Survivor Series Takeaways

RAW wins the Brand Supremacy battle at last night’s Survivor Series Pay-Per-View. Photo courtesy of the WWE.

By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)

November 19, 2018

WWE’s Big Survivor Series Weekend Leaves Us Excited and Curious

With Survivor Series now beyond us, the Brothers of Discussion wanted to take a look at a few takeaways from the big show. What’s next for Charlotte? Is Nia Jax owed this opportunity? How long do we have to watch Brock hold onto the title? And finally...why do they force a brand supremacy competition into the storyline?

Charlotte Flair and “the Man” Becky Lynch

With Charlotte Flair’s complete decimation of Rowdy Ronda Rousey last night, it definitely appeared that the WWE had created another “smark favorite”. The crowd exploded for the beat down that Ronda received and her home state didn’t even give her a pity clap. It appears we want one thing from our pro wrestlers these days: no mercy and blood.

I think the plan here might have been to conjure up some sympathy, for the “Baddest woman on the Planet”. But its clear that the fans in attendance and the folks on Twitter were not interested. Even half of the Brothers of Discussion loved the outcome of this match and thought the fan reaction was deserved.

Going forward, the WWE has some issues to smooth out, considering they probably were looking to develop Charlotte as a heel. We know Becky Lynch is on the shelf for the foreseeable future, so maybe the juice for her next opponent was to come from the heelish squeeze of Charlotte’s turn.

Nia Jax vs Ronda Rousey

For Rousey... it's a little muddier. People want to ‘boo’ Nia Jax, but even she appeared to overcome the hate. After rubbing her hand (practically diving head first into the drama she created) the fans kept booing her, but the Twitter response was more lenient and recognized her ability to take advantage of this situation and use it to create a new heel.

The WWE Universe loves voicing their opinion and they almost become predictably fickle as the second someone turns heel, we act as though no effort was put forth by the performer to try and be a face. I am in this boat, but even observing my own feeling and reactions is eye-roll inducing.

So going into the next PPV, we might be looking at a heel getting over on Ronda. Unless Nia really leans into her punch on Becky (as hard as she leaned into the real punch), I don’t see the fans continuing to match the ire displayed at Survivor Series. Instead, their focus will be on supporting pro wrestling and helping get the more tenured performers over, when facing Rousey.

Brock Lesnar looks to be the Champ for a while

The best thing about realizing Brock Lesnar is going to be booked as the unstoppable Beast is that maybe Roman won’t be long for a return.

It might just be wishful thinking from a wrestling fan who wants to see the Big Dog get healthy, but if the WWE isn’t willing to even give a tactful, win-at-all-costs, Daniel Bryan a chance to beat Lesnar, maybe only one man is good enough to do so. That man would be Roman.

If it's not Roman, maybe it's Drew McIntyre. Matching the size, strength, and look of Roman Reigns, McIntyre has also developed into a cocky, confident, believable promo-guy. If we were waiting for someone to get into the game that talks the talk and appears to back it up with their in-ring performance, Drew is that guy.

And the argument against Brock holding onto that title for a long time would be Drew McIntyre. The Scottish Psychopath is without a feud, right now, and could easily make the argument that he earned that title shot, last night. The WWE  may have that in their plans and just didn’t want to chalk up two losses for Brock in less than a month. Let Brock get over on Daniel, to make his title reign look more legit (I can’t believe I have to type that I know the title wasn’t on the line, but this is where we are in Wrestling Journalism), then have Drew take that title away with the help from his little crony, Dolph Ziggler.

The problem with all of this is my gut. My gut has been telling me that Brock is holding the title till WrestleMania…

Survivor Series Brand Supremacy is Dumb

While the sentiment from the WWE Universe and true wrestling fans is that the WWE’s better wrestling show is SmackDown Live (if you’re not counting NXT), it feels like the sweep of the SDLive roster is a forceful kick to the groin region. The fact that we’re already meant to believe RAW is the more important show gives the WWE a chance to highlight all of the superstars that the audience that doesn't tune in on Tuesdays, a chance to see their abilities. Even when the team turmoil of the RAW roster took center stage in the Traditional Survivor Series match, they still showed enough resilience to band together and shrug off any sort of effort from the SmackDown team.

And I guarantee that this blowout will come up on both shows. I also know that the only people it will matter to in the next month won’t include anyone currently paid by the WWE.

So why do it?

Right now, it only serves to provide a temporary storyline but buries the roster and all of the losers for quite a while longer. For a company that thinks they could be as big as Disney one-day, they sure need to take a step back and realize how many properties they are actually managing with every decision.

While Disney buys major entertainment properties like I buy Taco Bell, they treat each one with a great deal of respect. It would be like Disney buying the rights to the Xmen and the Fantastic Four and expecting them to bury them or not utilize those characters. Why? Because it was the current string of Marvel Characters (Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk) that Disney grew and nurtured. Not these new properties.

Instead, Disney will carefully craft a new line of stories, media, park attractions, and a steady stream of strategized content to ensure you are happy, but will also never forget how happy they make you. Beyond all of the happiness, they’ll never let you forget who provided it to you.

The WWE has a lot to learn from Disney and the first lesson would be not purposefully shooting yourself in the foot. It's not just the Brand Supremacy either. Its having Brock Lesnar destroy all of your talents. It’s having Rousey go over, despite the feelings of the hardcore audience. Its taking SOOOOOOOOOO long to recognize when you have an uber-super-duper star like Becky Lynch, absolutely killing it.

Enjoy the article? Every weekend the Brothers of Discussion offer more thoughts and opinions through the podcast! Listen, Subscribe and Review the Podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes! Thank you!