WWE has revealed the date and location for this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Survivor Series 2021 will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday, November 21. It will be the first time the event has been held in New York City since Survivor Series 2011 took place at Madison Square Garden.
The Barclays Center will also host the post-Survivor Series episode of Raw on Monday, November 22. These will be the first WWE events to take place at the Barclays Center since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
It was also announced today that WWE’s December PPV will take place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Sunday, December 12. The name of the PPV has yet to be revealed.
The full list of new tour dates announced by WWE today is available below. WWE wrote that tickets for their house show in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday, October 2 and Raw episode in Houston, Texas on Monday, October 25 are already on sale. Tickets for all other events through October 22 will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. local time.
Friday, October 1: SmackDown — Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday, October 2: Supershow — Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Sunday, October 3: Supershow — Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky
Monday, October 4: Raw — Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee
Friday, October 15: SmackDown — Toyota Arena in Ontario, California
Saturday, October 16: Supershow — Rio Rancho Events Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Sunday, October 17: Supershow — Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas
Monday, October 18: Raw — Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California
Friday, October 22: SmackDown — INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas
Monday, October 25: Raw — Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
Friday, October 29: SmackDown — Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania
Monday, November 1: Raw — Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island
Monday, November 8: Raw — KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky
Friday, November 12: SmackDown — Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia
Monday, November 15: Raw — Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
Friday, November 19: SmackDown — XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut
Saturday, November 20: Supershow — War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, New York
Sunday, November 21: Survivor Series — Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
Monday, November 22: Raw — Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
Saturday, November 27: Supershow — Berglund Center Coliseum in Roanoke, Virginia
Sunday, November 28: Supershow — Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia
Monday, November 29: Raw — Brand New UBS Arena at Belmont Park (Long Island, New York)
Saturday, December 4: Supershow — Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas
Sunday, December 5: Supershow — American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas
Monday, December 6: Raw — FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee
Friday, December 10: SmackDown — Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio
Saturday, December 11: Supershow — Dow Events Center in Saginaw, Michigan
Sunday, December 12: WWE PPV — Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Monday, December 13: Raw — Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Friday, December 17: SmackDown — Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota
Saturday, December 18: Supershow — BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, Illinois
Sunday, December 19: Supershow — Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa
Friday, December 31: SmackDown — Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
WWE noted that additional tour stops and on-sale dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio. We look at all the recent news such as the latest on SummerSlam and Survivor Series, Aleister Black and where he will end up, Bill Eadie, Kenny Omega, Triple H’s conference call, Claressa Shields’ fight for the PFL, UFC 263, and the Mayweather/Paul buyrate.
We then look at the Dark Side of the Ring on the Dynamite Kid as well as the current back issue from 2004 with a story that relates to the documentary.
Check out our new Facebook Group for those of you interested in attending any F4W meetups, including the 2022 F4W Convention.
After months of videos and interviews insisting that he’s retired–probably–almost surely, Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway did what was billed as his final appearance at a wrestling show as the main event of Survivor Series, the same show where he debuted the character 30 years earlier.
The timing was fitting, the situation anything but. It made for a nice story to do so on the 30th anniversary, but there was no pressure to do it at any time and this could have been saved for another show–with fans. Plus, it can’t possibly be the farewell, since he’s likely going to main event the next class, or one thereafter, of the Hall of Fame. As symbolic as Survivor Series is to his story, it is nowhere close to WrestleMania, where the streak made him, even more than Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels, the enduring figure of the biggest shows in wrestling history.
The Undertaker gave his ‘Final Farewell’ tonight at Survivor Series.
The ceremony, which closed the show, started with Shane McMahon, Big Show, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, The Godfather, The Godwins, Kevin Nash, Savio Vega, Rikishi, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Triple H, and Kane all making entrances.
A video package then aired featuring Undertaker’s career highlights throughout the years under the song “Now That We’re Dead” by Metallica.
Everyone previously in the ring vanished as Vince McMahon appeared. He said some say nothing lasts forever, but they are wrong, as the Undertaker’s legacy will live on eternally. He introduced The Undertaker.
After making his entrance, Undertaker, completely in character, said his time had come to let The Undertaker rest in peace. He then posed in the ring, with a Paul Bearer hologram appearing briefly. The gong then rang repeatedly as The Undertaker slowly made his way to the back to end the show.
The Undertaker’s last match was at WrestleMania 36, when he defeated AJ Styles in the cinematic-style Boneyard match.
Date: November 22, 2020 Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL
Show Recap —
KICK-OFF SHOW
The pre-show panel was Charly Caruso, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, JBL, and Peter Rosenberg. They ran down tonight’s card, and that was followed by an Undertaker video package. The panelists shared memories of Taker.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Paul Heyman. He doubled down on his statement that Roman Reigns was the champion while Drew McIntyre was a temporary placeholder in the history of Raw. He said Reigns will leave a legacy that no one will match.
