7 Ups And 9 Downs From WWE Survivor Series 2018

4. Cruiserweights Shine

buddy murphy mustafa ali
WWE.com

On a night when every other match was all about “brand supremacy” and forced conflict, one match stood out: the Cruiserweight Championship match between Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali.

The two got a nice video package outlining the rivalry, which helps for the fans who don’t watch 205 Live. Murphy and Ali didn’t hold back, firing off a series of fast-paced, high-impact moves. Murphy used his strength to control, but Ali’s unpredictability and speed helped him stay in the match, hitting a spike rana and around-the-world draping DDT for near-falls, and a Spanish Fly off the announce table that drew a “205!” chant.

In the end, Murphy hit two powerbombs and Murphy’s Law for the win to retain his title, but the two men showed that the cruiserweights, when given the opportunity, can steal the show.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.