LIVE Survivor Series thoughts - November 22, 2015

10:47 - After a night of pretty smart booking that ending was a little.....curious.  They seemed to give us everything we didn't want.  Ambrose loses clean.  Reigns wins the title as the triumphant babyface.  And Sheamus ultimately walks away as champion.  I don't think too many people were asking for any of those things.

10:27 - Living room TV is starting to sputter out so I'm heading to the bedroom to watch on my Roku.  Commentary during the match may be taken to Twitter.

10:22 - Obvious winners here with no real surprises.  No harm, no foul.

10:03 - Really cool entrance and I loved how Kane set the pyro off....but I do wish Undertaker ALSO did something a little more special, appearance wise.  I understand that part of the evolution is for them to show us "this is what he was.  This is what he is now," but even up until recently he would whip out some crazy cape or jacket.  Even his WrestleMania 30 attire stuck to the "Old Western Undertaker" motif but gave us some flair.

10:00 - Nice to see Kane celebrating this big moment by wearing the same gear he's worn for the past four years or so.  Sigh.

9:57 - I may be optimistic here, but the fact that they're not closing the show with the Undertaker (who you have to assume will win tonight) leads me to think they may do something big in the main event.  If they were merely doing a straight up Reigns victory, I have to imagine they'd be aware enough that they'd get a bigger reaction out of an Undertaker win.  Yet if they do a big turn (either Reigns or Ambrose) or an unexpected win (Ambrose winning), it would HAVE to end the show.

9:45 - Dolph yelling at the ref "COUNT!" and then quickly saying "or don't" when he couldn't get in position quick enough was a legit laugh out loud moment.

9:44 - Dolph Ziggler's transformation over the past year has been more than a little curious.  What's with the eyeblack?

9:37 - Fine enough Divas match that seemed to keep the audience engaged.  I hope it's not the last we see of these two against each other.  Fun enough feud and Paige is definitely a better fit as a heel.

9:15 - Really though....can WWE learn the definition of the words "sole" and "anniversary."

9:11 - In fairness, Sheamus should have at least 20 seconds before getting into the ring (10 seconds to count out Kofi, and 10 seconds to count out Xavier).  I do like the idea of Sheamus getting so beaten up that he's "written off," giving them a logical explanation as to why he can't cash in later.

9:07 - Is it me or are there a lot of people right now that have a finishing move where they simply jump on somebody from a high location?

8:53 - I like how all the faces are in black/red/blue.

And yeah, spot on with the heel team, too.  None of them in new gear though.  Disappointing.

8:52 - So my prediction for the face team was spot on (with Ryback stepping in for Cesaro).  Let's see if I'm right about the heel side (my guess was the New Day, Sheamus, and Barrett).

8:45 - Okay, so far they're being pretty smart with their booking, thankfully.

8:39 - I do love when Kevin Owens randomly starts yelling at Michael Cole.

8:30 - That awkwardly long pause and that terrible promo delivery is the biggest reason why they shouldn't trust Roman Reigns as their WWE Champion.  At least if they turn him heel, they have a group that they can speak for him.

8:26 - Again, the obvious guy won but it was a fun match and they kept us guessing with some false finishes.  I do hope they go the route of him questioning himself because of an injured arm, though, leading to a heel turn.

8:16 - Roman Reigns winning but injuring himself is a great motivator for him turning heel and joining the Authority.  His concern over winning in the finals could be too much for him to resist temptation.

8:10 - Smart starting off the show with this match -- the one with the most "obvious" ending.  Plus, fans will get behind Reigns' victory....as long as they also think Ambrose is advancing.  If Ambrose doesn't advance, I could see the fans rejecting a Reigns victory out of protest.  Thus...smart going with this one first.

8:07 - Fun opening segment.  The question is -- do they end the show on Undertaker's match or with the championship finals?  If the championship finals doesn't close the show, I would say there's an extremely small chance of anything unexpected happening.

8:00 - I actually like the lightened down version of Undertaker's theme for the "We Rise For Him" ad.

7:55 - I'm guessing that the Ziggler/Breeze match got upgraded to the main show?

7:49 - So we're going to talk about how four people were just announced as "sole survivors," right?

7:42 - All connection issues are forgiven now that WWE Network is giving us an Edge and Christian series.

7:36 - My guess for the event elimination match is the New Day, Sheamus, and Wade Barrett vs. Cesaro (if healthy), Lucha Dragons, and the Usos.  If Cesaro is out, swap him with Ryback.

7:32 - That powerslam pin combo is what people hated about the Survivor Series formula.  THAT had to come back too?

7:30 - Stardust lying in the ring smiling was a fun visual.  Loved the Goldust reveal and Stardust's reaction.  Glad to see Goldust back.

7:27 - Not one person in new gear on the heel side.  Let's see if the face side fairs better.

7:25 - I've said this before but it's worth stating again:  It strikes me as extremely odd in this era of "themed PPV's" that WWE has made every effort to take the actual theme away from this -- the original themed PPV!

7:07 - Not off to the best start.  Kickoff stream won't work on my Smart TV or Roku.

6:49 - No promises that I'll last or night or that I won't take an hour break for The Walking Dead.  More than most, I think this show really could be the make or break point for a lot of fans.  This show is potentially the "reset" button for this company, and what they decide to do with that opportunity will be the deciding factor in whether not some of these fans on the fence stick around for the time being.

If this were my show, I would have Ambrose win the title and then have Reigns turn on him afterwards.  Yes, I'm biased and favor Ambrose significantly more than Reigns, but the purpose for this would be that they have the chance to make two stars instead of just one.  I would assume Reigns takes the title next month, so at least Ambrose would have "WWE Champion" on his resume.  One of the worst things they could do (short of Del Rio winning) would be for Reigns to win in a straight up tournament as the heroic hero.  Not only do a lot of people not want to see that, but it's also not interesting television.

Sidenote:  I do hope we see Undertaker go a little throwback (or at least different) with his look tonight.  How about the black button up with the sleeves torn off and the gray gloves and boot covers?  Kane in some new gear would be a nice change of pace, too.

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