Rosenberg disappeared during a replay and Bianca Belair appeared in his seat. She planned on showing how great she was tonight. Natalya showed up. JBL thought it was appropriate that a Hart was at Survivor Series.
Natalya and Belair argued about who the team leader should be. Natalya called herself the BOAT and Belair compared her to the Titanic. Natalya thought she was talking about the movie and took it as a compliment. They seemed to be on the same page but were just giving each other a hard time.
Rikishi was shown with Jey Uso in the back.
Sami Zayn interrupted the panel. He joked about Rosenberg not belonging at the table. He also wanted the respect he deserved from the rest of the panel. Booker put him over. Zayn repeated his claim that the IC title was more important than the US title because it represents every country. He made a crack about the States and JBL asked if he had a problem with the country. Zayn started ranting but they cut him off because they had to go to break. He left.
R-Truth showed up because he wanted to honour 30 years of the Gobbledy Gooker. They told him it was actually Undetaker’s night. Truth brought in the Gobbledy Gooker as a guest. Akira Tozawa showed up which distracted Truth long enough for Gooker to pin Truth to win the 24/7 title. They all ran off. One of the Gooker’s feet fell off and the announcers were very amused.
The Miz won a dual-brand Battle Royal (12:11)
Dominik eliminated John Morrison 30 seconds into the match. Kalisto and Rey Mysterio had an exchange but they were attacked by Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander. Alexander eliminated Kalisto. Dolph Ziggler eliminated Mysterio. Ziggler is wrestling in a Smackdown baseball cap. Angel Garza eliminated Humberto Carrillo. Hurt Business eliminated Garza.
Ricochet eliminated Alexander after a suplex on the apron. Benjamin eliminated Ricochet, Apollo Crews eliminated Benjamin. Robert Roode eliminated Murphy as Murphy was fighting Ziggler. Ziggler’s hat is gone. Dominik eliminated Roode and Ziggler. Shinsuke Nakamura eliminated Crews with some incidental help from Elias. Jeff Hardy eliminated Nakamura and Elias.
The final four was Hardy, Miz, Dominik and Chad Gable. Gable eliminated Hardy. Miz hit Dominik with It Kicks but Dominik avoided elimination. Dominik thought he eliminated Miz but the referees said Miz wasn’t eliminated because he had rolled back in the ring for a moment before being kicked under the bottom rope. The announcers seemed confused by this.
Gable tossed Dominik around with suplexes as Miz waited outside the ring. Dominik countered a suplex and followed with a 619 before eliminating Gable. Dominik thought he won but Miz slipped back in the ring and eliminated him. Miz won.
This was a nothing match. It was basically a series of eliminations until the final four and not much happened there either.
Baron Corbin confronted Kevin Owens in the back. He wondered where Owens was on Smackdown and questioned his loyalty. Owens seemed like he wanted to say something but Corbin kept ranting. Corbin wanted Owens to follow his lead and Owens said he’d think about it. Corbin believed him. Before leaving, Owens quickly turned around and said no.
Billie Kay tried giving Corbin her resume but he wasn’t interested.
AJ Styles was shown talking to team Raw.
SURVIVOR SERIES MAIN SHOW
Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Samoa Joe are the announcers. Cole said AJ Styles was accompanied by his associate “Omos.” They said his name as if it’s been known this whole time.
5-on-5 men’s elimination match: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Riddle, Keith Lee, Braun Strowman & Sheamus) defeated Team SmackDown (Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Otis, Seth Rollins & Baron Corbin) (18:59)
– Sheamus eliminated Seth Rollins (6:04)
– AJ Styles eliminated Kevin Owens (12:17)
– Riddle eliminated Baron Corbin (13:07)
– Braun Strowman eliminated Otis (16:39)
– Keith Lee eliminated Jey Uso (18:59)
Lee has new music. Sheamus and Corbin each came out last for their teams.
Corbin and Uso got the advantage over Styles but he managed to tag in Riddle which led to an encounter between Riddle and Otis. Owens tagged in and worked over Riddle’s bare feet. He even headbutted one of Riddle’s feet. Riddle tagged in Sheamus. Rollins wanted in so Owens tagged him.
Rollins looked at his team and said, “for the greater good.” He faced Sheamus and fell to his knees. Sheamus gave him the Brogue Kick for the elimination. Team Smackdown was pissed. Owens called Rollins and a piece of trash.
Team Smackdown had a discussion on the outside until Strowman ran them over. Strowman demanded his team work together.
Owens ran wild and handed out stunners to Lee, Riddle and Sheamus but Styles caught him with the Phenomenal Forearm for the elimination.
