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Bianca Belair was the sole survivor as Team Raw defeated Team SmackDown in the traditional women's five-on-five elimination match at WWE Survivor Series on Sunday.
The EST of WWE had to battle back from a 4-to-1 deficit after SmackDown ran roughshod over Raw to open the match. The team from the blue brand provided a helping hand after their infighting caused Sasha Banks to get eliminated.
From there, Belair went to work taking apart her opponents. She put the finishing touches on her comeback with a K.O.D. to Shotzi Blackheart.
The Raw and SmackDown women's and men's teams for the pay-per-view were announced Nov. 6 on Twitter, and it immediately became clear that there would be some combustible elements.
On the Raw side, Belair, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Carmella and Queen Zelina Vega were chosen to represent the red brand.
SmackDown countered with a talented and eclectic team made up of Banks, Shayna Baszler, Blackheart, Natalya and Aliyah. The team underwent a late change, though, when WWE official Sonya Deville replaced the main roster newcomer with Toni Storm.
While both teams included some of the best wrestlers the WWE women's division has to offer, they also contained the potential for some in-fighting.
Raw had a strong leader in Belair, but she had her work cut out for her, especially when it came to keeping Morgan and Carmella in check, as they have been engaged in a feud dating back to their time on SmackDown.
To make things even tougher for the red brand, all five team members faced each other in a Fatal 5-Way match on Nov. 8. Morgan won the bout to earn a Raw Women's Championship match against Becky Lynch.
The biggest potential issue for the blue brand related to Banks and Shotzi, who were engaged in a heated rivalry entering Survivor Series.
After losing a match to Charlotte Flair on the Oct. 29 edition of SmackDown, Shotzi snapped and turned heel by attacking The Boss. Given the format of Survivor Series, however, they had to try to put their differences aside.
It would have been easy for either team to implode Sunday, but Raw was better able to unite in the name of a common goal, leading to its victory.
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Kenny Omega Dealing With Shoulder Injury
Kenny Omega may be headed for some well-deserved time off. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio reported Omega worked his Full Gear main event with Hangman Page with an injured shoulder.
"I don’t know if he has no strength (in his shoulders), but he can’t lift heavy weights with them. I don’t even know if he can lift with them," Meltzer said (via Fightful). "The last time we were talking about it, he said he was able to lift the bar. So it’s 45 pounds. … He’s told me, ‘I can work a match without my shoulders.’"
Omega has managed to continue putting on brilliant matches despite the injury, with Saturday's main event against Page arguably serving as the match of the year.
That said, if he needs to take some time off, there's a ready-made storyline seemingly already in the works. The Young Bucks came down to ringside toward the end of Page's victory over Omega but chose not to interfere. In fact, the Bucks seemed to give Page their seal of approval for finishing off Omega in the waning seconds of the match.
With Adam Cole in AEW to reform the Supercliq with the Bucks, they could turn on an injured Omega to write him off television while he recovers. That turns Omega babyface in the process while giving him an immediate storyline for when he returns to action.
Think: D-Generation X turning on an injured Shawn Michaels, with Triple H taking over the leadership role.
Danielson Held Out of Independent Show
While Bryan Danielson and all AEW workers have the freedom to work independent shows, sometimes Tony Khan does ask them to refrain from making certain appearances. That was reportedly the case with Khan requesting Bryan turn down an independent appearance in a market where AEW has yet to appear, per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestlingInc).
The report did not specify which event, but the Nov. 20 DEFY event in Washington seems like a strong bet. Jon Moxley was advertised as the main event attraction but will be unable to make it as he continues his treatment for alcohol abuse.
Danielson, who was born in that state, would have been a natural replacement—one that would arguably sell the show even better to the market.
It's understandable that Khan would want Danielson's first post-WWE appearance in his home market to take place with AEW. Don't be surprised if AEW looks to book the Seattle area early in 2022.
Sasha Banks Admits to Jealousy over Rousey Salary
It wasn't exactly a secret that Ronda Rousey had backstage heat during her year in WWE. While the MMA star-turned-wrestler made significant improvements over her run with the company, some felt she was pushed over talents who put the work in.
Sasha Banks admitted to feeling some frustration over Rousey's high salary and treatment.
