11 Things WWE Got Right At Survivor Series 2016

2. The Longest Survivor Series Match In History

Braun Strowman Shane McMahon Bray Wyatt
WWE.com

Many commentators have already put in complaints about the length of this match, and at almost an hour long you can almost understand. But was this not what people have frequently clamoured for? Patient storytelling in matches that maintain the WWE obsession with people looking strong but doesn't do it at the expense of the entertainment?

This was a match featuring 10 of the most important members of the roster. You had your two World Champions in AJ Styles and Kevin Owens, two of the biggest names of the modern era in Randy Orton and Chris Jericho, three of the most successful elevations to the main event in recent memory in the shape of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins, the most exciting monster in recent memory in Braun Strowman, a genuine main event performer in Bray Wyatt, and the son of the owner of the company who has spent his in-ring career surviving in an attempt to show he belongs.

If this match would have been 30 minutes long and seen quick eliminations, commentators would have been apoplectic with rage. If Jericho was pinned seven minutes into the match after a Wyatt uranage, we'd all be angry at his poor treatment. Every elimination in this match was precious, and all 10 men looked like stars.

Stories were told throughout, stories that made sense and leave us in an exciting place going forward. It wasn't a Okada/Tanahashi 40 minute wrestling clinic, but this isn't NJPW. This is WWE, and this was as good a WWE storytelling match as you're getting it. If you don't like that, why are you watching?

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Contributor
Contributor

Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.