Corbin almost eliminated Styles but he was saved by his teammates. Riddle eliminated Corbin with a Floating Bro.
Otis ran wild next and handed out suplexes, including an impressive one to Lee. Otis also gave Strowman a powerslam and caterpillar elbow drop but Riddle distracted him and Strowman nailed a running powerslam to eliminate Otis.
Uso was the only man left for his team. He handed out superkicks before taking out team Raw with a dive. Uso superkicked Styles and went for a dive but Omos pulled Styles out of the ring.
Uso superkicked Styles off the top rope. Lee blind-tagged in but Uso didn’t notice. Uso went for a splash but Lee caught him and hit the Spirit Bomb for the pinfall win.
Team Raw sweeps Team Smackdown. Team Raw celebrated together after the match.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defeated Raw Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods in a non-title match (14:07)
Big E came out with Kingston and Woods but he left before the match started. They wore their Gears of War outfits to the ring. A trailer for the game played featuring their characters. The Street Profits cut a promo in the back before entering. They put over Undertaker before saying that they start their own legacy tonight. They were extremely excited.
The Street Profits were in control early until Kingston wiped out Ford with a dive and New Day took over from there. Kingston mocked them by drinking out of an empty red solo cup before kicking it away.
Ford gave Kingston a DDT before tagging in Dawkins who handed out suplexes to both opponents. The Street Profits double-teamed Woods and the attack included Ford doing a sliced bread off Dawkins’ body. New Day followed with Midnight Hour on Ford for a nearfall. Kingston gave Ford three consecutive Boom Drops but Ford followed with a dropkick.
Dawkins gave Kingston a spinebuster and Ford followed with a frog splash but took too long to make a cover and Kingston kicked out. Kingston gave Ford an SOS but Dawkins broke up the cover. Woods took out Dawkins with a missile dropkick. Ford ducked Trouble in Paradise and hit one of his own. Woods gave Ford a gutbuster for a nearfall.
The Street Profits finished off Kingston with an electric chair/diving blockbuster combo for the pinfall win. New Day embraced Dawkins and Ford after the match.
Very good match and the right team won.
United States Champion Bobby Lashley (w/Hurt Business) defeated Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn in a non-title match (7:47)
Lashley took about 90% of the match and won with the Hurt Lock. Zayn tried to tempt the Hurt Business to attack him so Lashley would get disqualified but they didn’t bite. He tried a few other tricks, including “tripping” over MVP’s foot but the ref wasn’t buying that. He got one nearfall on a schoolboy before tapping to the Hurt Lock.
Jimmy Uso was with Jey outside of Reigns’ locker room. Reigns wasn’t happy that Jey lost. Jimmy defended him by saying it was five against one. Reigns didn’t care and told him to leave. He did. Reigns basically said Jey let him down and he didn’t have time for losers.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defeated Raw Women’s Champion Asuka in a non-title match (13:03)
Banks was in control early and hit a backstabber a few minutes in for two. Asuka came back with a kick, running hip attack and shining wizard. Asuka used Yes Kicks but Banks ducked a kick and applied an abdominal stretch. They traded moves until Asuka knocked Banks off the apron with a hip attack.
Banks tried a Meteora off the barricade but Asuka caught her with a Codebreaker. Banks avoided another hip attack and followed with a kick to the head and backstabber for a nearfall.
Banks hit a double knee strike in the corner and applied the crossface. Asuka tried reversing into the Asuka Lock but Banks slipped out. Asuka followed with another Codebreaker for a nearfall. They traded rollups for a series of two counts.
Asuka kicked Banks in the head, but as Asuka was perhaps going for another shining wizard, Banks caught her in a rollup for the pinfall win. Banks beats Asuka. Pretty good match.
Banks celebrated and Asuka appeared stunned.
In the bank, the Gobbledy Gooker was distracted by birdseed so Tozawa put it in a schoolboy to win the 24/7 title. Truth then pinned Tozawa to win the belt back.
5-on-5 women’s elimination match: Team Raw (Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) defeated Team SmackDown (Bayley, Bianca Belair, Natalya, Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan) (23:24)
– Peyton Royce eliminated Bayley (9:58)
– Natalya eliminated Peyton Royce (11:45)
– Lacey Evans eliminated Natalya (12:38)
– Shayna Baszler eliminated Ruby Riott (16:57)
– Liv Morgan eliminated Lacey Evans (18:04)
– Nia Jax eliminated Liv Morgan (19:07)
– Bianca Belair eliminated Shanya Baszler via DQ (22:32)
– Lana won after Bianca Belair and Nia Jax were eliminated via double countout (23:24)
Instead of wearing blue and red t-shirts, everyone on team Smackdown wore a combination of blue/black gear and everyone on team Raw wore a combination of red/black.
