WWE Survivor Series 2017: Star Ratings For All 7 Matches
1. Men's Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
It's reasonable to suggest that all watching, from the most loyal foot soldiers to the most jaded of critics, went full Matt Striker for virtually the entire first ten minutes. Mark-out mode was instantly enabled; the sight of Shinsuke Nakamura kicking Triple H's face off, Nakamura and Finn Bálor entering into an ultra-crisp, ultra-heated exchange, Bobby Roode out-Gloriousing Triple H...this was the reality of the dream match realised...
...until Nakamura and Roode were swiftly, unceremoniously and depressingly eliminated, as Randy Orton, who contributed little else in terms of in-ring performance and narrative importance, remained. This is a company allergic to the next generation - even the present generation.
The WrestleMania comparisons, in the end, were apt: this was 'Mania in microcosm - for better and for worse.
Rich storytelling, richer continuity, dream combinations, winning nostalgia - but the stirring sight of John Cena and Kurt Angle squaring off was as good as it got after Roode and Nakamura were put in their place; much like 'Mania, the remaining story centred on the so-called real stars. The present and the past were explored with some superb work in the opening half, but the future was dulled just enough to remove the gloss from the whole.
This devolved into a rampant Shane McMahon ego trip. Credit where credit is due: at least he took a lovely bump from Bálor’s front dropkick into the barricade. From that point forward, his watch was deeply problematic. He easily warded off the threat of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and spent as long in the Ankle lock as Shawn Michaels did at 'Mania 21.
Michaels used his legacy on the Grandest Stage as a painkiller; Shane McMahon is simply hard as nails - but Shane had a chair. Triple H at least didn't eliminate Nakamura and Roode; Braun Strowman did. Those are the protests - but Shane and Trips are savvy enough to conceal their egos with an opaque sheen. The final act was trademark Shane indulgence and trademark Triple H insidiousness; the last visual was of Strowman, but the story was all about the ‘Game’.
This went from five-star dream match to nightmarish zero-star exercise in antagonistically brainless booking. There can only be one rating.
Star Rating: **1/2