So Clean

No surprise here but NXT delivers another solid night of wrestling and amazing moments. The TakeOver PPV’s have been widely successful, setting the bar on what fans should expect and demand when it comes to top pro wrestling shows. Having recently attended a live NXT show, we know full well the magic this brand creates in the ring.

Match of the weekend honors (for both shows) goes to DIY vs The Revival. Going into the match people were expecting something special and that’s exactly what they got when Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano finally defeated Dawson and Wilder for the NXT Tag Team Championship. Kudos to Triple H and his creative team for building a compelling angle with a satisfying conclusion. Chances are The Revival will get bumped up to the main roster, as DIY is poised to start a program with The Authors of Pain.

Somebody give Mickie James a contract, because the former Women’s Champion showed that she’s still a top player in women’s wrestling. Even though Mickie failed to hand Asuka her first loss, she dominated the majority of the match against the NXT Women’s Champion. So what’s next? Does Mickie and Asuka build on this creating a feud? Does Mickie move up to the main roster and give those women a run for their money? As we’ve stated before, WWE should sign her and hopefully they give her a good final run with the company.

 

The Wyatts Finally Win

Is WWE finally planning on utilizing The Wyatt Family? Being wasted numerous times in feuds that have gone nowhere, The Wyatts finally got their first big PPV victory. With a little help from Luke Harper, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton survived the 5-on-5 match giving Smackdown its first team win. Unfortunately for the men, there’s slim pickings in the Smackdown roster for a meaningful feud. Low on top-shelf babyfaces, WWE might have to bring in some big name talent to square off against this crazy faction. Finn Balor would be ideal, if he weren’t already on RAW.

 


10! 10! 10!

“10” is the new “What?” in the world of wrestling chants. Doesn’t matter if you were watching Survivor Series or NXT TakeOver: Toronto, you couldn’t escape the “10” chants as they were heard in almost every match. “The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger is over with the WWE Universe and they’ve embraced his “10” chants most of all. As we noticed in the LA show, the number 10 was shouted for everything from near-falls to count-outs. With Royal Rumble just around the corner, the perfect entry for Tye to make his surprise appearance would be “10,” naturally!

 

Cruiserweights' Failure to Launch

As much as WWE would like to have a successful cruiserweight division, their booking says otherwise. The Cruiserweight Classic tournament was highly praised and exciting, but the RAW version has been a dud with poor storytelling and rushed matches. The sluggish start falls directly on WWE creative. The talented cruiserweights can put on wrestling clinics but if they aren’t given any structure, no one will care.

Kalisto and Brian Kendrick put on a great match at Survivor Series, only to have to Baron Corbin end the match via a disqualification. Baron Corbin?!!! WWE figured it would be better to have Baron Corbin be spotlighted than to have a full Cruiserweight title match, that would determine the future of the division. There goes that wrestling logic again!

 

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