Belair and Natayla gave Royce a double vertical suplex where they squatted her a few times. Baszler tagged in and the announcers reminded us that she won the main event last year over Becky Lynch and Bayley. Jax tagged in and knocked over several members of Smackdown before Lana tagged herself in.
Natalya tagged in and Lana managed to get the advantage. Lana wanted to tag out but nobody wanted to tag her. Jax finally tagged herself in. They yelled at Lana to stand on the stairs and she pouted like a child, almost in tears.
Belair pressed Royce and dropped her over the turnbuckle which they called a snake eyes and a tribute to Undertaker. This led to everyone getting involved and trading spots.
Bayley wanted to do a dive onto a pile of bodies but Royce caught her with a roundhouse kick and suplexed her onto the pile. This looked rough. (Lana was the only one not involved.)
Royce gave Bayley a spinning brainbuster for the pinfall elimination. Royce was doing well against Natalya but Natalya got an assist from a teammate. Natalya tried a surfboard I think but they messed it up so she used a Sharpshooter instead and Royce tapped for the elimination.
Natalya had Baszler in a Sharpshooter but Evans gave her a Woman’s Right for the pinfall elimination. Evans gave Belair a Spanish Fly off the top but the Riott Squad broke up the cover.
The Riott Squad double-teamed Jax and might have had her beat after a Codebreaker and Riott Kick but Baszler tagged herself in. Baszler put Riott in the Kirifuda Clutch but Riott rolled into a pin attempt. Riott had her beat but the ref was distracted by Jax. Riott passed out because Baszler still had the hold locked in. Baszler let go and covered Riott for the pinfall elimination.
Morgan eliminated Evans next with a crucifix bomb. Morgan went after Jax but Jax eliminated her after a Samoan drop.
Belair was the final member of team Smackdown against Jax, Baszler and Lana. Belair ran wild on Jax but Jax gave her a powerslam and leg drop for a nearfall. Belair dropkicked Jax out of the ring but Baszler had tagged herself in. Belair tried a handspring elbow but Baszler leaped up and caught her in the Kirifuda Clutch, which looked cool.
Belair fought to her feet and got a rope break as she passed out. Baszler wouldn’t let go of the hold so the ref disqualified her for the elimination.
Jax grabbed Belair and wanted to put her through the announce table but Belair pushed her into the steel steps. Belair tossed her over the barricade but couldn’t get back in the ring by the ten count. Both Belair and Jax were eliminated by countout. Lana was the sole survivor.
Lana celebrated like she actually won something here. Jax was pissed.
They could have really made Belair here but they did this instead.
The announcers plugged TLC and said it would happen at Tropicana Field.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman) defeated WWE Champion Drew McIntyre (24:52)
They faced off before the match and the production team turned up the crowd noise to make it feel like a big moment.
They exchanged holds early until McIntyre knocked down Reigns with a big shoulder block which sent him out of the ring to regroup. McIntyre used chops but Reigns came back with fists. McIntyre fought back momentarily but Reigns posted him.
Reigns tossed McIntyre into the steel steps as loud booing played over the speakers. Reigns tried a cover but McIntyre aggressively kicked out at two. Reigns followed with knees and a vertical suplex for two. Reigns cut off another comeback attempt with a leaping clothesline.
McIntyre came back with clotheslines, an overhead suplex, a neckbreaker but Reigns blocked a Future Shock DDT and hit a Samoan drop for two. McIntyre blocked a superman punch and hit a spinebuster for two. McIntyre tossed Reigns into the post and steel steps but Reigns knocked him down as they re-entered the ring.
Reigns taunted McIntyre. McIntyre headbutted him and they exchanged big boots. McIntyre ducked a superman punch and hit a Future Shock DDT for a nearfall. McIntyre went for a Claymore kick but Reigns hit a superman punch. Reigns tried a guillotine but McIntyre suplexed him. Reigns booted McIntyre before tossing him shoulder-first into the post.
McIntyre countered a spear into a Kimura but Reigns got a rope break. McIntyre went after Reigns on the outside but Reigns gave him a Samoan drop onto the announce table (which didn’t break). Reigns gave him a second Samoan drop through the table.
Reigns broke the ref’s count before spearing McIntyre through the barricade. Reigns pushed McIntyre into the ring for a cover but he kicked out. Reigns tried a spear but McIntyre kicked him. Reigns bounced back and hit a spear anyway for a close nearfall.
Reigns went for another spear but ran into a Claymore kick. Reigns fell back into the ref who fell out of the ring.
Jey ran down but McIntyre immediately knocked him off the apron. Reigns gave McIntyre a low-blow and Jey hit a superkick.
Reigns followed with a superman punch and applied a guillotine. A new ref ran in. McIntyre got to his feet for a moment but he passed out and the ref called for the bell. Reigns wins.
