Welcome to the Mastermind Analysis review of WWE Survivor Series 2016. The thoughts and opinions expressed below are those of The Mastermind only, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of the entire F4R team. Let us know what you think in the comments, or by getting involved on Facebook! But for now, on with the show...
Pre-PPV Thoughts
This year’s Survivor Series is an odd one… At time of writing (2 days before the show) there’s only 6 matches announced – and we’re talking about a 2 hour pre-show and a 4 hour main show!! This leads me to believe there will be a number of matches which will appear unexpectedly, leaving the predictions part of this blog post rather bare. While I am very intrigued over the Intercontinental & Cruiserweight championship matches, the 3 survivor series matches just seem thrown together because of the time of year. With the outcome seemingly meaningless for the casual fans, there’s no reason for me to get emotionally invested in any of the matches. Then we have the main event match… I’ll get to that in the post below, but let’s just say I am far from excited for it…
Pre-Show
Ariya Diavari, Tony Nese & Drew Gulak vs Noam Dar, Rich Swann & TJ Perkins
Prediction: So the main card has a bunch of matches that I don't care about because the results have zero consequences. What do we have for a kick-off show?? Another match thrown together with zero build and zero consequences. Ugh. We have a former TNA X-Division Champion (TJP), a former TNA Gut Check competitor (Tony Nese), and a former TNA British Bootcamp competitor (Noam Dar) and the match itself is about as well billed as a TNA X-Division match. Lets just hopw for some good spots... I'll predict the heel team wins as the face team won last time and this is WWE, and they love parity booking.
Match Analysis: Ok, so the rules of last time still apply - the babyfaces win because there's no charachters to develop. The spot with the ref stopping the suicide dive was fun, but that was about it. The crowd was dead for the majority but the woke up a bit for that ref spot. Who'd have thought some charachter development would pop the crowd...!! I laughed a little when TJP's entrance still has the Cruiserweight Championship round his waist; and the delay for the team breaking up an early submission attempt had me giggling but neither of those points are a good thing. Speaking of botches, if the audio-botch of Rene Young chatting to the truck was anything to go by, the match was penned for 9 minutes. Shame they weren't given more time.
[**]
Kane vs Luke Harper
Prediction: Another match with zero build! So there's 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of Smackdown, another 2 hours of chat shows between them, and they have a 4 hour main show with a 2 hours pre-show and they can't build meaningful matches?! What the hell WWE? I'd forgotten Kane was still active, and with Luke Harper recently returning from injury, let's go with Harper for the win. And also I predict I will give zero fucks either way...
Match Analysis: Kane won. I don't give a fuck. 50% right on that match. I did realise how much I miss Luke Harper though, that guy is something special in the ring. So of cours he lost. Fuck sake.
[*3/4]
Main Show
Team Raw Women vs Team Smackdown Women
Prediction: Again, zero fucks really to give. I am fully expecting this match to have its own episode of Botchamania! I hope we get some solid time with the 4 Horsewomen of NXT, maybe even have Becky Lynch the last woman standing against Charlotte, Sasha and Bayley? But yeah, I don’t really care… I’ll go with Team Raw because they have the strongest womens roster.
Match Analysis: A so-so match with a so-so finish, and an interesting post-match angle. There were moments of the match that were fun, but ultimately a few spots each, and business as usual. Hopefully this sets up an angle on both Smackdown and Raw now, so the matc wasn't completely pointless.
[**1/5]
The Miz © vs Sami Zayn
Prediction: While I was thrilled at the Miz regaining the championship, it did seem a little sudden. That makes me think that some last minute booking is being done and that Sami Zayn might just capture himself his first main-roster singles title! Sami has really struggled to find his place since the feud with KO ended, but maybe the IC title could elevate the poor guy and push him further up the card…? Out of the two title matches, this is the only one I can see changing hands, so I’ll go out on a limb and say Sami Zayn to become the new IC Champ…
Match Analysis: Well that was fun while it lasted. Zayn did an awesome job of selling the work on the leg, and Miz continues to look strong in the ring. The false finish, I think, was well executed. Maryse made sure she didn't no-sell her actions before a camera was on her, so the ring bell move was easily explained. It gave it a screwjob-style false finish which I popped for, and Miz got the win, which he should have done. Does this mean the Cruiserweight title is going to Smackdown...??
