THIS WEEK IN WRESTLING

November 21, 2018

Survivor Series has come and gone for another year.  What is now effectively Bragging Rights, the show ended in a 6-0 clean sweep for Raw over Smackdown, with a victory by New Day on the pre-show the only joy for the blue brand.

Daniel Bryan got the best out of Brock Lesnar in the main event.  In a match that lasted close to twenty minutes, Bryan withstood the usual Lesnar early barrage before getting in much of his own offense in the second half of the bout.  Lesnar won with his patented F5 move, but there was enough from Daniel Bryan to suggest he couldbe a threat to The Beast if they were to have a rematch.

Charlotte, substituting for the injured Becky Lynch, represented Smackdown against Raw women’s champion Ronda Rousey.  After a brutal back and forth encounter, Charlotte snapped, and got herself disqualified after using a kendo stick and a chair.  To her credit, Rousey turned up on Raw the next night, and defeated Mickie James after issuing an open challenge.  Charlotte backed up with two wins on Smackdown, against Billy Kay and Peyton Royce.

In the men’s team event, Braun Strowman was the star for Raw in their win over Smackdown.  While Strowman and Drew McIntyre had their tense moments, they managed to combine with Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Lashley and Finn Balor to defeat The Miz, Shane McMahon, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio.  The victory guaranteed Braun Strowman a match against Baron Corbin at TLC in December, but Corbin busted Stroman’s elbow with the ring steps on Raw, and the Monster among Men will require surgery.

Nia Jax was the sole survivor for Raw in the women’s team match.  Jax, who will face Ronda Rousey for the Raw women’s championship at TLC, defeated Asuka with the Samoan Drop to claim victory for her team.  Jax teamed with Tamina on Raw to defeat Bayley and Sasha Banks.

In other Survivor Series matches, Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a classic that lasted over twenty minutes, while AOP beat the team of Sheamus and Cesaro after a distraction from Drake Maverick.  Buddy Murphy defeated Mustafa Ali to retain the Cruiserweight Championship.

After defeated Nakamura, Rollind resumed his rivalry with Dean Ambrose on Raw.  Ambrose played a game of cat and mouse throughout the night, and eventually produced a beat down on Rollins in the ring.  They will clash for the Intercontinental Title at TLC.

In the main event of Smackdown, Randy Orton defeated Rey Mysterio, and proceeded to rip Mysterio’s trademark mask off.  It remains to be seen what capacity Orton has at TLC, especially if AJ Styles is not back to have his rematch against Daniel Bryan.

You can read more about the stars of Raw and Smackdown here and here.