It started slow but the last few minutes were quite good, ref bump aside.
Jey applauded Reigns from the stage. Reigns approached him and nodded before embracing him. They seemed to be on the same page. McIntyre was displeased.
Undertaker’s Final Farewell
They introduced Shane McMahon, Big Show, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, Godfather, the Godwinns, Savio Vega, Rikishi, Kevin Nash (who entered to the nWo theme), Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Triple H, and Kane (wearing full Kane attire). They all shook hands and hugged as they entered the ring, except for Kane who stayed in his gimmick.
As each person entered, the announcers ran down the history Undertaker had with each of them. They aired an Undertaker video package after everyone entered.
Vince McMahon was in the ring after the video and everyone else was gone. McMahon talked about Undertaker’s run going back to “WWF” and now WWE. Vince said Undertaker’s legacy would live on eternally. He introduced Taker.
Taker had a full entrance and came out in his dead man attire. Instead of climbing the ring steps, a platform raised him to ring level. Once he hit the ring, he seemed to be soaking it all in as his music continued to play. (I timed it for fun: Taker’s entrance took about 7 and a half minutes.)
“Undertaker” chants and loud cheering played over the speakers as he continued to pace around the ring.
He spoke in his Undertaker voice and cut an Undertaker promo (which is a bit odd considering we recently saw a long documentary with him as a normal person). He said he laid many souls to rest but his time has come. “Thank you Taker” chants played and he paused.
He said it was time for Undertaker to rest in peace.
Taker went to a knee and did his pose as a projection of Paul Bearer appeared in front of him.
Loud “Undertaker” chants continued to play. Taker remained in his pose as a single spotlight shone over him.
He got to his feet and did the throat slash as his music played.
He left the ring and went to the ramp. He took one last look at the ring before raising his fist in the air. He left.
(I suppose they could have done one of two things here. Have the real man come out and interact with his old friends like a real person, or do what they did. I’m not sure this was the right choice. That being said, if live crowds return in big numbers someday, they can always do the other thing later.)
A look at the issues involving the firing of Thea Budgen aka Zelina Vega, as well as a number of historical stories regarding issues with talent and management is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We explain why the ending was inevitable based on the circumstances, look at WWE and SAG AFTRA, Andrew Yang, Gabrille Carteris and the different players involved in the story. We look at what wrestlers and fighters earn as compared to other top athletes and why the discrepancy, what the Saudi Arabia flight story showed, what is fair for WWE to do and what isn’t, complaints by talent regarding an exemption, as well as a number of historical stories related to the topic that feature such names as Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Superstar Billy Graham, Ivan Koloff (twice), Johnny Valentine and many others.
Also in this issue:
Update to the Survivor Series card with changes and injury notes.
WWE’s move to Tropicana Field in a few weeks.
New Japan’s Super Juniors and tag team tournaments, this week’s schedule and updates.
Seth Rollins’ schedule, Alexa Bliss engagement, NXT Takeover notes, lots of WWE injury updates, Undertaker answers retirement questions, Miz talks why he moved to Texas, description of new President Nick Khan, how WWE & AEW did compared to other sports this past week, WWE and AEW ratings in Canada and England, WWE market value and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network for the past week.
Saturday’s UFC show, the background and match-by-match coverage.
Dragon Gate’s Kobe World show, the biggest show of the year from Japan’s second largest company.
Why television networks should be interested in purchasing UFC or WWE outright as far as a long-term investment that will pay off in the long run.
Television business, with ratings breakdowns in every segment for Wednesdays and every category for other shows, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Survivor Series, more on UFC, and taking e-mail questions that can be sent to mailbag@wrestlingobserver
Mike Johnson has reported names like Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Edge, Big Show, Dennis Knight, Mark Caterbury, Rikishi, Tim White, Kurt Angle, Glenn “Kane” Jacobs, Savio Vega and Charles “Godfather” Wright are in town tonight for Survivor Series. Whether this is for a private party for Undertaker or whether they will appear on television is not known, but tonight’s show is built around the 30th anniversary and final appearance of The Undertaker. Sami Zayn on Smackdown teased being the one to take a choke slam. One would think some if not all would be part of a larger in-ring ceremony.
Survivor Series is tonight and some thoughts on the show:
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre – On paper this should be a very good match. One would expect a gimmicked finish because I don’t see either losing cleanly right now. The angle on Smackdown with the contract signing was strong because it was more believable than most in that situation. Reigns was a -260 favorite at 5Dimes.
Asuka vs. Sasha Banks – Another strong match on paper. No reason it shouldn’t be great. Carmella getting involved is a possibility giving the angles on Smackdown of late. However Banks is a -150 favorite.
