Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.
This week, Dallas Allsopp, Callum Wiggins and Tony Mango review WWE Survivor Series 2021.
Survivor Series 2021 didn't reveive much hype or build, but was the event a success?
Question 1: Which was the best match of the night? Which contest was the worst?
ALLSOPP: It had to be the tantalising fight between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Simply put, it was the athletic contest we expected, with a layer of intrigue and genuine hatred that made it unmissable. This is in direct contrast to Shinsuke Nakamura vs Damian Priest, which was a flat out disappointing mess.
WIGGINS: I think it's pretty comfortable to say that Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair was the match of the night. They evoked their real-life animosity without letting it stray into an uncoordinated shoot fight, and that helped elevate it above the vacuous "brand warfare" rhetoric that hindered the rest of the matches.
Worst match of the night is a little closer to determine, as despite some good wrestling on Survivor Series, nothing mattered so I wasn't especially invested. I guess I'll go with Shinsuke Nakamura vs Damian Priest as it had a ridiculously dumb finish considering that, as the Kick-Off match, it's designed to encourage people to buy the show.
MANGO: Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair takes the cake for the best overall match of the night in my book. The worst might have been Damian Priest against Shinsuke Nakamura since it wasn't so much a match but a series of interruptions.
Question 2: Who walked out of the show with a significantly enhanced reputation?
WIGGINS: In all honesty, the only person I felt raised their stock somewhat at Survivor Series was Austin Theory, as he had a good showing on Team Raw, and followed that up with a main event match the following night.
Outside of that I can't say anyone elevated their stock above what it was going into the show. Quite the opposite when it came to the Women's Elimination Match, as it made the trio of Shotzi, Natalya, and Shayna Baszler look much worse for eliminating their own teammate and then still failing to beat Bianca Belair on her own.
MANGO: My gut reaction says "nobody" as the two sole survivors didn't need it and the rest of the champions were already established. If I'm forced to look for an answer, I guess I'd say Omos for winning the battle royal. Nobody really stood out to me as making a good run in the elimination matches to compensate for their inevitable elimination, such as Toni Storm.
ALLSOPP: If I had to pick someone, I’d say Becky Lynch. Even though she is already a made woman, she showed she can triumph over Charlotte Flair. Not only that, but she gave another layer of sympathy to a character that was in danger of being too over the top.
Question 3: Should Big E have defeated Roman Reigns? Would the inclusion of NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa have improved the match?
MANGO: There's no way in Hell Big E should have beaten Roman Reigns. While it would have given Big E a boost for sure, it would have done more damage in the long run to Reigns. That sounds odd to say, considering how dominant The Tribal Chief usually is, but that's the whole gimmick we're working with. Nobody should beat Reigns until it's time to crown a next big thing and in order for that to happen, he has to beat everybody including legends. Big E's boost would have faded.
If they had added Tommaso Ciampa, I'm not too sure the match quality would have gone up, to be honest. That's not a knock on him at all. He's one of my favorites on the roster. I just don't think the dynamics of that particular triple threat would have clicked better.
ALLSOPP: The only way that Big E should have won, is if he was to do so as part of a group heel turn by The New Day. And there’s no chance of that happening… yet. Roman Reigns winning was the correct decision, although I would like to have seen Tommaso Ciampa bring a different element to the contest.
WIGGINS: I believe there was no benefit to Roman Reigns defeating Big E. Reigns is already firmly established as the top guy in the company, and one loss to his fellow world champion wouldn't change that. Instead, it just continued to cement Big E's WWE Championship reign as a glorified Intercontinental title run.
Adding Tommaso Ciampa wouldn't have carried any benefit beyond him being able to take the pinfall for either of the other champions.
Those are our thoughts on the issue, but where do you stand?
Let us know your answers to these questions in the comments below!
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