[***1/2]
Team Raw Tag Teams vs Team Smackdown Tag Teams
Prediction: As mentioned above, there’s no real reason for me to give a toss about this match. Both teams have people I like, both teams have people I dislike. I’d much rather have seen a stronger babyface or heel team put together across each of the 3 Survivor Series matches, but it just looks like an absolute mess on paper. Survivor Series 1987, and 1988 both had a 10 vs 10 match – one lasting 30 minutes, one lasting over 40 minutes! If that is a marker for how this one goes, we could be in for a long match, but I’m more worried that they book this one to be over in the blink of an eye. I hope they are given a logical amount of time, but I honestly don’t care what happens. I’ll be happy for some fun and innovative spots. I’m going to side with Smackdown because of American Alpha.
Match Analysis: Jeez that was a crowded ring! Luckily a few teams got eliminated early, but the big shock was the New Day going so soon! I just don't get it. Oh, and can someone please send Tyler Breeze and American Alpha back to NXT. Oh, and The Vaudevillains and The Ascencion! It sucks seeing them all do so badly on the main roster when they were super hot in NXT. The result was another interesting one, but again - what does it mean? Who actually cares? Not me!
[***]
Brian Kendrick © vs Kalisto
Prediction: Putting a title on the line is one thing, but the entire division means there’s even more on the line here. While I would love to see the Cruiserweights end up on Smackdown (and presumably booked as more than just spot monkeys in car crashes), I can’t see Raw giving up a huge part of their roster, when they have 3 hours to fill each week… Kendrick for the win.
Match Analysis: Until the finish, that was becoming a really good little match. Kendrick is always looking to find ways to innovate, even this late on in his career. If you listen to the accompanying podcast (found on iTunes, Stitcher, Podomatic, TuneIn etc) then you'll hear how Scott Star Spud was convinced that Kalisto was getting the win. I almost believed him too... So the only 2 matches with any real consequences have both ended with zero consequences. Geez this is going to be a long night...
[***1/4]
Team Raw Men vs Team Smackdown Men
Prediction: Ugh, move on already… I don’t care!! Lets go with Smackdown via an assist from the Undertaker?
Match Analysis: Holy shit that was fucking long!! Jesus what are they trying to do? Send me to sleep? The Ellsworth elimination of Strowman got a pop from me, but Strowmans dispatching of Styles over the top rope, and Ellsworth off the stage both looked realy dangerous and uncontrolled. Shane O Mac spent far too long in the match, and his elimination was just plain scary!! He looked concussed for sure. That was a seriously scary moment to witness, and one he really shouldnt have been involved in. He could have taken any move at any time for an elimination. Instead he risked brain damage. Smart. Not. The result was another suprising one, but again - what does it actally mean? Hopefully Raw and Smackdown have story development based on the results. The one interesting thing I saw was the first seeds of a Jericho/Owens split... This could be a really fun few months for those two...
[**]
Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg
Prediction: To continue with the apathetic theme of the blog… I don’t care much for this match either. 12 years ago, this was the worst match of the year that stunk out Wrestlemania and saw both men booed off into the sunset. I’ve never actually watched that match, and that says it all really. I doubt Goldberg will last more than 5 minutes in the ring without being out of breath. Brock Lesnar is just going to hit a bunch of suplexes, beat up ole Bill, and walk off without giving a fuck. Brock for the win, with as many fucks as I give for this PPV.
Match Analysis: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That was... HAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Fuck my life!! I just... I can't even... HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. It's got to the point where I feel WWE are trolling me. And I've snapped. Fuck it. That was the match of the year. AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm done.
[*1/2]
Overall Show
I didn't care going in; I don't care coming out. I hope we get some sort of a reaction on either Raw or Smackdown to make that worth the time, because if not it was a complete waste. It's sad that the highlight of the entire Survivor Series thing was Owens and Jericho on the pre-show... I'm not in a rush to see any of that again. Apart from maybe Lesnar vs Goldberg just to see if I was dreaming...
