Opinion: Survivor Series has been neglected
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this articles are those of the author's and not necessarily of Sportskeeda's.
With the fourth and final of WWE's "Big Four" PPVs happening this Sunday, now is as good a time as any to say this. This year's Survivor Series has been neglected. I feel it has been mistreated. Quite frankly it has not been given the respect and appropriate hype that such a major show should receive. So, let's dive into a couple questions: Is Survivor Series still a major show? And if it is, why has it been neglected this year more than ever?
Is Survivor Series still a major show?
I have to say yes, but I did debate this more than I expected. I think, in the grand scheme of things, the idea of the traditional Big Four shows is somewhat fading. Yes, shows like the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and of course, WrestleMania, are elevated- we always see fans flying in from all over the world for those shows. Survivor Series does not have that feel, at least not to me.
From a traditions perspective, it still holds on as a top four show, but it is arguably the weakest of the four. One thing I feel has hurt its reputation is how the format has evolved over the years. It has gone from a show heavy with special four on four and five on five matches, to a show where those matches are not the draw anymore. Yes, the special matches are there, but they just don't feel the same as they did back when this show was really special.
Why has it been neglected?
This is harder to answer, and surely it is somewhat subjective. For one thing, perhaps some of you reading this do not feel that it has been neglected. But let us step through it.
Over the last couple of months, a few shows have gotten a great deal of hype. Those being the Australian Super Show-Down, Evolution and Crown Jewel. It seems those shows were getting hyped even into August. Now, I totally am OK with these shows getting hyped. Two were big international efforts, the third was a groundbreaking, history-making all women PPV. I am not knocking any of them.
That being said, Survivor Series was really not hyped or pushed until the controversial Crown Jewel wrapped up- at which point it was just three weeks away. Now, for a run of the mill PPV, that is fine. For the big shows, we should and do get more than a three-week build. We've already been hearing about Royal Rumble and WrestleMania (not matches, but they've been mentioned on broadcasts). They should have been at least providing more coverage for Survivor Series, even in parallel to the other shows.
I get pushing each of the other three shows, for various reasons. WWE hasn't often enough given the international audiences a major show in their own countries. Having Superstars like The Undertaker and Triple H work those shows, having Michaels there? That's huge, so they deserve the hype. Looking back on it, it just feels that Survivor Series was just given a bad deal.
Couple the lack of hype with the chaotic go-home shows with the card undergoing significant changes (even if they had been planned for a while, as has been rumored), and it just feels like Survivor Series isn't held in as high a regard by WWE as it once was. Does WWE really see it as "just another show", or is Survivor Series 2018 just having some bad luck with the injuries and shuffling lineup?
I would love to think this is an outlier, but it seems like every year I feel WWE isn't putting together an awesome Survivor Series card and I have this debate. It leads me to the conclusion that we may never get back to the glory days of the Survivor Series cards from years past.