Today WWE fans get ready to sit down and enjoy yet another Survivor Series where the brands go to war against one another. It’s a gimmick that makes sense given the current trend to have different brands, but it lacks the magic of old school Survivor Series.
Survivor Series used to be an event
This isn’t a rant like it may sound, but more of a take on how this was once a legitimate pay-per-view people would order and watch after, during, or before their Thanksgiving dinner the first few years of its existence. It’s a fun show that we’ve seen matchups that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise, like the 1989 team of Demolition, Hulk Hogan, and Jake “The Snake” Roberts against the Million Dollar Dream of Ted DiBiase, the Powers of Pain, and Zeus, or the 10 team tag team match (My personal favorite match ever) in the inaugural Survivor Series in 1987.
Now, it’s more or less a watered down version of what we see every week on Raw or Smackdown. A perfect example is the team elimination match this year where if we take out NXT, it’s basically Team Hogan versus Team Flair from Crown Jewel.
This wouldn’t be an event as we see these teams or something similar regularly on their brand. What makes this different is NXT’s involvement.
NXT will make or break the WWE
The reason this year’s Survivor Series is going to be an event is because of NXT. NXT is more than WWE’s future superstars, it’s their best show, their best brand, and it’s run a hundred times better. All of this is from a fan or critic’s point of view. This is why adding them to the event was a smart move.
With so many promotions out there making a name for themselves and more wrestlers going Independent, NXT is the X factor for the WWE in much the same way as DeGeneration X was in the 90s.
Is it any wonder they stormed Smackdown with a jeep?
This is seriously as close to those old school Survivor Series as we’re likely to get anytime soon. And this is the frustrating part about it, as most fans can attest. With all of this talent on hand, it’s unfathomable how the WWE can be so boring.
Still, we can all agree that McMahon finally did something right by adding NXT to Survivor Series.
What’ll come out of this is NXT will become a legitimate contender viewership wise while still being a developmental brand. Though that label should be removed.
Even with NXT being added, not having several elimination matches hurts. It’d be fun to have three or even four elimination matches. It’d allow more talent to share the stage and open doors on possible feuds that wouldn’t have come about otherwise.
That’s what’s missing
With the old school Survivor Series elimination style matches, we were shown all kinds of possibilities for rivalries and storylines. They were a cornucopia of possibilities as more faces added a greater sense of unpredictability that’s lacking in today’s WWE.
It’s one thing to have friends or people brought together against a greater foe, but when it’s the practically the same group over and over, maybe it’s time to revisit what’s being done and what we’re watching.
In the end, this is for our entertainment. Maybe that’s why so many prefer the Golden and Attitude Eras compared to the PG one? Just a thought.
