WWE Survivor Series Kickoff
#SurvivorSeries
Original Air Date: November 19, 2017
Event Date: November 19, 2017
aired live on the WWE Network
City: Houston, TX
Venue: Toyota Center
Panel: Renee Young, Peter Rosenberg, Jerry Lawler, Shawn Michaels
Social Media Lounge: Charly Caruso
RAW Commentary: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T
SmackDown Commentary: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
205 Live Commentary: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph
Ring Announcer: Jojo, Greg Hamilton
Panel
Renee Young introduces the Kickoff Panel and asks them what it means to be a part of Survivor Series. They talk a little about the history of the event before talking about tonight’s show. Rosenberg and Michaels seem to stumble a bit through the announcements, but it seems like half a gimmick for Michaels.
Video
Buildup for New Day vs The Shield.
Panel
The panel talks about New Day versus The Shield. HBK thinks New Day has an edge they didn’t have before, and Lawler points out the brand rivalry that is pushing this matchup. The entire panel picks The Shield to win.
Renee then introduces Charly Caruso in the Social Media Lounge. She’ll be talking with The Miz later tonight. Charly then sends it to Sam Roberts outside the venue. Roberts tries to speak over chanting fans.
Video
Last month, Shane McMahon put RAW under siege and kicked off the buildup for Survivor Series.
Backstage
Becky Lynch gives her team a pep talk, but Natalya interrupts and tries to pump up the team herself. Naomi, Lana, and Carmella chime in with reasons why Team SmackDown is superior. Tamina is also there.
Panel
The panel talks about the women’s elimination match, saying that the personalities on both teams are going to be difficult to control. Rosenberg and Michaels pick RAW, Lawler and Young pick SmackDown.
Panel
Alexa Bliss replaces Jerry Lawler on the panel and talks about her match tonight. She wasn’t prepared to face Charlotte, but she’ll still prevail. Young brings up the point that Charlotte is bigger than Bliss, but Bliss and Michaels are both slightly offended with the assumption that the bigger person is automatically at an advantage.
Charlotte joins the conversation via video and says she is a Flair and she is a grand-slam champion. ** The conversation was kind of awkward with pauses, stutters, and stammers from both women. **
Ring Area
Elias sings a song about Houston until Matt Hardy interrupts.
Match 1
Elias vs Matt Hardy
(referee: Shawn Bennett; commentators: RAW; ring announcer: Jojo)
Result: Elias wins via pinfall after Drift Away
Time: 7:51 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Elias looked surprisingly strong, dominating Hardy throughout the match. He focused nearly all of his attacks on Matt’s arm which made for a smart and solid match. This is probably my favorite Elias match (which isn’t saying much, but I did like him in this one). I feel a little bad for Matt though. He got destroyed.
Video
Baron Corbin and The Miz trade promos over Twitter.
Social Media Lounge
Charly Caruso welcomes The Miz. Caruso moderates some questions from the internet, question which Miz thinks are dumb.
Panel
Rosenberg hopes both Miz and Corbin somehow lose tonight.
Match 2
Cruiserweight Title Match
Kalisto vs Enzo Amore (Cruiserweight Champ)
(referee: Darrick Moore; commentators: 205 Live; ring announcer: Greg Hamilton)
Result: Enzo Amore wins via pinfall after JawdonZo and retains the title
Time: 7:23 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
This was pretty good. Kalisto was the aggressor and had some nice moves, but the match did stumble a little for me. It was fine, but a slightly awkward brawl on the apron made the final segments of the match feel a little off. The match didn’t feel terribly important either. The action was fine though. Nothing really wrong with that.
Panel
The panel contemplates what happens after Survivor Series.
Sam Roberts has entered the building, but he’s still being flanked by loud fans.
Video
This past week, RAW finally retaliated against SmackDown’s siege.
Panel
Peter Rosenberg mentions the street fight that Angle and Shane McMahon had at King of the Ring years ago as part of the animosity between the two men. They talk about more history within the men’s elimination match. Michaels picks Team RAW, Lawler and Rosenberg pick Team SmackDown.
Ring Area
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens head to the ring, and they’re not happy. They’re both upset about being forced to fight Breezango tonight on the Kickoff show, and they’re upset about not being the leaders of Team SmackDown. Shane is to blame for their troubles. He’s also responsible for creating an unsafe work environment. Zayn and Owens will not be pawns in some twisted sibling rivalry.
Breezango interrupt and head to the ring. They have some violations to hand out.
Match 3
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs Breezango
(referee: Jason Ayers; commentators: SD; ring announcer: Greg Hamilton)
Result: Kevin Owens pins Fandango after a pop-up powerbomb
Time: 7:06 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. It was simple, but it was enjoyable. I don’t think they quite made a case for this match making it onto the main show, but both teams were solid and will be missed from Survivor Series regardless.
Backstage
Kayla Braxton welcomes AJ Styles. Styles might be afraid of what will happen in the ring tonight, but he’s not afraid of Brock Lensar. Jinder Mahal walks up, says nothing, and walks away.
Video
Buildup for AJ Styeles versus Brock Lesnar.
Panel
The panel discusses the Styles/Lesnar match. Michaels tries to articulate what it’s like to face someone who is so much bigger than you are. Michaels picks Styles, Rosenberg and Lawler pick Lensar.
The Panel gets ready for the main show as we see New Day and The Shield get ready for the first Survivor Series match of the night.
Show Impressions
Not a bad Kickoff. There were some backstage segments and a few interviews, but it still felt really long. Even with three matches it felt long. I don’t think it really added anything to the main show either, so this wasn’t a very important pre-show. Also, the panel seemed to keep stumbling over their words all night. All of them, except for Renee Young.
Match of the Show
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs Breezango
This match was more solid than the cruiserweight match, and it was more competitive than the Elias/Hardy match. It was good, but it’s not something anyone should go out of their way to watch.
>> Read the Recap & Review for Survivor Series. >>