Comparing WWE Survivor Series 2016 To NXT TakeOver: Toronto
Which brand won the weekend?
A packed weekend of action for Canadian wrestling fans has drawn to a close, incorporating NXT TakeOver: Toronto and the 30th Annual Survivor Series events. Both events had been promoted extensively by the WWE marketing machine, and both promised a full night of excitement for WWE Network subscribers.
Inevitably, both events will be compared with each other. Which delivered the best matches, had the most exciting moments, or told the best stories? Did the so-called developmental show once again outshine the main roster, as they have done on so many similar occasions, or did the superior star power of the top names in the business make Survivor Series more memorable? Which matches lived up to the hype, and which ended with a whimper?
The theme of the weekend was the conflict between Raw and SmackDown Live, so let’s take that concept and give it a twist, pitting NXT against WWE for brand supremacy. Who knows, maybe a future Survivor Series will have the exact same gimmick…
7. Show Openers
Both shows opened with the usual elaborate hype videos for their respective events, which were flawlessly produced and presented, as is par for the course for WWE’s top-line production department.
However, a difference that was immediately apparent when the shows went to the live crowd was the energy of those assembled in the Air Canada Centre. While the Survivor Series crowd was excited and cheering for the opening, the NXT assembly, which was actually smaller, were incredibly amped up for the start of the show, and were reacting much more loudly.
A possible contributing factor was the contrasting soundtracks; NXT went with a hard-rock song blasting throughout the arena, the type that would have fitted in perfectly to WWE events around 2000-2001, while SS chose to use a more modern, electronic-sounding track. The former was ideal for pumping up the crowd, while the latter seemed intended to give the opposite effect, as it wasn’t the most energetic song choice for the show.
Winner: NXT