WWE Survivor Series 2018 Match Ratings, Podcast Notes From Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful.com

Backstage Crappenings

• Smackdown’s women’s team is in the back, and R-Truth tries to join. He’s actually not a woman. Mandy Rose is the “mystery partner.” WOMP. WOMP.
• Raw’s women’s team is arguing because Ruby Riott is arguing and fighting with Natalya. Alexa Bliss says they won’t be on the team if they can’t get along.
• Lars Sullivan is debuting on the main roster soon. 

TAG TEAM BRAND SUPREMACY!
Team Smackdown (w/ Kofi Kingston) defeated Team Raw 
Sole Survivors: The Usos
5.5/10 (7/10 if the first half didn’t exist)

• Kofi Kingston and Gran Metalik are sitting this one out. 
• I’m not sure why Kalisto feigned a knee injury. He gets an assisted splash. The Revival pin Primo with a Shatter Machine.
• They’re back to teasing Kalisto’s injury, and Gran Metalik is replacing him. 
• An Anderson spinebuster hits, but then he gets worked over by team Raw.
• B-Team are the next eliminated, but the Roodesault eliminates Eric Young.
• Dorado counters a Magic Killer and he and LHP hit in stereo Asai Moonsaults. Metalik wins with a senton on Anderson.
• Usos and Dorado completely screw up a pop-up Samoan drop spot, but LHP are eliminated anyway. 
• Big E is tagged in and has a great hot tag, but is German suplexed and almost pinned before it’s broken up. An assisted backstabber from New Day can’t end it either.
• A Dawson SUICIDE DIVE, a Wilder apron tornado DDT, a Big E YOLO dive, and Uso Crazy hits. 
• Chad Gable does a German suplex off the top rope onto the pile on the outside. This was an insane spot.
• The first half of this match shouldn’t have existed.
• Big E catches a Roode Moonsault and gets Midnight Hour to eliminate him.
• Revival and New Day have some kind of clunky spots, but Revival catch Xavier flying off the ropes with a Shatter Machine. That’s it!
• A Steiner Bulldog (in 2018, awesome) flattens Jimmy, but he kicks out! A superplex/splash can’t win it either.
• Usos win with the Usos Splash.

Survivor Series Women’s Match
Team Raw defeated Team Smackdown
Sole Survivor: Nia Jax
5.5/10

• Nia Jax gets a huge heel reaction, which leads to Naomi getting a big face pop for kicking her. Tamina pins her with a superkick. 
• Tamina is quickly rolled up by Carmella. DANCE BREAK.
• I really, really, really hope WWE doesn’t read this Nia heat as “let’s give her a big Mania match.” But hey, pretty good anybody can get a reaction for hitting her and she’s rocking with it. Including Mandy Rose.
• Why do we need a shoulderblock spot with Asuka and Mickie? 
• Mickie seems a step behind when she’s in there with Sonya. Mandy blind tags Sonya and steals a pin on Mickie James. 
• Carmella moonwalk DDTs Bayley and walks into a Bayley-to-Belly. Carmella is out. 
• They’re getting Mandy Rose a lot of reps in this match. She taps to a Banks Statement. 
• Nia slowly breaks up a pin, but the crowd erupts when she hits the ring post and Asuka starts stomping her. 
• WWE is one of the few places where you can be rewarded for a poor job performance because it might make things more interesting. Think about that. 
• Sonya has a great kick to Bayley, but gets Bayley to Belly’d and they’re both counted out.
• Sasha and Asuka square off, and it results in Asuka cracking Banks with a knee and German suplex.
• Nia is taking her lumps in this match and getting a reaction every time she shows up.
• Banks Statement and Asuka Lock counters aplenty — Sasha and Asuka work well together.
• Nia sabotages Sasha by pushing her off the top rope. Asuka taps out Sasha with the Asuka Lock.
• Nia steals the pin and wins with several leg drops and a Samoan drop!

Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura
6.75/10

• Nakamura being a troll that hates being trolled is a great gimmick.
• Rollins does his guillotine leg drop, but Nakamura quickly regains control.
• Rollins gets a Slingblade and body slams Nakamura over the top rope. A suicide dive trio hits, as does a flying clothesline.
• Nakamura scores a few knees and gets superkicked HARD. 
• That Flying Armbar from Nakamura was insane, but he gets Buckle Bombed out of it.
• Nakamura recovers quickly and gets a deep Landslide for two. 
• A big Kinshasa hits for two, and the crowd goes nuts.
• Rollins gets a superkick, Nakamura misses a Kinshasa and Rollins capitalizes with a Curb Stomp for the win.
• Good chemistry for these two. We didn’t need the plodding pace at the beginning.
• Lol, they’re acting like Smackdown’s tag team Survivor Series win didn’t happen. IT WAS 70 MINUTES AGO.
• Rollins is told backstage that he’ll defend the IC title against Dean Ambrose at TLC

AOP (w/ Drake Maverick) defeated The Bar (w/ Big Show)
5/10

• Enzo Amore was spotted in the crowd on the camera side. He’s kicked out shortly after.
• This is just a brawl early on.
• Rezar eats the clubs from Sheamus and a Brogue Kick, but Maverick puts his client’s foot on the ropes.
• Maverick runs right into Big Show, who makes him piss his pants. Yep.
• AOP flatten Sheamus with the Suplex/Powerbomb. That’s it.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Buddy Murphy (c) defeated Mustafa Ali
8.25/10

• We’ve already seen an unbeaten Cruiserweight Champion ejected from the venue, a 205 Live Trio completely ignore the rules and lose, and the 205 Live GM piss his pants so it can only go up for the brand from here.
• Ali connects with a big somersault senton to the outside, but gets pushed off the top rope into the barricade. 
• Mustafa is thrown over the top rope on a rolling DDT and then Murphy gets a tope con hilo over the top rope.
• Back in the ring Mustafa gets a superkick and a big DDT but Murphy kicks out. 
• A Spanish Fly hits for Mustafa off the table, as the crowd chants “205.”
• This is a great display for 205 Live.
• Double Powerbomb for Murphy after the corner superkick. Murphy catches Ali with a big knee and Murphy’s Law for the win.
• What a match!