“I can only speak for myself; there might be a little tension. I am not sure about any real heat. I was pissed off that Ronda Rousey could come in, get more money than me, bigger locker room than me and bring all these people backstage and get more time than me," Banks said on the Kurt Angle Show (h/t Ringside News). "I’m like, ‘Excuse me! Who is you, and what you do?’ Besides respecting everything that she has done in the UFC and the fight world, when it comes to the squared circle, that is my home. That is why I’m the legit boss, not Ronda Rousey."
From a pure wrestling perspective, Banks is right. She's nine levels above Rousey. It's not close. The difference in their skill level is about the same as Rousey's advantage in a shoot fight.
That said, Rousey's name carries mainstream cache and she got WWE the attention that it wouldn't have otherwise gotten without her arrival.
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WWE announced Saturday the participants in the Raw vs. SmackDown elimination matches for the Survivor Series pay-per-view later this month.
In the men's five-on-five traditional elimination match, a Team Raw comprised of Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio will face Team SmackDown's Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, King Xavier Woods, Sami Zayn and Happy Corbin.
The women's five-on-five traditional elimination match will see Team Raw representatives Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella and Queen Zelina Vega take on Team SmackDown's Sasha Banks, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi Blackheart, Natalya and Aliyah.
The five-on-five elimination match has been a staple of Survivor Series ever since the inaugural event was held on Thanksgiving night in 1987.
In recent years, Survivor Series has utilized a Raw vs. SmackDown format with the champions on the respective brands facing each other.
That will likely be the case again this year, as Universal champion Roman Reigns vs. WWE champion Big E, SmackDown Women's champion Charlotte Flair vs. Raw Women's champion Becky Lynch, SmackDown Tag Team champions The Usos vs. Raw Tag Team champions RK-Bro, and Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. United States champion Damian Priest are all in line to occur at Survivor Series.
One of the best parts about Survivor Series has been the fact that wrestlers on opposite teams or even on the same team are often in the midst of a feud.
That is once again true this year, as plenty of storylines are intertwined in the men's and women's elimination matches.
On the men's side, Rollins and Owens are both vying to contend for the WWE Championship on Raw, plus they were both recently in a ladder match against fellow teammates Balor and Rey Mysterio for the No. 1 contendership.
SmackDown's team features Zayn and Hardy, who may have been starting a feud on this week's SmackDown. In terms of crossover, Zayn has had angles with Owens, Rey and Dominik Mysterio within the past year.
On the women's teams, Raw could have some dysfunction, as Morgan is in a long-term feud with Carmella, as well as Vega.
SmackDown may be even more explosive, as Shotzi attacked Banks last week, cementing her heel turn and making her one of the faces of the blue brand's women's division.
Belair and Banks will lead their respective teams, and they aren't far removed from facing each other in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 in April.
Survivor Series will emanate from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 21.
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Becky Lynch retained the Raw Women's Championship with a victory over Bianca Belair on Monday.
Belair was looking to land the K.O.D., but Lynch grabbed the top rope to fight off the maneuver and reached over to remove the top turnbuckle pad. After returning to her feet, Lynch pushed Belair into the exposed turnbuckle and rolled her up for a pinfall.
The champion grabbed the tights for good measure to leave nothing to chance.
The match was an excellent way to kick off Raw, as the two stars delivered an entertaining spectacle.
This feud began when Lynch made her shocking return at SummerSlam in August, taking the place of Sasha Banks. Belair was clearly thrown for a loop and dropped the title in less than 30 seconds.
Belair and Lynch had a rematch at Extreme Rules one month later, but Banks spoiled the occasion and forced a disqualification.
Lynch was successful in her defense of the Raw women's title at Crown Jewel, overcoming both Belair and Banks in a Triple Threat match.
While it wasn't stipulated beforehand, this felt like Belair's last shot to dethrone The Man.
With Survivor Series less than three weeks away on Nov. 21, Lynch might be turning her focus toward a collision with SmackDown women's champion Charlotte Flair. The pay-per-view traditionally pits the top stars from Raw and SmackDown against one another.
Given the underhanded tactics Lynch used Monday night, however, Belair might look to get one last chance to win back the gold.
