WWE Survivor Series 2018: Star Ratings For All 8 Matches
7. Women’s Traditional Elimination Match
Last year’s equivalent was a total mess held together at the seams by Asuka’s star power. This match very much didn’t have that going for it, though the Empress played her brief role so well that it created cruel hope for her future.
This was smoother, but far less interesting. It went too long, and didn’t really work as an opener. Tamina’s apparent killer instinct—they’re still going with that!—didn’t amount to much; sensibly, she was removed from the fray very early. Nia Jax is the pantomime villain of November, and the crowd naturally reacted with boos and hisses. She revelled in the role, to her credit, and kept things interesting when Mandy Rose really didn’t do much at all to justify her surprise inclusion.
There’s storytelling, and then there’s building the Absolution split storyline. There was so much Mandy Rose in it that it felt at times like the adaptation of Corey Graves’ very creepy fan fiction. At least Jerry Lawler was funny with it. Sonya Deville can’t do spine busters, but Asuka at least wiped her feet on Nia as if she were a piece of sh*t.
Uneven, is the word.
But, by the end, you were left anticipating a Nia Jax singles match. That takes some doing.
Star Rating: **3/4