Team Raw of Braun Strowman & A.J. Styles & Sheamus & Keith Lee & Riddle vs. Team Smackdown of Kevin Owens & Jey Uso & King Corbin & Seth Rollins & Otis. The Raw team looks stronger on paper but they’ve been doing dissension angles. The key when you look at this is who would the company want to protect right now. The key would be someone who McIntyre could face next, which would Strowman, Styles or Sheamus. That’s why Team Raw is -185 favorites.
Team Raw of Lana & Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax & Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce vs. Team Smackdown of Bayley & Natalya & Liva Morgan & Ruby Riott & Bianca Belair. The Smackdown team is better but Jax & Baszler are booked strong and the Smackdown team as far as booking strong you’ve got Bayley & Belair. Probably based on even-steven with the two matches Team Smackdown is a -190 favorite.
Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn. A battle of heels. Zayn is a great worker and Lashley can be in a great match, but I could also see Lashley just winning him over. Lashley is a -305 favorite.
New Day vs. Street Profits. This is pretty much a unique match that I don’t expect to see again for a long time. If it’s me, Street Profits go over because it’s even-Steven with Lashley and they are the new team on the rise. Street Profits are slight -130 favorites. I expect a great match here.
Raw vs. Smackdown Battle Royal. Probably like every T-shirt Battle Royal. Not looking good. The favorites are Big E (+140), Lars Sullivan (+175), Daniel Bryan (+625), Ali (+625) and Miz (+850).
There’s enough good going in with Reigns vs. McIntyre, Asuka vs. Banks and New Day vs. Street Profits plus the elimination match with the men is probably going to be strong enough that it looks like a good show at this point. We’re taking polls tonight on this show and last night’s UFC 255, so thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
Also want to mention Bryan Alvarez is doing a fundraiser tonight for Jay Dumont on Twitch right after Survivor Series. Jay is a friend of everyone here and he’s been dealt a bad hand is again one of the reasons I’m such a supporter for health care like in so many other countries.
New Japan runs in Gunma at 4 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning on New Japan World with the junior heavyweight tournament:
Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd
The Daily Mail has a story on Chris Hemsworth in the Hulk Hogan movie. Bryan Alvarez is quoted in it.
UFC
UFC 255 did 200,000 searches on Google, which is the lowest number for a PPV show in a long time. That makes sense because this show was the weakest in star power and it would be a shock if this wasn’t the lowest number of buys for a UFC PPV show this year. It was the fourth most searched topic yesterday. It was the only thing in combat sports that made the list all week although Survivor Series should do 500,000 or more today.
The next UFC PPV show, on 12/12, isn’t likely to do much better. With Petr Yan pulling out of his welterweight title defense against Aljamain Sterling for reasons not yet revealed, the new main event will put last night’s main event winner, Deiveson Figuieredo defending his flyweight title for the second time in three weeks against Brandon Moreno. Both men took no real damage in scoring first round wins last night.
Anderson Silva is making it very clear he will fight again and said that UFC forced him to retire. He is now a free agent and the question becomes what promotion he will sign with.
OTHER
It took years, but Phil LaFon finally talked about his friendship with Doug Furnas at the 44:00 mark. Furnas & LaFon were one of the best tag teams in history and many feel their Match of the Year winner in 1992 with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Kenta Kobashi is one of the greatest tag team matches ever.
People are raving about today’s Go Shiozaki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima match that headlined NOAH’s big show. FITE TV has the show in English.
Former ROH owner and current ambassador Cary Silkin was interviewed in a story about the final day in the life of John Belushi. (thanks to Denis Gorman)
Both of SmackDown’s teams for Survivor Series are now fully set.
On tonight’s go-home show for the pay-per-view, Otis was added to SmackDown’s men’s Survivor Series team. He’ll team with Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin & Seth Rollins against Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) in Sunday’s men’s five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination match.
Bayley and Natalya are the final two additions to SmackDown’s women’s Survivor Series team. It will be Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley & Natalya vs. Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) in Sunday’s women’s elimination match.
In storyline, Adam Pearce named Otis and Bayley to their respective teams. Pearce told Natalya that she would have to defeat Tamina in a last chance qualifying match if she wanted to be on the women’s team.
Here’s the updated card for Survivor Series:
The Undertaker will appear for his “Final Farewell”
Non-title champion vs. champion match: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Non-title champion vs. champion match: United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
Men’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin, Seth Rollins & Otis)
Women’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley & Natalya)
WWE has revealed the pre-show match for Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
A dual-brand battle royal will take place on the Survivor Series pre-show this Sunday. It will feature wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown, but the participants for the match haven’t been announced.
WWE.com wrote about the battle royal:
The battle of The Best of the Best will start off with fireworks, as Raw and SmackDown Superstars will clash in a Dual-Brand Battle Royal on the Survivor Series Kickoff.
