SmackDown: Survivor Series analysis and heading to WarGames

The last “SmackDown” on Friday offered us a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match in the main event, a day before Survivor Series, which features two WarGames matches, but not traditional Survivor Series tag team matches. In addition, LA Knight’s surprise opponent was revealed, with Sheamus withdrawing from the “The Last Time Is Now” tournament due to a shoulder injury, and one more match from the tournament. To conclude, Charlotte Flair and Asuka faced off to decide who would gain the advantage for their WarGames match on Saturday.

“SmackDown” Results for Friday:

• Jey Uso defeated Rusev in the “The Last Time Is Now” tournament.
• LA Knight defeated The Miz in the “The Last Time Is Now” tournament.
• Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka.
• The MFTs defeated Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix and The Motor City Machine Guns in a traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 elimination match.

Sikoa’s victory makes sense

Solo Sikoa’s victory as the sole survivor in the Survivor Series elimination match was the right decision, defeating Sami Zayn. Sikoa continues in the “The Last Time Is Now” tournament, so getting a big win before his match on Monday on “Raw” to continue his path to be Cena’s last opponent on December 13th was logical. In addition, he avenged himself on Zayn, which could end their rivalry for now. The Wyatt Sicks intervened after the match, instilling fear in Sikoa, as the Wyatts/MFTs were always on a collision course. Will the Wyatts cost Solo his match on “Raw” in the tournament?

Other key points and arguments

Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka, which means Flair’s team will have the numerical advantage in the WarGames match on Saturday. It will start one-on-one, but after five minutes, a member of Flair’s team will be allowed to join, meaning they will have a two-on-one advantage. The numbers will always favor Flair’s team as members of the opposing teams join the match at five-minute intervals until all five members of both teams are in the cage and “The Match Beyond” begins.

The Miz’s entry into the “The Last Time Is Now” tournament, replacing Sheamus, may have disappointed some fans, but it was logical. The Miz defeated John Cena at WrestleMania 27 in 2011 and they have a lot of history together. The Miz would want to end Cena’s career with a loss, but in the end it was useless because The Miz lost the match against LA Knight. Gunther is still my favorite to win the tournament. I still wonder if there is one more step beyond that before we have Cena’s final opponent.

Chelsea Green did a lot with a little during her scheduled North American celebration segment. Right after Green began the countdown for the “pyrotechnic display”, Jade Cargill burst into the ring and attacked Green. While Green was recovering, the fireworks exploded as Cargill posed near the entrance. Green is one of the best in WWE at reactions. It was a fun moment, also very logical, which adds to Green’s excellent presentation.

Including the Survivor Series match on “SmackDown” was a good idea. Survivor Series, in my opinion, is the weakest concept of the top-tier premium live events and WarGames has been a welcome addition to the event. Survivor Series sometimes lacks stakes and uniqueness: we see many multi-person and elimination team matches throughout the year, so even with the Survivor Series label it doesn’t feel special.