Hello readers and welcome to a post Survivor Series article, and today I am talking about the Sole Survivors of the three Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Matches, all pitting Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown LIVE. Though RAW have gotten the better of these matches, with a 2-1 final result, Team SD LIVE did show toughness, and in every match, there was, a Sole Survivor. Or should I say Survivors, as not one match ended up with one person being victorious, instead a duo. Therefore, let's take a look at our true Sole Survivors for 2016.
Charlotte and Bayley: Team RAW
Charlotte, the current RAW's Women's Champion and Team Captain of the Women's Team for RAW, made a statement during and after the match. Though she didn't have as strong of a performance as others, Charlotte made clear what her intentions were, to show why she was Team Captain. She did that by eliminating Natalya and Alexa Bliss, with two huge boots to the face, making a total of two eliminations for the champion. However, her most lovable partner in the match made it to the end as well, as Bayley contributed also with one elimination, by eliminating the final member of Team SmackDown LIVE, the Team Captain, the SmackDown's Women's Champion, Becky Lynch, who fought hard but succumbed to a Bayley-To-Belly, the final pinfall of the match, giving Team RAW the win.
However, after the match, teammate time was over. Only a couple of seconds after the referee raised both Charlotte and Bayley's hands in victory, Charlotte brutally attacked her just then former partner. Charlotte hit Bayley square in the face with an elbow, then threw her into the barricade twice, and a big boot, completely incapacitating Bayley. It was a message sent by Charlotte, that she won't allow Bayley to take the title off her waist. This is a huge hint that there will be a match between the two at Roadblock, for the title, which I'm completely fine with. However, Charlotte wanted to show that she was the best on Team RAW, both during and after the match.
Sheamus and Cesaro: Team RAW
Though WWE's most dysfunctional team didn't get too much time in the spotlight, they did have the best performance in the match wrestling wise. The two men showed off both of their mat skills, and having a mini clinic with the Usos on Team SmackDown Live. As it came down to the final teams of the match, both teams left it all in the ring. The momentum shifted back and forth between both teams, but there was one factor that allowed Cesaro and Sheamus to become the Sole Survivors of the match. The factor was teamwork, something that before Survivor Series, Cesaro and Sheamus were not very strong at. However, they saved each other from defeat multiple times, and Sheamus was able to almost kick the head off of Jimmy Uso, forcing his brother to tap to Cesaro's Sharpshooter, giving Team RAW another win.
In fact, RAW Commissioner, Stephanie McMahon, and RAW General Manager, Mick Foley, were so impressed with the team's performance, they awarded them a RAW Tag Team Championship match against the New Day the next night on RAW. The match happened, and was a great match, as Cesaro and Sheamus were looking very ready to snap the New Day's Championship reign. However, thanks to shenanigans by Xavier Woods, The New Day won the bout, and left Sheamus and Cesaro with nothing in the ring. Though they didn't come out with the titles, the team had a strong perfomance at the Survivor Series event, and I have no doubt in my mind they will be back in the Championship picture.
Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton: Team SmackDown LIVE
This is the pair of men not many of us would expect to be the last ones standing on the side of SmackDown, but hey, the whole Survivor Series event was full of surprises. In the almost hour long match, both Orton and Wyatt had a strong performance. There was no way they couldn't, as there was a lot of time to fill. Both men ended up with at least one elimination, and were they entertaining. Orton had one elimination, as he RKO'd Chris Jericho, who was worrying about his list, and he got planted and was eliminated by Orton. Bray Wyatt, had two eliminations, but had the help of Orton on both of them. Orton hit a huge out of nowhere RKO on Seth Rollins, who was jumping off the top rope and looking to splash Wyatt but instead got RKO'd, and Wyatt pinned him to eliminate him. As the match came down to Wyatt and Orton against Roman Reigns, Reigns was about to hit Wyatt with the Spear, but Orton pushed Wyatt out of the way to take it for him. Wyatt then sealed RAW's fate with a Sister Abigail, and eliminated Reigns, giving Team SD LIVE the win.
Many people were looking for Randy Orton to turn on Bray Wyatt a lot of times in this match, and many opportunities were given for it to happen. However, Orton remained loyal, and stayed with Wyatt, which benefited Team SmackDown LIVE to the point of winning with confidence. However, come SD LIVE last night, Orton and Wyatt booked themselves in a match against Number One Contenders for the SD Tag Team Championship, American Alpha for next weeks SD LIVE. Though they have already moved on from Survivor Series, it'll go down as one of the wildest matches in the WWE, with winners no one would've expected.
Who do you think should've survived to the end?
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Randy Orton did a feel-good thing for Shane McMahon's family. When McMahon appeared to hurt very badly, Orton, in heel persona, walked over to ringside where his family was, and told them that he was alright when it seemed very serious. Some fans noticed this, and took to Twitter with it, and Orton responded:
I'm a father. I know what it's like to have your kids ringside when shit goes sideways... https://t.co/9rtaCp48sJ— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) November 21, 2016
It's very great to see this kind of stuff in the WWE. It shows that either Heel or Face, they all come together as some of the best good in the world, making audiences feel extremely safe.
