10 Best Survivor Series Elimination Matches EVER - According To Dave Meltzer

4. Ten Team Elimination Match (2016, ****1/2)

Roman Reigns Shane McMahon
WWE.com

Lost in recollection to the drama and destruction of the singles equivalent higher up the card (more on that later), the Raw Vs SmackDown Tag Team Elimination Match was a very welcome return for the concept.

WWE had made a conscious effort to put the red and blue doubles divisions back on the map after Enzo & Cass, American Alpha, The Revival and others reinvigorated the style away from Vince McMahon's caustic glare on NXT.

The wretched 'Brand Supremacy' robbed the contest of some crucial narrative flow at times, with the trappings of a rivalry built solely on what night of the week performers worked occasionally hamstringing the action.

That said, it's an exceptional advert for how WWE's baseline in-ring quality has rocketed in recent years. The match was given less than a minute per man, with Sheamus and Cesaro wrapping up the 19 minute contest in an unlikely win that foreshadowed their dethroning of record breakers The New Day a month later and the 2017 they'd have as Raw's most consistent doubles act.

Lightning quick exits for Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods and Breezango added shock value to the battle, with the contest kicking into high gear around the five minute mark when Gallows and Anderson wiped out the listless Hype Bros with a Magic Killer. From there, the balls-to-the-wall sprees from duos clearly maximising their minutes gifted the battle a a methodic excitement often absent in these inter-brand battles.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett