WWE Survivor Series 2019 review: Highlights, takeaways and projections
By Luke Norris
WWE United States Champion AJ Styles vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong
Chris Jericho has gone on record saying that the second match of a big show is one of the worst spots you can be put in and I have to say that this Triple Threat Match should have gotten a better spot on the Survivor Series card. Just look at the participants here. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong. Wow. That’s not to say that these guys didn’t go out and give it all they had as this was a very solid matchup that just wasn’t given the time it richly deserved.
There were some fantastic spots here from all three competitors, which led to some great nearfalls. Nobody could gain a real edge with all of the back and forth and the finish played into that. It seemed that AJ Styles had the match locked up after hitting Shinsuke Nakamura with the Phenomenal Forearm but Roderick Strong ran in, threw Styles from the ring and stole the pin and the victory for NXT. Again, I liked the match but I just wish it had gone a little longer.
What’s next: This was a good win for Roderick Strong and while I thought they’d go with Styles here, I think giving Strong the victory was a good call. He’s one of the most talented performers on the planet and I’ve got no problem with him getting the spotlight. It draws even more attention to NXT and that’s not a bad thing. Each of these three will be looking for new challengers for their respective titles as the year comes to a close.
Survivor Series Scoreboard: NXT-3, Monday Night RAW-1, Friday Night SmackDown-1