7 Match Star Ratings For WWE Survivor Series 2021

5. Team RAW Vs. Team SmackDown (Men's)

Big E Roman Reigns II
WWE.com

What a waste of time.

Kevin Owens knew this. He realised that the match with zero stakes was of no worth to him whatsoever. He hated his teammates as much as his opponents. He was contracted by the other brand a month ago. And so, with a shrug, he was intentionally counted out. Given the storyline events of RAW in recent weeks, he's still scheduled to wrestle Big E, so what difference does the loss really mean?

Nothing.

Nothing means anything.

Half an hour, this went. Half an hour of pointlessness that became somewhat good and exciting by the finish, but nowhere near enough. They expressly told you at the start of the match that it didn't matter, so it didn't matter that Jeff Hardy and Seth Rollins worked a dramatic final stretch, or that Austin Theory was elevated with a halfway committed push by 2021 standards. It didn't matter that Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley worked a good hoss bomb exchange because the f*cking match didn't matter.

Within an exhausting duration, Finn Bálor was eliminated by Sheamus, taking his second fall in the space of a week, which proved beyond doubt that WWE held no interest in protecting him at Extreme Rules. This wasn't just pointlessly long; it was long to its detriment. Sheamus kicked out of a Seth Rollins thrust kick deep into the last third, and not a single soul reacted. The crowd was so bored by the malaise of it all that the usual conditioning tactics proved ineffective.

Worse still, the result is an excuse for Seth Rollins to do more of his trademark droning in the weeks and months to come.

Star Rating: ★★½

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!