A reminder, here are the 6 matches already set up for Survivor Series 2019 in Chicago.
WWF Title: Tyler Black (w/Renee) v. Shinsuke Nakamura
Bullet Club (Lynch/Anderson/Gallows) v. Horsemen (Flair/Strong/Roode) v. New Day (Banks/Langston/Kingston)
IC Title: Ricochet (w/Alexander) v. Adam Cole
Losing Manager Leaves Town: GDI (O’Reilly/Fish w/Maria) v. Clique (Lee/Riddle w/HBK)
Tag Titles: Shoot Nation (Gable/Nemeth w/Angle) v. Steen/Mysterio
Brock Lesnar (w/Angle) v. Walter (w/Heyman)
And here's the rest of the card:
AJ Styles v. Tommaso Ciampa
The American Dragon Bryan Danielson v. Pete Dunne (w/Nigel)
Women's Title: Bayley v. Shayna Baszler (w/Horsewomen)
Women's Number One Contender: Asuka v. Shirai v. Sane v. Storm
Revival v. Viking Raiders
Elimination Match (Surviving Team Battles Following Night, Winner Earns Tag Shot at Wrestlemania): Team Reigns: Reigns/Strowman/Kalisto/Priest/Rush v. Team McIntyre: McIntyre/Tozawa/Dorada/Ali/Ford
Let's break these matches down.
AJ Styles v. Tommaso Ciampa
The American Dragon Bryan Danielson v. Pete Dunne (w/Nigel)
-AJ is the ace of the promotion; 2 time WWF Champ, Triple Crown winner; Danielson was the prior ace, but then he got hurt, returned, lost the big showdown match with AJ, then lost to him again, then lost to Lesnar - and facing Brock can change a person. Danielson changed, started to take short cuts, he argued he hadn't changed - he was always the adaptable guy, the guy who could wrestle any style - and now the adaption requires he take some alternate measures to win matches. Those explanations turned into explaining wrestling to other wrestlers - even stopping matches in the middle to make those explanations. There's a thin line between helpful veteran who everyone loves and Jesus will this guy just shut the fuck up?
-Ciampa and Gargano were partners, part of GDI and when it split, they chose opposite sides, that led to a bitter feud which led to two significant Ciampa injuries. He returned in this build, said his neck was never going to okay again, any match could be his last. So, he needed to change the way he thinks about his career, he's not pursuing championships - he's not building to anything at all. Any match could be his last. So - he challenges Gargano, says it's one last time - and he beats him.
-AJ says this is the kind of guy he wants to wrestle - a guy who wrestles like it's his last match, who will give him everything he has. And that's the match, it's all babyface, but there's a desparation in Ciampa that gives him a little menace.
-Danielson wrestles Trent Seven, stops the match in the middle for a tutorial. This infuriates Nigel - they have all the teaching they need, Bryan, thanks. And that leads to a series of promos unfolding the years that have passed since their ROH wars, Nigel going to TNA and winning that title, Nigel having to retire prematurely, Danielson "doing him a favor" by hiring him when he was WWF Commissioner. It's enough to establish the "Danielson just thinks he's better than other people/other people just don't understand things, and Bryan's willing to explain them, but you can't make a horse drink" dynamic.
-Strong workrate matches here in the middle of this card; Styles v. Ciampa, Danielson v. Dunne, main events anywhere in the world, one might say.
-Gargano is doing a thing with his partner Claudio, Claudio's old partner Hero, and Zelina Vega's rudo team, Garza and Carillo (no masks) called Dioses del sol Retorcidos (Twisted Sun Gods). But that will be discussed in the Rumble build.