This year’s Survivor Series is an odd one… At time of writing (2 days before the show) there’s only 6 matches announced – and we’re talking about a 2 hour pre-show and a 4 hour main show!! This leads me to believe there will be a number of matches which will appear unexpectedly, leaving the predictions part of this blog post rather bare. While I am very intrigued over the Intercontinental & Cruiserweight championship matches, the 3 survivor series matches just seem thrown together because of the time of year. With the outcome seemingly meaningless for the casual fans, there’s no reason for me to get emotionally invested in any of the matches. Then we have the main event match… I’ll get to that in the post below, but let’s just say I am far from excited for it…
Pre-Show
Ariya Diavari, Tony Nese & Drew Gulak vs Noam Dar, Rich Swann & TJ Perkins
Prediction: So the main card has a bunch of matches that I don't care about because the results have zero consequences. What do we have for a kick-off show?? Another match thrown together with zero build and zero consequences. Ugh. We have a former TNA X-Division Champion (TJP), a former TNA Gut Check competitor (Tony Nese), and a former TNA British Bootcamp competitor (Noam Dar) and the match itself is about as well billed as a TNA X-Division match. Lets just hopw for some good spots... I'll predict the heel team wins as the face team won last time and this is WWE, and they love parity booking.
Match Analysis: Ok, so the rules of last time still apply - the babyfaces win because there's no charachters to develop. The spot with the ref stopping the suicide dive was fun, but that was about it. The crowd was dead for the majority but the woke up a bit for that ref spot. Who'd have thought some charachter development would pop the crowd...!! I laughed a little when TJP's entrance still has the Cruiserweight Championship round his waist; and the delay for the team breaking up an early submission attempt had me giggling but neither of those points are a good thing. Speaking of botches, if the audio-botch of Rene Young chatting to the truck was anything to go by, the match was penned for 9 minutes. Shame they weren't given more time.
[**]
Kane vs Luke Harper
Prediction: Another match with zero build! So there's 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of Smackdown, another 2 hours of chat shows between them, and they have a 4 hour main show with a 2 hours pre-show and they can't build meaningful matches?! What the hell WWE? I'd forgotten Kane was still active, and with Luke Harper recently returning from injury, let's go with Harper for the win. And also I predict I will give zero fucks either way...
Match Analysis: Kane won. I don't give a fuck. 50% right on that match. I did realise how much I miss Luke Harper though, that guy is something special in the ring. So of cours he lost. Fuck sake.
[*3/4]
Main Show
Team Raw Women vs Team Smackdown Women
Prediction: Again, zero fucks really to give. I am fully expecting this match to have its own episode of Botchamania! I hope we get some solid time with the 4 Horsewomen of NXT, maybe even have Becky Lynch the last woman standing against Charlotte, Sasha and Bayley? But yeah, I don’t really care… I’ll go with Team Raw because they have the strongest womens roster.
Match Analysis: A so-so match with a so-so finish, and an interesting post-match angle. There were moments of the match that were fun, but ultimately a few spots each, and business as usual. Hopefully this sets up an angle on both Smackdown and Raw now, so the matc wasn't completely pointless.
[**1/5]
The Miz © vs Sami Zayn
Prediction: While I was thrilled at the Miz regaining the championship, it did seem a little sudden. That makes me think that some last minute booking is being done and that Sami Zayn might just capture himself his first main-roster singles title! Sami has really struggled to find his place since the feud with KO ended, but maybe the IC title could elevate the poor guy and push him further up the card…? Out of the two title matches, this is the only one I can see changing hands, so I’ll go out on a limb and say Sami Zayn to become the new IC Champ…
Match Analysis: Well that was fun while it lasted. Zayn did an awesome job of selling the work on the leg, and Miz continues to look strong in the ring. The false finish, I think, was well executed. Maryse made sure she didn't no-sell her actions before a camera was on her, so the ring bell move was easily explained. It gave it a screwjob-style false finish which I popped for, and Miz got the win, which he should have done. Does this mean the Cruiserweight title is going to Smackdown...??
