Survivor Series 2021 is in the books. The six match card was bookended by a pair of fantastic matches with four of the top stars in WWE but left a lot to be desired in the middle, including with the traditional five-on-five elimination matches.
Let’s take a look at back at we learned from Survivor Series 2021.
1) Becky vs. Charlotte was the match of the night
The Raw Women’s Champion and SmackDown Women’s Champion kicked off the night with an outstanding match. What made their match so compelling, before the bell even rang, was the real-life animosity they felt for each other outside of the ring. In fact, it was appropriate to say that these two women had absolute disdain for each other. In the leadup to Survivor Series, there had been actual verbal jabs tossed back and forth via various media appearances.
If there was indeed any extra ill will felt heading into the matchup, fans may have noticed by way of the exchanges in the ring. As many pointed out, the two women traded hard strikes back and forth throughout the nearly 20-minute match. If you were to look up “snug” in the pro wrestling dictionary, this match would be used as an example. WWE played into the animosity heading into the clash, making the in-ring product that much better.
Charlotte and Becky are two of the best wrestlers, not just on the WWE roster, but in the entire world and they proved it again at Survivor Series.
Very much appreciate @BeckyLynchWWE speaking to me tonight, just minutes after her Survivor Series match vs. Charlotte. As you can see, she was very emotional and did not hold back. pic.twitter.com/DuV8rYzTgs
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 22, 2021
2. Becky Lynch is not a heel
If there’s anything else we learned during the Becky/Charlotte match it’s that Becky is best when she’s acting as a tweener, not steering towards heel.
Could any fan possibly boo the kind of wrestler that Becky was at Survivor Series? She was as good as it gets when it came to personality, her in-ring work was spectacular and her overall emotion shot right through the screen which endeared her to every fan watching.
Don’t make Becky a Stone Cold Steve Austin type babyface, but also don’t make her a full-blown heel. Rather, just let her be herself because that’s what most easily translates. She is a brilliant pro wrestler and one of, perhaps, five major stars in WWE alongside the likes of Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Bianca Belair and Roman Reigns.
I am above every champion, every team, every brand.
I stand alone at the top…
At the head of MY table.I exist where I belong…
The Main Event.
The Attraction.
The Last Needle Mover
The Tribal Chief. #SurvivorSeries— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) November 21, 2021
3. Roman Reigns remains the top star in WWE
Roman Reigns main-evented another WWE pay-per-view and, once again, exhibited why he should continue to do so.
Reigns is on a roll not seen in WWE since the likes of Hulk Hogan. Reigns just can not, and will not, lose. The results of his matches don’t feel forced, either, making his star status all the more believable and digestible. Reigns put on a superstar performance once more in the main event of Survivor Series, in a great clash against WWE Champion Big E. As great as Big E has been, and will continue to be, he didn’t stand a chance against Reigns. There is just too much momentum behind Reigns for him to lose now. Reigns hasn’t lost a singles match since his return to WWE in August of 2020, and he doesn’t appear ready to suffer a loss in the near future.
4. Big E is a top singles star
In addition to Reigns proving his continued value, Big E proved himself in a major spot at Survivor Series.
The reigning WWE Champion wrestled in the main event of one of the Core Four WWE pay-per-views and performed like he belonged through every second of the match.
Long has the prevailing thought been that Big E deserved a big spot on the show, and he regularly got one in the form of a major tag-team feud. However now with the WWE Championship around his waist, Big E is proving that he can carry WWE on his back by way of exceptional one-on-one big-match performances.
5. Survivor Series elimination matches need stakes
In the leadup to Survivor Series, Sportsnet chatted with Team SmackDown member Xavier Woods. The reigning King of the King winner was well aware that the five-on-five traditional Survivor Series matches were lacking any sort of meaning, outside of the manufactured “brand supremacy” that no one was buying, anyway.
King Xavier offered a suggestion where the winning team would receive preferred spots in the Royal Rumble. A survey among WWE fans found mixed feelings towards that idea, but there was still plenty of interest just based on it being something more than “bragging rights.”
WWE needs to run with an idea similar to Woods’ for next year because the men’s and women’s elimination matches had already lost a great deal of interest just based on lack of stakes. Next year, the winning team needs to be guaranteed something substantial.
WE DID IT!!! https://t.co/CTIEiMH2D7
— Kevin (@FightOwensFight) November 22, 2021
6. Kevin Owens’ gradual heel turn is a win for fans
As solid as Kevin Owens’ recent run as a good guy has been, it hasn’t come close to what he’s offered in the past as a no-nonsense bad guy. When K-O entered NXT and immediately targeted then-NXT Champion, and former best friend, Sami Zayn, he fit in perfectly.
This isn’t to say that Owens’ run wrestling in a babyface role wasn’t successful, but it did feel like he was missing a certain je ne sais quoi throughout his matchups with heels like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Zayn and others. Kevin Owens is at his best when he’s being an awful person inside and outside the ring.
Owens seemed to cement a turn back to the dark side after starting the matchup for Team Raw in the five-on-five elimination matchup, and immediately walking out on the team.
Rumours continue to swirl surrounding Owens’ contract status, but if the Montreal native is indeed on his way out then ending his WWE run as a heel is the best way to do it, especially if Owens can put a babyface in need of a facelift, like Ricochet, over in the process.
