For most of its history, Survivor Series has been focused on the traditional elimination tags that the pay-per-view was built upon. While those are still around and play a major part, things have changed in recent years. In 2016, WWE reverted to a brand split and Survivor Series became the place for Raw to do battle with Smackdown.
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That happens in elimination tags but 2017 added a new wrinkle. Since then, the champions on each brand have gone head to head. The Women's, tag, midcard, and top champions have typically gone at it, with 2019 adding NXT to the mix. Some of these are outstanding bouts but others have disappointed.
10 AOP vs. The Bar - 2018
On paper, this is a phenomenal matchup. It's two hard-hitting teams who would typically spend 10 or so minutes beating each other to a pulp. Battles of powerhouse duos have usually gone well. The Bar was always great and AOP had loads of talent and potential.
Unfortunately, this was a massive letdown. The action wasn't anything special and then there was a huge distraction of the recently fired Enzo Amore making a scene in the crowd. It all culminated when AOP's manager Drake Maverick literally peed his pants before they lost and that's all anyone remembers.
9 Baron Corbin vs. The Miz - 2017
Two of the best heels in all of wrestling went at is as the reigning Intercontinental (The Miz) and United States Champions (Baron Corbin). They never really interacted on TV but had some great exchanges across Twitter. There was a major issue that hurt this instantly, though.
Heel vs. heel matches typically don't work. The crowd is never sure who to root for and it makes for an awkward atmosphere. That's basically what happened here and the match itself felt like nothing different than what you'd see on a typical episode of TV. Corbin won with End of Days.
8 Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler - 2019
The hype surrounding this match was huge. They were even given the main event slot. Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch was riding high at her peak, NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler was as dominant as any talent, and Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley was fresh off of a heel turn.
It ended up being a situation where adding a third party was more problematic than fans had hoped. The whole thing made for a strange bout with a layout that was relatively dull. It dragged on before Shayna won and cemented NXT's overall victory at the event.
7 Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair - 2017
Considering the way Alexa Bliss was booked in 2017 and how Charlotte Flair is always pushed, this felt like "the irresistible force meeting the immovable object." Of course, in practice, it wasn't anything like that.
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Bliss was still clearly a rung or two below Charlotte. Add in that she was the heel and Charlotte was the face and this was a bit one-sided. Charlotte has always been better as the villain, which only added to why this contest didn't click the way the audience had hoped.
6 Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - 2018
From here on out, every match would be considered at least really good. These are two of WWE's most talented wrestlers and together, they delivered a quality match. Shinsuke Nakamura can sometimes seem like he's not giving his all but Seth Rollins pushed him to perform.
This was given plenty of time, going over 20 minutes. It was an evenly matched back and forth contest. The finishing stretch was outstanding and even though Nakamura lost, it was arguably his best performance since his debut in NXT against Sami Zayn.
5 The New Day vs. The Undisputed Era vs. The Viking Raiders - 2019
Unlike the Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler outing listed earlier, adding a third participant to this situation made things better. You had three of the best tag teams in the world, each of whom had a different strength.
The Viking Raiders were the powerhouse tandem, Undisputed Era were classic tag team experts, and New Day was the charismatic bunch who could kind of do it all. They nearly had the best match of the night and this was relegated to the Kickoff Show but it was a blast. The win for the Raiders was Raw's only of the night.
4 AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - 2019
A year after representing Smackdown as United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura was back but as Intercontinental Champion. In his way stood Raw's US Champion AJ Styles and NXT's North American Title holder, Roderick Strong.
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Before any of them had joined WWE (all at different points in 2016), they were among the most sought-after talents from around the world. Seeing them battle in one huge match was a dream for fans. They lived up to the hype with a tremendously fun outing. Strong stole the win from AJ at the last moment.
3 The Bar vs. The Usos - 2017
In 2016, the top tag teams on each brand met in a massive 10 vs. 10 elimination tag. The final two duos were The Bar and The Usos. They stole the show with a magnificent closing stretch.
The following year, they entered as champions and clashed in a match that lived up to the tease fans got in 2016. This got off to a slow start but once it picked up, it was filled with action. The Usos found a way to overcome their powerful foes and came out on top.
2 AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar - 2017
Some fans groaned at the thought of the WWE Champion going up against the Universal Champion when it was set to be Jinder Mahal taking on Brock Lesnar. They seemed to be guys in two different leagues. That all changed when AJ Styles dethroned Mahal.
He entered as the underdog face against the dominant Beast. It made for perfect storytelling because Styles is best when fighting from behind. Lesnar tossed him around with ease but when Styles rallied, his hope spots were believable. Lesnar won in what became one of his best matches ever.
1 Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan - 2018
Regardless of how good the Brock Lesnar/AJ Styles match was, it was bested the following year. A rematch was scheduled since both guys still held their respective titles. However, Daniel Bryan beat Styles just ahead of it to become WWE Champion.
That set up something special as Bryan had always admitted his dream match was against Lesnar. It was also interesting that Bryan turned heel so he couldn't play the expected underdog face. They still made it work as Lesnar dominated him for half of the match, only for Bryan to use a low blow to turn the tide. It was a roller coaster of emotions until Lesnar secured the victory.
NEXT: Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar & 9 Other Dream Matches That Lived Up To The Hype
