WWE Survivor Series 2017: Live grades, results, highlights

Follow along with our live review of the 2017 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

On Sunday night, the 2017 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view will take place. The Toyota Center in Houston, TX, will host this final “Big Four” show of the year, as RAW and SmackDown Live collide in multiple Interbrand matches.

Aside from the WWE Cruiserweight Championship match, everything seen on the main card will be RAW superstars vs. SmackDown superstars. No titles will be on the line, so it’s all about brand supremacy — however much it matters.

In the battle of world champions, Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles will go head-to-head. This was supposed to be Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal, until Styles won the WWE Championship at the United Kingdom episode of SmackDown. Which wrestling veteran will leave Survivor Series as the winner?

In the most star-stuffed match of the evening, Team RAW will face Team SmackDown in a 5-on-5 Elimination bout. Kurt Angle, Triple H, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe will represent the Flagship Show, while Shane McMahon, John Cena, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton will suit up for Team Blue. Expect shenanigans and chaos to take place in this potential main event, which could exceed 30 minutes of in-ring time.

On the women’s side, their 5-on-5 match has Alicia Fox, Asuka, Bayley, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks of RAW facing Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya and Tamina of SmackDown. Who will receive the brand bragging rights on Sunday night?

Outside of these matches, Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair, The Shield vs. New Day, Baron Corbin vs. The Miz and Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The Usos will take place, Which of these interband contests will shine in Houston?

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Survivor Series goes live at 7:00 p.m. ET on the WWE Network. Live results and grades will be posted below.

The Shield vs. New Day

Result: The Shield defeated New Day via pinfall.

The first “dream match” of Survivor Series, The Shield and New Day collided for the first time ever. Things stayed at a mostly frenetic pace, until the action broke down and carried outside the ring. We even received a spear through the ropes from Big E, who was the star of this match for his spots and activity throughout.

Everything else was fantastic. The dramatics provided edge-of-your-seat moments, with finishers being hit and multiple near falls that looked like things were over for one team. The double Big Ending was awesome, along with Reigns’ spear that cost New Day the pinfall.

To close, The Shield broke out a Triple Powerbomb from the top rope. A fresh take on their long-time finish to win a spectacular opener that will be difficult to top the rest of the night.

Grade: A+

Women’s 5-on-5 Elimination Match
Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown

Result: Team RAW defeats Team SmackDown.

The first of the two 5-on-5 matches showcased the women. It started slow, with Team SmackDown falling behind, until things got interesting after Becky Lynch’s elimination.

Who would have thought Tamina vs. Nia Jax would be a hyped up matchup? It actually showcased some of the most interesting action in this bout, with these two powerhouses going head-to-head.

After this, the match fell apart. Jax’s countout elimination looked strange, while Alicia Fox’s downfall came off like a botch. So, Sasha Banks sprinted in and submitted Naomi in about three seconds. It all felt clunky and disjointed, throwing off the rhythm that Jax and Tamina created.

However, that led to Asuka shining and taking out the rest of Team SmackDown in a 2-on-1 situation. It was a well-deserved moment to showcase herself, even if the match was a disappointment. She’ll get a RAW Women’s Championship opportunity soon, right?

Grade: C+

The Miz vs. Baron Corbin

Result: Baron Corbin defeated The Miz via pinfall.

The Miz vs. Baron Corbin was the rare case of a heel vs. heel matchup. It’s difficult to get invested in a match like this, with no one the crowd can get behind. That doesn’t mean this one-on-one disappointed, however.

The A-lister worked at Corbin’s legs, using one of the first cases of ring psychology at Survivor Series. It slowed the big man down for a time but not enough to have him power through dynamic moves like the Deep Six and End of Days, which he planted on Bo Dallas and Miz.

This could have been the night’s worst match. Instead, it delivered a positive 10 minutes or so. Heel vs. heel will never feel satisfying, but Corbin and Miz did enough to make this interesting.

Grade: B

Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The Usos

Result: The Usos defeated Cesaro and Sheamus via pinfall.

Like the previous match, it was an odd one to get invested in. Cesaro and Sheamus and The Usos are heels but have enough talent to make anything they do interesting. That was the case at Survivor Series, even with a slow start.

The back half of the match brought some exciting moments, including what looked like a Samoan Drop off the top rope from Jey Uso (indirect assist credited to Cesaro). It drew the overused “This is awesome” chant and opened the match up for The Usos.

Kicks and splashes won Jimmy and Jey this match, closing yet another fun showing at Survivor Series. It was also the latest great bout for the SmackDown Tag Team Champions. They’ve been red-hot since the spring, winning the titles and moving onto that classic rivalry against New Day. Sunday night only saw their stock trend up.

Grade: B+

Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair

Result: Charlotte Flair defeated Alexa Bliss via submission.

Somewhat surprisingly, Alexa Bliss dominated much of this match. For believability, this seems strange since there’s about a seven-to-nine inch disparity between the two. However, they worked fine in a somewhat long match.

This took a little while to get into a rhythm, taking its time until the action picked up around the second half. It wasn’t even a one-sided Charlotte match, as Bliss delivered one of her best showings and didn’t get carried through. This should help raise the bar for future matches, one of which will probably be against Asuka.

This wasn’t Survivor Series’ best match at all, but it provided a proper pace to bridge the gap to the two star-studded matches of the evening. Both women are still headed in strong directions, with Charlotte having a fantastic past six days.

Grade: B

AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

Result: Brock Lesnar defeated AJ Styles via pinfall.

AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar was about everything you would have expected. The size difference came into play from the start, with Lesnar tossing Styles around the ring like a rag doll. It was a one-sided affair that made it appear the Phenomenal One had no chance. Seriously, it looked like it would be a suplex fest and victory for the Beast.

However, Styles worked back in the “David” role, hitting all sorts of offense to ground Lesnar. That included working at the knees and hitting a big springboard forearm. This comeback even the match, a well-deserved nod for someone that’s been a tireless and amazing worker for the WWE since January 2016.

In the clip below, it shows one of the best sequences of the match. All of the finisher counters were awe-inspiring.

The match went over 10 minutes, which was great and allowed these two to more than enough time to put on a show. Lesnar may have hurt his leg when he caught Styles for an F-5, but either way, it was a fantastic prelude to the 5-on-5 Men’s Elimination match and could have headlined any WWE pay-per-view.

Grade: A

Men’s 5-on-5 Elimination Match
Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown

Result: Team RAW defeated Team SmackDown.

With how long this match went, there was an incredible amount of action to digest. Especially with the 10 stars that filled the ring. Even if they had an average age of 40, this contained the top names to make this interesting.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe were the first eliminated. While criticisms will surround taking out the fresher faces for the older blood (Kurt Angle, John Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton), this match was always going to be about the authority figures. WWE wouldn’t waste a rare Cena appearance, either, with an early elimination.

When it was down to Shane McMahon and Orton vs. Triple H, Braun Strowman and Angle, it made for a potentially interesting finale. That was until the Viper got eliminated, which left the SmackDown Commissioner as the only man remaining for the Blue Brand. It sucked the remaining life out of the match, including the bizarre ending that saw the Game attack Angle, have Shane pin him, and then take out his brother-in-law for the win.

The post-match angle with Strowman and Triple H may have created its own storyline and was entertaining. However, it was a bad main event that provided little-to-no logic.

Grade: D