Women's Title: Bayley v. Shayna Baszler (w/Horsewomen)
Women's Number One Contender: Asuka v. Shirai v. Sane v. Storm
-In addition to the mixed tag discussed in part 1, two other women's matches on the card. Asuka had a long title run, culminating in her beating Rousey in the money match at Mania. She's still undefeated, doing the full Goldberg gimmick. However - the Horsewomen (led by Baszler, with the addition of Ripley) took Asuka out after running Rousey out of the promotion. So, the title was vacated and Bayley won it at Summer Slam. This is "I'm a Hugger" Bayley, pure white meat babyface. Bayley was, of course, stomped out by Baszler and her crew and so there's this match. It's exactly what you'd expect, Bayley is always an underdog and remains so here, against the monster, monster heel Baszler. Bayley gets some solid, good workrate match, win in this build (she beats like Natty, that kind of thing) and Baszler just squashes a couple of women, really breaks them in half, Clubber Lang style (like Alexa, that would be good, just finishes her) If when asked her prediction for Survivor Series, Baszler responded "my prediction? Pain" that's the vibe
-However - Asuka is back, that happens late in the build; the plan is a 3 way, all babyface match, winner gets the title shot at the Rumble - with best friends Shirai and Sane and also Toni Storm. One fall to a finish. However, in the last couple of weeks, a special announcement that a 4th woman would be added - and it's the newly medically cleared Asuka. Good workrate match, with the possibility that Asuka could lose her undefeated streak - even if she's not involved in the finish, given the match stips.
Revival v. Viking Raiders
Elimination Match (Surviving Team Battles Following Night, Winner Earns Tag Shot at Wrestlemania): Team Reigns: Reigns/Strowman/Kalisto/Priest/Rush v. Team McIntyre: McIntyre/Tozawa/Dorada/Ali/Ford
-Standard tag program during the build, Revival v. Viking Raiders (I keep typing War Machine, it's a substantially better name, like Tommy End level better, but I'm letting it fly by) Revival are heels, Raiders are the babyfaces, they each beat the other in the build and this is positioned as the blow off .
-And Finally...
Everyone in the 5x5 match (first such match in Survivor Series history) is part of a tag team (almost) it's an elimination match; whomever "survives" on the winning team will face off on RAW the following night to earn a tag title shot at Wrestlemania.
The Reigns team is nominally the heel team, the Usos have been feuding with Hooligans since Roman's return from illness, Hooligans are mostly babyfaces, Usos are mostly heels (ideally, that would be flipped, but McIntyre is needed on the babyface side for the next year) and so the McIntyre team is the babyfave team. Priest and Rush is a heel tag act (think IRL Enzo and Cass for the dynamic between the two) and you know that Ali and Dorada are together, they're the babyface act feuding with them. Strowman is half of Gods of Carnage, originally, one of the guys from AoP was going to be the 5th member, he's injured very, very late and Kalisto, despite being all babyface, is inserted in that lineup, it is his first match since Mania - he no longer has a tag partner and the idea is he is searching for one
Tozawa is, of course, part of BWI, and Ford is Montez Ford, half of the Street Profits, doing their IRL gimmick. Whomever survives on the winning team squares off on RAW the next night - winner earns a tag title match at Wrestlemania.
And that's the card.
WWF Title: Tyler Black (w/Renee) v. Shinsuke Nakamura
Brock Lesnar (w/Angle) v. Walter (w/Heyman)
IC Title: Ricochet (w/Alexander) v. Adam Cole
Tag Titles: Shoot Nation (Gable/Nemeth w/Angle) v. Steen/Mysterio
AJ Styles v. Tommaso Ciampa
The American Dragon Bryan Danielson v. Pete Dunne (w/Nigel)
Women's Title: Bayley v. Shayna Baszler (w/Horsewomen)
Losing Manager Leaves Town: GDI (O’Reilly/Fish w/Maria) v. Clique (Lee/Riddle w/HBK)
Women's Number One Contender: Asuka v. Shirai v. Sane v. Storm
Revival v. Viking Raiders
Bullet Club (Lynch/Anderson/Gallows) v. Horsemen (Flair/Strong/Roode) v. New Day (Banks/Langston/Kingston)
Elimination Match (Surviving Team Battles Following Night, Winner Earns Tag Shot at Wrestlemania): Team Reigns: Reigns/Strowman/Kalisto/Priest/Rush v. Team McIntyre: McIntyre/Tozawa/Dorada/Ali/Ford
I mean, come on? It's on the WWF Network! What more could you ask for?
Coming in November from Chicago. Survivor Series 2019
