This year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view will have a bit of a different theme.
During a commercial for upcoming WWE Network programming that aired during Crown Jewel today, it was announced that Raw, SmackDown, and NXT will all be involved in this year’s Survivor Series. The advertisement said “For the first time ever in head-to-head competition — Raw, SmackDown, NXT.”
Further details about what NXT’s involvement will mean haven’t been revealed. Survivor Series is taking place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Sunday, November 24.
The Allstate Arena is also hosting SmackDown, NXT TakeOver: WarGames, and Raw in the days surrounding Survivor Series. TakeOver is set for Saturday, November 23 and will feature the first-ever women’s WarGames match, with Rhea Ripley and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler captaining the teams. A men’s WarGames match was also teased at the end of last night’s NXT.
The 2017 and 2018 Survivor Series PPVs included Raw and SmackDown’s champions facing off in non-title matches.
The WWF reset its entire promotion this past week, plus brought back Ric Flair and Jerry Lawler and the result was the first undisputed positive sign for Raw ratings with an increase to 4.81 on 11/19. Because the show started so strongly, the rating increase should be more attributed to curiosity over how the supposed demise of WCW and ECW and talent firings would be handled and what would happen next, than to Flair and Lawler, aside from the overrun. That probably could be attributed to the fact Flair’s return after long absences has traditionally drawn major ratings spikes.
The Alliance vs. WWF feud was ditched at Survivor Series after being perhaps the biggest disappointment in recent wrestling history, where WWF won in a confusing series of events. Chris Jericho first turned on Rock, when Rock and Steve Austin were the final two wrestlers left, but Rock survived.
The Survivor Series on 11/18 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles was filled with unique things.
There was Ronda Rousey, who had been one of the most popular characters in the company, being booed out of the building in her home town after Charlotte Flair turned heel on her and gave her a very legitimately brutal beating with a kendo stick that left her with welts all over her body.
There was Daniel Bryan, who had just turned heel, wrestling as a babyface against Brock Lesnar, although he did try and explain that on television. Before the show when I asked about this situation, in the sense that Lesnar vs. Bryan only works with Bryan as the face selling and making comebacks, I was told that the belief is what happens on Sunday (Bryan as a face) doesn’t count and on Tuesday he reverts back to heel to continue his program with A.J. Styles.
With standout performances from Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, Brock Lesnar, and Daniel Bryan, Survivor Series and the days leading into the pay-per-view were as strong of a stretch as the WWE main roster has had all year.
An injury that took Lynch out of what was going to be the biggest moment of her career thus far ended up having plenty of silver linings. In an angle where the SmackDown women’s division invaded the Survivor Series go-home episode of Raw, Lynch was busted open after being punched in the face by Nia Jax. Lynch used the injury to her advantage, living up to the “Stone Cold Becky Lynch” comparisons by continuing on with the angle. She laid out Rousey with a steel chair and — with blood all over her face — taunted Rousey from the stands.
Lynch suffered a concussion and a nose injury from the blow from Jax.
As business continues to fall, the WWF locker room and front office, one year ago considered almost a perfect business model, is starting to show more than just signs of frustration.
The wrestlers have started feeling the pinch for the past few months. Paid based on house show business and PPV business, those figures have decreased significantly since Wrestlemania with the exception of the monster Invasion PPV. A lot of the WWF side also had bookings cut back, which again cuts into pay for the mid and lower card wrestlers, because so many newcomers were brought in over the summer. This led to resentment of newcomers at the beginning and was a key factor in botching the potentially biggest angle in history, which lead to the fan frustration with the product that exists. This led first to smaller grosses on shows with more performers on them, meaning significantly lower pay per show for most regulars, combined with many regulars not being booked on as many house shows and big shows.
Following last night’s pay-per-view, the location for Survivor Series 2019 has been revealed.
WWE announced via the Chicago Tribune that next year’s Survivor Series PPV will take place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on November 24. This will be the first time the Chicago area has hosted Survivor Series since 1989.
“WWE is so proud of our relationship with our fans in Chicago,” WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John Saboor said. “Allstate Arena, going back to when it was known as Rosemont Horizon, has been such an important partner of WWE, dating back to the ’80s.”