Who will step up for the red and blue brands to send the night’s first message?
Don’t miss the Survivor Series Kickoff at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, TikTok, and the award-winning WWE Network.
Sunday’s pre-show will be an hour long, with the main card starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Here’s what’s been announced for the event:
The Undertaker will appear for his “Final Farewell”
Non-title champion vs. champion match: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Non-title champion vs. champion match: United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
Men’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin, Seth Rollins, and one wrestler to be announced)
Women’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and two wrestlers to be announced)
Denise Salcedo returns with a new edition of Speak Now Pro Wrestling!
Both NXT and Dynamite are reviewed. Plus, Denise has Survivor Series predictions ahead of Sunday’s show!
The show can be seen LIVE every Wednesday at 8 PM Pacific. Additionally, Denise will also be doing AEW PPV post-shows on our Twitch channel, going live shortly after the PPV wraps.
Website subscribers will be able to listen to the show in podcast form as well.
Denise joins a group of content creators that includes Dave Meltzer; Bryan Alvarez; MLW wrestler, former UFC fighter and current PFL fighter “Filthy” Tom Lawlor; former WWE wrestler Antonio Thomas (Thomas Santell on the indies); Mike Sempervive & Adam Summers’ Big Audio Nightmare; Vince Verhei; Karl Stern: Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa, and more.
A couple of changes have been made to Raw’s Survivor Series women’s team.
On tonight’s episode of Raw, Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke were both removed from Raw’s women’s team for Survivor Series. They’re being replaced by Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce. Evans and Royce will team with Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, and Lana at Sunday’s pay-per-view.
Rose, Brooke & Asuka faced Baszler, Jax & Lana in a six-woman tag match on tonight’s Raw. There was a spot near the beginning of the match where Rose was taken out after Baszler stomped her arm into the steel steps. Rose had kinesio tape on her shoulder going into the match. Asuka won the match for her team when she submitted Lana with the Asuka Lock. Prior to that, Lana had tagged herself in when Baszler was locking the Kirifuda Clutch on Asuka.
There was then an angle where Reckoning (Mia Yim) of RETRIBUTION attacked Brooke backstage as Brooke was being interviewed about Rose’s status.
Adam Pearce announced later on tonight’s Raw that Evans and Royce are replacing Rose and Brooke at Survivor Series due to Rose and Brooke being unable to compete at the PPV.
There are still two spots left on Team SmackDown for their five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination match against Baszler, Jax, Lana, Evans & Royce. Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan have qualified for Team SmackDown thus far.
Here’s the updated card for Survivor Series:
The Undertaker will appear for his “Final Farewell”
Non-title champion vs. champion match: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Non-title champion vs. champion match: United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
Men’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin, Seth Rollins, and one wrestler to be announced)
Women’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and two wrestlers to be announced)
Months after being set for a main roster call-up, Chelsea Green officially debuted on SmackDown tonight.
Green took part in a fatal four-way Survivor Series qualifying match on tonight’s SmackDown. Liv Morgan defeated Natalya, Tamina, and Green in the match. Morgan pinned Tamina to get the win.
Morgan joins Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott on SmackDown’s Survivor Series women’s team. There are two spots left on SmackDown’s women’s team for their five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match against Team Raw. Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, and Lana are on Team Raw. Survivor Series is taking place on Sunday, November 22.
Prior to tonight’s match, there was a backstage segment where Adam Pearce told Natalya that he was putting her in another Survivor Series qualifier. Natalya called herself the best of all time and wanted to be added to the team without qualifying. After Natalya left Pearce’s office, Green appeared and put her hand on Pearce’s shoulder.
The qualifying match was about to start as a triple threat between Morgan, Natalya, and Tamina, but it was announced that Green was being added to make it a fatal four-way.
Tonight was the first time Green has wrestled since the May 27 episode of NXT. There was a post-show angle after that episode where Green fired Robert Stone as her manager. WrestleTalk first reported this June that Green was being discussed for a main roster call-up.
Largely due to a spectacular old-school Survivor Series match involving the Raw brand, the supposed end of the career of Steve Austin, and the performance of Shawn Michaels, the Survivor Series hit a chord that few shows hit.
The bloodiest WWE PPV show in recent memory was highlighted by the apparent leaving of the company by Austin. The negative is they are going to the same well too often. It marked the third straight PPV that a main figure in the company’s career was apparently over. Two months ago, it was Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, only to have it overturned barely a week later. In addition, Bill Goldberg’s career was also put up. Last month, it was both Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon. For the third time in recent memory (after the Invasion angle and also in a three-way TV match involving HHH and Chris Jericho; and Austin and Vince have had their careers up more than once as well) her television career is supposed to be over, and once again, she’ll be back very soon.
