2020 Edition Of WWE Survivor Series

The Undertaker retired. Like, really, genuinely. I actually think he’s gone for good this time. Team SmackDown likes kicking itself in the face. And don’t fight, Drew and Roman - you can both be my Tribal Chiefs.

Pre-Show

The Gobbledy Gooker won the 24/7 title from R-Truth on the pre-show, in an angle that was so well done, both men were seen stopping chasing each other when they thought they were off camera. Twice! God dammit, Gobbledy Gooker, you’re exposing the business. There’s no way I’ll believe you’re an actual real-life turkey now.

Then came the Depressing Waste Of Talent Battle Royal. It was both pretty awesome in parts - with some hard-hitting spots from Ricochet vs the Hurt Business on the ring apron, and a fantastic sequence near the end of Dominic wrestling Chad Gable, like it was a modern day reboot of Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle. But it was also profoundly depressing, seeing so much incredible talent like those already mentioned, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, Buddy Murphy, and even Rey Mysterio himself wasted in a meaningless battle royal on the pre-show. Mr Money in the Bank Miz won it after Dominic thought he was already eliminated, not doing anything for anyone.

Men’s Team Raw Defeats Team Smackdown

The main card opened with the men’s 5 on 5 Elimination match that really established the tone for the whole show: great wrestlers doing great wrestling and spots, just with mostly bad, ineffective booking. In the first instalment of T-Shirt Wars, Team SmackDown’s strategy involved working over Matt Riddle’s bare feet - where Kevin Owens even headbutted Riddle’s foot. Or, in other interpretations of that scene, Owens kicking himself in the face. Also wanting his own head kicked in, Seth Rollins then sacrificed himself on his knees to a Sheamus Brogue Kick to be instantly eliminated. It was intriguing, and is presumably a way to write Rollins off TV with Becky Lynch due to give birth next month. But… why didn’t he just take a count out elimination? Or hit someone with a chair? Or something else that doesn’t involve getting your head kicked off your shoulders. This created a disadvantage that Team SmackDown never recovered from, with AJ Styles eliminating Kevin Owens, Stagnant Baratheon Baron Corbin - that’s definitely a joke I came up with all by myself, not that pretender El Fakidor - was taken out by Riddle. Otis got eliminated by Braun Strowman following an excellent strength-based comeback. And Jey rallied against them all, but was amazingly caught by Keith Lee in a fireman’s carry mid-air, who then threw him up from his shoulders into a Spirit Bomb, giving Raw the victory. Also Keith finally debuted new music, so that’s actually a double win for him. The match had fun spots, but ultimately, Seth’s elimination made no sense, and it led to the rest of his team losing in a very one-sided fashion.

The Street Profits (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) Defeats The New Day (Raw Tag Team Champions)

Thankfully up next came my match of the night - the somehow hadn’t happened yet Street Profits vs The New Day. Big E came out with the New Day for their Gears of War themed entrance! Because he can definitely have a mini-reunion to sell a video game. But he’s nowhere to be seen on Friday’s SmackDown when his mates are getting beaten up. This wasn’t just a really great, athletic match. They also told the story that New Day is realising some of their double team moves aren’t as effective without Big E’s power. Ford kicked out at 2 from the Midnight Hour, allowing the Profits to eventually hit a Blockbuster to win. New Day put them over afterwards. The match was so good, it made me want these two teams on the same brand. Thankfully, the New Day do still have Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander to face on Raw, who were at ringside next for their Hurt Business Business.

Bobby Lashley (Raw's United States Champion) Defeats Sami Zayn (SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion)

Business Partner Bobby Lashley taking on Sami Zayn. Which was everything you’d expect it to be, just longer. With Sami trying to smart his way out of the match, wanting MVP to hit him for the DQ win, but Lashley eventually made him tap.

Following his Team SmackDown loss, Roman Reigns awesomely chewed out Jey Uso backstage. Because Raw vs SmackDown wins and losses might not matter to WWE, but they damn sure matter to the Tribal Chief. Reigns explained Jey lost because his team didn’t respect him. Which means they don’t respect Roman. Which means they don’t respect the family. Jey was sent home. Which means, in typical pro wrestling fashion, he definitely 100% left the building.

