‘WWE Survivor Series 2020’ PPV Review
Welcome to this long over-due review of WWE Survivor Series 2020, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the retirement of The Undertaker. In honor of the end of an era, I have reached out to one of the top bands of the 80s, HayrSpyke, to help us write the review in…a song! Yeah!
Match #1: The Miz won the Dual-Brand Battle Royal
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The Miz claimed victory in the Dual-Brand Battle Royal on the Survivor Series Kickoff, catching Dominik Mysterio by surprise after seemingly being eliminated. The melee started anything but fortuitously for Miz, as tag team partner John Morrison was the first Superstar eliminated courtesy of Dominik. Murphy’s newly forged alliance with the Mysterios was on display as he attacked Dolph Ziggler immediately after The Showoff sent Rey Mysterio out of the ring. Dominik later scored payback by eliminating Ziggler. Jeff Hardy eliminated archnemesis Elias to leave himself, Chad Gable, The Miz and Dominik as the final four, but The Charismatic Enigma was dumped by Gable, who showcased his dizzying array of suplexes. Dominik appeared to eliminate Miz, and after a back-and-forth battle, he got the better of Gable to seemingly claim the biggest victory of his young career. But with referees ruling that The Miz was never eliminated, The A-Lister remerged, eliminating Dominik from behind for the win.
My Opinion: 2.5
Match #2: Team Raw def. Team SmackDown the 5-on-5 Men’s Survivor Series Elimination Match
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
After weeks of infighting, Team Raw came together for a dominant victory, sweeping Team SmackDown in the 5-on-5 Men’s Survivor Series Elimination Match. The blue brand controlled the early action until Seth Rollins, expressionless and the only member of his team not wearing a SmackDown shirt, offered himself on his knees for a Sheamus Brogue Kick and the bout’s first elimination. The SmackDown Savior’s only explanation before his sacrifice was, “For the greater good.” The bizarre act of martyrdom set the remaining members of Team Blue into disarray, and while attempting to regroup, they were demolished by the Braun Strowman express on the outside. But Team SmackDown seemed to find a spark behind Kevin Owens’ Stunner parade, as KO put down Sheamus, Keith Lee and Riddle before being eliminated after AJ Styles blasted him with a Phenomenal Forearm. Raw’s edge improved to 5-2 as Riddle put away King Corbin with a Floating Bro, leaving only Jey Uso and Otis for Team SmackDown. Otis caught fire in a hurry, cleaning house of Team Raw before standing toe to toe with Strowman. While the blue-collar strong Superstar landed the Caterpillar, Strowman plucked him from the top rope and planted him with a gargantuan Running Powerslam for the elimination. With nothing to lose, Uso fought valiantly, dropping his adversaries with a series of superkicks and taking down almost all of Team Raw with a plancha. But Jey’s rally fell short. The Limitless Superstar entered the match via a blind tag, caught Uso off the top rope and planted him with the Spirit Bomb to send Team Raw to victory.
My Opinion: 3.9
Match #3: SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The Street Profits turned in a gutsy performance at Survivor Series, earning one of the biggest wins of their career by toppling The New Day in a battle of tag team champions. The teams’ first-ever encounter started in high-octane fashion with The Street Profits firing on all cylinders until Kofi Kingston snuffed out a double-team attack, allowing himself and Xavier Woods to take out Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins with aerial maneuvers. That’s when The New Day began a clinic in tag team strategy, isolating Ford in the corner and pummeling him between rapid tags. Kingston added insult to injury, grabbing Ford’s signature solo cup and punting it into oblivion. But Ford found an opening after planting Kingston with a huge DDT, allowing him to tag in Dawkins, who lit the ring on fire with explosive offense, topped off with a unique spinning underhook neckbreaker to Woods. The New Day regained control moments later, though much to Kingston’s chagrin, the Midnight Hour wasn’t enough to keep Ford down for the three-count. Ford borrowed a page from his opponent’s book, hitting Woods with what appeared to be Trouble in Paradise, and moments later, The Profits connected on an electric chair drop-blockbuster combo to earn the victory. The dueling duos showed nothing but respect for each other afterward, embracing with hugs all around.
My Opinion: 3.8
Match #4: United States Champion Bobby Lashley def. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Bobby Lashley crushed Sami Zayn’s hopes of an upset at Survivor Series, prevailing over the Intercontinental Champion in impressive fashion. With Zayn perhaps more preoccupied with the presence of The Hurt Business at ringside than he was with his opponent, The All Mighty capitalized to unleash a powerful barrage of offense. The Great Liberator once again resorted to his bag of tricks, conjuring up a bout of supposed vertigo to try to catch Lashley off-guard with a roll-up to no avail. The hijinks only seemed to draw the ire of the United States Champion, who dialed up the punishment on the outside of the ring until Zayn sent him face-first into the ring post. The Hurt Business played a pivotal role, though, with Shelton Benjamin resecuring a turnbuckle that Zayn removed in a likely bid at underhanded offense. Soon finding himself splattered by a massive one-armed slam, Zayn tried to flee before tripping over MVP’s foot. With MVP depositing Zayn back into the ring, Lashley applied the Hurt Lock to force Zayn to tap out.
