WWE Survivor Series 2018: Star Ratings For All 8 Matches

2. SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair Vs. RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey

Five Stars
WWE.com

Ronda Rousey, before last night, hadn’t wrestled a top-tier performer on pay-per-view, the brief, electric exchanges with Triple H at WrestleMania 34 notwithstanding.

Stephanie McMahon; Nia Jax; Alexa Bliss; Nikki Bella; if those names were laid out front of you moments after the Royal Rumble, and you were told that Ronda Rousey, who had not wrestled professionally until April 8, 2018, was to wrestle all of them, you’d have (rightly) predicted an unmitigated disaster. And yet, she entered strong, top-tier performances against the lot, even in those matches that didn’t play to her strengths. Ronda Rousey Vs. Anybody Really Good was always going to be awesome.

This was awesome.

It was awesome immediately. Charlotte threw a kick; Rousey responded with a full-on lunging jab. This required incredible timing on Charlotte’s part to duck, and duck she did. Purposefully rough—this was a fight—the early submission attempts and escapes were breathless in their tension. Charlotte dominated from there, showing incredible aggression, and it was a clever layout: wary of the SuperCharlotte resentment, WWE steered away from any cynical sympathy ploy.

This started to flat-out f*cking rule as they sprinted to the finish. Rousey countered Natural Selection with the armbar in an an awesome spot. Rousey countered a moonsault with a raised foot in an awesome spot. Charlotte responded to a roaring, braggadocios Rousey by killing her with a spear in an awesome. It ended, like all great first acts do, by crafting a must-see anticipation for the second.

In the wake of Becky Lynch’s amazing rise to superstardom, this was dreaded as a WrestleMania main event. Had it materialised, with a conclusive finish worthy of a WrestleMania main event, it would have been up there with the best.

Star Rating: ****1/2

Contributor
Contributor

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!