With SmackDown moving to Fox, there will be a change to how WWE structures its “Big Four” weekends starting with Survivor Series 2019. The Allstate Arena will host four straight nights of shows, but they will begin with the go-home episode of SmackDown on Friday, November 22. NXT TakeOver will take place at the venue on November 23 and Monday Night Raw will be held on November 25.
All of WWE’s “Big Four” events for 2019 have now been announced. Royal Rumble weekend is set for Phoenix, Arizona in January, WrestleMania 35 weekend will be in the New York/New Jersey area in April, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada hosts SummerSlam weekend in August.
Enzo Amore made a scene in the crowd during WWE Survivor Series tonight which led security to escort him out of the arena.
The situation started during the AOP vs. The Bar tag team match. Amore, who was in disguise, could be seen in the second row, even making it on camera. Sometime during the match, Enzo removed the disguise, stood up on his chair and started to cut a promo using his old catch phrases. In this video, you can see security grabbing him and taking him to the ground. In another, you can see Enzo being led away.
Dave Meltzer later mentioned in tonight’s live show post that there were unconfirmed reports that Amore has been banned from the Staples Center.
This isn’t the first time this week that Amore, real name Eric Arndt, has caused controversy. He was kicked off a Delta Airlines flight on 11/15 for vaping while on board.
Amore was released from WWE in January after it was revealed that he was under investigation for sexual assault. WWE suspended, then fired him the day after the investigation was made public. The Phoenix Police Department later ceased the investigation due to lack of evidence.
A change to Raw’s women’s team for tonight was announced during the Survivor Series pre-show.
Sasha Banks and Bayley joined the team, replacing Natalya and Ruby Riott. The change came after an angle on the pre-show where Riott taunted Natalya about Riott breaking Jim Neidhart’s sunglasses. Natalya attacked Riott, and Alexa Bliss said they would be replaced if they couldn’t get along.
On last Monday’s Raw, a match between Banks and Bayley was announced as deciding the final member of the team. They were attacked by Nia Jax, Tamina, and Mickie James instead, with Bliss announcing Riott as the last member of the team.
Banks and Bayley agreeing to be on the team was explained by them saying that they don’t owe Bliss, Jax, Tamina, and James anything, but SmackDown crossed the line by invading Raw. Jax caused Banks to be eliminated during the match.
Mandy Rose was also confirmed as the final member of SmackDown’s women’s division team on the pre-show, making it Jax, Tamina, James, Banks & Bayley vs. Naomi, Asuka, Carmella, Sonya Deville & Rose. The match opened the main card.
Survivor Series 2018 takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California tonight.
There were a couple of changes to the card within the last week. After winning the WWE Championship from AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan will now face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch is off the show due to injury, so Charlotte Flair will now take on Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey.
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Raw Tag Team Champions AOP vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus are also set for tonight.
There will be three Raw vs. SmackDown traditional Survivor Series elimination matches: Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor & Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe & Jeff Hardy, Nia Jax, Tamina, Mickie James, Natalya & Ruby Riott vs. Asuka, Naomi, Carmella, Sonya Deville & a partner, and Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, The Revival, The B-Team, The Lucha House Party & The Ascension vs. The Usos, New Day, SAnitY, Gallows & Anderson & The Colons (pre-show match).
Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy also defends his title against Mustafa Ali.
The pre-show begins at 5 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting at 7 p.m.
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Some changes in the card.
Mandy Rose is on the Smackdown women’s team and Natalya and Ruby Riott got into a fight and were kicked off the team by Alexa Bliss, so Bayley and Sasha Banks are the replacement
Lars Sullivan is being brought up.
10 team match
It came down to the Usos and Revival, with Jimmy pinning Dawson with a splash off the top rope. The Revival were the stars of the match but Dawson may have hurt his bad knee doing a tope as it was stuff later in the match. There was an everyone dive sequence which ended when Gable gave Jimmy Uso a superplex outside the ring onto everyone. Long match, the dive spot was great, the rest of the match was fine. No special heat but much better than a usual pre-show match. The Colons were out first, followed by the B Team and then Sanity (Eric Young & Killian Dain). Kalisto did a worked injury and he was replaced by Gran Metalik. Metalik & Lince Dorado did a double top rope Asai moonsault. The New Day was eliminated by the shatter machine when three teams were left. Chad Gable was pinned by the Midnight Hour before that. Gable looked good before he was eliminated.