Survivor Series Match
Team Raw (w/ Lio Rush & Baron Corbin) defeated Team Smackdown
Survivors: Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre
7/10

• R-Truth rallies team Raw, but he’s not on their team. Braun is mad at Baron, but settles for throwing Lio at him.
• R-Truth then asks for a Smackdown roster spot, which he already has.
• Joe locks McIntyre in a Coquina Clutch, but gets Claymored and pinned! Shocker!!!
• Shane and Ziggler go at it, with Dolph throwing a huge crisp dropkick and a FameAsser. Shane is a little stiff with a spinning back elbow.
• McIntyre and Braun have a pissing contest about tagging in and out. Smackdown takes advantage.
• HUGE ovation for the 619 on Braun, then they send him outside. NOBODY takes a bump over the top rope these days like Braun Strowman.
• Shane McMahon elbow drops Braun through an announce table. Shane McMahon first did that elbow drop NINETEEN YEARS AGO and is still hitting it.
• Drew hesitates tagging Balor in, and gets kicked for it. Balor is dominant, taking out Miz and getting a Slingblade on Jeff Hardy. 
• Rey Mysterio stops Balor’s hot streak and drops the dime on him for the pin. McIntyre attacks Balor afterwards.
• Lashley slings Mysterio all around, very impressively. Hardy is tagged in and hits a tornado DDT to Drew, but eats a jumping DDT from Ziggler for two. 
• Hardy gets a Twist of Fate, but Ziggler’s knees got him on the Swanton. 
• Good on Dolph Ziggler and WWE production for helping out Shane with his Coast To Coast. It beats Ziggler. 
• Shane is urged to go for another Coast To Coast (hilariously), but Braun clotheslines him. Strowman then powerslams and pins Hardy. Miz and Mysterio and McMahon are all out consecutively by Braun.
• Baron Corbin decks Braun after the match, striking first.

Ronda Rousey defeated Charlotte Flair via DQ
7.5/10 (Post match angle 10/10)

• Some transitions in and out of armbars, Figure Fours and pins.
• Man Rousey chowed down on that turnbuckle. She then gets busted open with an errant elbow from Charlotte. 
• Stoked to see people compare what happened to Rousey and Becky. That should be a real shitshow.
• Rousey does a hanging triangle over the ropes, then rolls into one on her feet. Charlotte turns it into a Boston Crab.
• Charlotte eats boot and a spinning Samoan, but spears Rousey for a close 2.9!
• Charlotte applies a Figure Four, but both women roll out of the ring. Charlotte is sent into the barricade
• A Yakuza Kick scores for Charlotte, and we get “this is awesome” chants.
• Rousey has a great huracanrana into a triangle armbar, but has to settle for the Spinning Samoan. Charlotte avoids an armbar. 
• Charlotte cracks Rousey with a kendo stick for the DQ! She ABUSES Rousey with a Kendo Stick. Fantastic finish.
• Rousey is painted up with blood and scars and welts. Natural Selection on the chair, and Charlotte beats up officials. 
• Charlotte stomps a chair into Rousey’s throat. This angle RULED

Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Daniel Bryan
9/10

• Daniel Bryan taunts Brock Lesnar and teases the animal style he said he’d use on Total Divas.
• Bryan dropkicks Brock’s knee and takes a jog around the ring. 
• Bryan is straight up trolling Brock Lesnar. 
• Lesnar catches a Bryan kick and clotheslines him IN THE HEAD. Lesnar then throws Bryan on his head. 
• Thanks to Brock for doing something somewhat resembling a bridge on the second German suplex so he didn’t murder Daniel Bryan. 
• Belly-to-Belly overhead suplex. If I’m in WWE and told to take the Lesnar German, I’d have to hit the “that doesn’t work for me brother — HH” and request the overhead belly-to-belly suplexes instead
• The Fox execs that are all backstage have to be THRILLED about Smackdown’s portrayal tonight.
• Brock bear hugs Bryan and calls a fan a fucking moron.
• Bear hug suplex. F5, but Brock pulls up Bryan.
• Bryan kicks Lesnar a couple of time on instinct. 
• Brock F5’s Bryan into the ref and gets kicked RITP! Bryan cracks Brock with the flying knee for 2.9!
• Chioda would be kayfabe fired after his performances this year lol.
• Bryan stomps Brock out!
• Lesnar goes for an F5, but flies over the top rope when Bryan gets out! Bryan posts Lesnar, but gets caught on a suicide dive and slammed into the ring post. 
• Lesnar tried to go after Bryan with stairs, but misses and walks into a flying knee off the apron. Another in the ring gets a nearfall. 
• Bryan goes after the leg of Lesnar, and Brock’s leg gives out on an F5! The Yes Lock is applied, but Brock gets out and has to work to crossface punches to get it back in!
• Bryan rolls into a triangle, but gets picked up and F5’d. Lesnar wins.
• This was a must-watch.

Rating guide

10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor

Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a “star rating,” which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive “TV match” lands at a 5.The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.