WWE Survivor Series 2019: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Survivor Series 2019 is now history and the event lived up to its billing as one of WWE's Big 4 pay-per-views. Complete with WrestleMania quality dream matches, Survivor Series marked the first time that NXT was welcomed into the traditional brand warfare format, and the Black and Yellow Brand did not disappoint.
At the show's conclusion, NXT had four times as many wins as RAW and twice as many as SmackDown. The brand's first-year dominance is particularly noteworthy considering most of their talent wrestled just last evening at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
NXT wasn't the only brand to shine. SmackDown's Universal Champion The Fiend defeated Daniel Bryan with the dreaded mandible claw. RAW's Brock Lesnar retained his Universal Championship against Rey Mysterio. The Viking Raiders represented the Red Brand well by winning their Triple Threat Tag Match while SmackDown's Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler were the last team standing in the Kickoff Show's Tag Team Battle Royal. Roman Reigns reigned supreme as the Blue Brand's lone survivor in the 5-on-5-on-5 Men's Elimination Match.
The show wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, however, and featured some unsavory moments as well. Join us as we unpack the very best, worst, and downright ugliest moments in a special Survivor Series edition of The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.
ALSO READ: NXT TakeOver WarGames - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good - It's Keith Lee's time to shine
Roman Reigns stood victorious as the lone survivor in the men's 5-on-5-on-5 Tag Team Elimination Match. While it was a huge moment for 'The Big Dog,' especially after in-match struggles with Baron Corbin threatened to derail Team SmackDown's chances, the real moment belonged to NXT's Keith Lee.
Lee was the last man remaining for Team NXT and faced a daunting task against two-thirds of The Shield, in SmackDown's Roman Reigns and RAW's Seth Rollins. After Seth Rollins boisterously declared that he built NXT and would be the one to burn it down, a motivated Lee pinned the former Universal Champion, leaving only him and Reigns in the match.
The two big men gave each other their all, exchanging blow after blow. After two Superman Punches and a devastating spear, Reigns finally pinned Lee to give Team SmackDown the victory. After the bout's conclusion, however, it was clear that Lee had earned Roman Reigns' respect. Reigns put his forearm out in Shield-like fashion and the two men tapped fists. It was a baptism of sorts for the NXT Superstar.
It was a huge moment for Lee, who seized the opportunity to shine in what was his main roster debut on the huge Survivor Series stage. If Lee goes on to have the type of career many expect he will have, Survivor Series 2019 will be looked at as the moment he formally introduced himself to the WWE Universe and earned 'The Big Dog's' respect in the process.