Women’s elimination match opens the show
Carmella & Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville & Asuka & Naomi vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks & Nia Jax & Mickie James & Tamina
Nia Jax was the sole survivor pinning Asuka after three legdrops and the Samoan drop. Jax had super heat. Really the crowd wasn’t much into this except when Jax was in where they booed everything she did. Jax also turned on Banks at the end. The work itself was solid. They tried to make Banks vs. Asuka into a big deal but it didn’t across as big as I think they expected. Tamina pinned Naomi with a superkick right away. Carmella pinned Tamina with a schoolboy. Rose pinned James after Deville gave James a running knee. The idea is Rose stole Deville’s win. Bayley pinned Carmella with the belly to belly,. Banks beat Rose with the banks statement. Bayley and Deville were both counted out of the ring when Bayley gave her a belly to belly on the floor. Jax then shoved Banks off the top rope, and Asuka used the Asuka lock on her, leaving only Jax and Asuka with Jax winning right away.
Stephanie told Corbin that to be full-time GM Raw needs to sweep the night. Paige & Shane showed up.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins
Long match. It felt slow early but built to a very good match. They did all the near falls and Rollins won clean with the curb stomp. Even though Smackdown won the tag team match it apparently doesn’t count because they have a scoreboard that lists Raw now up 2-0. Rollins did a three tope spot early and later did the superplex and falcon arrow combination. The crowd was into it in the final minutes but it fell way short of being a classic.
The Raw team is backstage. Braun Strowman said he didn’t like you to Lashley, Ziggler and McIntyre. McIntyre saide he’s the one who should be givign orders but me, I’m ending Shane McMahon. Strowman and McIntyre were arguing. R-Truth was backstage giving them a pep talk. Corbin said you’re not on this team and to get out. Strowman wasn’t allowed to touch Corbin so he threw Lio Rush into Corbin.
The Bar vs. AOP
Not much as far as the match went. The finish saw Drake Maverick being chased by Cesaro and he was running away and ran into Big Show. Big Show was choking Maverick and he did a gimmick to where he pissed in his pants. The Vince humor strikes again. The AOP then used their double team neckbreaker on Sheamus for the pin.
The bigger news is that Enzo Amore was in the second row and got ejected. The crowd reacted to this but it never made the air. But it killed the crowd for the match. He was pretending he was cutting a promo. He was in disguise, stood up, thought the camera was on him, cut a promo and he was taken out. He started walking away. The security may have tried to take shots on him. Security took him out of the building.
The Smackdown team was backstage for their pep talk. Miz called himself 2/3 of the best in the world. R-Truth was there. R-Truth asked Shane if he can join the Smackdown roster. Shane said he was on the roster. R-Truth wsa relieved saying Raw was a mess.
Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali for the Cruiserweight title
This was a great match. The crowd didn’t care about it early but they did all kinds of big moves and once Ali used a Spanish fly off the announcers table to the floor the crowd woke up. The crowd went from not caring to a “This is awesome” reaction. Murphy retained the title when he used a V trigger as Ali came off the ropes, the spot that Kenny Omega and Fenix did (Murphy studies Omega) and hit Murphy’s law for the pin.
Daniel Bryan was interviewed. Kayla Braxton asked him if he was ready for Brock Lesnar. He didn;’t answer. He still had two cuts on his nose from Tuesday.
We have an unconfirmed report that Enzo has been banned from the Staples Center.
Men’s Survivor Series match
Great match. Early on McIntyre pinned Joe in 35 seconds to eliminate him which really got the crowd mad since Joe is from Southern California. Shane McMahon did the elbow off the top rope putting Strowman through the table which took both of them out for a while. From there Mysterio pinned Balor with a 619 and springboard splash. Mysterio and Balor were great working together making you want to see them in a singles match. Shane, who was selling and with a huge bump on the side of his head (from before the match) did the Coast to Coast on Ziggler and pinned him again. The finish of the match saw Strowman make his return and he quickly powerslammed Hardy, Mysterio, Miz and Shane in that order to win. So Strowman, McIntyre and Lashley all survived and Raw is still unbeaten.