Sasha Banks (SmackDown Women's Champion) Defeats Asuka (Raw Women's Champion)

As they showed throughout the summer, Asuka and Sasha Banks have incredible chemistry in the ring, and they had a really decent match here. They were neck and neck for the majority, trading submissions in the ring and strikes outside it, but an exciting series of roll-ups and reversals fell in Sasha’s favour at the end. It’s still refreshing to see Banks actually win matches as a champion. But it’s a shame it came at Asuka’s expense - who’s had nothing to do for months, and now she’s lost again.

24/7 champion the Gobbledy Gooker got distracted by a pile of bird feed and R-Truth ended up the 24/7 champion again.

Women’s Team Raw Defeats Team Smackdown

Lana was banished to the stairs for the entirety of the women’s 5 on 5 elimination match. Which was actually a genius strategy, because it took advantage of WWE’s terrible booking. Bayley was shockingly eliminated first, letting Team Raw gain momentum - which is to say, Nia Jax didn’t sell for anyone - where it soon came down to Lana, Baszler and Nia against Bianca BelAir. BelAir got in some impressive strength spots, but fell unconscious into the ropes because of Shayna’s Kirafuda Clutch. But instead of Baszler letting go, dragging Bianca into the middle of the ring and pinning her - like she had done with Ruby Riott earlier - Shayna got DQ’d instead. It was flat booking made even flatter by the next spot: BelAir tipping Jax over the barricade, but only just not making it back into the ring in time. The match was won by Lana, who never tagged in, thanks to a double countout. So, yet again, nobody looked good.

Roman Reigns (SmackDown's Universal Champion) Defeats Drew McIntyre (Raw's WWE Champion)

Thankfully the main event, if you don’t count Undertaker’s Christmas party, was Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns to find out who had the longest, wettest hair. While this match didn’t have to go 25 minutes, both men still told a dramatic story. Two champions, just as strong as each other, simply battling to see who’s best. Drew had a lot to prove after only just winning his title back. With Roman, he can’t lose, otherwise his Tribal Chief power crumbles. Plus Paul Heyman was at ringside spamming the finisher button. Drew kicked out of two spears, and reversed the third into a Claymore - but it knocked out the ref, letting Jey run down for a superkick and a Reigns low blow for good measure. Roman then won via choke - really protecting McIntyre with all the interference. And, capping a neat story for the night, Jey had proven himself to Roman yet again, and the two embraced at the top of the stage.

Undertaker's Farewell

But that wasn’t the final part of the show. Because, somehow, Big Show got to main event another major WWE pay-per-view in 2020! He was out there to celebrate the Undertaker’s final farewell to WWE, along with Raw Underground’s Shane McMahon, JBL, Santa Claus, the latest member of Retribution JHARD, Godfather, without the prostitutes. Bone Street Krew members the Godwinns, Savio Vega and Rikishi, along with Kevin Nash, Booker T, HBK, Ric Flair, Triple H and, of course, Kane. Each legend got their own entrance, to then completely disappear after a WWE video package on the Deadman’s career, making that all rather pointless. Instead they were replaced by a very emotional Mr McMahon, who introduced the Deadman for one last time. The Undertaker did an entrance longer than all the legends combined - as he should - and said the time has come to rest in peace, saluting an actually really classy AR projection of Paul Bearer. The end to one of the greatest wrestling characters of all time. It’s such a shame it wasn’t in front of a live crowd.

What did you think of the 2020 Edition Of WWE Survivor Series show? Let us know in the comments about 2020 Edition Of WWE Survivor Series show. Everything was pointless expect Lana winning & The UnderTaker sent off. No scoreboard, it just shows it was all for nothing.” It was a sadly a throwaway show, with nothing really mattering. I really enjoyed The New Day vs Street Profits, Banks vs Asuka and Roman vs Drew matches, but I found everything else very frustrating. And as momentous as the Undertaker finally saying goodbye to WWE is, very few will remember the segment it happened in. Survivor Series 2020 is Poor.