12 WWE Survivor Series 2017 Impulse Reactions
5. The Hit Man
There were thankfully few echoes of the 1997 Survivor Series as WWE toasted 20 years since the Montreal Screwjob. It was nice to see the story left alone at a time the company may have felt ripe for reference, but even the briefest mention would have at least reminded younger fans that there was once a performer with the emotional and technical dexterity of Bret Hart.
To a generation of fans, 'The Hitman' was the glue that held their world together as a fan of a declining WWE. The mid-1990s were starved of believability, but not when the bell rang for Bret. No matter the story, he'd tell it with painstakingly accurate heft, carefully employing his broad skillset to leave both himself and his opponent better off regardless of the result.
The industry looked to have passed him by, but nonetheless left a vacancy for his modern equivalent that looked never to be filled until AJ Styles arrived in WWE. Not that 'The Phenomenal One' wasn't already the finished article in New Japan Pro Wrestling or his later days in TNA. But as WWE Champion, he may very well be the new 'Best There Is, Best There Was, and Best There Ever Will Be'.
The Pele kick to the back of Brock's head was a study in skilful desperation. The calf-killer near-tap and face-flattening escape may be the best spot of the entire year. Excellence of execution was certainly in supply, with Styles' immaculate selling of Lesnar's early assault finally making his auto-pilot effort seem worthy.
He couldn't slay the beast, and we all knew it, but AJ refused to let anybody believe it until the F5 was fatally landed.