Corbin attacked Strowman after the match and McIntyre and Lashley & Corbin all walked out on Strowman.
Rollins did an interview and they announced in four weeks he defends the title agianst Dean Ambrose on the 12/16 TLC show in San Jose.
Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair
They were having a very good match, rough in spots but had a very real sport feel that the other matches didn’t have. Rousey’s mouth was busted open from an inadvertent elbow. The big story is that Charlotte turned strong heel and got cheered like crazy and they did an angle where after the match Charlotte destroyed Rousey with kendo stick shots that left Rousey with brutal looking welts. Rousey was bleeding from the ear, mouth and her thigh was sliced and she had marks all over her chest, arms and back.
It was one of the more brutal and intense post-match beatdowns you’ll see. Charlotte put a chair around her throat and Rousey got Pillmanized. It looked like a major injury angle, but Rousey actually got up and they talked about her defending against Nia Jax. Charlotte was having trouble getting the chair in the right spot for the Pillmanizing spot, but it still worked. Fans were chanting “Thank you Charlotte” as she destroyed Rousey. This was a super heat angle and the reaction was the exact opposite of traditional. The idea of doing a super sympathy angle backfired as fans booed Rousey and ther were “You deserve it” chants and Rousey was really upset leaving because of the reaction. Fans were chanting “Becky” as she she left and she looked really mad.
As for the match itself, Rousey won via DQ when, after a clean match, Charotte nailed her with a series of kendo stick shots. Rousey was clearly very upset with the crowd as they were doing the “You deserve it.” It looked like an injury angle but she left on her own rather than be helped out. They pushed Rousey’s next match looks to be against Jax so this could be a storyline to take the title from her or at least sell that possibility. At one point in the match when it hit the high point and fans were chanting “This is awesome” both Rousey and Flair were visibly moved to tears.
Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan
This was the best Lesnar match in a long time because of the story. The story is that Bryan taunted him early, but then Lesnar caught up to him and gave him all the German suplexes and overhead suplexes. They played on the idea of Bryan’s neck injury because he took nasty looking German suplexes. Lesnar toyed with him and hit the F-5 and pulled him up. Bryan sold like he was dead and then Bryan kicked him a few times.
Lesnar went to finish him with an F-5 but it took out ref Mike Choida, Bryan then gave him a low blow and running knee for a near fall. Then Bryan came back including working over Lesnar’s leg. Lesnar went for the F-5 but his knee collapsed. Bryan then used the crossface and triangle for near submissions. So the deal here is Bryan was a complete babyface on the comeback even though he just turned. In the end Lesnar caught him with the F-5 and pinned him. Lesnar limped to the back. In many ways, playing off both Bryan’s injuries and the fact people hate Lesnar’s style match and they worked early like it would be a squash that people would hate and then Bryan made the big comeback, it was a brilliant match.
Here is a video of a new WWE digital series, WWE Day Of, which features Becky Lynch responding to her Survivor Series fate.
In the video, you can see what happened the day following Raw, when a punch by Nia Jax gave Becky Lynch a broken nose. She was set to compete against Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series this Sunday, but the injury changed things. In the video, you can see Lynch being called to a closed door meeting. It is there that she learns that WWE medical staff would not clear her in time for Sunday.
The video also says that she was given the task of naming her replacement. On SmackDown this past Tuesday, Lynch named Charlotte as her replacement, telling her to make Rousey tap out. The two then hugged despite feuding with one another for the last few months.
It isn’t known how long Lynch will be out of action.
One week ago, the Survivor Series was to be headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. A.J. Styles and Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch in battles of the Raw and Smackdown brand champions.
But just days before the show, two unrelated incidents saw both main events that were heavily-looked forward to change.
And in doing so, one of the key matches at WrestleMania, possibly the main event, was also established.
Right now the plan is for Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch to headline WrestleMania. After the injury to Lynch on 11/12, a fractured nose and a concussion from a punch by Nia Jax during an in-ring Raw vs. Smackdown women’s brawl, she was out of the match that, due to the promos on both sides, was the most looked-forward to match on the show.