My Opinion: 3
Match #5: SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks def. Raw Women’s Champion Asuka
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks finally got the monkey off her back against Asuka, pinning the Raw Women’s Champion for the first time ever at Survivor Series. Renewing one of this past summer’s hottest rivalries, both Superstars were keenly familiar with each other’s repertories and exchanged counters early. Banks repeatedly tried to lock on the Bank Statement, but Asuka fought off each attempt. The Boss dug deep into her catalog of holds, countering a Shining Wizard into an armbar and later applying an Octopus Stretch in expert fashion. The Empress of Tomorrow turned the tide with a huge kick on the apron and a hip attack that sent The Blueprint careening to the floor. But Banks dodged another hip attack moments later before spiking Asuka with a backstabber for a near-fall. Both continued to prove they had done their homework, but The Boss was one step ahead of Asuka’s frogsplash counter, finally slapping on the Bank Statement. Asuka followed with a creative counter into the Asuka Lock, though she wasn’t able to fully apply the hold. Banks escaped an ankle lock, setting into motion an exchange of pinning combinations. The Boss enjoyed the last laugh, pinning Asuka to leave her in defeat and disbelief.
My Opinion: 3.9
Match #6: Team Raw def. Team SmackDown in the 5-on-5 Women’s Survivor Series Elimination Match
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
After weeks of brutalization and humiliation, Lana stood alone as the sole survivor for Team Raw against Team SmackDown following a bizarre sequence of events. Team Blue dominated until Lana tagged herself in, much to her teammates’ displeasure. The Ravishing Russian dished out an impressive series of offense, but it wasn’t enough to change the minds of WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, and Baszler banished her to remain on the ring steps. Peyton Royce delivered a spectacular top-rope superplex to Bayley, sending both crashing to ringside and onto the rest of the competitors — with the exception of Lana, who remained in exile. Royce scored a huge shocker moments later, planting Bayley with Déjà vu to send The Role Model packing as the first elimination. The playing field was soon even, though, as Natalya forced Royce to submit to the Sharpshooter. Natalya locked in another Sharpshooter, this time on Baszler, but she was eliminated after being floored by a Woman’s Right from Lacey Evans. Evans then reeled off a top-rope Spanish fly to Bianca Belair, coming within an eyelash of eliminating The EST until she was saved by The Riott Squad. Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan then worked over Jax with quick blind tags, keeping The Irresistible Force off-balance. But Jax tagged in Baszler, who put Riott out with the Kirifuda Clutch for an academic cover. The 4-2 deficit seemed to motivate Morgan, who eliminated Evans with a crucifix bomb, but she had no answer for Jax’s power, succumbing to a huge Samoan drop. Left all alone, Belair showcased her athleticism by running and flipping jaw-dropping circles around Jax before squaring off with Baszler, who slipped on the Kirifuda Clutch. Demonstrating uncanny strength, Belair powered to her feet and found the ropes, but the referee disqualified Baszler for refusing to break the hold before the five-count. Belair battled Jax on the outside, somehow summoning the will to launch Jax over the barricade. But she couldn’t beat the ref’s 10-count, causing a double count-out and stunningly leaving Lana as the sole survivor despite spending most of the bout on the steps.
My Opinion: 3.4
Match #7: (Main Event) Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre proved to be more than just a solid “No. 2” in a breathtaking battle with Universal Champion Roman Reigns, but The Big Dog stood tall at Survivor Series. Though McIntyre claimed an initial advantage, Reigns bounced back to hammer The King of Claymore Country after sending him into the ring post. Stalking McIntyre, Reigns escalated the punishment when he threw him into the steps. Reigns’ recent disrespect of the WWE Champion didn’t let up as The Big Dog took every opportunity to deride his opponent. But McIntyre seemed to feed off Reigns’ underestimation, and it blew up in The Big Dog’s face, as his trash talk was met with a blistering Glasgow Kiss, then a Future-Shock DDT. The Universal Champion fired back with a Superman Punch, but he was outwitted with a never-before-seen counter, as McIntyre rolled through Reigns’ Spear attempt into a Kimura. Reigns eventually broke free, but not before suffering potentially serious damage to his arm. That wasn’t enough to keep Reigns from slamming McIntyre through the announce table with two Samoan drops before further decimating him with a colossal Spear through the barricade. McIntyre responded by showing off his resolve, absorbing another big-time Spear back in the ring before kicking out at two. The WWE Champion countered another Spear attempt with a Claymore, but Reigns collided with the referee, sending him out of the ring in a moment that proved decisive. Reigns took advantage by hitting a low blow before McIntyre was struck by a superkick from The Big Dog’s cousin, Jey Uso. Reigns finally locked Drew in the Guillotine that he attempted to apply several times earlier, eventually putting the valiant McIntyre unconscious for the win, with no small thanks to Uso, who put himself back in the good graces of The Head of The Table.
My Opinion: 4.3
Final Verdict: Here comes the exclusive song from HayrSpyke:
Here we all stand/Ready to command/In the name of love/Giant C— Of Loooooove/Miz won a lame battle royale/Team Raw swept SmackDown in a good match with no balance/I like turtles!/Survivor Series…it’s so BLAH/Survivor Series…what-ev-ah/Survivor Series…it’s what’s for breakfast!/Bobby…
BANG! BANG! BANG! There, I shot them! Stupid 80s hair metal s–t! I’ll finish it my way!
New Day and Street Profits bumped their way to a good one, but needed to have more wrestling in the first part. Bobby Lashley ate Sami Zayn and got hair in his teeth; looked like a bear ate a Greek. Sasha Banks and Asuka had another good one, but it needed…I don’t know, but this was not quite the PPV classic I was hoping for. The women had a solid Survivor Series match that didn’t make the heavens sing, but it did make me happy, because they worked hard and stuck it out. Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre knocked each other around like my wife does to my face when I pee in the soup. Your mileage may vary with this, but I really enjoyed the spectacle that this latest bout between these two was.
News Of The Night:
- The Undertaker retired and had Shane McMahon,Big Show, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, The Godfather, The Godwinns, Savio Vega, Rikishi, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Kane.
Final Verdict: 3.8/5
Hell with it. The Undertaker retired and the matches were good.
