With Spider-Man 3 playing on mute in my hotel room, it was apt that Flair & Lynch stepped out like a pair of supervillains to set off Survivor Series with a grudge match that was not as technical as the match-ups that they have had in the past.
This was ugly, with the competitors hitting their main finishers within the first five minutes of the pay per view’s opening : a Natural Selection from Flair was answered by a Dis-Arm-Her by Lynch which was then answered by a Spear. But this wasn’t like these ladies were trying to one up each other through showmanship, as these big moves eventually broke down into melee’s which in any other pay-per-view would have only been used for room to give the crowd and the performer’s a second to breathe. No such quarter was given for Flair or Lynch, even with both knocking each other into the crowd off the ring post. Becky performed an impressive leg-drop and her own variation of The Rock Bottom, her best performance’s of these maneuvers since her Summer Slam return. And as for Flair, her chops continued to be as relentless as ever and even a moon-sault with just one elbow connecting proved devastating under her command.
The half hour program then came to a worthy close with both villainesses performing each other’s finishers ending with the two grabbing the ropes and a handful of tights respectfully to pull a screw-job on the other, with Lynch sneaking the victory when the bell finally rung. An underhanded win that did not pull a DQ and botches with incomplete maneuvers made to look clean with a swiftness I haven’t seen in many other match-ups… as the vignette reminded the Brooklyn audience worldwide – when these two Horsewomen come together, it’s personal; and pro-wrestling is always better when the beef is personal. Though there is no turning off the heat between Flair and Lynch, such a date wouldn’t have been possible without this being Survivor Series season and of course the obligatory 5 on 5 Survivor Series match up went on without a hitch.
Carmella was the first to be eliminated because she was focused over her stupid mask gimmick, Shayna Baszler almost was a face because she played the voice of reason for her crumbling team, Zelina got some crazy transitions in, and Rhea Ripley with gold around her waist is always the correct decision. Shotzi was instructed by Sasha prior to the match to “follow her lead” , so it was comical to see Shotzi shadow Sasha with sarcasm dripping in her every tag. Things deflated when Sasha got counted out, but once again this bow out led to Bianca Belair overcoming insurmountable odds and taking the W, becoming the sole survivor at Survivor Series and ultimately having a 3-1 favorable win-loss record at the WWE’s Big 4 in the same year. Banks does play a noticeable runner-up role in each of these Belair accomplishments, making it to where their meet-up here just didn’t feel as special as the announcers were egging on. Still, these two got the attention they deserved in a stacked match and as a result should not be playing mid-card anytime soon. While Morgan and Storm who are currently in the title picture, had stellar performance’s and Shotzi is primed to be the underdog that rises to the top where she belongs.
With Lynch and Belair’s wins Raw cleaned up the women’s division this year, but overall these Survivor Series matches provided not only excellent fuel for future storylines on all WWE brands, but with the recent scrutiny behind current roster cuts, the performances on Survivor Series provided some reasoning on what is needed to not only get called up to the main roster, but what it takes to survive that coveted call up.
Score : 4/5
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