The next day, both Vince McMahon and Rousey decided that the best course of action was to do the match at WrestleMania. Rousey and Lynch immediately went at it hard on social media, even though Rousey’s new opponent on the PPV is Charlotte Flair.
Most of the SmackDown teams have been set for this Sunday’s Survivor Series elimination matches.
With Daniel Bryan receiving a big opportunity to face AJ Styles for the WWE title on SmackDown (and later winning it), GM Paige removed Bryan from the match, making The Miz the sole capitan for his Survivor Series team. After Jeff Hardy defeated Andrade Cien Almas, Miz decided to add Hardy to the team, once again completing the team. He wanted Rey Mysterio off the team, so Paige made a match where if Miz could defeat Mysterio, he’d be removed. Mysterio won after a crucifix roll up, solidifying his spot.
That officially makes the Survivor Series elimination match The Miz, Shane McMahon, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio of SmackDown taking on the Raw team of Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley.
Meanwhile, The Usos finished off their team by adding Sanity, The Colons and Anderson & Gallows. They, alongside the New Day, will take on Raw team of Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, The B-Team, The Ascension, The Revival and Lucha House Party.
Survivor Series will take place this Sunday, November 18, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Just days before Survivor Series, the WWE Championship changed hands on SmackDown.
Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles tonight to become the new WWE Champion. For the finish, Styles accidentally bumped into the referee when Bryan moved out of the way of the Phenomenal Forearm. Bryan then kicked Styles low while the referee wasn’t looking and hit the running knee to win the title.
Bryan attacked Styles after the match and stomped on his head.
With the title change, Bryan will now face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar in a non-title champion vs. champion match at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Styles’ second reign with the WWE Championship had lasted for over a year before dropping it to Bryan. He defeated Jinder Mahal on the November 7, 2017 episode of SmackDown to become champion.
This is Bryan’s first title reign since he was cleared to return to the ring earlier this year.
Tonight’s Styles vs. Bryan match was set up in SmackDown’s opening segment with a storyline where Paul Heyman interrupted Styles and said he was close to being as good as Bryan. Styles reminded him that he made Bryan tap out in their last title match, Bryan came out, and it led to a brawl between them.
Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair in a non-title match is now set for Survivor Series.
With SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch pulled from the pay-per-view due to injury, Rousey’s new opponent for Survivor Series was made official on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. Lynch hand-picked her replacement in storyline, with her choosing Charlotte to take her place on Sunday.
Lynch cut a promo saying she’s been angrily knocking on doors all day hoping someone will let her fight on Sunday. She said what she did to Rousey on Raw was only a taste of what she was going to get at Survivor Series and that she could still kick Rousey’s ass despite her injuries.
Lynch apologized for not yet being able to finish what she started. She said Rousey isn’t the “baddest bitch on the planet,” she’s the luckiest. Lynch told Charlotte to make Rousey tap out like she was going to make Rousey tap out. They hugged before Lynch left the ring.
WWE explained Lynch’s injuries in storyline by saying she has a “broken face” and a “severe concussion.” They showed footage of her being struck by Nia Jax during the angle where the SmackDown women’s division invaded Raw on Monday.
Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey is off Sunday’s PPV.
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One of the top matches for Survivor Series appears to be off.
Fightful reported today that SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch has been pulled from Sunday’s pay-per-view. Lynch was supposed to face Ronda Rousey in a non-title champion vs. champion match, but Lynch was busted open during the angle on last night’s Raw where the SmackDown women’s division invaded. Fightful noted that Lynch is suspected to have suffered a concussion and possibly a broken nose, with Lynch apparently being cut open due to a blow from Nia Jax.
Our Dave Meltzer wrote about the situation: “I’m waiting to hear from WWE officially, but I was told she’s not cleared right now for competition. Fightful story is probably accurate but all we’ve heard is bout in jeopardy.”
SmackDown’s go-home show for Survivor Series is taking place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri tonight. WWE will follow up on last night’s invasion angle and could give an indication of what their updated plans for Survivor Series are.