On tonight’s episode of Raw, Riddle was confirmed as the final member of Raw’s Survivor Series men’s team. He defeated Elias and Jeff Hardy in a triple threat second chance qualifying match. Riddle pinned Elias after hitting Bro Derek.
This was Matt Riddle’s first appearance on WWE television since having his name adjusted. He’s no longer using his first name on TV.
Riddle will be on Team Raw with AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, and Braun Strowman. They’re facing Team SmackDown in a five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination match. Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin, and Seth Rollins have qualified for Team SmackDown thus far.
Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, and Lana are on Raw’s Survivor Series women’s team. Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott have qualified for Team SmackDown.
Survivor Series is taking place on Sunday, November 22. Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:
The Undertaker will appear for his “Final Farewell”
Non-title champion vs. champion match: WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Non-title champion vs. champion match: United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
Men’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin, Seth Rollins, and one wrestler to be announced)
Women’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke & Lana) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, and three wrestlers to be announced)
New additions have been confirmed for both of SmackDown’s Survivor Series teams.
Three Survivor Series qualifying matches took place on SmackDown tonight. Baron Corbin and Seth Rollins qualified for SmackDown’s men’s team. Ruby Riott qualified for SmackDown’s women’s team.
Corbin defeated Rey Mysterio in his qualifying match, Rollins defeated Otis, and Riott defeated Natalya and Zelina Vega in a triple threat match.
With Kevin Owens and Jey Uso having already qualified, there’s only one spot left on SmackDown’s men’s team for their five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination match against Team Raw. AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, and Braun Strowman have qualified for Team Raw.
Riott and Bianca Belair are the first two wrestlers to qualify for SmackDown’s women’s team. Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, and Lana are on Team Raw.
Survivor Series is taking place on Sunday, November 22. Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:
Non-title champion vs. champion match: WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Non-title champion vs. champion match: United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
Men’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, and one wrestler to be announced) vs. Team SmackDown (Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, Seth Rollins, and one wrestler to be announced)
Women’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke & Lana) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, and three wrestlers to be announced)
“The Undertaker’s Final Farewell” is also taking place at Survivor Series.
Thirty years after debuting at the same event, The Undertaker’s “Final Farewell” will take place at Survivor Series.
WWE sent out a press release today announcing that The Undertaker’s Final Farewell is set for Survivor Series. It will “recognize The Phenom’s legendary 30-year career.”
The Undertaker made his televised WWF debut at Survivor Series 1990. This year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view is taking place on Sunday, November 22, which is 30 years to the day after Survivor Series 1990.
In his Last Ride docuseries earlier this year, The Undertaker said he has no desire to return to the ring. If he doesn’t wrestle again, his final match will have been his cinematic Boneyard Match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36.
WWE’s full press release is available below:
Undertaker’s Final Farewell will recognize The Phenom’s legendary 30-year career at Survivor Series on Sunday, Nov. 22, streaming at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the award-winning WWE Network.
One of the most iconic Superstars in WWE history and a sports-entertainment phenomenon, Undertaker made his WWE debut at Survivor Series on Nov. 22, 1990. From his debut with Brother Love to his critically-acclaimed match against AJ Styles at this year’s WrestleMania, Undertaker has been involved in some of the most memorable moments in WWE history. The Deadman rose to the top of sports-entertainment with multiple WWE Championship reigns and recorded an astounding undefeated streak at WrestleMania by winning his first 21 matches at the annual extravaganza.
As part of Undertaker’s Final Farewell and 30th anniversary, WWE is celebrating ’30 Years of The Deadman’ throughout November, including recently debuted documentaries ‘Meeting The Undertaker’ and ‘WWE Untold: The Phenom and The Legend Killer’ on WWE Network as well as ‘The Mortician: The Story of Paul Bearer,’ which premieres this Sunday, and ‘Brothers of Destruction,’ which premiered in October at the Austin Film Festival and will stream on WWE Network on Sunday, November 15. In addition, Undertaker will be a special guest on ‘Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions’ immediately following Survivor Series.
The celebration will also include special Undertaker photo galleries, video highlights and features on WWE.com, Undertaker TikTok Challenge, Instagram filter and Snapchat lens, two exclusive product opportunities with Funko only available at Amazon, feature space in 2,300 Walmart’s including an exclusive Mattel action figure, national media appearances including ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ and blocks of primetime programming from WWE’s distribution partners around the world dedicated to Undertaker.
In addition to Undertaker’s Final Farewell, Survivor Series is the one night of the year where Raw squares off against SmackDown. WWE’s Fall Classic is highlighted by: WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns taking on WWE Champion Randy Orton; Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks; Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day against SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits; United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn; as well as men’s and women’s 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Matches.
WWE also released a video promoting The Undertaker’s Final Farewell: