Strange things are afoot with the Wrap Up this week. No SmackDown report to speak of. I'm actually writing this on a Tuesday evening as I won't be able to tackle it on Wednesday. This is really just a PPV/RAW report, kind of like the way things used to be before the brand split that caused SmackDown to become the superior show.
I write this not knowing the Survivor Series members of Team SmackDown, but I think most of us can piece that team together given the limited names on the roster. It's kind of inconsequential in the grand scheme of things considering how little I care about the storyline feud between the two shows. Sure, whoever wins the match for their respective team will get rewarded for their endeavor, probably with a title shot of some sort, but overall I'm guessing few fans are truly invested in one side winning over the other.
Before I get in the ring with this year's Survivor Series card, I just wanted to give another formal thank you to WrestlingGiffer for all the ding dang .gifs. over the years. What a swell chap. Over on his blog, he wrote that he was more or less done with the giffing of wrestling, so these shall be his final moving images. Gratitude, friend. My children shall sing songs about your valor.
RAW, which has been less than ideal as of late, has moved from hyping Hell in a Cell to full-on promoting Survivor Series - November's only PPV (phew!) and a grand two-brand affair. WWE's making a big push to get Survivor Series up and out of the dregs. Once one of the Big Four, it now hardly stirs up any notable emoti-feels.
Here's why Survivor Series WAS great. Back in "the day."
- It was one of WWE's first PPVs. It was special and it had Thanksgiving branding. This was back when you only got to see the big stars come out a handful of times on TV a year.
- The Heel Team vs. Babyface Team aspects were fun. Predictable, but fun. Like the Rumble, Survivor Series was also a chance to either continue, end, or start feuds.
- The elimination match style allowed people to go over and get over during certain parts of the match even if they were destined to ultimately fall to someone else.
Survivor Series works best when it's bad vs. good and the members of opposing teams have storyline heat with each other. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think this PPV is a lost cause. In fact, I want it beefed up and blown up. I want it to be a must-watch show again. One of the Big Four events. And I see the effort put in with the big Goldberg vs. Lesnar match. Oh, I'm not interested in it, not at all, but I see that it has two big names. I recognize the effort.
But here's the problem this year: They haven't given us a reason to care who goes over in this one-time match. It's a spectacle, sure, but we don't care who wins here. If Goldberg wins we'll just be like "Hmmm, I wonder why they did that?" If Lesnar does well be like "Well, of course." Plus, there's really no guarantee that this match will even be watchable. There are better-than-average odds that it'll be a raging s***burger. Lesnar is capable of putting on great matches with certain guys and a strong argument can be made that Goldberg never had a truly great match with anyone.
Now to the team warfare aspects. We'll get some fun out of seeing guys who hate each other have to team with one another. Because of this, the way the RAW team gets along will (hopefully) further some RAW storylines and the same for SmackDown. But nothing will cross over and affect the other side. One side will win, but who cares? Only inter-fed "pride" is on the line. We don't even know why the two shows are competing with each other. It makes no sense. They're on different nights and facing different opposition. WWE's whole line for years now is that they're actively competing against all the shows on TV - anything that airs opposite them, be it sports or a sitcom. The story here, when RAW gets close to SmackDown's ratings, isn't that the WWE shows are neck and neck, it's that football is killing RAW like does every fall.
Continue on for Sasha vs Charlotte in a Cell, RAW, and more...
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