[***1/2]
Team Raw Tag Teams vs Team Smackdown Tag Teams
Prediction: As mentioned above, there’s no real reason for me to give a toss about this match. Both teams have people I like, both teams have people I dislike. I’d much rather have seen a stronger babyface or heel team put together across each of the 3 Survivor Series matches, but it just looks like an absolute mess on paper. Survivor Series 1987, and 1988 both had a 10 vs 10 match – one lasting 30 minutes, one lasting over 40 minutes! If that is a marker for how this one goes, we could be in for a long match, but I’m more worried that they book this one to be over in the blink of an eye. I hope they are given a logical amount of time, but I honestly don’t care what happens. I’ll be happy for some fun and innovative spots. I’m going to side with Smackdown because of American Alpha.
Match Analysis: Jeez that was a crowded ring! Luckily a few teams got eliminated early, but the big shock was the New Day going so soon! I just don't get it. Oh, and can someone please send Tyler Breeze and American Alpha back to NXT. Oh, and The Vaudevillains and The Ascencion! It sucks seeing them all do so badly on the main roster when they were super hot in NXT. The result was another interesting one, but again - what does it mean? Who actually cares? Not me!
[***]
Brian Kendrick © vs Kalisto
Prediction: Putting a title on the line is one thing, but the entire division means there’s even more on the line here. While I would love to see the Cruiserweights end up on Smackdown (and presumably booked as more than just spot monkeys in car crashes), I can’t see Raw giving up a huge part of their roster, when they have 3 hours to fill each week… Kendrick for the win.
Match Analysis: Until the finish, that was becoming a really good little match. Kendrick is always looking to find ways to innovate, even this late on in his career. If you listen to the accompanying podcast (found on iTunes, Stitcher, Podomatic, TuneIn etc) then you'll hear how Scott Star Spud was convinced that Kalisto was getting the win. I almost believed him too... So the only 2 matches with any real consequences have both ended with zero consequences. Geez this is going to be a long night...
[***1/4]
Team Raw Men vs Team Smackdown Men
Prediction: Ugh, move on already… I don’t care!! Lets go with Smackdown via an assist from the Undertaker?
Match Analysis: Holy shit that was fucking long!! Jesus what are they trying to do? Send me to sleep? The Ellsworth elimination of Strowman got a pop from me, but Strowmans dispatching of Styles over the top rope, and Ellsworth off the stage both looked realy dangerous and uncontrolled. Shane O Mac spent far too long in the match, and his elimination was just plain scary!! He looked concussed for sure. That was a seriously scary moment to witness, and one he really shouldnt have been involved in. He could have taken any move at any time for an elimination. Instead he risked brain damage. Smart. Not. The result was another suprising one, but again - what does it actally mean? Hopefully Raw and Smackdown have story development based on the results. The one interesting thing I saw was the first seeds of a Jericho/Owens split... This could be a really fun few months for those two...
[**]
Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg
Prediction: To continue with the apathetic theme of the blog… I don’t care much for this match either. 12 years ago, this was the worst match of the year that stunk out Wrestlemania and saw both men booed off into the sunset. I’ve never actually watched that match, and that says it all really. I doubt Goldberg will last more than 5 minutes in the ring without being out of breath. Brock Lesnar is just going to hit a bunch of suplexes, beat up ole Bill, and walk off without giving a fuck. Brock for the win, with as many fucks as I give for this PPV.
Match Analysis: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That was... HAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Fuck my life!! I just... I can't even... HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. It's got to the point where I feel WWE are trolling me. And I've snapped. Fuck it. That was the match of the year. AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm done.
[*1/2]
Overall Show
I didn't care going in; I don't care coming out. I hope we get some sort of a reaction on either Raw or Smackdown to make that worth the time, because if not it was a complete waste. It's sad that the highlight of the entire Survivor Series thing was Owens and Jericho on the pre-show... I'm not in a rush to see any of that again. Apart from maybe Lesnar vs Goldberg just to see if I was dreaming...